Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded review

For a set of games you've probably played before, Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded does a hell of a job entertaining. Multiple Street Fighter IIs, a few takes on 1942, Ghosts 'N Goblins, Ghouls 'N Ghosts and Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts are the marquee titles, but back up pieces like Eco Fighters and King of Dragons also shine in quick bites of play. Almost all are pretty hard, by today's standards, but very fun. Like last year's PS2 version the emulation looks great on the system; even if you picked up the PS2 version last year, this edition shakes up the title list a bit (such as with Eco and King).

The only real complaints are almost all the fault of the hardware, but there's no way to enjoy the games without dealing with the PSP. The load times, even with the quality of these versions, are nuts. Maybe they're excusable going from one game to the next, but waiting between rounds of Street Fighter II isn't. Being able to flip the image 90 degrees to play the 1942 series orientated correctly fails to be particularly functional, thanks to the PSP's control layout.

Of course, a perk of the hardware is that the whole thing's portable, and with this set of Classics that means the world. These games are almost all based on the arcade "how long can a quarter last" timer, making them joys in commute-sized bites. Technical issues aside, this collection compares very favorably to the PS2 version just for the joy of beating someone at Street Fighter II on the bus.