Jamie O'Neill
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Writing For
Push Square 
Nintendo Life Latest Reviews
The widespread use of CD-ROM formats during the 32-bit era allowed space for decent retro game compilations on the PS1, but the potential of retro collections blossomed into larger libraries and extra features on the PS2 and PSP. The likes of Taito Legends, SNK Arcade Classics, and especially the various volumes of the Capcom Classics Collection set a new standard for any publisher compiling old games. Unfortunately, the messaging around Capcom Arcade Stadium is confusing from Capcom on PS4 by advertising it as a free download, with additional titles that are purchasable in three separate DLC packs. Ultimately, it's simpler to consider buying Capcom Arcade Stadium as a full, traditional retro collection, which continues in the spirit of the PS2 and PSP's compilations.
With a series as well-loved as Castlevania, Konami has sensibly approached celebrating the company's 50th anniversary by providing a game selection in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection with a sense of focus and balance. As opposed to Metroidvania games, the focus here is upon the traditional-style, stage-progression platforming from the earlier years of console Castlevania - so it unfortunately omits the 1986 MSX2 game Vampire Killer - with eight single-player titles spanning seven years, as they were released in the west from 1987 to 1994.
Don’t hang up! We have a little business proposition for you. Push Square propose that any retro gamer with a love of side-scrolling beat-‘em-ups make it their business to play the Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle, particularly as a historical jaunt through an impressive display of seven cherry-picked iterations of the publisher's Capcom Play System (CPS) arcade board games.
Republished on Wednesday 29th August 2018: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of September's PlayStation Plus lineup. The original text follows.
It's apparent that the PlayStation 4's 2015 gaming year will most notably be remembered for a handful of exemplary AAA open world games, but pulsating under the radar there has also been a fine array of pixel art 2D games released on the console this year. With examples like Shovel Knight and Super Time Force Ultra, this is partially the result of the cream of 2014's pixelated crop being ported and updated from other consoles. Games like Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut stretch even further back – alternatively La-Mulana Ex is an instance of this on the PlayStation Vita – but regardless of the late arrival of these titles, they are still welcome additions to a retro inspired library. First released on the Nintendo 3DS and Steam in late 2014, Xeodrifter fits well within this list, and it can sit proudly beside its sprite-ly 2D peers.
Retro history teaches us that it must not be easy to create a fun and hugely replayable side-scrolling beat-'em-up. The genre is riddled with pitfalls, including repetitive gameplay, tedium and dull button-bashing controls. For every gem like Streets of Rage 2 there has been an abundance of mediocre games, such as Rival Turf!, Ninja Combat and Riot Zone. Few companies mastered the art of this troublesome genre in the 1990s — SEGA springs to mind, as well as Konami — but Capcom in particular became a prolific 2D brawler connoisseur, through dogged determination and impressive talent. Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara represents a video game developer at the top of its game and it has sliced its way into being amongst the very best hack-and-slash titles available today.
When Tony Hawk's Pro Skater first landed on PlayStation in 1999 it was welcomed with open arms and scabby knees by skateboarders, as the first video game to capture what it felt like to skate. Neversoft embraced skate culture so vehemently that a number of their team became skilled at riding a real seven-ply deck and urethane wheels. A session on THPS felt like going for a skate, in that it recreated the mind-set of a skater in a gamer's head, where they would scan their home environment for ramps, ledges and skate lines, in a similar way to how a Tetris player organises tetrominoes, even when their eyes are shut.