Capcom Arcade Cabinet 1985 Game Pack #1 Review

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A slight step backwards from the original.

Continuing the flow of retro goodness, Capcom’s Arcade Cabinet Pack 1 adds three new games to the publisher’s new platform. For 800 points, Section Z, Gun. Smoke and Ghosts N’ Goblins can be added to the collection, each with all of the standard Arcade Cabinet features (original review here). The games are good, but the higher price diminishes the classic fun a bit.

Section Z is a top and side scrolling shooter. Using a jetpack, the player flies through the enemy base, shooting and bombing through waves of enemies and an occasional boss fight. The game made me glad that I could change the controls and add turbo fire, which helped a lot.

Gun. Smoke is a vertically scrolling shoot ’em up. It’s very similar to Avengers (included with the Arcade Cabinet), with melee based combat exchanged for guns. Bounty hunter Billy progresses through each level, dodging bullets and enemies until reaching the boss, his bounty. One of the benefits of the Arcade Cabinet is the ability to check out the game information, where I was able to learn the effects of each power-up, as some of them weren’t readily apparent.

Ghosts N’ Goblins is the highlight of Pack 1. The story follows Sir Arthur in his quest to rescue the kidnapped princess. It’s pure classic platforming, as Arthur jumps over obstacles, hurling lances and other weapons at enemies. It brought back memories for me, especially the image or Arthur running around in his underwear after losing his armor to an enemy attack. The only issue I noticed was with the background music, which would cut out abruptly whenever an item pickup sound played. It only happened some of the time, but it was enough to be annoying.

Capcom Arcade Cabinet Pack 1 follows a formula similar to the original set of games, with a variety including a shooter, vertically scrolling fighter and a side-scrolling platformer. All three games made me glad for the Arcade Cabinet’s casual mode, which allowed me to dial down the challenge and more easily enjoy the experience. The higher price is disappointing, but if you’re a classic arcade fan then these games are worth it.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.
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Written by
Dave enjoys playing video games almost as much as he enjoys buying video games. What his wife calls an "online shopping addiction" he calls "building a library". When he's not digging through the backlog he's hunting for loot in Diablo or wondering when the next Professor Layton game is coming.