SNK's excellent Anniversary Collection to hit PS4
The best retro compilation in years gets a wider release
Digital Eclipse's previously Switch-exclusive compilation SNK 40th Anniversary Collection is coming to PS4, opening up the meticulously-produced anthology to another universe of gamers. This superb title sets a new standard for the presentation of retro games, with a fiercely generous 23 titles - but more than 23 games, as you get both arcade and NES ports where available.
This fine bundle gives SNK's all-too-ignored pre-Neo Geo work the spotlight, and not a moment too soon. On top of the excellent suite of games, it packs a fantastic amount of supplementary material, meticulously researched by Digital Eclipse's team. Full playthroughs of each game are available to watch, with enormous archives of production art, history and trivia to browse through.
The games haven't just been recreated as you may remember them; titles such as Ikari Warriors have had their controls updated to reflect a more modern standard. The original coin-op utilised rotary joysticks, but this re-release has a more contemporary twin-stick shooting system. This prioritises ease of use over absolute mechanical fidelity in a way that feels like a real labour of love; preserve the games, yes, but quality of life improvements like this are infinitely welcome.
The more well-known games present in this delightful offering include shmup Prehistoric Isle in 1930, lightgun game Beast Busters, side-scroller Psycho Soldier and RPG Crystalis, but it's the more obscure entries that impress and fascinate. Not just for the chance to finally play these titles, but for the sheer effort that Digital Eclipse has put into the package.
SNK 40th Anniversary Collection releases in North America for PS4 on March 11th. I presently have no idea if it's been drastically changed from the original Switch edition, but if it has and this entire preview is rendered moot, then I will be 100 MEGA shocked.
