RB Community List: 30 Best Retro Gaming Compilations

[retrosportsgamer]

I might be a little off here, but in my mind the greatest game compilation of all time is...

Super Mario All-Stars (SNES, Wii)



Four of the greatest games of all time (five if you count the Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World version on the SNES) in glorious 16-bit graphics. Nuff said. And with the Wii version getting a Nintendo Selects reprint, it's an absolute steal right now.

~20 games on one disc is great, but sometimes less is more. Ever find when you have too many things to chose from that it's harder to pick one?

Love this. Not off at all. Tempted to go with the Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World combo cart because the Wii version has nothing unique to it.

[retrosportsgamer]

I was going to say MAT1-3, but I really do NOT like the menu interfaces on the first two at all (Gamecube), button presses can be counter-intuitive at times and doesn't take you where you need to go. Plus starting/continuing a game can be awkward as the Start button on the controller is used and it also PAUSES the game. I feel the emulation is a little uneven in spots, at least on the GC version. Avoid MAT 1 on the PC too; it's just a repackaging of older Midway compilations from the Win 95 era. Sadly, even though MAT 2 on PC had the original Mortal Kombat (the console versions only had 2 & 3), it suffers from that evil StarForce DRM (which also plagued the PC ports of Taito Legends 2 and Namco Museum 50th Anniversary), AND you have to get a patch to fix an error with nearly all the games having no sound. The only thing right about the PC version is that Wizard of Wor runs at the speed it is supposed to, the Gamecube and PS2 emulation is way too fast on that game, and therefore is totally unplayable. Unsure on the Xbox version.

Midway is going to need some debate. Definitely want it on there somewhere. Midway Arcade Origins (360) is good, but its...well...just origins and not their later stuff as covered in some of the MAT.

[retrosportsgamer]

Metal Gear Solid Legacy Collection:

Metal Gear
Metal Gear 2
Metal Gear Solid
MGS: VR Missions
MGS 2: Sons of Liberty
MGS 3: Snake Eater
MGS 4: Guns of the Patriots
MGS: Peace Walker

An iconic series in one package (yes MGS is download voucher)

An amazing collection, I forgot Peace Walker was on there (I do own this). MGS and MGS VR Missions are vouchers, yeah, but the MG and MG2 are MSX versions as a bonus.

[retrosportsgamer]

Command & Conquer: The First Decade
This compilation includes:
C&C + Covert Ops expansion
C&C Red Alert + Counterstrike & Aftermath
C&C Tiberian Sun + Firestorm
C&C Red Alert 2 + Yuri's Revenge
C&C Renegage
C&C Generals + Zero Hour

A great compilation of RTS goodness

I own this - man it has gone up in price in recent years.

[retrosportsgamer]

The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition (GameCube)

The Legend of Zelda
The Adventures of Link
Ocarina of Time
Majora's Mask

Emulation is wonky for the two 64 titles. With recent remasters (albeit not in a comp), this is kind of overlooked now.

[Segata]

Super Mario All Stars
Sonic Mega Collection Gamecube
Genesis Collection 460/PS3
Capcom Collection Remix PSP
SEGA 6 pack
Ys I & II Chronicles PSP/Steam
Falcom Classics Saturn
Dungeons & Dragon's Tower of Doom/Mystara
SNK Arcade Classics Vol 1

[alienjesus]

Silly question maybe, but would Animal Crossing count? If you use one of those online code generators or an action replay you can get like 15 NES games in no time, plus, y'know, Animal Crossing.

Maybe a seperate article on games within other games is something we should consider too?

What a wildcard, really unique. How easy is the online code generator? I think a separate article would give it more spotlight, but i'm not opposed to at mentioning it.

You just put in your character name and town name, click the item you want and it gives you a code (about 20 characters I think?) to give to Tom Nook in your town shop. Not too bad, although perhaps a little finnicky about exact characters. You can also only get 3 per day, real time, so it'd take at least 5 days to get them all.

You can get these games via this method:
Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong Jr
Donkey Kong 3
Donkey Kong Jr Math
Clu Clu Land
Clu Clu Land D
Punch-Out!!
Pinball
Golf
Soccer
Tennis
Baseball
Balloon Fight
Excitebike
Wario's Woods.

There are actually 4 more NES games in the game code, but they're only accessible with e-reader cards (US only) or cheat devices. Those are:

1. Mario Bros (e-reader or cheat device)
2. Ice Climber (e-reader or cheat device)
3. Super Mario Bros. (cheat device only)
4. The Legend of Zelda (cheat device only)

[alienjesus]

And I know you wanted submissions seperately, so prepare for a triple posting session!

How about the Game & Watch Gallery games?

I'll nominate Game & Watch Gallery Advance as the definitive one. It includes playable versions of 20 different Game & Watch titles, with souped up modern variations of 11 of them to boot! 6 are available in both modern and classic modes from the start, with 5 more modern & classic games being easy to unlock. You'll have to work for the remaining 9 classic games though, as they require some effort to obtain. These games are included:

From the outset:
Fire
Boxing
Rain Shower
Mario's Cement Factory
Donkey Kong Jr.
Donkey Kong 3

Unlockable modern & classic games:
Chef
Mario Bros.
Donkey Kong
Octopus
Fire Attack

Unlockable classic only:
Manhole
Tropical Fish
Mario's Bombs Away
Parachute
Bombsweeper
Climber
Safebuster
Lifeboat
Zelda

[retrosportsgamer]

I'll update the first post a bit later today when I return but the early work on nominations and detailing things out has been great.

I put Animal Crossing on the list as a possible outlier to write on. Since it's tied to the memory card i don't know if it makes the final 30 but it's certainly interesting (I knew about the games you could unlock but has no idea about the code generator).

[alienjesus]

Post 3: How about the Konami Classics Collection games for Game Boy Color?

These never came out in the US, just Japan and Europe, but being game boy games they're entirely region free. They each include 4 Konami Game Boy titles ported onto 1 GBC cartridge, with added colour. A couple of the games were never originally released outside of Japan, making them the only way to play the titles in English!

The numbering of the 4 titles is different between Europe and Japan. Being that I'm a Brit and own the UK versions, I'll be using that number scheme primarily, but I'll list the Japanese titles too so that people can see what's up. They also tended to rename the original games in stupid ways, so I'll list both the game name as isted on the cartridge, and the original GB title:

Konami Game Boy Collection Volume 1: (Volume 1 in Japan also!)
- Gradius (originally called Nemesis on GB)
- Castlevania: The Adventure
- Konami Racing (originally called F1 spirit)
- Probotector (originally Operation C in the US)

Konami Game Boy Collection Volume 2: (Volume 4 in Japan!)
- Parodius (Parodius Da!)
- Block Game (originally Quarth)
- Frogger
- Track & Field

Konami Game Boy Collection Volume 3: (Volume 2 in Japan!)
- Pop'n Twinbee
- Mystical Ninja starring Goemon! (Originally Ganbare Goemon: Sarawareta Ebisumaru! never given an English release)
- Bikers (originally Motocross Maniacs)
- Guttang Gottong (originally Loco-Motion outside of Japan)

Konami Game Boy Collection Volume 4: (Volume 3 in Japan!)
- Gradius 2 (originally Gradius: The Intersteller Assault in the US, and Nemesis 2 in Europe)
- Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge
- Yie Ar Kung Fu
- Antarctic Adventure

They can be a little hard to find, but the European 2 and 3 seem easier to obtain than the others (and are the 2 I have). I really want 4 as it clearly has the best line up.