The PSP seemed to have been turned into a retirement home for all games from the 1980s and early 1990s (though it seems 'retro collections' have become a plague for all systems recently) and it's sad that a console that can achieve the wonderful graphics of Ridge Racer and the expansive environments of GTA is reduced to this. That being said, Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded sports a fine collection of games, although I only recognised eleven of the nineteen games included. Most will be played out of curiosity and, depending on your reaction, will be put down to never be touched again.

The set consists of a number of game varieties from the early 1980s right through to the early 1990s. There is very little retrospective to the set, which is a shame, as a little background information (as Midway did for their collections) would allow you to see just how old a game is and (in the case of 1942) appreciate that it still plays beautifully after all this time.

The graphics and sound of all of the games varies, but are beautifully recreated to heighten the NES and arcade nostalgia-kick that playing these games should create. One thing that is puzzling is the amount of load times that occur - they're not a stupid length of time, but when you consider what is being loaded you'd expect instantaneous play, yet instead you must look at a boring (they could have had some fancy loading screens made from game cover art!) black screen, which can be a little irritating at times. The controls are fairly easy, although using the D-Pad can be a little awkward and the analogue stick is a little too sensitive, but this all settles down once you get used to each game. One interesting feature is the ability for some games (e.g. 1942) to change the view of the screen so that you must hold the PSP on its side, thus increasing your screen view, although this is flawed as the PSP is very difficult to hold in this position.

Anyway, moving on, here's a rundown of the games in this collection:

1942 (1984)

Flying a plane you must shoot down all enemies as you travel across the pacific. This is a very basic game, with the use of power-ups resulting in just an increase in the number of bullets you shoot at once. Nevertheless it's a frustratingly addictive game that is just perfect for a handheld ethos of a 'quick play'.

1943 (1987)

The graphics on this version have been slightly improved but the gameplay is a mixed bag. It's the same 'if it moves, shoot it' principle, but instead of having a few lives with only one hit chance, in this game you have a life bar that allows you a number of hits before your plane is destroyed. This is a great idea, but as you have only one life to play with it makes the game even harder than before.

1943- Midway Kai (1988)

You now fly a World War I bi-plane and other than a few graphic and sound changes there is very little difference between this and the previous two games. That's not to say it's not a good game, but (and this becomes a problem throughout the set) could you really play a slightly different version of the same game three times?

Ghosts 'n' Goblins (1985)

I love the graphics in Ghosts 'n' Goblins - it's the basic, pixelated people look that was simple and perfect in the 1980s. The plot is as simple as you can get - brave knight Arthur's girlfriend is kidnapped and you must fight to get her back. This is a simple side-scrolling game with you throwing knives, torches and generally jumping around. Playing is also difficult, with only two hits allowed before you lose a life. However, when you are hit the first time you lose your armour and have to play on in just your underpants, which is just a wonderful idea!

Ghouls 'n' Ghosts (1988)

An impressive increase in graphics and animation comes with this game, but it's the same game as above, which is a shame.

Super Ghouls n' Ghosts (1991)

'Super' how exactly? This is worse than the previous two games, increasing the difficulty to make the game longer is not a substitute for good gameplay. Graphics are typically improved, but if the game is unplayable it's a waste of time.

Commando (1985)

Like 1942, this is essentially shooting and throwing grenades as you travel up through a battleground, avoiding enemy fire, but it's even more fun than that. Unlike other games, this is easy to play and not so hard that you give up after two tries. The game instead has a great balance of gameplay that is aided with simplistic controls that make this the funnest game I've ever played.

Mercs (1991)

No, I take that back - this is the funnest game. Similar to Commando (seen as an unofficial sequel) the idea is the same, but with the added ability to use vehicles and access gun posts to take out multiple enemies or just to run them over! A perfect shooting game that ticks all the right boxes.

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991)

If you don't know this game then I disown you and you must leave this site, never to return until you have discovered the wonders of the Hadoken! Possibly the most perfect fighting game ever created, the use of combos and special moves was so wonderful and new for its time, and even fifteen years later it still plays wonderfully. Without this game 90% of all fighting games simply would not exist!

Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (1992)

Some may argue that this is simply the previous game with the ability to play as the four bosses. This is true, but there is much more to this game to be appreciated, as Capcom have refined the graphics and sound, added the ability to have same character fights (with funky costume changes) and improved a lot of characters, making it a lot smoother and thus resulting a much easier game to master.

Street Fighter II: Turbo - Hyper Fighting

The words 'Turbo' and 'Hyper' couldn't be more appropriate, as this is the best way to describe this game. This is clearly where the big boys play, as it is a lot more complex, but still an intensely wonderful game to play. The improvements don't stop at increased speed, as new moves have also been added, such as Chun-Li's fireball, and finally there is a definite difference between the fighting styles of Ryu and Ken and so we can finally answer the question of which of them is the better fighter!

SonSon (1984)

My vote for weirdest game ever! You are a 'monkey boy' moving along jumping up or down the several platforms trying to avoid or blast all the weird fish/bird-like creatures. Highly addictive, but doesn't have the same polished charm as some of the other games.

Vulgus (1984)

A 'vulgar' game. Similar to Commando, this is an overhead scrolling shooter that's no fun to play whatsoever. It looks and plays terrible and does not belong on this set. The only reason it is here is because it's the first Capcom game - and boy does it show!

Higemaru (1984)

Almost like a mixture of Bomberman and Donkey Kong, you are a pirate in a maze, who must toss barrels at other pirates. This is a hugely complicated and addictive game hampered by cruder than usual graphics and irritating music.

Exed Exes (1985)

A space version of 1942, with you shooting spaceships, stations and satellites. Sadly, the difficult gameplay is to too much for me to enjoy this game, as the controls are slow to respond and this won't be played as much as the others.

Gunsmoke (1985)

A great concept attached to a terrible game. Essentially this is just Commando in the Wild West. The game is okay, but being so fiendishly difficult saps the fun out.

The King of Dragons (1991)

This couldn't be more a rip-off of Golden Axe if it tried and because of this the game feels cheap. It's a typical side-scrolling battler, with each level ending with a generic ogre-type beast to take down. That being said, the game looks great and plays well.

Knights of the Round (1992)

This is much like the previous game, except for the fact that it concerns the legend of King Arthur. You can choose from playing as Arthur, Lancelot or Percival (Huh? I'm sorry, he's not in Monty Python and the Holy Grail so I think Capcom made this guy up!) Like King of Dragons, although this is a good game with lots to do, it still feels like a rip-off of Sega's Golden Axe and Streets of Rage.

Eco-Fighters (1993)

This is certainly the most graphically impressive game in the set. A little like R-Type and SonSon, this is a horizontal shooter where you travel through destroying wave after wave of ships, before meeting up with a boss. These range from the typical large, deadly machines to huge, mechanical dolphins? The plot of the game sees you as an Eco-Fighter, battling to save the world from being assimilated by a deadly alien race. A nice premise for quite an enjoyable game.

Capcom have piled on the features for this set, including unlockable game music, artwork and game cheats, however this is all achieved through a sadly ill-conceived slot machine. Unlike in Super Smash Bros Melee where you can either risk a 1 coin bet for a trophy you already have or spend 100 coins on getting one you haven't, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to winning this game and the chances of winning on these slot machines are almost as high as winning the lottery and meeting Angelina Jolie in the same day! When you do win the rewards are worth it, it's just a shame that this isn't as effective as it should be.

A number of games offer a multiplayer feature, allowing (for some titles) up to three players playing at once. This adds much to the longevity, not just to the obvious frenzied battles in Street Fighter, but many of the other games also benefit from having a second player, particularly Mercs and The King of Dragons. What makes this even more wonderful is the fact that you only need one disk to do this and so unlike a lot of games you don't need to find a friend with the game. There is also the ability to swap game save points for a number of games, which is a nice idea if you're stuck on a level, although this could be done with swapping memory card saves anyway.

Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded is great value in terms of quantity and quality - unlike some retro collections that surround one or two perfect games with several bad ones (think EA Replay), this is not the case here. All the games are playable to some extent and you'll play some more than any new release for the PSP, which is not bad for games that are in some cases over twenty years old! Although I did enjoy them, I wish there had been some theme or connection to the games (such as all the arcade shooters or all the Street Fighter games), because of this it feels a little cobbled together, adding more fuel to the fire that companies would rather make money from the past than invest in a new game - and this will keep on happening until we stop buying them. I no doubt expect to see a similar set on the next handheld in five to ten years time and so on into infinity! Still, cynicism aside, if you're looking for a retro collection then this is one of the best available and well worth your time for a dip into the golden past of videogames.

Reviewed by David Simpson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).