Namco started a trend a few years ago with its Namco Museum line of compilation discs, which collected their classic arcade titles across a five-disc set. Unfortunately, many gamers (myself included) believed that Namco should have released a single disc with their best games and left the garbage filler titles in the trash. More classics collections followed, but many of them were hampered by poor emulation, poor game selection and steep prices. However, out of this trend two collections appeared which I believe that no true gamer should be without: Midway’s Arcade Party Pack and Konami’s Arcade Classics.

Unlike some other collections discs, the games contained on these two packages are each important and worthwhile – often they represent the genesis of an original game concept or the expansion of an existing genre in bold new directions. There is no filler content on these discs, and since a lot of the under-twenty crowd of modern gamers may never have had the opportunity to play these games, it is important that they experience them to broaden their knowledge and appreciation of how far gaming has come in the past two decades.

Let’s start with the Midway disc. The titles offered are: 720º, Smash TV, Klax, Rampage, Super Sprint and Toobin’.

For years, 720º was referenced as the best skateboarding game ever made. Only recently has it been dethroned by Neversoft’s Tony Hawk games. This alone is an impressive feat. The arcade game (into which I dropped a great many quarters) featured a trackball controller, which you used to make your skater spin in the air during jumps. The game is set in Skate City, which would be a skaters utopia if not for the evil mini-sandstorm that chases you down when the onscreen timer runs out – the game allows you a certain time limit to pull tricks for points before heading for one of the competition areas. The coolest thing about 720º is that you can use your hard-earned cash to buy upgraded gear like shoes, boards and pads to improve your skater, adding some strategy to the game. The games isometric perspective and colorful graphics remain solid today, and the game is challenging and fun, even without the trackball (the analog pad works pretty well in its place).

Smash TV brought the shooter sub genre started by Robotron 2084 (I like to call it "top-down" insane 360º frenzy") into new areas with improved graphics, multiple paths through maze-like stages, two-player simultaneous play and absolutely the most frantically fun shooting action you can find on a home system. Even recent entries into this sub genre (Cannon Spike being the most recent) fail to reach the levels of insanity that Smash TV hits almost from the start. Although an excellent Super Nintendo version of this classic was released in the early 90s, this version is arcade perfect in every way and is worth the price of this collection on its own.

In an era when Tetris ruled and falling block puzzle games were a dime a dozen, a little game called Klax appeared and changed the face of puzzle games forever. While technically a "falling block" game, Klax sends multiple blocks down a conveyor belt simultaneously, with the player catching them and then dropping the blocks into a bin to make vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines of the same color. Klax made things more interesting by setting parameters for its levels; some levels force you to make diagonal lines, or even "Xs" of the same color to clear them. Compared to current puzzle games (and my personal favorites, Super Puzzle Fighter 2 and Puyo Puyo) Klax holds its own with nice graphics and excellent gameplay.

I don’t think I have to go into detail on Rampage; this game has stood the test of time, with some recent sequels that mirror the original gameplay and graphics pretty well. Although the repetitive gameplay and single-screen levels may not impress by today’s standards, when this game originally hit arcades it was huge. Along with Xenophobia (which, unfortunately has never gotten a good home conversion), Rampage set a new standard for lively, expressive characters and humorous, unique gameplay.

Finally, Super Sprint and toobin’, while not great games by any stretch, are also not horrible, and they both demonstrate advances made in racing games. Super Sprint is a traditional racer while Toobin’ puts one or two players in inner tubes on a river full of obstacles. Toobin’ also has a unique control style – you have buttons for your left and right arms to use for steering your tube around objects.

Rounding out this nice package is some interesting video commentary by the creators of the offered games, which adds insight into the development process and ideas that went into each game.

Check back in a few days for part 2 of this article, which will have an in-depth look at Konami’s essential arcade classics disc.