Super Technos World: River City & Technos Arcade Classics

We can't stop bumping into Arc System Works lately, who return with this classic collection of arcade games from the Technos archives courtesy of developer INTENSE. 

Most people will remember Technos as the company behind Double Dragon, but that's absent in this collection which instead focuses on previously Japan-only titles that are mere myth and legend to many Western gamers. Containing 12 games in total made up of 7 console games and 5 arcade-only titles;

• River City Renegade (Super Famicom)
• Kunio’s Dodgeball Time, C’mon Guys! (Super Famicom)
• Downtown River City Baseball Story ~Play Ball, Kunio!~ (Super Famicom)
• Kunio’s Oden (Super Famicom)
• THE COMBATRIBES (Super Famicom)
• SugoroQuest++ –DICENICS- (Super Famicom)
• DunQuest (Super Famicom)
• Super Dodge Ball (Arcade / NEOGEO)
• XAIN’D SLEENA: SOLDIER OF LIGHT (Arcade)
• CHINA GATE (Arcade)
• THE COMBATRIBES (Arcade)
• SHADOW FORCE (Arcade)

Now listing 12 is a bit disingenuous because two of the titles are the same game on arcade and home console (COMBATRIBES) while teh dodgeball titles are also very similar in style and gameplay. Furthermore, two of the games are Japanese only which is far less forgivable on an international release, so unless you're fluent, you can knock SugoroQuest++ –DICENICS- and DunQuest off your list of playable titles too. Ouch.

So really what we have here is a collection of 8 distinct and accessible games, taking a third of the experience off the table before we've even started, so what's left had best be good or in we're in for a lean time.

Both dodgeball games are fun, but the arcade port of Super Dodge Ball is the best with expressive graphics - my favourite game in the package

Now, being a huge fan of Rakugaki Showtime (a Japan only Dodgeball-style beat-em-up) I was most interested in Super Dodge Ball and Kunio's Dodgeball Time, and I can say that I hugely enjoyed both of these. The character designs are interesting, the sprite-work bold and charming, and both play a fine game of dodgeball, so if you like the game, you'll love these. Again, the arcade port plays the superior game, but so far so good.

COMBATRIBES isn't quite Double Dragon standard, but it's still an engaging brawler

I was also fairly impressed with COMBATRIBES, which I have no real nostalgia for, but it plays a good Double-Dragon-esque brawling, but honestly the SNES version is a bit of a vestigial inclusion since the Arcade game is clearly superior. Some of the animations are a bit long-winded and perhaps Double Dragon is more refined, but it's certainly an enjoyable outing that fans of the genre should find a lot of fun.

China Gate is the next game to visit, a vertical beat-em-up using mythical creatures to take out enemies and bosses, it's entertaining for a while but not the most compelling game in the collection. Again, sprites are nice and the game has some decent strategy elements going for it, but after about 10 minutes I was ready to move on.

Shadow Force has some enjoyable beat-em-up action and stands as one of the collections true highlights

I had more fun with Shadow Force, another scrolling beat-em-up with an Eastern theme, this has a choice of routes, 4 protagonists with varied attacks and plenty of bad guys to roundly slap about the screen. It's very much of its time, but I found the moves varied and the levels interesting enough to keep me playing, it's not one I remember from the arcades so can't claim any nostalgic feelings, but it plays a solid game and you should be able to get an hour or two's enjoyment out of it, while finding it fun enough to return to.

Xain'd Sleena: Soldier of Light reminded me of the games my Amiga owning friends would load up back in the day, it's sort of indistinct in terms of style and audio, feeling like an also-ran on a demo disk. You can at least select which planets you want to visit so you can get a taste for all the locales pretty easily. For my tastes it was too bland and stilted for my tastes and unless you have fond memories of it, I think it'll be a short experience for most players. 

The SNES titles were fine, but not all that exciting. Sadly the home version of River City Renegade hasn't aged all that well, moreso being the limited home release, while River City Baseball is functional but not fun, providing close up and full field views, it doesn't help that being English I don't really have much affinity with the game in general, so my lack of affection is more likely due to culture rather than the game, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and say your mileage may vary here.

Kunio's Oden is an enjoyable falling puzzle game with cute graphics and addictive gameplay

Lastly we have the food-based puzzler Kunio's Oden, which I'd honestly never heard of but found to be quite addictive. It's just a drop and match puzzle game like Mean Bean Machine or Puyo Puyo, but with food. There's a reason the game format has so many variants, it's just a solid formula and easy to play, with attempts to beat your previous run being the driver. 

So it's a mixed bag, with some solid arcade gems but an equal amount of duds and - let's be honest - laziness in failing to translate two of the games at all. I'd recommend Super Dodge Ball, Shadow Force and Kunio's Eden as the standouts, but I'd honestly wait on a sale if you want to feel like you're getting genuine value here. You may be overcome with nostalgia and jump straight in, and the ports here are all perfectly functional and faithful adaptations of the originals where I've been able to compare, so if that's you, jump right in. For the rest, this is an unusual set of games with limited appeal.