Review: SNK 40th Anniversary Collection (PlayStation 4)

Rating: 8.8
Author: Jim Smale

by Jim Smale · Published March 28, 2019 · Updated March 28, 2019

2018 marked the 40th anniversary of legendary studio SNK! To celebrate this extraordinary milestone, a variety of classic arcade games from SNK’s golden age are coming back together in one anthology on PlayStation 4. SNK 40th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION is packed full of retro games and a treasure trove of features!

Pros:

Retro graphics encompassing 8 and 16 but graphics.
1.38gb download size.
14 trophies.
Own in-game achievements.
Museum- shows off high res artwork, slideshow option, concept/original art, and every game’s soundtrack! Complete with a built-in player!
Can tweak each individual games settings.
Watch-you can watch the game being played and jump in and take over at any point or just watch.
Four difficulties-easy/normal/hard/hardest.
Quit and quit and save option.
Can rebind keys globally (all games) or on a game by game basis.
Games where applicable allow you to choose arcade/console versions and the region version.
Autofire on/off.
DS4 touchpad.
Great collection of games.
Allows you to actually finish the games!
Settings-sharp/stretch/fullscreen, filter-TV/monitor/off, Border art-on/off.
2 player local support with drop-in/out.
Games:
- Alpha Mission (arcade and home versions)
- Athena (arcade and home versions)
- Crystalis
- Ikari Warriors (arcade and home versions)
- Ikari III: The Rescue (arcade and home versions)
- Guerrilla War (arcade and home versions)
- P.O.W. (arcade and home versions)
- Prehistoric Isle in 1930
- Psycho Soldier
- Street Smart
- T.N.K. III (arcade and home versions)
- Vanguard
- Victory Road (arcade and home versions)
- Chopper I
- Fantasy
- Munch Mobile
- Sasuke vs. Commander
- Time Soldiers
- Bermuda Triangle
- Paddle Mania
- Ozma Wars
- Beast Busters
- SAR: Search and Rescue
- World Wars

Cons:

The game select screen feels underwhelming.
The stretch screen is horrible and does not look good.
No online leaderboards.
Only one border art for each game.
No Platinum trophy.
No cheat mode like infinite lives etc.

9/10

Graphics - 9/10
9/10

Sound - 9/10
9/10

Accessability - 9/10
8/10

Length - 8/10
9/10

Fun Factor - 9/10

8.8/10

Summary

I do love me a good old collection of retro games. Yes, we have had quite the selection of back catalogs the last few years, this time around its SNKs turn. Now I didn’t play the most SNK games except for a few choice sessions on arcade cabs. Booting this up and I was still full of excitement to not only play some classics but also catch up on the missing parts of my heritage. OK the menu is not the nicest going for a full splash screen and you having to just scroll up and down, it’s not as flashy as other collections but fuck it. Now the first nice touch was all the versions I could play! Not only was it arcade or console but also a region on some titles! This again just amps up the excitement and choice because as we all know different regions generally mean different experiences. Video options are the now standard affair of scan lines on/off and stretch screen etc. Be forewarned that stretch screen is a nasty experience and is not ideal. Controls can be tweaked per game or a more global tweak if you are lazy. Where I am going with all this is the catalog of games is good, the options are good but the menu and lack of any online interaction is a let down but overall I can’t stay mad, I love me some collections where they care, just go check out the museum section in game and you will see and hear just how much love went into it. In short, SNK is a must for fans and gamers looking to sample some good old action.