Konami Antiques MSX Collection Ultra Pack

*Originally Written: 8/23/2000, Rewritten: 3/20/2002

Since Konami Antiques MSX Collection Ultra Pack is such a long title, I will henceforth refer to it as KMSX. Anyway, KMSX is a collection of 30 MSX ports. As some of you know, the MSX was a popular Game console/computer type device and was the home of such classics as Metal Gear. The MSX was never released in the Us as far as I know and if it was it saw a very limited release. According to the games on this disc, it appears to be slightly inferior graphics-wise to the NES. However, as I've had no experience with an actual MSX, the real deal might be a little better. I'm sure when you saw that I mentioned that this disc contained 30 games, you got a little excited, well, keep your hopes down. This game is not without it's flaws.

Before reading further, it'd be a good idea to make sure the games contained on this disc are your type of thing. Let's start with a question, do you enjoy classic games? The games on this disc range in age from 1983 to 1989. Obviously, if you are a stickler for graphics you won't find much to like about these classics. They may show their age in looks, but the gameplay still stands the test of time. Well, for many of the games this is true. Some, on the other hand, didn't fare too well in their journey from Arcade to MSX, but I'll get to that shortly. The genres range from shooters such as Gradius to sports such as a ping pong game. There is a little bit of everything, except RPGs of course.

Continuing with the game selection, many of us gamers will recognize some familiar faces such as Gradius, Parodius, Twin Bee, Yie Air Kung Fu, Salamander and many others. Not all the games are "popular", in fact, there were a few I'd never heard of. Thankfully, there doesn't seem to be many "filler" games. With 30 games, however, you are bound to have some duds. There were about three games out of the thirty that I couldn't stand. Of course, your mileage may vary. One word of warning for those looking forward to playing the shooters contained on this disc, they lost a lot in the port to MSX. The scrolling is choppy, there is slow down and the games move quite slowly. The shooters, by far, fared the worst. They are still playable, but they just don't feel right. It is very disorienting trying to play when the screen is scrolling so choppy. It can be very distracting. To get an idea of how annoying it is, think of a skipping music CD or a skipping FMV.The shooters are good for nostalgia purposes, but they aren't as good as the arcade, or even the NES versions. It is a shame, because in my opinion, they are the stars of the disc.

Apart from that, I've got three other complaints. Exiting games is needlessly annoying. You either have to reset the game or do a soft reset. It would've been a lot nicer had the included an option to return to the game selection screen from the pause menu. Complaint number two is a lack of any extras. Sure, there are 30 games to choose from but it would've been nice to have a little museum portion like in the Namco Museum series. Thankfully, the sheer number of games present on this disc save it from that problem truly affecting it. I'd be a lot more disappointed if there were only six games and no museum, but with thirty games, it is just a minor quibble. Now for the big one, Hi Score Saving. Most of us that used to play these classic games knows one of the best parts was trying to beat the high score. Well, if you plan to do that here, break out your pad and pencil as KMSX does not save your high scores. Maybe the MSX versions didn't feature hi score saving either, but the least Konami could've done was add it in for the collection.

Graphics, as stated above, are slightly under NES quality. When speaking of KMSX's good points, one certainly wouldn't mention graphics. This game would've been a lot better had it featured arcade ports, rather than MSX ports. The only games that suffer from the graphics are the shooters, as mentioned above. Normally I don't fuss over graphics, but when they hamper gameplay, there is a problem. The choppy scrolling just ruins the shooters for me. They are mere shells of their former selves. The only positive aspect of the graphics are the very short loading times associated with them. Audio can also be considered a low point for KMSX. The music here is reminiscent of your standard NES game. Some, including me, enjoy it while others clamor for CD quality realistic music. It's all subjective.

Control is average, it usually consists of one to two buttons and the D-Pad. Nothing complex here. All of the games seem to respond well to the controls. No problems here. One word of advice though, If you plan to play Hyper Sports 3, have a rapid fire controller on hand. I admit, I am horrible at button mashing, but I just could not advance in the game. It seems to me as a rapid fire controller would help. Hey, stop laughing!

Other than one or two of the games titles, the game is completely in English. After one or two times playing, you should remember what the Japanese titled games are. After all, there are only two. Instructions on the games, listed in the manual, are however, in Japanese. Thanks to their arcade nature, you should have no trouble figuring out how to play any of them. If you do happen to read Japanese, there are little bits of info on the games in the instruction manual.

Replay value, as always, depends on the type of gamer you are. For the most part, there are no options screens, and in some cases, no continues. This means you have to be quite skilled to beat some of these games. Something that kills the replay value for me, and I'm sure many others, is the lack of a high score save. Well, you can input your name, you just can't save it. That is a no no in my book. So playing for score is pretty much out of it. I suppose you could always write down your high score, but for some reason, it just doesn't hold the same charm. If you really like classic gaming, this disc can keep you busy for a bit, with it's thirty games, but after a while, it is bound to get stale. With the lack of high score saving and nothing to unlock, replay value is rather limited.

Overall, KMSX is a mixed bag. There are some great games, but they aren't exactly the best ports, and in the case of the shooters, they are nowhere near as fun. If you are dying for some old school goodness, this game has a whopping thirty games. Just keep in mind that they are less than stellar ports and that you cannot save your high scores. This game introduced me to two games I probably never would've played, Time Pilot and Antarctic Adventure 2. Those two games made it worth the price of admission alone. Speaking of which, I wouldn't pay more than $30 for KMSX. In fact, I'd recommend not spending above $20. Just my two cents. If the shooters were in better shape and you could save your high scores, this would be one of the best classic game compilations ever released. However, as it stands it is one of the biggest disappointments when it comes to classic gaming compilations. It could've been so much more. What a shame.

©2002 Ed Finnegan

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