At first it seems refreshing for a compilation to focus on just five games, or in this case, three games and two sequels. Then again, Capcom is more famous for shooting and fighting genres than straining the grey matter. It's no surprise that the puzzle games the company did produce still contain plenty of action.
Saving the best till last, first up is Block Block, originally released in 1991, and not exactly revolutionary in featuring a paddle bouncing a ball to destroy blocks. 15 years after the original Breakout, Block Block moved the genre on by introducing a two-player co-op mode, and a bat which shrinks over time, making it important to clear screens quickly. And 16 years after it's original arcade release, it still does exactly what it says on the tin. It's perfect for a quick five minutes, or for amusing the young, or elderly and infirm, with adequate graphics, rapidly annoying ricochet sound effects, and just the slightly 'twitchy' nature of the PSP stick to contend with. It's a sign of the lack of updates that the D-pad actually works better with a game designed for old digital arcade joysticks.
Going back further in time, but offering more depth, is the classic Buster Bros (also known as Pang). Your Buster brother is tasked with destroying balloons, (probably evil) that are terrorizing various capital cities and scenic locations around the world by bouncing around. Matters are complicated by the fact your harpoon gun fires vertically, necessitating sudden dashes to get in front of a balloon in time to fire.
You'll also occasionally encounter ladders to hamper your progress around each screen, and bonuses including extra lives, force fields and dynamite. Buster Bros has a lot of charm, and is surprisingly tricky to begin with, requiring some patience and planning to avoid being killed by a popping balloon. The graphics of the original actually work very well on the small screen of the PSP, and like many classic arcade games, it's annoyingly addictive.
It's joined on the UMD by Super Buster Bros, which adds two players, monsters which can kill both the payer and balloons, and Panic Mode, which sees an endless rain of bubbles for the player to pop. And the 1995 instalment, Buster Buddies also makes an appearance, although somehow the newest version is the most graphically dated. Strangely 2000's Mighty! Pang is absent.
But unless you're a hardcore Buster Bros fan, there's one game this compilation will be bought for, and that's Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo, which combines falling blocks with super deformed characters from Capcom's famous Streetfighter series, and slightly less famous Darkstalkers.
Each block consists of a pair of gems, which can be rotated, and only removed by a crash gem of the same colour. Every time these are removed, which individually, or in a chain reaction, counter gems are dropped on your opponent, which are dormant until their counters have dropped from five to one. Every so often a diamond block falls, which destroys all gems of that colour, and putting together four or more gems of the same colour in a square or rectangle forms a power gem which magnifies the damage inflicted.
It's simple but spellbinding whether playing against the computer or a human opponent (including over an internet connection). The joy of seeing a huge number of blocks drop on your opponent is double by watching your Super Deformed characters battle according to the flow of the game.
It's actually the HD Remix version of Super Puzzle Fighter on the disc, which includes upgraded graphics, levels and endings, plus two extra modes. Y mode makes gems break as soon as three are aligned in a row, whereas Z mode switches things to have a 2x2 square to rotate blocks as they rise from the bottom of the screen.
Extras include illustrations for all the games, including some great Super Puzzle Fighter images, plus an amusing show reel demo, and multiplayer modes for all the games. But really this is one for Super Puzzle Fighter fans who need a fix when they're away from their Playstation. And sadly the limited appeal of three Buster Bros games, and an old breakout style game drag the overall value of the package down.
Top Game Moment: Seeing your first special move attack in Super Puzzle Fighter.
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