on one disc - it can be an effective way to get products that you’ve already developed

on the shelves to get more attention. So Konami jammed together three of their own offerings

in an appeal to the days of physical media: Frogger, Super Contra, and Castlevania: Symphony

of the Night. All three received remakes from their original versions, courtesy of Digital

Eclipse - who you may remember from the Capcom Classics series I recently churned my way

through. Visual upgrades abound - though by “upgrades,” they usually mean “smoothing

effects and maybe some more impressive explosions.” Frogger, the oldest of the three games, offers

only the new-style visuals and audio instead of having an option for the original.

Yep, it’s still Frogger. Super Contra at least gives you the option, but - as I mentioned

in my review of the game proper - is based on the original arcade version rather than

the more familiar Super C for the NES. As was typical of the era, there are lots of

differences, and it can be tough to approach, even if you were fairly adept at the home

version. Granted, “Adept at the home version” as it applies to Contra games usually means

“Capable of punching in Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A” at intervals,

a capacity which - to my research - isn’t available in this arcade version. Some sites

have this cheat listed, but I was unable to get it to work. So you go through with limited

lives and limited continues, and unless you’ve memorized enemy locations, you’re gonna

have significant difficulty getting anywhere. But hey, at least there’s weird blurry effects

any time you blow up a hostile. That’s gotta count for something!

Rather lackluster versions of Super Contra and Frogger aside, Castlevania: Symphony of

the Night is the real star of this show. Being the most recent of the offerings, it didn’t

need as much in the way of a tune-up, though the vocal performance is just as laughable

as it’s always been. (I haven’t heard the PSP version, though, so I’ll leave that

out of my judgment.) Castlevania’s usually 10 bucks, and you can get this compilation

disc for at most fifteen or maybe cheaper, meaning you’re basically getting Super Contra

and Frogger at a discount. And, hey, achievements are achievements. And you’ll have Symphony

of the Night on physical media, as opposed to potentially losing your hard drive to sunspots

or roving bands of maladjusted IT staff wielding panel-beating mallets. You can never be too

careful, after all.