GENRE
	Adventure
	DEVELOPER
	Capcom/Sensory Sweep
	PUBLISHER
	Capcom
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1
	CONNECTIVITY
	No
	BUY NOW AT

Retro compilations are becoming a constant for almost any game system on the market, and Game Boy Advance has already seen its fair share. With a backlog to rival nearly any software-maker's collection, Capcom is now offering Capcom Classics Mini Mix for GBA, which is notably a collection of NES titles, not arcade ports, as are most of its other currently-available compilations. Strider, Bionic Commando, and Mighty Final Fight fill the roster, each offering a distinct gameplay experience, just like they did when they were originally released.

visuals

Every pixel of 8-bit glory has been recaptured for the portable screen. Since each game is from a different point in the NES's life cycle, it's understandable that sprites in Mighty Final Fight look more organized than those in Bionic Commando. The screen is a bit stretched because of the slight difference in aspect ratio between the GBA and a regular TV screen, but this is hardly a noticeable imperfection.

audio

The classic five-channel tunes are back in full force, with some holding up better than others. GBA is more than equipped to handle the demands on its sound chip, and the sounds and music are those of the original games.

gameplay

While Capcom Classics Mini Mix is a compilation of NES games, what is surprising is that all of the featured games are ports of arcade games; in many ways, each game shows how the home gaming experience was and would continue to be distinct from that of the arcade.

Bionic Commando: What was an average-to-good arcade game became one of the most inventive platformers of its, or any, generation. Eschewing the passé jumping of other Mario-inspired 2D side-scrollers, Bionic Commando instead required use of the hero's Bionic Arm, which allowed him to climb surfaces or swing across gaps. In addition, the game became a template for the action-RPG genre, allowing players to increase their stats by collecting the bullets dropped by defeated enemies. This title further distinguished itself by being possibly the only video game ever to feature Hitler's face melting off.

Strider: While it featured some of the same settings and characters from the original arcade game, the similarities ended there. Strider on the NES shared more aspects with Zelda II or Simon's Quest than it did with its first incarnation. Selectable stages became more accessible as Strider Hiryu found tools and equipment hidden across the globe.

Mighty Final Fight: Many consider this NES port of the arcade beat-em-up to be superior to the 16-bit version. All three Final Fight fighters are playable, although the action is limited to one player. An experience-building system and a heftier roster of moves gave this game another slight advantage over its bigger brother; plus, its super-deformed art style helped make up for the difference in graphical muscle.

All of the games on Capcom Classics Mini Mix were great in their respective times and still hold up today. One glaring flaw, though, needs to be addressed: there is no save feature of any kind on the cartridge. While Strider originally had a password function, which is still usable, the other two games must be played through in one sitting in order to be completed. Not an impossible task, but for a portable game, this can become a problem. While putting a battery backup into a GBA cartridge does cost money, the story-based nature of all three of these games demands some way to save progress, especially when playing on the go. Even a sleep feature, which has been implemented on several Nintendo GBA titles, would have helped to make up for this lack.

multiplayer

N/A

overall

Despite a lack of any bonus features, Capcom Classics Mini Mix is still a worthy title for any old-school collector-- no NES GBA SP or Famicom Game Boy Micro would be complete without this game-- and any serious gamer who hasn't played these titles should think about picking this up. The absence of a save feature hurts the Mini Mix in a big way, but considering that the NES Classic GBA series offered a total of one game on one cartridge for the same price instead of three, the sting doesn't seem quite as bad.

7/10