A trip into Capcom's early forays into the arcade biz, Capcom Generation 3 collects four games into one volume, complete with arcade options giving players control over music, how many lives they have, and even the nifty vertical monitor feature seen in such retro compilations as Namco Museum. Games included are Exed Exes, Pirate Ship Higemaru, Son Son and Vulgus. (Capcom, 199?, for Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn)

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Japanese know a thing or two about retro collections - how to present 'em, what options to include, and picking a fine crop of games to emulate. Capcom Generation 3 is no exception.

Surprisingly, I originally got this game so I could play Exed Exes and Vulgus on the go with my LCD monitor-equipped PS1, but while those games are ported quite well, I fell in love with a hopelessly obscure Japanese-only coin-op, Pirate Ship Higemaru, via this volume. Really. A couple of nights after getting the disc, I started exploring some of the options and the games other than the ones that convinced me to buy it in the first place, and wham, before you know it, I'm a confirmed Higemaru-holic.

The games all play like the real thing - Exed Exes and Vulgus are still maddeningly tough shooters - and there are some nice extra touches, such as concept and cabinet art for each game. The control scheme can be adjusted for each game (and I thank them for this - anymore, virtually all of my Playstation gaming is done with non-standard controllers instead of the Sony D-pads).

Rating:  A whole dollar - trade it in for more quarters, you'll be playing this game a lot.