I just got my hands on Taito Legends 2. I loved it so much I went out and got Capcom volume 2. PS2 versions both of them.
So, Taito Legends 2 totally owns. There are two major downsides that I will get out of the way first:
There is no progressive scan mode. For me, this means I can't play on my Sharp LCD HDTV. The upscan lag is unplayable. Granted I have no desire to play old games on an HDTV, but it does mean I have to move my PS2 whenever I play. Control is perfect on an old TV.
The second downside is how it handles vertical games. The default stretches them horizontally to fill out the screen. Combine this with the fact that an average joe is playing on a 16:9 screen that's set to stretch out 3:4 content and you have a play field that is double-stretched. There is an easy option to restore the proper aspect ratio and play letter boxed, but having the default as "stretch" is retarded. The biggest complaint I have is no support for TATE mode, but I'll live.
The (huge) upside is that the included games are full of awesome and emulation (or ports in some cases as I'd imagine G-Darius is) is perfect. If you are a fan of the included games, you will be stoked.
Options are plentiful as you have full access to the dip switches. Darius Gaiden lets you even set the difficulty level of each individual stage as well as the overall difficulty.
Speaking of Darius Gaiden, the soundtrack alone is worth the $15 the whole package asks for.
The Capcom collection on the other hand does support progressive scan even though it is not indicated on the packaging. The usual suspects are great (SSFIIT, Strider, 1941, etc.) but there were many games that really surprised me. Eco Fighters being one of them. A cool little hori-shmup I've never heard of that supports analogue aiming via the right stick.
There are unlockable bonuses unlike the Taito game, but nothing that irritates you that it's locked in the first place. Most unlockables are game tips, art, and soundtracks.
Again you have dip switch access, but unlike the Taito collection these games don't run (run, not play) exactly like their arcade counterparts. For example, there is no button to insert a coin. Instead a button brings up a start menu, so the games have a sort of front-end tacked on. One cool upside to this is that you can limit your continues if you desire. The default is unlimited.
The slight annoyance is that games stop mid-play whenever you complete a challenge to unlock something. Most of the time this happens at the end of a level so play has paused anyway, but score-based unlocks jump up right in the heat of battle. Oh well.
After the let-down that was the laggy Metal Slug PS2 compilation, these two make me a happy gamer again. Any of you guys have any compilation favorites?
