With the arrival of Marvel MAXimum Collection on current-gen consoles (PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch) for the very reasonable price of $25 USD, I’m one step closer to envisioning my virtual dream arcade in the comfort of my own home. As a young gaming adult in the nineties, I voraciously played the latest arcade co-op games with my brothers and friends, particularly those from Konami.
Deluxe-scale, multiplayer arcade cabinets built for simultaneous 4-player beat-‘em up action were all the rage back then, and the licensed, Konami-published games that powered them, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Arcade Game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time and The Simpsons: The Arcade Game, were already legendary quarter-munchers. These games were “experiences,” and I made sure to have at least $10 in my pocket so that I could be sure to beat the game at least once or twice and roll credits alongside my comrades.
Nothing, however, could have prepared me for... Read more