Data East was a titan of the arcade era, and this modern SNES compilation from Piko Interactive serves as a fantastic time capsule for fans of 16-bit variety. It gathers five diverse titles on a single cartridge, ranging from the prehistoric platforming of *Joe & Mac* to the competitive puzzling of *Magical Drop*. While the lack of a software-based menu to swap titles without a physical hardware reset is a minor oversight, the technical execution remains flawless, providing genuine hardware compatibility that ensures these classics run exactly as they did in the early nineties.
The inclusion of *Fighter’s History* remains a highlight, even if its historical legal battles with Capcom’s *Street Fighter* are often more famous than the gameplay itself. However, the real stars for many will be the arcade conversions like *Side Pocket* and *Congo’s Caper*, which showcase the vibrant color palettes and chunky sprites the Super Nintendo was famous for. It is interesting to look back at the wider Data East library from this era, specifically the puzzle-hit *Zoop*; while it was a staple of the 1995 release calendar in the UK and across Europe, the game famously never saw a Super Famicom release in Japan, making the European PAL versions quite significant for collectors.
Ultimately, this collection is more than just a nostalgia trip; it is a vital piece of preservation for titles that have become increasingly expensive to source as individual original cartridges. For those looking to pad out their SNES library with legitimate, high-quality reprints, this bundle offers incredible value for the money. It might miss some of the heavier arcade hitters like *Windjammers*, but as a curated selection of cult gems and quirky platformers, it stands as a testament to an era when Data East was willing to experiment with almost every genre under the sun.
