1981 was a pretty good year for video games. The side-scrolling shooter was pretty much invented with the game Cosmic Avenger, and the genre also saw Scramble and a host of others, including this game from SNK, Vanguard. Although it had a somewhat low profile in the arcades, it received a very well done port to the Atari 2600, which I think is how most people know the game. Even though that 2600 port was really good (one of the best arcade ports on the system), this, the arcade version, is a lot better.

You control a spaceship named, appropriately enough, the Vanguard. You can move it in four directions, as well as fire in four different directions. The arcade game used a joystick for movement and 4 buttons for the firing, so it fits perfectly on the PSP (or PS3 controller). You must guide the ship through a large enemy complex until you finally reach the end, where the boss, named Gond, dwells.

Where Vanguard shines is the nature of the complex itself. There are six different zones, all of which play somewhat differently. The first zone you encounter just features enemy ships flying and shooting at you, though you also have the option to dive into an energy power-up, which turns your ship invincible. Another zone has you going through a landscape filled with buildings (with two different paths you can take); another has you flying upwards, scrolling vertically; yet another has you moving diagonally.

For the most part, they all have their own enemies and tactics you must use. Early on, you need to blast a path through enemy ships, but other zones are just about staying alive, shooting enough enemies so your fuel tank doesn’t empty. Some zones can really increase your score by letting you blow up buildings, or strangely, by letting you get hugged by a snakelike enemy.

There are two different layouts for the complex, which alternate as you progress in the game. They both use the same zones, but the second variation is much faster and mostly skips the diagonal regions. While the first layout isn’t easy, on a good day I can make it through to the boss without having to continue. But, the second layout is a lot harder, because it’s just so quick.

For an early game, it’s very colorful, with very cool-looking ships. The sound is also stellar for an early game. It used a fair amount of speech, naming each zone you go into, a warning when the energy power-up is about to expire, as well as a “Bon Voyage” when you first start. There are also some interesting music samples that I didn’t think would make it into this version, which is why I grabbed the game on the first day, just in case.

As with all other G1M2 arcade-to-Mini ports, they let you select different options both for the game itself (in this case, just the number of lives per credit), redefine the controls, stretch the screen vertically to fit the PSP’s screen (if you don’t, you get artwork that fills out the rest), and the ability to save a game state. This handy feature lets you continue a game from wherever you saved. You can continue the first time through the first complex in the game by simply adding more coins, but for the second layout, you can’t. So, the save state function is very handy in letting you explore that.

Still, while the emulation job is solidly done, one of the things I’ve always liked about retro collections is the extra content like the cabinet art, or history of the game, or even just a scoring chart. This lacks all of that. While the basics aren’t hard to figure out, if you didn’t know you had to shoot enemies for fuel, you would die mysteriously, especially as the fuel gauge works backwards—it fills up as you run out and, more importantly, isn’t even labeled. I know these SNK Arcade Classic Minis are only $2.99 each, but retro compilations tend to be $20-30, feature 10 or more games, and have all that stuff.

I am somewhat biased, since it’s been a favorite game of mine for 30 years now and is a main reason I still have an Atari 2600 hooked up to my TV (that and Phoenix, mostly). But, it’s a favorite for good reason. The difficulty is just about right—not too hard, not too easy. The gameplay changes fairly quickly, so you don’t get bored of doing the same thing over and over. If anything, some of the zones are too short.

I think it stacks up quite well with the modern side-scrolling shooters we’ve seen as Minis. The only one I would say is better is Who’s That Flying?!, and while that’s fun, I can’t see myself playing that 5 years from now, much less 30. I’ll still be playing Vanguard 50 years from now.

8.5/10