Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

The first hour is satisfying because this is not one shooter stretched thin; it is four related games waiting for you to compare them. Super Star Soldier opens the door to the collection, while Final Soldier, Star Parodier, and Soldier Blade give you immediate reasons to keep sampling instead of treating the package like a museum shelf. Moving through releases from 1990 to 1992 makes the compilation feel purposeful rather than padded.

The strongest reason to own it is the chance to spend real time with the full PC Engine run. A single entry might be an afternoon’s rediscovery, but four gives you room to find the one that fits your taste and return to it. Star Parodier also prevents the lineup from feeling like a rigid chronological march, simply by standing as its own named branch within the set.

Hudson’s inclusion of the Final Soldier and Soldier Blade Special Versions matters. These were used for the company’s Games Caravan events, so they add a direct connection to the competitive side of the series rather than serving as disposable extras. The technique and hint videos narrated by Takahashi Meijin are equally welcome: when you hit the point where enthusiasm turns into “how do I get better at this?”, the collection has guidance built in.

This is a package for the gamer who enjoys learning a shooter through repetition and comparison. If you only want one modernized game with a broad range of modes, the focused archive format may feel narrow. If four concentrated PC Engine shooters and their contest-era variants sound like a good way to spend a weekend, it is remarkably easy to sink into.

Graphics

You are looking at a run of PC Engine games released between 1990 and 1992, gathered on PSP without turning them into a single remade product. The sci-fi and futuristic framing stays consistent across the collection, while Star Parodier gives the lineup a welcome change of name and character among the more directly titled Soldier games.

Story

The thread connecting these games is series history, not a new compilation-wide tale. Super Star Soldier begins the included run in 1990, Final Soldier follows in 1991, and Star Parodier and Soldier Blade close it out in 1992. Playing in that order gives the set a natural sense of progression.

The sci-fi/futuristic genre label is enough to establish a shared arcade setting, but the collection’s real narrative is Hudson’s own. You are tracing a publisher’s shooter series across four releases, then stepping into two versions tied to its Games Caravan events.

Takahashi Meijin’s technique and hint videos add useful context to that history. They do not replace the games themselves, but they make the package feel curated by people who understood that these releases were meant to be studied as well as played.

Overall Experience

PC Engine Best Collection: Soldier Collection is a strong retro compilation because it has a point of view. It collects the complete PC Engine portion of Star Soldier named here, includes two event-specific Special Versions, and adds advice material instead of stopping at the baseline four-game bundle.

Its limitation is also its charm: this is a tightly aimed shooter collection. You need to want arcade action and the pleasure of revisiting closely related games from the same series. In return, you get enough variety to avoid the “I have already seen this” fatigue that can hit single-game reissues.

For Star Soldier fans, it is an easy recommendation. For anyone curious about Hudson’s PC Engine shooter output, it is an unusually convenient place to start, especially because the Special Versions and Takahashi Meijin videos turn a simple anthology into a small piece of preserved arcade culture. The payoff is well worth it if you enjoy returning to a game with a little more knowledge each time.

Retro Replay Score

8.2/10