Three Wonders

The Good
Gameplay-wise, all three games play very well with their mechanics and are so player friendly in their difficulty, though it does get harder as you progress, though that is to be expected. For instance, in Midnight Wanderers, Lou and Siva can shoot in four directions and in Chariot their rear gauge can act as a shield and ram not unlike the orbital drone from R-Type. Don’t Pull says it all and requires some careful planning in a short amount of time, so you don’t push a block you cannot retrieve afterwards. Fun and brilliant variety to tune your brain and work your fingers in different ways.

The artwork for the bosses looks very reminiscent of Italian-styled art, with a nice steampunk, medieval, fantasy universe plus the cutesy pocket dimension of Don’t Pull, all of which differentiate from any other Capcom game. The music in the game is also very pleasant to the ears, with every stage, every boss and every situation having its own stimulating track while you discharge your firepower (or push blocks in the case of Don’t Pull).

The Bad
Right off the bat, this game of games is severely lacking in availability on consoles of today. Not even the PS4 and Switch have it in Arcade Archives. This happens to one too many arcade games. The ports of the game that did make it in the 90s suffer from graphic quality, so they are not arcade perfect.

My only complaint about the game is that there’s not enough cutscene presentation. Chariot does not open with a cutscene, it just dives into the game. Might have also been nice to have some plot in Don’t Pull, but it really doesn’t need it. Small nitpicks aside, the three wonders are fine just the way they are.

The Bottom Line
This game and its three games packaged within don’t get nearly the reputation and reviews they deserve. I absolutely recommend this one of a kind three bundled game title. It's like having a three course savoury, sour and sweet banquet of gaming. Savour the taste of that game and make sure it lasts. Every arcade ought to have it. It just gets your nostalgia kicking in. Will we ever see super arcade compilations like this in future? Maybe yes, maybe not.