It's clear from the very start that SNK PlayMore's approach to compilations greatly differs from the SEGA and ATARI rivals. Every piece of gameplay in the package relates either directly or indirectly to progress elsewhere. Each game features it own Goals – an Achievement like system that allows for unlockables both within the currently played game and others on the disc, and claiming ten in total will unlock an additional game. As with other games that have utilised an in-game Achievement system with no global scheme or union with its host system, many may wonder exactly what the point is, however, with a compilation of Arcade classics such as this, it certainly makes more sense than most. "Platform" is a word used to represent many things in the modern industry, and while titles such as LittleBigPlanet and Rock Band do better than most to display such qualities, perhaps releases which act as a vessel for more varied – if simpler – gameplay structures such as SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 could coin the phrase for their overarching mechanics.
