Ever wonder why Sony locks you out of running emulators on your PSP? It's so you'll buy games like Capcom Puzzle World, which compiles a handful of old brick 'n bubble c♛oಌin-ops on one UMD. Good thing they made it well worth the $30.

We suspect the compilation is called "Capcom Puzzle World" because "Buster Bros. World " wouldn't have sold as many copies - bu🌳t three of 🍌the five games come from that coin-op franchise.

The original BB is an uncluttered "pop the balloons with your spear" affair that's still fun despite its uber simplicity; Super Buster Bros. adds fancy backgrounds and an extra "play until you die" mode to amp things up a bit; Buster Buddies combines bits o▨f the first two along with hallucinogens. There's no other way to explain the strange plot about a pig in a tuxedo collecting art treasures. Hey, do you wan𓃲t your Japanese games comprehensible or fun?

The fourth wonder of this World is Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, wherein Ryu, Morrigan and a few other punchy-kicky stars trade blows by matching colored gems. This modern classic alone would make Puzzle World worth its very reasonable asking price, but Capcom's sweetened the deal with two altern♍ate modes of play, available in the US for the first time.

One alters the gem-dropping to behave like Columns, where three gems in a line disappear; the other challenges you to rotate 2x2 blocks of gems to create chains and clear the board. Both felt surprisingly fun; it's ꦫcool to play an old favorite in truly new ways.

Finally, there's Block Block, a break-bricks-with-ball game that steals its soul from Arkanoid, which in turn was ripping off Breakout. Don't dismiss it - it's more fun (and faster) than it initia𒁃lly looks, especially if you rotate the vertical playfield and play your PS🉐P sideways.

The analog stick tries, but can't replicate the arcade original's knob control, so prepare🎃 for some twitchy paddle is𒅌sues. They're worth enduring; this one's a lost treasure.