Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits — stories left

Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits received a mixed reception by gaming publications, with the earlier releases praised more and the later Dreamcast version receiving considerably less favorable reviews.

The selection of the titles—except for Bubbles, which received a wide range of responses—were frequently praised, as was the quality of the emulation.

The early computer and PlayStation releases were generally well received, but the last release on the Dreamcast was criticized more.

Reviewing the PC version, Next Generation magazine staff praised the "arcade-perfect" conversions of the compilation's games, particularly the retention of the software bugs, which the reviewer felt were among the best features of the arcade originals.

Critics for Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, and Maximum: The Video Game Magazine praised the arcade-perfect emulation of the games and the strong selection, generally concurring that most of the included games are classics that remain immensely fun.

Maximums reviewer praised the replay value and challenge of all the games sans Bubbles, noting that those aspects elevated Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits above many of the PlayStation titles at the time.

Hsu and Boyer both praised the individual games' gameplay but recommended playing Robotron with a six-button controller as the standard three-button controller made the game too difficult.

GamePros Captain Cameron criticized the gameplay controls, calling them "hit-and-miss", and the compilation's lack of extras compared to Namco Museum.

Writing for Mean Machines Sega, Angus Swan and Matt Yeo praised the collection for its nostalgia and lasting playability.

While the two described the visuals as “basic”, they praised the graphics' speed and quality replication.

Despite the lack of color, he praised the accurate reproduction of the originals' audiovisuals but called the animation "choppy".

GamesMaster magazine's reviewer Robin Alway criticized the Dreamcast release, commenting that the extra features were sparse and illustrated a lack of effort on Midway's part.

While he praised the accurate emulation, Huhtala described the visuals as dated and noted that the tiny pixels could cause headaches.

Reviewing the PC version, Next Generation magazine staff praised the "arcade-perfect" conversions of the compilation's games, particularly the retention of the software bugs, which the reviewer felt were among the best features of the arcade originals.

Tommy Glide of GamePro described Williams Arcade's Greatest Hits as a "true collectible" for retro gaming enthusiasts; conversely, he noted that younger players might be scared off.

Developers from Iguana Entertainment ranked the PlayStation port as their sixth most wanted game in GameFan magazine's July 1996 guest section of its "Most Wanted" feature.

GamePros Captain Cameron criticized the gameplay controls, calling them "hit-and-miss", and the compilation's lack of extras compared to Namco Museum.

Additionally, GamePro senior editor Lawrence Neves ranked it as the tenth "Can’t Miss Title" of the same month.

The first port was to the PlayStation in 1996, with Ayre and Johnson returning as the executive producer and product manager, respectively.

The early computer and PlayStation releases were generally well received, but the last release on the Dreamcast was criticized more.

Developed by a different company, Pocket Studios, the collection features only Joust, Defender, Robotron 2084, and Sinistar.

Reviewing the PC version, Next Generation magazine staff praised the "arcade-perfect" conversions of the compilation's games, particularly the retention of the software bugs, which the reviewer felt were among the best features of the arcade originals.

Hsu and Boyer both praised the individual games' gameplay but recommended playing Robotron with a six-button controller as the standard three-button controller made the game too difficult.