People who hate on the artwork with this era/system are missing VERY creative game designs. Hollywood Heat is an awesome gem in the rough with incredibly cheesy artwork.

Raven, IMO, is the most vanilla of the set. It's not horrible, but it's not wow'ing anyone either. It's also not so PC and makes for an interesting 80's time capsule containing our hard on for Rambo/Vietnam action pieces. The target based gameplay was supposedly a homage to Firepower, which I can definitely see.

Luckily, it's a cheap game. So if you're worried about "investments" in this hobby, it doesn't get less risky than this.

Re: SMB -- Part of Gottlieb's issue has always been...and I am always saying this...the flippers. Although I wouldn't compare System 3's consistent design decisions to other eras. There were a lot of awkward design decisions...some pretty creative...some that add to the "clunkiness" I think you're feeling. SF2 is still a very lovable pig. So is SMB (flame suit on...I think the SMB tables get more of a pass than the other System 3's just because of its theme...but that's another thread).