Retro Re-release Roundup, week of December 14, 2023
Hamster completes the Arcade Archives Aero Fighters trilogy.
I ought to mention that Japan got quite a few ports of obscure old games this week, including a trio of Taito laserdisc games, a second collection of games from Telenet’s RPG series Cosmic Fantasy and Warashi’s junk-tossing shooting game Triggerheart Exelica, known for being one of the very last official Dreamcast games ever released, but they’re all confirmed to be getting an international release at some point and don’t currently have English localizations, so I figure people would probably elect to wait for their respective worldwide releases. Luckily for all y’all, Xanadu came pre-translated!
ARCADE ARCHIVES
Aero Fighters (Sonic Wings)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
- Price: $7.99 / €6.99 / £6.29
- Publisher: Hamster / Video System
What’s this? The first entry in Video System’s popular trilogy-and-change of lighthearted military-themed vertically-scrolling shooting games, originally released in arcades in 1992 and adapted for Super Nintendo the following year, with questionable emulated reissues produced for PlayStation 2 and on the recent Astro City Mini V plug-and-play desktop arcade replica; players control one of eight WWII-era aircraft, each piloted by an outlandish character and equipped with unique bomb-style special attacks, in order to repel a mysterious invading force. (The ACA version allows players to choose from the full character roster irrespective of 1P/2P controller, and also allows the player to turn off the default randomisation of the first few stages in favor of a fixed stage order.)
Why should I care? You want to play a straightforward shooting game that’s specifically engineered for snappy play: the stages are short, the boss fights are brief and the combination of a wide variety of player-ships and a randomised first-half stage order helps to reduce the initial monotony of running the beginning of the game over and over. It also benefits from using a true vertically-oriented display ratio, unlike the awkward but unavoidable “vertizontal” ratio of the Neo Goe-based sequels.
Useless fact: The sequel to Aero Fighters was originally developed and even publicly demoed for dedicated, vertically-oriented hardware a la the original but, due to a change in managerial policy, the game was forcibly retooled and eventually released for Neo Geo, but not without several of the key creators quitting in protest and forming their own shooting game studio names Psikyo…
EGG CONSOLE
Xanadu (PC-8801mkIISR)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (worldeide)
- Price: $6.49 / ¥880
- Publisher: D4 Enterprise / Nihon Falcom
What’s this? An exploratory action-RPG, developed by Nihon Falcom for NEC’s PC-8801 computer in 1985 and converted for several other Japanese computers, with subsequent enhanced quasi-remakes for PC-9801, Windows and Sega Saturn, as well as sequels and nominally related games for various games, most notably Hudson’s in-name-only take, Faxanadu. Players are tasked with ascending a ten-floor tower in order to slay the dragon king at the top; in addition to side-view exploration and encounter-based overhead combat using a simple contact-based “bump” system, the game challenges players to wrestle with various character parameters in order to survive and attain the strength to achieve victory, which include dual experience systems for magic use and combat, a proficiency system for equipment, a hunger system and a karma system that judges the player for actions deemed immoral. (The EGG Console version offers a scene select for each floor of the game, as well as an English how-tp-play that I would like to presume is informative, or at least legible; there’s also a patch coming next week to allow for USB keyboard support when playing in docked mode.)
Why should I care? Aside from being the first-ever console release of the authentic, original version of a game that maintains the record of the best-selling boxed Japanese computer game of all time, Xanadu encapsulates an era of nascent Japanese RPG design that synthesised influences from western computer RPGs, arcade games and a tendency towards meticulous routing of one’s every action — and, for those who might enjoy the idea of approaching the game as one giant optimization puzzle, it offers a meaty challenge that stays within the realms of scrutability.
Useless fact: In commemoration of this reissue, Meteos creator Masahiro Sakurai shared a photo of the official clear certificate they received from Falcom for beating Xanadu back in the day… and it’s marked #00008, meaning they’re on record as being the 8th person to have ever verifiably cleared a game that was by no means easy to clear.
NINTENDO SWITCH ONLINE EXPANSION PASS
December ’23 update: 1080 Snowboarding, Harvest Moon 64 & Jet Force Gemini (Nintendo 64)
What’re these? Nintendo EAD’s popular and atypically tend-hopping snowboarding game, the second entry in the slow-life farming series now known as Story of Seasons and Rare’s kludgy, vaguely-anime-esque exploratory third-person shooter (and yes, it’s actually out worldwide).
Why should I care? Well, you may not have noticed that they’ve been available for almost a week, for one. My bad!
Useless fact: If memory serves, we’ve officially exhausted the announced list of N64 games scheduled for NSO+, so from here on out, we’re flying blind.
OTHER
Komajou Remilia: Strangers Requiem
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam (worldwide)
- Price: $29.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: CFK
What’s this? A remaster of the second game in a series of Castlevania-homage Touhou fangames, developed by doujin circle Frontier Aja and originally released on PC as Komajou Densetsu II in 2010; this new version sports HD-compliant visuals, full voice acting, a new boss rush and the inclusion of the player-character from the previous game, among other enhancements.
Why should I care? The popularity of these “Touhouvania” games in their day seemed directly proportionate to the dearth of Castlevania-inspired games out there, linear or otherwise, so now that we live in an era where one can’t take a step without tripping over five games that look and play a lot like this one, I wonder if they still hold the appeal they once did… for what it’s worth, this game’s even more linear than the last one, so you’re not just looking at an identikit SoTN clone.
Useless fact: The illustrator for this series goes by the not-at-all-conspicuous handle of Banpai Akira…
DON’T TELL NINTENDO
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX HD, courtesy of some mysterious individuals
Ever wanted to play Link’s Awakening at ultra-wide, the-entire-game’s-one-screen-now resolution and super-high framerates? Well, I’m sure Nintendo would rather you didn’t, so download this while you can.
ROM HACKS & TRANSLATION
OtherCastle2 (Super Castlevania IV hack) by bogaa
Castlevania IV has finally been granted everything it deserved from the jump: extra-challenging swinging sections, incongrous transformations and genre shifts and bosses with funny hats.
JOHN ROMERO’S STILL AT IT
SIGIL II (DOOM episode), out now
John Romero’s back with another new, unofficial-but-kinda-official DOOM megawad, SIGIL II aka Episode 6, designed to represent the absolute peak of quasi-official challenge and designed primarily for those people who haven’t ever stopped playing classic DOOM at any point over the last three decades. The WAD itself can be downloaded for free, with an inexpensive paid version offering an exclusive in-WAD soundtrack, and Romero’s offering a few different big-box physical versions if they’re your jam. (Bethesda’s also added this episode to their recent Unity-wrapped DOOM ports as an officially-supported WAD, so you should be able to play it on consoles right now.)
SOUNDTRACKS & VINYL
NiGHTS into dreams… (Sega Saturn) 2LP vinyl soundtrack from Data Discs
- Price: £31.99 (translucent purple) / £39.99 (purple/white splatter+bonus 7″)
- Availability:ETA March 2024
Data Discs’ series of Sega soundtracks continues with the first-ever vinyl release for Sonic Team’s beloved Sega Saturn dreamscape looper, NiGHTS into dreams…; this package includes a glow-in-the-dark cover sleeve, new liner notes from composers Tomoko Sasaki and Naofumi Hataya and, if you buy the pricier set, an extra 7″ with the kids’ and instrumental versions of the game’s famous vocal track, “Dreams Dreams”.
