The next Arcade Archives release has been announced, as reported by Famitsu.
Taito's 1986 arcade shooter Land Sea Air Squad (otherwise known in Japan as Riku Kai Kū Saizensen and in Europe as Storming Party) will arrive on Nintendo Switch & PS4 this week, on March 27th.
Often compared to games like Capcom's Commando and SNK's Ikari Warriors, Land Sea Air Squad is a vertical shooter that sees players take control of a soldier, referred to in the marketing as "Sergeant Sarge", who must use a combination of infantry, navy and air equipment to attack various enemy strongholds and turn the tide of war. This includes helicopters, tanks, and gunships.
As you might expect, players initially start out on foot, with vehicles being found strewn about the levels as blinking icons. In total, there are eight levels to play through, with the game simply repeating once you reach the end.
Here's the description provided:
"Command this elite squad comprised of infantry, navy and air force to attack the enemy strongholds.
The player takes control of sergeant Sarge, in a stage-based game where he must blast through every obstacle using grenades, machine guns and even vehicles in the most realistic battle ever fought on a 1986 video screen!The "Arcade Archives" series has faithfully reproduced many classic Arcade masterpieces.
Players can change various game settings such as game difficulty, and also reproduce the atmosphere of arcade display settings at that time. Players can also compete against each other from all over the world with their high scores. Please enjoy the masterpiece that built a generation for video games."
Besides its initial release in the arcades, the game hasn't been reissued all that often, with perhaps the most notable rerelease being its appearance on the Japan-exclusive Taito Memories II Gekan for PS2.