Teksette

Zelda! Zeldaa!!!
That commercial actually got me to buy the game ! 😅

LOZ and Skykid, bought at the end of a trip to Disney World. When we got home Skykid was fun but I couldn’t believe how good Zelda was. I figured that must have been why they pulled out all the stops with that bizarre commercial.
so much better than what I imagined

@MontyCircus
I’m able to access the Hamster website. I googled and got in no problem.
Maybe they changed a URL you had bookmarked?
https://www.hamster.co.jp/

I never would have guessed this game appeared in the West. I imagine I would have tried it for sure in an arcade back in the day - it looks like some Pengo-style fun, and I dig the music. It looks like good 2-player fun! 😸

Hamster prez Hamada-shachō said that this is only the 2nd home port of this game, after its appearance on the Xbox 360.

I love Hamster’s Arcade Archiver livestream! Every Thursday morning I’m listening to it as I get ready for work - they introduce that week’s release, often invite some of the game’s creators to the studio for Q&A and stories, and share archival material like this Märchen Maze early footage. Hamster’s president Hamada-shachō chairs each show and truly loves bringing us these arcade games every week. I’m a Japanese speaker and just watch the show in straight Japanese, but if there’s some kind of live translation app available, I’d highly recommend arcade fans check it out! It runs everyThursday from like 7-11pm Japan time, on Hamster’s YouTube channel.

Märchen Maze actually was one of the arcade titles on the Wii’s virtual console. I passed on it then but invested this time. It’s a quality arcade challenge, with some nice music. Something different from all the shmups I’ve been getting from Hamster lately! Märchen is really one of Namco’s most fondly-remembered games in Japan. A couple of Japanese retro gamers I listen to on YouTube were waiting for this release.

Märchen Maze is a fondly remembered Namco classic and a great addition to Ake-Aka. I never did pick it up on the Wii, but I won’t hesitate this time!

I thought Imamura-sensei was solely to thank for all the classic Ame-comi -styled F-Zero art. How interesting to learn that Valiant Comics pros collaborated!

I’m sure I encountered Mr. Nichol’s art in the many comics I read back in the 80s and 90s. I hope he left this world feeling proud of sharing his talent and imagination with so many young readers. May he rest in peace.

I enjoy watching Hamster’s Ake-Aka stream every week, where they often chat about the game of the week with the original developers. You can feel the genuine love that Mr. Hamada and his guests have for these vintage arcade games. Most of their audience are in their 50s or thereabouts, so I feel right at home. 😅

@PKDuckman
It was a bit of work to navigate Japanese websites and create a Jpn eShop account, and then actually purchasing eShop funds is a bit of an adventure since you can’t use non-Japanese credit cards (you have to buy and redeem eShop point card codes from sellers like Playasia). But for me the effort was eminently worth it, for access to Japan-exclusive games like this, the Japan NSO offerings, and deals during their eShop sales.

FWIW, Nintendo Life published a very helpful walkthrough for Jpn account creation here:

https://www.nintendolife.com/guides/how-to-buy-nintendo-switch-games-from-any-region-eshop-create-a-japanese-north-american-european-and-australian-nintendo-account

I was already elated that Hamster gave us the Xmas gift of the first-ever home port for the SDF Macross arcade game, so I couldn’t stifle a happy shout during the livestream this morning when Hamada-shachō announced this sequel, too!

I fell in love with Robotech as a kid in the eighties, and grew to love the source Macross series of anime even more after I learned Japanese as a young adult. I’ll be buying these arcade ports for Switch/Switch Deux without hesitation. Hopefully by the time Macross II comes out, I’ll have beaten the first game (I heard you have to clear all stages twice to do so - no easy feat when its difficulty ramps up proportionate to how well you play).

The SDF Macross arcade game is based directly on the “Macross: Do You Remember Love?” feature film, but I was a little disappointed to hear it uses so little of that film’s excellent music. Nor can you switch between fighter/gerwalk/battroid modes freely (you have to collect power-ups to change modes). But the game’s original BGM is really catchy, the pixel art is top-notch, and players in Japan really like the game for its high quality and its fairness compared to many of the more punishing schmups of the early-mid 90’s. I’ll give this game a fair shot, for sure.

Maybe Hamster and Bandai-Namco can even bring us the Macross Plus arcade game someday!

I’ve never seen or played this one, but it looks really good! Beautiful sprite work, and a relatively recent game (1995) for Ake-Aka.

During the Arcade Archiver stream this morning, Hamada-shachō confirmed that this is the very first home port for this 29-year-old game.

Cool! I think I rented Buster Douglas Boxing back in the day. I had no idea Sega licensed it from Taito.
Another nice Taito addition to AkeAka’s endless catalog, even if I do remember having more boxing fun with Tyson’s Punch-Out and Ring King, though.

I ordered the Wolf/Skull special edition (“Pincer Attack Box”) mainly to get the soundtrack CD, but this fan book is looking good! I’ll peruse it for sure in my spare time this winter.

I gotta say, City Connection is really burning it up lately, at least in Japan. I bought Batsugun from them last year, Leynos 2, Hebereke, and Omega 6 earlier this year, Wolf/Skull on Halloween, and Under Defeat in December.

Yes, awesome news! I was tuned in to the Hamster Arcade Archiver livestream this morning and they brought in frequent guest Udetsu-san from Bandai-Namco to make a announcement commemorating Ake-Aka's 400th game release (Metamorphic Force) in 400 weeks. He revealed the celebratory title as this Macross arcade game just as I was punching the time clock to start work!

Dec 26th I will be on Japanese eshop and buy this without hesitation. I bet it will be a 1500 yen release like the Mazinger-Z game. Hamster is doing god-tier work with their publisher partners. Here's to 400 more - ganbare!!

Egappi-san, please bring Zoo Keeper to the Egret II Mini and/or Hamster’s Arcade Archives! Please don’t let this early arcade classic languish in the past!
(My Zoo Keeper Quarter Arcade hasn’t delivered from the UK yet. Taito must have gotten express shipping.)

@gojiguy I saw that Darius sale, so not only did I get AkeAka Darius 2, but also picked up and Dariusburst CS Core + Taito/Sega Pack for a bargain. I ordered that Dariusburst physically from Strictly Limited Games like 2 years ago and I’m still waiting for that to deliver, so this cheap eshop pickup will hold me over nicely.

@MontyCircus
Hey Monty! Yeah, I actually have the Darius Cozmic Collection at home and play it occasionally, but I think the Darius II on there is the 2-screen width version, not the stretch 3-screen version AkeAka brought us. Plus I just wanted to double-dip for easier access to the game, as I did with the OG Darius. Can’t get enough of blasting space fish battleships, I guess!

This December’s Taito Milestones 3 will be the first from that series I buy. I can’t squander the chance to own the Rastan trilogy physically!

Ooo I’ll have to grab Darius II for sure, especially since I could never play it on the Taito Egret II Mini I splurged on a couple years ago.

“I always wanted a thing called tuna sashimi!”

Ooo I heard others rave about this game, and it piqued my interest instantly. Here’s hoping it arrives on a Switch console eventually, and gets a physical release!

Whoa this is unexpected! This reminds me I never read the Cobra manga, but oh man did I love the 80s TV show, and I was thinking not long ago how cool it would’ve been to have a Cobra action/adventure game.

The peeks at cut scenes and Cobra’s psychogun look promising, so I’m guardedly optimistic for this game. But it’s such a beloved IP (at least in Japan) that I hope they do it justice. Hopefully they get plenty of input from Japan, though Cobra creator Terasawa-sensei and the TV anime director Osamu Dezaki have both passed away already.
Please license some of that great jazzy music from the TV show!

I watched the livestream with great anticipation Thursday, but overall I felt a little let down.

It started off well, as the first reveal was Galactic Storm, a 3D shooter with lots of pseudo Gundam and Macross enemies and quality Zuntata BGM. It’s similar to Sega’s Galaxy Force games.
Later I was glad to see Mr. Do!, a Universal game that Taito published a version of, and one of my favorite Colecovision games. It’s like Taito’s version of Dig-Dug.
Aqua Jack was another 3D on-rails shooter that looked fun - you coast and jump around in an armed hovercraft, blasting away at tanks and patrol boats.
I’ll probably play Top Landing a little, since it’s perfect for the Cyber-Stick analog controller I bought for the Egret and my Sega MD Mini 2.
And Akkanvader looks like a decent cute-em-up version of Space Invaders.

There were games by Seibu Kaihatsu and Kaneko in this mix, too, so it was interesting to see Taito port them. Maybe more third party games will come in the future? Mr. Do’s Castle?

That said, I’m truly bummed we didn’t get Chase HQ! Taito’s producer on the Egret II Mini project, Egappi-san, glanced through fan’s requests and comments during the livestream, and saw that everyone was clamoring for Chase HQ. He acknowledged and said he’d love to bring that and other games up the Egret, but said regretfully that it’s “just the times we live in,” as if some kind of licensing prevented it, or that the higher ups wouldn’t fund getting the game or manufacturing a steering wheel controller. He seemed downbeat to me. I wonder now if we’ll get an Arcade Memories Vol. 4, or if this is the end of the line for the Egret.

I hope I’m wrong and they announce vol.4 and it comes with Chase HQ, even if we can’t get a steering wheel.

I’ll definitely be tuning in that day - I love watching these Arcade Memory lineup reveals. Sega’s reveals for the MD Mini 2 were fun to watch, too, a few years ago.

Here’s hoping for a steering wheel accessory and some Chase HQ games (Chase HQ, SCI, and Super Chase HQ)! Other good additions would be 3D shooter Galactic Storm, beat-em-up Arabian Magic, or some more shooters like Flying Shark or Ray Storm. And I say it every year, but I’m praying they bring out Zoo Keeper! But that was a Taito USA game and probably hasn’t much of a following in Japan.

The end of the Japanese Twitter post teases that the livestream will feature some additional “new info” beyond just the reveal of the 10 games. Hmm…. maybe new hardware, like that Chase HQ steering wheel? Or, based on their survey early this year, Taito may be considering bringing 3rd party games to the Egret. Maybe there’ll be a collab! Or possibly a train controller with a bunch of their Densha de Go! games (which would not really excite me).

On the Arcade Archiver stream this morning Hamada-san showed that their release includes both the Japanese and Western versions of the game. I wasn’t able to hear if he covered the differences between the versions, as I listen in the car on the way to work.
I imagine they changed the names of some boxers. In the Jpn version, the main character is Rocky and one of the rivals is Drago!

Edit: Also during the stream, Taito reps announced that the next Taito game coming to AA will be Ninja Kids, coming on Aug 22nd. It’s a quirky belt-scrolling beat-em-up, that’s been decent fun to play on my Egret II Mini.

He never should have mass-distributed his project, let alone paywalled it. You can’t play with Nintendo’s toys without permission, and then tell the world about it!

Get your own toys, or keep it to yourself. Sheesh.

Look like great follow ups to Assault Suit Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute, which came out in Japan not long ago. I was thrilled to see that come to Switch, though I haven’t played my copy yet.

These games I saw in Japanese game shops back in the day, but never bought for my Saturn. I may check them out later this year!

What—!?? I loved Jackal on the NES but never knew there was a coin-op!
I most certainly will check out this Arcade Archive release.

I never used Norimaru much anyway, back then (was it Dreamcast? PS2?)
The playable boss characters in MSH will be nice! I’m just thrilled to see these dream collab licensed games make a return.

Thank you for caring, Capcom!!

I never encountered Rastan 2 in the arcades, and it’s no wonder as it really seems to lack the flow and style of the original. Still, I’m glad to see Hamster port it. Maybe it’s decent enough to get, especially if it could lead to Rastan III (Warrior Blade) coming out!

I like the concept and I’m tempted now to finally take the plunge into the Evercade platform, but the lack of a trackball and spinner is such a letdown. If I’m going to play arcade games, I’d want to include the classic Atari era games, and not with clunky joystick control. I’ll pass for now.

This was a fun read that makes me nostalgic for my old 2nd hometown, Osaka. I spent 8 years there in the late 90s - early 00s, and I probably would’ve been a lifer had my family not talked me into coming home.

I played a lot of PS1, Saturn, GC, Dreamcast, and PS2 games back then and I did plenty of game and anime shopping. I loved hitting all the corner video and game stores looking for good deals on laserdiscs or something fun to play. Game shops were all over the city and chock full of pristine used inventory or super cheap bin sales loaded with Famicom cartridges. Japanese-speaking gaijin shoppers like me were relatively rare then, so it was fun to chat with the store clerks and get recommendations. I loved those pre-internet, brick-and-mortar days! I was just a casual shopper though, buying stuff to play, not to flip.

I’m not surprised to hear that modern demand for retro games coupled with the super weak yen has decimated Japanese game shop shelves. That’s supply and demand for you, in an age when you can buy nearly anything you want online.

Ooo that sounds perfect! I indulged and actually bought the Cyber Stick and Arcade Memo Pack 2 last winter for my Egret, though I’ve yet to try out the stick and Operation Wolf.

Far East Pinball also makes a 3D printed enlarger for the spinner knob on the Egret’s trackball/spinner controller. It gives you much better control than the stock controller. The Arkanoid games feel a lot better using it.

Gundam last shooting.
Char zaku next! 😁

How I loved Zoo Keeper as a kid! Such an intense and memorable game. I lump it with games like Tutankham, Food Fight, or Vanguard: one of those B-list early 80s arcade games that were brilliant but simply outshone by the heavy hitters.

I’m glad to see it get some love in this lineup, but I’ll keep praying it gets ported to Taito’s own Egret II Mini, or to Arcade Archives.

Daytoooonaaaa Let’s go away!

@shgamer
Oh yeah, Tutankham is one I’ve been hoping for, too! I loved that back in the day. There’s been a few Konami titles coming out lately, so hopefully we’ll see it some day.

I would absolutely love to see Hamster bring us Taito’s Zoo Keeper, Nintendo’s Popeye, or Pengo from Sega, though that latter seems unlikely.

Hamster is doing amazing work, pumping out quality ports of arcade titles that may otherwise be lost to the ages. I’ve bought a few of their titles and have wishlisted dozens more, hoping for a sale some day.

I try to catch a little of their Arcade Archiver stream on YouTube every Thu morning before going to work - not only do they introduce that week‘s game, but most often they invite original developers to visit and share their memories of it. Hamada-san emcees and his genuine love for these old games is plain to see, and infectious! If only the streams were translated, so others besides Japanese speakers could enjoy, too.

May their streak continue well into or even beyond the Super Switch, and hopefully we will have backwards compatibility to keep access to all our Ake-Aka purchases.

Ganbare Hamster!! 😆

Unbelievable! I used to live in Osaka and worked just up the street from Shinsekai where Kasuga is located. I went there a few times to goof off but never realized the place’s history. Of course, back then in the late 90’s / early oughts, game centers were still ubiquitous throughout the city, including massive ones in Namba, Shinsaibashi, and Umeda. I should have recorded and wrote a book about all the arcades I visited back then!

It’s sad to think many of those spots have vanished these days, but I’m truly happy to hear Kasuga at least has hung on and is enjoying a retro revival. Ganbare ya! 😁

This Dariusburst game sounded lovely, and I placed my preorder in October 2022. Rereading this article reminded me it’s been over a year now and I’m still waiting for SLG to ship it! Good things come to those who wait and all, but sheesh! 😵‍💫

Holy moley I hadn’t heard this amazing news! Hooray hooray Tigers!

I never did go watch them at Koshien Stadium, but followed them whether I liked it or not while living in Osaka. You simply can’t avoid their popularity in Osaka. I mean, fans were jumping in the canal the last time they won it all. They must be celebrating like crazy now, too!

@KingMike
I watched Hamster’s Blandia live stream today that had a couple of full playthru’s, and thankfully that secret feature did not arise. 😅
I can do without that occurring on the final boss though!

I’m not really into vs. fighting games anymore and this isn’t a game I’m interested in buying, but Gladiator is one of my fave games on my Egret II Mini and it was neat to learn its main character Gurianos lived on in another game.

Oh, I missed this article in April.
Asura looks like a decent homage - I’ll keep an eye out if it makes it to consoles.

Really though I’m excited to try Air Twister! It looks great to me, like an artistic spin-off built by the creator of Space Harrier himself, the revered Mr. Yu Suzuki! My preorder should arrive by mid November, and I’m hoping it plays well on Switch.

Thanks for the nostalgic list! Wing Commander, Final Fight CD, Batman Returns, and Jurassic Park were probably the most-played games on my Sega CD. Silpheed, Android Assault, Star Wars: Rebel Assault, Prince of Persia, Sol-Feace, and Time Gal are others I owned and enjoyed.
Sadly, my CD unit stopped working 3-4 years after I bought it, and young fool that I was, I traded in all my games for it. It was fun while it lasted!

I’m glad some of these titles returned on the MD Mini 2, at least. Silpheed was always accessing the disk (it’s probably what sent my Sega CD to an early grave) so it’s nice not having that concern with the Mini.

I’ve seen Dragon Breed covered by a Japanese YouTuber at some point, and it looked neat! It’d be a welcome addition to this Irem Collection series.

They really have to include Spartan X (Kung Fu Master) in this collection, too.

But yeah, SLG shipments must be hella screwed up right now. I ordered Ray’z Chronology in July 22 and Dariusburst in Oct 22 and still waiting…

@Beefcakeyamato
Yeah Goonies 2 on the Playchoice 10 robbed me of a few quarters back in the day, after Jr Bowling league on Saturdays. I thought it had a regular retail release on NES, though, at least in NA?

That’s one game I wish they could bring back for purchase or NSO.

Whoa it’s like an eighties version of the NES Mini! An NES Maxi!
Cell phones were big back then too. 😅

Tuna sashimi! 🐟

I’ve played and enjoyed a little of this on the Darius Cosmik Collection Jpn physical release, but that is the 2-screen version IIRC.
It’ll be nice to have easy access to this 3-screen version.

What a great game with which to supplement my Egret II Mini!

Long live Hamster!!!

I was elated to see VALKEN in an email from LRG, but oh so disappointed to see it was just the SNES game and not the DECLASSIFIED remaster for Switch.

As much as I love this mecha series, I don’t know if I’m willing to double-dip on this Retrobit SNES cart and then a potential Declassified physical release later.

Great news! This is one of my fave Saturn games, though I haven’t played it in years. It’ll be nice to have it more accessible via Switch.

Nice! I’ve heard of Finest Hour before, but have never played it. It’s straight out of Gundam! Almost like Namco built the game but couldn’t get it licensed.

Next week’s Arcade Archiver livestream should have some interesting discussions about it. Hamster always hosts Japan game creators and talk about the history of each game they release - really fascinating stuff! They would have an enormous viewership if they could somehow translate the shows from Japanese.

This looks excellent! Like the love child of Assault Suit Leynos and Mobile Police Patlabor.

I’ll look forward to playing this on Super Switch someday. 😁

I never came across this in the arcades either. I wonder if this game inspired Midway’s NARCS?
Hearing that random nekkid women appear reminded me of Crime Fighters, another Konami street scrolling game with at least one topless girl.
Konami must have had someone randy on the staff!