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I miss Castlevania games. I’d love to see an entirely new one. But failing that, I’m also incredibly excited when Konami re that people would really like a chance to return to older installments. When it turned out Castlevania Dominus Collection ended up being a Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase shadowdrop, I was thrilled at the prospect of playing three beloved older games on the Switch alongside a new remake of Haunted Castle. Turns out, the DS games hold up incredibly well, and Haunted Castle Revisited is an absolute delightful revival of a game most people probably didn’t get to play.

With the four games in the collection, we’re getting glimpses back at different moments in Castlevania history. Chronologically speaking, and in of actual age, Haunted Castle’s events come first. Simon Belmont heads off to confront Dracula after his wife is kidnapped. From there, we see Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia’s events. Since there are no Belmonts present, the titular order intended to use the Dominus glyph against Dracula should he return. However, when one of two students steal the three of them, an amnesiac Shanoa must pursue him and retrieve them for her mentor and to save kidnapped citizens. Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is another entry without a Belmont, with Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin heading to Dracula’s castle to face another vampire named Brauner who moved into the more famous vampire’s old haunt. Meanwhile, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow takes us into the future with Soma Cruz, the reincarnation of Dracula, dealing with a cult trying to turn him into Dracula. 

While there are unique mechanics in each one, the three Castlevania DS games in Dominus Collection play similarly. In Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, we’re heading to the cult’s mansion and journeying through it. As Soma is the hero, his ability to absorb enemy souls is the method of getting stronger, unlocking new abilities, and gaining new types of attacks. With Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, we head into paintings to visit different realms to deal with bosses within and seal them away, and there are often puzzles or situations where switching between Jonathan and Charlotte is needed to progress. In Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, we have elements of both previous games present, as Shanoa gains new abilities and attacks by absorbing glyphs found or dropped by enemies in a fashion similar to Soma, but she’s also going across a region and traversing smaller spaces instead of a single, giant mansion.

My first concern when I heard about the Castlevania Dominus Collection is how well it would work on a console like the Switch when Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and Order of Ecclesia were all Nintendo DS entries. Well, it works flawlessly. Which I should have expected, considering M2 was involved in the process. On the Switch especially, it is fantastic. The main “action” appears in a larger screen on the left, while on the right you have two additional screens constantly showing the map and character details. It’s absolutely fantastic to have all this information on-hand at once. And if there were moments that involved touchscreen functionality, there are either now button inputs or an option to use the Switch touchscreen or buttons to make up for those moments.

I also felt like Castlevania Dominus Collection is a perfect example of including a game for someone at every skill level while also showing the progression of the handheld entries in the series. I feel like Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin can be quite accommodating, perhaps even more so than I ed, due to the nature of the second character and the structure. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is for someone more accustomed to the series and interested in perhaps mastering and finding every soul. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia can be far more challenging than the other entries in this collection, due the way Shanoa’s glyphs work, the MP needed to use them, and the decisions you need to make to keep her alive when first starting out. Meanwhile, if you play them in the order they released (Dawn of Sorrow in 2005, Portrait of Ruin in 2006, and Order of Ecclesia in 2008), we can see the progress in of character designs, castle design, gameplay, and execution. So we can see Dawn of Sorrow’s souls influence on Ecclesia’s glyphs. Likewise, we can see how the paintings and smaller locations in Portrait of Ruin perhaps affected Order of Ecclesia’s locations.

Simply put, the three existing games part of the Castlevania Dominus Collection on the Switch? It’s absolutely fantastic. All of them are great. They’re fantastic fun, no matter which order you play them in. It’s a wonderful deal.

As for Haunted Castle Revisited, it’s just a lovely surprise. My experience with it is fairly fleeting, as I’ve only played it a few times when visiting Galloping Ghost Arcade. It retains much of what we from the original. There are six stages which you must get through in a timely fashion, with bosses at the end of each one. However, I found it felt a little more forgiving and like a traditional Castlevania experiences in some ways. For example, I found chickens to restore health sometimes, which was especially helpful in the first two stages as I got reacquainted with the title and last level. You can also upgrade the whip and get sub-weapons, which helps with additional tactics when facing foes. Not to mention it looks absolutely fantastic, especially when you play the also-included original Haunted Castle to compare.

Basically, Castlevania Dominus Collection is another fantastic compilation of Castlevania games. The three DS titles returning here are all wonderful games in their own ways, and they play quite well on the Switch thanks to M2’s efforts. Haunted Castle and Haunted Castle Revisited feel like a fun bonus and a way to bring the Belmonts into a collection that otherwise focuses on other heroes fighting Dracula and his forces. It’s a worthwhile bundle of titles, especially on the Switch.

Castlevania Dominus Collection is available on the Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. 

The post Review: Castlevania Dominus Collection Games Still Feel Essential appeared first on Siliconera.

Castlevania Advance Collection, a surprise release in the September 2021 Nintendo Direct, brings back a bundle of games that a lot of players revere. Is the collection for you? Let’s dig into it and help you figure that out for yourself!

Though... you probably should. It’s very good.

What’s in Castlevania Advance Collection? 4x1d1g

As you’d expect from the name, Castlevania Advance Collection includes the three Game Boy Advance installments in the franchise. That’s Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow. As you may not expect, it also includes SNES release Castlevania: Dracula X.

The three GBA games are quite well-regarded, and with good reason. The games add a lot of depth and customization to the Castlevania formula, and they do so with the pedigree and sensibilities of Symphony of the Night. A big reason that there was so much interest in Koji Igarashi’s Bloodstained was the respect for his work on these games.

And Dracula X? It’s fine, we guess. But the reason here is simple: it wasn’t in Castlevania Anniversary Collection, and people noticed. Rather than patch it into the old game with its 8-bit and 16-bit peers, it’s here to add value to this smaller pack.

What extras are included? How are they? 2f3329

Look, if you ever have the opportunity to get M2 to work on your emulation project, jump at it. The base set of features is here. That includes rewind, save states, and some helpful display options. But that’s just the start!

You can switch between all three regional versions of the games, though they’re treated totally separately for saves and such. You can enjoy all the soundtracks with a music player or look through concept art and manuals in the gallery. And hey, if you want, you can even save replays.

Our favorite additions in Castlevania Advance Collection, though, are the “gadgets” M2 has built. They’re helpful in tracking some of the games’ more grind-heavy aspects, like Aria’s souls and Circle’s cards. These gadgets keep track of what you’ve collected and need to collect, with handy pop-ups letting you know as you encounter monsters. You can turn them off, if you want! But we like them.

How do the games hold up? 5k4m3w

Quite well! It may take a bit to adjust to some elements. The screen real estate means you’re zoomed in a little more than in console games. The visuals make a much better impression on a smaller screen, so Castlevania Advance Collection is best on a handheld Switch if you have the option. (Or a Steam Deck, when that drops.) But generally? GBA games’ aspect ratios feel nice on modern displays, and the colorful environments really shine on screens with proper illumination.

The added buttons on modern controllers really help. These GBA games often used Select and Start for vital functions. Mapping these to buttons easier to press streamlines things a bit. It’s not quite as good as if the scheme were properly designed for this, of course! But it’s something.

While the pixel art is largely unassailable, there is of course the side effect of GBA audio. It’s crunchy and compressed, especially in the more ambitious of the collection’s tracks. It’s nostalgic, in its way. But you’ll notice it.

Dracula X doesn’t hold up quite as well, as you’d imagine. Its omission from the first collection likely wasn’t a complete accident, as it’s largely seen as a lesser adaptation of Rondo of Blood. Still, it’s very much a Castlevania game! There are some who want it for completion’s sake. Others enjoy its quirks, or just want more classic-style Castlevania wherever they can find it. And it’s here for them, which is great.

Castlevania Advance Collection is available now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The franchise’s earlier titles are also available, bundled in Castlevania Anniversary Collection on the same platforms.

The post Castlevania Advance Collection Bundles GBA-Era Adventures appeared first on Siliconera.

Square Enix announced more platforms for yet another RPG that debuted on the Nintendo Switch. Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend will show up first on Android and Apple iOS devices, then get a PC port distributed via Steam. The mobile versions will show up on September 22, 2021. Then, the PC version will appear on October 21, 2021, just under a month later.

This means there will be just over a nine month gap between the Nintendo Switch debut and Android and iOS release of Collection of SaGa. The game first showed up worldwide on the console in December 2021. As the title suggests, it contains the first three SaGa games ever made. Things kicked off with the Game Boy game The Final Fantasy Legend (as it was known worldwide) in 1989. Final Fantasy Legend II and III followed and are also in the compilation.

The official website for the new ports is live now, as is a trailer. As with the Switch version, you can save and load at any time, you can speed up characters' movement, there is a display mode that makes it look like a Game Boy, and you can choose the screen size.

This is the second Square Enix Switch-to-other-platforms announcement that came up during gamescom 2021. The first involved Bravely Default II, which will appear on PCs in September 2021.

Collection of Saga will come to Android and Apple iOS devices on September 22, 2021 and the PC via Steam on October 21, 2021. It is immediately available on the Nintendo Switch.

The post Collection of SaGa PC, Android, and iOS Versions Coming appeared first on Siliconera.

Legend of Mana is one of those games that’s been getting a larger and larger audience. Since its PlayStation roots, Legend of Mana has grown, and the recent remaster meant even more people could enjoy it. Not to mention the anime adaptation. Siliconera caught up with Producer Masaru Oyamada to talk about preparing it for new platforms.

Jenni Lada, Siliconera: When did work on the Legend of Mana remaster begin and how did it end up being picked for this revival of sorts?


Masaru Oyamada, Square Enix: If I think back to when we started considering it, that would be around 2019. 


When we released the Super Famicom version of Trials of Mana outside of Japan for the first time through Collection of Mana, I European players telling me that they wanted us to localize Legend of Mana as well. 

At the time, Trials of Mana was still in development, so we weren’t able to start working on it right away. It was also just around that same time that Warner Bros. approached us about turning it into an anime series. 

Their proposal was so ionate that I felt compelled to first make the game become playable on current consoles worldwide. That’s when the production of this title started. 

In of difficulty, how challenging was it to bring Legend of Mana to new consoles? Given its sprite-based characters and background designs, did that make it easier to work with?


Oyamada: Even before we began, an immediate challenge was that the game had a massive amount of volume, with 27 lands, and almost all of the backgrounds were unique. 


When changing what was originally in a 4:3 aspect ratio to 16:9, there were certainly many areas that needed to be newly illustrated, and we also needed to incorporate considerations for present-day ethics into the designs. So, even though we had a base, we did dedicate a somewhat considerable amount of time to prepare them. 

We were conflicted about changing the characters to make them high resolution: was making them high resolution the right thing to do in the first place? It was an area where our views within the team were split. 
We’ve tried creating high-resolution character art in the past, but we decided to leave it as-is because we thought that leaving them in pixel form would be better for allowing people to play without interfering with their memories from the past. 

With remasters, it’s a battle against the fans’ romanticized recollections, so it was quite difficult. 

Legend of Mana offers a 16:9 aspect ratio for this release. How did the team change it from 4:3?


Oyamada: We drew additional art for areas that needed to be supplemented so that it would fit the 16:9 screen. 


How did you prepare the Ring Ring Land PocketStation game for the Legend of Mana remaster? What sort of extra work and effort went into making it accessible and compatible?


Oyamada: The North American version, which was used as a base for this game, had originally been adjusted so that it could be played without the Ring Ring Land.


However, we had received from players who wished they’d been able to play the Ring Ring Land mini-game, so we newly recomposed it so that it would function within the game. 

We don’t have the original game documents from back then on hand anymore, so we were ing movements visually by playing both the original and what we had created from the ground up. There were some points that we were unsure whether they were bugs or indeed intentional, and replicating them in both game environments was tough...  

A new opening animation appears in this rerelease. How did you decide which characters would be featured in it?


Oyamada: Generally, we selected them based mainly around our companions in what we call the main scenario, but the animators had been players of the original as well, so they started wanting to include this character and that. As a Legend of Mana fan myself, seeing the number of characters they drew increase before my eyes made me feel very happy. 


Legend of Mana is a very freeform sort of game, given its artifact system and how events are triggered. How has the reception to it changed over the years?


Oyamada: When the original game was first released, internet use wasn’t widespread, so I think it was most often the case that people would find things out through strategy books and gaming magazines, or by exchanging information with friends. 


Today, information that lead to optimal solutions can be found by looking them up. However, I think this is a title that’s fun to play without looking anything up, especially now that specific conditions and such have been forgotten with the age of so many years.


Some of the new additions might feel like anti-frustration features, such as the ability to turn off encounters or save anywhere. What led to the team implementing them?


Oyamada: Many of the development team had played the original game back then, so everyone’s came together naturally. 


Due to its high level of freedom, this is a game you can keep playing endlessly, and although we want players to take their time playing their own way, we also thought it would be nice to have some extra convenience and accessibility, which is why we implemented these additional features. 

Of its many storylines, which one would you say is your favorite and why? Is there one that you feel resonates more now than it did when the game was first released?


Oyamada: Among the main ones, I like the Dragon Killer arc, which feels like a classic RPG, but for subs, I like the ones where the Dudbears start getting involved. Simply because they’re cute. Dub. 


I was still a child back when the original was released, so I wasn’t able to understand it on much of a deeper level, but now I feel that the Escad arc resonates with me more.

The Legend of Mana remaster is available on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC. The original game is available on the PlayStation.

The post Interview: Preparing the Legend of Mana Remaster for New Platforms appeared first on Siliconera.

Square Enix’s Mana series, like the SaGa series, is finding new life and respect in recent years, what with the Secret of Mana remake, Collection of Mana localization, and Trials of Mana remake. It’s an opportunity for new appreciation. Fortunately, that means Legend of Mana is getting its own moment on the Switch, PS4, and PC with a remaster. While it doesn’t exactly address every issue present in the original game, it looks amazing and includes some features that might ease frustrations.

Rather than one story, Legend of Mana is the tale of many people figuring out how to get by and managing varying relationships after devastating tragedies and events. While you’re undoubtedly a hero and someone rebuilding the world, it often feels like you aren’t the focus. And you’re not. This isn’t your story. This is the story of survivors of a race that’s going extinct. It’s the tale of friends who are pulled in different directions because of conflicts between their races and roles. It’s a look at what happens when two siblings fight against each other in the name of different causes. It’s about relationships and restoration.

Given Legend of Mana is a Mana series game, certain elements remain consistent. It is an action-RPG where you can trigger combos with light and powerful attacks to deal damage and stun. You can build up a gauge to perform special moves. You can craft and plant. There’s monster raising. If you have a friend nearby and an ally, they can control the second player. In many ways, it is comforting in its familiarity.

Which is good, because the general concept throws protocol right out the window. Legend of Mana is set in a world where its lands were saved and stored as artifacts following a major war. You collect these items as you go about adventures and stumble into other peoples’ stories. Then, you use them to rebuild lands. As you do, you trigger more events and see major and minor affairs that offer a better idea of what’s going on. It’s freeform in a way many SaGa games are. And if you want to find every bit of plot, you either will have to do a lot of roaming around or find a guide. 

Though, there are some elements that don’t exactly work as you might expect. For example, when Duelle is telling you how to attack, the buttons you’d use to perform might be absent. Also, Legend of Mana is very much a game that tends to leave you to your own devices when figuring out concepts. It is still lacking when it comes to tutorials.

Fortunately, two mechanics unique to the remaster can make those elements easier to deal with. You can turn off normal enemy encounters. This is especially handy when attempting to find the trigger for an event or correct path through an area. You can also save at any time. Which again, is quite handy if you’re unsure about artifact placement or what to do after starting certain events. These both feel like anti-frustration features in a game that could otherwise confound people.

But the appeal here lies in two things. One is having access to an entry that people might have missed. And it is definitely everywhere with this remaster. There’s the new widescreen perspective for Legend of Mana, which works quite well on the Switch. Its controls adapt well to the handheld. The new UI work makes it easy to read without detracting from the original design.

Not to mention how well that original design holds up. M2 is a master of ensuring old games look great on modern hardware. The nature of Legend of Mana means the efforts worked out extraordinarily well. As this is a 2D game, with elaborate sprite work and environments, the remaster means it is clear, crisp, and stunning. Every character is filled with personality, and you can appreciate and see every detail. And its soundtrack remains a delight.

With this Legend of Mana remaster, we have a chance to appreciate an entry in the series that might not enjoy the same attention and affection as Secret of Mana or Sword of Mana. Like installments in another Square Enix series, it dared to be different in telling its story. That said, some of its quirks then hold true. Those unwilling to be patient or experiment could miss out on a lot. It isn’t always as intuitive as one might expect. But it is still a case of M2 making something old look and run well again and one of the better and more unique entries in the series.

The Legend of Mana remaster will come to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC on June 24, 2021. It is also available on the PlayStation.

The post Review: Legend of Mana Remaster Looks Lavish appeared first on Siliconera.

Herzog Zwei, the Sega Genesis classic often credited for helping to invent the real-time strategy genre, is a game that's as feared as it is revered. It's very player-controlled. It's frenetic and tense. There are so many units and orders and forms, and getting your mind around it all is tough enough that most didn’t manage it. Sega Ages Herzog Zwei seeks to rehabilitate the game, preserving it while building an infrastructure around it to make it easier to learn.

In Herzog Zwei, you play as a transforming mech plane that also serves as military commander in a fight for outposts and territory. It's inspired by classic, 1980s-era anime, and part of that appeal is feeling futuristic and foreign. Units are known by model numbers like "TAX-52" and "GRM-34A." What do you think "FWA" is? Did you guess... motorcycle? Because it's the motorcycle. (Infantry units are, in a rare bit of mercy, just known as "INFANTRY.")

So are unit orders. It could say what it does in a way you'd easily understand, but instead it's a series of letters and numbers. Like "BDF-1SD" is "stationary base defense," and "AT-101" is "destroy enemies, then go occupy a base that's nearby." Taking a base involves producing four infantry, ferrying them manually to their destination and defending them as they make their way inside. It's a lot.

Here's where all the new work comes in. Sega Ages series developer M2 really shows its love for the game, doing its best to help new players in. Or even... old players? There’s a suite of tutorials, breaking down the game's elements through a new, military instructor character. Each part of the game has a separate lesson, and M2 uses save states and detection to throw you into the Genesis part itself between the Switch-native talks.

Sega Ages Herzog Zwei is built with awareness that it's the finale for the Switch Sega Ages line, and outside of existing fans, it has an opportunity to convert Sega super-fans who are completing the set. The tutorials constantly make jokes about Alex Kidd or Sonic the Hedgehog or other classic franchises. They're well-written and well-localized. They'll help you learn how to play the game, at least some. Of course, high-level play is still hard. That's the game’s charm.

The efforts don't end at the tutorial. Utilizing the extra screen space on the sides of the Genesis display, Sega Ages Herzog Zwei shows unit stats and important meters depending on the context. Sometimes, these meters just duplicate the ones at the top of the screen, and we do wish there were a scheme that cropped that or something, but in the heat of the battle, you’ll be so busy that you can’t look at too many things anyway.

Herzog Zwei is still a tough game, especially with the age of time and the conveniences we'd now expect. Still, this Sega Ages package goes a long way to help new players get settled long enough to finally give it a real chance.

Sega Ages Herzog Zwei is available now on the Nintendo Switch eShop for $7.99.

The post Sega Ages Herzog Zwei Effectively Teaches You the Notoriously Hard RTS appeared first on Siliconera.

During the latest M2 Shot Triggers livestream held by M2 earlier this week, the company revealed that Cave's Ketsui, which was ported to PlayStation 4 with extra features as Ketsui Deathtiny, is getting a Western release.

Ketsui Deathtiny originally released on PlayStation 4 in Japan in 2018, so this has been in the works for a while. The PS4 updated port includes a new Super Easy Mode for players who aren't that good at shoot-em-ups, which will also make the hidden boss available to fight. The port also brings back the limited IKD 2007 Special version of the game that was only available at certain Cave events in Japan at the time as DLC. There is also a Custom Mode that can turn off certain glitches if you prefer polish over faithfulness, and a Bond Develop Mode which lets you practice segments that you died in by setting players back five seconds before death and forcing players to survive the next ten seconds. Finally, there are the usual M2 "Gadgets" that show various stats and extra info along the side of the game screen.

M2 also took the Western release opportunity to tweak the game even further, adding improvements and additional gadgets. These have already been added to the Japanese release with the Ver. 1.03 patch which released this week. Chip Counter will show the amount of score multiplier chips you have collected via shots and locked shots, while the gadget showing boss loop timing predictions has been made more accurate.

An official announcement in English is coming, and M2 says to wait for more information.

Ketsui Deathtiny: Kizuna Jigoku Tachi is available on PlayStation 4 in Japan, and will release in North America "in the near future." It has also appeared in arcades and on the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in Japan.

The post Cave’s Ketsui Deathtiny on PlayStation 4 is Coming to North America appeared first on Siliconera.

Sega released details on Sega Ages Herzog Zwei, the next title that is set to release on the Nintendo Switch eShop. The game is a real-time strategy title developed by Technosoft, a company which also developed most of the Thunder Force series. The game was first announced for Switch in 2019. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]

Unlike many of the Sega Ages titles, this game was originally released on the Sega Genesis. The game is one of the earliest RTS games, predating even Dune II, and would later even inspire games like Starcraft and Command & Conquer. In this title, you control a fighter jet that has the capability of transforming into a mech, and you'll fight against an AI-controlled army while strategically using your resources in order to capture the bases around the map, and finally capture enemy headquarters. Quick thinking and decision-making is the key to winning in this title.

The main mode in this release is Original Mode, which recreates the Sega Genesis game. You can fight against a computer opponent or go against a friend in 1v1 multiplayer. You can play as either the Liberation Army or the Government Army, and there are eight maps and four difficulties to choose from. The Sega Ages version adds in new information s to the left and right of the game screen that includes a minimap, info on your craft, currently selected weaponry, and information on orders, which will update according to the situation.

Like other releases in this lineup, there is a “Helper” mode, which in this game will increase your base and fighter's health and your development funds. Additionally, online versus is ed, and you will be matched against random opponents. Like in 2P versus, both players' screens will be visible on either the left or right side of the screen. Helper Mode is disabled for online matches.

Something that is brand-new to Herzog Zwei with this release is Practice Mode, a tutorial mode that teaches you to play effectively. You'll be able to learn the intricacies of the game's rules.

Finally, the usual Sega Ages options, such as screen modes, wallpapers, and saving replays will be available.

Sega Ages Herzog Zwei releases in the near future for Nintendo Switch via eShop. The game will cost 999 yen.

The post Sega Ages Herzog Zwei Brings Back a Genre Pioneer Onto Nintendo Switch appeared first on Siliconera.

One of the surprising things to come out early June 2020’s news is that Pac-Man Championship Edition, an entry in the franchise that began a whole subseries focused on time attacks, is getting an NES style demake as a bonus game for Namcot Collection. On Twitter, M2 director Naoki Horii explained why the team was able to make an original game like this happen.

Here's what Horii had to say:

Now then... Our company is allowed to do everything we want. Regarding the extra Championship Edition game, it's becoming something big to the point that I don't want to call it an extra game.

Originally, this should be sold alone, right? So that as many people would play it as possible? That's exactly the case, so we originally negotiated to port the game to Nintendo 3DS, and afterwards, we've been working on this for around nearly five years. When it was still just a 3DS port, we had already put a lot of effort into completely replacing the soundtrack, but for this game we've basically further replaced and remade many things even beyond just the soundtrack...! We worked hard to make this a Famicom game on Nintendo Switch where you can move to the rhythm of the music and the graphics.

While there are some people who knew about this project beforehand, I bet even they will still be surprised at the finished game! I really wanted to release this game no matter what, so I'm glad that we managed to do so even five years later!

Pac-Man Championship Edition (FC Arrange Version) will be available as a bonus game if you buy all ten games that are part of the Namcot Collection.

The post Pac-Man Championship Edition Demake Started Out as a 3DS Game appeared first on Siliconera.

Bandai Namco announced that Pac-Man Championship Edition will be getting a demake as an additional bonus. If you purchase all ten Namcot Collection games, which will be part of the first wave of games, it will be your reward. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]

As a reminder, here's how Namcot Collection will work. You'll be able to a digital games shelf for free alongside Wagyan Land. Each individual title afterwards will cost 300 yen, or you can buy all 10 games from the 1st wave of DLC at once for 2,400 yen. Think of it as being similar to Capcom Arcade Cabinet.

Excluding Wagyan Land, the following titles are part of Wave 1:

• Pac-Man
• Galaga
• The Tower of Druaga
• Battle City
• Star Luster
• Family Jockey
• Youkai Douchuuki
• Dragon Spirit
• Quinty (Mendel Palace)
• Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti

As the planned physical version of Namcot Collection is set to include all ten titles, you'll likely be able to  Pac-Man Championship Edition (FC Arrange Version) for free by default.

As you can see, the demake has gotten new artwork for its fake video game cover. From the screenshot, we can see that the demake will use original Pac-Man art style, but will play similarly to the rules of the first Championship Edition, which released in 2007. The demake, alongside Namcot Collection itself, are being developed by M2 and, according to them, the team developed it under the restrictions of the original Famicom hardware.

Apart from the bonus game, a few other new details were revealed. There will be a save system, the ability to rewind gameplay, and screen options such as scan lines, pixel perfect resolution, and fullscreen.

In related news, listings on Microsoft Store have been found that seem to show that the Namcot Collection will be brought over as the Namco Museum Archives Vol. 1 and Vol 2, especially as it also details the Championship Edition demake among the collection. Some of the titles in Wave 1 of the Japanese release have been moved back to Vol. 2, and it seems the games that a brand-new Famicom port of Gaplus is also in the works by M2.

Namcot Collection (Namco Museum Archives) will release on the Nintendo Switch on June 18, 2020. While not officially announced, it's coming to Xbox One on June 18 as well. Check out gameplay of the first eleven titles here.

The post Pac-Man Championship Edition Demake Included With Namcot Collection Full Purchase appeared first on Siliconera.

Last year, developer M2 announced that they had acquired the licensing to release almost all of defunct game developer Toaplan's IPs, and would be bringing as many of them as possible onto modern platforms, and yesterday they announced the first four games to get the rerelease treatment on livestream. The first four titles are Flying Shark (also known as Hishouzame and Sky Shark), Twin Cobra (Kyuukyoku Tiger), Truxton II (Tatsujin Ou), and Out Zone.

Check out in-development gameplay of the four game rereleases below:

Here are details on the four games below from M2:

Twin Cobra: A true evolution to Tiger-Heli, and the game that put Toaplan on the map as a vertical scrolling shoot 'em up developer with its great game balance.

Truxton II: "Well, we've got to make it easier..." (referring to Super Easy Mode)

Flying Shark: Another classic that helped set up the shot + ground bomb combination. The first Toaplan game to utilize the feature where the screen would scroll slowly left or right if you're flying towards the side.

Out Zone: A "push-up" run and gun shmup where the players advance the screen by moving the character upward. Features lots of hidden elements, including cameos of characters from other Toaplan games.

M2 ended the segment by saying that these are just four of the Toaplan games that are being worked on currently, and platforms and release dates will be announced later on.

Twin Cobra, Flying Shark, Truxton II, and Out Zone are in development.

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During the Famitsu Dengeki Awards that were livestreamed in Japan earlier today, developer M2 released more information on their wholly-original shoot 'em up Ikusaba (temp.), which was previously revealed at JAEPO 2020. They also revealed today that Ikusaba will be their next M2 Shot Triggers game.

Check out some gameplay below:

Additionally, they showed off footage from the game's first two stages, which are near completion. According to M2 director Naoki Horii, the game will have a system where you play as four units piloted by different characters, and rather than a lives system, you swap to the next character after one of the units blow up from an enemy shot. Ikusaba will launch in Japanese arcades in Fall 2020 on the AMP3 platform, if circumstances allow it.

Horii joked that somehow, despite not ing when the project was proposed and when he gave the project a green light, somehow it already reached this stage of completion. It seems that this is a common occurrence in M2's offices. Originally, there was also going to be demos available in an event in April, but due to the ongoing pandemic, the event was cancelled. Horii says that he hopes M2 will be able to hold this event some time in the future.

Ikusaba (temp.) will launch in Japanese arcades in Fall 2020.

The post M2’s Original Shoot ‘Em Up Ikusaba is Set to Launch in Arcades in Fall 2020 appeared first on Siliconera.

Taito has announced that they are making a sequel to Darius Cozmic Collection, tentatively titled Darius Cozmic Collection 2, which will release in Winter 2020. No platforms have been announced yet. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]

The first Darius Cozmic Collection released on the Nintendo Switch in 2019 as a collection of arcade ports developed by M2. There was also a Special Edition focused around collecting the console versions of games in the series. The announcement of the sequel came alongside new trailers released for the PlayStation 4 version of Darius Cozmic Collection. That is releasing separately as Arcade Version and Consumer Version, with each focusing on arcade and console titles much like the Switch's Normal and Limited Edition.

Check out the trailer for Arcade Edition below:

Additionally, here's the trailer for Consumer Edition below:

Arcade Edition includes:

• Darius (Old)
• Darius (New)
• Darius (Extra)
• Darius II (2 screen ver)
• Sagaia (V1)
• Sagaia (V2)
• Darius Gaiden

Consumer Edition includes (new in bold):

• Darius II (Mega Drive)
• Sagaia (Genesis) 
• Sagaia (Master System)
• Darius Twin (SFC)
• Darius Twin (SNES)
• Darius Force (SFC)
• Super Nova (SNES)
• Darius Plus (PC-Engine)
• Darius Alpha (PC-Engine)

The Nintendo Switch version is getting a free update that adds Super Nova and Darius Plus, to ensure content parity between the two platform versions.

Darius Cozmic Collection is now available for the PlayStation 4 in Japan and is available on Nintendo Switch. Darius Cozmic Collection 2 will release in Winter 2020. No platforms have been announced yet. Check out more info on the first collection here.

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Sega announced that the latest Sega Ages title, G-LOC Air Battle, will launch in the near future on Nintendo Switch. Additionally, information on the game's special features and modes have now been revealed via the Sega Ages website.

Arcade Mode

This will be a faithful recreation of the game's arcade mode. Sega Ages G-LOC Air Battle's gameplay is based off of Afterburner II. It provides a simple shooting experience of clearing enemies just with your vulcan and missiles and using the throttle in order to increase your speed.

Sega Ages G-LOC Air Battle has three different difficulties, each with its own stages. The game is played from cockpit view, but when enemies get behind you, the game will dynamically switch to third-person view. You'll need to use your flight skills in order to dodge enemy attacks and aim to clear the stage's mission.

AGES Mode

The Sega Ages version also adds a new Ages Mode to the game that adds in new missions to play. Your weapons' lock-on speed and homing capabilities are increased, so people can have fun shooting down lots of enemies at once.

Moving Cabinet

The Moving Cabinet feature that was highly praised on the Sega 3D Classics version of games like After Burner II returns for this release--a first in the Sega Ages line. It's a recreation of the Deluxe Type arcade cabinet that would move left and right and has been remade as faithfully as possible with the screen moving left and right on the Nintendo Switch version.

Of course, you can choose the regular dot-by-dot mode, vintage, and other screen options as well.

Online Rankings

The Sega Ages staples of online rankings and the ability to watch replays of other advanced players return. Rankings are split into five types by difficulty, Ages Mode, and Free Style mode. Furthermore, the Options will allow you to turn on or turn off Auto Vulcan and HD Rumble, if that's what you prefer.

Sega Ages G-LOC Air Battle will release on the Nintendo Switch in the near future. The game is slated to cost 999 yen on the Japanese Nintendo eShop. The previous release was Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

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At Japan Amusement Expo today, where various makers show off arcade games, developer M2 announced a new shoot 'em up by the temporary name of Ikusaba. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]

While the title and a short trailer were shown off for the game, more information is set to be released via M2 themselves in the near future. Here are some more screenshots below:

Ikusaba (temp. name) will launch in Japanese arcades via Sega's arcade platform ALL.Net P-ras MULTI Version 3 (APM3) in Fall 2020. It is one of 11 titles that were announced for the platform, including the other titles below:

• Guilty Gear Strive
• Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax Ignition APM3 ver.
• Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r]
• Otoshoo DX
• Umihara Kawase Fresh!
• Rolling Gunner
• Koihime Enbu RyoRaiRai Version3
• Goonya Fighter
• Sega Classics (temp. name) (1st game: Fantasy Zone)

Sega Classics was the other new announcement by M2 at JAEPO 2020, being a line of vintage Sega arcade titles that will be ported for arcade platforms with full M2 polish via APM3. Think of it as the Sega Ages line on Nintendo Switch, but released on modern arcade hardware instead. The first game announced is Fantasy Zone, and more will be announced in the future.

Ikusaba (temp.) is currently in development for arcade. Sega Classics (temp.) Fantasy Zone is currently in development for arcade.

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