Clear River Games will release the newly announced Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol. 1 and Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol. 2 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch on August 14 in the west, the companies announced. Physical editions will also be available for PlayStation 5.
In Japan, the two collections are not due out until August 28, but physical editions will be available for both PlayStation 5 and Switch.
Here is an overview of the collections, via Clear River Games:
Toaplan is a legendary developer known for its arcade games released throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and the team at Tokyo’s Tatsujin have been tirelessly working to make sure that retro game fans and new gamers alike can continue to enjoy their iconic legacy. Some of the games include not only the Japanese version, but also the international version with different specifications, allowing players to get their hands upon rare titles that were hard to procure in Japan. Swedish modern retro game veterans Bitwave Games, who specialize in blending old-school game design with all luxuries you expect from modern games, have been integral in ensuring that the games’ retro roots sparkle brightly with 21st century mojo.
So what’s on offer in each collection?
Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol. 1 brings you:
- Flying Shark
- Fire Shark (local cooperative support)
- Tiger Heli
- Twin Cobra (local cooperative support)
- Out Zone (local cooperative support)
- Fixeight (local cooperative support)
- Batsugun (local cooperative support)
- Dogyuun (local cooperative support)
Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol. 2 contains the following titles:
- Zero Wing (local cooperative support)
- Hellfire (local cooperative support)
- Slap Fight
- Grind Stormer
- Truxton
- Truxton II (local cooperative support)
- Vimana (local cooperative support)
- Twin Hawk (local cooperative support)
In order to bring these retro titles into the 2020s, a number of useful quality of life updates have been made to the games to alleviate some of the frustrations that original gamers had to endure from last century gaming, offering a full suite of options for beginners and veterans alike.
- Trophies and Achievements – PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, and Xbox One versions feature trophies and achievements.
- Online Leaderboards – Test your metal against the best in the shoot ’em up community.
- Stat Tracking – Allows title-specific tracking of stats from your game sessions.
- Dip Switches – To recreate customizable arcade settings, such as region, lives, difficulty, and autofire.
- Assist Features – Even more aid features such as smaller hitboxes and increased player durability to let you take additional hits before dying and slowdown / speed-up—a must for anyone who finds old-school SHMUPs a bit too challenging.
- Settings – Customizable audio settings and screen settings to capture the feeling of the good old days.
- Rewind Function – So you can go back and correct that little mistake that ruined your run.
- Quick Save / Load – Allowing you to create up to six save slots per title.
For players wishing for a physical copy of the game, there are a number of first-print bonuses up for grabs:
- Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol. 1 – Includes an exclusive sleeve made to house both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.
- Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol. 2 – Includes an “Instruction Card Gallery Book” containing arcade-style instruction cards for each game, including those in Vol. 1.
Watch a set of trailers for each collection below. View a new set of screenshots for Vol. 1 here and Vol. 2 here.