I'm so glad that Hamster's Arcade Archives are a thing.

[Jeneki]

From a more casual look at Tetris, grab a buddy and try the versus mode with the item gauge. Arika Tetris does crazy stuff in 2-player modes. At my place we call their PS1 game (the one with the Cardcaptor theme) "WTF Tetris" lol.

If you just want to get a higher rank for the achievements, try playing Big Mode. With decent piece luck, you can get all the rank-based achievements in under a minute.

[Ice Beam]

Someone at Hamster must have made some kind of data entry mistake, because a handful of ACA NEOGEO titles are 50% at the NA PSN store. Pertinent to the farm is Shock Troopers 2nd Squad, though I also recommend giving Big Tournament Golf (aka Turf Masters) a look.

[BIL]

Sounds like that may be legit, they've been promoting ACA-NG again lately due to the mobile ports of the series.

In any case, indeed, Big Tournament Golf aka Neo Turf Masters is amazing. One of those arcade sports games that truly transcends its niche. Easily worth a punt at full price, never mind discounted.

EDIT: Metal Hawk up now on JPSN TIEM 2 FLY OR DIE

[Sumez]

For some reason I was expecting a bit more than 'Tetris: Insanely Hard Edition'.

I know you're just trolling - but if you don't see that TGM is hell a lot more than "Tetris Insanely Hard Edition", you're the problem.
Besides, NES Tetris is much harder than TGM1.

Also, TGM1 is just the beginning. TGM2 is the genuine masterpiece. Sonic drop, Death mode, and speed curve increasing past level 500. It's a drug.

[Lander]

Perfect Tetris is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away

[BIL]

Metal Hawk first impressions while keeping an eye on marinating din-dins: Control Options Out The Ass M8 It's beautiful! Tons of Preference tweaks too... more than I can really appreciate being a bit drowsy atm.

As to the game itself, ho ho hooooly fuck this is like Desert Strike pour homme. No just kidding I like Desert Strike, don't have a cry FFS, love me goofy little "NTSCJ" version! But this is the real mahfuckin AC deal Genuinely impressive sense of open warfare and raging chaos, contrasted sharply against a super-lean, time-pressured SEEK AND DESTROY ethos - and Hosoe+Noguchi's OST is pure dick-swingin' MURRRRICAAA, FAWK YEAAAAA, as only late 80s Japanese videogames can do.

Yall KNOW what I'm sayin rite

Spoiler

EDIT: Man. Super-early days, but I have to say, spotting a zako heli trying to bum me while I'm distracted finishing off a straggler boat, vaulting a hundred feet up into the clouds, then plunging down just as fast to bum him instead is some moving sprite scaler madness. Must've blown minds BITD - and just like Assault's rotate-o-rama, it was no mere gimmick, but an integral and carefully-honed mechanic, and has thus aged sublimely well. Simply vaulting skyward for a better view of your surroundings (ala Assault's launchpads) before diving down for the kill feels super-fresh.

EDIT2: Hoooly fuck CANAL ZONE is some Soukyugurentai Descent Into The Sea Of Clouds treetop-skimming death-from-abovin' Say goodbye to your supply lines, boyos! Crikey, sucks to be on the road that day

EDIT3: Ahh, I'm starting to get a decent control groove. Currently going with [shot / bomb] on [L1/R1] and autofire on [L1/L2] - using the dpad for movement, and the right stick for Lift. In the heat of battle, it's currently a lot simpler to jus wang the right stick for those rapid vaults and dives, with everything else on digital. As with the similarly flexible ACA Ikari & co, there's a ton of scope for tailoring, here; smart approach on Hamster's part, given the innate differences between pad, joystick, and flightstick.

EDIT4: TFW you're scrambling to hit the score quota as time ticks down, and you realise the entire industrial zone you're flying over consists of individually-destructible buildings and equipment, each worth points, so you turn loose the autofire scuds and reduce the whole thing to burning ruins

Blimey, beween the vaulting highs and highway-chasing lows, this is legit one of the most vibrantly destructive STGs I can recall. The classic dances with zako dovetail perfectly into the added vertical dimension, some delightful skirmishes! Just like Assault, they're very much geared to prey on an unguarded six; a snap to outfox when caught, but deceptively fiendish while you're busy with other, bigger targets.

This is a state-of-the-art helicoper STG

It's so good to have this historically estranged heli/tank duo reunited at home, in first-rate form. ;-;7 Badass chunky tanks and helis are like 50% of my aesthetic gaymer genome, mayne.

[SavagePencil]

god dammit between this and Marvel Land it's going to force me to finally figure out how to buy things off the JP Switch store

[BIL]

That oldschool JP import frustration factor These two are resoundingly worth it! But as I said a week back, fruity magical boys ain't my #1 jam! NAPALM DEATH FROM ABOVE THO

ACA Splatterhouse n' ACA Rolling Thunder 2 as well pls ;3 ;3 ;3

I love the stage names - "CROSS FIRE," "TANK BUSTER," "THE TASK FORCE" - tried my hand at the former, came across a nice BIG fleet of battleships, prepared to unload a comfy and lucrative upper-altitude bombardment ala Stage 1, aaand - they lit me up like Christmas, appropriately enough. Flak everywhere, filling the sky. Lift quickly goes from a crafty trick for outfoxing zako, to classic life-or-death intensity as the enemy decides they've had quite enough of your antics.

Speaking of death, holy balls the crash sequence is the most grimly badass this side of Same Same's "Bomb In Anger." As there, you can take the bastards with you, blasting wildly careening arcs as the siren blares and your stricken heli hurtles groundward. Technically it seems this can be a last-second save, with the points earned by spray n' praying counting all the same.

[SavagePencil]

I'm sad that M2 wasn't able to get Thunderblade over to the SEGA AGES series. I am excited to try this one. If I can get the Cyberstick working with it, I'll try and upload a video. I've got a Cronus Zen that I think will let me do the remapping I need.

[velo]

Someone at Hamster must have made some kind of data entry mistake, because a handful of ACA NEOGEO titles are 50% at the NA PSN store. Pertinent to the farm is Shock Troopers 2nd Squad, though I also recommend giving Big Tournament Golf (aka Turf Masters) a look.

Most of those have been on sale before... but Hamster usually does sales in groups of 6, yet I only see 5:

Neo Turf Masters/Big Tournament Golf
King of the Monsters
Shock Troopers 2
World Heroes Perfect
King of Fighters 2002

Neo Turf is the one to get for sure... hardly anyone seems to like ST2, and KotM is sadly no fun.

Perfect Tetris is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away

I'm new to TGM and having fun but I can't identify the special sauce... it just does it right. How is Tetris Effect Connected? All these Tetrises and Puyos give me choice paralysis.

I'm sad that M2 wasn't able to get Thunderblade over to the SEGA AGES series.

For me Fantasy Zone 2 hurts the worst, but Thunderblade is a close second. Actually, no, I'm bitter about all of them. Seems like the work would be at least half-done for Switch ports, to say nothing of bringing the series to other platforms.

[Sima Tuna]

KoF 2002 is worth getting if you have someone to play with. Otherwise, good as it may be, there's only so much enjoyment you can gain from smashing your head against the arcade mode AI.

I'll echo everyone recommending Big Tournament Golf aka Neo Turf Masters. Probably the best arcade golf game. Maybe the best arcade sports game ever.

[OldSkoolShmuper]

Thunder Blade on 3DS is amazing. The only arcade perfect port ever released.

Can't wait to get Metal Hawk.

With all the Namco System 2 games on ACA, what are the chances we'll get
Phelios sometime soon?

So far we have

Assault
Dragon Saber
Marvel Land
Metal Hawk
Mirai Ninja
Ordyne
Valkyrie No Densetsu

(let me know if I missed any System 2 games that are on ACA).

[BrianC]

From a more casual look at Tetris, grab a buddy and try the versus mode with the item gauge. Arika Tetris does crazy stuff in 2-player modes. At my place we call their PS1 game (the one with the Cardcaptor theme) "WTF Tetris" lol.

If you just want to get a higher rank for the achievements, try playing Big Mode. With decent piece luck, you can get all the rank-based achievements in under a minute.

Arika also did Tetris 99. Very different from TGM, but it's awesome multiplayer craziness.

[SavagePencil]

To paraphrase The Cat: “I would go with Rolling Thunder 2, but I’d be thinkin’ of Burning Force.”

[BIL]

Excellent chance of Phelios, Splatterhouse, Burning Force and Rolling Thunder 2 in the new year, imo. All big marquee names from the same epoch as Marvel Land and Metal Hawk. I'm guessing we'll see Galaxian, Bosconian, and Pole Position soon, as well, ala Baraduke popping up out of nowhere (Baraduke is so rad).

Wouldn't be especially surprised to see NebulasRay at some point. They're clearly in a comfy groove here. Pretty good time, all-told. They got Namco on-board late in the day (eight years into the series, and well after the PS5's debut), and have made up for lost time handsomely.

In total, this has to be the single strongest collection of arcade ports ever. Here's hoping for many years and new licensees yet, even if there's already a lifetime's worth of content here.

Metal Hawk is so nuts. It's easy to think of scaling/rotation as the preserve of tech demos, but here, it's strictly in thrall to the utter hardcore. When you're raking your guns over a flying fortress cruising miles above the ground, which is launching hordes of hyperaggressive support craft along with scads of flak, which you dive past to evade, which puts you in range of potshotting tanks and turrets below, forcing you to juke along the main target as your missiles blast its turbines to scrap - it's a genuinely seamless 3D world, operating at 2D-tight precision and intensity. Marvelous work.

The integral role of pesky, fiendishly persistent zako gives me Gun.Smoke vibes; had some thrilling extended duels. An important starter tip: enemy helis will always seek out your elevation; there's no need to chase them. This makes fadeaway "let 'em come to you" tactics useful. Also, the bastards are good at crashing into you from below, beware that when approaching from superior altitude. Conversely, your machinegun's hitbox seems really generous, when it comes to the inverse scenario of a heli attempted to pancake you. Smartly-done.

Also, diving is an excellent means of evading ground targets' fire while keeping your missiles trained on them. This is pretty different from the typical STG or even topdown seek/destroy, but it's a snap once you absorb the mechanic. Gotta think with that Z-axis! This is no tech demo, this REAL WAR SONNEH

ACTUAL GROUND FOOTAGE recovered from ASPLODED ZAKO TANK in OPERATION METAL HAWK (■｀w´■)

Spoiler

]

[BrianC]

I'm guessing we'll see Galaxian

Too late, it's already out.

[BIL]

Ah balls, sorry. Meant Galaga.

(which already has a very nice Gotch port via Namco's older Arcade Game Series line, but as with Pac-Man and Dig-Dug, I'll be retiring it for the ACA version - much smaller, none of that Unity wrapper bloat or annoying wallpapers BamCo insisted on )

[hamfighterx]

Arika also did Tetris 99. Very different from TGM, but it's awesome multiplayer craziness.

Tetris 99 is so, so good. Like, one of my favorite Switch titles, and maybe my favorite Tetris release ever. Absolutely perfect controls, it's hard to describe other than to say everything just feels so right. Excellent solo play too, but the battle royale mode really is great stuff, when it first released I was so not expecting the combination to work so well. Got myself a #2 finish this past weekend (during the latest theme event, for Kirby)

I played TGM and Tetris 99 in the past week, and honestly I have a really hard time going back to TGM. I really miss the fast drop from T99 and some of the later TGMs, and going back to the original TGM just feels... a little clunky to me.

I'll echo everyone recommending Big Tournament Golf aka Neo Turf Masters. Probably the best arcade golf game. Maybe the best arcade sports game ever.

This is not hyperbole, Turf Masters is in a class of its own.

god dammit between this and Marvel Land it's going to force me to finally figure out how to buy things off the JP Switch store

A tiny bit of patience, check tomorrow and both will probably be there on the NA Switch store

Marvel Land was probably just an error that caused a 1 week delay, has happened a few times with AA releases. Metal Hawk should be out with the normal Thursday eshop weekly update (normally goes live around 9am PST/noon EST).

EDIT: Metal Hawk arrived as expected, but still no sign of Marvel Land on the US Nintendo eShop or Playstation Store. Maybe Hamster declined to release it in the region (some speculation of fear of Disney legal action doesn't sound like an unreasonable explanation)

[BIL]

@SavagePencil, this JP player suggests ACA Metal Hawk is indeed Cyber Stick-compatible. I had no idea the damn thing even existed, may have to check it out. Pretty comfy on pad for the time being.

Ah man, totally forgot F/A, aka Fighter/Attacker. Another I bet will pop up this year. I'm really looking forward to that one - another archetypcally badass-looking military STG that never got any home releases whatsoever, AFAIK.

Yet another killer OST by Hosoe - man's a machine. Raiden Fighters fans will dig it hard. RAVE WAR ♫

I didn't realise Baraduke's sequel was an arcade title; from what little I've heard of it, I somehow got it in my head it was a PCE original, ala ImageFight 2. That could be very interesting... it's seriously impressive how much the original gets bang-on target, WRT hitboxes, player handling, weaponry and so on. Rygaresque freshness, hasn't aged a bit. It's possible the sequel is so little-discussed for a reason, of course.

EDIT: Oh, it's a conventional autoscroller? Not as interested tbh. Big fan of the Armed Astronaut subgenre.

[MJR]

I'm sad that M2 wasn't able to get Thunderblade over to the SEGA AGES series. I am excited to try this one. If I can get the Cyberstick working with it, I'll try and upload a video. I've got a Cronus Zen that I think will let me do the remapping I need.

This 1000%, Thunderblade is my no.1 wanted rails on/top down 2,5D shmup since I never got myself 3DS. I love Thunderblade, it was one of my top favourite coin-ops back in the 1989. I loved the top-down shmup sequences with all the added perspective, ESPECIALLY that lvl.3 boss plane with the incredible sense of scale. I don't think that was ever topped, in a sense of scale, atmosphere and (visual sense of) depth. Otherwise the game is short and there is not much to play, and it was reasonably easy to 1cc.

Fun fact: In late 1989, I had a highscore competition over thunderblade with a guy who wrote his nick as "KGB" on the highscore table. So obviously I wrote my nick as "CIA". We were both able to 1cc the game so we just competed who can milk for more scores. Eventually I won, and I kept using 'CIA' as my highscore entry, until in early 00's, when I changed it to 'CAI' - for reasons I can't quite remember any more. Whenever I am not doing a proper highscore entry for somewhere where I want it saved, I always use 'CAI'. With a saved entry for shmups forum or online, it's 'MJR'

[BIL]

Always good to have a story to go with your moniker.

I went with mine because I wanted to be anonymous, and now I regularly get "dis u?" queries when people see the million and one other BILs getting up to all kinds of dodgy things around the web.

Metal Hawk is knocking my goddamn socks off. So many little fine-brush details and quirks, all the more impressive in such floor-shaking AMUSEMENT MACHINE context.

A tiny, but VERY welcome detail is the common red zako heli, just like your own craft, being limited to shooting where they're pointing at. Creates a super-tight flanking game, in concert with the evasive Z-movement. "Gotcha, bitch!" T-Bones versus "Oh shit!" evasions (catch 'em with a parting shot ); soon becomes instinctive. And the occasional backstabbing bumming attack, needless to say! Green helis love doing this. Meanwhile, the fatter Chinook-types enjoy spreadfire flak via their side-mounted turrets, deadly to approach even from the flanks.

"Your ass is mine boyo!"



"I'm on ur battleship, PWNIN u turre - OH FUCC"



I'm trying to remember which game it was, where enemy turrets' aim was completely disconnected from their (very visible, painstakingly-animated) barrels, so if you got the drop on one you could expect a bullet to fly straight out its backside at you. I seem to recall it being a Gradius... at any rate, yeah, I hate it when games betray their visual language like that.

[MJR]

Always good to have a story to go with your moniker.

I went with mine because I wanted to be anonymous, and now I regularly get "dis u?" queries when people see the million and one other BILs getting up to all kinds of dodgy things around the web.

BIL, the author of dodgy forever, as spoken in true engrish. (I've come to love badly localised engrish in 80/90's japanese games)

Achtually, the memory got back to me how and why my nick got from CIA to CAI. During my first game industry job at Terramarque, back in 1994, I was asked what is my nick since everyone was from demo scene (except, me I quit making demos after 1989). So I was asked by the director what is my nick since I won't be having my real name in the game credits. I thought about it a bit, and said "CAI". He asked what's that standing for? "Central Anal Intruder"; I replied. I was young and I thought I was being very funny

[BIL]

Oh rad Metal Hawk has a day-to-night cycle, to go with its branching stage select. So taking on TASK FORCE second will see amiable afternoon, while leaving it until later will bring amethyst dusk and navy night. Not sure if they rank up, as well, but it's a really cool touch, casting the advanced, rather more intimidating stages (airfield is fookin massive and full of bad slags m8, zako helis running in packs ) as deadly night raids. Not unlike Garegga's nighttime stage being the SHTF one. (although I suppose the cover of darkness would favour a sparse attacking force, moreso than the entrenched defenders)

Come to think of it, wasn't one of Pilotwings' heli combat missions at night? I seem to recall hearsay that Metal Hawk influenced those. Good company to keep.

BIL, the author of dodgy forever, as spoken in true engrish. (I've come to love badly localised engrish in 80/90's japanese games)

Much appreciated, but I could only wish An auld and venerable word of my people, half of them anyway

(used to look at "Space Tricky" aka TEARS BEGAN GUSHING - Engrish and Japanese authored English in general is indeed magical! - from MSX Gradius 2, and think it needed a "Space Dodgy" to go with it )

I was young and I thought I was being very funny

You got a laugh / near coffee-take out me at least, wasn't expecting that (that's what she said! ). Reminds of MX7's old forum nick, youthful exuberance and the cold light of day.

Galaga Jan 5th, time to go free up some HDD space.

EDIT: Sweet Jesus. That Flying Fortress mentioned earlier, in Metal Hawk's mission of the same name? The one that launches a vicious support squadron? "Imma bomb em b4 they take off :3" I thought. Only to realise Namco had done one better, as the entire flight deck exploded, taking all the mozzies with it. For you ze war is over!

[hamfighterx]

Metal Hawk up in the NA Switch/PS4 stores as expected. DLed, I can't wait to divebomb through the holidays to the sweet Hosoe sounds! BIL's posts have me suitably amped up for this one XD

No sign of AA Marvel Land on either platform in the US though, which is a little concerning! I may grab that one from Japan eshop.

[Marc]

For some reason I was expecting a bit more than 'Tetris: Insanely Hard Edition'.

I know you're just trolling - but if you don't see that TGM is hell a lot more than "Tetris Insanely Hard Edition", you're the problem.
Besides, NES Tetris is much harder than TGM1.

Also, TGM1 is just the beginning. TGM2 is the genuine masterpiece. Sonic drop, Death mode, and speed curve increasing past level 500. It's a drug.

Absolutely not my friend. Unless I'm missing something, it's Tetris, but gets really fast, really quickly, and not much else?

[BIL]

Metal Hawk up in the NA Switch/PS4 stores as expected. DLed, I can't wait to divebomb through the holidays to the sweet Hosoe sounds! BIL's posts have me suitably amped up for this one XD

Well-spotted, the divebomb is a truly vital technique when attacking turrets and other ground artillery - just make sure you zone it to drop past the rising flak, rather than landing square on top of it. Happened quite a bit today.

This and Baraduke, man... when Namco were on, they were on. Absolute gems of quasi-STG hardcore.

[BrianC]

I found out that Disneyland has a new Marvel themed section that is (unofficially?) referred to Marvel Land on Twitter. I wonder if that Abonimation is the reason for Marvel Land not releasing in the west.

[Koa Zo]

Metal Hawk up in the NA Switch/PS4 stores as expected.

Listed as "Arcade Archives Metal Hawk" when searching from the PS4 NA console store.
Searching Metal Hawk from the console did not bring it up in the NA store.
Searching Metal Hawk within the NA store when on an internet browser does bring it up.
Its bewildering how they make it tricky to find and buy some of these releases.

Been looking forward to playing this for a long time! (still have to wait a few days as I'm in the middle of moving house)

[Jonpachi]

I'm not someone prone to motion sickness in games, but this one... I can't play this for more than a few minutes before I start to go cross-eyed. It's a neat little graphical trick for its time, but hats off to anyone who can really get into a session on this one and not come away dizzy.

[Sumez]

Absolutely not my friend. Unless I'm missing something, it's Tetris, but gets really fast, really quickly, and not much else?

The 20G stacking which starts at level 500 adds a completely new layer of strategy that meshes incredibly well with the existing core puzzle of Tetris, as you're forced to consider the potential mobility of future pieces, rather than just their placements. Mobility is a big part of the game though, as well controlled rotations can be used to maneuver pieces in more flexible ways, and wall kicks can be used to fit them into more potential spots.
The second half of the game is pretty much the bread and butter of the game, but it's of course all tied together by the fact that it's designed to have a very definite (and pleasantly short) end to the game, which creates an incredibly competitive field, as top players compete to reach the GM grade as fast as possible. This is further enforced by additional mechanics such as the "level stop" which blocks progress every 100 pieces, if you don't have a stable enough stack to get a line clear whenever you decide to.

Up until level 500 I guess it's mostly just a really good implementation of Tetris. But to be honest, that is already surprisingly rare.