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

[Sweatlord_STG]

This is such good news! I'm thinking Arcade Archives Rave Racer might be a December release for two reasons. Hamster has been doing really great, much wanted game releases in December for a the last number of years. Also, December is the last month for Rave Racer's 30th anniversary since hit arcades in 1995.

Oh, and an extra special one this year... December 25 falls on a Thursday for the first time since AA went weekly! Rave Racer would indeed be a perfect fit! But I'm not gonna cry if I open my present and it's Starblade, Tekken, Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon, Air Gallet...

I do always enjoy an excuse to post the list of past Ham-chan AA Christmas gifts, so here it is:

2017 - VS. Super Mario Bros. (12.22.2017)
2018 - Donkey Kong Jr. (12.21.2018) (and bonus - ACA Neo Geo Puzzle Bobble on 12.20.2018 was the first Taito release in the AA/ACA Neo Geo lines!)
2019 - VS. Balloon Fight (12.27.2019)
2020 - Gradius III (12.24.2020)
2021 - Xexex (12.23.3021)
2022 - Bubble Bobble (12.29.2022)
2023 - Mystic Warriors (12.21.2023)
2024 - SDF Macross (12.26.2024)
2025 - ???? (12.25.2024)

hope this means they go to hamster

Forget Hamster. M2 baby!

Neither one is gonna happen, since the delisting is ONLY for the Steam versions. The console versions are not going anywhere, and M2/Hamster generally just publish on console, so...

damn i think ur right, we have major releases ahead of us, this is extremely exciting

[dmk1198]

I'd like
Armed police batrider
Battle bakraid
Kingdom grandprix
Soukyugurentai/aka terra diver

Any chance?

[Jonpachi]

I'd like
Armed police batrider
Battle bakraid
Kingdom grandprix
Soukyugurentai/aka terra diver

Any chance?

Thus far, we haven't seen anything from Raizing. Would love to see it of course, but it seems unlikely in the short term.

[Sweatlord_STG]

im surprised m2 still havent announced their next stuff now since its been a while since gradius origins and operation night strikers

[hamfighterx]

Batrider seems like such a good choice for a M2 ShotTriggers, and wasn't there chatter that it was well into development at some point? I hope it happens eventually.

[AGermanArtist]

im surprised m2 still havent announced their next stuff now since its been a while since gradius origins and operation night strikers

They're likely holding back for the Nighstrikers Gear release.

[Sengoku Strider]

I'm playing Last Resort on Switch and I wanted to save video of a path I'd made through a tight section, but when I hit the Capture button it says "Videos cannot be captured for this software." I don't think I've seen that before for something that wasn't a cutscene. Was this an early ACA thing or something? Other ACA Neo Geo games I have don't do this.

[Sweatlord_STG]

Batrider seems like such a good choice for a M2 ShotTriggers, and wasn't there chatter that it was well into development at some point? I hope it happens eventually.

not sure if it was batrider but yes, maybe it was. like they finished emulating it but then it wasnt possible to implement the gadgets the way they wanted it to be so they shelved it or something.

[Jucksalbe]

I'm playing Last Resort on Switch and I wanted to save video of a path I'd made through a tight section, but when I hit the Capture button it says "Videos cannot be captured for this software." I don't think I've seen that before for something that wasn't a cutscene. Was this an early ACA thing or something? Other ACA Neo Geo games I have don't do this.

Last Resort came out on Switch before the video capture feature was even available (that came in a system update about half a year after the release of the console). I guess older games had to specifically be patched to support the feature. I tried some other older releases like Zed Blade and Aero Fighters 2, they don't support video capture either. Aero Fighters 3, which came out after the firmware update, does. Bigger titles like Metal Slug were patched and support video capture, too.

[Sturmvogel Prime]

Taito's Midnight Landing is this week's game, still steps away from Gekirindan and Darius Gaiden.
https://www.famitsu.com/article/202510/55781

[Ms. Tea]

MIDNIGHT LANDING

I love this game. Really nice to get it in Arcade Archives.

[hamfighterx]

Oh hey, rad. If anyone happens to have a USB Cyberstick and picks up the PS4/PS5 version, could you check and see if the stick is supported? We've had a few AA releases with stealth Cyberstick support (Metal Hawk, Thunder Ceptor 1 and 2), and this would be a phenomenal one to add to that list. Midnight Landing's sequel, Top Landing (1998), was on the Taito Egret Mini Vol. 3 add-on card released last year, and it does support the Cyberstick on the Mini. It's pretty cool!

I normally go Switch for Arcade Archives, but AFAIK there isn't a single Switch game compatible with the Cyberstick. I think it's a matter of the stick not being recognized at the system level. So if there is support for it on a PS5, that's where I would want to play this one.


Also: this wraps up the usual monthly 4-pack of Namco, Konami, Taito, and "Other" (SNK, with last week's release of Munch Mobile). Seems that in months with 5 Thursdays, they've moved to doing two wild cards in those months. That's what happened in January and July this year, the only other month in 2025 with 5 Thursdays was the May Namco festival. So next week might be a weird one!

[Jeneki]

I'm a moron and read that as Midnight Resistance, and was wondering why nobody was KRA-KOW! haha

[BIL]

I'm a moron and read that as Midnight Resistance, and was wondering why nobody was KRA-KOW! haha

Krakowing just reading ur post tbh (*'ω' *) Hamster's DECO pricktease game brutal tbh >w<

...actually, so is M2's! What the fuck, M2 PREZ! (■｀w´■) I heard u liek ED RANDY!

Ah, well. 2030s will be the decade of ACA THUNDER ZONE and SHOTTORIGGAS GR8 RAGTIME SHOW (I can't believe Imgur is still cucked v-v)

[hamfighterx]

So I was out at an arcade last night and played some Densha de Go for a bit.

Came back home and without thinking much about it, played a couple credits of Midnight Landing. And oh wow, with such a back-to-back comparison it becomes SO obvious that this started a lineage where Densha de Go is definitely somewhere in that family tree. The whole idea of an arcade-oriented game with fairly short "runs" to land your plane/stop your train at the right place, and that more controlled and almost mesmerizing feeling of continuously making small adjustments to your speed/positioning as you approaching the goal... I get a really similar feeling in both games.

[Darkseed_5150]

Re: Midnight Landing, anyone know if the PS4 HOTAS is supported on the PS5 version of the game?

[Sturmvogel Prime]

Got another Seibu Kaihatsu shmup to close October: Scion.
https://www.famitsu.com/article/202510/56389

Only Cross Shooter is the only Pre-Raiden shmup left before Raiden II. Yeah, we might be getting closer to the heavily requested Raiden II/Raiden DX.

[BIL]

Obscurity finder / semi-ironic kusoge archaeologist Drum - God rest he soul! - was always saying how inventive Seibu was before they became the TRVE & HONEST covers band of reigning 80s cock rockers EASTPLAN.

And he was right tbh! Between WIZ, STINGER, and seemingly this layer ' em up, their earlier shooting is quite distinctive! At least at a glance, I've only played Wiz.

Well anyway I think we're gonna get Dynamite Duke and its banging Super Contra covers before REGENDARY SANDAA TSUU, but then I thought the same of VP1, and look how that turned out! It's not for the faint-hearted, the ol Ham-chan speculations market.

And tbh we already got EMPIRE CITY 1931 and LEAD ANGLE, or as I call em MAFIA BLASTIN: THE GUN SHOOTIN and MAFIA BLASTIN IS BACK AGAIN: KEEP THA 100JPY YA FILTHY ANIMAL, which DD is in hindsight the third mic of! Very inventive shooting again, Seibu-kun! (EXCEPT FOR THE BGM! OMAKE: Super Contra - Ruined Base vs Dynamite Duke stage 1 BGM)

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Did Seibu Kaihatsu's Scion ever get a proper USA region arcade release (given it's 1984 debut)?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Bassa-Bassa]

It did by way of Cinematronics, according to Mame. Likely the first proper vertical scrolling on horizontal display STG ever, as well.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

It did by way of Cinematronics, according to Mame. Likely the first proper vertical scrolling on horizontal display STG ever, as well.

So then Scion would be considered the world's first "verizontal" stg title that predates Capcom/Takumi's GigaWing circa 1999 & Capcom/Takumi's Mars Matrix circa 2000 indeed with their "verizontal" format (even the stg of Shinorubi has a verizontal format whereas on the Exa-Arcadia version, it's presented in true tate format). Cool to learn that Cinematronics got into importing a Japanese arcade pcb title with Seibu's Scion with a bang.

---------
I never saw Scion in my local arcades back in 1984 as they were being regulated as a fad and most arcades weren't getting in the newest arcade games as much considering the overall arcade market was "over-saturated/a massive glut" of too many arcade games manufactured.
----------

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[BrianC]

Scion actually got a home port to MSX. I found out about it when trying out MSX shmups.

[AGermanArtist]

Knuckle Joe would be welcomed. I love the aesthetic, and of course the title.

[aak]

It'd be so sick if this series had Williams games. I'd buy Joust and Robotron for $8 easily.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

It'd be so sick if this series had Williams games. I'd buy Joust and Robotron for $8 easily.

Yes, Hamster and it's Arcade Archive series would be wise to port other arcade pcb titles outside the "JPN only arcade pcb" category -- there are plenty of other classic arcade titles worthy of being ported (despite whomever owns the entire Williams/Bally Midway arcade IPs nowadays).

Of course, in reality, Hamster would have to pay a royalty fee percentage for every digital copy sold if they did ports of the Williams/Bally Midway arcade IPs to the current IP owner -- something Hamster couldn't afford to do so in retrospect -- that is the type of situation that Hamster would find themselves in. It's business as usual.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Atariboy]

The vast majority of what Hamster releases via the Arcade Archives line is non-Hamster owned IP that they've licensed. So it would hardly be a unique hurdle for them.

[Sturmvogel Prime]

Namco week again.

Heard of Tokyo Wars? Well, here it is.
https://www.famitsu.com/article/202511/56960

[Jucksalbe]

So, basically 3D Tank Batallion? From what I see on Wikipedia this uses up to four linked systems for multiplayer. I guess this will be supported by the ACA2 version. Is this a first for Arcade Archives?

[OldSkoolShmuper]

Aww heck yeah, Tokyo Wars always rocked. Always wanted this at home.

Namco had a sort of spiritual successor called Tank! Tank! Tank! in arcades and this was ported to the Wii U.

But we never had Tokyo Wars at home until now.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

A local arcade called "The Strike Zone" had two Namco "Tokyo Wars" cabs linked up -- that particular setup requires some serious real estate space to host them properly indeed. I never tried it out but the TW cabs looked quite impressive nevertheless. Namco did release TW in the American arcades back in 1996-1997.

Am glad that it finally getting the home console release treatment at last -- better later than never, right?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~