IREM Collection series

[Koa Zo]

definitely would love to ask them why Jajamaru collection has gone unfixed for 6 months (with PS4 trophy bugs and Switch sound emulation errors).

And of course remember these bugs are still not fixed after the release date was repeatedly pushed back (was it almost 9 months?) from their original ship date so that they could fix bugs.

[SeafoamGaming]

definitely would love to ask them why Jajamaru collection has gone unfixed for 6 months (with PS4 trophy bugs and Switch sound emulation errors).

And of course remember these bugs are still not fixed after the release date was repeatedly pushed back (was it almost 9 months?) from their original ship date so that they could fix bugs.

I think that was wonder boy which was delayed due to bugs? From July to Feb iirc. That one came out OK but yeah the Ratalaika QA is a complete mess at times. I obliterated the Jajamaru RPG collection in my review when i realized the zelda like game was bugged in not letting you use your magic spells after you obtained them, unless you toggle the menu cheat that lets you have all of the spells on at any time, since releasing it in that state was inexcusable.

That’s basically like if Mega Man 2 got reissued with the crash bomb as the only functional weapon. What on earth happened there?

[spaceveteran]

Missed opportunity for irem.

If they find the materials still somewhere they should include Battlebird in their collection and finally release it.

[cfx]

I don't know if this information is new, but I don't think it's in this thread. Tozai's website for Vol. 1 is here: https://tozaigames.co.jp/products/irem-collection-1/

Digitally it releases 11/21/2023 for Switch, PS4, and PS5 for 3520 yen.

Physically, it releases 02/22/2024 for Switch and PS5 only, in both a standard and limited edition. Preorders start 09/21/2023 and the standard edition is 4400 yen and the limited is 8800 yen.

This is an unfortunate trend with the PS4 versions of games in Japan often not getting physical releases now while the other versions do. It's been the case for all of Inti Creates' games for a while as well as various other things I've noticed.

[bobrocks95]

I don't know if this information is new, but I don't think it's in this thread. Tozai's website for Vol. 1 is here: https://tozaigames.co.jp/products/irem-collection-1/

Digitally it releases 11/21/2023 for Switch, PS4, and PS5 for 3520 yen.

Physically, it releases 02/22/2024 for Switch and PS5 only, in both a standard and limited edition. Preorders start 09/21/2023 and the standard edition is 4400 yen and the limited is 8800 yen.

This is an unfortunate trend with the PS4 versions of games in Japan often not getting physical releases now while the other versions do. It's been the case for all of Inti Creates' games for a while as well as various other things I've noticed.

I'd have thought with the gargantuan size of the PS5 that it wasn't selling super well in Japan. I know I'm waiting for a revision that could actually fit on my media shelf like a normal game console.

PS5 also loses stick support as far as I understand? I know the Brook board PS5 add-on is only for a handful of fighting games...

[cfx]

According to the weekly sales charts from Famitsu, the PS5 hardware is selling quite well in Japan, but games seldom make their top 30 at all, and for games that have both PS4 and PS5 versions, it's only been since sometime this year that the PS5 versions usually outsell the PS4 versions by some degree, with a higher PS5 split on something like the recent Armored Core where it may make some actual difference in performance.

I see that same information referenced on even licensed PS5 joysticks; they only state they work with various fighting games. My assumption has been that joysticks are a different controller type that games have to specifically support, in a repeat of the awful way things worked on the Dremcast. If so, it truly sucks because I have always played pretty much anything possible with a stick--basically anything that doesn't use analog control or twinstick type control.

I wonder if Sony made the mimimum required quantities for a physical print run higher on PS4 to make this happen, but that's probably just a tin-foil-hat moment.

[bobrocks95]

I think it's up to developers to support PS4 controllers for their PS5 titles then. I am fully expecting to run into a PS5 shmup at some point that doesn't have proper stick support, which is a real shame. I'd have thought surely officially licensed sticks would do fine but apparently not either??? That's crazy.

[gbaplayer]

Looks like Dragon Breed will be on Volume 3. Hopefully Leo also.

[cfx]

I think it's up to developers to support PS4 controllers for their PS5 titles then. I am fully expecting to run into a PS5 shmup at some point that doesn't have proper stick support, which is a real shame. I'd have thought surely officially licensed sticks would do fine but apparently not either??? That's crazy.

Everything I know is second-hand/hearsay since I don't have a PS5 so I shouldn't speculate further.

Maybe someone that has one and one of the official Hori sticks can answer whether it works with any of the few PS5-native shmups like R-Type Final 3, or the PS5 versions of Raiden IV and Raiden III, or anything else on the console. Of course that still doesn't answer whether things work by default or that those games have specifically put in such support.

[Rastan78]

I've held off on th PS5 as well, but here's an informative video on the topic of arcade stick compatibility. Basically if you only want to play PS4 stuff or don't mind investing in a dedicated official PS5 stick it's all good. If you.want to use a PS4 stick or brook board to play PS5 stuff, that's where you have to hope the specific game supports "legacy" controllers, which seems to be up to developers.

https://youtu.be/sG38h8K5W8A?si=2D4jD_cMJLBAcgEd

[bobrocks95]

I've held off on th PS5 as well, but here's an informative video on the topic of arcade stick compatibility. Basically if you only want to play PS4 stuff or don't mind investing in a dedicated official PS5 stick it's all good. If you.want to use a PS4 stick or brook board to play PS5 stuff, that's where you have to hope the specific game supports "legacy" controllers, which seems to be up to developers.

https://youtu.be/sG38h8K5W8A?si=2D4jD_cMJLBAcgEd

Hmm, yeah, definitely worried about that in the future. You know there's gonna be that one game you want to play at some point that doesn't support a PS4 stick...

[Steven]

Did the first one release yet? Too lazy to check myself. If it did, how does whatever is on it compare to any ACA equivalents that may or may not exist?

[cfx]

Did the first one release yet? Too lazy to check myself. If it did, how does whatever is on it compare to any ACA equivalents that may or may not exist?

Nah, of course not. It's SLG after all. Looking at their page, maybe i'm overlooking it, but I don't even see anything about when it's supposed to ship.

But it now says this which I don't think was originally there, so it's now totally clear what the options are:

Please note: Strictly Limited Games is exclusively doing this physical edition worldwide (apart from Japan), there will be no other physical edition of irem Collection Volume 1 from ININ games, no retail version, they will just publish the game digitally. Tozai will publish the game only in Japan both digitally and physically.

The Tozai physical versions are releasing February 22, 2024, and are for Switch and PS5 only, both a regular and limited edition. So SLG is the only choice for a PS4 physical edition.

[Jucksalbe]

Looking at their page, maybe i'm overlooking it, but I don't even see anything about when it's supposed to ship.

Right under the price it says "Q4 2023", so "theoretically" it should ship before the Japanese version. I wouldn't count on that, though.

[cfx]

Thanks, don't know how I missed that.

Edit: I didn't recheck when I wrote the above. Looking at the SLG site now, I don't have any text under the price. Perhaps a browser issue, but it explains why I didn't see it, because for me it isn't there.

[Steven]

It's SLG, so don't be surprised if it ships a year and a half after the initially announced release date.

[hamfighterx]

Looks like Dragon Breed will be on Volume 3. Hopefully Leo also.

Source? That's pretty exciting.

[Sumez]

SLG posted a picture of the game on social media. Well, the dragon was turned into a silhouette, but it's pretty unmistakable

[Lemnear]

I think that Irem is one of the dev that i should explore more, but....the games in these collections, what are? ACA? Exclusives? I've never heard of Tozai.
Which extra feature the games have?

[Steven]

I'd just go on ACA and get everything from Irem there, especially since they've already been released and you won't have to wait.

If you can only play a single Irem game, make sure it's the arcade version of the original R-Type, but that isn't on ACA and R-Type Dimensions isn't arcade-perfect. Of the ACA Irem games, I'd go with Kaitei Daisensou, but Image Fight and Saigo no Nindou also really good. BIL is the local Saigo expert, so BIL is the best person to ask about how awesome that game is, and yes, it is awesome.

[Sumez]

I've never heard of Tozai.

Tozai is just a licensing company forcusing on Irem IPs I think? Not sure who's actually developing the ports, but I hope it's the same people who are behind the Turrican Anthology box from SLG.

[Lemnear]

I'd just go on ACA and get everything from Irem there, especially since they've already been released and you won't have to wait.

If you can only play a single Irem game, make sure it's the arcade version of the original R-Type, but that isn't on ACA and R-Type Dimensions isn't arcade-perfect. Of the ACA Irem games, I'd go with Kaitei Daisensou, but Image Fight and Saigo no Nindou also really good. BIL is the local Saigo expert, so BIL is the best person to ask about how awesome that game is, and yes, it is awesome.

Ty!
X-Multiply and Image Fight 1 are the only ones available (ACA) of this Collection and all the games in the Collection Vol.2 are missing .

EDIT: if the price for the digital version is the same (or slightly less) of 3x ACA games, is ok, if more, NOPE...damn the physical edition have the instructions!!!

[Bassa-Bassa]

Tozai is a little bit more than a licensing company as some ex-Irem people are there and was even founded by Scott Himura. Despite the silly Arcade Gears homage thing, this Irem collection -even if hardly developed internally- could be Tozai's own project with ININ just being the partner publisher for the West. We'll see when the developers get revealed, but remember that Tozai already hired M2 at least once.

[Sumez]

Yeah, fair, I just mean I don't think they are doing actually development work

[Steven]

I'd just go on ACA and get everything from Irem there, especially since they've already been released and you won't have to wait.

If you can only play a single Irem game, make sure it's the arcade version of the original R-Type, but that isn't on ACA and R-Type Dimensions isn't arcade-perfect. Of the ACA Irem games, I'd go with Kaitei Daisensou, but Image Fight and Saigo no Nindou also really good. BIL is the local Saigo expert, so BIL is the best person to ask about how awesome that game is, and yes, it is awesome.

Ty!
X-Multiply and Image Fight 1 are the only ones available (ACA) of this Collection and all the games in the Collection Vol.2 are missing .

EDIT: if the price for the digital version is the same (or slightly less) of 3x ACA games, is ok, if more, NOPE...damn the physical edition have the instructions!!!

There are lots of Irem games missing on ACA, sadly, including R-Type, R-Type II, R-Type Leo, and Armed Police Unit Gallop. At least Kaitei Daisensou, Saigo no Nindou, Image Fight, X Multiply, and Moon Patrol are there. Don't skip Moon Patrol; it's awesome.

[SeafoamGaming]

Tozai is a little bit more than a licensing company as some ex-Irem people are there and was even founded by Scott Himura. Despite the silly Arcade Gears homage thing, this Irem collection -even if hardly developed internally- could be Tozai's own project with ININ just being the partner publisher for the West. We'll see when the developers get revealed, but remember that Tozai already hired M2 at least once.

Ratalaika is the dev IIRC: they are for all of ININ’s in-house stuff.

[Bassa-Bassa]

Did you really read that from a reliable source? I don't think it was revealed. I indeed was pretty sure this was ININ's doing until a friend noticed there's no mention of this company on Tozai's own page for the collection, which could mean it's their own thing.

[gbaplayer]

So Vol. 3 will include Mr Heli, Mystic Riders and Dragon Breed. I wonder why the hint they posted months ago, mentioned "get ready to fight". The hint for Vol. 4 says "further arcade shmup adventures" and Vol. 5 "platform fun".
I think vol. 3 will be the further arcade shmups collection and we wont get R-Type Leo or Gallop.

[SeafoamGaming]

So Vol. 3 will include Mr Heli, Mystic Riders and Dragon Breed. I wonder why the hint they posted months ago, mentioned "get ready to fight". The hint for Vol. 4 says "further arcade shmup adventures" and Vol. 5 "platform fun".
I think vol. 3 will be the further arcade shmups collection and we wont get R-Type Leo or Gallop.

Yeaaaaa it seems stuff got jumbled around and things are looking pretty rocky with the rollout of this. Not happy at the lack of Gallop/LEO since those two shows have been the biggest no brainers, but not even Evercade got them, and those guys usually love to get the obscurities (hence why Lightning Swords made it).

If Hero Tomna is in the platform pack though I’ll at least be thankful for that. But I have nervous vibes of the turrican set all over again where they announced it way before it even started and thus it just got delayed again and again and again… which also makes me realize the Steel Empire pack never launched in Summer, did it…

Did you really read that from a reliable source? I don't think it was revealed. I indeed was pretty sure this was ININ's doing until a friend noticed there's no mention of this company on Tozai's own page for the collection, which could mean it's their own thing.

Considering Ratalaika has been behind literally all of ININ’s compilations that are not already made in Japan/by other companies, and how this only got an announcement for japan after ININ came out pretty much cements it as Ratalaika imo, I cannot see them using anyone else and I don’t think Tozai would port these themselves.

I assumed for Jajamaru they were just reusing the JP collection but with new EN roms, but even that they had Ratalaika do and replace the JP ver with (and it still has broken trophies…) so it’s a very safe assumption

[Bassa-Bassa]

I believe there are still more elements pointing at this being an Inin initiative than a Tozai project (particularly how each volume's content is being decided and announced, not to mention again that the explicit Arcade Gears homage can only come from a western fanboy), but definitely getting announced for the US first is not one of them. Check, for instance, Puzzle Bubble Everybubble, again with Inin/SLG. Japan knows well at this point that the money is overseas.