Irem Collection Volume 2 Review (Switch)

Irem’s rollout of it’s older Ip is certainly taking its time. The Switch is now home to a huge array of retro games and compilations but much of it has been released on other platforms before. Irem seems to be taking a different approach, and while their collections are small, they are also games that haven’t been released as often. They are also seemingly trying to avoid an overlap with their Evercade releases so there’s a focus on more original content.

As a result, we haven’t seen collections of games such as R-Type or Midnight Resistance but more obscure arcade releases. The original collection contained Image Fight, Image Fight 2 and X Multiply, and now we have Air Duel, GunForce and GunForce II. Like before, different versions of the games have been included. The SNES and Arcade versions of Gunforce are here (along with regional variants), GunForce II has it’s Geo Storm variant and the Japanese version of Air Duel rounds out the collection.

Air Duel is a vertical scrolling shooter in the same sort of vein as Capcom’s 1940 series. You control a plane or a helicopter and take on a variety of futuristic military enemies. There’s a fairly standard power up system which increases the power of your main gun, and you also have your smart bombs. The helicopter handles slightly differently, allowing the player to pivot their fire from side to side which is a nice touch. In general, this is a great fun classic example of the genre, even if it lacks some of the innovation of modern releases.

You get both the console and arcade versions of GunForce. Unfortunately, the SNES/Famicom version of the game isn’t a patch on the arcade. It’s nice to have it here for completionist sake but it merely tries to mimic the arcade experience without adding anything new to the mix. As a result, you are much better sticking with the arcade experience. The game is a side scrolling shooter which sits somewhere between Conta and Metal Slug. It’s a tiny bit slow but the action is fun and frenetic and there’s a wide range of powerups and vehicles to play around with and huge bosses to take down.

GunForce 2 ramps up the speed and firepower considerably. It makes the game have much more of a full-on Metal Slug feel than the original. It’s also much more over the top with your character carrying two guns and a faster, more streamlined approach to the sprite work and level design. It’s an excellent game and one any fans of scrolling shooters should go out of their way to play.

As is standard now, all the games come with save states, rewind features and options to remap and change the controls. There’s also auto fire options and you can play the games in casual or classic mode which limits certain options or allows access to online leaderboards. It is a shame though that the games don’t have any real sort of archive or museum material.

Overall, Irem Collection Volume 2 has three excellent games on it that are all individually worth playing. There’s still an issue regarding the price, and of course there could and probably should be more games in each volume, especially compared to what’s out there from other companies. But what’s here is good and presented well. If that’s enough then you shouldn’t hesitate to dive in.

Overall 8/10

Irem Collection Volume 1 Review (Switch)

Irem have been one of the most notable companies to not fully exploit its back catalogue yet when it comes to retro collections and the exploitation of its classic franchises. The approach they have now taken is to release a selection of small volumes starting with this three-game collection of shoot’em ups. Here you get Image fight 1 and 2 and X Multiply, perhaps not the most well-known games from the company’s history but all of them are well worth playing. The big question is if these three games are worth the pricey sum of £19.99 when you compare them to other collections available.

One thing in the collections favour is that multiple versions of each game (Where available), are included. X Multiply has both the ‘World’ and Japanese arcade variants and Image Fight has all the Arcade, NES, Famicom and PC Engine versions available. The PC Engine CD version of Image Fight 2 rounds out the package. This means that while the package may seem a bit mean in terms of content and price it also means that it is far cheaper than trying to track down the original versions of the game to play on the original hardware.

In terms of options, they are deceptively extensive. You get multiple difficulty settings and the usual ability to create save states. There’s also a host of things to do in the arcade games such as calibrating how the sticks feel and various video options. There is also a section where you can enable cheats as well, so you are well served no matter how you want to play the games.

Image Fight is the most well-known game here and one that was an early pioneer in the world of the vertically scrolling shooter. It’s also crushingly difficult. It’s a game you’ll really need to memorise in order to make it through with the smallest of mistakes often leading to death. It’s a good thing those cheats are there for the more casual player. Of course, when you die you are stripped of your well-earned power ups as well which makes things even harder. T

he powerup system itself is complex with a mixture of pods that can be launched briefly before returning, and force like add-ons which bolt on to provide secondary weapons. Just make sure to pick the right ones or you will die. Often.

Just when you thought Image Fight was hard the sequel comes along and is perhaps even more difficult. Bigger bosses and more intense action coupled with players needing to build their powerups back up at the start of each stage mean this is really one for the hardcore gamers out there.

X Multiply is a horizontal scrolling shooter that initially recalls R Type. It is, perhaps, even more organically grotesque in its design. The concept is that you are making your way through a human body and need to rid it from a microscopic alien invasion. It’s a lot faster and more action intense than R Type for sure and a game that many have likely not encountered before so it’s great to see it get a spotlight here.

Overall, it’s difficult to judge where the first Irem Volume lands. The three games here are great and the emulation is rock solid. But there’s a lack of general finesse in terms of the presentation and the asking price for a collection of three games is steep. When you consider Irem has more volumes already lined up it’s obvious there could have been something put out that would have appealed to a much wider audience. In the end it’ll come down to just how much you want to play three great shoot’em ups.

Overall 7/10

R-Type Final 2 Review (Nintendo Switch)

It’s been a long time since the last new R-Type game. We should know because we reviewed it way on the PS2 and gave it a respectable 8/10. The thought of a sequel to the original R-Type Final certainly got us and many a shooter fan excited and now it’s here via a successful kick starter campaign and it’s certainly not taking any prisoners.

For those new to the series the R-Type games are side scrolling shooters where you single handedly take on the Bydo Empire. The key gimmick of the series is the ‘Force’ unit which players attach to their ship. It acts as both a barrier and a projectile battering ram, while also be able to fire on enemies. The strategic use of the unit is key to making progress through the game and intelligent use of it can make short work of otherwise insurmountable enemies.

The other thing that the original R-Type Final was known for was the legion of unlockable ships. This idea returns in the sequel with an ever present selection of units which are unlocked by completing levels and using resources. These become more and more diverse as you make your way through the game and are remarkably different which gives players plenty to play around with in order to find the perfect one for them.

The other key thing here is this certainly feels like an R-Type game. The opening is a thrilling return that sets the scene for players blasting off to fight the enemy and the levels remain maze-like constricting nightmares where players are more likely to crash into objects or waves of enemies than be overwhelmed by a swarm of bullet hell fire. In this respect at least it does all the right things.

However, it’s far from a perfect game. The environments themselves don’t look quite right and often have a roughness to them. This paired with fairly busy background graphics mean enemies and bullets can become lost in the environment which led to many a death which we simply didn’t see coming. These types of games are certainly not the place you want to be downed in a way that seemed unfair or unavoidable and it adds a level of frustration that could easily have been avoided. It also means we have to raise the issue of accessibility again with the colour palette not friendly for colour blind players at all. The fact that restarting after death seems to take a small lifetime doesn’t help either. At least there are checkpoints and all the continues you could ever want – but don’t expect to be getting all your hard earned firepower back all at once.

The slow restarts and visual issues wouldn’t perhaps be so noticeable if the game wasn’t so absolutely, crushingly, hard. This is one of the toughest games we’ve played in a long time and it took us a significant while to even get off the first level. Once we did adapt and start making progress though the levels are never less than thrilling in a sort of ‘OH MY GOD I’M GOING TO DIE’ kind of way. It’s also worth noting that the difficulty level chosen effects the game massively with the first level moving from having to off a small alien creature to taking on series icon Dobkeratops in its full glory as you up the intensity.

Unfortunately, the branching structure of the original game which had players experiencing different versions of each level based on how they did in the previous one seems to not be implemented here. The game is also meant to have adaptive difficulty but we didn’t see much of a change during our time with it apart from the game throwing us extra continues.

Overall, R-Type Final 2 certainly isn’t a perfect game but then none of the R-type series really is. When it clicks the levels are thrilling, claustrophobic and intense and you’ll find yourself really drawn into it. But then you’ll die and it’ll take forever to reload the checkpoint and the frustration may well start to set in. It’s certainly one that fans of the series will love but it’s a somewhat harder sell to newcomers who aren’t invested in the same nostalgic way. The first R-Type Final seemed pretty much complete but this feels somewhat bitty and disjointed in places which is a real shame. That said it’s great to have the series back – but if someone could remaster the first of the two games that would be great.

Overall 7/10