Retro Re-release Roundup, week of July 24, 2025

Am I alone in feeling like Gunvolt being a decade old feels perfectly natural, yet Mighty no.9 being nine years old seems unfathomable?

ARCADE ARCHIVES

Stinger

What's this? A vertically-oriented, horizontally-scrolling sci-fi shooting game, developed by Seibu Kaihatsu (then known as Seibu Denshi) and distributed in arcades by Sigma in 1983; in addition to destroying enemies with the standard shot and deployable "Bongo" homing option, the player is also tasked with refueling their ship by hovering above the crab-like fuel stations that appear on the grounded portions of each stage. (This game is not to be confused with the NES game Stinger, which is in fact a US-localized version of Konami's Moero Twinbee.)

Why should I care? The pseudo-3D perspective used for the backgrounds is very well-crafted for an early-'80s game, and you might simply be curious to try Seibu's first shooting game, developed long before their mega-hit Raiden.

Useless fact: Seibu would later reuse the Stinger title for early location-test versions of the game that would ultimately release as Raiden Fighters.

EGG CONSOLE

Hydlide 3 S.V. (PC-98)

What's this? An enhanced version of the third game in T&E Soft's big-in-Japan action-RPG series Hydlide, originally released for PC88 and several other Japanese computers in 1989, with a Famicom conversion and a globally-released Sega Mega Drive/Genesis port (as Super Hydlide) in tow, and an authentic PC88 reissue via EGG Console last year; this PC98 "Special Version" makes significant changes to the character design and select lines of dialog while adding an additional underwater area and a handful of new bosses. (There also exists an X68000 port designated "Special Version", but that's a separate port again.)

Why should I care? hydlide 3 was already a maximalist sort of game that very nearly buckled under the weight of its many systems that required excessive amounts of micromanagement, so one could argue that it didn't necessarily need more content, but if you're going to take a bite at this game, you might as well gorge yourself.

Language barrier? The original Hydlide 3 included an English-language option but, to my recollection, that option is not present in this port; certain HUD/interface nouns and other info are presented in English, but the rest is in full Japanese.

OTHER

Azure Striker Gunvolt Trilogy Enhanced

What's this? A fresh, directors-cut-style re-port of the three mainline games in Inti Creates' Azure Striker Gunvolt series of side-scrolling action games, which debuted on Nintendo 3DS in 2014 and has since spread to PC and consoles; these versions include all their previously-released DLC and all the tweaks made across various reports and add even more new and additional features, including remastered music and extended vocal tracks, an extensive gallery including newly-subtitled audio dramas and other media previously exclusive to Japan, re-recorded voice acting for characters Copen and Lula using their current voice actors and various mechanical tune-ups to each game, with the original game receiving substantial back-ported mechanics from its sequel.

Why should I care? The original Gunvolt's idiosyncratic, score-centric tagging system threw off many people back in the day — put simply, they expected off-brand Mega Man and got off-brand Shinrei Jusatsushi Taromaru — but I'd urge even those who prefer more conventional sidescrollers to check out this trilogy package, not just because the later games offer a more confident and considered execution of those off-kilter concepts, or because an ever-increasing number of gutter-bumpers have been retroactively fitted to the original, but because it allows one to observe just how heavily and quickly the titular Gunvolt was sidelined in their own series in favor of more conventional characters. (PC players also might welcome a new and less crust port of OG Gunvolt, but it seems to suffer from an immediate, fatal save bug right now, so hang tight.)

Helpful tip: If you're planning on picking this up on Switch and already own digital versions of either Gunvolt 3 or Gunvolt Striker Pack, you can get Trilogy for 50%-off for the next four weeks.

PLUG & PLAY / "MINI" CONSOLES & ACCESSORIES

Sol Feace & Mugen Senshi Valis II Pack (X68000Z), ¥5,478

Zuiki's recent crowdfunding campaign for an official international X68000Z release was given a premature end, but the hardware's still going strong in Japan, with the latest promised Telenet game collection dropping today: a two-pack containing the original version of the shooting game Sol Feace, best known globally by its Sega CD port, as well as a Genesis cartridge release retitled Sol Feace, and the X68000 version of Valis II, which is notable both for being substantially different from the other games released with the same title, but also for being one of the very few noteworthy Valis games not included on any one of Edia's recent Valis console collections.