Retro Re-release Roundup, week of June 12, 2025
The premier breakfast dessert-adjacent crosshair shooter hits Arcade Archives.
...what, you thought you were going to be getting Ridge Racer-tier drops from now on?
ARCADE ARCHIVES
Spinal Breakers
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 (worldwide)
- Price: $7.99 / €6.99 / £6.29
- Publisher: Hamster / Video System
What's this? A goofy sci-fi-tinged auto-scrolling crosshair shooting game, originally developed Video System and distributed in arcades by Taito and Sammy in 1991 and never reissued or ported until now. One or two players control the oddly-named Captain Waffle and/or his drone on a time-hopping battle against an army of artificial "Hildroids" that became murderously sentient in the aftermath of a nuclear war; in addition to aiming and shooting at enemies and destroying scenery for items and score, the player can also roll to evade enemy attacks.
Why should I care? You remember Captain Waffle from his inclusion in later entries in the Aero Fighters/Sonic Wings series, or you're a fan of this particular subgenre of shooting game as codified by Cabal and NAM-1975 and want to try one of the stronger unsung games of its type. Do also note that the game offers multiple endings, with two of the three endings being much bleaker than the otherwise-silly setting might suggest...
Helpful tip: There have been some minor content edits for this reissue, including the removal of profane graffiti and some Auschwitz iconography from the first stage. Some might've wondered whether the ultra-bad ending had been modified at all but it seems to be intact.
EGG CONSOLE
Revival Xanadu Easy Ver. (PC-98)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (worldwide)
- Price: $7.16/ ¥880
- Publisher: D4 Enterprise / Nihon Falcom
What's this? A 10th-anniversary remake of Falcom's hit action-RPG Xanadu, released for PC98-series computers in 1995 and later forming the basis of the version presented on the Falcom Classics anthology for Sega Saturn in 1997; more specifically, this is the "Easy Version" revision included as a bonus with the release of Revival Xanadu Scenario 2, just months after the original. Hewing closer to what modern players might term a remaster, this remake sought to present the original game with a modest visual touch-up and a much lusher soundtrack with support for multiple 98-series audio setups, and the Easy Version additionally offers an in-game map and base-level tweaks to in-game stats/values/paramaters.
Why should I care? There might be an obvious gulf between "easier than the original" and "playable by the average neophyte in 2025" that this version absolutely does not clear, but that doesn't change the fact that it is easier than the original, and by that I mean it gives you ever-so-slightly more leeway on having to optimize the entire game. Naturally, the audio glow-up's easy to appreciate, too.
Language barrier? Aside from the very occasional plot-related text crawl, everything is presented in simple English.
OTHER
- Platform: PC via Steam (worldwide)
- Price: $8.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: Strategy First
What's this? An arcade-style open-course truck-driving game, originally developed by Eutechnyx and published by THQ for PlayStation 2, Gamecube, Xbox and PC in 2002, with a sequel and handheld adaptation following not long thereafter; as far as I can tell, this Strategy First-published reissue is essentially just the old PC port reconfigured for modern systems.
Why should I care? I have not played this game, I cannot recall ever seeing it in action and I don't know of anyone who has anything nice to say about it (on consoles, anyway — the GBA version's one of those you-won't-believe-your-eyes conversions), but I also know that just saying "it's an overly crass 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker by the future makers of Ride to Hell: Retribution" is going to attract the attention of one or two of you (to which I will pre-emptively reply: you degenerate, you.).
Useless fact: During my scan research for this writeup, I discovered that this game does, or at least did, boast a slightly higher Metacritic score than Gran Turismo 7.
