Retro Re-release Roundup, week of December 25, 2025
It's not Xmas in all of the world, dontcha know.
I wouldn't usuallly waste your time and mine by highlighting a release that's only out in Japan and guaranteed to be coming out globally in the not-too-distant future but it's near-enough-to-xmas and I am extremely confident that nobody's going to be reading this one so I'm gonna give an extra bump to some affable second-string Mega Drive games as a gift to myself, and probably only myself.
ARCADE ARCHIVES / ARCADE ARCHIVES 2
Space Invaders
- Platform: Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X (worldwide, ACA2) / Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 (worldwide, ACA)
- Price: $9.99 / €8.99 / £7.39 (ACA2), $7.99 / €6.99 / £6.29 (ACA), $2.99 / €2.99 / £2.49 (ACA-to-ACA2 upgrade)
- Publisher: Hamster / Taito
What's this? Y'all know what it be.
Why should I care? The technical team behind many of Hamster's Arcade Archives releases just so happens to be the same team behind the most recent home reissue of the original Space Invaders, via the recent-ish Space Invaders Invincible Collection, and they've been able to one-up their work on that comp by adding even more ancillary features like a variety of different options for reproducing the different cellophane overlays used to add color to the black-and-white monitor, the orientation of the how-to-play cards that might be seen on a tabletop cabinet, the distortion of the visuals under certain circumstances, etc — in other words, it you absolutely must play OG Invaders outside of an original cab, this is the most accurate way to do so.
Helpful tip: Space Invaders Part II's queued up for next week, so reserve a spot on the edge of your seat.
EGG CONSOLE
Carbuncle Pi (MSX2)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (worldwide)
- Price: $6.49 / ¥770
- Publisher: D4 Enterprise / Compile
What's this? A side-scrolling puzzle-action game starring Puyo Puyo/Madou Monogatari mascot Carbuncle, originally developed and distributed for MSX2 by Compile via a 1991 issue of their Compile Disk Station series; players control Carbuncle on a mission to collect all the jewels in each stage before reaching the Arle-esque girl in order to proceed; the jewels usually function as platforms, so the player will need to think about the sequence in which they are collected if they want to be able to grab 'em all.
Why should I care? You're curious about the many, many Puyo Puyo-adjacent games Compile bashed out that clearly have little to nothing to do with Puyo Puyo or Madou Monogatari, or you want an appetizer for a Compile Disk Station sampler — this game's essentially a reskinned level pack for a game called Nyanpi that was released, iterated and level-packed to kingdom come, and EGG will inevitable bring the all-in-one Nyampi MSX comp to this service someday, so if you dig this game, there is much, much more to come.
Language barrier? There's nary a lick of text in this game.
G-MODE ARCHIVES+
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (Japan)
- Price: ¥1500
- Publisher: G-MODE / Hopemoon
What's this? An action-RPG spinoff of the Muma no Tengai feature phone series, originally developed and distributed on Japanese phones by Hopemoon in 2007; a retired occult researcher is coaxed into sealing away an otherworldly realm that was inadvertently unsealed by an attractive property developer, but this might be one mission from which they never return...
Why should I care? On one level, this game represents the G-MODE Archives debut for Hopemoon, a studio renowned for producing beloved and particularly well-written RPG and novel-style games for cellphones, and as someone who knowns them by reputation only, I can at least say that I'm intrigued by the chance at a formal introduction; on another level, this particular release was chosen via a recent user survey, and the deal to release this game was struck just weeks over the poll happened and might never have been finalized if not for that tangible, demonstrated demand, so this is also a win for people power. From the perspective of people with an interest in the design and functionality of action games on feature phones, I can say that the one-button attack system is certainly distinct from obvious console-equivalent comparisons like Secret of Mana and is worth examining, even if only out of idle curiosity.
Helpful tip: The Steam version's not out yet, but it will be out within the next few weeks.
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (Japan)
- Price: ¥800
- Publisher: G-MODE
What's this? A horror-tinged romance adventure game, originally distributed on Japanese feature phones by G-MODE in 2008; when schoolgirl Tonomi Maya is struck by recurring dreams centered around Tokyo Tower, she heads to the tower and is confronted by the sight of the boy who keeps appeaing in her dream...
Why should I care? I'd never heard of this game before its surprise announcement earlier in the week, which was tailed by a surprising outpouring of excitement — apparently, this game was written and design by most of the folk behind cult romance adventure games like the Vitamin series and has been considered a lost gem in certain corners of the romance game community, so I would like to presume it lives up to its reputation.
Useless fact: The release of this game was timed around the anniversary of the Tokyo Tower, and G-MODE apparently had to request legal clearance from the Tokyo Tower organization to reissue this game.
OTHER
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (Japan)
- Price: ¥7480
- Publisher: Edia
What's this? An emulated collection containing the three games in Wolf Team's cult action game series: the 1991 Sega Genesis/Mega Drive action-platformer El Viento, the 1991 sprite-puppet extravaganza Earnest Evans, released for Sega Mega CD in 1991 and converted for Genesis cartridge in 1992, and the Japan-only brawler Annet Futatabi, released solely for the Sega Mega CD in Japan and never reissued until now; as with previous Edia-produced collection, this one comes equipped with the likes of save states, rewind and screen settings, as well as galleries containing music and scanned materials like game manuals. (Two notes off the rip: one, the announced PS version was delayed at the last second; and two, the Japanese release does include multi-language menus but does not, to my knowledge, include the original English voiceovers that have been announced for the impending global version.)
Why should I care? El Viento's not just the undisputed queen of the Mega Drive B-tier action category but also the actualized form of what people claim Valis to be — that is, a loosey-goosey anime girl action game that's designed by somebody who understands kinetics and panache and, like, level design; Earnest Evans is one programmer's misbegotten dream to build an action game hero entirely out of the tech that powers Simon Belmont's whip in Super Castlevania IV and needs to be played to be truly appreciated, and Annet Futatabi is happy to hitch a ride. One might also want to celebrate one of the very few instances of Mega CD games getting an emulated reissue outside of Sega-produced releases (and even then, it's basically just the Genesis/Mega Drive Mini 2).
Helpful tip: This game's international release not only includes a Steam release but also a PlayStation release — a first for one of these Edia comps, if memory serves.
