Retro Re-Release Roundup, February 2026 Megamix
A not-insubstantial portion of the news from last month, late and half-remembered.
Long time no see, folks! Now that the technical issues of the last several weeks have been righted, allow me to offer a rapid-fire overview of the vintage games that hit stores over the last month, with apologies to those games that I've already forgotten due to illness, death, impending world war and/or Nioh 3.
ARCADE ARCHIVES / ARCADE ARCHIVES 2
- 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
Barely released anywhere, never dumped for public dissection and never reissued before the recent Egret II Mini, this little-played Taito vertical swimmer from 1982 is deceptively nuanced and fully worthy of being exposed to a bigger audience than whichever Japanese arcades kept their location-test boards back in the day.
- 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 / Konami
You'd be forgiven for thinking every vertical arcade shooting game of this vintage was directly aping Xevious, but Konami's 1984 nominally-a-tank game Mega Zone serves as a reminder that some of these games were merely borrowing lightly from Xevious while mixing in their own ideas, perfunctory as they may have been.
- Platform: Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X (worldwide, ACA2) / Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 (worldwide, ACA)
- Price: $17.99 / €14.99 / £11.99 (ACA2), $14.99 / €14.99 / £11.99 (ACA), $2.99 / €2.99 / £2.49 (ACA-to-ACA2 upgrade)
- Publisher: Hamster / Bandai-Namco
Long-demanded but never-ported until now, the third and arguably best arcade entry in Namco's genre-defining 3D racing game series, Ridge Racer, has finally made its way home, exceeding the previous entries with a tweaked drifting model that would underpin the "classic" era of Ridge from hereon out, new and returning courses, camera change options from prior home versions, a massive increase in selectable BGM and much more. (All versions of this release including the standard and deluxe Japanese and International versions; additionally, the ACA2 versions for PS5/Switch 2 allow for local split-screen multiplayer for up to four players.)
- 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
This 1987 Taito sprite-scaling racing game has been dismissed in some quarters for being a mere Outrun pretender, or a footnote in the legacy of more ambitious and popular Taito games like Chase H.Q., but there is an appeal to the reckless feel of this one that's bound to hook a few of you, and if you stick with it enough to come to terms with the checkpoint system, you can blow through to the end in well under ten minutes.
CONSOLE ARCHIVES
("Console Archives"? This label made its debut mid-site-death, so allow me to introduce it here: Arcade Archives publisher Hamster is now applying the ACA model to console games and will be reissuing classic and obscure console games from the '80s, '90s and '00s across Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 on a more-or-less-weekly basis, with a feature suite that includes save states, various screen/display settings, button configs, regional versions where applicable and a digital manual, among others.)
Cool Boarders (PlayStation)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 (worldwide)
- Price: $11.99 / €10.99 / £9.89 (ACA2)
- Publisher: Hamster / UEP Systems
Modest by today's standards, this 1996 polygonal snowboarding game served as one of the surprise hits of the early PlayStation era, a franchise-launcher for the erstwhile UEP Systems and a game whose lineage in extreme board sports gaming can be felt to this day — and, in 2026, it offers a convenient A/B for the quality of Hamster's PlayStation emulation vs. that seen on PS Classics and elsewhere (and, thankfully, it acquits itself tremendously).
Dezaemon (Famicom)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 (worldwide)
- Price: $7.99 / €6.99 / £6.29 (ACA2)
- Publisher: Hamster / Athena
Athena's shooting game construction tool Dezaemon truly found its footing with subsequent entries for more capable hardware, but for those looking to see where it all began, Hamster's served up the 1991 Famicom original, which offers players the ability to draw and configure player-ships, enemies, bosses, backgrounds and music in order to assemble their own three-stage vertical shooting game; as with the original Famicom release, there's no way for players to natively share their creations with other players beyond manually and laboriously transcribing the settings from screenshots or video, but it's somethin'. (Do note that all the main menu listings are in Japanese, but one can probably poke their way around without too much trouble.)
Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (NES/Famicom)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 (worldwide)
- Price: $7.99 / €6.99 / £6.29 (ACA2)
- Publisher: Hamster / Koei-Tecmo
Tecmo's 1990 sequel to the smash-hit ninja sidescroller Ninja Gaiden lives up to its predecessor, offering more of the same snappy, meticulously-designed action, top-class audiovisuals and cinematic flair, with an ever-so-slightly-relaxed level of difficulty that many prefer over the stoicism of the original and the either-too-easy-or-too-hard nature of the Famicom/NES threequel, depending on region. (Hamster specifically selected this title as one that was conspicuously missing from Nintendo Switch Online, but Nintendo finally got around to adding it in the interim. Oh well.)
EGG CONSOLE
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (worldwide)
- Price: $6.49 / ¥770
- Publisher: D4 Enterprise / Bothtec
This contest-winning action game not only served as an early hit for publisher Bothtec but as the namesake for Project EGG and EGG Console, and for as simple as it may seem, its Choplifter-esque hop-and-rescue gameplay has a little more integrity than many of its contemporaries. Egg. (Language barrier? Not for this one.)
- Platform: PC via Steam (worldwide)
- Price: $9.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: D4 Enterprise / T&E Soft
You read that correctly: EGG Console's made the jump to Steam, with Hydlide 3 being the first release, just as it was on Switch. This capstone to the classic Hydlide trilogy (which you may know by its Genesis/Mega Drive conversion, Super Hydlide) was not quite the gentler, kinder Hydlide the developers had intended it to be, owing largely to a preponderance of new microsystems that require constant regulation by the player, but if you're tantalized by games that aim big and just barely fall short, this is a good'un. (Language barrier: no, actually! This game originally shipped with an English-language setting, and it's reasonably legible.)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (worldwide)
- Price: $6.49 / ¥880
- Publisher: D4 Enterprise / Xtalsoft
The third and final entry in Xtalsoft's era-defining RPG series saw a shake-up in personnel that resulted in a more unrefined and less somber tone, which some felt took the edge off of what should've been a more satisfying conclusion to the long-running story, but manages to impress in many other facets, including its new and more explictly Ultima-ish, somewhat-automatic tactical overhead battle system, a noticeable bump in graphical quality and a full suite of BGM by future Square composer team Chihiro Fujioka and Ryuji Sasai. (Language barrier? Absolutely.)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (worldwide)
- Price: $6.49 / ¥880
- Publisher: D4 Enterprise / Compile
Fans of Compile's cult action-RPG Golvellius, take note: sourced from one of Compile's many Disk Station software collections, Super Cooks is essentially a comedic reskin of the final MSX2 version of Golvellius (reissued via EGG Console some months ago, in case ya missed it) with a goofy cooking-themed story and lots of silly enemy and boss reskins atop some very familiar gameplay; I wouldn't go so far to say it's the sequel you've never played, but for some, it'll be close enough. (Language barrier? There's a not-insignificant amount of text for shops, NPCs, etc; Golvellius fans might be able to bluff their way through it, but don't quote me on that.)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (worldwide)
- Price: $6.49 / ¥880
- Publisher: D4 Enterprise / Xainsoft
Following the PC88 original and MSX conversion, this marks the third version of Xainsoft's side-view action-RPG to hit EGG Console; the "super" upgrade for MSX2 adds substantially altered and expanded map design, enemy roster bosses and more, and while many would argue that this particular version dilutes the charm of what was originally a relatively simple and forgiving game in a misguided pursuit of volume, there will always be those for whom more is simply more. (Language barrier? There's not much text, and it's virtually all in English.)
G-MODE ARCHIVES+
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (Japan), PC via Steam (worldwide)
- Price: $12.99 / ¥1500
- Publisher: G-MODE / Hopemoon
Unlike many of the feature phone games regularly unearthed by G-MODE, Hopemoon's cyber-Sokoban puzzle/adventure game Flash Motor Karen has re-emerged in a few different guises, including ports for PlayStation Portable and smartphones, so whether you're familiar with one of those other versions, specifically curious to try the original or just want to try a Hopemoon game that isn't completely doused in on-the-nose grimmness, this game should give you plenty to chew on.
J.B.Harold no Jikenbo #1: Murder Club
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (Japan)
- Price: ¥800
- Publisher: G-MODE / Althi
One might question why they'd want to play or otherwise buy this particular version of a game that already exists in two other, arguably more significant forms on Switch alone, and G-MODE's answer to this question has been rather straightforward: there are multiple feature phone-exclusive J.B.Harold that they hope to reissue once they've gotten through the ports of the originals, and so buying the OGs is the quickest path to making that happen. Props for honesty, I suppose.
NINTENDO SWITCH ONLINE EXPANSION PASS
Virtual Boy on Nintendo Switch 1&2, wave 1
You'll have to wait until later in the year for the juicier games (as well as functionality like non-eye-searing color), but Nintendo's finally come around on their famous stereoscopic boondoggle by reintroducting their Virtual Boy catalog to a new generation — not via their autostereoscopic handheld of fifteen years ago, naturally, but via a combination of the Switch family and one of multiple visor options which include an expensive plastic shell or the cardboard Labo goggles you absolutely, definitely did not throw away pre-pandemic.
PLAYSTATION PREMIUM
February '26 update: Wall-E (PlayStation 2)
One of you might have to fill us in on this one, because I've got nothin'. (You can straight-up buy this one for $20, at least)
OTHER
- Platform: Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox, PC via Steanm (worldwide)
- Price: $24.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: Sunsoft / Clouded Leopard Entertainment
Developed and published in Japan by Sunsoft for the PC Engine in 1990, this sidescroller remains the only dedicated console game adaptation of the classic '80s manga/anime property City Hunter, and the folks behind this reissue have done their best to polish what is ultimately a thoroughly unremarkable game by way of alternate rebalanced and bug-fixed modes, a suite of new localizations including English and a French script that conforms to the old "Nicky Larson" dub, the inclusion of certain anime content in the gallery and the typical assortment of save states, rewind and so on. If nothing else, savor the chiptunes, as Sunsoft didn't do too many originals for this hardware.
- Platform: Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox, PC via Steam (worldwide)
- Price: $59.99 or equivaklent
- Publisher: Square-Enix
Enix's notoriously voluminous and leisurely-paced 2000 PlayStation Dragon Quest entry has been remade not once but twice now, with this new version not only boasting a unique diorama aesthetic with characters scanned from real-world models but also a wide-raging and significant excision or truncation of content across all facets of the game. Look, someone at S-E started crunching the completion percentages on these games and this is the outcome, okay? What, do you want them to stop making wrongheaded decisions?
- Platform: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam (worldwide)
- Price: $14.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: Limited Run Games
LJN's Westone-developed NES Jaws game has not just re-emerged from the briny depths but comes paired with an "enhanced version", redesigned by our very own Jeremy Parish. Let him know how he did!
Pokemon FireRed Version & Pokemon LeafGreen Version
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (worldwide)
- Price: $19.99 or equivalent (collection), $12.99 (standalone games)
- Publisher: Nintendo / Game Freak
No, these aren't Nintendo Switch Online releases: the Game Boy Advance remakes of the first-generation Pokemon games are back and available for standalone purchase and, aside for some word/name filters, a few bugfixes and the inclusion of event items that'll let you get certain legendaries, they're exactly as they were in 2004. (Battling and trading is local-only; Pokemon HOME support will be added at a later date. Also note that each language variant has been released as a separate purchase, so be sure to locate and purchase the specific version for your needs.)
Raiden Fighters Remix Collection
- Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch (worldwide)
- Price: $34.99 or equivalent (collection), $12.99 (standalone games)
- Publisher: MOSS / H2 Interactive
The high-intensity, score-focused arcade spinoffs of the classic Raiden shooting game series have been ported twice before: once via the excellent, albeit region-locked, Raiden Fighters Aces collection for Xbox 360, and once more via the shoddy Dotemu-produced Raiden Legacy for PC and smartphones... and unfortunately, this collection leans closer to the latter, with input lag, broken configuration settings and game speed issues abound, but I don't believe it's beyond saving, nor do I think the developer can afford not to at least try to fix it, given the furore it's causing in Japanese circles right now, but we'll see.
Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition
- Platform: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PC via Steam (worldwide)
- Price: $19.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: Ubisoft / Digital Eclipse
Ubisoft caught the world off-guard with the surprise drop of this collection, a reverent celebration of their company-building platformer that offers five versions of the original game — the little-played Atari Jaguar original, the exhaustively-played PlayStation version, the expanded-and-expanded-again PC version and handheld adaptations for Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance — alongside a developer documentary, the first public hands-on with the SNES prototype, a look at the design bible and more. Of course, the excitement for this collection was immediately deflated by their decision to surreptitiously replace the soundtrack for reasons that remain unclear, but let's not pretend the commercial concerns of game preservation extend beyond maintaining games in whichever state allows them to retain maximum profitability.
Ren & Stimpy Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy Collection
- Platform: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PC via Steam (worldwide)
- Price: $19.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: Limited Run Games / Mighty Rabbit Studios
I am told this collection is missing "the good ones", but I am also fully aware that I lack the ability to tell a good one of these from a bad one, so I'll let you be the judge.
- Platform: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam (worldwide)
- Price: $14.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: Limited Run Games / Headless Chicken
Following remakes of the two arcade games and the brand-new three-dimensional Snow Bros. Wonderland, the Snow Bros. renaissance is, somehow, continuing with this collection of "classics": that is, the NES, Game Boy and Mega Drive conversions of the original arcade game, but neither of the authentic arcade versions, ie the ones that might credibly be deemed "classic". Even so, the Mega Drive version's a very accurate port with extra content, and one might prefer to grab this comp than to have to buy the deluxe edition of the remake just to get the original arcade version.
- Platform: PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PC via Steam (worldwide)
- Price: $19.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: Konami / Red Art Games
This surprise collaboration between Konami and Red Art Games brings us the five games in the Super Bomberman series for SNES/Super Famicom, complete with brand-new localizations where appropriate, alongside the two NES/FC Bomberman titles, extensive art and sound galleries, new boss rush modes and more — put simply, if you've somehow missed the once-ubiquitous local multiplayer sensation that is Bomberman, or would like to introduce it to someone who wasn't alive back when this series used to get multiple games a year, this is as safe an introduction as any. (Do note that it does not offer online multiplayer.)
Super Shadow Break SHOWDOWN! Ninjas vs. the Three Kaiju
- Platform: PC via Steam (worldwide)
- Price: $12.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: PLiCY / Spiky Zone
Originally released as PC freeware by doujin dev bunaguchi and remade for Nintendo Switch in 2022, this new take on the brick-breaking ninja action hybrid Shadow Break offers new stages, features, mechanics and kaiju-themed bosses, all alongside a remake of the original; the OG saw wide circulation among a certain generation of indie crate-diggers, and the remake elevates the concept in all the right ways.
The Disney Afternoon Collection
- Platform: Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch (worldwide)
- Price: $19.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: Atari / Digital Eclipse
One of the more baffling omissions from the Switch library has been rectified: Digital Eclipse's 2017 six-pack of beloved Capcom-developed Disney games for NES (DuckTales & DuckTales 2, Chip'n Dale: Rescue Rangers & Chip'n Dale: Rescue Rangers 2, TaleSpin and Darkwing Duck), has made a surprising belated appearance on Nintendo platforms, with two additional exclusive Capcom Disney adaptations in tow, those being the if-you-know-you-know co-op block-pusher Goof Troop and the eminently forgettable platformer Bonkers, both of which originated on SNES. I cannot say whether the input lag issues that dragged down the collection all those years ago are still present, but people seem fine with Mega Man Legacy Collection, so what do I know?
- Platform: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PC via Steam (worldwide)
- Price: $24.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: City Connection / Clear River Games
Originally released exclusively in Japan to cult reception but extremely modest sales, this 2010 DS dungeon-crawler — one of the final games published by Jaleco, and developed by classic Etrian Odyssey co-developers Lancarse — has been made available to global audiences for the first time via this remaster, which offers an English localization, a newly-configured single-screen layout and UI, high-definition character portraits and other assets, a new arranged sountrack and other tweaks (including the removal of original fan-voted content borne from the 2chan message board). This game's a staple of every Japanese RPGs-you-should've-played list, and one that fans of dungeon crawlers or general systems-first, plot-second RPGs will find something to sink their teeth into.
- Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox, PC via Steam (worldwide)
- Price: $59.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: Sega
Look, I'm sure that you're well aware of the many points of contention lobbied against this remake-plus-expansion: the arguably diminished lighting and other visual effects, the significant content omissions, the recasting of a prominent character with a known sex offender, the delisting of the original in favor of this more expensive and worse-running version, and on and on. That said, they've debuted an in-house NAOMI emulator with this remake, so if you require a relatively convenient way to play SlashOut! at home, it now exists. Yippee.
DELISTING NOTICE
Jurassic Park Classic Games Collection (PS5, PS4, Switch, Xbox, Steam) to be delisted on March 31
After twio years and change, LRG's emulated collection of early-'90s console Jurassic Park games is set to disappear from digital storefronts on March 31, so if you think you'll ever want to trudge around the SNES game for fifteen minutes and then forget about it for a decade, act fact. (I've noticed a lot of people missed this detail, so allow me to restate: they did add the two Genesis games to this comp!)
