Retro Re-release Roundup, week of April 30, 2026
Time to pay the piper.
If none of this week's re-releases whet your whistle, the ever-faithful Jupiter might have what you need: Picross S Konami Antiques Edition, the latest entry in their ever-successful pixel art collaboration series following games themed around Sega, Capcom and SNK. Calling my shot: Picross S Undertale is next up.
ARCADE ARCHIVES / ARCADE ARCHIVES 2
Cyber Commando
- 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
What's this? A 3D sci-fi vehicular deathmatch game, originally developed and distributed in arcades by Namco in 1994 as a sequel to the earlier Cyber Sled and never ported or reissued for home consoles until now. Players control one of six tank-esque vehicles from one of three camera angles and pursue the destruction of enemy vehicles and bosses inside large arenas, with abilities that include primary missile fire, various subweapons and the ability to jam the opponent's radar; the original cabinet used dual flight-style analog joysticks for aiming and movement, which are replicated here via multiple configurations, including the option to use two separate analog joystick controllers. (As with previous 3D-era Arcade Archives Namco releases, the split-screen multiplayer functionality is exclusive to the Arcade Archives 2 version.)
Why should I care? You're aware of Namco and Sega's tit-for-tat jostling in the racing and fighting game genres and want to see how Namco stacked up in the fight for twin-stick arcade deathmatch supremacy — in short, Sega had 'em beat, Shinji Hosoe & co. BGM notwithstanding — or you simply didn't know that the popular-in-arcades, bigger-on-PlayStation Cyber Sled ever got a sequel.
Useless fact: Cyber Sled's absence from Arcade Archives thus far seems to be tied to complictions stemming from emulating its System 21 arcade hardware, which used anywhere from two to four dedicated PCBs; this board was shared by a large handful of early 3D Namco games including Winning Run, StarBlade and the just-informally-emulated Galaxian³, which used a System 21 setup in tandem with a laserdisc.
CONSOLE ARCHIVES
Rohga: Armor Force / Wolf Fang: Kuuga 2001 (PlayStation)
- Platform: Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5 (worldwide)
- Price: $11.99 / €10.99 / £9.89
- Publisher: Hamster / Paon-DP
What's this? The PlayStation port of Data East's 1992 autoscrolling side-view mecha action game Wolf Fang (titled Rohga: Armor Force outside of Japan), originally published by Xing in Japan in 1996 and reissued via Hamster's "MajorWave" budget label in 2003, with reissues of this specific port via the PS Classics line in the mid-'00s. Players can either choose from one of four preset mechs or assemble their own custom mech before setting out on an assault on the military faction Ragnarok, which will see them blasting their way through a variety of stages based on real-world locations, with selectable branching paths dictating the flow of the stages and the outcome of the story (which remains in Japanese, mind).
Why should I care? Wolf Fang's one of the earlier hits from Data East's turn-of-the-'90s era of games that were, simply put, more conventionally good and less nakedly strange: while the basic game flow might be considered a friendlier take on the Chelnov/Atomic Runner format, the game sets itself apart via its wide array of bombastic setpieces and general reverence for the conventions of the mecha anime genre, and while both of the home versions (which also included a Sega Saturn version, itself reissued as part of the Wolf Fang Skull Fang Saturn Tribute Boosted double-pack a few years back) sport many inaccuracies that invalidate them as true recreations of the authentic arcade game, they're certainly enjoyable enough in a vacuum.
Useless fact: Specialist Japanese mecha model maker PLUM has just concluded their run of 1/35-scale models of the four default Wolf Fang mechs, which include 1P/2P-color variant runs, customizable parts and pilot figures as store-exclusive bonuses.
G-MODE ARCHIVES+
- Platform: PC via Steam (worldwide), Nintendo Switch (Japan)
- Price: $15.99 / ¥1800
- Publisher: G-MODE / Bandai-Namco
What's this? An original mobile phone entry in Namco and Monolith Soft's Xenosaga series of RPGs, originally released sequentially as three two-part chapters on Japanese feature phones from 2004 to 2006, and reissued here in full for the first time; set 100 years before the events of Xenosaga: Episode 1, this version offers a 2D approximation of the basic battle system and exploration from the original Xenosaga while telling an original story that delves into the origins of the cyborg "Ziggy", playable here in his original human state. (The game itself has not been localized, as is G-MODE Archives custom.)
Why should I care? Many of the feature phone tie-in games of this era use canonicity or vague proximity to mainline console games as a figleaf of authenticity or credibility that isn't necessarily honest, but Pied Piper is an exception, being written directly by series writers Tetsuya Takahashi and Soraya Saga based on concepts originally intended for Xenosaga: Episode II, and it was subsequently treated as assumed ancillary reading, so to speak, for both Episode III and the I+II DS remake. (This game has recently received both a fan translation and an RPG Maker remake, so if reading it is your sole intention, there are external options available to you, albeit not ones I can personally vouch for.)
Helpful tip: This release is the first of several confirmed Bandai-Namco feature phone reissues via G-MODE, with sustained fan demand being a major contributing factor in Namco's willingness to participate in the initiative. They've already confirmed one other game thus far: Namco Chronicle, an all-star Namco SRPG with character art by boogiepop creator Kouji Ogata.
OTHER
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (Japan)
- Price: ¥3980
- Publisher: PLiCY / Shou
What's this? A full remake of the debut RPG by veteran Japanese freeware developer Shou, originally released for the PC-98-specific version of MS-DOS in 1997 and ported to Windows in 1999; crowdfunded approximately five years ago, this new version has been remade in 3D and features a greatly expanded version of the main story in addition to an all-new post-game scenario, full voice acting, a hybrid 3D+pixel art aesthetic, remade music, battle system changes and additions based on successor game Cresteaju, a remake of the haniwa-raising minigame and much more. (This release has yet to be announced for a global release, but it already offers an English-language option.)
Why should I care? Shou's games cemented themselves in the annals of Japanese free PC gaming not just for being early full-scale RPGs but for offering both technical ingenuity and and a balanced blend of doujin goofiness with earnest character moments that genuinely stuck with people, and this remake looks to pay tribute to the original experience with an aesthetic that hearkens to the game's very humble origins without merely pandering to nostalgia or flirting with ironic bombast — I'm sure I'm alone in thinking this lo-fi 2D-on-3D approach is much more fitting than the common understanding of "2DHD", but that's okay, I enjoy my own company.
Useless fact: Developer Shou not only developed the PC-98 and Windows versions of these games with cross-save compatibility, a rarity even among commercial projects, but they also steadfastly maintained that compatibilty over the next two decades and change; the final update to the original games was made in 2021.
- Platform: PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PC via Steam (worldwide)
- Price: $14.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: City Connection / Irem
What's this? An emulated reissue of R-Type DX, the 1999 Game Boy Color colorized combo pack of the original Game Boy conversions of Irem's arcade shooting games R-Type and R-Type II, originally developed by Bits Studio in 1991; in addition to City Connection's usual suite of features, which include save states, rewind, achievements and toggles for various power-ups, this version notably includes a "Music Encore" mode which adds brand-new, Game Boy-compliant chiptune renditions of all the tunes from the arcade version that were missing from the original ports, newly produced by former Success composer and chiptune veteran WASi303.
Why should I care? I mean, there's not a lot to question about this one: it's for those very specific people who owned the Game Boy versions of these games in their day but were annoyed that they were missing so many of the original tunes, or just want to hear slightly different versions of the tunes that were already there. I will say that these were perfectly admirable ports in their day, too... now, do I think they're an adequate substitute for the authentic arcade versions, which have been MIA from the reissue circuit for many years for reasons unknown? Of course not, but everything's for someone.
Useless fact: This is just one of many R-Type-related releases queued up for this year: there's a R-Type III remake coming next month, the global release of R-Type Tactics I+II Cosmos the following month, plus a R-Type ship/mech cameo as DLC for the City Connection-published, Granzella-developed Formation Z game.
Ys Memorie: Revelations in Celceta
- Platform: Nintendo Switch (outside of Japan)
- Price: $29.99 or equivalent
- Publisher: Nihon Falcom / XSEED
What's this? A retitled Switch port of Ys: Memories of Celceta, the 2012 remake-of-sorts of Ys IV originally released for PlayStation Vita and given an enhanced port to PC and PlayStation 4 in 2020; to my knowledge, this version is largely identical to the most recent HD versions (which essentially just ported the game with 60FPS performance and a dual-language options), save for a new, optional arranged soundtrack.
Why should I care? As any Ys-heads are probably well aware, there existed no canonical version of Ys IV prior to this game: the Super Famicom, PC Engine CD and PlayStation 2 versions were all developed based on a broad edict from Falcom but ultimately produced and directed by external parties, and so Celceta serves as the official, Falcom-made and approved take on this chapter of series hero Adol's exploits. Mechanically, this game largely borrows from the party-based, skill-heavy combat system pioneered by Ys VII, and if you're specifically looking for a less intense take on that particular format, you'll be better served by Celceta than Ys VIII, I'd say.
More an observation than anything else, but... of all the many Falcom-related remakes, remasters and soundtracks, the remastered music present in this version might be the only time I can recall people loudly and uniformly complaining about the poor quality of the arrangements.
UPDATES UPDATES UPDATES
Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection (PC, PlayStation 4+5, Nintendo Switch+Switch 2, Xbox) "Kross-Play" update & more
The latest, and final, major update for Digital Eclipse's Mortal Komabt Legacy Kollection adds much-requested cross-play functionality, alongside several other welcome technical enhancements including online supports for the 2v2 modes present in Mortal Kombat Trilogy and certain other games (Switch excluded), variable refresh rate functionality on supported hardware in order to accurately display the arcade games at their original ~53Hz refresh rate, as well as various other smaller bug fixes.
Warcraft III: Legacy (PC) released on battle.net
Remember Warcraft III: Reforged, the remaster of Warcraft III that ruined the art, removed or broke most of the features and functionality and forcibly rewrote itself over your copy of the original? Well, it's only taken, what, five years? but Blizzard's finally decided to allow people access to the untarnished original via Warcraft III: Legacy, which is essentially an offline/LAN-only build of version 1.90 of The Frozen Throne, available to all current owners of WIII via battle.net. Cool, but why now, I wonder...
