Yes, Raiden IV is not a typical shmup by contemporary standards, and won't be for everyone. Equally, all of these modes have been available in some form elsewhere. But as a single package, Raiden IV x Mikado Remix offers the Switch one of its best shooting game releases yet – and that is saying something on a console that has emerged as an unexpected star vehicle for the genre.
R-Type Final 2 makes an authentic if flawed contribution to an iconic shooting game series. Many of the problems seem technical, so hopefully an update could do plenty - especially if it lets you lock that camera pitch. All we can hope for, then, is that we are still in the beginning of R-Type's final phase, and that what Final 2 gets right is allowed to rise to the top.
Overall, Capcom Arcade Stadium is a very good package filled with brilliant games, each updated with modern functionality. It doesn't rival the quality of original hardware or the likes of M2's sublime individual ports of arcade masterworks as seen with the release of Esp.Ra.De Psi, but at £30 for 32 games, it is well worth the price, warts and all.
It's a satisfying experience as you glide gracefully over the ocean, but too often the dogfighting and bombing runs play out as erratic scrambles
The legendary skateboarding sim is back in a brilliant rerelease that offers a portal to the past
Phoenix Point may not meet the legacy of its celebrated forebear X-Com, but then few games ever will. Elegant, atmospheric, and energetic, Gollop's latest remains remarkably hard to put down. Will Freeman
There's plenty to do in this exciting and empowering simulation game, where automation is the key to your shining future
You can't beat the feeling of playing Magic with cardboard in your hands. Still, Arena presents a slick realisation in digital form, and one that should suit both old hands and newcomers.Will Freeman
Ports don't trump arcade hardware originals, do they? M2's elaborate build of Cave's brutal genre masterwork thinks otherwise.
Rival Megagun may fall short of the standards set by genre masterworks like Cave's Ketsui, Seibu Kaihatsu's Raiden Fighters Jet or Raizing's Battle Garegga. But those are some of the finest pieces of game design of all time, and failing to meet their lofty standards doesn't stop Spacewave's creation being a tremendously fun and rather distinct shmup that really does offer something fresh, and serves as a great demonstration of the Switch's multiplayer prowess in the process.