1993 Shenandoah is an unexpectedly polarizing title: previous Commodore Amiga owners and fans will undoubtedly love it and blissfully enjoy the sights and sounds of their beloved childhood, but folks who either missed out on the Amiga or are too young to know the machine might feel completely baffled that such titles managed to hold anyone's attention for long.
Rigid Force Redux is a short but extremely sweet 2.5D shmup that fans of the genre will find appetizing, while everyone else will likely praise its accessibility when stacked against Japanese bullet hell blasters. While we admit that the game is very derivative and sadly does not use the interesting core mechanics to their full potential, it still remains a truly enjoyable experience that plays, looks and sounds like a dream – it's just a shame that this dream is so fleeting. However, considering the long wait ahead for the release of R-Type Final 2, Rigid Force Redux does a decent enough job of filling the void.
Synaptic Drive feels slightly too expensive and bare-bones and feels almost 'early-access' quality in some regards.
Space Invaders: The Invincible Collection does a competent job in bringing in over four decades of alien shooting action to your Switch in a comfortable and accessible package. Solo players will relish the challenge of the online leaderboards, while fun multiplayer antics are provided by a couple of the available titles. The fact that there are no real emulation issues proves to be a relief, but there are also a few aspects that feel like missed opportunities: Space Invaders Extreme II is a no show and Arkanoid X Space Invaders is a straight-up mobile port with no Switch specific extras. While this is definitely an import to consider for genre fans, it slightly misses that essential purchase status thanks to the issues we mentioned. However, if you’re going for the complete Switch shmup library, you certainly won’t regret the investment.
In summary, Kunio’s catchphrase “Don’t underestimate me!” perfectly describes the content of this compilation. Do not be surprised to find most of these decades-old Famicom games among your go-to choices when you have friends around.
Speedway Racing is a mostly competent but ultimately unexceptional attempt to emulate the thrills and spills of Daytona USA – a courageous endeavour indeed. But like the many faux sponsorship advertisements dotted around this game’s speedways, closer inspection drops the curtain to reveal some hard-to-ignore shortcomings.
The passage of time has not been kind to Gigantic Army, but we do hope this is won’t be the only Astro Port game to see a Switch re-release.
There is very little to complain about with SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays because what it does, it does very well indeed, with no other game on the system to compare it against, other than its previous non-English entry.
For the tiny asking price you get a complete and charming single experience that will keep rewarding your efforts with extra content that, in turn, helps to expand the multiplayer portion of the game. Tight controls and enjoyable in-game physics seal the deal, and while a more traditional racing mode would have been nice, what's on offer more than justifies the low asking price.
Stay Cool, Kobayashi-san!: A River City Ransom Story is an interesting entry in a genre that is experiencing a revival of sorts on the Switch thanks to the ever-increasing number of re-releases and brand new experiences.