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.
If parachuting onto an island with 99 other people (or, alternatively, staring at a black hole for hours) is your exclusive definition of Battle Royal(e), we can be fairly certain that you weren't around at a time when Kunio’s 8-bit, 4-player multitap-enabled Famicom rumbles coined the expression.
Vasara Collection jumps from obscurity into the top tier of bullet hells on the Switch by offering both original brilliant titles without any technical hiccups and supporting the ever popular TATE option along with a whole new game that proves to be one of the few proper four-player options of the genre on the system. The zany characters and plot just make things sweeter, and make up for the somewhat derivative origin of the series. Considering the relative obscurity of the original releases, for a reasonable asking price you might just end up with three quality, 'brand new' manic shooters in your collection.
Raiden V: Director’s Cut quietly lands on the Switch with little fanfare, and yet feels right at home along with all the numerous other bullet hell shmups currently available on the system.
War Tech Fighters does exhibit a few rough spots here and there, but it is undeniable that it ticks all the right boxes for any self-respecting mecha fan. As of right now, it's a toss-up between this and Project Nimbus Complete Edition for the title of top mecha game on Switch, but if you're after a fast and exciting robot-based space shooter and don't mind long loading times and the odd awkward menu system, then this is worth a look.