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SNK 40th Anniversary Collection announced


Atariboy

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A new classic compilation is on the way. SNK announced today at PAX East that NIS America is publishing this in the Fall of 2018 for the Nintendo Switch. Focus is on their pre Neo Geo line and their NES library.

 

Edit: I didn't see that it's supposed to be exclusive, I suppose it belongs in the Switch forum then.

 

https://nintendoeverything.com/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-will-only-be-on-switch-official-announcement/

 

Santa Ana, CA (April 6, 2018) – NIS America is excited to announce SNK 40th Anniversary Collection for Nintendo Switch, coming Fall 2018. The collection features many of SNK’s classics from the 1980s before the Neo Geo, and re-introduces and updates these classics for the modern era.

This collection will feature the following titles and more (to be announced):

1. Alpha Mission (Console/Arcade)
2. Athena (Console/Arcade)
3. Crystalis (Console)
4. Ikari Warriors (Console/Arcade)
5. Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road (Console/Arcade)
6. Ikari Warriors III: The Rescue (Console/Arcade)
7. Guerrilla War (Console/Arcade)
8. P.O.W. (Console/Arcade)
9. Prehistoric Isle (Arcade)
10. Psycho Soldier (Arcade)
11. Street Smart (Arcade)
12. TNK III (Console/Arcade)
13. Vanguard (Arcade)

 

 

Looks very similar to SNK Arcade Classics Volume 0 and the lineup of SNK's PSP Minis. This though should make the many LS30 rotary stick equipped games much more playable than they were on the PSP, where you had to use L/R to rotate your rotary stick to aim. It also seems to include NES ports where available (And at least one SNK NES exclusive in the form of Crystalis).

 

This time, aiming can just all be mapped to the right analog stick like was seen with another LS30 stick game with Heavy Barrel on Data East Arcade Classics for the Nintendo Wii, essentially turning them into twin stick shooters. Much more playable method.

 

Here was the lineup for SNK Arcade Classics Volume 0 and the list of PSP Mini exclusives, with those already confirmed in the press release listed in bold. My hope is that most all of these will make the cut, with perhaps a few additional arcade games included that never made it out on the PSP.

 

  • Alpha Mission
  • Athena
  • Bermuda Triangle
  • Chopper I (PSP Mini exclusive)
  • Gang Wars (PSP Mini exclusive)
  • Gold Medalist
  • Guerrilla War
  • HAL 21
  • Ikari Warriors
  • Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road
  • Ikari Warriors III: The Rescue
  • Marvin's Maze
  • Ozma Wars (PSP Mini exclusive; I believe this was SNK's first game)
  • P.O.W.: Prisoners of War
  • Prehistoric Isle in 1930
  • Psycho Soldier
  • Safari Rally (PSP Mini; Announced but the program was discontinued before it was released)
  • Sasuke Vs. Commander
  • Seach and Rescue
  • Street Smart
  • Super Champion Baseball
  • The Next Space (PSP Mini exclusive)
  • Time Soldiers (PSP Mini exclusive)
  • TNK III
  • Touchdown Fever (Also had a NES port)
  • Vanguard (PSP Mini exclusive)
  • Vanguard II

And some likely NES candidates, assuming there's no licensing issues.

  • Baseball Stars
  • Little League Baseball
  • Touchdown Fever

I left off Lee Trevino's Fighting Golf because he's obviously a real person, and Mechanized Attack since it's a Zapper game (Although it has a gamepad option and a Joy-Con could be used to move an on-screen aiming reticle like a Wiimote can for NES Duck Hunt on the Wii U VC). Also excluded two Famicom exclusives that don't appear import friendly.

Edited by Atariboy
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They also mentioned that this will upscale to 1080p as expected, have a rewind feature and save states, optional cheats, and "redesigned controls for modern consoles" which is a good sign that they're hopefully taking the time to get the LS30 setup working well.

 

LS30 rotary arcade stick:

 

modded_top_view.jpg

 

I hope this includes Satan of Saturn. It's a fun but forgotten arcade base shooter, although the music that SNK borrowed back in the day may keep it in the vault (Although Vanguard which took similar liberties is included here and appeared intact as a PSP Mini).

 

https://youtu.be/mzBgDNmsyyE?t=1m22s

Edited by Atariboy
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Limited edition already up for order.

 

https://snkonlinestore.com/snk-40th-anniversary-collection-limited-edition-nintendo-switch

 

A bit too rich for my taste at this time. Hopefully there's a regular retail edition slated for release at a more typical $20-$40 price point.

Edited by Atariboy
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Nice to see the announcement of this. Hopefully the game lineup is fleshed out pretty well beyond the initial announced titles. It would be especially nice if this eventually makes its way to other platforms, but based on the announcement, it doesn't seem likely at the moment (odd choice if you ask me, omitting the PS4).

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If anyone was curious who the developer is, GameSpot says it's the Digital Eclipse studio.




So the same developer that handled Mega Man Legacy Collection Volume 1 & 2 (But not the upcoming X collection), the Disney Afternoon Collection, and the upcoming Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection.

Edited by Atariboy
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If anyone was curious who the developer is, GameSpot says it's the Digital Eclipse studio.
So the same developer that handled Mega Man Legacy Collection Volume 1 & 2 (But not the upcoming X collection), the Disney Afternoon Collection, and the upcoming Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection.

 

This is slightly incorrect. Digital Eclipse only handled Mega Man Legacy Collection Volume 1. Volume 2 was developed by Now Production and Bullets Co.

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Regular edition up on Amazon.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C5T51PG

 

Probably about $10 overpriced, but it seems like you can always count on a $10 Switch tax for 3rd party releases, so I'm not surprised. Much more attractive price though than the collector's edition with some trinkets that I'd look at once and then just have to find room to store.

 

Nice to see that it's getting a regular physical release.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 months later...

It's not exactly ideal, but 10 more games are confirmed in addition to the previously announced 13 games (Which is actually 21 if we count NES and arcade versions separably). The catch is that they'll be free DLC, which is at least better than paid DLC. Announced so far are these five with five more to be confirmed at a later date.

  • Chopper I
  • Fantasy
  • Munch Mobile
  • Sasuke vs. Commander
  • Time Soldiers

While that still leaves a dozen PSP Mini releases that aren't included (Several of which I imagine will be in the remaining five games when they're announced), the good news is that two of these are fresh additions rather than PSP retreads. Fantasy and Munch Mobile weren't part of that lineup on the PSP. And Time Soldiers is a popular LS30 arcade game, so it's nice to see it again be covered here on a system with dual analog controls that can do better justice to such games than the PSP could.

 

I suspect Ozma Wars (SNK's 1st game) is a good bet for one of those last five games since it would be a very strange omission for a 40th anniversary collection. And I'd love to see Satan Of Saturn be included. I play that one regularly in MAME and think it's one of my favorite arcade games that nobody ever heard of from the golden age.

Edited by Atariboy
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  • 3 weeks later...

Turns out Ozma Wars isn't their first arcade videogame. Too bad I've probably claimed as such about 10 different times in various places...

  1. Micon Kit (1978: Apparently 3-6 of these Breakout style games were made; Undumped)
  2. Safari Rally (1979: SNK's 1st non-Breakout type game; Extant)
  3. Yosaku (1979: One seems to have survived with YouTube footage online of it, but the owner wasn't responsive to Digital Eclipse attempting to include it here)
  4. Ozma Wars (1979: Extant)

Safari Rally and Ozma Wars both survive. Both were planned as PSP Mini releases a few years ago, but only the latter actually came out.

 

Edit: The guy with Yosaku seems to also have a Micon Kit.

Edited by Atariboy
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Frank did say that if they manage to get dumps of any of these lost games they'd probably just patch them in for free. Of course the Japanese collection/preservation scene is pretty different and seemingly more interested in the collecting aspect of old games, but I'm cautiously optimistic that these will eventually turn up and get added to this project (or a followup).

 

I want to say someone showed up a few years ago with a Yosaku board at some arcade expo, so unless by some chance it's the same guy as with the youtube video, there are other copies still floating around.

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In a bit of an odd move, some of these games are coming to the Arcade Archives lineup.

 

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2018/09/hamster_adding_even_more_games_to_the_arcade_archives_on_switch

 

I wonder if the Switch will get the Arcade Archives versions of Alpha Mission/ASO, Athena, and Ikari Warriors. Or perhaps they'll be exclusive to the Playstation 4 and Xbox One. NintendoLife is reporting the news, but that doesn't guarantee that Hamster is planning to release these particular three on the Switch.

 

Good news though since this compilation not only isn't multiplatform, but several good games will end up having missed the cut when the final five inclusions are announced for the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection. This means we'll hopefully see a few more classic SNK games appear than we otherwise would've.

 

While I wish we had more physical releases and it's sad that the American arcade scene is almost completely ignored these days outside of pre-crash Atari via the Atari Flashback line, it's a good generation to be a modern console gamer that appreciates classic arcade games.

 

Tons of variety out there now or on the way.

Edited by Atariboy
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  • 4 weeks later...

I think the stumbling block is that Atari and Netherrealm/Warner own so much of the American arcade game lineage. Netherrealm has access to the Midway, Williams, Bally, and Atari Games output, but hasn't put out anything since 2012 collecting those games. Prior to the Flashback Collections it had been a while for Atari, too. Hamster being a Japanese company is probably not even looking over here.

 

In a perfect world, Digital Eclipse's next project would be a mega collection series of the games owned by Netherrealm, but I think that would require someone there to really be interested in bringing those out of the vault again.

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Netherrealm? Not familiar with them and it's not a name I've ever seen anywhere on Midway Arcade Origins.

 

And I know he's now gone, but in answer to the Alpha Mission question above, no. Alpha Mission 1 and 2 have never been in a compilation together.

 

Alpha Mission 1 has only ever appeared in emulated arcade form as part of the Asian exclusive SNK Classics Volume 0 for the PSP, as a PSP Mini worldwide (Also compatible with the PS3 and Vita/PSTV), and these two upcoming releases (It's included in this upcoming collection and is also announced for an Arcade Archives release).

 

And Alpha Mission II wasn't in SNK Arcade Classics Volume 1. Since its original release, it has only resurfaced on dedicated consoles and handhelds as a now delisted Neo Geo Station download for the PS3/PSP/Vita/PSTV, and as an ACA Neo Geo download from Hamster. And if we include plug and plays, it also appeared on the poorly received Neo Geo X and the Japanese version of the Neo Geo Mini.

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Alpha Mission is supposed to come out tomorrow as an Arcade Arcades release from Hamster.

 

I'm puzzled, or perhaps more accurately, pleasantly surprised to see that it's also coming to the Switch despite the upcoming release of SNK 40th Anniversary Collection from NIS America/Digital Eclipse. Usually if a classic like this was appearing in a compilation from a different publisher, it would prevent it from appearing digitally on the same platform from another publisher.

 

While I doubt NIS America is thrilled, this is a very consumer friendly decision that SNK's pre Neo Geo lineup apparently will be rolling out as AA downloads even on the Switch. Nice for those want one or two games from this library but don't really see the need for a $40 collection, or if the Digital Eclipse compilation poorly emulates a game or passes over including a favorite.

 

Will obviously be a slow process though before there's significant overlap. With just one or two Arcade Archives releases a month or so and multiple libraries that they're working on, these don't come out very rapidly.

Edited by Atariboy
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SNK is wise, they likely know it's kind of a junk lot on the cheap hoping to capture some early buys before the price falls hard into impulse grab (10-20) territory on the primary and secondary market. By double dipping, you can get someone who just wants a title or a few at the standard ACA pricing. This will get the people who don't want the bundle but want the game, and in some cases as time creeps someone could end up buying more of those bundle games individually at a higher price which would be a nice side effect for SNK too.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just to correct my earlier post, the 4th game is actually called Paddle Mania. I was in a bit of rush transcribing the list from the trailer yesterday, and apparently didn't do a great job at it. It should be a good candidate for a home console despite the negative connotations with paddle games and modern console controllers, since KLOV says it used a 8 way digital stick rather than a rotary spinner.

 

And the first game is of course called Beast Busters rather than Beast Usters, lol. And what's interesting with this one is that it's a gun game. I believe it's a positional gun or whatever you'd call the technology used in something like Operation Wolf, rather than a light gun.

 

Assuming they're taking advantage of the Joy-Con's accelerometer and gyroscope here to allow you to point a Joy-Con towards your tv to aim, it's nice to see Digital Eclipse taking advantage of the Switch technology to offer up a classic arcade game that just couldn't be done justice on at least one of the three current console platforms (PS4 of course has the Move accessory, but XB1 would be out of luck and you'd be stuck moving an on-screen aiming reticle with an analog stick).

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