Earlier this year, SEGA announced a successor initiative of sorts under the (oft used) moniker, SEGA AGES. With M2 again at the helm, a plethora of first party classics were promised for the Switch. First out of the gate are Sonic the Hedgehog (yes, again) and the classic Mega Drive shmup, Thunder Force IV.

One for the AGES

For whatever reason the game was retitled Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar in the US, but those of you reading this from across the pond will be happy to learn that both it and the international release are available here. It’s worth also noting that although this AGES outing is based on the original Mega Drive version and not the 1996 Saturn Port, it does include the previously Saturn-exclusive Styx mode, which we’ll go into later.

The all new AGES interface is pretty slick, with large, colourful icons (presumably for visibility in handheld mode) and artwork, in addition to a great little animated intro sequence. There’s even a cool “SE-GA” like jingle on the title screen that’s sure to tug on the old heart strings when you’re not perusing bet365 betting.

As is par for the course nowadays with retro reissues, there are a ton of visual customization options, including the obligatory CRT filters. Sometimes these effects can be somewhat overbearing, but the AGES preset Vintage Mode actually looks pretty good, with just the right amount of blur and curvature applied to the image to evoke childhood memories of classic gaming via cathode ray.

Styx and Stones

Thunder Force IV follows the shmup genre’s broad strokes, while at that same time successfully forging an identity all of its own.

Unlike many horizontal shooters, in Thunder Force IV, the play area can also be scrolled vertically within a limited range on most stages. This serves to at least create the impression of freedom, even if in truth, you’re just as anchored to the inevitable rightward crawl as ever.

As you’d expect, weapon power-ups come in many shapes and sizes, but unusually, you’re free to cycle through any you’ve collected at will rather than being stuck with the last one you acquired. There’s also a rear fire mode, which is handy given that a great many enemies will try and flank you.

Moreover, it’s possible to control your ship’s speed, charging your engines to anything from 1 to 100% by holding down the Y button. We have two misgivings with this: first of all, in such a fast paced shooter, we don’t really understand why you’d ever want your ship at anything below 100% manoeuvrability at all times. Secondly, while you can adjust engine power by as little as a single percent at a time, we’re pretty sceptical that affording players such pinpoint precision was ever really all that necessary.

Given Thunder Force IV’s gameplay quirks, it’s no bad thing that there’s a digital manual specific to this AGES release to consult at your leisure. Interestingly, it actually opens in the Switch’s onboard web browser, which to be fair, doesn’t prove as cumbersome as it might sound. Most importantly, the manual is sharp and legible in both handheld and docked modes.

Now onto Styx Mode. As we mentioned earlier, this was previously exclusive to the Saturn version of Thunder Force IV, released as part of Thunder Force Gold Pack II. In Styx mode you take control of the eponymous ship from Thunder Force III, sporting a different array of weapons in addition to a dodge move of sorts. Interestingly, (minor spoiler alert) Styx also makes a cameo appearance in stage 5 to fight alongside your usual craft, Rynex. Styx mode is a nice addition and could prove attractive to Thunder Force IV veterans that never got around to picking the game up on the Saturn.

AGED to Perfection?

The shooting in Thunder Force IV is just as fun now as it ever was, but difficulty may prove a sticking point for the uninitiated. In short, it’s a pretty challenging game, even when tackled in the patronisingly titled Kids Mode, and unlike some retro shooter reissues we’ve reviewed recently, there’s no option for unlimited lives to abuse while you get your bearings. One one hand, this forces newcomers to actually play the game as intended, but on the other, many will find retreading the initial stages over and over off putting.

Enemies are loose riffs on the Giger-inspired biomechnical aesthetic very common in video games at the time (see Gynoug, Mega Turrican et al), but are far from the best examples of this particular sci-if trope. While rarely more than merely serviceable in the looks department as a whole, Thunder Force IV’s impressive parallax scrolling effect deserves a special mention. The many interweaving layers of sprites here, both in the fore and background, create a pleasing sense of depth and forward momentum.

The original Mega Drive release of Thunder Force IV is notorious for chugging on occasion when things get too busy. Given how many orders of magnitude more powerful the Switch is than the Mega Drive, M2 have seen fit to include a ‘Reduce Processing Delay’ option, thereby utilising some of the Switch’s leftover horsepower to improve performance. There’s a tangible improvement, but the game still doesn’t deliver a locked frame rate, even with this mode engaged. A disclaimer states that some slowdown is by design, and thus unavoidable. We’ll have to take M2’s word for it on that one.

Sound effects are forgettable and of generally poor quality, particularly the harsh, lo-fi voice clips that play when you collect a power up. Weapons likewise sound brittle and tinny. The music is a mixed bag: we think the compositions are pretty great, but the actual quality of the samples leaves a lot to be desired. Ultimately, it seems that Thunder Force IV may have been hamstrung by the limitations of the Mega Drive’s Achilles heel: its notoriously lacklustre Yamaha YM2612 sound chip.

Summary

It’s easy to become weary of SEGA’s never ending cycle of modern re-releases, but to the company’s credit, each set of reissues is generally better than the last. This AGES version of Thunder Force IV is an excellent starting point, and certainly more interesting to hardcore SEGA fans than yet another Sonic the Hedgehog redux.

The game is satisfying to play with some nice and unique ideas, even if it hasn’t aged all that gracefully from an aural standpoint and pulls few punches in terms of difficulty. The new AGES wrapper is by far the slickest yet, and bodes well for future releases, among which is the arcade version of Thunder Force III, Thunder Force AC. .

PROS:

+ Original shmup gameplay

+ Extra STYX Mode

+ Slick AGES interface

CONS

– Poor sound effects

– Performance issues

– High difficulty

If you own a Nintendo Switch, you’ll get a chance to play this awesome game really soon! According to Picomy Game’s official Facebook page, Heroki is coming to Nintendo Switch July 20th!

Starting June 30th, If you pre-purchase Heroki you can get a 30% discount. It’s only a limited time offer so you better do it ASAP! Click here for more details! 

Following a surprise outing on the Gamecube, it’s also been made available on Steam, Xbox 360 and even Android, although the latter isn’t compatible with newer versions of the mobile OS and is no longer available on Google Play.

Even Though The Ideal Is High, I Never Give In

For the benefit of the uninitiated, Ikaruga is a shooter in the classic Treasure tradition, albeit with an ingenious twist. Your ship can alternate between black and white polarities, and enemies likewise come in one of two monochrome flavours.

You’re impervious to attacks from enemies of the same colour,  absorbing their bullets to fill your special gauge, but do bonus damage to those of the opposite colour. While a very basic risk/reward trade-off at its core, this easy-to-learn-difficult-to-master mechanics gels brilliantly with Ikaruga’s expertly honed fundamentals, resulting in a truly remarkable SHMUP that is as great today as it ever was.

From a technical point of view, this Switch port is based on the more recent PC, Xbox 360 and Android reissues, sporting a ton of customisation options. It trucks along at an all but constant 60fps in both docked and undocked modes, with nary a jagged edge in sight. Models and effects hold up well, even if backgrounds are somewhat sparsely detailed.

With what appears to be a full 1080p resolution when docked and the Switch screen’s native 720p undocked, it’s a massive step up from the Dreamcast original, which tops out at just 480p in VGA mode, but very much in line with the aforementioned more modern PC, Xbox 360 and Android ports.

Ikaruga works brilliantly as a portable game. As we’ve seen with other Switch SHMUP updates (see our review of Zero Gunner 2- in Mega Visions issue 6), the myriad difficulty and gameplay options on offer here go hand in glove with the Switch’s casual, pick up and play premise.

You can approach the game however you want, and engage in anything from a hardcore single credit score attack to a brief, laid back firework show, where enemies don’t even fire back and continues are unlimited. You can even give one of the Joy-Cons to a friend and play cooperatively in both docked and undocked modes.

I Never Die With Regrets

Perhaps the most appealing addition here for genre devotees is Tate mode. In short, it’s possible to play the game with your Switch placed vertically, mimicking the screen orientation of the original arcade cabinet and doing away most of the otherwise necessary onscreen borders. Which is a good thing too, because they do take up a lot of screen real estate.

But would it were that simple. While hardly the fault of Ikaruga, Treasure or Nicalis (this version’s publisher), the Switch is actually quite impractical to use longways, because the kickstand doesn’t work that way.

Indeed, you have little choice but to perch the console on your knee, and you can’t even attach one of the Joy-Cons to the bottom, as the console just keeps prompting you to attach a second. That is, unless you use some kind of third party solution: we found an old iPad stand just the ticket for keeping the Switch safely held at a favourable angle, while using the Pro Controller for input.

Elsewhere there’s also a pretty cool gallery of artwork and renders, plus the ability to browse and listen to the game’s soundtrack at your leisure. You can even upload your high scores to an online leader board – assuming you don’t touch the difficulty setting, of course – or choose to tackle the main game with Geikei, the ship originally reserved for player 2.

While these features themselves aren’t new, they still round out the overall package nicely, and ensure that Ikaruga for Switch really is the definitive experience, whether on the go or at home sat in front of your TV.

SUMMARY

There’s a ton more SHMUPS slated for release on Switch in the coming months, and our hope is that Ikaruga and the aforementioned Zero Gunner 2- will be the first of many Dreamcast ports. A Psyvariar redux is already confirmed, so here’s hoping Psyvariar 2: The Will To Fabricate, which came to Dreamcast first back in the day, isn’t far behind. And while we’re at it, what about Mars Matrix, Zero Wing or Border Down? If Ikaruga does the business, who knows?

While far from the first Ikaruga re-release, this latest for Switch is undoutedly the best yet. The ability to play on the go, in co-op with one set of Joy-Cons and in Tate mode, plus the myriad additional bells and whistles make Ikaruga for Switch easy to recommend unreservedly, and worthwhile even for die-hard Dreamcast fans that still have the original GD-ROM kicking around.

PROS

+ Timeless, polarity-shifting gameplay
+ Tate mode (some assembly required)
+ Local co-op with one set of Joy-Cons

CONS

– Most of the extras aren’t new
– Dull backgrounds
– Punishing difficulty unless lowered from default

On day two of the event, SEGA announced that the original Valkyria Chronicles will making its way to the Switch this Fall in Japan. The game will launch via the Japanese Nintendo eShop for 1,990Yen. There’s no word yet of a Western release, but hopefully after the relative success of the PC version in the West, there could be hope for us.

On a bit of a downer, SEGA also confirmed that the Switch version of Valkyria Chronicles 4 will also be delayed from a Summer 2018 launch to a Fall launch. But that’s not too bad of a delay and, to make things a little sweeter, SEGA is giving a anyone who purchases Valkyria Chronicles 4 on Switch a discount code to buy the original Valkryia Chronicles for just 500Yen (tax excluded).

During today’s panel at SXSW, SEGA announced Sonic Mania Plus, which is a physical release of Sonic Mania with some bonus content. On top of an already fantastic game, players can control Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel.

There is also an “Encore Mode”, which changes the visuals of the game and allows you to experience Sonic Mania in a whole new way.  Additionally, “Competition Mode” now allows up to four players, and the more the merrier as I always say!

Sonic Mania Plus will come in a deluxe packaging, featuring a holographic slip cover, 32 page art book, and a reversible cover to make it look like a SEGA Genesis game! You can get all of this goodness for only $29.99 ! If you already own Sonic Mania, SEGA will release an update that adds the new content to your game. No pricing has been announced yet.

Here’s an overview of this behemoth, thanks to Gematsu.

Built in secret, the Edinburgh Navy constructed cruisers for use in battle. Three warships of the same model were built, and the Centurion, which Claude and the others embark on, is the second of the three. It can presumably move through fields of ice, and is equipped with a huge ram for breaking ice at the warship’s head. At over 230 meters in length, the Centurion is like a tank riding on ice as if striding across a stretched out crevasse. This giant warship’s ability to travel on land is thanks to technology given to Edinburgh by the United States of Vinland. Those details are country-level top secret.

Valkyria Chronicles 4  is scheduled to be released on PS4 March 21st in Japan, and the Switch this summer. Western fans can play the game in the second half of 2018 for PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.

Via Gematsu 

Why the slight name change, you might be asking? Well, SEGA has confirmed that the game is the same PSO2 that has previously been released in Japan (and some other parts of Asia) on PC, PS Vita and PS4, but the Switch version will be running via the cloud. So rather than downloading the game to the device, you will stream it from servers.

Plus, along with the announcement (via Nintendo Direct, see video above) Switch players will also have access to exclusive Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild content, including playing as Link and, by the looks of it, Zelda too!

That’s great news for PSO fans in Japan. The bad news is that there’s still no sign of PSO2 getting a Western release… although SEGA still hasn’t said it’s not happening, just “delayed” – so we’re going to keep on hoping!

The latest trailer includes Valkyria Chronicles 4‘s prologue, which explains a bit of the premise of the game. Check out the trailer above and let us know what you think in the comments below!

Valkyria Chronicles 4 is coming to PS4 March 21st and Nintendo Switch this Summer in Japan, while the west gets it for PS4, Xbox One, and Switch later this year.

Via Gematsu 

Wispons are inspired by the Color Powers from Sonic Colors and allow your character to clear the level with ease. Your hero character can equip one of many Wispons; the Drill Wispon gives your character the ability to drill dash on the ground and climb walls.

Check out the screenshots below! Sonic Forces is scheduled to be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC Nov. 7th in North America and Europe, and Nov. 9th in Japan.

Via Gematsu 

Not much else is known about the project, other than a tentative 2018 release. Check out the trailer above and share your thoughts in the comments below!