Konami Arcade Classic Anniversary Collection Launch Trailer, My Thoughts

Once upon a time, Konami was known as one of the great game developers. Starting in 1969, the company started out as a jukebox rental and repair business. Yeah, back in the day, you could rent jukeboxes from them. I wonder if they still do that. They made tons of games that gamers all over the world enjoyed, like the Castlevania and Metal Gear series. In Japan, they're also known for owning gyms. Huh.

Sadly, Konami is more well-known these days for various controversies, like their fallout with Hideo Kojima (the main mind behind the Metal Gear games), and their treatment of their employees.

Konami was sent reeling from these, but it seems they want to rebuild some goodwill with the fans, by releasing some special collections for the Nintendo Switch. The first is the Arcade Classics Collection. So, let's take a look and see what games we're going to get for this.

Partial Nudity? Why would these games have a rating for oh yeah, they were made in Japan.

Heh heh, aren't most of these games shooters? I'm not complaining, I like shoot-em-ups, but still. Maybe that was Konami's forte in the arcades back in the Me Decade?

I also love the 80s aesthetic of the trailer.

Nemesis is Gradius. Yeah. This was what the 1985 Gradius arcade game was originally called when it was released in arcades outside of Japan. This was ported to numerous consoles and computers, including the NES, Game Boy, and even the Commodore 64. It's been one of Konami's longest-lasting series, going all the way to the Seventh Generation of Video Game Consoles with Gradius ReBirth. You pilot the Vic Viper, and it introduced its iconic mechanic: you collect items to pick a certain option from a line of them on a special menu. My first exposure to the series was Gradius Galaxies for the Game Boy Advance.

I first learned of Vulcan Venture thanks to Game Sack. Released in arcades in 1988, this was what Gradius II was called outside of Japan. Like its predecessor, it's seen release on numerous consoles and computers, but not as many as the first Gradius. You know, I'm surprised they're using these names instead of the original Japanese names. Maybe they want to preserve the original 80s experience? It's weird.

Haunted Castle is the only non-shoot-em-up in this collection. Released to arcades in 1988, it is essentially an adaptation of the first Castlevania game. Help Simon Belmont rescue his new missus, Serena Belmont, from Count Dracula! Hopefully he'll teach her some self-defense tips after this whole thing. I wonder what happened to her in the other games?

Thunder Cross was released to arcades in 1988. Man, Konami was really pumping out arcade games in 1988. You pilot the ship called the Thunder through seven levels, defending the space colony world of Haniamu IV from the evil army known as Black Impulse. It used a new 2D graphic technique at the time called "layered scrolling" for the backgrounds.

Life Force (Despite the logo, it's supposed to be two words) was released in arcades in 1986. It's a spinoff of the Gradius series, and one of the more famous games in this collection. Life Force was the American name for the game. In Japan, it was called Salamander. I have to give a shout out to the original arcade flyer...well, the European one, I think.

Look at that! That is awesome! I want this framed and hanging in my room! In this game, you reassume control of the Vic Viper, and a second player can join in the fun as another ship called the Lord British (or Road British, thank you Japanese-to-English Romanization ambiguity), through six stages that alternated between horizontal and vertical side-scrolling levels. The American version explained that the ships were fighting inside a giant lifeform that was infected with monsterous bacteria. The original arcade version didn't use the iconic Gradius power-up menu mechanic, but it was restored for the NES port.

Like the game it spun off from, Life Force was ported to various consoles, computers, and mobile phones. In my experience, the most famous port is the NES one. It used much of the sprites from Salamander, removed some of the bosses and levels from the arcade version in favor of new content, and restored the Gradius-style power-up bar mechanic. It's considered one of the very best shoot-em-up games for the NES. I have this game on my Nintendo 3DS, and it's hard. Real hard. And in my opinion, a bit unfair in places.

Typhoon was released to arcades in December 1987. It's the European name for this game. In Japan, it's called A Jax (later renamed A-Jax). It's set in an alternate 2007 where the Earth was conquered by alien invaders. You must liberate the world as "Tom Tiger" the helicopter and "Jerry Mouse" the fighter jet. You can guess what the names reference. It was released to various computers like the Commodore 64, but I think this is the very first time it officially was ported to a console. I also think this is the first time it was brought to America.

TwinBee was released to arcades in 1985 in Japan. It's considered one of the first "cute-'em-up" games, a subgenre of shoot-'em-ups that often employ colorful graphics and unusual/surreal enemies. The titular TwinBee is an anthropomorphic spaceship that can get various power-ups from collecting different colored bells. Like Gradius, TwinBee would spawn a series that has been released on various consoles, computers, and mobile phones...mostly in Japan. Not many of the games were brought overseas.

This name brought back memories for me. When I was a kid, I spent summers in England with my now late grandmother. I do remember reading about one of the games in a game magazine I somehow got there. Likely this game. I think that was it.

Scramble was released in arcades in 1981. It's a very important game in shoot-'em-up history. It was the first such game to have forced-scrolling levels, and having each of those levels be distinct. Despite its importance, Scramble was never officially ported to any consoles or computers, but clones were made for computers like the VIC-20 and Commodore 64. Fun fact, it was distributed in North America by Stern Electronics. Yeah, the same Stern that put out all those pinball machines back in the day. Neat, huh? Konami has also declared Scramble to be the first game of the Gradius series.

Well, this looks really neat. I love that some of these old arcade games are going to be enjoyed by a new generation of gamers. I also can't wait for the Castlevania and Contra collections. I hope that the WiiWare games get rereleased at some point, too. I would love to give these old games a try.

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