REVIEW / Toaplan Arcade Shoot ‘Em Up Collection Vol. 3 (PC)

It’s that time again! Bitwave Games has released another collection of classic shoot-em-ups by Japanese developer Toaplan in the Toaplan Arcade Shoot ‘Em Up Collection Vol. 3, complete with the updates and options typical of these prereleases. I highly recommend going back and reading my reviews of Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, as they’ll not only give you the basic rundown of the features here, but also of what other games you might want to check out if these ones are up your alley.

Presentation-wise, everything is pretty much the same here as last time. In addition to the usual difficulty settings and visual options, Bitwave Games has gone all out with these re-releases. While these aren’t new to Vol. 3, I do want to once again call out two noteworthy features. One is the option to put tutorial and story information on the sidebars of the game window (the way they might be at an actual arcade) to keep that information at your fingertips; it’s a massive help. The other is the Practice mode, which lets you not only pick any level, but also any character, any weapon upgrade, and every weapon type (as applicable). It’s the best way to see all that these games have to offer if, like me, you aren’t very good at them. For three out of the four games in this bundle, there’s also a new Continue mode option, which will let you continue right where you left off when you die. That’s about it in terms of new additions, so just like last time, let’s briefly go through the games in the collection.

Vimana

Originally released in 1991, Vimana makes the most of the technological advancements of the time. The sprite animation is top notch, with a lot more details than you’d see in games from even just a couple of years earlier. It’s also easier than those earlier games, but like most shoot-’em-ups, it’s still a serious challenge. Gameplay-wise, Vimana is a rare vertical shooter that lets you charge up your shot, greatly increasing its width, for more options. I also like the unique way it handles bombs: rather than one big screen clearing blast, your ship is surrounded by bombs, which automatically shoot off towards nearby targets. None of this is enough to make Vimana stand out much for those who have no nostalgia for it, but it’s still a fun experience, and a great time capsule. That’s more than I can say for the next title on the list.

Tiger Heli

I’m surprised it took until the third volume for Tiger Heli to be re-released. It has the distinction of being Toaplan’s very first shoot-’em-up, released back in 1985, and it’s arguably the game that put them on the map. It really shows its age, though. Like the mid-80s games in the other collections, it’s hard to go back to today thanks to the extreme difficulty and some out-of-date design elements. For example, rather than clearing the screen, your shots in Tiger Heli only go a certain distance before disappearing. I will say that of all the early shooters I’ve played in these bundles, Tiger Heli probably runs the best. It doesn’t have that sluggishness that plagued Flying Shark last time. Still, I expect most players who come to this one will be doing it for nostalgia or appreciation of history. Tiger Heli is also the one title that doesn’t have the Continue feature, but I don’t know the reason for that.

Fixeight

This is definitely the star of the collection for me. Much like its spiritual predecessor Out Zone (my favorite entry in Vol. 1), this vertical shooter has you playing as a person rather than a vehicle. But to be more accurate, it has you playing as one of several people. As implied by the name, you can choose between 8 characters, and they vary significantly not only in appearance but also in how they shoot. My favorite character, a reptilian space pirate named Vistario, has shots that radiate out in a cone. Other characters have more traditional forward shots and reflecting laser beams, to name a few. Each character also has two firing modes: one that fires straight ahead and can be charged up, and one that you can shoot in eight different directions. I really love the variety here, but I did find it strange how you switch between modes. Rather than a button on the controller (or arcade pad, in the case of the original release), your character has to walk over special tiles to switch. They usually appear where it would make sense to use them, which is nice, but it feels like an odd choice. Regardless, I had fun with Fixeight, and it is the game I’d recommend most from this group.

Batsugun

When I set up the tutorial sidebars that I mentioned above for Batsugun, my eye was drawn to the sentence, “Accumulate points by hovering above the pig.” So it’s definitely not the most serious game. Like Fixeight, this game features multiple characters with different firing styles, but there are only six this time. It’s otherwise mostly a typical vertical shooter like you’d expect to see when it came out in 1992, but what stood out to me (besides the line about the pig) was the stages. Rather than starting in a generic starfield or battlefield, Batsugun stars under the ocean. Each level takes place higher and higher up, until the penultimate level set above the clouds. The final level doesn’t follow this theme, but even so, it’s pretty cool. There’s also some very good music here, but it’s hard to hear over some seriously obnoxious sound effects. It plays well, though, and it has more to set it apart than Vimana. It’s especially good for those who like the variety of Fixeight but prefer something a little more traditional.

This volume already brought me what might be my favorite Toaplan game I’ve played in Fixeight, and Batsugun and Vimana are pretty fun too. Even though Tiger Heli doesn’t quite hold up too well, I still recommend this bundle as a whole for fans of the shoot-’em-up genre. As usual, tons of care and attention has gone into these re-releases, and they really set a gold standard for how to put out retro arcade games in a modern package. Like I said last time, I really hope other publishers are keeping their eyes on Bitwave’s work here. I don’t know if there are many more Toaplan shmups to re-release after this, but I would love to see Toaplan’s other classics re-released this way. Here’s hoping!