Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III is a unique Bubble Bobble sequel that got a modern console release last year. While there's never been a true Parasol Stars 2, Taito did release a very similar single-player game called Spica Adventure in Japanese arcades a while back. Now, ININ and Taito are preparing to release a bundle with both games as Parasol Superstars. The bundle with arrive digitally on all console platforms in September, and as a physical release on PlayStation and Switch.

In the time before bullet hells, shoot 'em ups featured sharp level design and more deliberate gameplay. Konami's Gradius is undoubtedly one of the finest shoot 'em up series of the 1980s and 90s. Players will finally be able to enjoy many of those games on modern hardware thanks to GRADIUS ORIGINS. The upcoming compilation collects 7 arcade Gradius titles, most with multiple versions to choose from. What's more, four of them will support 2-player local co-op!

Long ago, Technos was one of the big Japanese developers, gifting the Double Dragon series and many other fine games to the world. Sadly, the studio closed its doors in 1996. Happily, however, Arc System Works bought the Technos name and library in 2015 and has produced several quality games since then. 2020's Double Dragon & Kunio-kun Retro Brawler Bundle compiled an impressive selection of Technos' NES games. This year, Arc System Works will follow up with Super Technos World: River City & Technos Arcade Classics.

Following the success of the Capcom Fighting Collection and Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle, Capcom has finally bundled all of their Marvel fighters onto modern platforms as Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics. And what’s more, the 1994 co-op beat ‘em up The Punisher is included as well. ...

Retro collections can be appealing because of the large number of games they include, but sometimes the games are too old to be much fun. Digital Eclipse and Atari overcome this problem by adding documentary content into the mix. Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration bundles an amazing 115 titles and a wealth of historical matter in one slick packa...

We're a little late to the party on this, but ININ Games recently announced Taito Milestones 3, the latest in its Switch-exclusive series of Taito arcade game collections. The full games list has yet to be revealed, but we already know that at least five co-op games will be included: Bubble Bobble, Cadash, Champion Wrestler, Runark (Growl), and Thunder Fox. That's already the best co-op lineup yet for this series.

Jeff Minter is a long-haired English video game developer who got his start creating games for European computers in the early 1980s. Nowadays, Minter is best known for the Tempest series, but he has created an astounding number of games, usually by himself or with very small teams. Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story from Digital Eclipse celebrates t...

The first Taito Milestones collection bundled 10 classic Taito arcade games in a low-frills package. One year later, Taito and ININ Games have returned with Taito Milestones 2. This installment once again bundles 10 Taito classics into one compilation, but the games lineup is slightly more modern and exciting this time around. We’re talking a...

Taito’s “Ray” series of vertically-scrolling shoot ‘em ups hasn’t seen nearly as many entries as their Darius series, but it retains a devoted following among fans of the genre. Comprised of RayForce, RayStorm, and RayCrisis, the Ray games are known for their lock-on mechanics that allow players to fire upon enemies in...

Update 07/24/2023: As of Monday following the Friday launch, local multiplayer is now working on Xbox! We successfully played Bad Dudes and Double Dragon in co-op.

Now that Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium is here, it’s time for us to finally review the first game. Capcom Arcade Stadium is a collection of 32 classic arcade games that were originally released from 1984-2001. The various titles can be purchased as a full collection or piecemeal, with the base software and 1943, a co-op shoot ‘em up, availa...