NIS America Bundles 12 Psikyo Shmup Games on Switch

The shoot-em-up (or shmup) genre of games is a colorful, white-knuckled, rainbow of flashing lights, spaceships, cute anime girls, dragons, and more. For fans of the genre, it can be tough picking up some of the classics on original hardware as they’re often rare and fiercely sought after. Thankfully, many of the greats are making their way to modern consoles and two upcoming physical releases will bring twelve titles from Psikyo, a well-loved developer, to the Nintendo Switch.

There will be two collections, Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha and Psikyo Shooting Stars Bravo, each with six games. Alpha features: STRIKERS 1945, STRIKERS 1945 II, STRIKERS 1945 III, SOL DIVIDE, Dragon Blaze, and ZERO GUNNER 2. Bravo will have: Samurai Aces Episode I, Samurai Aces Episode II: TENGAI, Samurai Aces Episode III: SENGOKU CANNON, GUNBARICH, GUNBIRD, and GUNBIRD 2. Most of these games are available as separate downloads already on the eShop.

One of the prominent features being touted is the support of TATE mode for vertical play. This particular way of using the Switch is perfect for arcade shooters, especially when using the Flip Grip which lets one hold the switch vertically with the Joy-Cons sliding into place. I’ve owned a Flip Grip since it was crowdfunded and it is a treat for retro fans looking to have a pretty authentic arcade experience portably. Conveniently having these Psikyo games on one game or one cart could definitely up one’s game, especially if they’re into having games physically.

Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha and Bravo are set to release in early 2020 with two physical limited editions that are available for pre-order. Each game comes with a soundtrack set, artwork, and art cards, as well as a physical version of the game. We did ask the PR representative for NIS America for some clarification about these releases via email. She told us that “Both Alpha and Bravo will be available as digital standard editions,” while the Limited Editions being offered are the only physical releases of the games at this time.

She did point out that Alpha’s Strikers 1945 III and Bravo’s Samurai Aces Episode II: Tengai are both the first time that these two titles will be available in North America. She also said that there are no differences between the digital versions of these games individually and the collected release.

For more information check out the official website.

Update (9/20/19) - A new trailer featuring gameplay and a release date has been released for Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha with a new release date of January 21st, 2020.