Irem Collection Volume 2 was handled by ININ Games and Ratailaika and as such has much of the usual polish and QOL Features that Ratalaika puts into retro releases. This includes save states, multiple display options, rewinding, and cheats, all of which help to give you the best experience when playing. The games lack additional lag and seem to be arcade and console accurate, so concerns about performance are thankfully not an issue here.
The first game to discuss is Air Duel and I am slightly confused why this game was chosen for this collection, but that is more due to the fact that a different shmup ( In The Hunt) would have seemingly fit better, but the game is a good one. Air Duel sees you pick from either a combat helicopter or combat plane and taking on a wide array of stages. I have to admit that at first I did not really see what made Air Duel special but it was after really giving it time that things finally clicked for me.
While the plane is a decent option for play, its the attack helicopter that really makes Air Duel shine. While the plane has a piercing forward-firing shot and the helicopter is weaker in terms of attacks, it allows you to angle your shots. This may not seem like much at first, but quickly proves itself to be a game changer depending on the stage and how you approach shmups.
Of course, both the plane and helicopter aircraft are augmented by a supply of rolling bombs and you can gain various power-ups as the stages progress, and while not all the power-ups are the best, some will give a lot of variety to your attack that will both help the plane and helicopter in different ways. The plane by getting more of an attack area, while the helicopter will get stronger attacks, meaning both options are balanced out well.
Survival in the game requires constant moment, with enemies that are precise and exceedingly fast attacks. This is a game that starts out slow but soon shows just how difficult it is, and will provide a decent challenge for shmup fans. It is a decent game to be sure, but I still wonder if In The Hunt would have fit better here.
The reason I keep bringing up In The Hunt is that In The Hunt is one of two IPs that served as a predecessor to Metal Slug, the other being the GunForce games which are included here. We have regional variants of GunForce 1 and 2 for arcade, and the SNES and Super Famicom versions of the first game. These two titles are run ‘n’ gun titles rather than shmups and are where many well known aspects of Metal Slug were born.
GunForce 1 feels a little bit dated as a shooter but still holds up okay overall even if it can be a bit slow at times. You get the feeling of a powerful character and the large amounts of power-ups available will make things fun, but there is an issue. The jumping feels off in this game, like there is a sort of floatiness that will constantly mess with your timing, even if it was intended to be there to aid jumping into the vehicles and dodging.
GunForce has visuals that feel simple but disguises this fact by utilizing various visual tricks like the vehicle design. It works but can get in the way with how the large character sprites work, particularly when boss battles are occurring. This carries over to the SNES and Super Famicom versions, which do replicate the game well enough, but are slower and make visual sacrifices, even if the overall experience is preserved.
The shining jewel of this collection is GunForce II, also known as Geo Storm. A vast improvement over the first game, this is where we can see Metal Slug’s run ‘n’ gun roots take shape. Your characters will dual wield weapons to attack from multiple angles, while the wide variety of power-ups and vehicles add so much to the gameplay variety.
GunForce II is utterly bonkers in terms of game design, and will randomly insert shmup sections, boss battles that take place on bikes and enemies that call to mind the mechs of Metal Slug, and that is just scratching the surface. The game does have a bit of stuttering when two many enemies are on screen, which is fair given when it came out and the technology the team was working with, and thankfully it never gets in the way of enjoying the game. This is a title that has real character to it, with so much going on that when it loops after completion, you are not ready to walk away and will want to just keep going.
GunForce II was never given a home console port before, and it was well worth the wait. There is a good weight to the combat and shooting your guns at different angles to mow down enemies is extremely satisfying. This was Irem’s swansong and a fantastic game to go out on, considering it was about fun and not taking things too seriously.
While I do feel the Irem Collections would do better to include more than three games on each collection, even if multiple versions of the individual titles are included, these are still good choices to include. I would have liked some additional information about the games and more supplementary material though, and have to ding the collection for that. Considering how many great collections are coming out that go above and beyond, it feels that the Irem Collections could do a bit more.
Still, I will recommend Irem Collection Vol 2, even if just for GunForce II alone as the game is absolutely incredible. I do think these are good collections, but just need some more to make the collections feel special. You will have a good time with the games, but a collector may be left wanting more.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
