Game review: Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (Xbox Series X)

Back in the '80s and early '90s, games were much simpler compared to how they are now. Games back then didn't feature many cutscenes, and character development was pretty much non-existent. Most games just required players to shoot everything in sight and call it a day. 

For gamers who miss this era of gaming, they will be happy to know that two new collections are now available. This is because Toaplan has released a collection featuring its best games from the '80s and '90s. Both Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 are out now for all major gaming platforms. 

Each collection features eight different games, meaning if you get them all, you will get to enjoy 16 shoot-em-up classics. Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol. 1 includes Flying Shark, Fire Shark, Tiger Heli, Twin Cobra, Out Zone, FixEight, Batsugun, and Dogyuun. Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol. 2 adds Zero Wing, Hell Fire, Slap Fight, Grind Stormer, Truxton, Truxton 2, Vimana, and Twin Hawk. 

This review will be too long if I describe all 16 games in detail, but I will highlight some of my favourites. Vol. 2 consists of all vehicle shooters, while Vol. 1 features two games that allow you to play as human characters. I'll discuss the two human-controlled games first, as they were my personal favorites. 

FixEight from Vol. 1 is arguably the best game in both collections because it features eight playable characters. Apart from men and women characters, you can also play as a robot, a lizard guy, and an alien, to name a few. 

Each character has their own weapons, with different power-ups you can pick up along the way. You can also collect bombs that explode the whole screen and do a lot of damage. Not to mention, the game also has two-player co-op and unlimited continues!

Another cool thing about FixEight is the memorable boss battles and clever level design. Aside from just shooting on foot, there are also sections of the game that allow you to drive a Star Wars-like speeder bike. 

The other favourite of mine from Vol. 1 is Out Zone, which is another human-controlled game. Sadly, though, only one character is playable here, unlike in FixEight. While it's essentially just a shooter, it's a little more challenging than FixEight because the checkpoints are sparse. 

Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol. 2 features all vehicle-controlled games that are played either vertically or horizontally. Most of the vehicle-based games in both collections are relentless because there are tons and tons of bullets and other projectiles that you have to avoid. You also need to have fast thumbs and fingers because shooting at all times is necessary to survive!

Every one of the games has power-ups for better shooting, and bombs to clear out a large area of enemies. Most of the games are short because they only have a few levels, but the difficulty is what makes these games challenging and addictive. 

To make the games easier for newcomers and beginners, both collections feature aides and other settings to lessen the difficulty. For one thing, you can lower the difficulty to the very easiest setting if you want a more casual experience. As for experienced gamers, they can increase the difficulty for a real challenge. 

Some other settings include increasing the number of lives, continues, and even showing the hitboxes of enemies. There is even an option that allows you to auto-dodge if you're not quick enough to avoid gunfire in some of the games. 

Lastly, you can rewind the games at any time and save at any point during gameplay. The developer has also added the USA, Europe, and Japan versions of each of the games in this collection. 

Each game also has background wallpaper that features tips on how to play the game. There are also icons to help players know which items are power-ups, extra lives, or bombs. Visually, there are filters you can set to make the game look smoother, or you can add scanlines for the arcade effect. 

While both collections are fun, the only thing I don't like about them is that they had to be separated into two games. Toaplan could have easily just released one collection featuring all 16 games. There was no need to force gamers to buy two different games to play them all. 

Aside from the separation issue, Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol. 1 and 2 feature great old-school shooter games. Gamers who grew up in the '80s and early '90s will love these games because they're nostalgic. For newcomers, they will love the aides that make the games easier to manage. 

Verdict: 8.0/10