Neutopia II (TG16)

$5.99

Alien Crush (TG16)

$5.99

For this week's ACA NeoGeo release: Shock Troopers Second Squad is now on the Switch. This sequel was only released on the Wii Virtual Console, and it's the NeoGeo console version. Now, you can play the arcade version on the Switch. But in the end, you're better off playing the first Shock Troopers, which was already released for the Switch during the first lineup of ACA NeoGeo titles that rolled out for the system back in March.

Speaking of the Switch... Nintendo has announced their online services. It's been pushed back to 2018, where you'll then have to start paying a monthly or yearly fee in order to play online multiplayer. It's $20 a year, which is a much greater deal than the amount you pay for PSN and Xbox Live. I still don't like the idea of paying to play online for any of the three consoles, weather it's Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo. But I'm not going to hold Nintendo to any different standard than the other two companies. That being said, there is some good news to their online service. Nintendo is going to offer free classic games for those who are subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online. They said in a Kotaku interview that you can play these games for as long as you like as long as you have an active subscription. So basically like Xbox Game Pass, or a Netflix type service for NES games. The games announced so far are Super Mario Bros 3, Dr. Mario, Balloon Fight. What's really interesting is that these games are supposedly going to have online features. Meaning that you may be able to play two-player on Dr. Mario with someone online. Maybe even share some of your high scores on these games as well. Who knows? I'm interested in seeing how these online features for NES games actually work out.

What does this mean for the Virtual Console? Well, Nintendo themselves has stated that their Classic Game Selection is not going to replace the Virtual Console service. I imagine there's going to be a select number of NES games on the Nintendo Online Service, while the other games will be on the Virtual Console. Yes, it seems we'll still be getting the Virtual Console, which means that consoles like the Gamecube would likely be downloaded the same way as the other Virtual Console titles are. Maybe we'll find out more during E3.

And last... Capcom announced Megaman Legacy Collection 2. This includes Mega Man 7-10, the post-NES era Mega Man Titles. And just like the Disney Afternoon Collection... Capcom made the very baffling decision of not porting the game for the 3DS or Switch. Why is Capcom ignoring Nintendo for these classic game compilations? The audience that would most likely play this compilation collection would be the Nintendo crowd. It makes no sense for a set of games that essentially got it's start on Nintendo systems, be neglected on a Nintendo system. You'd think with the backlash The Disney Afternoon Collection got from that, they wouldn't do the same here. And Capcom claims they're committed to the Switch. Yeah, right

Bonk 3: Bonk's Big Adventure (TG16)

$5.99

Devil's Crush (TG16)

$5.99

Apparently, D4 Enterprises is taking over Konami's position as the distributor for the Turbografx-16 games on the Wii U Virtual Console. They have worked released Virtual Console games before as they also did the Neo Geo AES and MSX games on the Wii Virtual Console.

Also released this week in the ACA Neo Geo lineup for the Switch is Magical Drop II. Those of you who are unfamiliar with the Magical Drop series, it's kind of a combination between Bust-A-Move and Puyo Puyo. The second game in the series made it's jump from Data East's hardware to the Neo Geo lineup of games. It later had ports on the Neo Geo CD, Super Famicom, and Sega Saturn.

In other news: Nintendo announced the Super NES classic. Not only does it contain a very phenomenal lineup of twenty-one games ranging from RPG games like Final Fantasy III, Earthbound, Secret of Mana, and Super Mario RPG, but it also includes the unreleased game, Star Fox 2. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm very excited about the SNES Classic. The inclusion of Star Fox 2 alone makes me want to get it, as I don't think there's any ROMs floating around the internet that will have the complete game Nintendo's including. Not to mention the amount of RPGs and adventure games makes it well worth the purchase. There's a lot of these games I haven't played, so this is an exciting lineup to me.

Victory Run (TG-16)

$5.99

Air Zonk (TG-16)

$5.99

Ninja Spirit (TG-16)

$5.99

Also released for the Switch as part of the ACA Neo Geo lineup is Super Sidekicks. It's one of SNK's first attempts at making a sports game... in this case, soccer. I can't say this particularly excites me as I'm not a fan of sports games to begin with. But on the flipside of that, Hamster actually beat EA to the punch by releasing a soccer game for the Switch before FIFA 18 came out.

On the subject of retro games, Namco Museum is now out for the Switch. This installment includes eleven classic Namco arcade games, but is missing some good classics (such as Mappy). But the main highlight is the inclusion of Pac-Man VS, which allows single player, and the ability to play multiplayer on multiple Switch systems. Sounds like a good collection to have, but $30 seems to be pushing it. Not sure if Namco is looking to base their support of the Switch on how successful this game sells. Then again, Ultra Street Fighter II sold surprisingly well on the Switch, despite being a 25 year old game with a $40 price tag. Speaking of Capcom, it seems that Namco did what Capcom didn't by releasing a compilation game of retro video game classics. Are we ever going to see The Disney Afternoon Collection and Megaman Legacy Collection 2 ported to the Switch?

Final Soldier (PC Engine)

$5.99

Soldier Blade (TG-16)

$5.99

Yes, this week's releases are two games in the Star Solider series, including Final Soldier, which did not get a release outside of Japan until it was on the Wii Virtual Console. Now, here we are many years later, as the game gets a very late Wii U Virtual Console release after being out for the service in Japan as far back as 2014.

On the ACA Neo Geo lineup for the Switch, King of Fighters 2000 has been released this week.... one of the Neo Geo's last games before SNK shut down. Aside from the arcade release, it was later ported to the Sega Dreamcast and on the Playstation 2 (TWICE), and would later come the the PS4, and now the Nintendo Switch.

But what's really surprising is that this week is the first we're seeing of the ZeroDiv Switch Arcade lineup, as they might be the next company, along with MONSTER with ACA Neo Geo, as they're filling in the classic gaming gap before Nintendo announces the Virtual Console service for the Switch. We have two arcade titles released this week: Strikers 1945 and Gunbarich. Stikers 1945 was originally released in 1995, and combined gameplay elements from 1941 and Aero Fighters, creating a World War II shooter game. The second game, Gunbarich, was a pinball style game released in arcades in 2001. A relatively obscure title that has not received a home release until now. I'm thinking of getting that game, actually, as it looks fun.

And last, Sonic Mania is being released on Tuesday. And after seeing the opening animation to the game, I'm very excited for this game. This is a game created by a team of very dedicated fans of Sonic... and you could tell they tried to make it feel as much like the Sega Genesis games as possible. I also applaud Sega for allowing a team of fans to work on fan games for them. That is something Nintendo needs to learn from where they spit in the faces of dedicated fans who worked on a Metroid 2 remake because they still think they're living in the year 1993.

Detana!! Twinbee (PC Engine)

$5.99

China Warrior (TG-16)

$5.99

As before, this week's VC releases are two more belated TurboGrafx-16 titles, with one that was not released in the United States until the Wii Virtual Console.

This week's ACA Neo Geo title is Blue's Journey. One of the very early launch titles for the Neo Geo arcade system released as early as 1990. It was later ported to Neo Geo CD in 1994, and the Wii Virtual Console in 2007.

And last, Double Dragon IV has been released on the Nintendo Switch eShop this week, after coming out for the Playstation 4 and PC earlier this year. It uses the 8-bit sprites from the NES Double Dragon games... though, in my opinion, I feel like they should have gone with 16 bit sprites like what you'd see in the arcade titles, as the NES version was essentially a watered down port to begin with. Then again, the NES sprites might add more nostalgia value to some people. I personally would have gone with the arcade sprites, but that's just me.