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Classic Vertical Shooter Star Force Heading To Nintendo Switch

Retro returns to the Switch once again in a new re-release of the 1984 arcade classic.

Kevin Tucker

February 21, 2018 1:20 PM

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There's something oddly magical about using modern consoles, and more specifically modern portable consoles, to play retro gaming hits. After all, the Nintendo Wii was hugely popular thanks in no small part to the considerable back catalog of old NES and SNES games made available through the system's Virtual Console. Considering the popularity of the feature, many fans want to see the Virtual Console return to the Switch, but it doesn't seem to be in the cards just yet. Fortunately, publisher Hamster Corporation has been doing a good job of bringing some old-school gaming hits to Nintendo's hybrid handheld, and its latest Arcade Archives release is the classic shmup title Star Force.

Star Force is a game that some players may not recognize, primarily because it came out of the mid-1980s arcade scene. Originally developed by Tecmo and released in 1984, the game made its way to North American shores in 1987 for the NES with a curious increase in difficulty. Those who do remember the game may be familiar with its Virtual Console release for the Wii in March of 2009, as well as Hamster's updated Arcade Archives version that hit the PlayStation 4 in Japan in late 2015.

The new version for the Nintendo Switch should be mostly similar to the PlayStation 4 version, which is to say that its a nearly-direct port of the original arcade edition with an added Caravan mode as well as online leaderboards. As far as we can tell, just like the PS4 version, Arcade Archives Star Force for the Nintendo Switch may only be made available in the Japanese Switch eShop. Fortunately, the Switch is region-free, so there's nothing holding back players hoping to pick up this piece of gaming history.

Star Force will be made available in the Switch eShop on March 1 for a price of ¥823, or about $7.64.

Kevin Tucker

Guides Editor

Kevin Tucker is a core component of Shacknews' powerful guide development team. For questions, concerns, tips, or to share constructive criticism, he can be reached on Twitter @dukeofgnar or through e-mail at kevin.tucker@shacknews.com.