Toaplan Shooters Collection Volume 2 is a set of fantastic shoot-’em-ups getting reissued by Retro-Bit

Retro-Bit has announced that they’re dipping back into the Toaplan Genesis/Mega Drive well for another collection. The Toaplan Shooters Collection Volume 2 is a physical set of three Genesis/Mega Drive games by the legendary developer.

The games included are Twin Cobra, Grind Stormer, and Slap Fight MD. All of which are among the best of Toaplan’s output, which puts them up there on the ladder of shoot-’em-ups in general. But while Toaplan is perhaps best remembered for their pioneering efforts in the bullet hell sub-genre, none of the included games have reached that point (Batsugun is sometimes considered the first). Nonetheless, they’re a set of somewhat weird scrolling shooters that are something of a rarity on Genesis. In fact, this will be the first time Slap Fight MD is being released in North America, and I’ll get to the reason why that’s pretty cool in a minute.

Twin Cobra is the game that I’m most familiar with. That’s mainly owed to the fact that it got an NES port, but it was hardly scarce on Genesis. It’s one of the developer’s seminal games and helped establish their approach to the genre. It’s a vertical shooter where you play as a helicopter and fight tanks and other modern military hardware. It always felt to me like a bit of a midpoint between 1942 and Raiden.

Grind Stormer is a pretty goofy name, which is too bad because in Japan it was called V-V. Now that I look at it, that looks like an emoji, but is actually supposed to be pronounced V-Five. It’s pretty intense, but is still a bit more subdued than a true bullet hell shooter. It loses a bit of its visual arcade splendor on Genesis, but it’s made up for by including two modes: one exclusive to consoles and another that sticks closer to the arcade version.

Finally, there’s Slap Fight MD, which is a name that never stops being funny to me. You might expect that this is another funny localization title, but no, that’s the original Japanese. It makes me think of something like Twinbee, with the titular character actually using its massive hands to slap enemies out of the air. Instead, it’s a 1986 vertical shooter where the main hook is being able to essentially overpower your ship. The Genesis version is particularly special, however, as it includes a sort of remake/remix mode. That’s cool enough, but Toaplan had Yuzo Koshiro contribute his take on the score. If you aren’t familiar, Yuzo Koshiro is a legendary composer responsible for the soundtracks of Streets of Rage, Beyond Oasis, and Actraiser. He’s actually working on a new Genesis shoot-’em-up right now, Earthion.

A few years ago, Retro-Bit released the first collection, which was a set of four games. That one included Truxton, Hellfire, Fire Shark, and Zero Wing. Unfortunately, they have stated that they won’t be producing another run of the first collection to go alongside Volume 2. It’s a shame, since I missed it.

You can buy the games à la carte, or get the full collection with a slipcase, digital clock, interview with Masahiro Yuge, and a sheet of puffy stickers. Each one comes in a different translucent cartridge color and has a reversible slipcover. I’ve received a few of Retro-Bit’s previous releases, and they’re very high quality with lavish attention to detail. Feels great in the hand and as expected in the console.

Pre-orders for Toaplan Shooters Collection Volume 2 start today and run until December 1st. If you miss the window, you’ll still be able to buy it from select retailers like Castlemania Games and Rondo Products.