Irem Collection Vol. 1 review

Strictly Limited isn’t just one of the publishers- it also describes the amount of enjoyment found in this rushed compilation.

For many, Irem (officially, Kabushikigaisha Airemu Software Engineering) is best known for the R-Type series. Following its 1987 arcade debut, R-Type spawned six sequels and five spin-offs, securing a much-deserved place in the shoot-‘em-up pantheon. But as fans of the genre will remind you, the title wasn’t Irem’s only beguiling bullet dodger, with 1993’s In the Hunt earning a substantial fanbase as well. A trio Japanese game magazines would later identify the submarine-based shooter as one of the best cabinets of all time.

Given the measured distribution of hits in most contemporary retro compilations, it’s not surprising that neither R-Type nor In the Hunt makes an appearance in Irem Collection Vol. 1. Instead, the inaugural Irem anthology explores the span between these two titles, when the developer was starting to tackle home console adaptations. So even if there’s a notable shortage of star power, Irem Volume 1 shines the spotlight on the Image Fight series as well as spin-off, X Multiply. Both are respectable STGs poised to please fans of the genre. But tragically, Vol. 1 is not the best way to play them.

Collection? Yes. Commemoration? Not Even Close.

Curation in these collections can often be uneven, and here Ratalaika delivers yet another lackluster effort. Head into the collection and you’re able to jump into any of the three main games here via an attractive but menu. But beyond basic data about regions and hardware platform, you’ll find no supplemental material to provide any additional context. There’s no additional info, box art, marquees, instructions, photos, or insights from any of the original developers. The menus don’t even specify the date of each release. The sole attempt at historical preservation is found in Vol. 1’s assortment of different game versions for two of the three titles.

For Image Fight, the compilation extends a trio of iterations, allowing players to see the differences between the original arcade version and the PC Engine, NES and Famicom adaptations. As a PC Engine Super CD-ROM² exclusive, Image Fight II offers only a single version- which essentially it is a revision of its predecessor, albeit with Red Book audio tracks, (non-localized) cutscenes, and additional stages. Finally, X Multiply provides access to the worldwide and Japan-based coin-op previously released as part of Hamster Corporation’s Arcade Archives series.

Sweating Bullets

Undoubtedly, each game in the volume deserves tribute. Revisit the coin-op iteration of Image Fight and you’ll find a wonderfully cantankerous vertical shmup. Enemies here are more sophisticated than your typical foes. The first stage will have you gunning down homing missiles and evading weaponry that make hasty ninety-degree turns- letting you know the remaining seven levels will be unapologetically hard-hitting.

Image Fight’s first boss battle doubles down on the difficulty, raining giant rings that are strenuous to avoid. Collisions with enemies or their bullets take a life from your inventory as well as strip you of all power-ups. As such, making a coming back from a single mistake feels exceedingly difficult. Yes, it’s probably even more punitive than Gradius, since the first five stages grade your performance. Earn less than a stellar 90% and you’ll be sent to an excruciatingly tough level before you get to resume your fight.

Mercifully, Image Fight isn’t stingy with the power-ups on the first half of each stage. Assists come in two forms. The first augments your main gun, forking your single shot into nine different alternatives that offer everything from a wider field of fire, penetrating lasers, to a cascade of green bubbles. Then there are the red and blue orbs that arrange themselves outside your craft. The former fire in the opposite direction of movement which are great for opponents who like to enter from the bottom of the screen. Meanwhile, the blue ones persistently fire forward, and if you obtain four of them, your ship the Orbit Fighter-1 becomes reasonably powerful. Like R-Type, you can also fling your pods which is helpful when you’re encircled by adversaries.

Image Remade

Released in 1998, Image Fight II for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM² was undoubtedly built upon the foundations of its PC Engine predecessor, which is included here. As home ports, Image Fight I and II had to adapt a vertically mounted arcade monitor to a horizontally positioned home television. But beyond squatty-looking sprites and a bit less space to spot incoming threats, the home ports are startlingly sincere to the source material. Which means, they’re still gratifyingly grueling.

But calling Image Fight II a sequel is dubious. Effectively, the follow-up recycles many of the same assets, while adding CD-quality audio and two additional stages. Sure, the nitpickers might tell you that the sequel shifts the game’s test to start on the second stage. But save for that modification, this feels more like Image Fight 1.5 given the scant number of changes, which tarnishes the overall value of the bundle.

YMO Reference Imminent

Undoubtedly, the highlight of Volume 1 is X Multiply. Here, the action is mostly horizontally scrolling (there’s a quick vertical section on stage six), allowing for a larger playfield on the Switch’s 16:9 ratio screen. But the bigger surprise is the game’s power-up system. Grabbing a red orb upgrades your main gun, while a blue one fastens a pair of metallic tentacles to your ship. These provide extra firepower but more importantly, the tentacles can be moved, providing a bit of shielding from enemy bullets. Here, Ratalaika provides optional control of the appendages with the right thumb stick. It’s a welcome addition, providing a bit of aid during boss battles. But you can’t effectively turn off the option, which might unfairly blemish your standing on the game’s online leaderboards.

If you’re able to overlook that, X Multiply is one of the more creative shooters of the ‘80s. The game depicts your nano-sized ship travelling through an infected body and destroying alien parasites. While the concept is like 1982’s Microsurgeon for the Intellivision as well as 1986’s Life Force, X Multiply fully embraces the grotesque, as you pilot through pulpy internal cavities and curious battle bio-terrors like an electricity-discharging mutant dragon at the beginning of stage two. Like Image Fight, memorization is essential for success, as you discover the safe zones across each of the game’s seven levels.

Game (Nearly) Over

Eluding and shooting enemies in two Image Fight entries and X Multiply would be worthwhile if the collection was bug-tested before releases. But between game rewinding that sporadically doesn’t work, button mapping, right stick control, and rapid fire in Image Fight that’s broken, there are some glaring bugs that shouldn’t have made it into a retail build. These aren’t some esoteric oversights, but substantial bugs that were identified in the first hour of play that are poised to tarnish enjoyment. Effectively, you’re better off with Hamster’s Arcade Archives versions of Image Fight and X Multiply, which don’t contain these conspicuous issues.

Irem Collection Vol. 1 was played on Switch with review code provided by the publisher.