Thanks to Clear River Games for the review code
Title: Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol 2
System: Nintendo Switch (eShop)
Price: $34.99
Release Date: 08/14/2025
Prelude
We covered the first volume earlier in the week, and this second Toaplan volume is a similar story. Another set of Bitwave ports of games I all covered previously via their steam versions, presented in a nicer wrapper than those aforementioned ports. This time around, only Hellfire and Zero Wing are leftovers from M2 compilations, leaving most of this collection as the Switch debut for most of these titles.
Presentation
Just like the first volume; nice menu to select games/versions, better menus than PC, screen size options are OK, and the audio is a bit weak for some games, but much less so than on PC, which surprised me. Some issues I noted on Steam like Twin Hawk’s shimmering are still here, but also very fixable with some display tweaks like going to the Steps option, shrinking the image in pixel perfect or rotating it 90 degrees, then it goes away completely, while I couldn’t really get rid of it on Steam deck no matter how hard I tried.
The music in every game, including Slap Fight sounded as it should to me, which was nice. Some games still have weird or off sound effects though, getting better as the games get newer, but at least Slap Fight sounded much closer than Tiger Heli did. Still no excuse for lack of 100% accuracy though, as Slap Fight is an ancient PSG game. It also means that yes, Truxton II got major fixes so the music not only sounds accurate, but makes excellent use of the stereo! A huge relief after the giant flaming trainwreck it originally launched in, making this a great place to experience the glorious music of that game. The sound effects in Truxton II sounded spot-on as well.
The only other glaring audio bug I noticed was in Vimana, which sounded as it should both with sound effects and music, but the music just upped and died on me during stage 2 and I had to continue the game in order to resume it. Very strange and appears to also happen in the Steam version too, so I dunno why it didn’t get fixed. Minor shame since Vimana also has a great OST, but it looks and plays just fine otherwise.
Gameplay
Like before, there are not any bonuses. You get the games, their versions, some online leaderboards (with only one leaderboard per revision, so no co-op or 1CC normal dip switch leaderboards), and that’s about it. Same song and dance as before.
Alcon– AKA Slap Fight, this vertical shooter takes the Gradius powerup bar and pulls off some neat things with it. A score-focused game that’s incredibly addicting once you get the hang of things, and figuring out how you’ll memorize the patterns to progress just a bit further with each playthrough is all part of the fun.
The Steam version had some pretty poor PSG sound effect emulation, but in this version they sound a little better to me, and the music is just as it should be.. Compared to Tiger Heli’s terrible music and SE emulation in the last volume, Slap Fight is closer to the point that I was able to have a lot more fun and not really notice the sound effects being off as much as Tiger Heli, and that’s a good thing too since this one is incredibly addicting and well worth practicing. A perfect starting point for these games and a must-play for scorechaser fans!
Truxton– Easily Toaplan’s most famous game, or second most famous depending on who you ask. A very pattern focused, meticulous vertical shooter with three different powerups and bombs to make use of, sticking to a tried and true concept and just really nailing it. Each checkpoint is a mini accomplishment by itself, and playing to memorize and best your high score is incredibly fun, too.
Some bosses and certain checkpoints can put you in a tighter spot if you aren’t powered up, but eventually persistence pays off if you keep at it. Not my favorite of these kind of Toaplan shooters, but still a pretty darn fun one.
Twin Hawk– This plane themed shmup is a little odd. With only four long stages and ditching a traditional bomb for a group of mini planes that shoot alongside you, (which can be turned into a bomb or a swarm of planes crashing into the nearest enemy) this might sound like a very tedious game, but I honestly always get a kick outta it and like the scoring in this one.
The JP version, Daisenpu, uses a traditional checkpoint system and is the more enjoyable one if you want to play this for score, but the 2P western version Twin Hawk is rather fun both solo or with a friend if you just want to clear a gameplay loop, and this has always been one of my favorite toaplan shooters. Just short, simplistic fun with a lot of satisfaction for score chaser fans. I was a bit worried seeing the shimmering I had issues with from the Steam version crop back up here, but luckily the filters mask it and the tate mode completely eliminate it, making this the better version of the two Bitwave ports of this one.
Zero Wing– One of two of horizontal shooters Toaplan made, and a rather weak one. You do have three fun weapons to use as you go through the many stages of this one, but the main gimmick of this game comes from your tractor beam, which just sucks in my opinion. Most of the time it’s only good for using enemies as a shield, or for shooting one enemy into another, and I barely found any practical use for it. Sometimes you can get a black hole bomb to deal a lot of damage, but they’re rare enough it still doesn’t help your tractor beam.
The US version once again goes for 2P co-op while the JP 1P ver uses checkpoints, but either way I have never clicked with this one, no matter the version or console variant. An incredibly bizarre addition to the Bitwave port, which also came to the Steam version after my prior review of it, was a recreation of the Genesis exclusive introduction in the Arcade version’s artstyle.
Seems to only exist due to the meme associated with the EU Mega Drive version, but it looks OK, even though I don’t like how of all the things console ports added to these games to backport into the arcade version, you include an extra intro for one game and not the extra intro from say, Hellfire S into Hellfire…
Hellfire– Now this one is a much better horizontal shooter. Your shot types are on you at all times, and you just rotate between them with a button press, with each one being a different directional shot that you upgrade gradually with powerups. Yet again, JP 1P checkpoints, US 2P Co-Op, and the 1P version is the far better game without a doubt. Well designed checkpoints, more fun for scoring, and no situations of respawning into unavoidable situations of death like in the 2P version.
Sure, it may be fun to play this with a friend for the ride, but the entire balance of the game is destroyed by doing so, who hurts the fun factor of this one. This is one port I’ll even give Bitwave the edge over M2 for, since their version only supported online leaderboards for the 2P mode, but Bitwave lets you scorechase online in the 1P variant, which alongside the great sound emulation and instant response time, makes this my preferred way to play Arcade Hellfire now!
Unfortunately, there seems to be a weird graphical bug in the 1P version, making every shot color the same, but the variant labeled “1P Beta” appears to work like normal, as does the 2P version. Still, this is easily my favorite game of the entire collection, and a great way to introduce yourself to the better of Toaplan’s horizontal shooters.
Vimana– A weird, singular oddball that isn’t like any other Toaplan game before or since, this vertical shooter ditches the bombs for a shield of orbs that home in on nearby enemies, and gives you just a normal charge shot that upgrades via powerups, with no secondary weapons.
Yet somehow, Vimana really shines, with outstanding music, (when it doesn’t cut out) a great scorechasing loop, fun 2P Co-Op, and a weapon that feels incredibly overpowered to use once you upgrade it enough times to let those giant charge shots fly, and there’s a reason I’ve taken a big liking to this one the past two times I reviewed it, and the same holds true with this port. Definitely the hidden gem of the set.
Truxton II– the sequel to Truxton, which is much toned down in difficulty from the JP version, Tatsujin Oh. That version is also included, and playing it you can immediately see why they had to tone the difficulty down; spongy enemies everywhere, insane enemy and bullet patterns, and bombs that are so limited and rare they might as well be unicorns. Add in some absurdly long stages that lead to the entire game taking around an hour to clear, and you will be decimated by this one without lots and lots and lots of practice, and even then it just isn’t as fun as the original game.
Thankfully, the US version, Truxton II, tones things down just enough to still be fun, even if brutal. Yes, the game is still absurdly long and yes, bombs are still pretty tough to find, but that just means you have to make the most of your weaponry, hanging onto it for dear life so you can upgrade it to the next power level, and saving those bombs for absolute emergencies rather than just using them on basic enemies.
With the US version, memorization and scorechasing becomes a lot more tolerable and fun, and I was enjoying this version much, much more than the JP counterpart, and the dire state the original Steam version launched in. Considering how that audio emulation was so bad I was insulted, the perfect sounding audio in this port was a delight to hear considering how great Truxton II’s sound design and OST is, and I was thrilled this one got redeemed. It also has local co-op on both versions, but don’t expect that to make the journey any easier.
Grind Stormer– The sequel to Slap Fight, and after playing a ton of the US version on Evercade and going back to the Japanese V-V here, I think I might actually prefer that US version. The JP V-V uses the Gradius-style powerup system Slap Fight did, but the game feels a little bit sloppy when using it and with your default weapon being pretty decent as is, it really doesn’t make much sense to not go for the power and speed upgrades rather than the two other shot types.
On the other hand, the US version just gives you typical bombs ala most other vertical shooters, and the weaponry/upgrades are dropped by enemies, letting you upgrade and try out the other weapons much more often, and get big point bonuses for picking up what you already have, making it a lot more fun for scorechasing purposes, too. Both versions have co-op and use checkpoints, so there’s still a purpose to memorization no matter which one you go with, but either way, I feel V-V is a lot weaker than the game it tried to followup, while Grind Stormer at least tweaks things just enough to make the weaponry and overall game shine a bit more, even if it also pales compared to Slap Fight. Still, as one of Toaplan’s final shooters, it does have an incredible soundtrack, and that manages to be captured here pretty darn well.
Conclusion
Ultimately, I was a lot more satisfied with this second volume. Yes, it still lacks bonus materials and a lot of the cool stuff M2 would nail, and there’s still too many bugs for my liking to call this a slam dunk recommendation, but compared to the PC versions of these games Vol 2’s contents are much improved to those original ports I ripped apart. The better UI/menuing, the online leaderboards, the instant response times, all lead to games like Twin Hawk, Vimana, Hellfire and Truxton II really shining here in comparison, leading to this collection being a great way to check those shooters out.
I do wish a bit more polish was done so say, Vimana’s music didn’t abruptly die, but considering how the sound effects in Twin Hawk could have easily been botched like Flying Shark in the last collection but wasn’t, really does make me breathe a big sigh of relief. If you want to pick up just one of these two collections, this one is the easier recommendation for sure, and a set of some pretty darn great games for shooting fans.
I give Toaplan Arcade Collection Vol 2 an 8 out of 10.