Topic: Arcade Archives / ACA NEOGEO eShop sales

Hot on the heels of the last one (actually overlapping a bit), is another Hamster sale!
Ends Friday, Jan. 17th, 2025.

50% off:

• ACA NEOGEO METAL SLUG 5
• ACA NEOGEO AERO FIGHTERS 3
• ACA NEOGEO OVER TOP
• ACA NEOGEO BLUE'S JOURNEY
• ACA NEOGEO ART OF FIGHTING

30% off Namco sale:

• Arcade Archives GALAGA
• Arcade Archives XEVIOUS
• Arcade Archives SUPER PAC-MAN
• Arcade Archives DRAGON SABER
• Arcade Archives LIBBLE RABBLE

A while ago I googled for lists of the best Neo Geo games. I looked for ranked lists at least 25 games long. I ended up finding 7 qualifying lists with 132 unique games and a total of 413 separate entries.

The best of these 5 NeoGeo sale games is Aero Fighters 3, though Aero Fighters 2 is superior (on my lists compilation, 3 ended up #41 best NeoGeo game, while 2 ended up #8).

Galaga is included in the Namco Museum collection.

Super Pac-Man is included in the Pac-Man Museum+ collection.

The NES version of Xevious is included in the Namco Museum Archives Vol 1 collection (though I also picked up the Arcade Archives version to get the perfect arcade version)

Galaga and Xevious are early shmup classics that should need no introduction!

Dragon Saber is a sequel to Dragon Spirit. It is a well-regarded Namco shmup that is easier than the hard-as-nails original (if you have Namco Museum Archives Vol 1 you also have the second game in the series: Dragon Spirit: The New Legend, which is a rehash/remix/sort-of-sequel)

Libble Rabble is by Toru Iwatani, (of Pac-Man fame!). It is said he regards Libble Rabble as the favourite of his games.
From Wikipedia:
"Retro Gamer magazine stated that [Libble Rabble] was a 'true, underappreciated classic' of the puzzle game genre, favorably comparing it to Taito's Qix."
And, Libble Rabble was never released in the West! Is the Japan-exclusive a lost classic?

I do love these special occasions when Hamster gifts us these overlapping sales!

I picked up Sonic Wings 3, Dragon Saber, Rally-X, and Crossed Swords on sale, and Sonic Wings, Vandyke, and USAAF Mustang at full price to finally get them off my watchlist. Oh, and I bought SDF Macross right after Xmas, too. Macross II is on the way eventually, and I can’t wait to see what other treats Arcade Archives will bring us this year!

This morning on the Archiver stream, Hamster announced they’re running another sale, at least in Japan (I haven’t confirmed on the NA eshop yet, but usually everything matches.

10 games from Taito (including Ninja Warriors and Elevator Action) and 10 more games for which Hamster owns the license (among which Thunder Dragon stands out most to me).

20 Arcade Archives games are on sale for 30% off in the North American eShop until Wednesday, Feb. 26th, 2025.

• Arcade Archives ELEVATOR ACTION
• Arcade Archives OMEGA FIGHTER
• Arcade Archives THE NINJA WARRIORS
• Arcade Archives KIKI KAIKAI
• Arcade Archives THUNDER DRAGON
• Arcade Archives SABOTEN BOMBERS
• Arcade Archives FLIPULL
• Arcade Archives FRONT LINE
• Arcade Archives TURBO FORCE
• Arcade Archives RAIMAIS
• Arcade Archives Chack'n Pop
• Arcade Archives Penguin-Kun
• Arcade Archives PIRATE PETE
• Arcade Archives RADICAL RADIAL
• Arcade Archives TIME TUNNEL
• Arcade Archives STRIKE GUNNER
• Arcade Archives REZON
• Arcade Archives MAGICAL SPEED
• Arcade Archives ITAZURA TENSHI
• Arcade Archives SOLITARY FIGHTER

Already in the Taito Milestones collection:

• ELEVATOR ACTION
• THE NINJA WARRIORS
• FRONT LINE
• Chack'n Pop

Already in the Taito Milestones 2 collection:

• KIKI KAIKAI
• SOLITARY FIGHTER

The game closest to my heart of these games is Pirate Pete. You might be wondering, what the heck is that? Well, you might know it better by its original name: Jungle King. But Taito was sued by the estate that owned the rights to Tarzan (Not only do you play as a loin-cloth dude swinging through the jungle, but it started out with a digitized Tarzan yell). So they remade it as Jungle Hunt where you play as a pith-helmeted European adventurer. But that was eventually remade/reskinned again, maybe for "problematic cultural characterizations" and so on, to finally be available now as Pirate Pete.

Reminder that Hamster's Arcade Archives sales only happen a few times a year, and usually only 10 games at a time. Add in the Neo Geo games, and there are over 450 titles. So you might wait years for any given game to go on sale. If you're interested, snap it up!

It appears the same titles are on Sale in the UK and Europe too.

I see some games I have some interest in, namely Elevator Action, Kiki Kaikai, Penguin-kun Wars, Solitary Fighter, Chack'n Pop. Maybe I'll bite and get Kiki Kaikai, at least.

That's the one game of the 20 I didn't buy!

A shameless R-Type clone, said to have possibly the worst music in video game history. Horrid 5-second loops forcing people to play it on mute.

As of May 14th, these 10 Arcade Archives by Namco are currently 30% off on the American eShop:

Pac-Man (also in Namco Museum (Arcade PAC), Pac-Man Museum+ and as an unlockable in Pac-Man World Re-PAC)
Pac-Land (also in Pac-Man Museum+)
Dig Dug (also in Namco Museum (Arcade PAC))
Mappy
Gaplus
Youkai Douchuki
Dragon Buster
Dragon Spirit
The Genji and the Heike Clans
Ordyne

Sale ends on May 28th.

I'd get them all (minus the Pac-Man games) if I could, one of my ultime goal for the Arcade Archives releases is to get all the releases of Nintendo (done) and Namco. For the time being I'll go with Mappy and Youkai Douchuki. Maybe also Dig Dug since it's my favorite of the Namco Legendary series, although I already have it on Namco Museum Arcade PAC.

@HammerGalladeBro
Thanks for the heads up! Namco Month is in full swing now! I think I’ll have to partake because I’ve meant to buy Youkai Dochuuki for years now. I may get Dragon Spirit too.

I wonder if we’ll see a few consecutive weeks of sales, too, like last year.

Well, just 4 months, but it felt longer...

10 Taito arcade games are now on sale for 30% off until Wednesday, September 24th, 2025!
Here they are in order of "Most owned" on Deku Deals:

• ACA NEOGEO PUZZLE BOBBLE (aka Bust-A-Move)
• Arcade Archives BUBBLE BOBBLE
• Arcade Archives QIX
• Arcade Archives HALLEY'S COMET
• Arcade Archives CHAMPION WRESTLER
• Arcade Archives RASTAN SAGA
• Arcade Archives CADASH
• Arcade Archives THE TIN STAR
• Arcade Archives SCRAMBLE FORMATION
• Arcade Archives FOOTBALL CHAMP (aka Hat Trick Hero)

The first 6 Arcade Archives games in the list are also in Taito collections:

• HALLEY'S COMET and QIX are in the TAITO Milestones collection.
• BUBBLE BOBBLE, CADASH, CHAMPION WRESTLER, and RASTAN SAGA are in the Taito Milestones 3 collection.

THE TIN STAR had unique controls in the arcade cabinet. A joystick to move your gunfighter, and a spinner to aim, you would also press down on the spinner to shoot. Some of the fun of that is surely lost in the conversion.

SCRAMBLE FORMATION is said to be a decent Xevious clone, that tries some interesting things.

FOOTBALL CHAMP is said to be a lot of arcade fun: "a blast", "quirky and immensely playable", "an arcade football game that stands out for its blend of traditional soccer gameplay and over the top, arcade style action."

ACA NEOGEO PUZZLE BOBBLE is highly-rated. Though the sequel, also on the Neo Geo, is said to be improved, if you're only in for one or the other.

Thanks for the heads-up. You have my attention with Bubble Bobble and Puzzle Bobble. Got Qix the last time it was on sale.

Yes, it has been a while! I appreciate the notice, even if I won't be partaking in any of these Taito deals. I've been spending so much on the Arcade Archive adjacent physical collections! I've got all three Taito Milestone volumes at home on the shelf, plus all six volumes (thus far) of the ACA NEOGEO Selections.

IIRC volumes 7 and 8 of the ACA NEOGEO Selections (coming out this November) will contain Puzzle Bobble and Puzzle Bobble 2, respectively. I've got to get those on pre-order, too.

I hope they don't announce too much in the Nintendo Direct tomorrow, because my wallet is in chronic pain! @_@;;

I've also recently purchased the ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 1-6, with 7 and 8 on pre-order. Been really enjoying them so far, looking forward to 7-8, and an announcement when they come for 9-10, and maybe 11 (I think there are 108 ACA NEOGEO games on the eshop). Still waiting on Magician Lord, Metal Slug 3, Eightman, etc.

I have Taito Milestones 3 and am considering 1-2. I see that there's a Limited Edition of Milestones 1 on Amazon. It just looks like different cover art, and limited to 3000 copies. Anyone know if that's it? It's priced the same as the others, but I'm surprised it wasn't already sold out since the NA versions seem to be, yet these LE are brand new.