There’s nothing like seeing a collection that celebrates the long lost arcade games of old – especially a compilation that gets so much right with these games. Bitwave knows this stuff, and has proven as such with Toaplan Arcade Shoot ‘Em Up Collection Vol. 1, now available for Steam.
This collection features four games – Zero Wing, Twin Cobra, Truxton and Out Zone. Some of these may be familiar to you (Zero Wing created the whole “All your base are belong to us” movement), while others feel like they came out of nowhere. Still, they’re true to their arcade code.
There are minor things that get in the way of full enjoyment here, but fans of “shmups” or classic games will feel right at home with Toaplan’s little bundle.

Let’s Talk Games
The four games featured here all offer something nice. Twin Cobra and Truxton are upward scrolling shooters, having you take on various enemies with the help of power-ups and mega bombs while waiting to take on the stage boss. They were both classics on the Sega Genesis front for a while (along with other consoles), but the Steam release presents them in their true arcade coding.

Meanwhile, Zero Wing is a side scrolling space shooter; and Out Zone is kind of like Commando, where you move along as a soldier and shoot everything that moves while avoiding lethal fire. These are two great games as well, building on the challenge and keeping you on your toes.
The games are emulated nicely, save for some minor problems with sound. I don’t know what it is, but the sound seems a bit muted in places here. Plus it would’ve been nice to have some stereo options. Still, visually, they hold up, so maybe you can blast some classic arcade noises in the background to complete the effect.

What About Options?
It’s weird how Toaplan is packaged. Instead of an open interface for all four games, they all install separately. I mean, that’s not a deal-breaker, but it would’ve been much easier to go off a main menu instead of quitting and starting each game separately. No biggie, though.
As for the options, there are a lot here. Along with being able to switch between Japanese and English choices (a nice touch), you can also track shots fired and enemies destroyed, as well as the ability to auto-fire and auto-dodge, in case you want to make the games a slight bit easier.
What’s also cool is the rewind ability. It’s actually done in real time, so you can go back to the moment you want to erase and keep your high scoring run going. It’s an awesome feature, and something Bitwave has mastered quite well.

Shoot Em Up Like Crazy
The Toaplan Arcade Shoot ‘Em Up Collection Vol. 1 does come up short in some areas, like the lack of a main menu to play from, as well as audio issues. But for $20, you get four amazing shooters loaded with options. And, hey, if we buy into this, we could get more favorites from the past, including Twin Cobra II and maybe even Hellfire. So, yeah, I’ll happily invest if that means more great blasts from the past. A worthy collection for shmup fans. And, remember, all your base.

The Bottom Line:
Overall, this collection is packed given the price point, and a must have for fans of the genre. And if you’re new to it, it’s worth taking a gamble on.