Nintendo Switch shmup-heads are in for a treat next week when Zerodiv is once again blessing the eShop with another Psikyo classic.
The follow up to Strikers 1945 will arrive January 25th and it will bring the Lightning and the Shinden back, but the rest of the squad will feature all new WW2 era airplanes: the Ta152 Focke-Wulf, the Hayate, the pride of the Royal Airforce De Havilland Mosquito and the "I can't believe this thing flies!" Vought V-173 Flying Pancake.
As silly as that might sound, the Pancake actually fires a devastating homing laser, a perfect WW2-era weapon to take down WW2-era mechs of which there will be plenty in the game's eight levels. The major addition to this entry in the series is the new charge attack bar that replaces the previous game's options as your plane's unique super weapon.
Like previous Zerodiv offerings on the system, Strikers 1945 II will support both regular and TATE mode along with all the usual graphical tweaks such as scanlines. Were you a fan of the original or the series as a whole? Will you be lifting off to fight mechanized horrors once more next week? Do you cringe in your seat every time we write TATE? Bombs away on the comments section below.
[source japanesenintendo.com]
Comments 45
It looks alright.
I’ll probably pass on this one, I have too many other games to play.
@SethNintendo spoilers ... it was aliens! ALIENS! spoilers
I'm there. I want all the arcade machines on the Switch.
Oh man this looks awesome!!!! Hopefully it doesn’t get taken off the eshop like Gunbird.
As a fan of shm’ups of the era and aviation this is a defo buy for me. Absolutely love that cover art too; one of the best ever made. The Japanese always did great jobs at cover art.
The Switch really becoming my Shm’up Hub. I also really hope the recently announced Retrobit Saturn pads will be compatible with it.
@Shiryu Was this one released on a home console before? I could have sworn I owned one of them on Dreamcast...!
@Magrane Yep, all "Strikers" made it to Saturn and Playstation (1&2) if my memory serves me right. If you played it on Dreamcast, it must have been the PSX version using Bleem!
*Drools
I love the first one, so I can't wait to get my grubby hands on this! They need to find a way to get Ikaruga on Switch!
@SLIGEACH_EIRE It's better than alright. If you liked shoot-em-ups in the past,I can't recommend it enough. Psikyo shoot-em-ups in TATE mode is as good as it gets when it comes to classic arcade shooters.
@BanjoPickles Unless my memory fails me, both Ikaruga and Zero Gunner 2 run on Naomi hardware... so if Zero Gunner 2 is running on Switch, no reason besides Treasure to keep it away from it... heck, if Zerodiv's emulator runs flawlessly, no reason to keep any Naomi board classic off Switch!
Top buy or not to buy? Too critical of vertical shooters nowadays, when I would have snapped any one of the up 10 years ago back in Wii VC days. . Guess I was too spoiled on Wii VC and Cave Shooters?
I need to try one of Zerodiv's TATE shmups... should I start with Gunbird?
yes!!!! Day 1!!! 😃😃😃😃
@Shiryu
Oh man, I totally forgot that they both run on the same hardware! Fingers crossed! I mean, Treasure is still around and has thrown their fair share of support Nintendo's way!
Reminds me a lot of Raiden Fighters, I like what I'm seeing!
@BanjoPickles Ikaruga was re-released last year on Steam and other consoles, so... wait, Treasure is working on a new game but have yet to reveal what they're working on. Time will tell...
Sweet! The eShop comes alive again with Arcade goodness: Strikers 1945 II, Zero Gunner 2 and Double Dragon all inbound. There goes the pennies I'd already saved for Kirby Star Allies 😉
@MotionMan In what region has GUNBIRD been pulled off the eShop? Out of the arcade shumps currently on Switch that ranks as one of the most enjoyable. Crazy fun.
More yes. How could anyone resist?
@Shiryu Well it's Psikyo, so yeah, it's aliens.
It's always the aliens......
@Blister Absolutely no harm in that what so ever. Zero Gunner 2 is a must have in my book too.
Yes! I love this shoot-em-up support! Keep it coming!
Is Zero Gunner 2 confirmed for the states?
@BanjoPickles Not yet, but we are all hoping it shows up soon in both USA and Europe!
I wasn't ready for the first one, lol, but I may give the 2nd one a go.
@Blister I'd recommend starting with the first Strikers 1945. The stages are a little longer before you get to the level boss. Gunbird is quality too though so if you enjoy Strikers then you'll enjoy that.
@Blister Is Gunbird available to download in Europe? It was taken down on the US eShop and is still not available to purchase. Nintendolife, any news on when Gunbird is coming back to the US eShop?
@brianvgplayer It's still on the UK Eshop. I only noticed it had been taken down when I went to buy it. Supposedly there is an exploit in the game and that's why it was taken down but I'm not sure how true that is. If there was then surely it would have been taken down everywhere. Magician Lord has also been taken down from the US Eshop in the past before re-appearing a good while later.
Never played it but it looks like a very solid v-shmup.
Hopefully, this will eventually lead up to a release of Strikers 1945 III (a.k.a. Strikers 1999) on Switch, which has never before been released on a home console. (there is a port on Android, but who really wants to play it on that?)
@Shiryu How much will it be?
time to get a eshop card!!!
@Tasuki In my homeland €6.99.
@GrailUK @OorWullie Great, thanks for the advice folks!
@brianvgplayer Yes, Gunbird is on the UK store, will have to decide which I try first 😁
@Shiryu
Strikers 1945 III (also known as Strikers 1999) never got a proper home console release before. Maybe that'll finally change now.
@Lroy NA. It just disapeared like ACA Magician Lord.
I have and really like the first one. But I got it early in the Switch's life when I didn't have a big overload of games to play. So I probably will pass on this one until I spot it on sale.
@OorWullie I really enjoy the first one, is it worth buying the second I wonder?
@KIRO I haven't played it but from what I know about it I would say yes. The special weapon works differently and it's more of the same, which can only be a good thing but with new stages and bosses, plus there's new planes to control. That probably doesn't sound too convincing but I'm not sure what more I can add haha.
Instant buy! Does anyone noticed that Gunbird is currently “unavailable “ on eshop?
@OorWullie ha ha. Well, I loved the first one, so a second helping would be fine for me. I’m hoping Raiden will come along at some point too...
The Switch is definitely delivering on the Shmups, I like it. Will be getting this one too.
I went ahead and bought Gunbird from the JP eShop with eShop credit from Play-Asia. I also bought Zero Gunner 2. The good news is that the menus are completely in English when the language is set to English for both, unlike some shmups I bought from the JP PS Store.
Awesome news! I do have this for playstation and saturn and playstation 2 actually - it came out as a double pack with the first Strikers I believe. Everyone needs a Switch stand so you can TATE on the train!
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