HAMSTER News Articles
Friday2nd Jan 2026
News Arcade Archives Celebrates 500 Retro Releases With Special Commemorative Game
Update: It's got 2026 underway with Space Invaders Part II
[Sun 28th Dec, 2025 02:30 GMT]: Last year in January, Hamster’s Arcade Archives series for the Switch and multiple other platforms reached 400 releases. Now, in an update at the end of 2025, it’s been officially confirmed that the retro-specialist has now hit 500 releases! Arcade...
Wednesday1st Oct 2025
News The Next Arcade Archives Release Will Have Mouse Controls On Switch 1 & 2
Gee Bee lands tomorrow
The next Arcade Archives title coming to Switch 1 and Switch 2 buzzes onto the consoles tomorrow, 2nd October 2025, and it's the first-title Toru Iwatani — the creator of Pac-Man — developed for Namco. The 1978 release Gee Bee is the next game in Hamster's huge catalogue of ports. Notably, Gee Bee was the first ever...
Thursday14th Aug 2025
News The Next 3D Arcade Archives Release Is Available Today On Switch And Switch 2
Fancy some wave racing?
In case you missed it, Hamster Corporation today adds Namco's 1996 wave racer Aqua Jet to its Arcade Archives and Arcade Archives 2 series on the Switch and Switch 2. As explained by Hamster, this game stood out in arcades at the time because of its "large jet ski-style cabinet" a
Thursday7th Aug 2025
News Arcade Archives: D-Day Lands On Switch Today
Get to your ships!
D-Day, Jaleco's 1984 arcade shooter, will arrive today on Nintendo Switch as part of Arcade Archives. The game, which this writer remembers quite enjoying back in ye olden days, sees players control a warship as it sails right up the screen, shooting down planes and blowing everything to ribbons as it goes. Players have a...
Thursday31st Jul 2025
News Taito's 'Field Day' Sprints Onto Switch Today Via Arcade Archives
Button mashing is smashing, especially with friends
We've known for a while now, and as reported by our sister site Time Extension a week back, Taito's 1984 classic Field Day, is on its way to Nintendo Switch consoles as part of the Arcade Archives series. Now, Hamster has announced that the game will officially release on 31st July. Which is...
Monday30th Jun 2025
News Arcade Archives Is Bringing 'Air Combat 22' To Switch 2
Another console port first
Hamster, known for its suite of retro Arcade Archives ports, has revealed its next Switch 2 game as part of the Arcade Archives 2 series. And, just like Ridge Racer, it's another polygonal arcade-to-home port. This time around, it's Air Combat 22, which is coming to both Switch 1 and Switch 2 on 3rd July 2025.
Friday16th May 2025
News Nintendo Apologises For "Error" With Mention Of Switch 2 VRR TV Support
"The incorrect information was initially published"
Nintendo Switch 2 is sporting all sorts of modern technology and one other addition is variable refresh rate (VRR) support. This has been highlighted on Nintendo's official website alongside all the other upgrades for this new hardware. Nintendo has been nice enough to provide a description about...
Tuesday4th Mar 2025
News Hamster's Arcade Archives Celebrates Eight Years Of Switch eShop Releases
"Thank you for your unwavering support"
Since the arrival of the Switch in 2017, Hamster Corporation has been releasing all sorts of arcade classics on the eShop. Now, in line with the eighth anniversary of Nintendo's hybrid system, Hamster's president and CEO Satoshi Hamada has taken a moment out of his busy schedule to share some fun facts. If...
Friday3rd Jan 2025
"We will be taking on many new challenges"
It's a new year and Hamster Corporation is already back at it with more weekly 'Arcade Archives' releases on the Switch eShop. To kick things off, it's released Athena's 1989 side-scrolling action title Castle of Dragon. You'll go forth with the "power of love" as two young kings set out on a journey to...
Wednesday27th Nov 2024
News The Original 'Cotton' Shoot 'Em Up Joins Hamster's Arcade Archives Library Today
Almost like a dream
Hamster Corporation has revealed this week's addition to the Arcade Archives, and it's none other than Success' first broom-based shoot 'em up, Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams. The Switch has seen its fair share of Cotton titles since Reboot! landed on the hybrid back in 2021. In the years since, we have snatched up Cotton 100%,...
Sunday19th May 2024
News Taito Milestones 3 Coming Winter 2024, First Batch Of Games Revealed
"Get hype for over 7 classic TAITO games"
Last year, it was revealed Taito Milestones 3 was on the way to the Switch and it's now been confirmed it will be arriving locally on the eShop in Winter 2024. The third retro collection will feature "over seven classic Taito games" between the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hamster Corporation, known for its...
Tuesday30th Jan 2024
News Hamster Corporation Celebrates 400 Arcade Archives Titles On Switch
Here's to many more!
It seems like yesterday Hamster was only celebrating its 100th 'Arcade Archives' release, but it's now actually 400 titles into its retro revival project. Hamster Corporation shared this milestone in a brief post on social media earlier before, noting how Rainbow Islands was its latest game to arrive on the Nintendo Switch and...
Thursday18th Jan 2024
News Super Contra Joins Hamster's Arcade Archives Library This Week
Run and gun
Hamster Corporation has revealed the next game for its Arcade Archive collection on Switch is Konami's run-and-gun release Super Contra. It's available across all regions on 18th January 2024. Here's a bit more about this version of the game, along with a look (above): "SUPER CONTRA" is an action game released by KONAMI in 1988. The...
Thursday4th Jan 2024
News Hamster Corporation Reveals Its First Arcade Archives Release Of 2024
Stop the supercomputer 'Zelda' in Mighty Guy
To kick off the new year, Hamster Corporation has announced it will be adding Mighty Guy to the Arcade Archives collection this week. The game is out today and should be live on the Switch eShop very soon. This action game made its debut in 1986 and requires players to put a stop to a massive...
Thursday28th Dec 2023
News Hamster Corporation Reveals Its Final Arcade Archives Release Of 2023
It's Taito's 1991 game Solitary Fighter
It's been another action-packed year of Hamster Corporation retro releases and to go out with a bang, the Japanese video game company will be releasing the 1991 Taito fighting game Solitary Fighter on 28th December. This should make it the final Arcade Archives release of 2023! Solitary Fighter follows the...
Monday22nd May 2023
News Tetris The Absolute Grandmaster 2 Plus Slots Into Hamster's Arcade Archives Next Month
Line 'em up
Hamster has today announced that the second game in Arika's tough Tetris series, Tetris The Absolute Grandmaster 2 Plus, will be dropping down onto the Switch via the Arcade Archives collection on 1st June (thanks, Gematsu). The game's predecessor, Tetris The Grand Master, was
Wednesday1st Feb 2023
News Greek Mythology-Inspired Vertical Shooter 'Phelios' Is This Week's Arcade Archives Game
By the beard of Zeus!
Greek mythology might not be the first thing to come to mind when you think of a vertical-scrolling shooter, but that didn't stop Namco from releasing Phelios in 1988, and it hasn't stopped Hamster from adding said title to its arcade collection this week (from 2nd February). There's probably many out there who haven't...
Wednesday25th Jan 2023
News Taito's Action Platformer 'The NewZealand Story' Is This Week's Arcade Archives Game
Seal the deal
Arguably one of the most adorable arcade titles out there, The NewZealand Story is waddling its way onto Hamster's Arcade Archives collection this week (thanks, Nintendo Everything) and will be turning us all against seals once again. Originally released in 1988, this classic platformer sees you play as Tiki, a kiwi who is forced out...
Thursday5th Jan 2023
News Galaga Is Hamster's First Arcade Archives Switch Release Of 2023
Another blast from the past
Following on from the release of Bubble Bobble at the end of December, Hamster has now officially unveiled its first Arcade Archives release of 2023. This time it's Namco's classic arcade space shooter Galaga. This title was first released in 1981 and is a sequel to the 1979 release Galaxian (previously released on the...
Friday25th Nov 2022
News Arcade Archives Nintendo Collection Goes On Sale For The First Time Ever, 30% Off
Grab a bargain
We've extensively covered the Switch's Arcade Archives series over the years, and November 24th marks the 300th week (5 years and 9 months, to be precise) of Hamster Corporation rolling out these updated retro releases. To celebrate this milestone, the Nintendo Switch eShop is hosting a special sale. All 20 Nintendo titles from the...
Wednesday28th Sep 2022
News SNK Celebrates Art Of Fighting 30th Anniversary With A New Illustration
The original game launched in 1992
Last week SNK celebrated Art of Fighting's 30th anniversary. This particular fighter was first released for Neo Geo and arcades in September 1992. It helped pave the way for the genre and eventually got a second game (1994) and third game (1996). SNK shared this special occasion by sharing a new drawing by SNK...
Thursday14th Jul 2022
News Namco Shmup Dragon Saber Is This Week's Arcade Archives Game
Dragon flight
If you love a good vertical shoot 'em up - Hamster's Arcade Archives collection has you got covered this week. The latest release for this library on the Switch is the 1990 Namco title, Dragon Saber. It's a sequel to Dragon Spirit, released in arcades back in 1987. In this game, the Huey and Siria, who have been transformed into...
Wednesday15th Jun 2022
News Taito's 'Space Seeker' Blasts Its Way Into The Arcade Archives Line-Up
Searching and shooting in space
We're moving away from Namco's backlog for a bit this week in the Arcade Archives line-up, as the next game coming to the series is 1981 arcade shooter Space Seeker. the game will be dropping on the eShop tomorrow — 16th June — for the usual price of $7.99 / €6.99 / £6.29. This game is known for having...
Wednesday8th Jun 2022
News Bump Your Enemies Off The Edge In 'Motos', The Next Arcade Archives Game
Give it a push!
We've got our next Arcade Archives title hitting the eShop tomorrow, and it's 1985's bumper car arcade game Motos. This is the last of seven games to run on Namco's Super Pac-Man hardware while sharing a video system used in games like Mappy, Dig Dug II, and — last week's Arcade Archives addition — The Tower of Druaga. It's a...
Wednesday1st Jun 2022
News Classic Maze RPG 'The Tower of Druaga' Is This Week's Arcade Archives Game
No need for a key to play this
Did anyone else play Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean and think to themselves during a particular dungeon, "huh, what is that pixelated maze room full of slimes a reference to?" Well, maybe it was just this writer here, but you can now find out the game that inspired that dungeon! The Tower of Druaga is...
Wednesday11th May 2022
News Pro Tennis: World Court Is The Next Ace In The Arcade Archives Line-Up
A forehand winner for the collection
It's our weekly Wednesday update on the Arcade Archives series. Except for last week, when the magic happened on Thursday. Golden Week, hey? This week, we've got something a bit different for Hamster's series; after weeks of shumps, platformers, racers, and puzzle games, we have a sports game coming to the eShop...
Wednesday27th Apr 2022
News Namco's Yokai Dochuki, Renamed 'Shadowland', Is The Next Arcade Archives Game On Switch
A platformer to close out Namco month
We're getting another Arcade Archives release on Switch tomorrow, as the Japan-only platformer Yokai Dochuki is the next game to launch in the series, but with a slightly different name in the West, however — Shadowland. Originally released in arcades in 1987, the game sees you platforming through jigoku...
Wednesday20th Apr 2022
News Galaga Sequel 'Gaplus' Is The Next Arcade Archives Game On Switch
Namco month continues
It's Wednesday, so we're obviously here to tell you what new arcade game you'll be able to pick up on Switch as part of the Arcade Archives series. Tomorrow, it's the turn of shmup sequel Gaplus, the third entry in the Galaxian series and follow-up to the hugely popular Galaga. Sometimes also known as Galaga 3, it's only one...
Wednesday13th Apr 2022
News Action Adventure RPG 'Valkyrie No Densetsu' Joins Switch Arcade Archives Line-Up
More PC Engine arcade goodness
Valkyrie no Densetsu is the latest game coming to the Switch via Arcade Archives. This cult classic action RPG launched in Japan in 1989 but didn't see a western release until Namco Museum Vol. 5, where it was titled The Legend of Valkyrie. Developed by Namco, Valkyrie no Densetsu was greatly inspired by the Vikings...
Wednesday6th Apr 2022
News Pac-Land Is The Next Arcade Archives Game Coming To Switch
Walk-a-walk-a-walk-a-walk-a-walk
Another week, another Arcade Archives release. This week's game features a name that'll be familiar to many but in an entirely different format. Pac-Land, the 1984 game, is the next title being added to the Arcade Archives line-up. Yes, this is your chance to discover exactly where that Smash Bros. for Wii U stage...
