Update: The Switch eShop listing for Cotton Reboot! has now changed the western release date from this month to next. It's now arriving on 20th July for $39.99 USD. Above is the latest trailer.
Original story: Earlier this year, the classic shmup Cotton Reboot! arrived on the Switch in Japan. It's a remake of the Sharp X68000 port of the 1991 arcade title, Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams.
If you've been wondering what's happened to the local release, the good news is it's finally been locked in - although, it's going to arrive a little later than expected. Rather than a Q1 2021 release, it's now taking flight on 25th June for $39.99 USD, according to a listing on the Switch eShop.
This version was developed by studio Beep and includes updated graphics, redesigned character artwork, new score attack modes and even the original X68000 release. Here's some more PR:
Cotton Reboot! is an updated, remastered version of the classic and iconic “cute ’em up” Cotton: Fantastic Night Dreams with brand new features and updated visual designs. The game also features three game modes that include the X68000 original mode that faithfully emulates Sharp’s personal computer from the 1993 version. Arrange mode features 16:9 screens, redesigned graphics and characters. In Score attack mode the player competes for scores online within a limited time (two-minute and five-minute mode can be selected).
Will you be adding this game to your Nintendo Switch collection when it arrives? Leave a comment down below.
Comments 48
I just hope this is a sign of more to come. These old microcomputers rarely ever get ports of their games, and I wish there were more of them.
I bought the Japanese cart from playasia and love it. Both versions look and play great. I hope they patch it so I can have English menus, but it's not too big a deal as everything is pretty straightforward. It's awesome how I keep getting more and more shoot em ups that are just fun to play. I've been playing more of them via Smilebasic and it's amazing how high quality many of these free shoot em ups are that people have programmed for Switch (and all of them run perfectly at 60fps, like Cotton does).
I'm always up for more shoot em' ups! Does anyone else absolutely love the artstyle of anime in the 90s?
Guys, in your oppinion what would you say is the best shoot em up on switch right now. Ive always struggled to get in to them (apart from pop n twinbee) but would love one thats engaging and not demon hard. TIA
@Kidfunkadelic83 This is gonna be really controversial, what I am about to say. While I don't think R-Type Final 2 is the best SHMUP on Switch, but what I noticed that it's actually rather beginner friendly, it has a practise difficulty which is honestly easy, if you know how to play at all.
It really allows you to learn the maps, and where the enemies come from, but it's not that cheap, so I'd probably wait for a price drop if you're not that into the genre.
It also has a demo on eshop if you wanna give it a go.
I live in Japan and have the Japanese release. Interesting enough if you DON'T install the day 1 update patch, the game has full English text and menus. The day 1 update COMPLETELY removes the English from the game and doesn't even leave it as a language option in settings. Mysterious.
@Kidfunkadelic83 you might enjoy Caladrius Blaze. I would suggest Darius Cosmic Collection.
So glad! Didn't want to import the JPN version
@Beolleika and @Hck thanks alot guys 🙏. I will look in to them both.
I’ve been reading the Untold History of Japanese Game Developers books and there’s a lot of games discussed on various PCs. PC-88, PC-9801 and the referenced Sharp among others.
I didn’t know about these models and that there were so many games for them. I thought games of that era were predominantly on arcade and dedicated home consoles. Would be nice to see other titles that were exclusive to these computers.
@Kidfunkadelic83 I am not an expert in the genre, but here goes:
Graceful Explosion Machine is not "the best on Switch" in any critical sense, but the gameplay is fairly unique, satisfying and intense, without being particularly difficult (perhaps because the stages are short). It is not as spectacular to look at or listen to as many of the classic titles on Switch are, but what it offers, especially to new players, is probably not matched by any other "shmup". Hope this helps.
@COVIDberry i will take a look. Im looking at Ikaruga too. Its supposed to be very good and its not too pricey either. Dont know about the difficulty tho.
@Kidfunkadelic83 that's a brilliant but extremely punishing game.
@60frames-please
I’ve been spreading the word about this: a unique and awesome twin-stick shooter that no one seems to knows about…Heavy Burger. I’m a huge shooter fan, and Heavy Burger is one of my favorites along with Bezier, Funtime, Ruiner and Enter the Gungeon. It’s inexpensive too. I should let the editors know about this too.
I was wondering if this game would come out. Glad it’s finally coming.
Waiting on my preordered physical copy!
@Hck What!? Weird? That can’t be right!? (Though I guess I could imagine reasons for it.)
@Kidfunkadelic83 Look into R-Type Dimensions EX. It contains the first two R-Type games and you can play in Infinite mode for practice. These are two of the greatest shmups of all time. Very old-school in play style. Dimensions has an option to play with updated graphics if you want, but personally I love the old graphics.
The new R-Type (Final 2) is having some teething problems on the Switch. I just bought it yesterday. I think it's good, but there are some obvious performance issues on Switch (it takes 15 seconds to reload after you die, which isn't the end of the world but is still a few seconds too long). And the controls are not as tight as I'd like them to be. Still enjoyable, but I'd probably recommend waiting to see if they improve its performance at all.
I would also strongly recommend Steredenn: Binary Stars. Modern retro horizontal shooter with procedurally generated levels. It's one of my top Switch games of any genre.
GEM is good, as is Aqua Kitty UDX, both Defender-style horizontals.
I would actually not recommend Ikaruga if you are new to the shmup scene. It's a bullet hell with its own unique twist and it's absolutely brutal, as well as being very short. It's definitely a great game, but I would say it's a shmup for people who really love shmups, not beginner-friendly at all.
@Kidfunkadelic83 my recommendation for you is Jamestown+. Multiple difficulty levels, very enjoyable core gameplay, tons of unlockables and modes, fully uses the widescreen orientation. Nice aesthetics as well IMO
@JasmineDragon @sfb thanks so much for the recommendations. I will look in to them all 👍👍
Hmm this looks kinda interesting, might need to take a look at it
@JasmineDragon I respect your opinions, but I wouldn’t recommend procedurally generated levels, especially to new players. Maybe just me, but part of the fun of shmups is encountering a seemingly impossible level or enemy pattern, doing it a few times to learn it and feeling like a b***a** after sailing through unscathed.
Idk, maybe I’m just biased against that sort of thing. I think a human made level will always be more interesting than a what the game gives you.
@BlubberWhale That's valid. I like both kinds of games. In games like Steredenn or Dead Cells, I like that every run is different and you have to adapt to what the RNG gods offer you. It keeps me invested in the game for longer than hand-crafted levels. But I get that not everyone likes it.
Pre-ordered the physical version on Strictly Limited Games ages ago and honestly completely forgot about it lol.
@ItsATM For sure! There's something special about the 90s anime aesthetic.
@sfb Thanks for reminding me that I still haven't bought Jamestown+. I keep hearing praise for it, need to check it out one of these days.
Cotton Reboot will come first, though. It's been on my wishlist for a while now.
So many games I want in the next few months. I'm really going to have to pick and choose.And Mass Effect Definitive come to PS4 next week! They're killing me here.
After I already have my JP copy, along with the Aleste Collection.
For $40, I think I'll buy a physical version if I buy the game at all. I hope it sells well though, and if it does sell well, I hope it leads to ports of the Keio Flying Squadron games. If those get released on Switch or PS4, I'll buy them just to make a point. ...Like that time Rolento hung a soldier with a metal cable.
@Kidfunkadelic83 the M2 port of ESP Ra.de is just incredible. Seriously.
I don't know what even is that
@Kidfunkadelic83
My suggestion would be Skyforce Reloaded because it will require you to play levels over and over again as part of the game progression.
@DrDaisy
They need to port the Keio platformer with English subtitles so that I can know what the heck I was playing on Saturn on 1995.
I preordered it some time ago.
The delay doesn't really bother me as i'm busy enough with R-Type Final 2 and Raiden IV x Mikado Remix right now.
@KingMike The Aleste Collection is so good! It's my favorite shoot em up (well, collection) on Switch. I wish it was released everywhere, and cheaper, cuz I feel bad recommending it to everyone all the time when it's like $70 for the cartridge, or what, around $40 if you bother with setting up a Japanese Switch online account and buying points for using with it.
@robr yes i went with sky force. It didnt look too crazy hard and i liked the look of the graphics and upgrade system. Enjoying it so far.
I know it’s asking for the moon but I would love a Cotton collection.
@JasmineDragon Yeah, that’s cool. While I don’t prefer it, I can see that. Could probably keep your interest longer after beating that sort of game the first time.
I guess it depends on the overall quality of the game vs its price, more so than how the levels are generated, to really decide on a games value or whatever. 👍
@robr I wonder if it costs companies extra to have free DLC on the shops. Those who prefer subtitles would likely rather not have the audio replaced or have more of their storage space taken up by a language setting they never intend to use.
Got my from Japan eShop since launch. Been playing this quite a while now. Cotton series is always one of my favorite SHMUP. This copy have both the remaster and the original X6800 version. A must have for horizontal SHMUP fans.
@Kidfunkadelic83
Get Crimzon Clover World Explosion. One of the absolute best shooting games for Switch.
@Ishmokin looks far too busy for what im looking for.
Excellent news! I was waiting for this release. I'll just have to wait a little more for a little price drop, but it's on my wishlist for sure
Nintendo Switch: undisputed King of Shmups with built-in TATE mode
@Austrian I wonder what the number is now... not including every random space themed, twin stick, single screen, hybrid genre, pseudo shmup in existence... just actual scrolling shooters.
whispers
Must be in the millions by now... 🤔
So, is it just me, or has NL still Not reported on the collection of Saturn Cotton games coming to the Switch and the new game Cotton Rock'n'Roll?
So, what exactly is the story behind delays of a game that already exists and is for sale, is distributed digitally, doesn’t
need a translation and already has an English language setting?
@EmirParkreiner
No, but Reddit has.
@robr
About random delays of western releases:
Sometimes the age rating agencies of certain countries can cause trouble (for example, it has been hinted at that Germany's USK is the reason Mushihimesama has temporarily disappeared from the EU eShop).
Sometimes when it comes to physical releases, a certain component can be missing (for example a lot of stuff was stuck in the ships on the Suez Canal, i heard there is some kind of problem at a port in China currently).
Also, when it comes to physical releases from certain companies like Strictly Limited Games and Limited Run Games, these publishers who cater to collectors often want to make sure all updates are included on the cart... which leads to delays of the western release whenever the japanese version gets an update. (This lead to significant delays for the Limited Run Games version of Panzer Dragoon Remake and the Strictly Limited Games version of Bubble Bubble 4 Friends).
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