Toaplan's Coin-Op Classic 'Snow Bros.' Is Coming To Switch This May

Rainbow Islands, Rodland & New Zealand Story also please!!

Huge news! This game is crazy expensive in its Mega Drive incarnation (which happens to be better than the arcade), but this will be the first time we see it legally emulated. And with a physical release at that! I hope it at least contains the original rom, though, not a remaster or a remake only, but judging from the pictures I don't know...

I have fond memories of this game and actually wanted to play it again so this is perfect.

i LOVE this game, but hope you can still play it in original form, as the 'reimagined' Wonderboy (another fave) looked like a crap mobile phone game and ruined it for me...

Very cool. Love the kill ‘em up genre. Glad it’s getting bits of attention here and there.

@HamatoYoshi Rodland is already out on Switch via Arcade Archives!!!

Super Pang is the one I dearly want, but another that has been ruined by being modernised (i.e. ruined and made to look like a mobile game!!)

rant over!

Yes! Some good news to wake up to!

@Dimey really?! I missed it, I’ll download from the eshop later. Thank you.

@HamatoYoshi no worries - was an instand download for me, Amiga memories! I forget the name but there is a puzzle game on arcade archives from Taoplan also, that includes the same characters, enemies, etc, and is not bad!

I think I played Snow Bros on NES or Genesis back in the day (probably something I rented) or maybe an arcade one time so I’ll keep an eye on this one.

I also sincerely hope they include the original ROM together with the revival version, a la the recent Bubble Bobble game. It’s not always easy to recapture the magic!

@Dimey I had it on the C64, it was a great conversion if my memory serves me right.

Man, better just give us the Toaplan shooter collection in the West instead of this!

This is a really good game!

@HamatoYoshi Rod Land is available already on Switch as an Arcade Archives release. Original BB (available as a bonus in BB4F) and NZS are Taito’s. Also, Liquid Kids is available and y’all should buy it, it’s awesome

Welcome back Snow Bros., really enjoy the NES and Arcade ones back in the days. So glad a modernized version is coming.

Hey I remember them! Gets my mind remembering other "character & character" games like Pocky & Rocky, Ninja Bros., and Joe & Mac, lol.

Nice game, and I love the name of its lesser-known sequel:
“Snow Bros. 2: With New Elves”

I used to rent Snow Bros all the time on the NES as a kid. Around 15 years later, I came across this guy who was just opening up a game store who had it for about $100. It was pricey, but I bought it and owned it for a few years. I sold it back to him when its value went back up and he paid $500 for it. Really easy money for me. I thought I would never see the game again, but now after around 10 years, here it is on the Switch! I'll definitely be grabbing this one.

I have played the arcade version a LOT when I was younger!!

@Moroboshi876 I've been told it was on either the Japanese and/or "Asian" release of the proper (Sega) Genesis Mini (not AtGames many systems).

Still the only port I own is the Game Boy port, since it was the only "affordable" version (I wouldn't be surprised if even that version has shot up in price these days).

OH my god, I love this game. Hopefully original arcade rom is also playable! I'm so happy. I occasionally think about this game and wonder why it hasn't come back. Nice surprise!

I'm not at all familiar with Snow Bros., but it looks really cute and very appealing.

@GerBearNy : It's funny you say that because the classic promotional artwork above instantly reminded me of Bubble Bobble for some reason, and the gameplay screenshots below further reinforced that as they reminded me of Bubble Bobble 4 Friends.

@HamatoYoshi : New Zealand Story? Yes please!

I remember when I got the gameboy version and I loved it. its fun and addictive.

@KingMike
@Moroboshi876
Was just scrolling thru old comments and whoa, you’re right - Snow Bros. is on my Mega Drive Mini I imported from Japan!

If I wasn’t so distracted by Assault Suits Leynos and Road Rash I would have remembered that. 😅

I’ll see if one the kiddos wants to 2P it with me this weekend.

@Teksetter Lucky man! I just can't justify to myself or my wife getting another one for one particular game, even if that's the cheapest way to get that game officially these days.

@Moroboshi876
Yes, I don’t blame you - there’s so many games these days, and only so much money & time to budget!
Hopefully this Snow Bros. revamp will scratch that itch soon anyway, and be affordable.

(And it’s “lucky lady” for me - I have to get my pronouns posted to my profile - sorry 😁)

@Teksetter Dammit! I swear I thought it was a possibility, but then I wrote "lucky bast***", which solved the problem, but changed it because it sounded disrespectful... Sorry to assume your gender, and you shouldn't have to clarify it anyway.

@Moroboshi876
Absolutely no worries! I appreciate the kind reply and sorry to put you thru the trouble.
The NL users are probably 80-90% lads and dudes anyway, so it’s a reasonable assumption. 😁
Cheers and have as nice a day as possible, given the Ukraine news 😔

“later this year” is what almost all websites say, nobody has a date. But Play Asia has started taking preorders already and lists 21st April as the release date. So its coming very soon.

Well, I already commented, but it still stands!

damn it. why can't they include the original arcade? 'improved graphics and easy controls' is what stopped me buying the wonderboy game they butchered the other year.

yes i'm old.

I spend ages tracking this down for the GameBoy as a child, I think it must have had a small production run as it's expensive on eBay now.

I'll definitely be giving this a shot I think. It reminds me a lot of Pang Adventures, which I thought was a great modernisation of a classic.

I've never played this. It reminds me of Bubble Bobble.

30 new levels! Insta-buy!

not the Toaplan I was looking for.

bring on the shmups!

I have great memories of the arcade game as a kid. Definitely up for this

Looks like must love was put into it, art style is nice, do not look like the typical generic mobile style!

But what about the new elves?!

(Probably better they stay left behind. From what I heard, that game was pretty much one of many Korean ripoff games which somehow ended up getting blessing to be called an official sequel.)

After playing a bit and liking the Genesis version on my Mega Drive Mini, I'm up for this reboot edition! It's a fun game, very similar to Bubble Bobble.

I just hope they have a turbo button feature because my thumb ached after only 3 levels!
I'm a lightweight. ^_^;;

My god, between this and TMNT collection, and Capcom Figthing Collection, they are bringing my childhood back. Only need Shadows over Mystira and MvsC2 and it would be complete.

@Silly_G If you've played Bubble Bobble before, it's a clone of that game, but rather than trapping enemies in bubbles, you roll up enemies in snow and roll them into other enemies to score more points.

@Dimey From what I've read and looked at, this game does have the old and new music but the graphics remain like that. Then there are the original 50 stages that do have new art but don't change the gameplay, along with 30 new stages and the new monster mode. From what I gather, this is going to be a better remaster including new content compared to WonderBoy Returns, which was very dull, where it's new coat of paint didn't make the game any better.

Did anyone else happen to notice that Hamster didn't have an Arcade Archives release this past week? That breaks a streak that had been pretty much since the Switch launched, if memory serves. I really hope it isn't a sign of something bad (like what happened to M2's Sega Ages line WAY prematurely).

I decided to try it for the first time, I like it better than bubble bobble and I stopped playing it so I could get this version coming out.

I hate the new artstyle, yet another case of monkey paw, sigh. Not every release of this ilk can be as glorious as Tengo Project’s work but this looks like a 2D/3D conversion gone wrong where they applied an early 2000’s “Eagle 2x” filter 🤢🤢 I thought M2 bought all of Toaplan’s licenses and library? Well, looks like the og arcade version isn’t included, and while it’d be glorious I sure don’t wanna see a $60 Snow Bros M2 compilation with a gazillion ported versions, gimme Hamster’s ACA or even included as a bonus (with online leaderboards) with this release would suffice :,-(

I know that I’ll get neither of course, ugh.

Ouch. Looking like no original arcade version included? Still excited somewhat, but not a fan of the graphics which resemble a smooth or super eagle 2x filter on an emulator.

Graphically looks like doo doo. If the original were included I'd probably buy it. Not sure I can ever get used to this graphic style. At least not at this level of execution.

@Roz1281 lol great minds and all that! …sigh

@AtlanteanMan actually they didn’t break the streak because there was an ACA release this week too, maybe it didn’t come out in your eShop region? It’s Seibu Kaihatsu’s Empire City 1931 and I like it quite a bit, played a ton back in the old days at the arcade. Currently in the leaderboards (High Score mode of course) top 10!

Fun fact: In Swedish, toaplan means a toilet plan

I'm genuinely excited for this release. I used to play the original with a friend on his Famicom.