Looks like Retro-Bit is once again targeting retro gamer's wallets in early 2018 with a couple of exclusive physical re-releases.
R-Typepe Returns will bring both excellent entries of the series exclusive to the Super Nintendo (Super R-Type and R-Type III: The Third Lightning) in a single multicart. This limited edition includes box, instruction manual, stickers, lithographs, a pin and a certificate of authenticity. The first run which is limited to one thousand units is currently letting costumers choose the desired cartridge colour.
NES fans need not feel left out because Retro-Bit is giving a similar treatment to another Irem retro game a new chance at the spotlight: the rather impressive Castlevania-like Holy Diver. The same exclusive thousand run physical treatment will be given to this challenging platformer, along with all the same extras you will get with the previous R-Type bundle.
Price points have not yet been disclosed or a solid release date other than "2018". Yet considering the amount of money currently a complete-in-the-box copy of R-Type III will set any SNES collector these are certainly enticing. You will be able to pick these two from Castlemania Games while Switch owners will look forward to further Irem games showing up on the system courtesy of Hamster's Arcade Archives.
Tempted by these two? Tell us in the comments.
Comments 32
Cool stuff.
And again I say that if only Nintendo had the foresight to put a working cartridge slot on the SNES Mini then it actually could have supported these re-releases and maybe even a whole load of entirely brand new SNES games too (imagine a whole bunch of all new 16-bit SNES titles released by both the big developers and indies. . . .), as well as obviously playing all the old/classic physical SNES games as well, which really would have given it a very long shelf life and been extremely rewarding and satisfying to all the people who purchased the system--and this is without ever having to hack it. Yes, you would have been able to officially play Chrono Trigger on it! And yes, I know that would mean it would need to be a different physical console design to work with the old cartridges like this, as the Mini is too small to take normal SNES carts, but I talked about a different design from day one because I had this very idea in mind. It could have been a very cool additional selling point of the system, and it kinda could have revived the whole amazing and beloved 16-bit era of gaming in a way that would have been as simple and hassle free as the original consoles were back in the day too (no online accounts, no avatars or user accounts, no day one patches for unfinished games, cool physical boxes and instruction manuals, complete ownership of the physical games you purchase for all time, etc).
Basically, I'm saying that I think Nintendo pretty much should have just re-released the original SNES again in 2017, maybe still as a slight "mini/slim" version to differentiate it from the original 90s model (but still able to take full SNES cartridges)--even with proper full length controller cables--and also still with the 21 current digital games built in too. I personally would have loved that even more than I love my little SNES Mini as it is--and I do love my SNES Mini.
This looks amazing, but at the very same time my mind says "not another one...?". I want this sort of stuff on my NEW consoles!
Legit North American Holy Diver release?! Count me in!
I hope I can purchase both!
If the price point is right, I’d say YES on both!
So cool to have SNES releases in 2018.
Having Holy Diver finally and legitimately release state-side had me very exciting. Hopefully Retro-Bit continues to bring more retro goodness like this in the near future. Since they are working with Sega soon, I would love to see some re-release of great Sega classics like a Streets of Rage trilogy compilation, a Golden Axe compilation, a Phantasy Star compilation, a Panzer Dragoon collection for Sega Saturn, a re-release of Shenmue 1 & 2 for Dreamcast or even re-release of import Genesis games like Monster World IV, Golden Axe 3, Pulseman, and Zero Wing.
A pal release?
Where can I get one?
Very cool.
@Abes3
I hear ya there!
Still own both these SNES games, so not for me but hey, for those out there wanting to play these on their original systems but who never got the chance I say all the better that they are being made available once again.
...how much? Seriously, I'm curious, how much? I like R-Type III, but it's stupidly expensive right now, and I highly doubt this'll be any better in that regards...but really...how much is this gonna come to?
I'll definitely keep my eye on Holy Diver. I wonder if most of the band references will stay intact for the re-release, since they're probably copyrighted.
While I'm not holding my breath, please include a mode that disables the 'awesome' slowdown in Super R-Type. I bough that game, release week, 'back in the day', and played it for all of an hour before putting it away, never to gaze upon its doddering, shambling, visage ever again (to say it's a pale shadow of 'real' R-Type II, upon which it is mostly based, is putting it mildly).
Please fire your editor!
I got the message but I couldn't get through all of the simple mistakes.
Proper syntax is necessary for all forms of communication.
I love these retro-bit officially licensed SNES & NES releases!
Honestly, growing up with a NES was amazing but I'm more interested in the Famicom the more I learn about it!
...I have R-Type III on SNES Classic, so whatever.
@impurekind If anything, Nintendo showed foresight by not including such. Why would Nintendo significantly raise the production cost of every single unit for a feature that only a fraction of buyers would make use of? Doesn't make any sense at all.
Implementing a cartridge slot has nothing to do with a good business decision. It is just about you wanting something for yourself.
@Twitch1 What? Don't you dig "R-Typepe[sic] Returns"?
Also, this is just about the first time I see anybody calling Super R-Type "excellent".
This is certainly a more adventurous announcement over the first three more standard cart collections. Especially Holy Diver as that was never released outside Japan as far as I know. These collections are one to watch
How are anyone able to release games for NES/SNES? I thought only Nintendo supplied some chip for the cartridges?
You can feel the scalpers circling...
Release digitally for PS4, Switch and Xbox for f***s sake!
For a second I thought they were releasing Gradius ReBirth from WiiWare on SNES as that is shutting down.
@KeeperBvK So, imagining for a second that we could in fact get the cartridge slot at no additional cost to the end consumer, you wouldn't want to be able to optionally play all the original SNES cartridges on the SNES Mini, alongside a potential slew of entirely brand new official SNES games released by both the big publishers and indies going forward, on top of the current start of a potential growing trend we're already seeing with some developers re-releasing cool special editions of a handful of classic SNES cartridge titles? And you think most other SNES Mini owners wouldn't appreciate having that option for added value from the system and/or enjoy it either?
And what in the world makes you think including a working cartridge slot would seriously increase the end consumer cost of the thing? You literally just pulled that out of thin air--you understand that, right? Many of the other retro consoles out there already have this feature, including Sega's Megadrive mini thing, and many of them cost less than the SNES Mini, often with more games included and a few additional features and stuff too, so this really isn't about it costing too much to add a simple cartridge slot. Please, take a breath, pause for one second, and stop making up excuses/defenses for no good reason whatsoever other than some kind of hurt that someone has dare to judge Nintendo as far as I can tell.
Now, I can show you physical examples of similar consoles with the stuff I'm suggesting that all cost the same as or less than the SNES Mini* (often with way more bundled games and features too)--I at least have some existing evidence to support my take on things, not just my totally uninformed opinion on what may or may not be the business/financial case behind the scenes--so, unless you have some actual factual evidence to support what is really just your subjective opinion, as I see it, then this is going to be a meaningless back and forth.
If, however, you have any actual factual and physically presentable objective evidence whatsoever to support your view that this is a bad business idea and that Nintendo simply couldn't have released the SNES Mini with a cartridge slot for the same end consumer price it costs now, I'm more than happy to listen on....
*https://www.amazon.com/Sega-Genesis-Flashback/dp/B074VB6XY7 (as just one example, with way more built-n games and built-in cartridge slot and even wireless controllers)
https://www.amazon.com/Retro-Bit-Retro-Twin-Video-System-NES/dp/B0012NZK8G/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1514817336&sr=1-1&keywords=retro%2Bconsole&th=1 (another, with no built-in games but with cartridge slot and for way cheaper)
http://retro-bit.com/super-retrocade (another, without the cartridge slot but with many more [high quality] games and at a cheaper cost)
And don't be one of those people who say "but those systems are crap though, and the SNES Mini is way better quality", because that's not a factually presentable and objectively measurable argument for why Nintendo simply couldn't have added a cartridge slot to the SNES Mini, sold it at the same end consumer retail price, and still made a decent profit on the thing--meaning you really have no valid argument that's backed up by any kind of actual evidence whatsoever to show/prove that anything I've said is wrong or unfeasible or unreasonable or unfair on Nintendo, and what's really going on here is nothing other than you acting defensive on Nintendo's behalf.
But, I totally get and acknowledge that you personally don't care about there being a working cartridge slot on the SNES Mini (apparently)--although imo you clearly don't get how truly amazing such an addition could and would have been (even to the point that you seem to totally fail to see the value in my idea about it potentially allowing SNES Mini owners to play a whole host of entirely brand new official SNES games released in the future from the big publishers and indies too. Never mind playing all the original games as well as being compatible with the beginning of a potential ongoing trend we're seeing with special-edition re-releases of a few of those original games)--and that you really just feel compelled to defend Nintendo no matter what.
Now, if you have to, go ahead and argue I'm wrong based on nothing other than your personal opinion and apparently some convenient "facts" literally just made up in your head and backed up by nothing other than assumption and supposition....
But don't get upset if I don't bother responding to you further should you choose to continue to argue your assertion in such a way--I feel I'd just be wasting my breath repeating the same points I've already covered and addressed perfectly well above.
i beat holy diver on the nes. hardest game i ever played. im considering the holy diver package even though retro-bit offers it on the new super retrocade...
and wow...look at all the idiots posting
Both of these are cool but thos sNES carts are ugly and seemingly do not fit in the consoles very well.
@impurekind
I have a Super Famicom. It's great using original cartridges.
However the Snes mini is a cheap arm-based emulation box using an off-the-shelf SOC. Most of the developmemt time was probably spent testing that those 21 games run properly.
I like the snes mini. It's cheap, cute, and comes with perfect control pads. It's a fun little side at an impulse-buy price.
A fantasy Snes resurrection with 100% compatibility and new releases would be just wonderful, but it'd be a huge expensive project for a niche audience. Productions such as R-Type returns are aimed at a small audience with deep pockets. There isn't a big market.
The Retron consoles aren't really tested at length and just rely on a huge amount of other people's work with a hodgepodge of stolen emulators and code. Fine for a hobbyist device but not for an official Nintendo product.
I don't specifically know about the Megadrive console you linked to but let's face it, Sega is a whore with its name. Past 3rd-party produced Retro Megadrive-alikes that licence Sega's name are poor quality with rubbish joypads and compatability is a case of "mostly works-ish" - even with built in games!
If you want something like that but better quality and tested properly it'll be more expensive ...and you'd still be dealing with emulation unless you want to pay a lot more.
I wouldn't waste time fooling myself there's a viable business for Nintendo to actually do it, not when you can buy a real Snes or SFC so cheaply. They output RGB by the way. No modding necessary.
@pubjoe Again, this is all speculative stuff coming from you (and me similarly). But, if some random third party company can make an officially licensed Genesis "Mini" that both runs all the original carts and also includes 85 pre-installed digital fully licensed games (far more than the SNES Mini), along with including two wireless controllers (a more expensive solution than wired) plus ports for normal wired controllers, and all for the same price as a SNES Mini, then there's no genuinely good reason to believe Nintendo couldn't do basically similarly. And the ultimate end quality of the Genesis Mini doesn't change that assertion either; it's still entirely comparable and relevant to what I'm suggesting Nintendo could have done for a similar price.
Look, I'm really not suggesting something completely unreasonable/impossible here, as you seem to believe. Again, people like you need to stop stating it's not possible or it's only possible at a higher price, like it's some kind of inalienable fact, when you literally have zero actual and factual evidence to make such assertions--you're speculating and nothing more.
At least I've provided actual and factual examples of the kind of thing I'm suggesting, so I'm showing/proving, as best as any of as can realistically do, that the type of console I'm suggesting is basically entirely possible for the same price (all the Sega one really lacks, from what I can see, is some decent quality control), while all you've done is basically speculated at how much it might have cost Nintendo to make the current SNES Mini, speculated how much profit its making on each system sold, and speculated at how much it might cost Nintendo to make a slightly modified SNES Mini in line with what I'm suggesting--and, based on possessing literally zero actual evidence or figures, you've stated, like it's an already proven fact, that what I have suggested simply could not happen in the way I have broadly suggested it could.
Again, I see far more evidence to support my view that a SNES Mini system like the one I am suggesting could be made and released for the same basic price as the current SNES Mini than yours that it couldn't possibly be--and, just like you, I also think my idea would be pretty dang wonderful, so I making my case for it and standing by it until someone actually properly proves otherwise.
And simply saying I'm being unrealistic or just stating it can't be done (using some random logic that the current SNES Mini cost this much for consumers so any variation would surely cost more), or bringing up reasons why the other systems that have achieved such a feat for such a price could only possibly do so by cheating and half-***ing it somehow (like this is the only way Nintendo could also achieve such a feat), is not actual evidence of any such thing.
Basically, if Nintendo ever does release a SNES "Mini" 2 then I'd love to see it include a fully working cartridge slot as I have suggested--there's so many reasons it would be a worthwhile addition (and it could even turn out to be very profitable in the long run if Nintendo should properly take advantage of it and re-release some of its classic SNES carts and maybe even a few entirely new first party SNES games too*)--and I don't expect it would have to come at a greater cost to the end consumer either (although Nintendo almost certainly would ask for more just because it knows it could get away with doing so, so loyal are the fans, regardless of whether it technically needed to charge more or not to still turn a decent profit).
*That's what you call easy money imo, basically just re-printing and re-releasing a whole bunch of its most popular SNES games again (which all the SNES Mini 2, Classic SNES, and every SNES clone with a cartridge slot owner could now purchase). And all the third parities like Capcom, Konami, Square-Enix, etc, could do similarly. Even making entirely new SNES games in 2018 and beyond would cost peanuts these days--a very small team of Nintendo's extremely talented developers could probably put together a genuinely high quality brand new SNES game in under a year (maybe a sequel to F-Zero with a 2-player mode for example)--and if the system supported such a feature (the cartridge slot) then I fully believe Nintendo, and even other third parties, would ultimately sell enough copies for any such games to turn a very solid profit (because, again, all the SNES Mini 2, Classic SNES, and every SNES clone with a cartridge slot owner could purchase them).
I love Holy Diver - gets a recommend from me.
@impurekind
The end quality entirely changes the target price. Quality control is very expensive. I'm sure you know this, if you really require evidence of this then I give up.
Skipping quality control is precicely how cheap alternatives present perceived better value. A joypad for example can cost anything from £2 upward.
You keep talking about factual evidence but all you've done is link to a couple of cheap systems.
It's not that I disagree with you entirely, I just feel that you're getting very carried away with a little side project of Nintendo's and I think you're too optimistic about the market. There are millions of Nintendo fans who'll buy a snes mini but how many of those would really buy modern snes games at a realistic price?
There already exists a small niche market and we're starting to see it catered for which is great. But most of this market would rather play with original hardware, as would I.
Alternatively, I assume you've heard of the Super NT. It's a reproduction of a snes which instead of software emulation it effectively uses hardware emulation with an FPGA chip. It's double the price of a snes mini, but a system that perfectly replicates the snes hardware would cost even more. There's a small market that's prepared to pay extra for this type of thing, with the scale of economics the price raises even more.
What's your vision? A modern revival of the snes? Mass produced physical releases? Not gonna happen, just let it go mate. 90% of snes mini buyers are just scratching a nostalgia itch or filling shelf space - the product evidently fits it's market very successfully. For those of us interested in proper hardware and a proper games library there always has and always will exist a small audience that buys old cartridges (they're not that expensive) and has recently been seeing a handful of new releases.
If you haven't already, do yourself a favour and buy an old snes or a Super NT and you can play classic snes carts and buy the occasional new release if you want to.
@pubjoe "What's your vision? A modern revival of the snes? Mass produced physical releases?"
Pretty much, give or take a few minor changes like making the system slightly smaller, just so it's very clear it's like a new SNES for 2018, and still having a decent library of games already built in just like with the SNES Mini (even though it would also have a fully working cartridge slot).
And I know it's almost certainly not gonna happen--although I'd never say never--but I disagree 100% that it's because there's probably not a big market for it. I think a product like that could and would absolutely find a place in the market and be very successful with it too--if it were done right.
I already know there's millions of people out there who currently own a SNES Mini--it sold 2 million units in its first month--and I believe similar numbers would likely go out and buy a SNES Mini 2 that was something akin to what I have described already (especially if Nintendo announced in advance it had one or two brand new physical games and sequels to its biggest and most beloved franchises in the works for it), as well as those who own an original SNES or some other clone that can play SNES carts. And I also firmly believe there's millions of people who would go out and buy brand new physical cartridge-based sequels to 16-bit games like F-Zero, Super Mario Bros., Yoshi, Kirby, Star Fox, Punch-Out!!, Legend of Zelda, Mario Kart, Pokemon, Metroid, Mother/Earthbound, Donkey Kong Country, Street Fighter, Contra, Castlevania, Bomberman, Gradius, Mega Man, Final Fantasy and many other games like this if Nintendo, Capcom, Konami, Square-Enix and the like saw fit to make and release them for the system. And by today's 200-man-and-hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars development standards, these new 16-bit games would take a fraction of the resources, time and money to create.
Christ, Nintendo could probably even call in a few hardcore gamers working on dedicated fan-made Nintendo projects to create a few brand new games for the SNES Mini 2, just like Sega did with Sonic Mania. Look at the guys making Mother 4 for example: http://www.mother4game.com/ Give them 50k and a little bit of guidance from a couple of Nintendo guys, just to guarantee everything is polished to that Nintendo standard of quality, and job done done. I think a game like this would easily make a profit if released for SNES Mini 2 at say $30 a pop (No need to charge $50-$60 for these in this day and age. I'm sure Nintendo could manufacture and sell SNES carts easily at roughly $30 in 2018 and still turn a tasty profit on each one sold. I mean, we're talking a paltry 32Mbit/4MB of storage here for most games--this ain't cutting edge stuff anymore). And how many units do you imagine an official Mother 4 game might sell on SNES Mini 2 in 2018. . . . Collectors alone would probably account for several thousand copies.
And again, I still 100% believe Nintendo could release a system just like the one I'm describing in 2018 for the same price as the current SNES Mini--I've still seen literally zero compelling evidence to convince me otherwise (even your bit about good quality control obviously being expensive--because Nintendo's already exercising all-round excellent quality control with the current SNES Mini, at its current price).
I could be interested in these two games, depending on the price, otherwise I'll just put them in my SNES Mini.
But despite what the article says, I can't find the way to pre-order the cartridge on the seller's web. Can you guys?
By the way, are these cartridges region free? Or are they NTSC only?
Just bought both! Very excitted!
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