Irem Collection Volume 1 Collector's Edition (Nintendo Switch)

Three of arcade gaming's most important shmups, preserved with the kind of reverence they've always deserved. The Irem Collection Volume 1 Collector's Edition for Nintendo Switch is a Strictly Limited Games exclusive, individually numbered and limited to 2,000 copies worldwide, and the only physical edition outside Japan.

Image Fight, Image Fight II, and X Multiply aren't just good shoot 'em ups. They're the titles that redefined what the genre could be. Image Fight's weapon-switching system and engine backfire mechanic made it one of the most played arcade games in Japan. Image Fight II pushed into anime-style cinematics between stages with voice acting, something practically unheard of at the time. X Multiply threw out every shmup setting convention by dropping you inside a parasite-infected human body, using biological tentacles as both weapons and shields. The team behind these games would later bring us some of gaming's most iconic franchises, and it all started here.

The Collector's Edition packaging matches the significance of the games inside. A magnetic-latch premium box in 4:3 retro format sits alongside a visual compendium combining art book and game guide, the original soundtracks on CD, the first of five limited Irem collector coins, arcade marquee stickers, a reversible poster, DIY reproductions of the original Image Fight NES and Famicom packaging, and faithful reprints of original arcade flyers. The Switch cartridge includes all three games with modern quality-of-life features like rewind and quick saves. This is the first volume in a five-part series, and starting your Irem collection here, with this edition, sets the standard for everything that follows.