Irem Collection Volume 1 Limited Edition (PlayStation 4)

Same three legendary Irem shooters, different generation of PlayStation hardware. The Irem Collection Volume 1 Limited Edition for PlayStation 4 packages Image Fight, Image Fight 2, and X Multiply in a Strictly Limited Games run of just 1,500 individually numbered copies. No retail physical version exists anywhere outside Japan, making this the definitive way to own these arcade pillars on disc.

For PS4 collectors specifically, this hits a sweet spot. The console generation that straddled the line between physical media's golden age and the creeping dominance of digital storefronts deserves titles like these on its shelf. Image Fight was demanding quarter-eaters before most modern gamers were born. Image Fight 2 introduced anime-style storytelling between stages when that concept barely existed in games. X Multiply threw out every visual convention the genre had established and sent players through a biological nightmare armed with living tentacles. All three broke rules that hadn't even been written yet.

The package itself keeps things focused: the PS4 game in its case with a colorful manual and a serialized cover sheet tying your copy to its number in the run. For those of us building out a PS4 SHMUP library, a 1,500-copy limited run of three Irem classics that never got a physical release outside Japan isn't something you sit on. These games helped define an entire genre, and this disc might be your only chance to slot them into your collection the way they were meant to be held.