Irem Collection Volume 2 Collector's Edition (Nintendo Switch)

Three Irem arcade classics that paved the road to Metal Slug, now on a single Switch cartridge. The Irem Collection Volume 2 Collector's Edition for Nintendo Switch is limited to 2,000 individually numbered copies worldwide, and it's the exclusive physical edition outside of Japan.

GunForce, GunForce II, and Air Duel aren't just great games. They're historical artifacts. GunForce introduced the vehicle-hopping run-and-gun formula on SNES and in arcades. GunForce II, never before released outside of arcades, refined that formula into something so potent that its developers carried the template directly into Metal Slug. Air Duel, a vertical shmup locked away in Japanese arcades, reaches worldwide audiences on console for the first time with this collection. You're holding unreleased gaming history in your hands.

The Collector's Edition wraps all of this in a premium magnetic-latch box with a retro 4:3 art design that channels the arcade cabinet aesthetic. The visual compendium serves as both game guide and art book. Three original soundtracks come on CD. You get a collector's coin from the ongoing five-volume Irem series, marquee stickers, reversible posters, a DIY GunForce SNES box reproduction, and reprints of authentic arcade flyers.

The Switch version at 2,000 copies has the largest run of the three console options, but for a worldwide exclusive physical release of games that were literally unavailable in the West until now, that number won't feel large for long. This is the portable version of arcade history that never existed before.