Syd of Valis Collector’s Edition (Genesis/Mega Drive)

Chibi Yuko getting ice cream after school and stumbling into an interdimensional war might be the most perfectly '90s setup in gaming history. Syd of Valis Collector's Edition for Sega Genesis/Mega Drive from Retro-Bit brings this delightfully offbeat entry in the Valis series to a brand-new rose-colored cartridge, and yes, it's fully translated to English for the first time.

That English translation is a big deal. Syd of Valis (known as SD Valis in Japan) has always been the quirky sibling of the Valis family, taking the series' anime-inspired action-platforming and shrinking it down to adorable chibi proportions. Six different armors, new items and abilities, and five stages of side-scrolling combat against Emperor Megas give this a surprising amount of variety despite its compact presentation. The cute art style belies genuinely engaging gameplay that rewards experimentation with each armor set.

The collector's package follows Retro-Bit's excellent template. A Cham rose cartridge that demands display. A full-color instruction manual rebuilt for this release. A reversible inlay sleeve with both Japanese and North American artwork. An exclusive art card featuring the chibi cast. And an individually numbered certificate of authenticity.

For Genesis collectors, new cartridge releases are sacred events. Every one that arrives is a reminder that the 16-bit era never truly ended for those of us who kept our consoles plugged in. Syd of Valis on fresh hardware, in English, on a pink cartridge. Some things are just meant to be collected.