RIKI 8Bit Game Collection Gets EU Nintendo Switch Release

European publisher Clear River Games has announced the official EU release of the RIKI 8Bit Game Collection for the Nintendo Switch across the region. The European release follows its North American release last month with the blessing and assistance of Japanese retro game publisher City Connection, dedicated to preserving Japanese video game history for both arcade and home consoles.

RIKI 8Bit Game Collection combines a lineup of close to 40 video game music composers together with a skilfully curated selection of two retro-style arcade games and three interactive albums, with the participation of Yuzo Koshiro, Manami Matsumae, Manabu Namiki, Soichi Terada, and Junya Nakano, to name just a few.

The collection is the brainchild of celebrated Japanese manga artist RIKI, and the games are described below:

Kira Kira Star Night! – Reach for the stars (you’ll have to collect a lot!) in this surreal platforming action game that’s easy to play and accessible to all! Choose from three unique characters and enjoy the incredible chiptune soundtrack from composers including KUNIO, Takeaki Kunimoto, Yuriko Keino, Yuzo Koshiro, Nobuyuki Shioda, Tappy, Manabu Namiki, hally, Bun, Manami Matsumae, Takeshi Yokemura, Robokabuto, and Yasuhisa Watanabe.

Astro Ninja Man DX – Sharpen your trigger finger as you defend from hordes of descending enemies from above with simple controls and relentless gameplay. It’s a sensory overload which gets progressively harder the better you get! Your clones are invincible, so here it’s all about reaching for the high score! Composers include Hiroto Saitoh, Nobuyuki Shioda, Bun, and Manabu Namiki.

8BIT MUSIC POWER – A music album featuring the very best in chiptune music. Featuring a grand total of 11 composers, including gaming legends behind some of the best-loved gaming music ever created, in addition to modern composers behind classic anime. An experience to savour, watch the screen as you jam to the beats, with 12 tracks totalling 44 minutes in length. Composers include Omodaka (Soichi Terada), Masahiro Kajihara, Takeaki Kunimoto, Yuriko Keino, Saitone, Professor Sakamoto, Hiroaki Sano, Nobuyuki Shioda, Tappy, hally, and Keishi Yonao.

8BIT MUSIC POWER FINAL – The second chiptune album featuring as part of the collection, it’s another feast for the ears with performances from 18 composers at the top of their game. Kirara-chan from Kira Kira Star Night dances in the background as the music plays. There are 18 tracks totalling 52 minutes in length, and composers include IPPO (Ippo Yamada), Manabu Namiki, Yu Shimoda, ZUN, SEXY-SYNTHESIZER, Tappy, TECHNOuchi, TORIENA, Norio Nakagata, Junya Nakano, naruto, hally, Hige Driver, Motoaki Furukawa, Bun, Manami Matsumae, Takeshi Yokemura, and Yasuhisa Watanabe.

8BIT MUSIC POWER ENCORE – Rounding off the compilation, the third and final chiptune album serves as a perfect encore to the RIKI experience! 8BIT MUSIC POWER’s BIT-chan dances in the background on this one, and there are 14 tracks to enjoy totalling 42 minutes in length. Composers include Takeshi Abo, Kenichi Arakawa, Omodaka (Soichi Terada), Saitone, Hiroto Saitoh, Nobuyuki Shioda, Yu Shimoda, Tomoya Tomita, Takuya Hanaoka, hally, Hige Driver, Bun, Yousuke Yasui, and Keishi Yonao.

Both digital and physical releases will be priced at €19.99, with the EU physical edition being released later this year. I’ll have a review of the digital NA version posted soon.