After Ridge Racer, Arcade Archives is giving another early polygonal Namco arcade game its first home release
Air Combat 22 hit arcades in 1995 and has never been re-released
Retro specialist Hamster Corporation has announced that another early polygonal Namco arcade game is getting a home re-release.
Hamster, which has been releasing retro arcade games under its Arcade Archives series for the past decade, launched its new Arcade Archives 2 series this month, starting with the first ever home re-release of the original arcade version of Ridge Racer.
Now it’s following this up with Air Combat 22, which will be released in both its Arcade Archives and Arcade Archives 2 series on July 3.
Air Combat 22 is the sequel to 1993 arcade game Air Combat, and makes use of the Namco System 22 arcade hardware which debuted with Ridge Racer.
The game lets players fly an F-14A Tomcat, YF-22 Lighting II or Su-35 Super Flanker as they try to shoot down enemy planes within a time limit.
The game features three modes – Cadet (which has fixed missions), Expert (where the missions branch depending on the time remaining when a stage is cleared) and Dogfight (a 32-stage game where players have to destroy four enemies per stage).
Air Combat 22 will be coming to Switch 2, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S as an Arcade Archives 2 game, and to Switch and PS4 as an Arcade Archives game.
Each Arcade Archives game features Original Mode, High Score Mode (where you keep playing until you die) and Caravan Mode (where you have to get the highest score within a certain time).
Arcade Archives 2 versions also add Time Attack Mode (where you try to beat the full game as quickly as possible) and Network Mode (where you can play online) when the game supports multiplayer.
Arcade Archives 2 versions also include multiple save slots, a rewind feature and VRR support enabling a “more accurate reproduction of the original arcade game’s experience”.
To date there have been 366 games released in the Arcade Archives series, with a further 108 released in a separate series called ACA Neo Geo.
Arcade Archives 2, however – of which Air Combat 22 will be only the second release – marks Hamster Corporation’s move from re-releasing sprite-based arcade games to polygonal ones.
