PS1 shooter Geki-Oh ShienRyu just hit Switch 2 and PS5

Hamster has released the 1999 PlayStation shoot 'em up Geki-Oh ShienRyu for the Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 today. It is the latest addition to the company's Console Archives series.

Warashi originally developed the game for arcades in 1997 before bringing it to Sony's 32-bit console two years later. It plays like classic vertical-scrolling shooters such as Raiden or Truxton. Players pilot a fighter craft through various environments. The perspective is strictly top-down. The screen constantly pushes you forward into new waves of enemies. You have to dodge complex bullet patterns and fight massive mechanical bosses.

The player's arsenal includes standard vulcan cannons and missiles. A homing lightning weapon arcs across the screen to hit multiple enemies at once. You have to collect speed power-ups to make your ship maneuverable enough to survive. Later stages introduce dense bullet patterns that require precise positioning to avoid taking a hit.

A very angry spaceship

The game originally came west in the early 2000s as a budget release called Gekioh: Shooting King. This new digital version uses the original Japanese title and retains the high difficulty of the arcade original. The first few levels are manageable. By the time you reach the final boss, the screen is almost entirely filled with enemy projectiles.

The original PlayStation disc included several bonus modes that changed the graphics and difficulty, and those extras are intact in this port. Pocket Mode degrades the visuals to imitate the blocky screen of Sony's PocketStation peripheral. Comical Mode replaces the game's sound effects with a laugh track and applause. Stingy Mode restricts the player to a single life with zero continues. You have a few weird ways to play once you clear the main campaign.

Warashi's back catalog

Hamster recently acquired the rights to Warashi's back catalog. Warashi was active from 1995 until the early 2000s. The studio primarily developed games for the Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and Nintendo handhelds. This acquisition means more of the developer's library will likely show up in Hamster's digital storefronts. Hamster has already released a few other Warashi titles in its Arcade Archives line. This is the first time one of the studio's console-specific ports has made the jump.

One notable exception is Triggerheart Exelica. That specific property falls under the Cosmo Machina umbrella, so it is not part of the Hamster deal. Cosmo Machina handled the recent Switch port of that game independently. Everything else from the Warashi vault is fair game for future re-releases.

Save states and filters

This release follows the addition of several other classic titles to the Console Archives lineup. Hamster started this project in February 2026 to re-release home console games instead of just arcade boards. Early releases included PlayStation games like Cool Boarders and NES titles like Ninja Gaiden II.

The Console Archives wrapper includes the standard emulation options Hamster puts in its arcade releases. The game has customizable button layouts and rapid-fire toggles. Players can also use save states, rewind functionality, and CRT screen filters to adjust the visual output. If the arcade difficulty is too much, the rewind button is right there to fix your mistakes.