Saikyo Memories brings 12 arcade shooters to Switch 2 and PS5

Edia has confirmed a February 18, 2027 release date for Saikyo Memories, a 12-game arcade shooting collection coming to the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2. Following a brief tease ahead of Tokyo Game Show last month, Edia opened pre-orders today and detailed exactly what is in the package. The standard physical and digital editions will cost 7,480 yen.

The 1990s arcade roster

The compilation gathers the bulk of Psikyo's arcade output from 1993 to 2005. The lineup includes the complete Strikers 1945 military sci-fi trilogy, both Gunbird games, and the feudal fantasy Sengoku series (Sengoku Ace, Sengoku Blade, and the PSP entry Sengoku Cannon). Sol Divide, Dragon Blaze, Zero Gunner 2, and the block-breaking spinoff Gunbarich round out the list.

Psikyo was founded in 1992 by former Video System developers. They spent the next decade defining a very specific type of arcade punishment alongside contemporaries like Cave and Toaplan. Instead of filling the screen with slow-moving curtains of bullets, Psikyo games fired fast, directly aimed projectiles that arcade players dubbed "Psikyo bullets." You don't memorize safe spots in these games. You just have to tap the joystick and get out of the way.

The games themselves cover a lot of thematic ground. Strikers 1945 established the studio's formula of authentic World War II fighter planes that suddenly have to fight transforming alien mecha. Gunbird leaned into steampunk fantasy and comedic dialogue, introducing recurring characters like the witch Marion. Sengoku Blade took the vertical shooting of Sengoku Ace and flipped it horizontally, backed by Jun Tsukasa's character designs.

Training modes and twelve dog tags

Psikyo games have seen various piecemeal ports over the years. Switch owners previously got the Psikyo Shooting Stars Alpha and Bravo collections in 2020. Saikyo Memories consolidates those separate volumes into one package for the Switch 2 and PS5, while adding new features.

To deal with the arcade difficulty spikes, the collection adds a dedicated training mode. It also includes a gallery mode functioning as a digital library for historical documents. This covers character designs and promotional art from prominent 1990s illustrators like Tsukasa, Hirofumi Nakamura, and Masato Natsumoto. Edia has carved out a solid business recently by acquiring and porting older Japanese catalogs, and this release is licensed through KM BOX, the current rights holder for the Psikyo library.

A special edition is also planned for release. It includes the base game, an illustration booklet, a desk calendar, and a set of 12 dog tags. I'm genuinely curious how much a physical box containing twelve metal dog tags is going to weigh in transit, but it beats the usual sticker sheet. Store-specific preorder bonuses are also available in Japan, ranging from acrylic keychains to tapestries.