Retro-Bit is trying again with preorders of the Toaplan Shooters Collection Vol 2 – minus Twin Cobra

That’s messy. A few days ago, Retro-Bit announced that it was removing Twin Cobra from their Toaplan Shooters Collection Vol 2, a set of reproduction titles for the Genesis/Mega Drive. Apparently, licensing issues are to blame. They’re now set to re-open preorders for the collection, but it’s now been slimmed down due to Twin Cobra’s absence.

“Following discussions with the licensor, and due to licensing, Twin Cobra was removed and revisions were made to the collection,” reads the statement. Further on, it gets a bit messier. “If you pre-ordered Twin Cobra or the previous collection that included it and wish to receive a refund or adjust your order, please contact the retailer where you placed your pre-order.” That’s rough, though it’s only a few retailers, so hopefully it’s a painless process.

OPEN-PALM ONLY

The collection now only contains Slap Fight MD and Grind Stormer, both for Genesis/Mega Drive. Both are scrolling shoot-’em-ups from Toaplan, the legendary developer credited with popularizing (or even inventing) the bullet hell sub-genre. To sweeten things, this is the first time Slap Fight on Genesis will be available outside of Japan, and even if you imported it, it’s expensive as hell. Grind Stormer, which did get a North American release, isn’t cheap either. In fact, Twin Cobra would have been the least expensive of the bunch.

The lack of Twin Cobra also makes the collection seem a little light in comparison to Toaplan Shooters Collection Vol 1, which had four games: Truxton, Hellfire, Fire Shark, and Zero Wing. It is what it is, I guess.

Re-releasing retro games can be tricky business, as the rights to old games often trade hands and aren’t always clear cut. The way I see it, it’s often just done as a labour of love, since I doubt anyone is getting rich from small-print releases. Old games are still a niche market, no matter how you slice it, so even digital re-releases might not see much return.

Still, it sucks for anyone who preordered. Clearly, Retro-bit considered it a done deal, since they commissioned Masahiro Yuge to do new art for the game. Just sucks all around.

Anyway, you can preorder the Toaplan Shooters Collection Vol 2 starting now and running until June 1, 2025. You can also buy the games à la carte. If you miss the preorder window, they usually have limited quantities available at Castlemania Games and Rondo Products.