SNKhas announcedthat they’re bundling up a selection of Hamster’s ACA NEOGEO titles into a couple of physical volumes. Right now, they’re only announced for Switch in Japan (thanks, Gematsu), though I personally expect that they’ll probably make their way over here eventually. If not, they’re very importable as, judging from normal Arcade Archive releases, you’d be able to select from North American and Japanese versions.
Do you own none of the ACA NEOGEO releases and want to ownallof the ACA NEOGEO releases? Well, too bad because each collection only has 10 of them. The selection on them is diverse but also kind of bizarre. Only two of theMetal Sluggames appear in the collections, but whileMetal Slug Xis an obvious choice, the second one isMetal Slug 4, which is sort of thebastard of the series. Diversity is great, but whyMetal Slug 4?
They also mix some sports titles into the mix, which probably wouldn’t be anyone’s first choice either, but at least that makes a little more sense when it comes to diversity. You may not have played them before, and it’s a good reason to try them.
On the other hand, this might also be a way to make up for slow sales. Like when a grocery store takes a pork cutlet that has gone grey beneath the fluorescent lights, throws it in some bread crumbs, then puts it back on the shelf for another week as ready-to-cook schnitzel.
ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 1
ACA NEOGEO Selection Vol. 2
The Japanese release date is July 31, 2025 on Switch. They’re selling for 5,940円, which is roughly $41 USD at today’s exchange rate if the internet isn’t lying to me. No word on a North American release.
