Earlier this year, Bitwave Games produced Toaplan Arcade Shoot ‘Em Up Vol. 1, a compilation of four arcade “shmups” from the legendary developers at Toaplan. These games covered quite the spectrum of history, between Out Zone, Zero Wing, Twin Cobra and Truxton.

But, like any good publisher, the team knew there was more gold to be found within this company. And, with that, it’s unearthed four more shooters with Toaplan Arcade Shoot ‘Em Up Vol. 2, featuring the likes of Hell Fire, Slap Fight (yes, there’s a shooter called that), Fire Shark and Flying Shark.

While this collection is somewhat lacking in variety compared to the first, there’s no question that it delivers a great deal of bullet heaven (or hell, however you want to put it) for a mere $20. Plus there are options that let you tweak the experience whichever way you want. So you still win!

Let’s Get To Shooting

Perhaps the best of the four games featured in this compilation (featured as four separate games) is Hellfire, which was previously released for the Sega Genesis.

It’s a side scrolling shooter along the lines of R-Type, but has a great level of challenge with enemies coming at you at a pretty good pace. Not to mention the power-ups are rather cool, including a four-way blaster that fires diagonally, giving you some good angles to shoot at enemies that aren’t straight in front of you. Again, though, be prepared for a firefight.

The other games aren’t too shabby either, however. The curiously-named Slap Fight reminded us of the good ol’ days of Tiger-Heli, with neat little visuals and sound straight from the retro era. It also has fun gameplay, where you have to use power-ups to your advantage.

Rounding out the package are the two Shark games. Flying Shark reminded us of some of the older Taito scrolling shooters, where you take a single biplane and mow down the enemies that come at you in the sky and on the ground. It’s hard as nails, but definitely a lot of fun for fans of the likes of Twin Cobra.

Fire Shark definitely comes across as well as its Genesis brethren before it. The game features some awesome shooting action, as well as two-player co-op support and some devastating looking explosions. It’s definitely worth checking out once you get through the others in this collection, so don’t pass it over.

Lots To See, Do and ‘splode

I’m not sure why the game is structured as four separate releases instead of a full package like we’ve seen with the M2 ShotTriggers releases. That said, however, they’re still put together nicely, with authentic arcade coding and a number of viewing options. The sound is excellent as well, and you can make adjustments as needed.

There are lots of other goodies as well, including the ability to rewind (a life saver with tougher games), the ability to tweak the controls, sound and video options, and a bunch more. They’re easy to access through a simple menu, and then you can get right back into the game. Not bad at all.

Shoot Your Way To History

Although I still prefer the first Toaplan collection for nostalgic reasons (shouting “All your base are belong to us!” at myself), Vol. 2 isn’t bad in the least. Its structure may be questioned by those looking for a completionist form, but you still get four rad games for $20. Not to mention the various options that are available, so you can get your shooting just the way you want it.

Don’t hesitate to grab this collection when it arrives. It’s not often you get an appreciative taste of history like this.

GAMERHUB RATING: 4 (out of 5) JOYSTICKS