A once great company...
Get ready for some arcade action!
The ESRB has a new listing that ought to make retro arcade fans very happy. It appears that someone is planning on bringing a collection of classic Data East games to the Wii. The IP is mostly owned by a Japanese mobile phone company called G-Mode, so it's likely another company has licensed the content.
The listing includes a sampling of game titles, amongst them Burger Time, Bad Dudes vs Dragon Ninja, Secret Agent and Caveman Ninja. No word on ratings board submission for other territories, but given these games were distributed world wide there's a good chance we'll see the collection in PAL territories and Japan.
Here's the full ESRB summary for your enjoyment:
This is a collection of classic arcade games covering several genres. Games include Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja, Burger Time, Caveman Ninja, Street Slam, Secret Agent and many others. Some games involve side-scrolling fighting action against dozens of enemy thugs, ninjas, and creatures. Characters occasionally use knives, guns, throwing stars, or grenades in the 2D-style combat. A few games depict brief splashes of blood when enemies get hit; one game depicts a shark that emits red blood when it gets harpooned.
The suggestive material represents the strongest pertinent content in the game: A puzzle game called Magical Drop III depicts female characters wearing provocative outfits that expose underwear and deep cleavage. When players score points or make successful combos, the background figures cheer or move in ways that cause their breasts to jiggle.
Thanks to Tony for catching this!
1. Bass X0
03 Sep 2009, 16:06 BST
I would prefer it to come to VC but if you're a fan then it will work out cheaper to get the collection.
2. ReZon
03 Sep 2009, 16:07 BST
Maybe we'll start seeing some non-arcade Data East titles on the VC? (Shadowrun please)
3. Sean Aaron
03 Sep 2009, 16:07 BST
I also like VCA, but I'm not too picky as long as they do a good job of emulating them.
I've seen elsewhere that Majesco is the one who made the submission; hopefully they'll make a more formal announcement soon including what their plans are for this title overseas.
4. Corbie
03 Sep 2009, 16:13 BST
Where's Kid Niki and Karnov?
5. Golgo
03 Sep 2009, 16:20 BST
Mmmm...Burger Time. AKA Mr Wimpy, at least as it was ripped off on my old C64. Classic.
6. Sean Aaron
03 Sep 2009, 16:21 BST
@Corbie: They don't have a full listing so both of those could well be in there, although Wikipedia indicates that Karnov is amongst several titles whose IP owners are unknown.
I fully expect Bump 'n' Jump to be on that list as well.
Now, if they also emulate some classic Data East pinball machines like Star Wars, that would be most excellent (I know I'm dreaming).
7. Corbie
03 Sep 2009, 16:24 BST
Wasn't Karate Champ a Data East game as well? I can't remember. Good news either way Sean. I like the Data East stuff.
8. Sean Aaron
03 Sep 2009, 16:25 BST
Just to fill up the comments here's a list of Data East arcade games courtesy of Wikipedia boo! hiss!
There's a number of games I hope will make it from there, but I should think Heavy Barrel, Burnin' Rubber and Chelnov will make the cut. And yes, Karate Champ is in there (so I guess I'm not missing out on International Karate for C64 on the VC if it's included!).
9. envisionboy
03 Sep 2009, 16:27 BST
NICE! I hope Kid Niki is on the list! Either way... BAD DUDES!
10. LinktotheFuture
03 Sep 2009, 16:29 BST
I like the collections better than the VC if they are done right, because they are cheaper.
11. Damo
03 Sep 2009, 16:29 BST
Two Crude Dudes/Crude Buster and Midnight Resistance would be great, although I have my Mega Drive versions to tide me over.
12. jhuhn
03 Sep 2009, 16:29 BST
Remember that Data East filed a lawsuit on System 3 thinking that International Karate was a copyright on Karate Champ with its similiarities. But when it was taken to a higher level, the judge said that Data East cannot monopolize a sport such as karate and the lawsuit was lost.
Data East declared bankruptcy in 2003.
13. Sean Aaron
03 Sep 2009, 16:34 BST
@jhuhn: Sounds a bit crap that; the games are nearly identical to my untrained eyes!
14. Bass X0
03 Sep 2009, 16:37 BST
Real Ghostbusters and Captain America?
How come they get the license for these yet the publishers for VC games wouldn't?
15. Tony
03 Sep 2009, 16:37 BST
This one caught my eye immediatly and while I would love to have Burgertime on my Wii menu, a collection like this is still pretty cool. Also I love Bad Dudes! G-mode still owns the rights to Data East's games but according to the ESRB Majesco is releasing the game. They must have worked out some kind of agreement.
Not sure if Wikipedia missed it but I believe Data East did have Super Burger Time as well. I'll check Gametap again to see if Super Burger time is from Data East.
16. Starwolf_UK
03 Sep 2009, 16:40 BST
Magical Drop III better have DIP switches in it. I don't want to stuck playing the "crappy" American/European version. No seriously, it is crappy. It is missing a gameplay mode, voice samples for the characters (instead going for the same 6 samples for the entire cast) and in story mode every character says the same thing.
17. Sean Aaron
03 Sep 2009, 16:44 BST
@Tony, Wikipedia has an entry for
so Super Burgertime is covered (I thought that game wasn't that great -- too big a graphical update for my taste).
@BassXO: could be when those arcade games came out that kind of licensing was a lot cheaper?
18. Tony
03 Sep 2009, 16:52 BST
@Sean Aaron
I see it now and I agree I prefer the original BT over Super BT as well.
19. JJ
03 Sep 2009, 17:05 BST
would love to have Joe & Mac on VC.
20. motang
03 Sep 2009, 17:15 BST
Ahh...Bad Dudes...how I used to play thee. Cool!
21. bro2dragons
03 Sep 2009, 17:26 BST
sweet. if Captain America and the Avengers is the same game i used to have by than name on my SNES, and it's on the collection, i'll be all over that. what an awesome beat-em-up.
22. ODOGG618
03 Sep 2009, 17:31 BST
RING KING! PLEASE RING KING! Was it ever possible to "win" that game? Great arcade/bar game.
23. JamieO
03 Sep 2009, 17:38 BST
There are so many Data East games here on my Wii-sh list. I am a huge Midnight Resistance fan, going right back to it being the first game I ever completed (the brilliant Amiga conversion). The Megadrive did a fine job with the graphics, but was single player only and had trouble emulating the arcade's control. The 2 sticks on the GameCube controller may just be able to handle it.
Arcade Caveman Ninja (Joe & Mac) was superior to SNES version and Bad Dudes (Dragon Ninja) is a fun, jump across the top of a truck, 2-player fighter.
I would be interested to compare Bloody Wolf and Vigilante (linked with Irem) to the PC Engine versions.
Sadly, there is little chance for Robocop and Captain America and the Avengers for licensing reasons. Never say never, though.
I'm chuffed it is a compilation; I do like to have tangible, hard copy discs and boxes to build a physical/concrete games collection. (well, not literally concrete!)
24. LEGEND MARIOID
03 Sep 2009, 17:47 BST
Wow. Think I'd prefer them as VCA titles though.
25. Atlantis1982
03 Sep 2009, 17:56 BST
Does that mean we can save the president from Ninjas?
26. JamieO
03 Sep 2009, 18:06 BST
@bro2dragons (comment 21)- If Arcade Captain America and the Avengers is on the collection you will be in luck , because it is the same game as the SNES version, but lots better. Graphically it is stronger, with better defined sprites and backgrounds which cover the whole screen (the SNES version had a black bar at the top of the screen for characters profile pics, lives & energy levels). The arcade cab could allow for 4 player games too, the SNES was only 2 players simultaneous.
On another note, Robocop 2 would be intriguing to play. I never played it, but reviews in old mags show that it had large chunky sprites and Harley Davidson motorbike chasing, as well as the usual side scrolling shooty bits.
27. Kevin
03 Sep 2009, 19:34 BST
Not to the VCA? Forget it then.
28. Ian Daemon
03 Sep 2009, 20:13 BST
I'd LOVE to see Burger Time hit the VCA!
We need support for the VCA, not retail releases!
VCA!
VCA!
29. Ricardo91
03 Sep 2009, 20:51 BST
BURGER TIME!! WOO!!
30. warioswoods
03 Sep 2009, 22:44 BST
Argh, why on earth would they do this when the VCA is out there just waiting for a decent game or two? I certainly hope this retail release flops (and I expect it to), and they eventually learn that these compilations are akin to releasing double-albums (complete with a couple great songs and a whole lot of filler) when the world now gets its music in downloadable form on a per song basis; in other words, pretty damn stupid and pointless.
Also, that second paragraph from the ESRB means they could give Sexy Poker a much needed run for its money (shot).
31. Egg miester
03 Sep 2009, 23:14 BST
oh man bad dudes such a cheesy game some of the worst text in a game with a ending that makes people say wtf
i would love it on vc or i'd buy this game for a good copy of the game
32. Stuffgamer1
03 Sep 2009, 23:17 BST
If this has to involve titles owned by G-mode, this list might give us an idea what pool of games this collection is working from. Of course, it's Wikipedia, so nothing's certain.
Why is this only coming to Wii? That seems like the weirdest system to release a collection of old arcade games on at this point.
33. marktheshark
03 Sep 2009, 23:53 BST
I'm hoping that there'll be DIP switches & great emulation present in the collection. Otherwise, no purchase.
34. Digiki
04 Sep 2009, 01:13 BST
I had Caveman Games, I think I liked it enough, but could never figure out how to make a fire D:
35. Adamant
04 Sep 2009, 04:33 BST
Data East was a rather low-key developer. They had a number of good games on the reperoire, but outside of Burger Time and Bump'n Jump, they never realeased any big classics.
Still, this collection should absolutely be worth getting.
36. Sean Aaron
04 Sep 2009, 07:21 BST
@Stuffgamer1: It's the perfect system to release a lot of old games on as there's a lot of older gamers using it who skipped the last console generation or casual gamers (there's that word again...) who may well have seen some of these in the arcade (Burgertime and Bump 'n' Jump definitely), but never bothered with consoles other than the Atari or Colecovision.
37. Stuffgamer1
04 Sep 2009, 08:55 BST
@Sean Aaron: I was referring to the existance of the VC, which seems like it would be the preferable place to release these titles. Collections are usually reserved for other systems, like how Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection was on PS3 and 360, but not Wii.
38. ICEknight
04 Sep 2009, 13:31 BST
Funny how NEO-GEO games like Magical Drop 3 can see a release through a non-SNK collection.
39. Superman
04 Sep 2009, 22:45 BST
Data East? What a joke.
40. Pepe
05 Sep 2009, 17:46 BST
B-WINGS
Caveman Games
Joe & Mac series
Burgertime series
Shadowrun
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