'Operation Night Strikers' Brings Four Action-Packed Arcade Classics To Switch This Year

I spent so many hours on these games ! Operation Wolf on my Amstrad CPC, and Operation Thunderbolt on my Amiga 500.
😍😍😍

This looks like a fantastic collection for fans of arcade classics! I’m especially excited about the inclusion of Operation Wolf—a true retro gem. Can’t wait to relive these memories on the Switch! And... It would be awesome if we could see more of these types of classic collections coming to Switch! Taito has so many amazing retro games, and this is a great start.

Thought this was a new update for Mario
Strikers for a second there! I wish Nintendo would’ve supported Strikers, Animal Crossing and MM2 for much longer than they did. Look how much support ARMS and Kirby Star Allies got in the early days of the Switch. That’s what we want!

Night Striker is the cream of this crop! But it's a shame that they're not including the Saturn version. Also, I assume that they're going to include gyro controls for the lightgun games?

The obvious question: will light gun emulation be included?
The SNES game did support the mouse as well, which was at least a step up from just the standard controller support.

Maybe the NES Operation Wolf could be more enjoyable with a light gun that isn't the physical NES Zapper? I know it was one of the very few games released in Japan, and maybe the Famicom pistol would've been comfortable to use but I wouldn't know since getting one these days (especially outside Japan) is a rather tall order (and has been for some time).

Some excellent games there and I'm interested, but may skip on the Switch since I've got Operation Wolf and Night Striker on the backlog for my Egret II Mini console. I even splurged and got the "Cyber Stick" analog flight stick so they would control closer to the arcade experience. The Cyber Stick self-centers and is an upgrade from a digital joystick or gamepad, but it still pales in comparison to the Operation Wolf arcade's life-sized, thumping Uzi controller, with its grenade button on the gunstock. What a great gimmick that was!

This and the upcoming Breakout Beyond game really have me thinking that we need proper interfaces to play these classic arcade games. Lightguns, trackballs, and paddles/spinners have been all but abandoned the last few generations, and you just can't replicate those controls with the usual analog sticks and d-pads. I had more interesting and fun controllers on my Colecovision in 1983 than I do now for my Switch.

Hori and Hamster allegedly were working on a modular multifunction arcade controller - I would insta-buy such a device for the Switch 2.

The only game from this IP that I know of is Night Striker S, for the Saturn.
I don't know why it wasn't included in this compilation.

I was just about to moan about them only adding the NES port of Operation Wolf, then I saw it contains the arcade version too. I'll likely buy it. I had Operation Wolf on the Speccy and I vaguely remember playing Operation Thunderbolt in the arcade. Never played Night Strikers or Space Gun though. Not sure I've even heard of Space Gun.

You got me at Operation Wolf, I’m in

Seems so weird all the light gun game ports at the moment with no light gun support.
What’s the point?

@Lord they aren't light gun games. In the arcade it was just an analog like stick in the shape of a gun.

Taiko, you say? I’d love a Lufia collection.

The compilation originally consisted of only the NES shooter Operation Wolf and the MEGA CD's Night Striker, but the news of the Switch release brought with it another two titles joining the proceedings: the SNES' Thunderbolt and Master System's Space Gun.

Operation Wolf here is the arcade version though, not the NES version.

Operation Wolf - Arcade version

Operation Wolf - NES version

Oh baby, OPERATION WOLF!!!

Pretty great opportunity to get the arcade version of Night Striker!

It's a very strange mix of games, and I fail to see how the light gun games have anything to do with a sprite scaling shooter.

I wish Night Striker came along with Aqua Jack and the first two Chase HQ games instead.

So we’re getting the ARCADE & NES Operation Wolf versions? As long as the arcade version is included I’m In day 1.
Also have a feeling we’ll eventually see these as individual Hamster releases who have put out quite a few Taito games already.

I remember Operation Wolf. Oh man... that interface triggered some memories.

Hoping switch 2 gets an IR bar or if not, just use the mouse support to make these games somewhat more playable.

Disappointing it’s not the Arcade versions.

The only thing I really remember is Night Striker having giant words flashing in neon on the whole screen saying "YOU ARE DEAD" for its game over screen. It was the most blatant game over message of any video game I'd seen up to that point.

@Rodolfo6493 Because Saturn games are rather difficult to emulate, and the ones on Switch from the Saturn Tribute series all have varying degrees of input lag. A pity because the Saturn version does have a few exclusive levels.

@Serpenterror @joey302 @JJtheTexan @FatWormBlowsASparky Just updating here. TAITO clarified what’s included in the physical vs. digital versions of the collection.
https://twitter.com/taito_apps/status/1900352036388167965?s=46&t=TkMZWMTRf6uEYjXd6mF4NA

In short, the physical Switch version (in Japan, no word on global release) is complete with all the arcade and console ROMs. The Switch and Steam core versions are the Arcade ROMs, with the console ROMs being offered as DLC.

@OorWullie Space Gun is a surprisingly good rail shooter despite it’s generic name and aliens that are legally distinct enough from Aliens but still kinda close in atmosphere. You move sideways and forwards through the corridors of space stations/ships much like The Super Spy on the NEO GEO, but with auto-scroll. There are even junctions where can choose different ways to proceed. Not only that, the game has a backpedal (a small pedal on the arcade cabinet for each player, 3 years before Time Crisis) that lets you reverse direction so you can give yourself more time to care of enemies or choose a different path at a junction. The main weapon is a machine gun that works like Operation Wolf/Thunderbolt, and there are special grenades that you can pick up like incendiary or freeze grenades. And the aliens are usually better dealt with by shooting off their arms like in Dead Space. I like the game better than Operation Thunderbolt.

@masterLEON
That’s brilliant ty. I played Op Wolf a lot on my Speccy and me and my dad played Op Thunderbolt all way through on holiday in Spain, I even got a blood blister on my trigger finger. Good times!