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Despite the energetic title of this collection, the legendary Japanese development house Sunsoft never really went away. It’s been steadily cranking out original titles, ports, and remasters on arcade and console since 1978, although it will likely never recapture the glory days of the 8- and 16-bit era. So prolific was its output that anyone who owned a NES or a SNES will have likely had multiple Sunsoft games in their collection. This Sunsoft is Back! bundle presents three titles released for the first time outside of Japan, beautifully emulated, and boasting a full English translation.
First up is the fantastically titled Firework Thrower Kantaro’s 53 Stations of the Tokaido. Playing as the titular explosive merchant, you must reach your fiancée in Edo, beset on all sides by a rival merchant’s mercenary band. Kantaro’s adventure is a fun scrolling platformer of sorts, which has you dealing with tricky projectile-throwing arcs against enemies that bounce all over the place. Nailing a good shot against an approaching ninja is satisfying, but overall this one is a bit simplistic.
Much more engaging is Ripple Island, a very early example of a point-and-click adventure game. You play Kyle, who is sent to rescue a princess from an evil emperor. You navigate the world using contextual actions that run across the bottom of the screen. Movement, conversation, and item manipulation have you clicking random things with all your available options. It’s fascinating to see such an early iteration of this format.
Finally, we have Wings Of Madoola, a scrolling action game. Lucia is the last magic wielder of her clan and must amass an arsenal of weapons and upgrades to defeat a legion of monsters. A steep opening difficulty mars the experience of this one a little. Enemies come thick and fast with Lucia barely able to hit them or survive much damage. Collecting upgrades will allow you to progress further. This one is notable for a colourful variety of overworld and dungeon areas.
Each game comes with a nicely presented set of curated materials. Promotional images and concept art feature alongside original language manuals. It’s a nice consideration to be able to play the games in Japanese as well. Elsewhere, there’s some extra value in customisation. The ability to rewind, view in multiple aspect ratios and add visual filters are worthwhile options.
The games feel at home on Switch, with bright 8-bit colours and chunky pixels that look equally great undocked or on a big screen. The soundscape is limited but sharply presented. There’s one visual glitch we noticed, where vertical scrolling causes minor artifacting in widescreen aspect ratio. Other than that, these are pristine restorations.
Yet, despite being well presented, Sunsoft is Back! is a bit bare-bones for a collection. While the three games included do showcase the versatility and charm of the studio’s output, there isn’t much content to explore.