Retro-Inspired Game Earthion Arriving on Nintendo Switch

Okay, real talk. So, Limited Run Games and this Ancient Corporation thing, they’re cooking up something called Earthion for the Nintendo Switch. It’s like this retro, 16-bit shoot ‘em up game, you know? And honestly, I’ve got a soft spot for those old-school space shooters. It’s a side-scroller, by the way. You’re piloting some space fighter named Azusa Takahashi—fancy that—and you blast through eight levels. Each one throws different stuff at you, like crazy environments and boss fights that fill up your screen. Or at least, that’s what they say.

Oh, oh! And they’ve got some big names involved. Makoto Wada’s on board, you might know him from Gotta Protectors or something called Royal Anapoko Academy, which I swear I’ve heard of but can’t remember. The soundtrack? Composed by legend Yuzo Koshiro—yeah, the Streets of Rage dude. Pretty epic, right? Then there’s this artist, Mitsuhiro Arita, who’s sketched two key pieces for the game. His stuff’s been all over from Marvel Comics to Pokémon cards. Kind of a big deal.

Now, they’ve got this list of features, but my brain only caught snippets. Like, the game has eight stages—each with its own vibe. Unique bosses and enemies, too. The music’s supposedly kick-butt (27 tracks?), and there’s a bunch of sound effects. Kinda wondering how many sound effects one game needs, but hey. You can tweak the difficulty settings if you’re a masochist or whatever.

And then they mention something about configurable scanlines. Honestly, I’m not 100% sure what those are, but it sounds fancy. There’s even this level password system—blast from the past, right? And there’s a Music Player Mode. So, if you just wanna chill to the tracks without dodging lasers, you’re in luck. Leaderboards, too. Because bragging rights are essential, let’s be real.

Anyway, this digital gem drops on the Nintendo eShop sometime “later this year”—whenever that is. Can’t pin down a date, but they’re being mysterious, so stay glued to the updates.

That’s all I got. Go check out the trailer somewhere—unless you’d rather just wait in suspense. Whatever floats your spaceship.