Toaplan Arcade Garage: Flying Fire Shark Finally Lands In The West With Six Arcade Versions

It took four years, but the compilation has landed. Toaplan Arcade Garage: Flying Fire Shark released in the West on 29 August 2026 for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4, digitally and physically, under publisher Clear River Games. The port is handled by M2, the Japanese studio that has become the absolute benchmark for faithful arcade conversions, and this is yet another piece of fine craftsmanship from them on the Toaplan catalogue.

The line-up gathers two vertically scrolling shoot'em ups that became pillars of the genre: Hishou Same, released in 1987 and known in the West as Flying Shark, and its sequel Same! Same! Same!, renamed Fire Shark. But the compilation's real appeal lies in its completeness, offering six arcade variants where a standard re-release would have settled for one: the Japanese, worldwide and US versions of the first, plus the Japanese release of the sequel, its two-player revision and its worldwide edition. Teki-Paki, Toaplan's 1991 puzzle game, is thrown in free for anyone who owns a title in the Toaplan Arcade Garage range.

1980s shmups made approachable without being betrayed. Alongside the traditional arcade mode, M2 has added a Super Easy Mode aimed at newcomers to a genre with a merciless reputation, plus an Arcade Challenge mode that slices each stage into small practice areas, with an automatic rewind function that kicks in when the player takes a hit. The customary M2 gadgets, displaying live information on firing patterns and on-screen threats, round things off. The physical edition bundles a batch of extra content with the Sky Shark port on NES, Same! Same! Same! and Fire Shark on Mega Drive, and Wardner along with its arcade and Famicom Disk System variants.

Digital versions run through the Nintendo eShop and PlayStation Store, while physical pre-orders and the full bonus content breakdown are gathered on Clear River Games' official store. Players new to the series will find in Nintendo Life's detailed review a rundown of the available modes and advice on tackling both titles without getting discouraged.

Source: Gematsu