Vault on in to the August Vault Drop
Vault on into the August Vault Drop
No pole required.
Another month, another gigantic pile of games that you have a second chance to grab. While supplies last, of course. The Limited Run Vault is open for business, and although meat’s not back on the menu, boys, games that have long since been unavailable for purchase are. This month seems to be extremely heavy on classic shoot-em-ups, so you may want to down a pot of coffee before clicking “Buy” on these puppies. Your twitch reflexes are gonna need to be as twitchy as possible.
Standard / Tail Time Edition
Switch / PS5 / Xbox / PC
But first, before we get into the shooter biz, we should point out a couple of our bigger, cooler exclusives that we created in partnership with our friends at Square Enix. First and foremost of these is the Gex Trilogy set. Who else but Limited Run Games would dare to bring back a series that began life on 3DO and features running commentary by funnyman Dana Gould? We ask you.
And if that doesn’t strike you as sufficiently wild, please bear in mind that we commissioned legendary artist Yoshitaka Amano to create a new Gex key image and turned it into a jigsaw puzzle. You can buy this completely outlandish puzzle! For completely normal money!
Event Edition
Switch
Also from the Square Enix crew is our alternate Fighting Force Collection variant cover. This one features character renders in the inimitable 1990s style. Some might call it mad. We call it “retro.”
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered
Standard / Collector’s Edition
Switch / PS5 / Xbox / PC
And, finally, one last Square Enix release from us: both the Standard and Collector’s Editions of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered. That’s a whole lotta vampires!
Ah, nut here’s what you’ve really come to see: the shooters. So many shooters. Tiny ships, tinier bullets, big explosions, even bigger challenge. Is this gaming in its purest form? Some would say yes!
(Some would also say no, but for the sake of hyping up this promotion, we’re going to ignore those dour wet blankets.)
“SGN 16-bit”
From our allies at Retro-Bit, there’s a super deluxe set that reprints two rare, classic, and formerly very expensive import shooters for, ahem, “SGN 16-bit.” Apparently we’re not allowed to just say “S*** G******”—whoa! Where did those censor stars come from?
Well, a wink’s as good as a nod, as they say. You know what these are. Retro carts that work on actual “SGN 16-bit” hardware, the only 16-bit console where games came in plastic clamshells, the processing was blasted, and the hedgehogs wore cool red sneakers. This set contains both Slap Fight MD and Grind Stormer, two incredible shooters by Toaplan, along with an absolute bushel of goodies to enjoy. Things like audio CDs, which you could certainly enjoy in the CD-ROM add-on for your “SGN 16-bit” console.
Batsugun Saturn Tribute Boosted
Standard / Deluxe Edition
Switch / PS4
Also from the world of Toaplan, while not contained in a chunky slipcase set (though the Deluxe Edition does include a ton of cool stuff): Batsugun Saturn Tribute Boosted, a modern port of the Sega Saturn version of the classic arcade game. Why are we allowed to say Sega Saturn but not S*** G******? It is a mystery. But it is not a mystery that this game, like all Toaplan shooters, rocks.
Deluxe Edition
Switch / PS5
Not all shooters were created in the ’90s by Toaplan. For example, Under Defeat here was developed by G.rev in the 2000s. That’s practically modern! Despite its provenance, it has a decidedly old-school heart thumping away at its core. A top-down shooter in which you pilot a helicopter while weaving between deadly bullet sprays, Under Defeat brings the soul of the ’90s into the ’00s, and then this version transports it directly into the ’20s. It sounds weird to call the current decade the ’20s, doesn’t it? There is no Gatsby in Under Defeat, no speakeasy-busting, no jazz flappers... just a massive load of explosions and enemies to destroy (by exploding them).
Assault Suits Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute
Standard Edition
PS5 / Switch
Another Saturn game? Yes indeed! This one is the sequel to S*** G****** cult classic Target Earth and Super NES (err, that is, S**** N**) hit Cybernator. This 1997 NCS mech classic never received a localization for America and Europe back in the day, so picking up a copy of it now to play on modern platforms feels a little bit like righting a wrong committed three decades ago. Justice, thy name is Assault Suits Leynos 2—Target Earth 2 if you’re nasty.
Standard / Underworld Editions
Switch / PS5
And finally, to wrap things up, another G.rev shooter. This one’s the newest shooter of the entire Vault Drop bunch, having debuted in arcades and Xbox 360 back in 2008. The Xbox 360 version has the rare distinction of being a Japan-exclusive release back in the day... you didn’t see many of those on 360! But now it is here on other systems in English, available for your enjoyment. With its vibrant colors and whimsical character art, Mamorukun Recurse! is the Party Cannon of this month’s shooters... which is to say, deceptively brutal despite its lighthearted branding.