Riki 8Bit Game Collection review

RIKI 8bit Game Collection is less an actual videogame, but more a piece of audio-visual art; it uses the medium of retro-modern twitchy 8 bit media (think WarioWare, or even Game & Watch, reimagined inside a 1980s Japanese arcade) to flesh out what is essentially a canny collection of high-quality chiptune music, all wrapped up in the stunning anime/Manga aesthetic of the talented and creative RIKI, whose name and logo is proudly emblazoned all over the place.

The two actual “games” included in this collection are very basic affairs, and serve more as a medium to deliver the array of exceptional aural delights. Astro Ninja Man DX is a simplistic Space Invaders clone where you control the titular ninjutsu along the bottom of the screen and use a standard projectile weapon and a more destructive laser to destroy myriad foes and debris that cascade down from above. Like everything about RIKI 8bit Game Collection, there is a surreal and hallucinatory feel to this one, with some wild art design both on screen and incorporated into the arcade cab style bezels alongside.

Kira Kira Star Night (Reach for the Stars) sees you take on the role of textbook wide-eyed anime lass Kira who can leap into the air and collect the stars that swarm around the screen, all set to more of the great music, and drawn in a very Japanese, synthwave fever dream style, all neon pinks and blues, with cassette motifs and brightly lit cityscapes.

The remaining three selectable segments are basically interactive chiptune albums that you can play with to your heart’s content. I cannot stress how many big hitters are involved in what RIKI has curated here. Yuzo Koshiro should need no introduction, but I will say that he was responsible for sound-tracking some of my all-time favourite titles, in particular Streets of Rage and ActRaiser.

If, like me, you are partial to a classic vertical shmup, then Manabu Namiki should also make your ears prick up, thanks to their craft on all-timers like Battle Garegga. Manami Matsumae (Rockman/Mega Man), and Soichi Terada (the slept-on Ape Escape) are also part of the line up.

I must stress that this is more of a fully interactive way of listening to a superb chiptune album. It is the video game medium equivalent of back in the day when Funkmaster Flex would put out his compilation CDs featuring the hottest acts in hip hop freestyling and dropping little snippets that you hadn’t heard before, and is a novel and admirable way to deliver new music.

The games are kind of on the periphery here, and this will not be for everyone – there is a niche market for this aesthetic and sound – however I cannot deny that it thoroughly appeals to me and is going to be firmly in the wheelhouse of many in the still thriving retro game community. As such, beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder, but for sheer force of will and commitment to the art, and the panache with which this has been executed, Riki 8Bit Game Collection deserves a tremendous amount of credit.