2019 marks the 50 years since Konami opened their doors and in celebration, the legendary developer has announced a series of Anniversary Collection releases. Three compilations of Konami classics will be making their way to the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
The first to drop on April 18th 2019, for $19.99, is the Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection. Players can revisit the 80s with 8 arcade hits packed into a single retro download. The games included in the Arcade Classics compilation are as follows:
- Haunted Castle
- Typhoon (A-JAX)
- Nemesis (Gradius)
- Vulcan Venture (Gradius II)
- Life Force (Salamander)
- Thunder Cross
- Scramble
- TwinBee
Also bundled is a bonus eBook packed full of never before seen sketches, design documents, interviews and new insights into the retro classics.
Two additional collections will also launch in summer 2019, celebrating perhaps Konami’s most famous franchises of the 80s. The Castlevania and Contra Anniversary Collection bundle series favourites into two digital downloads.
The full list of 8 games in the Castlevania and Contra collections are still to be unveiled. However, Konami has announced Castlevania, Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge, Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, and Super Castlevania IV for the Castlevania Anniversary Collection. Those picking up the Contra Anniversary Collection can expect Contra, Super Contra, Super C, and Contra III: The Alien Wars amongst others.
Konami’s collections are “powered by Arcade Archives”, which to date has already released a smorgasbord of retro titles on Nintendo Switch and a variety of other platforms. A number of Konami games in the upcoming Anniversary Collections (such as Haunted Castle, Gradius, and Contra) have already seen Arcade Archives releases on the PS4, as far back as 2015. However, the upcoming Nintendo Switch collections will mark the first time that classic Konami titles have made their way to Nintendo’s latest hybrid device.
The Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection will be available to download from the Nintendo eShop and other platform stores on April 18th 2019. Priced at $19.99, the Arcade Classics compilation will be followed shortly by both the Contra Anniversary Collection and the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, which are expected to hit at some point in summer 2019.
