Hamster is putting two obscure Taito games back on sale on October 1
Arcade Archives Balloon Bomber revives Taito's 1980 anti-aircraft shooter across five platforms, while Console Archives Chack'n Pop brings the 1985 home version to PS5 and Switch 2.
Hamster's retro reissue programme is putting out two Taito titles on October 1, and neither is an obvious pick. One is a 1980 arcade shooter about popping balloons carefully; the other is a 1985 home console maze game whose main verb is wall-running.
Arcade Archives Balloon Bomber
Taito's 1980 original puts you behind an anti-aircraft gun shooting balloon bombs as they drift across the screen. The catch is that precision matters: hit the balloon instead of the bomb and it falls, punching holes in the ground that limit where you can move. It is a shooting game about restraint, which is unusual for 1980.
It launches October 1 on Switch 2, Switch, PS5, PS4 and Xbox Series X|S. The current-gen Arcade Archives 2 versions on Switch 2, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S are $9.99; the Arcade Archives releases on Switch and PS4 are $7.99, and owners of the older version can upgrade for $2.99. Original Mode carries the usual Hamster options - difficulty and display settings, button remapping, rapid-fire, multiple save files and rewind - while Hi Score and Caravan modes have online rankings. Arcade Archives 2 adds a Time Attack mode and variable refresh rate support. It supports one or two players, with no online play.
Console Archives Chack'n Pop
The other release is the 1985 home console version of Taito's Chack'n Pop, arriving on PS5 and Switch 2 for $7.99. You guide Chack'n through mazes to recover a Heart stolen by Beluga, using wall-running and well-timed bomb detonations to get past enemies. Hamster's Console Archives line brings the usual button remapping, rapid-fire, save points, rewind on some titles, screen layout options and CRT-style filters. This one runs the Japanese ROM, which Hamster notes is fine because the game's in-game text was written in English to begin with. One or two players, taking alternating turns.
Why it matters
Hamster's value is not in the headline games - it is that a 46-year-old Taito curiosity gets a legal, dated, priced release on hardware people actually own, with rewind and save states attached. Balloon Bomber in particular has had almost no life outside compilations.
Why it matters
These are the kind of releases that keep early-1980s arcade and home-console games legally playable, with modern conveniences, rather than leaving them to emulation.