Unlike most my age, I began my gaming journey with the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was a hand-me-down toploader NES with a few games, but it opened up a new world of entertainment for me. I fell in love with 8-bit games of the time, like “Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, and 3,” “Kung Fu,” “Ducktales and Ducktales 2,” “Castlevania,” “Gyromite,” and, of course, “Mickey’s Adventures in Numberland.” “Riki 8Bit Game Collection” takes me back to my early childhood in more ways than one, and for that I’m thankful, but it also meets my modern gaming preferences, too.

“Riki 8Bit Game Collection” features two playable games and three 8-bit music collections. The games, “Kira Kira Star Night!” and “Astro Ninja Man DX” harken back to titles that wouldn’t feel too out of place on the NES but certainly come with their own modern quality of life fixes to true retro titles. The sound collections, titled “8Bit Music Power,” “8Bit Music Power Final,” and “8Bit Music Power Encore” each offer a selection of 8-bit-inspired tracks, complete with synth tracks for musicians to follow along and rock out.

Get Your Magical Girl On

The star of the show is no doubt “Kira Kira Star Night!” an addicting collect-a-thon featuring Kirara, a magical girl-inspired character. The gameplay is simple — collect the necessary amount of stars before time runs out, utilizing your big jump, small jump, and wall bounces to do so. The loop is simple, but fun as all heck.

The accompanying 8-bit music tracks are equally as addicting and fit perfectly with the magical girl aesthetic. The beautiful backgrounds also fit the aesthetic, as Kirara progresses through various locales like a city at night, mountains, a beach, and of course, a shadowy otherworldly planet.

In true NES fashion, the game features two “levels” called Level 1 and Level 2. Not unlike Game A and Game B in the olden days, all this means is that the gameplay changes a little bit depending on which Level you pick. Namely, the amount of stars you need to clear each stage increases in Level 2, with a whopping 370 needed to finish stage 9.

Luckily, you can also unlock characters who will make clearing the more difficult Level that much easier. New-chan (shown above) is unlocked after clearing the game once, who can double jump. Bit-chan can be unlocked after clearing the game twice. She has increased walk speed and her jump is modified based on how long you hold the jump button. Lastly, Knight-kun is unlocked after three clears and is the player-2 character who functions just like Kirara.

Defend the Earth with ‘Astro Ninja Man DX’

The other game in the collection is “Astro Ninja Man DX,” a game that plays like a predecessor to the modern “shmup.” You play as Astro Ninja Man, a very angry astronaut ninja who is tasked with defending the world from threats from above.

The gameplay isn’t anything surprising for longtime shmup fans. Astro Ninja Man, along with his shadow clones, automatically fire projectiles vertically. Players have two actions – move, and fire a Ninja Sword, a vertically-thrusting move that destroys everything in its path. Like “Kira Kira,” “Astro Ninja Man DX” isn’t trying to make things complicated, which makes for a fun experience.

The music and backgrounds match the game wonderfully, as “Astro Ninja Man” eschews the bubbly chiptune themes found in “Kira Kira” for bombastic, heroic, high-energy battle themes that illicit Japanese imagery through its use of native instruments and sound effects.

“Astro Ninja Man” is not for the faint of heart, especially as the game progresses into its later levels. Your shmup experience will be tested as enemies fire more and more projectiles at you. Fortunately, Astro Ninja Man’s shadow clones can’t be damaged, which allows for weaving through projectiles found in modern shmups, but it gets tricky to be confined to a two-dimensional plane. It’s definitely the most intense of the two games, for sure, and is rewarding to complete.

‘8Bit Music Power’ Brings Legendary Musical Minds Back In Time

Lastly, the game features three music collections full of 8-bit music from all types of genres. Plus, there are some notable names included in this soundtrack, too.

Among the lineup of close to 40 composers for this collection, you’ll find Yuzo Koshiro (“Streets of Rage”, “ActRaiser,” “The Revenge of Shinobi”), Manami Matsumae (“Mega Man”), Manabu Namiki (“Battle Garegga,” “DoDonPachi Resurrection,” “Mushihimesama”), Soichi Terada (“Ape Escape”), and Junya Nakano (“Final Fantasy X,” “Tobal”), among others.

I didn’t spend too much time in here at first, but after playing through the games, I listened to much of the music found here and enjoyed what I heard. Fans of 8-bit music or the artists found in the compilation will enjoy listening to the music for sure, but it’s nothing more than a glorified sound test menu.

The Verdict

Buy it. “Riki 8Bit Game Collection” is an easy buy for me. The games are fun, endlessly replayable, and perfect for fans of games both new and retro. The collection leaves me wanting more and hopeful that a second collection with more games, including sequels of the ones shown here. Admittedly, I could do with less music and more games next time around, but I can live with what we got for the first one.

“Riki 8Bit Game Collection” is available now for $19.99 on Nintendo Switch. It is developed by Riki and CITY CONNECTION, and published by Clear River Games.