M2ShotTriggers Arcade Will Bring Ultimate Tiger Back to Japanese Game Centres on October 15

M2 announces M2ShotTriggers Arcade for Sega ALL.Net P-ras MULTI Version 3, bringing Toaplan's 1987 shooter Ultimate Tiger back to Japanese arcades on October 15.

In an entertaining reversal of the usual retro-gaming business model, M2 is taking one of its carefully preserved arcade conversions and putting it back into actual arcades. The company announced M2ShotTriggers Arcade during its October 10 anniversary celebrations, with Japanese specialist media publishing additional details on October 11. The new initiative uses Sega's ALL.Net P-ras MULTI Version 3 arcade platform to distribute selected ShotTriggers titles to participating game centres. Its first release will be Ultimate Tiger, Toaplan's celebrated 1987 vertical shooter, with Japanese arcade operation scheduled to begin on October 15. Ultimate Tiger places players in control of a heavily armed helicopter fighting through waves of military enemies, ground installations and increasingly demanding combat situations. The original game became known for its relentless action and demanding difficulty curve. M2's new arcade version retains the company's familiar information gadgets, allowing players to examine useful gameplay information while playing. A Super Easy mode also provides a more approachable alternative, incorporating assistance such as automatic bombs and adjusted enemy behaviour. The game's ten stages are divided into two five-stage courses, making the experience better suited to contemporary arcade sessions. The initiative is particularly interesting because preservation normally involves moving arcade games to home consoles or computers. M2 is instead demonstrating that modern preservation techniques can also improve the experience of playing classic games in their original commercial environment. Whether the programme eventually expands beyond Ultimate Tiger remains to be confirmed. Nevertheless, the idea has considerable appeal. For decades, players have purchased home conversions because the arcade original was difficult to access. M2 is now inviting them to visit an arcade to play a modernised version of the home conversion. Gaming history has apparently become a very enthusiastic circle.