City Connection has announced it will be bringing two more Jaleco-published Nintendo Famicom titles to the Nintendo Switch in the near future, as part of its JALECOlle Famicom Ver series of retro reissues.
These include the Journey to the West-inspired platformer Saiyūki World 2 (which was localized as Whomp 'Em in North America) and the NES / Famicom port of the Jaleco arcade game Rod Land (which was originally only released in the Europe and Japan).
Saiyūki World 2 is the 1990 follow-up to Saiyūki World (a 1988 action-adventure RPG that was based on Wonder Boy in Monster Land) and sees players take control of Sun Wukong (also known as the Monkey King). Meanwhile, Rod Land is a fixed-screen arcade game that casts players as the fairies Tam and Rit and tasks them with eliminating monsters with a magic rod, to save their mother.
No release date has been announced for either title just yet, but the two games now have a dedicated section on City Connection's official website, revealing a bit more information for each of them as well as some screenshots:
Saiyūki World 2 (1990):
Retrieve the seven Celestial Beads and defeat Mara! A stage-select style Magic Staff & mystic power action adventure!
The seven Celestial Beads, which maintain the balance of the universe, have been stolen by Mara, the supreme deity of the Realm of Desire. Informed by Sanzo of the crisis in the heavens, Wukong once again takes up his Ruyi Staff and leaves his homeland, Mount Huaguo.
Travel across the six provinces of the mortal world and reclaim the Celestial Beads from the demon gods.
In addition to Magic Staff techniques like overhead defense and upward/downward thrusts while jumping, acquiring Celestial Beads grants you new mystic powers such as the Flame Blade, the Somersault Cloud, and the Cloning Staff.
Celestial Beads are obtained by clearing each stage (province). Which stage to tackle first is entirely up to the player. Forge your own strategy, gather your strength, and head for the Celestial Realm where Mara awaits.
Rod Land (1992):
Climb the tower to reach Mama! A lively fixed-screen action game set in a fairy world, where you swing your magic wand with all your might!
The fairy siblings, Tam and Rit, lived happily with their Mama in a peaceful village. But one day, a big ghost kidnapped their mother and took her away to the Tower of Maboots.
To rescue their captured mother, Tam and Rit take up their late father's magic rods and set out for the top of the tower, wearing the special shoes granted to them by the village chief.
The core attack involves using your magic rod to grab enemies and slam them into the ground. Jumping on enemies will briefly paralyze them. Make use of powerful attack items and rainbow ladders you can place anywhere to move around freely. Defeat all the enemies on screen to clear the stage.
There are also special stages where, unlike the usual fixed-screen levels, you can fire magical projectiles.
The NES version of Rod Land was previously reissued on a cartridge in 2024 by Retro-Bit Gaming. The original Arcade version of Rod Land, on the other hand, is already available on Nintendo Switch (and PS4) as part of Arcade Archives. This release will represent the first chance to pick up the NES / Famicom version digitally for Nintendo Switch.
Saiyūki World 2, meanwhile, has never been released outside Japan in its original, unlocalised form, making its appearance here on Switch particularly notable.
Are you excited for these releases? Let us know in the comments!