If you are interested at all in the history of MSX shoot 'em ups, next week's EGGCONSOLE title for the Nintendo Switch, Super Laydock Mission Striker, might be of some interest to you.
Released in 1987, the vertically-scrolling shoot 'em up from the Hydlide developer T&E Soft is the second title in the Laydock series of games for Japanese home computers, and was launched between the original 1986 game for the MSX2 and its 1988 sequel Laydock 2: Last Attack for the MSX2+.
It follows on from the events of the first game, with players once again taking control of a Federal Space Force pilot who is, this time, given orders to destroy a newly-built, Death Star-like base, called Soleil, which the Gilcen army had constructed following their defeat at the hands of the player in the previous title.
Getting behind the controls of the Neo Stormy Gunner, the Federal Space Force's latest aircraft, the player will be sent across 14 stages, each of which ends with a boss fight, to try to bring the war to an end by wiping out the Gilcen stronghold.
While playing, pilots are equipped with both ground and anti-air attacks, with their health being monitored by a damage system as opposed to lives. In addition to that, there are also optional attacks to unlock, with the game incorporating a simple levelling system based on destroying enemy ships.
Perhaps the most interesting feature, though, is the ability in two-player mode to dock two ships together to increase their firepower (the main mechanic of the series). Whenever this happens, player one will be in charge of controlling the ship and normal attacks, while the other will be left to handle any optional weapons.
Super Laydock Mission Striker will release on Nintendo Switch on December 11th, 2025, and will cost $6.49