Hamster, the company behind Arcade Archives and Console Archives, has just revealed the next couple of retro titles it will be bringing to modern platforms this week.
This includes Polaris, a 1980 submarine-themed arcade shooter from Taito, and Nichibutsu's 8-bit port of the arcade hoverbike game Seicross (known in Japan as Sector Zone), published on the Nintendo Famicom in 1986 and on the NES two years later.
Arcade Archives Polaris
Given its age, Polaris shouldn't be too hard for most players to get their heads around. It is a simple fixed-screen shooter in the vein of Space Invaders, though this time players are put in charge of a submarine (as opposed to a spaceship) on a mission to defend their country from attack.
Players can pilot the submarine in four directions (up, down, left, and right) and shoot upward to eliminate enemy ships and aircraft. However, they will also need to be mindful of their immediate surrroundings, as enemy missiles will come at them not only from above, from planes, but also from below, from rival submarines.
Here's an official description of the game, from Hamster:
"A glimmer of hope lurking in the deep blue.
POLARIS is a shooting game released by TAITO in 1980. Take command of a submarine and battle advancing enemy forces using missiles that can only be fired directly upward. Navigate through a relentless onslaught from all directions—bombers in the sky, frigates patrolling the surface, and mines lurking on the seabed!"
The game will be released on April 9th, 2026 (that's tomorrow!) across Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, with the Arcade Archives version (Nintendo Switch, PS4) costing $7.99, while the Arcade Archives 2 will be priced at $9.99. Each version contains bonus features such as screen filters, leaderboards, and additional modes, with the Arcade Archives 2 version boasting an exclusive TIME ATTACK MODE.
Console Archives Seicross
As mentioned above, Seicross was originally an arcade game released by Nichibutsu in 1984, but eventually made its way to the Famicom / NES in the years that followed.
It is a side-scrolling shooter in which players pilot a futuristic rescue bike, called the Gilgitt Petras, on a mission to save members of a race named the Petra, who have been stranded in inhospitable territory. To succeed, players will have to travel from the right side of the screen to the left, navigating challenging obstacles such as other riders and rocky terrain, while picking up survivors and fuel to keep their bike powered.
Here's more info on what you can expect:
SEICROSS" was released by Nichibutsu in 1986 for an 8-bit home console. In this shooting game, you pilot a hover bike to save the peaceful people of Petra, whose homeland has been invaded by a once-coexisting tribe that has turned to evil.
As you rescue the captive people of Petra from enemy territory, your bike's weight increases, causing it to consume fuel energy much faster—but in return, you'll earn massive bonuses upon clearing the stage!
Console Archives Seicross will also be released on April 9th, 2026, and will be available for PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2 for $7.99.
It, too, will come with a bunch of bonus features over the original, including "customizable button layouts", "rapid-fire settings", "multiple save points", "a rewind function," and screen layout adjustment options, as well as filters to "recreate the nostalgic atmosphere of CRT TVs back in the day." If you're interested, you may also want to check out the arcade version of Seicross, too, which is already available on PS4 and Switch as part of Arcade Archives.