Strictly Limited Games and ININ have announced Irem Collection Volume 3. It’s set for Q2 2024 on Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox, which gives time for the first two collections to actually be released.
Irem Collection Volume 3 will include Mr. Heli, Mystic Riders, and Dragon Breed, which are all scrolling shoot-’em-ups. To be fair, that’s sort of what Irem was known for. Mr. Heli released in arcades in 1987. It was known in North America as Battle Chopper. Mystic Riders is similar to the Cotton series in that it involves piloting a broomstick. Finally, Dragon Breed is perhaps the most unique of the bunch because it has you riding on a big Asian-style serpent dragon.
As a reminder, Irem Collection Volume 1 includes Image Fight, Image Fight 2, and X Multiply (which was a spin-off of the Image Fight series). Irem Collection Volume 2 includes Air Duel, but breaks from the pack by also bundling Gun Force and Gun Force 2, which are run-and-guns considered precursors to the Metal Slug series.
Each collection includes an assortment of filters, leaderboards, rewind, and save states. All of the collections will be available digitally, but you can get them physically from Strictly Limited Games in limited and collector’s edition flavors.
Irem Collection Volume 3 currently has a broad release date of Q2 2024. However, Irem Collection Volume 1 is right around the corner and will release on November 21, 2023, on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch.
