RIKI 8Bit GAME Collection is out now on a variety of platforms, and Total Apex Gaming was given a chance to check the game out. It is, as the name suggests, a collection of arcade-style games. It’s playable on a modern console, the Nintendo Switch (yes, despite the aged technology and the fact that it’s almost eight years old does not make it retro yet), but it feels a lot like you’ve stepped back in time to an arcade downtown. There are five games to be tried in this collection. How does it stack up?

RIKI 8Bit GAME Collection Pros

Variety

As mentioned, there are five games within this collection. That means you’re paying roughly $4 for each game, which is way less than you’d spend on endlessly trying to beat these games in your local arcade. For that price, this variety is impossible to beat. It gives you five different games to try, and they’re all pretty unique. Sure, they all fit into the RIKI mold here, but each one is a new thing to experience. That goes a long way in a relatively simplistic package. My personal favorite game was Kira Kira Star Package.

Art Style

In the 1980s, these kinds of graphics seemed like the cutting edge. Every time a graphical upgrade came out, it felt like the peak of how good or “realistic” games could be. Now, with hyper-realism in so many games, going back to a time when that just wasn’t possible is a nice changeup. The art style, which includes the graphics and the vibrant, fun color scheme, is another win for this collection of games.

Music

Packed into this collection are several music albums, so there are plenty of fun tunes to play around with while you play around. The background music in all video games is important, especially in arcade games like this. It’s basically one-half of the entire package, so it needs to be good. Fortunately, with RIKI 8Bit GAME Collection, it is. It sent me back in time and to a simpler station in life when the only thing that mattered was trying to get a high score on this machine I might never see again.

Cons for RIKI 8Bit GAME Collection

Longevity

This game is not one you’ll stick to for a long period of time. Like any party game, it’s a great one to have in the library for those random classic gaming nights when you want to try something, but it doesn’t have much that forces you to continue playing like a story game or even a multiplayer one you can grind with friends. It doesn’t have enough to come back for other than setting high scores, which gets kind of repetitive after a little while.

Challenge

Some of the games in this collection aren’t all that challenging. Sometimes, I got to a point where the game was virtually endless, and I could almost play forever because it wasn’t that hard. It does progressively get harder, but I got better all the while, and the challenge increase wasn’t enough to make it difficult for me at times. Doing that for long enough got a little boring at times.

In Conclusion

RIKI 8Bit GAME Collection is a solid addition to your Nintendo Switch collection. It’s a good one to have in the back pocket for a rainy day, as you can pretend it’s a fun afternoon at the local arcade with friends. Nostalgia is powerful, and this game collection utilizes it without exploiting it.

Collection Score: 3/5

Kira Kira Outrage: 4/5

Astro Ninja Man DX: 3.5/5

8Bit Music Power: 3/5

8Bit Music Power Final: 2.5/5

8Bit Music Power Encore: 2.5/5