Even for those who played the game all the way back in the late 70s, Taito's Space Invaders isn't often thought of as a series. The original game was a cultural phenomenon that inspired a host of space shooters in its wake, but its sequels and spinoffs simply haven't been as present in pop culture since. The Space Invaders Invincible Collection takes Switch owners on a journey from the original black-and-white classic all the way to modern mobile-first interpretations of the classic series. While there may only be a couple of games here that rise above historical curiosity, those experiences are worth the attention of any arcade gaming enthusiast.
When Invincible Collection first loads up, it seems like there will be a lot of variety. Ten games come with the initial download with a bonus eleventh one (Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders) available as an add-on download. However, many of those ten games are only slight variations on the 1978 original. Including both the black-and-white and color editions of the original Space Invaders as separate games feels like filler even if they were technically separate releases. Space Invaders Part II and Space Invaders DX are also the same basic game with only minor gameplay tweaks, and the US and Japanese versions of Super Space Invaders '91 take up their own slots despite similarly minor differences. While it's historically interesting to see what was added and taken away in each subsequent release, the lack of historical context outside a brief blurb on the main menu can lead to significant confusion.
Continued scrutiny across all these releases also suggests that perhaps the reason that Space Invaders sequels haven't caught on in the same way as contemporaries like Pac-Man is that the game itself is very simplistic. The original is slow-paced and precise, a challenging high score game that is fun when played with the proper context in mind. The old-school design doesn't require a long session to satisfy nostalgia, though, thanks to the limited variety on offer. Space Invaders is an iconic release that laid the foundation for video games as they are today, but it hasn't aged particulary well in the interim.
The two most interesting games of the lot from a historical perspective are only tangentially related to Space Invaders. Lunar Rescue and Space Cyclone are retro arcade games that ran on the original Space Invaders boards. Because Taito hasn't been nearly as prolific as Namco or Capcom with arcade legacy titles, it's likely that many players will have never seen these games before, which adds some definite novelty to the overall package. The games themselves are in the same camp as the original Space Invaders in terms of modern playability, but they do include fun quirks like early voice clips that make them worth inclusion.
Thankfully, there are two games in the Invincible Collection that remain relevant to modern arcade fans. Space Invaders Extreme is a newer take on the concept with faster gameplay, power-ups, and background animations by the legendary Jeff Minter. It's an upgrade in the vein of Pac-Man Championship Edition with a full campaign of progressively harder challenges and several other arcade modes, and it succeeds in making Space Invaders fun four decades after its initial release. The other game, Space Invaders Gigamax 4 SE, is a purely multiplayer affair that adds three more ships to combat the oncoming alien forces. Its focus on the original gameplay over any updates makes it less fun than Space Invaders Extreme, but it is certainly a welcome addition to any gathering of like-minded players.
Considering how few nostalgic throwbacks exist for Taito's back catalog, it's a shame that the Space Invaders Invincible Collection isn't a home run. Without the inclusion of Space Invaders Extreme, the whole thing would be a hard sell. This selection is by no means definitive, and several of the included games are mere variants with differences that even some hardcore fans may not recognize right off the bat. Anchoring the entire set, Extreme is certainly worth the time of anyone who enjoys a good arcade challenge, but the rest of the offering is only going to appeal to diehard fans of the arcade classic.
The Space Invaders Invincible Collection is available now on Nintendo Switch. Screen Rant was provided a copy of the game for the purposes of this review.