Review: Toaplan Arcade Garage: Flying Fire Shark (Switch) – M2 Delivers Two Seminal Sharky Shmups
This review finds that M2’s Toaplan Arcade Garage collection presents Flying Shark and Fire Shark with substantial care, preserving two influential vertical shoot ’em ups for Switch players. It argues that both games remain demanding and rewarding despite their dated visuals, while M2’s display options, regional variants and bonus material strengthen the package’s value as a preservation release.
Flying Shark, originally released in 1987, is the shorter and more approachable five-stage game, built around gradual power-ups and repeat play; Fire Shark, from 1989, is a longer ten-stage sequel regarded as especially influential but exceptionally difficult. The collection adds an auto-fire option, although the reviewer criticises its fixed 10Hz rate, and notes that Fire Shark’s second-player ship is easier to use but awkward to select.
In short
- M2 carefully preserves two classic, demanding Toaplan shooters.
- Flying Shark is shorter and more accessible than Fire Shark.
- Fire Shark is influential, brutal, and made easier by its second-player ship.
Explained simply
Flying Shark and Fire Shark are “shoot ’em ups”: arcade games in which players steer a craft through waves of enemies, usually firing continuously while avoiding attacks. Flying Shark appeared in 1987, followed by the longer Fire Shark in 1989; both were made by Toaplan, a Japanese studio known for arcade games.
M2’s collection brings the games to Nintendo Switch, with options that reflect different versions and extra material about their history. Their demanding play and influence make them of interest to people exploring arcade game history, while the collection also lets new players try them on a modern console.