The Switch has been a boon for retro gaming enthusiasts for a while. Hamster’s huge Arcade Archives series has felt right at home on the console, but late last year, a new retro rerelease series entered the fray
EGGCONSOLE is a series of Japanese home computer games that are being ported to Switch by retro specialists D4 Enterprise. This oft-forgotten generation of games is often hard to get your hands on nowadays without a PC, and to see them slowly make their way to Switch has been pretty exciting. This is real gaming history making its way onto consoles, kids.
Starting with Relics back in October 2023, the Eggconsole series has been slowly making its way through PC-88 greats. From a bevy of Falcom classics to action RPG originators, there’s an ever-growing library of games being added to the Switch.
In this Eggconsole guide, we’ll list every Eggconsole game on Switch and answer some common questions about the series.
EGGCONSOLE Switch eShop Games – Full List
First up, here’s an up-to-date list of every Eggconsole game on Switch:
What’s the best EGGCONSOLE game? Where should I start?
If you’re interested in checking these games out, then we’ve picked a small selection to kick off your PC and MSX history lesson. Here are our picks for the best Eggconsole games to start with, in no particular order:
Ys PC-8801mkIISR
Ys is probably one of the most historically important RPGs of all time, and the series has been going for longer than the likes of Final Fantasy. Also known as Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished, it’s a heavily story-focused adventure and features “bump” combat — it’s basically an early action RPG, where you attack enemies by walking into them. Plus, this boasts music from the legendary Yuzo Koshiro. It’s a little unforgiving, but if you’re curious about RPG history, Ys is a must-play. Plus, if you like it, you can pick up Ys II and Wanderers from Ys.
Thexder PC-8801mkIISR
Before Game Arts became known for the beloved Lunar and Grandia RPG series, the developer started life on the PC creating shooters and run-and-gunners. Vertical shooter Silpheed is also on the Switch, but we wanted to pick the studio’s first video game, Thexder. This fast and difficult sidescroller has you controlling a mech that can also transform into a jet. Your shots will automatically target enemies, but you also have an energy gauge that you have to wait to recharge if it runs out. It’s one of the best examples of the arcade scene on the PC-88, and worth checking out.
Xak PC-8801mkIISR
You might notice that there are a lot of action RPGs on the PC-88, but we’re recommending Xak: The Art of Visual Stage for its “VR system”. A graphical marvel back in 1989, this presents the world with cutting-edge 3D visuals that help bring the world to life. The music, partially composed by Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest’s Ryuji Sasai, is also absolutely excellent. Xak pushes the PC-88 to its limits, and we hope the sequels make an appearance on the service.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is EGGCONSOLE?
Eggconsole is really just the name of D4’s series, which in turn references another project by the developer — Project EGG. Games in the Eggconsole library were all originally available on Project EGG, an emulation-based distribution service that’s available on PC.
In case you were wondering, the EGG stands for Engrossing Game Gallery — so really, this is the Engrossing Game Gallery Console.
Okay, so what is Project EGG?
As mentioned, Project EGG is the emulation service that started this all. This service launched in November 2001, initially managed by Bothtec before being handed to D4 Enterprise. Over 1,000 games across 21 different platforms are available to play through this service, and you can access them all from the website.
This is only Windows-based, however, and there are no plans for the service to come to the Switch as it is.
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