Playing with the Boys
Something a little more low-key from the retro fun-fans over at Hamster this week, as the labyrinthine Arcade Archives has been bolstered with the arrival of Video System’s hard-spikin’ Super Volleyball on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.
Released to the arcade market in 1989, before receiving home ports on the Sega Mega Drive and the TurboGrafx-16, Super Volleyball is an incredibly typical take on the high-jumping beach sport. Two teams of four players battle it out on a very basic 2D plane, with each team representing one of eight global nations.
While Super Volleyball features neat animation and some neat picture-in-picture cutscenes, it has a generally clunky vibe and seems dated, even by 1989 standards. The same year would see other sports titles such as Midway’s Arch Rivals, Technos’ WWF Superstars, and Sega’s Super Monaco GP. By comparison, Video System’s release feels several years out of time and is admittedly a tough recommend in 2022.
You can check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber Victory-Class Star Destroyer. Super Volleyball is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.