Johnny Turbo’s Arcade: Express Raider Nintendo Switch Review: All Aboard

Data East produced a number of great arcade games back in the day, and now the Johnny Turbo line-up, backed by Flying Tiger Entertainment, is celebrating it in the best way possible with digital re-releases for Nintendo Switch. We’ve already seen Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja and Joe and Mac: Caveman Ninja, both handled to pretty well effect. This time, it’s Express Raider‘s turn.

The game initially debuted in 1986 and puts you in control of a would-be bank robber who has to fight his way to the front of a train to secure a pretty nice payload. From there, he’ll then take to horseback and then approach it from the side, shooting varmints that try to stop him while avoiding innocent folks (guess you’re not a complete outlaw, huh?) and earning bonus points.

That’s pretty much all there is to Express Raider, but it has a great difficulty scale that picks up with each new round you reach. The diversity of thugs you face running along the train picks up, including dudes pushing stacks of boxes at you and tougher opponents with weapons. Not only that, but the timetable to complete each part of the stage gets shorter, with a bomb threatening to decouple the cars before you can jump to the next one.

Old-School Gameplay

There are also other factors that enter into play so that your beatdown of each opponent isn’t so easy. These include signs that can do damage to you if they hit you in the head, birds that fly down and threaten to knock you from your ride, and even arrows shot by Indians that can throw you off. It’s a matter of timing your moves and avoiding secondary attacks so that you can get away with the robbery.

I’m sure some players will complain that the stage design isn’t that diverse, but considering that Express Raider is a product of the 80’s arcade scene, it does exactly what it needs to do. And with style. The side-scrolling fighting sequences are fun, especially when you master the jump kicks and lower punches that can give you an advantage even against the toughest of thugs. It’s also great to punch animals for bonus points, as far-fetched as that may be in real life.

Then there are the shooting stages. They’re enjoyable too, though some players may be frustrated by the lack of an aiming reticule. You’ll basically have to shoot a few times to see where your bullets go, and then dodge incoming attacks while pegging enough bad guys to move on to the next stage. Hopefully Flying Tiger will add a reticule that will make it easier to breeze past these stages.

Not the Perfect Getaway, But a Fun Time

Like previous releases, Flying Tiger Entertainment has packed Express Raider with a number of viewing options. There’s nothing hi-def here, but playing with classic CRT filter is kind of cool. Just don’t expect anything that looks too new, because you won’t get it here. I like the audio as well, including the fun little music that plays in the background along with that train whistle.

Express Raider is a fun no-frills ride. It won’t make maximum use of your Nintendo Switch, but it doesn’t really need to. It’s fun to play, with gameplay that entertains on both fronts (even with minor frustrations); and it follows its arcade code pretty closely. For eight bucks, that’s pretty hard to beat.

Here’s hoping Flying Tiger keeps these classics a-comin’. I have a need to enjoy Heavy Barrel and Atomic Runner Chelnov wherever I go.

WWG’s Score: 3.5/5

Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the publisher.