City Connection's remake of Penguin Wars, a 1985 arcade classic, comes to Western markets and consoles for the first time in 2018. Dispatch Games will publish Penguin Wars for the Switch, Xbox One, and PS4, and the physical release will come with a code for the updated soundtrack.
The re-release will also come with "multiple sets of new rules," which will replace the balls with bombs or other items. City Connection has also partnered with "notable Japanese musicians" to remix and update the music for a modern gaming audience. Dispatch also promises that "there will be additional DLC for Penguin Wars," but did not offer any further information. You can see a trailer the Switch version below:
Penguin Wars pits penguins against one another on opposite sides of a table. Players start with 10 balls each, and have to throw, angle, and use their skills to get all the balls on your opponent's side. Think Windjammers, if you had multiple discs and could knock out the other player. The original arcade version had five different characters to choose from, but this re-release seems to include at least six characters. Presumably, each animal included will have their own abilities, much like the arcade version, but again, there's no additional information about what those abilities might be.
With a colorful cast of characters and some heavy neon stylings, Penguin Wars is positioning itself as an accessible party game across platforms. Penguin Wars will come with a story mode, which will allow players to unlock skills and improve abilities for the penguins, a local versus mode for up to four people, and online battles against friends and strangers alike.
The Switch version also comes with a "tabletop mode," where the handheld is placed on a table and displays a top-down view of the game. The evolved penguins can be used across all three modes, rewarding players who play well and often. With a release date of sometime in 2018 for North America and Europe, it looks as though we'll finally get our hands on Penguin Wars' colorful aesthetic.
