Hamster, Bandai Namco At a time when all the news in the gaming sphere appears to be dim or dire, I’m enormously grateful for the good people at Hamster. They’ve been porting classic arcade games, some of which never received home releases, to modern consoles for many years, and in 2025, they crossed a milestone with the release of the original arcade version of Ridge Racer. Later on we got Rave Racer and Ace Driver, which never launched on consoles in any capacity, and now, we’ll have the chance to enjoy one of Namco’s two-wheeled racers from the era, Cyber Cycles, in the comfort of our living rooms. I will admit I’ve never played Cyber Cycles before. It’s not a game I recall seeing often in arcades, and it’s an especially rare find now. The fact that it’s one of those motorcycle racers with a bike you actually get on and lean probably makes it a bit harder to service and keep running than, say, a Ridge Racer or Daytona cab. But, like Rave Racer, it, too, was never released for consoles, and that makes Arcade Archives’ resurrection of it special. Cyber Cycles is a futuristic motorcycle racer that offers three unique bikes (initially) and two tracks. The bikes each behave very differently: The Wild Hog is a cruiser-type ride that drifts through corners, the NVR750R is a contemporary superbike of the era that grips and leans more traditionally through corners, and the Anthias is a futuristic machine that trades top speed for the sharpest handling. There are also secret bikes that seem to be tied to rather arcane unlock conditions, but fortunately, Hamster always does a good job of explaining how to access hidden content in these AA releases. One of them is apparently a penguin riding a scooter, which might make this the greatest racing game of all time. The two courses are very different. Green Hill is a short, closes loop that looks a bit like the eastern portion of Suzuka, with its progressively tightening esses and broad first corner. The other track, Neo Yokohama, is a lot longer, more complex, and stylistically on the other end of the spectrum, set in a city with towering skyscrapers at night. It’s very Blade Runner. Four-player split-screen is included in this release, but unfortunately, network multiplayer is not an option. Hamster, Bandai Namco Will most people care that a 31-year-old arcade racing game with a couple of bikes and exactly two tracks will soon be playable on modern hardware? Definitely not, but for those who appreciate this era of trailblazing, 3D polygonal arcade racing games, Cyber Cycles’ home release is an important milestone. Rave already was a big deal and, personally, my sights are set on Dirt Dash for Hamster to bring home next. It’s basically a mashup of Ridge Racer and Sega Rally, set on a massive, multi-terrain course you can start on from various points, with wildly different vehicle types. And, like the game we’re talking about today, it also never got the PlayStation port it deserved.
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