Gley Lancer remake “Gley Lancer: Overdrive” announced for modern platforms and Neo-Geo

If you tell me in the comments section that you saw this coming, you’re lying. QUIT LYING!!

The classic, once-Japanese exclusive Genesis/Mega-Drive shooter Advanced Busterhawk Gley Lancer (1992) is getting a remake for, of all systems, the Neo-Geo, fully licensed by Gley Lancer’s current rights holder Extreme. The game is a reimagining of the 16-bit classic adapted for both the Neo-Geo AES home console and the Neo-Geo MVS arcade hardware. This same remake will also launch on modern consoles and on PC via Steam. News of this comes from Gematsu.

Sounds like a blast, doesn’t it? Have a look past the break to find out more.

The remake comes to us from Nalua Studio, a developer that specializes in new Neo-Geo games. They’d already made waves with their new, original beat-em-up title Vengeance Hunters, on Neo-Geo and modern platforms, and another Neo-Geo from them, Necro Pop, is also on the way soon. Employed with them are pixel artists who worked on games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, Ninja Gaiden Ragebound, and Lords of Exile, and they will be making all new pixel graphics for this new version of Gley Lancer. The original music will also be completely redone for the Neo-Geo’s own audio hardware.

Just like in the original Genesis game, it stars Lucia Cabbrock, a 16-year old fighter pilot who commandeers the prototype “Gley Lancer” jet to rescue her father from behind enemy territory in an interstellar war against aliens set in 2025 (Oh…). The Gley Lancer can be outfitted with multiple types of different weapons that can orbit around the ship in different ways and fire in whichever direction you need them to. Unique to this new version of the game is the “Overdrive” system, which sets up a temporary defensive barrier around you and then fires off in any direction as an offensive shot. Enemies destroyed by the Overdrive shot release cores that build up your score multiplier, making for a new risk vs. reward strategy score chasers are sure to love.

Other new features for the game include:

• Neo Geo Reimagining – A ground-up reimagining of Advanced Busterhawk Gley Lancer, built natively for Neo Geo AES and MVS.
• 11 Re-imagined Stages – Completely redrawn stages featuring new pixel art, music, dynamic environments and spectacular events.
• Overdrive – A new offensive and defensive mechanic driving the game’s risk / reward scoring system.
• Movers and Gunners – Customize your ship with multiple weapon types and behaviors.
• New Modes – Score Attack, Boss Rush, Speedrunner, 1CC, Gunner Mode, Core Pickup Run and more, plus Bullet Hell on modern platforms.
• Modern Enhancements – 16:9 widescreen, optional 4:3 Neo Geo presentation, CRT filters, haptic feedback, mouse aiming and Steam Deck support.

Gley Lancer: Overdrive does not yet have a release date, but will launch eventually on Nintendo Switch 1/2, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series consoles, and Steam. Neo-Geo AES and MVS versions will also be available, presumably on cartridges just like Nalua Studio’s earlier game Vengeance Hunters, but details on this have not yet been revealed either. When more news comes out on the game, you’ll hear about it from us.

The original Mega-Drive version of Gley Lancer is also available currently on modern consoles from Ratalaika Games by itself or bundled with another classic Masaya Games Mega-Drive shooter: Gynoug. You may recall Retro-Bit made an official Collector’s Cartridge of Gley Lancer in 2022.

Were you a fan of Gley Lancer on Mega-Drive? Do you think this remake looks good? Would you actually buy it for Neo-Geo hardware, if you have any? Let us know in the comments below and believe in your power.