30 years later, Namco's weirdest racing game is finally coming to consoles

3 hours ago 3

Published Jul 22, 2026, 10:16 AM EDT

Prepare to experience the epic highs and lows of Armadillo Racing

Low-poly armadillos racing across a bridge

Arcade Archives developer Hamster Corporation has announced the latest arcade oddity it is bringing to modern hardware: Armadillo Racing. Bandai Namco released the game in 1997, and it has never seen a home release until now. As the name suggests, the game is about racing armadillos.

In a news release announcing the latest addition to the Arcade Archives series, Ryoichi Kaku, lead at Bandai Namco Research Institute, said the re-release is deeply meaningful to him, "as a member of the original arcade game's development team and as someone who has been involved in bringing it back." The original arcade version of Armadillo Racing used a trackball. The Arcade Archives release makes the game playable on a standard controller; but players can connect a USB trackball to recreate the intended experience.

If you need more details on the type of game Armadillo Racing is, here's how Hamster Corporation describes the gameplay:

Control an armadillo that rolls as it picks up speed, and head for the finish line through obstacle courses filled with unique events, or sprint courses designed for pure racing enjoyment. Finish in 1st place and you can enjoy a fun bonus game, too!

I honestly couldn't ask for more. Armadillo Racing truly is peak gaming. To date, Hamster Corporation has released eight titles (counting Armadillo Racing) that originally ran on Namco's System 22 and Super 22 arcade boards. Previous releases have included Ridge Racer. Hamster Corporation has also managed to bring Namco titles from other arcade systems to modern consoles, including the original arcade version of Tekken.

Armadillo Racing will be available to purchase starting tomorrow, July 23, as an Arcade Archives release on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 for $14.99, as well as an Arcade Archives 2 release on Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S for $16.99. Players who buy the Arcade Archives version can upgrade to the Arcade Archives 2 version at a discounted price of $2.99.

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