Magical Speed is this week’s Arcade Archives game on Switch

Hamster has announced that it will make Magical Speed available as its latest Arcade Archives game on Switch. It’s due out on February 9, 2023.

Magical Speed is notable as this will be the first Arcade Archives game that was originally made by Allumer. In fact, Hamster now has the rights to all titles made by Allumer, which became defunct in 1999. Hamster says it will offer other titles from the company through its Arcade Archives lineup in the future.

As for Magical Speed, it’s a speed-themed card that originally appeared in 1994. Here’s some additional information, courtesy of Moby Games:

Two magic students, Nicole and Claire, find a book that describes a magic card that grants any wish to the person who finds it. They immediately set out on a journey across Plumland to find it – but to get there, they’ll have to win games of cards against anyone they encounter. Magical Speed is a fantasy video game adaptation of the playing card game Speed, with the goal being to be the first person to empty your deck of cards. Two cards are dealt face-up in the centre of the table, and the rest of the deck (including jokers) is split and given to each player; players have a hand of four cards, face-up in front of them. Players can play one of their cards over one of the two cards in the centre of the table if it’s numerically one higher or lower than it. Players don’t take turns, so reaction time is important; players need to be able to play a card the instant they’re able. If neither player has a card that can be played over one of the cards in the centre, the top card of each player’s deck is turned over to replace the cards in the centre of the table and play continues. Each round has a 60-second timer, and whichever player has fewer cards left at the end of a round wins.

Source: Hamster PR