As I wrote in a post this past summer, Taito is releasing the Taito LD Game Collection in Japan later this year, including HD remasters of their three animated laserdisc arcade classics Time Gal, Ninja Hayate, and Space Battleship Yamato. It was also noted that the collector’s edition would include a serial code for a bonus game, called Time Gal Reverse. But what is it?

Actually, the kana for this bonus game is タイムギャル リバース, or “Taimu Gyaru Ribaasu,” which auto-translation services (*cough*GoogleTranslate*cough*) have been translating as “Time Gal Reverse.” Based on this title, I presumed this was going to be some sort of alternate re-edit of Time Gal, maybe running in backward order with the scenes flipped or something.

Just this morning, I revisited Taito’s page for the LD Collection product, and noticed that they had a trailer for “Time Gal Reverse,” and it didn’t make much sense to me. There were a bunch of new characters, some new art of Reika, and some original Time Gal footage. Then I saw the title at the end:

Time Gal REBIRTH.

Not REVERSE.

WaitaminutewaitaminutewaitaminuteWHAT?!?!

There’s a big difference between “Reverse” and “Rebirth.”

Upon taking a closer look at Taito’s page, I noticed a news item dated July 10 (my birthday!) discussing Time Gal Rebirth. This bonus game is an adventure game starring that new character, Luna, and depicts events that took place after the original Time Gal. Beyond that, I’m not sure how it plays or ties into the first title, but the screenshots seem to indicate the inclusion of some sort of LD-style interaction (or QTE, as we call it in this post-Shenmue world), incorporating the original game.

I’m incredibly excited to see the return of Time Gal in a new entry; however, with it being a download code, I’m a bit concerned that I won’t be able to get it on my American Switch. Hopefully there’s a workaround — if not, then some licensing company better have a North American release in the pipeline, because I’m not sure I can emotionally handle the existence of a new Time Gal game that I can’t play.

How will this turn out for us English-speaking Time Gal fans? I’ll be sure to report on it!