Digimon World Next Order feels and plays fantastically on the Nintendo Switch. But unfortunately, it relies on you being familiar with its established gameplay mechanics, which can be daunting for newcomers. Despite the newly added Beginner Mode and Dash features, I feel like this iteration of the digital world is targeted toward longtime fans or new ones who have a lot of time to learn its many nuances. Still, the portability of the Switch makes this perfect for western gamers raising Digimon on the go.
Kirby’s Dreamland Deluxe was already a charming title back on the Wii, but this updated release allows old fans a chance to return to Dreamland to discover updated features and new players an opportunity to play a standout entry in this series. This release presents many improvements and additional content creating a memorable experience for all who play, even if it isn’t as genre-defining as Forgotten Land.
The Crimson Flower that Divides: Lunar Coupling is an interesting otome game that I would praise for its more mature plot, but it shows signs of having aged considerably from its original 2012 release. The issue with story branches happening inside other routes made the experience confusing due to the lack of a flowchart. Further, when it came to specific love interests, the chapter names made navigating the routes a chore. A bit more quality assurance would have also gone a long way to remedy some of the typos.
I had an excellent experience with The Symbiant, but my biggest gripe has got to be just how relatively short it is to go through it all. Nonetheless, I laughed a lot at the interactions with Brahve and Danya, perhaps even more than I should. The adult patch is not for the faint-hearted, but if you’re willing to be “brave” (pun intended), then maybe this short experience is just what you need.
ATONE: Heart of the Elder Tree is a title that has the definition of “jack-of-all-trades, master of none.” It does a lot of things, but it doesn’t stick the landing most of the time. The story is very short, and while the soundtracks are good, I wasn’t a huge fan of the rhythm portions, especially because of their severe disconnection to the main tale.
Sailing Era is a beautiful game where the developers put a lot of thought into its presentation and historical enactment. Still, unfortunately, this title is constantly held back due to its frustrating gameplay loop, combined with a highly awkward machine translation. Unless you have a walkthrough on hand or have an immense amount of patience to fight your way through sheer trial and error, by the twelfth time you reset your save, you probably would’ve wanted to set aside time and play something else at that point.
Melatonin feels like a gorgeous love letter to long-time fans of the Rhythm Heaven series. Despite it being rather brief, the fact that every rhythm game has its own Hard Mode with a more challenging set, alongside the ability to create your own beatmaps, checks all of the boxes. If you’re looking to chill out and unwind from the sensory overload that some of its contemporaries have, Melatonin’s pastel colors beautifully represent relatable daily life and manage to form a great relaxing package that truly deserves noteworthy attention.
Lover Pretend is not a bad otome game, but it certainly isn’t without its faults. While the plot is full of cheesy moments, none of them were memorable. If you’re tired of overly serious stories this is a breath of fresh air with a more light-hearted romance. Unfortunately, it failed to subvert my expectations, even if I can’t “pretend” that they were perhaps too high to begin with.
Slow Damage is a game that I would absolutely not recommend for the faint of heart or if you’re not a fan of extreme violence and blood. Still, I can definitely see just how it shines as one of Nitro Plus’ best visual novels in the BL genre, even as someone who isn’t very familiar with it. The great translation combined with a story that packs a solid thematic punch and, quite frankly, a shockingly good soundtrack all made the wait totally worth it, even though I had my gripes with the typography and UI. I truly cannot truly describe the “feeling” I had when playing it, but if I had to pick two words for it, I would say it was “truly euphoric.”
Ace Angler: Fishing Spirits has a charming and cute appearance to it, and it can provide some decent time-killing, but it feels so much out of water outside its home country, honestly feeling more like a companion title for those who already were fans of the arcade game and wanted to try out the experience from the comfort of their home.
While Paradigm Paradox doesn’t stick the landing when it comes to setting up its premise, once you’ve gotten deep enough in its tale, you’ll start to appreciate and create a sense of fondness for each character. Even though the individual routes sometimes had some somewhat unfavorable endings, in my opinion, not to mention the countless editing mishaps, I enjoyed and even laughed at the interactions between the love interests. All of the different points of view were amusedly worded.
Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival is a great game, and I would argue that this is the best entry point for beginners to the Taiko games. Perhaps the only thing that prevents it from being a perfect title for everyone is the lack of a diverse minigame selection and the fact that you’re almost required to sign your soul in a subscription model to expand your playtime. Still, otherwise, it has a solid music selection with online support, making it a respectable and formidable package for both new and old fans of the series.
Piofiore: Episodio 1926 is much more than just a simple fandisc, packing a profound story that can be treated as a full-blown sequel. It successfully establishes a sense of continuity from the ending of its predecessor. Still, this means it’s hard or even impossible to enjoy without playing 1925. Regardless, I hold it in high regard and would recommend it if you’re in the mood for a story that manages to be heavy but also lovely in equal proportion.
Amnesia: Memories is a decent otome, with plenty of its usual heart-throbbing twists and turns, but unfortunately, its user experience ages like a rotten apple on the Switch. I can’t count how often I became frustrated rather than fascinated by the love interests. Still, there’s a lot to be said about the insanity of the routes that motivated me to uncover this unforgettable mystery.
Amnesia: Later x Crowd is simply an outstanding package for its price, offering a great selection of stories to enjoy, especially compared to its predecessor. I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this double feature, but the titles complement each other so well, and I would definitely recommend it to any fans who want to spend more time with this endearing cast.
While Tower of Fantasy is a compelling title, having some great original ideas of its own, it ultimately fails to distance itself from its main competitor in both a meaningful and impactful way. If what you’re looking for is an MMORPG and a setback from Genshin Impact‘s fantasy-style story, the cyberpunk accent on the design and post-apocalyptic story are some of its stronger points. However, from the constant localization mishaps to the design feeling like a copycat, I was constantly left with the urge to just drop the game and play something else, as it had failed to keep me engaged for more than a couple of minutes every time.
The rather short total play time might be a downer for certain players, and the grinding being almost required might get annoying, but in essence, this remake of Live A Live felt like a qualitative title that had so much love and time put into it, to make this JRPG masterpiece from the Super Famicom now available to a broader audience, and this time, outside its home country. It’s not perfect, of course, but it does so much, so right.
Compared to other Japanese-themed visual novels I’ve played, Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei didn’t impress me as much. The story did manage to find a middle ground with its visuals and cutscenes. but I left yearning for more character development, which is something its contemporaries in the genre are generally known for. However, if you’re the type that prefers a more bittersweet fantasy-style story, you might be able to look past its imperfections and see it as not an otome game, but a very-well made visual novel.
Touken Ranbu Warriors manages to blend the josei-muke and Musou genres nicely, though the whole “easy mode controls” were a tad overhyped if anything. Plus, the story might feel a bit limiting due to the strict stay in the Sengoku period. Still, the balance between fun interactions with the Touken Danshi combined with the easy-to-understand Musou combat all adds up to a really nice experience, if you were looking to immerse yourself into this Sengoku Period history from an interesting perspective. If you’re a Japanese history nerd who also enjoys Musou games that definitely have you think outside the box, definitely give this one a try!
CrimeSight is a great social deduction game, and one that has surprised me quite a bit with just how high-quality it is. The sounds, the visuals, and the game design all mesh together into a thrilling social deduction game that you can play together with a couple of friends. It offers just the right mix of advantages and disadvantages between each of the three roles: Sherlock knows nothing but can move a lot, Moriarty knows everything but can’t do a lot, and Irene…well, she’s basically the assistant for Moriarty. If you were wanting a change of pace and wanted to play this with your friends, I can certainly recommend it for a game night.