Anyhow, that's an aside. The point here is that Death End re;Quest is an excellent game, with a narrative with a depth that might surprise some players who go in assuming that fan service is the limit of it. And, sure, the Switch port is not the perfect version of the game and struggles to run smoothly at times, but that doesn't stop it from being highly playable, and for Idea Factory, putting this on a handheld platform is a worthwhile endeavour.
Unfortunately, though, I just didn't enjoy my time in Infinite Adventures. The first-person dungeon crawl is a favourite genre of mine, and the Switch already has plenty of those, so for Infinite Adventures to stand out it was going to need to do something special. Sadly, misfires in terms of presentation and the mistaken belief that procedural dungeon layouts are something desirable to the dungeon crawler make this game flawed on every level, from concept right through to execution.
I know I've said this at least a dozen times now, but I do think Shantae deserves better than the platformer genre. She's just too good of a character to waste on a genre that doesn't really do narrative. Give her an RPG or something, WayForward. In the meantime, though, while this might not be the biggest release of the year, it's certainly a worthwhile celebration of one of the most niche - but loved - platformer heroes out there.
I guess the big question we need to answer here is whether they're worth another dip? If you've missed the Mysterious trilogy so far (perhaps you're a newer fan due to Ryza), then absolutely. If you are an Atelier fan, then having Firis and Sophie on the Switch for the first time is a nice deal, and the photo mode and art books, in particular, are a bonus worth playing with. These are all genuine five-star games and that needs to be remembered... though its also worth remembering that these are all JRPGs, with time commitments to match, and we're being inundated with those this year. That's the only possible dampener for what is otherwise an excellent collection of wonderful games.
I've had fun playing this game again. It goes to show the strength of the material that Ravensword is based on that a low-budget, massively stripped-down take on the formula can still be enjoyable. I have fond memories of playing this through on my iPad over my Christmas holiday back in 2012, and there was a rush of nostalgia from doing so again on the Switch.
Livestream is on the cusp of being something really special. It has the right setting, the right concept, the right character designs and the right themes to give players something special. Unfortunately, the execution's a little off, and while the game is a lot of fun, it doesn't say as much as some of the greats in the genre do. It is, ultimately, just an entertaining and fanservicey horror game with some enjoyable puzzles to throw at the player. There's nothing wrong with that, and I must emphasise that this game is hugely entertaining. It's just unfortunate that it's too shallow to be remembered as one of the greats.
The biggest pity is that the developers were so modest in their scope. Perhaps this little experiment is just to test the waters and get some money together for a more ambitious second project. I hope so, because Toree 3D has a lot of potential to be a more full-featured homage to B-tier platformers. As it stands here, though, it's a moment or two of fun. Nothing more, nothing less.
Be sure to give it a look, though. SaGa Frontier is a frivolous and irreverent little JRPG that eschews grand narratives and philosophies to instead focus on a charming sequence of absurd juxtapositions, genuine humour, and playfulness. It's a well-made game, and the effective, challenging and entertaining combat system stands as proof of that. It's just that it's also nothing like most other Square Enix JRPGs, because the developers clearly wanted to deliver something that defied the expectations of the JRPG genre. SaGa Frontier was such a resounding success at that that it has become a "cult classic" and while this will never appeal to the mainstream, hopefully it will find itself a new audience through this remaster.
Even more than Monopoly, The Game of Life is a board game from a bygone era. Once upon a time, the nice, meandering journey through suburban life and expectations thereof that the game depicted was considered a representation of a happy, wholesome life experience, but in 2021 lionising that seems incredibly passe. Sticking a "2" next to the title while not doing much to address this dissonance doesn't paper over the fact that very few people actually want to play The Game of Life these days.
There are moments where Fata Morgana becomes very uncomfortable to witness, and a little like when I played Saya no Uta, I did need to put it down from time to time. This game is nowhere near as explicit or extreme as that one, but thematically it is, if anything, more demanding of the player. It's a little like how the real Grimm brothers fairy tales are deeply uncomfortable to read, though it's certainly not of the extreme, overt violence of a Marquis de Sade novel. If you want to see how a visual novel could be elevated to something approaching "high art," you owe it to yourself to play The House in Fata Morgana. The fact that the Switch release comes with even more stories and features as a "complete" edition just makes it all the more essential.
Clea 2 is a confident step forward for a developer that has an original, interesting idea and set about turning it into something playable. It might lack the intensity of some of the horror games that it resembles, but its quiet moodiness and subtle challenges make it an interesting curiosity for those with a few hours to spare.
You've got to hand it to eastasiasoft for finding and bringing these fun little fanservicey games to the Switch. Delicious! Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire brings the fan service in spades, but it also plays a really good game of Mahjong Solitaire, and while the Switch has plenty of Mahjong Solitare titles already, none of the others have the pin-up aesthetic going for them. For just a couple of dollars, you can't go wrong here.
I genuinely love Balan Wonderworld because it caught me at just the right moment to indulge its whimsy. I don't for a second think it's a great game or platformer, but then I also just don't care. It offers something much more viscerally engaging; raw creative energy, and I would rather a hundred games fall flat like this one has and at least give me something different than play yet another highly refined copy of something I've already played a hundred times. Sometimes, just sometimes, raw creativity is enough in itself.
MazM: The Phantom of the Opera is what I would like to see more of in video games; it's a genuine effort to engage with a more meaningful side of art. It's less pop culture, easy content as it is an adaptation of a masterpiece of the gothic literature genre. The developer succeeded in capturing the aesthetics and generally representing the story, but there have been some big compromises made to hammer this nail into place, and the gamey elements and technical proficiency are just not there. Not for the Switch version, at any rate. As a Phantom of the Opera fan, I do highly recommend like-minded fans check this out, as it is a curiosity, but if you're going into this looking for a game... you'd be better off picking up a copy of the film adaptation of the musical.
Black Legend is not completely without merit, but it's a game that had better ideas than execution. The big, unique gameplay mechanic that dominates its combat system is also responsible for making each battle far too long, and while the game's atmosphere is excellent, the art direction is uninteresting and there isn't nearly enough of a narrative to actually make something of the setting. There are a lot of excellent tactics games being produced these days, and I fear that the developers of Black Legend won't even be able to use patches to bring it up to the standard of the least of their competitors. The flaws are simply too ingrained into the core experience.
Spacebase Startopia is not completely without merit, but it does lack in charm and depth, and simulators need one or the other (and preferably both) else they're in big trouble. With that being said there is a very specific audience for this game; it works as a competitive simulator where you learn the perfect order for doing things and then execute on that to cruise through to easy victories. In almost any other context, however, Spacebase Startopia lacks the creative whimsy and data-driven depth that we usually expect from a great simulator.
Either way, I’m settling on the score that I have because I can’t reward work that is this derivative. But despite the score I find this one an easy recommendation for certain players out there. Kaze is a genuinely well-made game and if you like Donkey Kong Country you’re going to like this one, if for no other reason than it’s something of a greatest hits of the best Donkey Kong Country levels. If we see a Kaze 2 (and I hope we will), and the developers show us a little of their own creative ideas in there, then we’ll be looking at some really high scores indeed.
It might be aesthetically different – completely different, in fact - but the ideas, storytelling tradition, and sense of wonder and awe at the natural world all translate across. In many ways, Monster Hunter Rise represents the purest execution of that idea, and from my perspective that makes it the best game in the series to date.
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is wholesome. It's a little naive in the way it presents the "grass is always greener on the other side" perspective on country living, but this series has been kicking around since the Super Nintendo and always gets away with it, on account of being so sweet and good-natured that it's impossible not to love.
Root Film tells a wonderfully winding, thrilling mystery in a true Edogawa Ranpo style, but what's more important is that Root Film is a gorgeous visualisation of an often-ignored but deeply valuable part of Japan. If you walk away from this game with a deep desire to see Shimane for yourself, then you've played it the right way.