It is difficult to recommend Sisters Royale: Five Sisters Under Fire, especially when the Switch has many solid bullet-hell shooters. The level design feels basic, and the combat isn't exciting. Even if you take the terrible cut scenes into account, the game is woefully short for something without an arcade origin. This may still be enjoyable for bullet-hell shooter fans, but most people won't be missing out if they pass on this.
Split archives aside, your love of Namco Museum Archives Volume 1 will be dependent on how much you love the NES and how you feel about this mix. Half of these games are better represented by their arcade versions, and depending on your platform of choice, you may already have access to them via the older Namco Museum compilations. However, NES originals like Splatterhouse and Dragon Spirit are as excellent today as they were decades ago, while the demake of Pac-Man Championship Edition simply has to be seen to be believed. For the investment price of $19.99, retro fans will like this title quite a bit.
Compared to the first volume, Namco Museum Archives Volume 2 feels like a better package of games all around. While there are still a large number of arcade-to-NES ports here, the genre variety is much broader, and fewer games have made appearances on previous compilations. There are still a few clunkers here, but most of the titles are solid, and while nothing is as sought-after as Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti was, there's still a good collection here. For the retro fans, this is worth checking out for $19.99.
Galaxy Warfighter is a better game if you're on iOS or Android. It wouldn't necessarily make it a masterpiece, but it is a more tolerable experience on devices that are made for your pocket. On the PC, however, the litany of issues plaguing the game design are too much to make this worthwhile when the platform has a near-limitless supply of better titles in the genre. Unless you really need Steam Achievements, pass on this one.
Brotherhood United is a game that you might want to play if you've run out of other run-and-gun shooters. The shooting may have been fine if the modern mechanics weren't thrown in, but the multitude of annoyances, from the bad pixel graphics to low customization and inability to easily convey vital stats to the player, combine to make for a terrible overall experience. Considering the vast library at your disposal, Brotherhood United is an easy pass.
The best compliment that we can give to Shinsekai: Into The Depths is that it feels like a well-done indie game. Exploration is the game's big hook, since the environments, secrets, and floaty movement encourage looking around, while combat works most of the time but isn't the main focus of the experience. There's a good balance between exploring at your leisure, maintaining your stats for survival, the boss fights, and the dwindling resources in the late game. Although the extras aren't enough to entice Apple Arcade subscribers to double-dip, everyone else will enjoy this adventure from beginning to end.
Disintegration is a game of would-have-beens.
Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse-Bouche is a brief yet amusing shooter. The silliness works well, and the varied weapons make you rethink every attack to keep shooter fans on their toes. The shooting is fun for those not normally skilled in either traditional or bullet-hell variants of the genre, but it really takes some effort to not complete the game in one sitting. This isn't a fantastic game in the genre, but it's worth owning if you're down for short and satisfying side-scrolling shooter jaunts.
Nintendo-only owners can see what all of the fuss is about
BE-A Walker: Battle for Eldorado is needlessly cruel. The number of things you have to monitor due to the fragility of your craft, combined with the ridiculous cooldown times, make for one of the most off-putting opening levels a game can have. If you're able to power through, the rest of the game is monotonous, even if you get lucky enough to grab enough funds to mitigate the constantly depleting meters. Combined with a lackluster story and absent fun factor, it'll take someone who really enjoys masochism to power through to the end of the game. With the multitude of better shooters on the system, it's easy to skip this one.
While not exactly a top-tier experience, it is recommended if you've gone through the slew of twin-stick heavy hitters the system already has on offer.
Super Mega Space Blaster Special Turbo is a surprisingly good game. The title is designed to be difficult and played in short bursts, but along with the challenges and unlockables, it has addictive qualities that beg for just one more round to be played. The versus modes are nice, but the co-op option in every mode makes this attractive for a system that's seemingly designed for two players. While by no means a presentation powerhouse, the gameplay in SMSBST is solid enough to be worth a look, especially at its normal low price of $4.99.
If you can live with the issues, you'll find Maneater to be a ridiculously good time. The aforementioned issues are a shame, but the distinct nature of being a shark and the ability to deliver mayhem in a different way. It'll remind players of what was so appealing about open-world games in the first place. Thanks to Maneater's relatively short completion time compared to other open-world titles, it's well worth checking out.
Kunai is a solid game. The genre formula sticks to the blueprint well enough to not mess it up. The game is of a decent length, and it has the right amount of difficulty most of the time, but the kunai movement sells you on what makes the game enjoyable. For genre fans, this is well worth checking out.
Like its predecessor, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix is astounding.
One Finger Death Punch 2 is the kind of game that fits the Switch so well. The game is easy to pick up for brief bouts of guaranteed fun due to the simple controls and pitch-perfect action. The amount of modes and levels gives a player a ton to work with, even before taking online leaderboards into account. There's little to complain about here, so the title should be in your collection unless you're averse to fast action titles.
If R.B.I. Baseball 20 were the only baseball title on the Switch, then it would be considered serviceable yet underwhelming.
The most difficult thing about Street Outlaws: The List is trying to find a reason to play it. Depending on the event, the controls range from serviceable to terrible, with a physics system that doesn't make sense. The lack of real challenge is offset by the overall length of the game, which seems far too long for what's being offered. Between the underwhelming presentation, a clunky but bare-bones menu, and lack of gameplay variety, even superfans of the show will find it tough to stick with this game for a significant amount of time.
Despite all of its flaws, Earthfall: Alien Horde is the only shooter of its type on the Switch.
Overall, Double Dragon and Kunio-Kun: Retro Brawler Bundle is a very good compilation. The games are classics, with enough oddball gems to intrigue anyone looking for the oddities in the Famicom lineup. A majority of the games here are translated Japanese titles, so much of this content will be new to most players. The upgrades in quality mean that you're ultimately getting a better version compared to a straight rom dump. These are still difficult games, and the lack of extras feels like a missed opportunity, but this is a great title to add to any retro fan's library.