BAD - Haven introduces some nice ideas but fails to capture its core audience: people who are actually in relationships. If it can’t do that, I’m not really sure who this game is for.
MEDIOCRE - This is not the anime game that you’re looking for. You might be tempted to play it just to fight as your favorite manga hero, but chances are you’ll just ultimately end up as disappointed as I was. With performance issues, lack of quality audio visual presentation, and a bunch of grinding to unlock characters, this fighting game leaves much to be desired.
WORTH CONSIDERING - One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 lets you live out your wildest One Piece fever dream of crushing enemies as God Usopp, but the action grows stale after short time and after awhile you realize you’d much rather just be watching the anime again for the third time.
WORTH CONSIDERING - Fans of Tokyo RPG Factory’s previous games will no doubt pick this one up, but what they play will probably not be what they were expecting. Too much needless grinding and pacing keep Oninaki from reaching the greatness it could have been, despite its wonderful art direction and touching story.
WORTH CONSIDERING - YIIK tries many new things to reinvent the JRPG genre only to fall flat. It’s a shame because there is a potentially good game buried under the pretentious main character, Alex. The music is great though!
WORTH CONSIDERING - The Last Remnant Remastered is available now for the Nintendo Switch. It’s not a particularly good game but there are a few good ideas throughout, albeit far and few between. With so many other great JRPGs available on the Switch it’s hard to justify why anyone would want this game over any others.
WORTH CONSIDERING - Legend of Mana is a confusing and, at times, clunky mess of a game that is carried by its beautiful visuals and a stellar soundtrack.
WORTH CONSIDERING - Senran Kagura Peach Ball is a fun experience for fans of sexy anime girls and flashy arcade pinball games but don’t expect it to last for too long. Come for the pinball, stay for the dress up.
WORTH CONSIDERING - There are a few times where Observer shines when you relinquish your mind to its sensory overload. The gameplay can be painfully slow and the story really takes its time to get going. If you’re into Blade Runner it will whet your appetite for a cyberpunk world, but it won’t spark any deep conversations or existential crises you’ve come to associate with the genre.
GOOD - Sludge Life is a short but charming visual recreation of what the ‘90s might have looked like if you were consistently on hallucinogenic drugs and into graffiti. If you like either of those things then this might be the game for you.
GOOD - Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythmic Adventure Pack is a decent game for hardcore fans of the beloved Japanese drum rhythm game but I find it hard to recommend it to anyone outside of that core audience. If you’re looking for more variety and a much bigger song list, check out Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun, which is more of a greatest hits of the franchise.
GOOD - Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a (lazy) collection of some of Mario’s best 3D ventures and some of the best video games ever made. Is it an obvious cash grab? Yes. Will you buy it? Probably.
GOOD - I’ve had a lot of fun with Pokémon Sword exploring the Wild Area and catching fully evolved Pokémon wandering around there. There are plenty of issues and it’s far from perfect. Despite that it’s still enjoyable to jump back into the wonderful world of Pokémon with Arcanine by my side.
GOOD - It’s not going to wow anyone with its visuals or music, but The Alliance Alive HD Remastered a solid entry in the JRPG genre, further adding to the Nintendo Switch stellar library of games. Try it out if you’ve got nothing else to play this month, but with huge AAA games like Dragon Quest XI S and Zelda: Link’s Awakening arguably offering better experiences it’s hard to recommend this one over them as your first choice.
GOOD - Crypto-137 is back and he’s just as pissed off at humanity as ever. The game is a blast to play, but this might be the worst looking version of the game available, especially when docked on the TV. It does look good in handheld though!
GOOD - Suda51’s original vision is on full display here in No More Heroes. The Switch port is now the best way to play the classic title from the Wii era. It’s not for everyone but fans of superheroes and anime will undoubtedly find joy here.
GOOD - If you’re a fan of the legendary animated series then you’ll no doubt find enjoyment here cutting up Aku’s robotic army as Samurai Jack. Just don’t expect much more than that out of this title.
GOOD - Carrion is a fun reverse-horror game that could have been much better than it is with a few simple fixes, but what we got is still pretty good. Stalking humans and slithering around feels as great as it sounds.
GOOD - This might be the best monster battling game on the Switch, at least for a few more weeks. If you absolutely can’t wait until the new Pokémon games release it’s worth it to hangout in the Digital World for a little while and spend some time with some digital critters on the DigiFarm.
GOOD - Liberating Paris from the Nazis is a lot of fun, and even more so with a friend. If you like the rebooted Wolfenstein games then you’re bound to love this one too. C’mon, it’s killing Nazis.