That’s what makes Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX so fascinating. You see, Monster Rancher makes more sense now than it did then.
Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars, the new game from NieR creator Yoko Taro, is a peculiar little game. It knows what it wants to be! And its aesthetics definitely come first. But if you’re at home in its slower pace and tavern feel, you’ll have a good time.
New games have moved from the obvious to the truly weird. And, perhaps most importantly for this installment, the world has become much more about video calls than house parties. The Jackbox Party Pack 8 is the first one fully developed in these conditions, and its collection of games feels like it wanted to be deeper and more involved to fit in a little better.
Lost Judgment, a follow-up to 2018’s Judgment, returns to detective Takayuki Yagami and his investigations in the shadier sides of Japanese society. And as Judgment becomes something of a franchise of its own separate from Yakuza, it’s increasingly finding its footing and learning its specialties.
WarioWare: Get It Together!, the latest Nintendo release, is the return of a beloved franchise. It’s got a lot of personality! It has some new ideas! But it’s polarizing and a little thin.
We haven’t had this much fun with a card battle RPG since the Pokemon TCG games on the Game Boy Color. If you at all have an affinity for the concept, it’s unlikely that you’re burned out on the idea these days. Give Shadowverse: Champion’s Battle a shot, and it’s unlikely that you’ll be disappointed.
Dodgeball Academia borrows smartly from a lot of old-school greats, but it’s also more than the sum of its parts.
Dark Deity is a small game that understands its limitations. It delivers thought-provoking battles, if not necessarily the most balanced ones. It gives players a lot of tactical choice, if not in the most informed way.
Indie games generally hang their hats on one great idea. Is it a compelling, original narrative? Or an aesthetic that you haven’t seen anywhere else? How about a unique game mechanic around which the rest of the game builds? Any of these can work. Just one of these can lift a small-team title above the indie pack. Chicory: A Colorful Tale has all three.
Pac-Man 99, the new Nintendo Switch Online exclusive, seeks to follow in the footsteps of the battle royale retro games that preceded it. And that’s not unreasonable! A game like this needs classic, addictive action at its core, and Pac-Man is certainly that.
If you missed the DLC in the original release, it’s a nice thing to check out on a return trip. Knives Chau and Wallace Wells both feel like they’re not for newbies, which makes sense. And hey, maybe a new platform will let you coax friends and family into playing your fun game with you?
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 had a leg up from the start of the project. It’s simple: Puyo Puyo Tetris was already very fun. What do you add? What do you change? There are things that can go wrong along the way, but ultimately there’s still Puyo Puyo Tetris in there.
If there’s one thing Harmonix always gets right, it’s the vibe. Whether it’s Rock Band or Dance Central, Super Beat Sports or DropMix, the studio’s games feel distinct and cool from the jump. Fuser, Harmonix’s latest work, is no exception.
Much like Kasuga’s dragonfish tattoo feels like a quirky but faithful successor to Kiryu’s dragon, Yakuza: Like a Dragon rebuilds the franchise by leaving a lot of it in place. The new protagonist doesn’t feel like he has seven games of story in him, but his eagerness to join the fray could carry the next few entries.
It’s hard to imagine someone who would play Carto and have a bad time. It’s that committed to low-stress, just-engaging-enough fun and a world you’ll like traipsing about for a couple of hours.
Never has the world needed Jackbox Games’ library more than it has in 2020. Sure, it’s been fun to play in the same room and through streaming for the past six years! But with so many needing more social interaction with friends and family and only being able to do that remotely, now is a great time for a fresh Jackbox Party Pack.
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is a magical, transformative experience under ideal conditions that works way better than you’d think. When you stray from those conditions even a little, though, it deteriorates rapidly.
So why would you play Kirby Fighters 2 over Super Smash Bros.? It’s small and focused. It’s clearly on the same page with an all-fun play session. Gooey is in it. HAL and Vanpool clearly hope at least one of those will resonate with you. And if all else fails, they hope you like the smoochin’.
So rather than looking at what this collection could have been, it’s easier and simpler to see what’s here and decide if that’s enough for you. If one of these games is an all-time favorite, that even these marginal adjustments make them the best and most convenient versions could make a sale for you. There’s nothing here to “fix” them if you didn’t like them the first time.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition is a gimmick game without the gimmick.