Connor Nichols's Reviews
Momodoria is an excellent Metroidvania, and an adventure with a lot of charm that’s definitely worth owning on the Switch. Each area is just long enough to not overstay its welcome, and I was absolutely hooked throughout my four hour adventure as I grew motivated to 100% this game, and that was all just on one playthrough!
Hive Jump is a decent roguelike with a great Arcade Mode, a good upgrade system, and enjoyable co-op, but with a very tough barrier of entry. While the other modes can be enjoyed once you get the hang of things in Arcade mode, this game is still one that requires a lot of grinding just to get the basic upgrades in order to survive.
Spheroids is a platformer that has an interesting idea, but blending two types of games together just doesn’t work well here, since the blend barely feels like a mix and rather just two formats stacked on top of each other. From boring level design, mildly interesting gimmicks and annoying music, this was a game that I ended up quitting out of sheer boredom alone, something that doesn’t really happen often, unfortunately.
RocketsRocketsRockets aims to be a budget multiplayer game, and it clearly shows, for better or for worse. While the main game mode it has on offer is incredibly solid, and did provide some enjoyment for a friend and I, it really didn’t last that long due to the limited amount of stages and modes.
Fill-a-Pix just didn’t cut it for me. While it’s nice to have a different change of pace from Lightwood after a lot of Word Search and Picross games in recent years, Fill-a-Pix reminds me a bit of the dreaded Nikoli puzzle game Slitherlink, in that it’s so damn complicated even with all the tutorials and such that it’s a bore to actually solve.
Night Slashers is yet another Arcade rerelease with barely any effort into making customization options available. The core game itself works fine and is an average belt scroller, but considering the audio emulation issues and the blur filter that’s still on these games, this release could have been handled a lot better, especially considering how this is actually the very first time the game has gotten a home release!
Heavy Burger is a fantastic multiplayer game, taking the frantic nature of a twin stick shooter and making it into an ultimate tug of war. During the time spent with a pair of friends, we had an incredible time together, although the fun didn’t really last for that long. While this game is incredibly fun and has a stellar formula, the game itself is very light on content considering the $20 pricetag.
Monkey King is by far the most barebones retro game port I have seen on the Switch next to D/Generation. Save for handy online leaderboards and the option to increase your lives, there’s little else of importance to speak of, from a locked border, a great (but also locked) display option, no DIP switch or difficulty changes, or really anything extra that could have made this port more worth it such as a gallery or new levels, this is a really disappointing release with quite a bit of balance issues.
Nitro Ball is easily the most obscure of the current lineup, but that doesn’t mean that the game is bad, since it’s an insane amount of fun especially in local co-op. With a huge focus on high score chasing, this is a game worth checking out for certain if high score chasing and co-op is for you.
Shoot Out is another decent entry in the Johnny Turbo Arcade line, and while it is a much better hi-score chaser than Two Crude, it unfortunately suffers from dated gameplay, iffy visibility and the continued lack of DIP Switch options.
Express Raider is a short yet addictive Arcade experience. Fully focused on chasing hi-scores, this game is absolutely perfect for handheld sessions and getting the best score, although the lack of online leaderboards are a huge bummer, as this game suffers the most out of the entire lineup from the lack of them. Using the save state feature to save your high-scores is handy, and while there wasn’t much DIP Switch options to change in the original to begin with, it is unfortunate they’re still unavailable as per usual in this lineup.
Two Crude is a pretty average brawler. Not a bad one by any means, since the stages are fun and throwing signs, tanks and enemies is pretty cool, but the novelty wears off quickly once you beat the game, and playing in co-op is really the only way you’ll may be able to get more enjoyment out of it.
Wizard Fire is standard fare for the Johnny Turbo Arcade line, continuing the exact same traditions of not allowing for DIP Switch changes and button controls, while the game itself manages to be a fairly run of the mill sequel to Gate of Doom. While the voice acting is impressive for the time and by far the most memorable part of the game, the gameplay experience itself isn’t really anything to write home about.
Still, this port isn’t flawless, and there are still dips and even resolution downgrades from time to time, but overall, this port is an excellent second-place to the PS4 version of the game, and Switch owners are in for the best action RPG experience out of the entire Nintendo Switch library to date.
Overall, a pretty solid rerelease, but like with prior JTA games, the addition of dip switch options would have made this a lot better
Super Burgertime is a good serving of Arcade hi-score chasing goodness. Not letting your score stay intact when using continues, focusing on simplistic yet addictive strategies and overall just being a fun entry in the Burgertime series certainly makes this rare home port of the obscure sequel all the more worth a purchase.
I think in the end it comes down from how Venture Kid just focuses on providing a fun time to the player, rather than thinking of a billion ways to throw cheap hazards at them or worrying about copying the limitations of the NES and having the game suffer because of it.
The only big, big thing this game is lacking is an in-game timer and local leaderboards to encourage speedrunning, as I feel that could help this game’s replay value just a bit more. Nevertheless, if you’re into metroidvanias and don’t mind the simplistic gameplay, this is a must-buy.
Sly Spy is a decent entry in the Johnny Turbo Arcade lineup, bringing a decent action game to home systems in a more cost-efficient method than the out of print Data East Wii disc. Like Gate of Doom, you won’t be able to adjust any of the DIP Switch settings, which means you can’t make the game easier or harder, rather annoyingly.
I can safely say that this Johnny Turbo Arcade port is very solid, and brings the game home for what appears to be the first time ever! It may not have the online features of the Arcade Archives series, and the features of the emulator could use a bit of work for future installments, the core game is still a lot of fun with friends, even if it’s standard as far as arcade games go.