At the end of the day, Phantom Breaker: Omnia is a good anime fighter. There are plenty of unique characters to choose from, and even a few special guests from other MAGES titles. I wasn’t really impressed with some of choices made with the subtitles, but this is a minor complaint that doesn’t really take much away from this one. Combat here is simple to pick up and play with enough depth to keep you interested for hours to come. There are plenty of modes to mess around with offline, as well as some online modes to take on your friends. If you’re a fan of anime style fighters, at the $39.99 price tag, you should probably give this one a go. I feel like there is enough meat here to keep you entertained for hours. If you are new to fighting games, this may be a good title to start with, since it isn’t overly complicated to play, but it is a lot of fun.
Overall, while I felt Martha is Dead was a decent experience, I don’t think it’s for everyone. There are a lot of disturbing themes and images in this one that would certainly turn off some players. While the team did a great job crafting this world and the sound design is top notch, some of the gameplay elements need a bit more polish. That being said, this is still a unique experience that fans of these types of games would likely really enjoy.
SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters’ Clash is an average card battler. It is really easy to pick up and play with a little depth, but I feel like some of the mechanics here hold it back a bit. At the $7.99 price tag, I feel like it is a good deal for those looking for something to just pick up and play on the go. I played right around eight hours and there were still plenty of cards left for me to hunt down on this one. I feel like fans of card battlers will have some fun here, even with the flaws. Hardcore SNK and Capcom fans will likely want to snag this one up as well. If for nothing else than to see the pixel art of their favorite characters battle it out.
While G-Darius HD is mostly just an arcade title with some upgraded visuals, that’s not really a bad thing. This is still one of the best made shmups to ever grace any platform. This port does add things you would expect like leaderboards, video options and a quick save feature. I think for the $29.99 asking price they could’ve added a bit more to this, but I wouldn’t really call it lacking in features either. If you are a big Darius fan, you should probably jump on this soon. You’ll be really pleased with how well handled one of your favorite titles was. If you just have a passing interest in these games, you may want to wait on a sale to dive in.
Touhou Hyouibana ～ Antinomy of Common Flowers is a pretty decent fighting game. It’s fast, fun, easy to play, but has some meat for advanced players as well. I think the online community not being there hurts the replay value of this one a bit, but if you have some local friends you can duke it out with, you should have a great time. Touhou fans should be all over this one, but the $34.99 price tag is a bit much for what you’re getting here, but if you can snag this one up during a sale, I think most people would be satisfied with the quality.
I have to say, Onee Chanbara Origin is a solid series entry. The new art style looks great, the music is fantastic and the gameplay is really fun. The problem here is I feel like the pricing on this one is a bit much. The base price of $59.99 for a six hour story mode is steep. Also, there are no unlockable costumes in the game. Those have to all be purchased as DLC. They do offer a Deluxe Edition for $74.99 that includes all the DLC costumes and missions. This is a much better deal than just buying the base game since there is quite a bit of DLC content, but I’m not a big fan of this pricing structure. The PC port has some issues as well, but I do feel like most of these will be taken care of with patches down the line. If you’re a fan of the franchise, you will probably want to jump on this one ASAP. You’ll find a lot to love here, and since it’s been a while since you got to cut up some zombies with the girls, you’ll be more than satisfied. Everyone else may want to wait a bit for them to line out some of the bugs or a sale before diving in.
While I think I liked Samurai Shodown 2 a bit less than the other two Neo Geo Pocket fighters I’ve looked at, I like there is a wide range of characters with two different styles and collecting the cards adds a good amount of replay value here. I don’t think it controls quite as well as the other title, and the fight against Gandara is just plain annoying. It’s very difficult until you unlock a few cards to get an advantage. There is a rewind feature thankfully and you will be using it a lot here, I assure you. This one will set you back $7.99 as well. While I don’t think this is a bad game, I would have to recommend the other two titles over this one, since it just doesn’t have the polish of those. If you are a hardcore Samurai Shodown fan, you will still find a lot to love here.
I enjoyed my time with Witch and the Hundred Knight 2. I thought the changes to combat did make it a little too simple and going through certain areas dragged on and became a little boring. This was offset however by the fun upgrade system for the weapons. I was always wanting to hunt down something bigger and more bad ass to slay the hordes of monsters. This was very satisfying when I got that awesome drop and took it back to the atelier and buffed it to the moon. It was a great feeling to go back and lay waste to wave after wave of baddies. If the stages had a bit more variety I would’ve scored this one higher, since I think that would’ve really made it stand out. The story is a mixed bag. It’s very predictable, but I really grew to like some of the cast by the end of the game even if they were terrible assholes to start with. This one took me about 35 hours to finish and I got the true ending. If you were a fan of the first game then you should pick this one up for sure, you will find a lot to love here for the $59.99 pricetag. If you disliked the tone or gameplay of the first game then there’s nothing here that is going to change your mind.
Fox n Forests has some issues but I can’t say the game isn’t enjoyable. The two flying stages in the game are pretty annoying since you die in one hit, but at least they give a good amount of checkpoints. You do have to spend gold to use them throughout the game, but its not enough to make it annoying. The melee combat is a bit finicky. It seems to kinda work when it wants to at times, when you get the spread arrows it pretty much fixes this issues but its annoying at the start of the game. I think the most glaring issue with this title is its length. You can beat the entire game in around 5 hours and collect everything in around 7. This makes the $19.99 price tag a bit hard to digest, but if you love 16 bit adventures and Metroidvania style titles, you’d likely find a lot to enjoy here.
While the Switch version does have some control issues and not getting Ultra Street Fighter IV is a bummer, that doesn’t mean this version is terrible. You trade off these things to have 12 of the best fighting games of all time portable. I do hope they address some of the control issues with patches like the not being able to map 3 kicks or punches to a button. If you have a Switch and love Street Fighter I think you would be satisfied with this release despite its flaws. I mean at $39.99 you’re spending less than 4 bucks a title for some great classics.
The Lost Child isn’t bad game, but I don’t really think I would call it a great game either. This one is very middle of the road and basic. I did have fun collecting all the different types of enemies, and the story is kinda interesting. There is really just nothing here that makes this one stand out. You’ll get a solid 40 hours of gameplay here and a bonus 100 level dungeon after completing the story. If you’re a fan of Dungeon Crawlers and you need to scratch that itch this would probably get the job done at its $49.99 price tag. Just go don’t go into it expecting the next evolution of the genre.
I have to say for the $8.99 price tag on the PS4 the game may not have the deepest gameplay, but certainly has a lot of content. In addition to the story missions, there is an Endless Mode and Boss Raid Mode you can test your button mashing skills in. While I don’t think Chicken Assassin: Reloaded is for everyone, if you have a crazy sense of humor, like clicker games or just want a cheap time waster you could do a lot worse for the asking price here.
All in all, I felt Code of Princess EX was a big improvement over the 3DS game of years ago. The improved graphics and framerate really make this feel like a different game and there is plenty of content there to keep you bashing enemies for hours. I think my biggest problem with this title is still the same though. The combat just feels really stiff at times and the CPU controlled opponents always seem to have an edge in hitting you before you can strike them. Some may think this one is a bit overpriced at the $49.99 for the physical edition, but I have to tell you, Nicalis put a lot of love into it. It comes with reversible cover art, full color manual and a mini OST, so I feel like it is well worth the price. This game is by no means a bad game, but I still feel like it could use more polish. I really hope Nicalis decides to make a full on sequel to this. Based on how much better this is than the original, that would be something to behold. It took about 6 hours to complete the main quest and I spent a ton of time messing around with the characters I unlocked in the other modes. If you didn’t like the original release, there is nothing here that will change your mind. However, If you loved this on the 3DS or are a hard core fan of beat-em-ups, then it would be well worth picking up.
While I don’t think this is the best game in the series, Warriors Orochi 4 is far from a bad game. The game runs at a solid framerate, the combat is fun and there are tons of enemies to slay. The lack of alternate routes and some dry storytelling do set this one back a bit, but the massive cast helps make up for it somewhat. You’ll get 20 to 30 hours of gameplay out of this one for its $60 price tag. If you’re a fan of Musou games there is still a lot to love here, but I can’t help but feel a little disappointed since I was expecting something on par with Warriors Orochi 3 and this didn’t quite live up to that.
I feel like Gensokyo Defenders is a mixed bag at the end of the day. The story and music are pretty weak, but the gameplay and artwork are top notch. I feel Touhou fans would certainly have fun with this one for the gameplay alone and fans of Tower Defense games will find a lot to love here as well. I just wouldn’t go into this one expecting super high production values at its $19.99 price tag, but if you want a solid Tower Defense game, this one is very likely worth your coin.
All in all if you own the PlayStation 4 version of this you can get the new content via DLC, so you’ll probably want to skip this. If you don’t own the PlayStation 4 version, are a huge Girls Und Panzer fan, or just want to play it on the go, this is a great option for you. It does come at steeper price than usual with an import running $72.99 on the Switch. You can snag this on PlayStation 4 from Play-Asia for much less at $38.99. In the end, no matter which version of this you buy I think you’ll have a lot of fun and I do recommend anyone that is a fan of the series or that loves tank combat games to check it out.
I spent 22 hours to complete the main quest and there is some postgame content to delve into as well. If you’re a fan of the series you’ll probably want to pick this one up as well. It will be worth the $49.99 asking price. While it’s not as good as other spin offs there is still some value here. If you are new to franchise this may not be the best entry point, but you don’t need any knowledge of the rest of the franchise to jump in either.
Obey Me is a pretty solid overall. The combat is fast and fun, the characters quirky and while it’s a bit on the short side at just 5 hours, the rating system gives it good replay value. The game takes quite a bit of inspiration from the Devil May Cry series and makes it into its own thing, and I think this comes over very well. Performance issues on the PlayStation 4 took away from my experience just a bit, but I think if you can snag this up on PC it would be much better. The game is pretty difficult, but I think it was fair for the most part. The stage hazards are just plain overkill at times, and some of the boss battles were just a bit much. They seem pretty overpowered to me. For the $19.99 price tag if you’re a fan of this genre you’ll find a lot to love here. For everyone else, if you’re interested in trying one of these games for the first time I feel this is a good place to start.
Waifu Uncovered is a fun and simple shooter with a very unique theme. My only real complaint about the game is your hit box is entirely too big for a game of this type. This makes arcade mode basically impossible without some good luck. For the low price of $6.99 there is a lot of fun to be had here, with some replay value if you want to unlock the extra ships and such. Fans of ecchi type content will feel right at home here and should snag this up ASAP. Anyone curious about this title should just not take it too seriously. It certainly doesn’t take itself serious, and there nothing wrong with that. We all need a good laugh these days, for sure.
Vambrace: Cold Soul is certainly a not an easy game, but I feel like you are rewarded with a pretty good story for putting in the work. Exploring the dungeons and managing very limited resources is both challenging and fun. The multiple endings do encourage you to play through the game more than once, at around 10 hours a run. this makes it well worth the $24.99 price point. If you’re up to the challenge there is a lot to love here, but if you’re a more causal RPG gamer, you may want to pass on this one.