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Is Atelier Mysterious Trilogy Deluxe Pack right for you? Probably. Each of these three games offers up a content-rich and enjoyable story that should take you a few dozen hours to see through. On the other hand, the slower paced slice-of-life vibe isn't for everyone and the game elements beyond the robust crafting system can feel a little simplistic sometimes. Either way, it's tough to argue against the value on offer here, and we'd recommend that you at least try one of these titles if you don't spring for the whole trilogy.
One of those rare titles that takes inspiration from the classics but manages to forge its own identity, Smelter is a breath of fresh air that uses its influences very wisely, assisted to excellence by generally pretty terrific level design with only a handful of lesser segments bringing things down just a tad. The proceedings feel confident, original and polished, with gorgeous graphics and an outstanding soundtrack that calls to mind the likes of Mega Man X4 for its action stages and evokes Yuzo Koshiro's majestic ActRaiser score for its side-scrolling levels.
Much like its predecessors, Picross S6 is little more than a glorified level pack. But, that’s okay. The addictive nature of its core gameplay is as strong as ever, and those who are hooked will be pleased to know that there’s another ten to twenty hours of new content to chew through. If you’ve still got a few of the past entries in your backlog, we’d recommend you hold off until you’re sure you want even more puzzles to solve; there’s nothing new or exciting here that you’re missing. If you’re a newcomer, however, this is as good a place as any to jump in.
SaGa Frontier Remastered sees Square Enix's cult classic JRPG looking and playing better than ever, with a lovely HD lick of paint and lots of restored content and quality of life improvements providing hardcore fans with an experience they'll doubtless enjoy. However, this is still a game that's aged quite poorly in many respects; an idiosyncratic, eccentric and infuriating experience that refuses to guide you or help you in any way, and one that, in the end, is quite hard to recommend to anyone who isn't already a fan.
Going in with diminished expectations no-doubt coloured our impressions, but our brief time with Toree 3D was undeniably delightful. For significantly less than the price of a decent cup of coffee, you get an enjoyably bite-sized, colourful 3D platformer with great music and a fun aesthetic that doesn't take itself seriously in the slightest — and it doesn't stick around long enough to get boring, or for its weak points (and inevitable lack of depth) to become an issue. Big studios who feel obliged to stretch games out for dozens of hours could learn a thing or two from its brevity.
It goes without saying at this point, but we can’t recommend you play this. It’s a frustrating experience right from the start, and there’s really no incentive to play through the game’s forty-odd stages beyond morbid curiosity. The visuals are unattractive, and taking each shot is a chore we wouldn’t wish upon anyone. Angry Golf is a bunker shot; best leave it there.
Kingdom of Arcadia is worth a punt if you’re a fan of side-scrolling fantasy games. It doesn’t quite do enough to earn the title of ‘Metroidvania’ in our eyes, but that’s not a bad thing in itself. We’d say it’s closer to your basic linear platformer, and although it has some clear limitations, the core gameplay is definitely strong enough to keep you engaged throughout.
Nothing about FAR S Ultra is particularly offensive (except the music, which is a crime against the concept of ears). It has some clever ideas but the execution is a little lacklustre, and the relatively low number of tracks combined with the annoying AI and the unforgiving nature of its difficulty means it certainly won't be to everyone's tastes. If you don't have Fast RMX then get that first, but we've played worse racing games for $7.
FEZ is a fun, challenging puzzle platformer fit to burst with original ideas and unique gameplay wrinkles. Its puzzles bend reality and even leech into our own world on occasion, but aside from a few select mega-challenges never stray into the category of too obtuse or unfair. A few visual and mechanical quirks stop this from being a perfectly polished experience, but these are outweighed by its charm and other wonderful qualities ninefold. It's another one of those 'games you have to play' on Switch, and it couldn't be more at home.
Imagine Donkey Kong Country with none of the flair, none of the momentum, none of the secrets, none of the style and none of the grace. It doesn't even have a funny face. There's very little to get your teeth into here, though die-hard platform game fans may get some measure of satisfaction from its limited, low-risk take on the genre. We must reiterate – Stitchy in Tooki Trouble is not a badly-made game, it's just a relentlessly unimpressive one that offers nothing new or even any kind of twist on an existing trope or mechanic. A sequel to Stitchy that perhaps saw fit to include something - anything - to make the game stand out, that could marry its impressive visuals with similarly good level design... now that would be worth a go. As it stands though, this scarecrow excels its most famed pop-culture analogue by lacking a brain, a heart and any courage to speak of.
Godstrike in many ways feels like an early access game. There are glimpses of a better game in here somewhere, but the overall unpolished feel of its design and presentation really drag down the otherwise solid controls. Revising (or removing) the time mechanic and honing in on a more distinctive art style could've made this one a tentative recommendation but, as it stands, that's impossible. If you want a good boss rush game with similar gameplay, we'd recommend you pick up Furi; if you're looking for a good shmup, there's no shortage of those to be found on Switch. Either way, we wouldn't bother with this one unless you've exhausted all other options.
Overall, we’d say that if you enjoyed Aqua Kitty UDX, then you’re likely going to enjoy Astro Aqua Kitty, too. Heck, even if you didn’t play the first game, we’d still recommend checking this one out. It’s a solid shoot-em-up, and while it doesn’t feel as immediately engaging or replayable as its predecessor, it’s nevertheless a fun ride throughout.
Poison Control's story is cliché-filled but fun, and the tongue-in-cheek dialogue carries the game far further than its gameplay could manage alone. The writing can only make up for shallow game mechanics to a point, though, and ultimately shallow gameplay is what lets this game down. Visual novel fans will likely find more to enjoy here, but there's simply not enough gameplay depth or variety for fans of shooters.
What seemed unimpressive in 2004 now feels enjoyable and imaginative, and we're not sure what that means, exactly. It's simultaneously cheerful and challenging, and there's a lot of joy in the journey as well as the destinations. The cursed spectre of 'gameplay variety' (read: jack of all trades, master of none) looms over the material, but by making the diversions brief and ultimately simple it manages to keep the player guessing to an extent throughout its languid twelve or so hour runtime. Some backtracking and minor camera issues bring things down a touch, but overall Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue is a surprisingly solid slice of character action, and one we fear may have been underserved at the time of its original release. This is not just a sequel that's content to rest on its laurels, and that's worthy of respect. Hooray! We made it through the whole review without any silly, lazy Aussie clichés. That's bonzer, mate!
Moorhuhn Kart 2 takes a game that's nearly two decades old, tweaks the visuals a bit, then actually removes elements from it (such as its character animations and speed settings). With only eight tracks on offer it would be underwhelming at a budget price, but given it's selling for $30 at launch there's nowhere near enough content or quality to justify that price.
Cozy Grove measures out its game sessions in snack-size portions, and its gorgeous artwork and genuinely laugh-worthy dialogue almost make up for its metered-out gameplay. Sadly, with a few technical issues on Switch, and the game's refusal to let players set the pace, it's one best played on a mobile device for now.
PAC-MAN 99 may seem initially daunting with mechanics it simply doesn't explain but once you experiment and learn by fire, it won't take long to realise its true potential. Arika and Bandai Namco has barely touched the formula of this 41-year-old classic, and yet with just a few new layers it feels like a brand new game. We've invested more time than we care to admit into the previous '99' entries and it's clear PAC-MAN 99 is destined for evergreen greatness.
RetroMania Wrestling looks like WWF WrestleFest, plays (a bit) like Fire Pro and has a wide variety of entertaining arenas to play in. However, the tiny roster, lack of creation modes, lack of online and brief single-player experiences mean you're really going to need to be interested in local multiplayer if you're going to be playing this one for a long time. To give it the Cena test: it's got our respect for going old-school and it'll get loyalty from the cult following it'll inevitably gain, but it still needs a bit more hustle before it's the finished product, whereas just now it feels like The Prototype.
To an extent, we feel we’re being hard on Moon Raider, but compared to the plethora of excellent Metroidvania titles on Switch, this title is just 'all right'. It’s not bad, but its various flaws mean it's certainly not great, either. At around three hours in length, there are absolutely worse ways to spend your time, and the game does also include a neat co-op option to increase its longevity somewhat. Ultimately though, if you’re after a thrilling, memorable 2D action title with a dash of originality, this sadly isn’t it.
Star Wars: Republic Commando has aged surprisingly well and proves to be a ton of fun to revisit in this admittedly rather basic Switch port. The squad system here is still supremely satisfying to get to grips with, the HUD elements are slick, and there's plenty of atmospheric fun to be had as you blast your way through the three campaign stories on offer. Yes, there's no doubt the level design is archaic, there's no great variety in enemies, the visuals have had only the most basic of touch-ups and it's a real shame the multiplayer has been completely excised. Overall, though, this is still a welcome return for one of the very best Star Wars video game offerings.