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While some of the mid and late-game platforming challenges are pretty demanding, failing and having to make your way through familiar parts of the castles never takes too long. That said, I do wish the bosses put up a bit more of a fight; upgrading my stats and equipment at a regular clip allowed me to make short work of each one. As sure as the sun rises and sets (and wait until you see that in game), the Switch eShop will receive more and more titles hoping to cash in on NES-fueled nostalgia; don't let that stop you from picking up the immensely satisfying throwback that is Infernax. Even though my mace and armor are dripping with demonic ichor, I'm still ready to charge back in.
Of course, grinding and questing usually means leaving and returning to the Inn, which also requires paying rent all the damn time. There’s a storyline, but since all of your characters are mute character portraits, all the dialogue and interactions come from the Inn’s colorful cast, most of whom I didn’t care for. I just don’t see the appeal of DGE. In the very crowded marketplace of JRPGs, there are way better choices out there.
It has the developer pedigree of the Brownie Brown founders, the music of Yoko Shimomura, visually pleasing 2D visuals, and a superb localization. It's a shame that the gameplay itself is somewhere between overly simplified and frustrating, largely thanks to the mobile influences that still seep into this Switch release. If you have a high tolerance for mobile fluff, then Egglia Rebirth might still be worth a look, but be prepared for countdown timers and weirdly high difficulty spikes to dirty your pleasant nostalgic jaunt.
Frigg's experience feels genuine and grounded even during moments of whimsy. At the end of the day, the game's message is that sometimes a good story is just that: a good story. It really doesn't need to be anything more.
The combat and overarching story are clear highlights, but there's undeniable bloat that hurts the pacing and the character portraits, for the most part, would be better left on the cutting room floor. While a babystep up from Ara Fell, which I awarded a 7 out of 10 in 2020, Rise of the Third Power doesn't quite do enough to earn a full-throated recommendation. That said, it's still a fairly enjoyable classic RPG experience with interesting characters, a simple but fun battle system, and some humorous dialogue.
Francis's story is memorable and powerful, and the environments he shreds through are truly a sight to behold. People who enjoy the aesthetics of artists like the late David Bowie should absolutely give this game a look, especially if they also happen to be musicians themselves. You might learn a bit about what you actually want for yourself in life and become inspired to visit a Cosmic Extraordinary of your own.
The animation is impressively overhauled, the level design is intricate while evolving, and the gameplay is as smooth as butter with even more ways to flow. There's something to be said about iterative evolution but this is on another level of progression that makes the older games harder to go back to. Trust me, I tried and it was a grind.
Ultimately though, the minute-to-minute gameplay is fun as hell, and I was a bit disappointed to reach the end credits. I'd gladly take another handful of stages right now, but I'll settle for working on 100 percent map completion. If you've been hoping for a little more combat and a little less walking back and forth between points on a map, Wonder Labyrinth would make a wonder-full way to spend five or six hours.
If you've ever played a Gunvolt game of any kind, this is a fairly good one of those, even if you're likely to forget about it after putting it away. Not every game needs to be memorable to be a worthwhile experience, though. If you're looking for an action-heavy palette cleanser with some kicking visuals and solid gameplay, Gunvolt Chronicles: Luminous Avenger iX 2 would make a strong addition to your Switch library.
It's not without its blemishes, largely in the dreadful visuals, but the foundation laid here is what I hope the Pokémon franchise pivots to more in the future. It twists the focus just enough to make the experience of filling out a Pokédex more engaging, all the while filling battling and catching with way more variety. Legends Arceus doesn't quite catch them all, but it's satisfying the whole way through and makes me thrilled for the future of Pokémon in a way I haven't been in years.
When you're going back-to-back-to-back with one genre of game, they can start to run together. I'm glad Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani avoided the urge to lock portions of the game behind completion, and hope this happens more in the future-though hopefully the next romance game I play will have a little more sunlight in it.
It isn't downright bad by any means, just like going back and playing the original God of War on PS2 isn't bad either. But that design is really only excusable in the context of its time. Blackwind will have some appeal to hardcore fans of early 2000's action games, but without those rose tinted glasses, there isn't much here to help it rise above mediocrity.
The boss battles that deftly mix combat and golf are tons of fun. But then you might hit a wall where you just need to grind, whether it's by pounding down enemies or golfing on loop, and the whole experience suffers. Still, I'm heartened that we live in a world where we have multiple options for retro-ish golf RPGs and they're both pretty good.
Still, I'm happy that Night Dive didn't try to fix the game for a modern audience. This is game preservation as it should be-keep the wrinkles, warts, and missteps; add cut content wherever possible (as it informs the game's original intent); let strengths of the original games speak for themselves. Shadow Man is not a great game in 2021, but in 1999, it was ambitious and inventive, and being able to experience this game as it was meant to be released and played is valuable and enjoyable.
The soundtrack is stellar and completes the package on display here. It's a game that can be enjoyed for all ages and if you decide to pursue all the sidequests, complete the decorating minigames, and find all of the collectibles, you can certainly spend a lot of time in the world of Chicory. My only gripe is a personal one-that I didn't play this game last year-because without a doubt it makes for a wonderful late addition to the best of what 2021 had to offer. I cannot wait to see what Greg, Lena, Em, Alexis and Madeline will make next, because Chicory can't be described as anything other than a piece of modern art.
Headland is a cute game with a heartwarming narrative that is just simply enjoyable. It doesn't hit high highs and the only real brushes with low lows are the dregs of the combat. I'd most recommend it if you have a younger gamer in your household looking for a charming romp with a positive message about creativity.
There's so much to dig into and explore that it's easy to lose hours upon hours without batting an eye. Despite the learning curve, I found myself putting on my headphones and zoning out to the sweet soundtrack and some mindless digging. I wish that the systems were explained a little bit better but some light reading and personal discovery help this underrated indie shine.
Bonfire Peaks is a stunning game that I feel will attract many for its aesthetic alone. A large portion of those will stay for the gameplay, but I can fully relate to players who become frustrated with the movement controls and difficulty spike later on. Aside from the gameplay grumps, the world in which Corey Martin has created tells an isolated yet beautiful tale of a man looking for closure by burning his things, and I am glad I got to experience this.
Aladdin holds up as a great platformer of the era, but Jungle Book simply does not. All of the museum extras are incredible, but might not be as worthwhile unless you're interested in the history and legacy of these games. Combine this DLC with the original content and it's an excellent historical collection that paints a cel-animated picture of a specific era of Disney video games during a time when adaptations of animated movies were much bigger events.
Such rumblings invoke a greater discussion on whether a sequel should be made with the same or different mini-games, or if this title could now act as a platform for the series. It's a tricky issue, that I don't envy the creators having to face, but the fact of the matter is that NDCube has set a bar for themselves now that they absolutely cannot afford to go under. Whether they continue to remake older, beloved experiences, or take this success as an experience to apply to new, original content, they have won me over with this Mario Party. I suspect this get-together is one for the books.