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There’s definitely a substantive quality gap between both games in this collection, but ultimately, this is a worthy collection to keep on your shelf if you’re fond of original PlayStation RPGs. I’d spent so long wanting the PSP collection to make it west, and it’s great to have that finally with a few extra bells and whistles. I wish there could have been some kind of extra graphics options here to preserve the original pixel aesthetics for the backgrounds, but serious praise needs to be brought to the work the team put into Suikoden II’s remaster. That alone feels worth the cost of admission.
While the Sonic portion of the game is starting to show its age, there’s still plenty of fun to be had revisiting classic zones and taking on Eggman once again. It’s the Shadow adventure though that is the true standout. Polished, exhilarating and clearly made with a real love for the character, Shadow Generations is a fantastically fun time and turns Sonic X Shadow Generations into a must for fans of the series and platforming fans alike.
Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition has delivered the second chance that Monolith Soft’s epic sci-fi RPG deserved to find a wider audience. With its deeply emotional storytelling and world-building, I still see Xenoblade Chronicles 3 as the pinnacle of what the developer has long worked to achieve but this unforgettable space opera is close behind it thanks to its astounding technical execution and thrill-inducing battle systems.
Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is a pretty in-depth and approachable SRPG, with more than enough customization to keep people falling into the beloved NIS grinding. These systems are solid, and pretty fun, even if there’s some awkward physics here and there. It’s held back by the Nintendo Switch version’s shortcomings however, but if you’ve already been playing their games on Switch for the past few years you’re probably used to this. I’m hoping further patches or Nintendo Switch 2 backward compatibility will clean it up down the road. I’m pretty excited for NIS to continue making these charming and complex RPGs, as they’ve hit their stride. Hopefully, with stronger hardware next time, it’ll be firing off all cylinders. There are some good hooks here, and I even want to circle back and see how much of what I liked is in the original’s DNA.
Despite my misgivings with this particular port, I adored my time revisiting Tales of Graces f. I’d need to see if a Tales of the Abyss port is in our cards to fully decide, but at the moment I think this is the Tales game for me. I’ve caught the bug again, and I really want to comb through this series’ back catalogue. This is probably the best Tales remaster we’ve gotten so far, even if there are parts I wish could have been improved further. As the first title in this Remaster project, however, this is a promising start. If you’re interested in playing this and really want to dive into the battle system, you should probably play it on any other platform. If you’re here for fun vibes, the Nintendo Switch version will do you fine enough.
It’s been a good while since I’ve played Donkey Kong Country Returns and this HD upgrade has been a delightful reminder of just how much fun Retro Studios’ first stab at the platforming series was. As far as new additions go, this definitely ranks near the bottom when it comes to Nintendo’s Switch porting efforts. That being said, the visual update is certainly pleasant on the eye and it’s hard to argue the game’s sustained quality in level design. If you missed out on the game the first time around, then bump the score up a point. Returning players, meanwhile, will still find a brilliant time awaits, one far more impactful, the longer the gap since your last Donkey Kong Island visit.
Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- is easily the best-looking visual novel I’ve ever seen, and I’m excited to see where they go next with the second part of the remake. Even if that takes ages, or somehow never sees the light of day, I still view this part of the remake as a perfect experience. I tend to love the works that contrast the horrors of existence and the evils of man with the small moments of genuine bliss, and Tsukihime gets that. That we can make time to appreciate the gentle kindness hidden around us as long as we look for it. It was probably the most life-affirming piece of art I got to experience in such a mentally exhausting year for me.
Fantasian Neo Dimension won’t work for everyone, but for the handful it does click for they’re likely going to find a new all-time favorite. It mostly worked wonders for this reviewer, but the Nintendo Switch port’s issues detracted more from the experience than I had hoped. If you do love classic RPGs or specifically classic Final Fantasy, this modern evolution of those knocks it out of the park. In the last year, there have been a lot of throwbacks to the ’90s era of RPG to bank on nostalgia, but Fantasian has a lasting and timeless appeal most of them lack. It knows who it looks to appeal to and makes a game just for them.
Disney Epic Mickey Rebrushed is a decent update of one of the Wii’s much-beloved adventures. As a Disney fan, playing through with my son was an absolute delight, smiling with glee as we registered rides from the theme parks and leaping off the sofa whenever we crossed paths with a well-known face. As a gamer though, my experience was – as much as I hate to say it – good but not great filled with intriguing worlds to explore and dated tasks to accomplish. Still, I had a great time overall and Rebrushed is easily the best way to experience Disney’s weirdly wonderful adventure.
As a fan of the genre dating back to the 90s, even though I completely understand why titles such as Crow Country aren’t being made by the Capcoms of this world anymore, I do miss this style. While it has clearly been inspired by the early Resident Evil games, the modernisations and quality of life additions go a long way to ensure that this isn’t just a carbon copy of something that has gone before. If old-school survival horror is what you want in 2024, put Crow Country right at the top of your list.
Nintendo games are at their best when they’re approachable and polished to a sheen, and Mario and Luigi Brothership is great at both of these. This is a sizeable RPG that contextualizes classic turn-based mechanics in a platformer framework. This isn’t anything new, but it shows that this current run of Mario RPG remakes wasn’t a fluke. The mechanics are strong, and even as someone who doesn’t usually like RPGs like this, I had a pretty great time. Brothership might be a bit on the longer side, but I think this is a fantastic game to give to a younger gamer looking to understand the appeal of the genre. There’s a ton of personality on display that I think will make people of any age smile, and the systems are flexible enough to keep most of your time enjoyable.
It’s hard not to come away from Ys X Nordics loving it, even if I have my qualms on the overall package. The game largely feels like an experiment, to push the series forward without fully abandoning the fans it gathered with the Party System Ys games. This is by far the best combat I’ve seen from any of the games, and it absolutely carries the experience. If we can get a sequel that builds all these concepts, fleshes them out further and adds a lot more visual variety, I think we could have the best Ys game ever made. We have a pretty good one with Ys X, and that’s still impressive. This is a step in the right direction for this new gameplay system, and there are so many great ideas here. I sincerely hope this manages to capture the hearts of new fans just like VIII did with me all those years ago.
We had a lot of fun with The Jackbox Survey Scramble. Sure, it’s not as complex or wacky as the sorts of ideas you’d see in the Jackbox Party Packs, but its brevity and simplicity make it perfect to fill an evening with friends or family. What it may lack in laughs, it makes up for with genuine intrigue, offering a glimpse into how the minds of others operate… for better or worse that is.
The Nintendo Switch port of Yakuza Kiwami is an interesting beast. Sure, you could play it anywhere else to get a better experience. Getting to play one of the most addictive Yakuza games on the go is a treat though, and playing it docked looked solid on my 4K TV. If you’ve never played the Yakuza series, this is a solid entry point. It kind of assumes familiarity with Yakuza 0, as Kiwami takes the original game and tries to retrofit it to be a sequel, but you won’t be punished without 0. I certainly wasn’t back when I first played Kiwami. With an impressive portable experience that doesn’t cut back on too much of what makes Yakuza Kiwami special, this is a compelling offer. And if you want to re-experience the PS3 Yakuza games of the previous decade, you’re going to absolutely love this Switch conversion.
If you’re looking for a version of these classic Marvel fighting games to whip out during a party of 20-30-somethings who would know about these games, this is a great port you should look into. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is genuinely great if you value the history of 2D fighters, and I’m really happy I have a chance to play Marvel vs. Capcom 2 again. I always beat myself up for missing out on the HD remaster way back in the day, so having this game accessible is a treat. This collection for me is just a way to get MVC2 back in its arcade-accurate glory, but I’m glad it pushed me towards several other fascinating additions to Capcom’s fighting game lineage.
Super Mario Party Jamboree truly has something for everyone. Between its enjoyable smorgasbord of minigames, delightful lineup of traditional-style boards and exciting injection of fresh competitive and cooperative modes, this is a party you won’t want to miss out on. Biggest Mario Party? Absolutely. Best? After 30 hours and many laughter-filled evenings with friends, I’m thinking it’s very much in the conversation.
I miss the era of games Reynatis feels plucked fresh out of. The PlayStation Vita was my gaming awakening that defined my taste, and was a swan song of a particular era of Japanese portable games that were able to be experimental and weird on a low budget. The ambitions of the team far outshine the budget they were given, but there’s definitely something to like here. The combat is flashy and fun if not a bit simple, yet still outshines most other action games of this scope. The six playable characters are plenty customizable, and once you get into it there’s plenty of fun to be had. I respect Furyu continuing to fund creatives of all sizes with enough money to make their weird and cool games, and Reynatis is among their better titles. For those who are coming at this from an exclusively Square Enix fan perspective, however, I don’t know if you’ll be able to see past the blemishes. Maybe don’t play it on Nintendo Switch, though.
So, you see, it’s complicated. While we certainly had fun playing Jackbox Naughty Pack, its very existence at times feels questionable. For every laugh had at a sex-related question it left me wondering if we’d have just as much fun returning to the family-friendly entries. Plus, it certainly doesn’t help that Let Me Finish is a bad idea, crude or not. But then again Cookie Masterson does say the F-word… It’s tough but Jackbox Naughty Pack is… fine. While its implementation of crude ideas isn’t terrible by any means, I just hope the developer returns next year with Jackbox Party Pack 11.
After Princess Peach’s turn in the spotlight, Princess Zelda readily demonstrates that she is more than capable of saving her own kingdom. Grezzo should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved here, delivering a complete reinvention of what awaits us in a top-down adventure across the kingdom of Hyrule with an experience in which past and present collide that succeeds in repeatedly subverting your expectations.
While it might not reach the towering standards of other recent roguelikes like Balatro, I still had myself a ridiculously fun time and one I’m sure I’ll return to in order to again in the future for another cheeky run or two. Best of all is the fact that Peglin takes something familiar and gives it a unique and interesting spin, one that proves super successful making it an easy recommendation for Nintendo Switch owners looking for something to fill that Peggle void in their life.