SwitchRPG's Reviews
I’d personally recommend giving the lower difficulty a good try, but if you’re finding things a bit too easy within the first hour, it would be best to restart on the higher difficulty. The game’s Hard Mode does not pull punches, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. If you are looking for a more straightforward Metroidvania experience, Momodora achieves what it sets out to do very well. Despite a good half of its boss fights involving cute girls, they’re all varied and require different approaches. While it doesn’t break the mold with any of its abilities, battles, or narrative, it is a solid and enjoyable title that is well-worth a look.
Whether or not you feel The Shrouded Isle is worth your time mostly depends on two considerations: the first is how much mileage you’ll be able to get out of viewing the same ten or twelve screens and playing the same style of simulation, the second being how much of your time you feel like taking notes on your video game. The game itself does very little to keep individual family member information transparent, and once you’ve learned the ins and outs of each of its relatively few mechanics, the rest of the game is attempting – and failing – to make things work out for as long as you can, with the eventual hope that you’ll get a winning combo. There are important choices to make, but the game lacks depth in characterization and variety too much for me to recommend it.
If it wasn’t already obvious, I think YIIK is a game that everyone should play. It is not a perfect game – rarely do titles come along that feature wholly agreeable mechanics – but it manages to use fabulous music, voice acting, and addictive combat in order to tell an extremely original story. This is one of the rare titles that has challenged me to rethink what I believe is possible in the medium, let alone the Role-playing genre, and for that, I give it my healthiest and most adamant recommendation.
Dragonball Xenoverse 2 is available on other consoles, and I have played them, but the Switch is the best place for the game to call home. The handheld options take the game to a new level, online battles work just fine with Nintendo Switch Online, and local multiplayer is a blast even with joycons. Dragonball Xenoverse 2 for the Nintendo Switch is easily one of the best Dragonball games ever made, and it surpasses The Legacy of Goku as the best localized Dragonball RPG ever. Although the game has been out for a while now, it’s still going strong. It is a great time to pick it up due to its $40USD price point, and brand-new DLC that adds Broly and Super Saiyan Blue Gogeta are just on the horizon. Simply put, this game is a MUST PLAY for Dragonball fans.
For me, DragonFangZ is a great example as to why you should not judge a book by its cover alone, because hidden behind the cutesy design is a very enjoyable roguelike – one that, in some ways, challenges a few of the age-old conventions of the genre. The depth and flexibility of the Fang mechanic helps keep things fresh (and your available toolkit vast), and the added incentive to fight out in the open because of the Brave system sets in motion a nice change of pace (and is less claustrophobic than corridor farming). If you can look past the price and the abysmal translation, DragonFangZ has a lot to offer to those that prefer more RPG in their roguelikes.
At the end of the day there is something to appreciate about a game that makes it feel OK for kids to play through a creepy story. Bendy and the Ink Machine manages to provide “PG-13 horror” in a game that I’ve never seen done before previously. If you’re in search of a game that you can play with the kids that isn’t within the realm of a party game or a fighter, Bendy could very well be the story for you, if you can get past the very obvious Bioshock comparisons and the couple of irritating bugs within.
While Don’t Sink does have a rogue-like difficulty that erases a save file upon failed naval excursion or combat, a part of me doesn’t feel that bumping up the difficulty is worth the risk, as a great deal of the gameplay has to do with waiting and saving resources rather than actively engaging in the kind of swashbuckling gameplay one might expect. If you are looking for a more laid-back, resource-management-oriented sort of title, I might recommend Don’t Sink, although a great deal of its challenge can be circumvented by playing the game relatively safe. Perhaps its the savvy, overconfident nature of piracy that I lack which caused me to shirk from its more adventurous choices. Still, the idea of wasting more time saving money and resources on the high seas didn’t make the prospect all that enticing.
The Keep is an overhauled port from the era of the Nintendo DS, and is only held back by this history. The era of swiping with a stylus is over, and a few small control adaptations for the Nintendo Switch would have gone a long way in fixing things – but don’t let that deter you, The Keep is worth playing if you can look past its issues. The melee system swiping mechanic is downright annoying and totally unneeded, but the magic casting and spell building more than make up for it. It might even make you use your noggin’ from time to time as you figure out how to best set up your magic spells. The Keep sits solidly on the high end of the “OK” spectrum, and could easily be “GOOD” if only it could shake away from its dated control scheme.
Judging a game and its flaws that comes with a measly $4.99USD price tag is tough because you can’t necessarily be blinded by your experiences of more expensive (but more polished) titles. That said, Revenge of the Bird King, at its core, is a decent game for the price. Even though I’m no expert or die-hard fan of the platforming genre, I found the general gameplay loop present to be enjoyable. But the pacing of the levels combined with frequent collision-based glitches certainly soured the experience for me a bit. But, if you live for platforming games or are looking for one with just a touch of RPG flair, throwing five bucks at Revenge of the Bird King would not be a terrible investment.
If you are looking for a definitive rogue-lite experience on the Switch, there are other options out there that will give you a bit more bang for your buck, but BEHEMUTT’s title is an admirable take on a genre that can often be a bit too exhaustive for its own good.
Despite its glaring flaws, I found Chronus Arc to be fun. The fresh take on equipment upgrades and the emphasis on puzzles are really nice to see in a JRPG. The music and graphical overhaul in comparison to your standard KEMCO RPG is a sight for sore eyes (and ears) as well. These are really the only things holding me back from giving Chronus Arc an even harsher verdict, because even partially gating the class system behind the in-game shop and grinding literally being 75% of the content just does not feel that great in practice.
Xenon Valkyrie+, for the most part, succeeds in what it promises. While the story really suffers from its overhyped, pie-in-the-sky tagline, the gameplay itself is challenging (but fair), and that is coming from an inexperienced/sissy roguelike/lite consumer like myself. Some issues exist beyond the overpromised story, but it’s difficult to fault it harshly when you consider the game sits at only $9.99USD retail. It might not satisfy the most hardcore roguelike/lite fan out there, but it has certainly made me consider trying more types of these games in the future. Xenon Valkyrie+ releases on Nintendo Switch on January 1, 2019.
While not invalidating the previous title, the developers at Noio have created a sequel that shines as an independent title on the Switch, even during the holiday scene.
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom fully succeeds in its mission to capture the spirit of Wonder Boy 3 and successfully carry the franchise into the modern era. Every strength the original games had, the developers of Monster Boy went out of their way to expand upon or enhance. They have crafted a game world that is vibrant, lively, and full of riches to be discovered.
An RPG that teaches us that more than just obesity can come out of consuming an excessive amount of food.
Because Chronicles was so mediocre and Mercenaries Wings is literally the same exact game, from its graphics and individual character abilities to the 99% broken and useless magic items and synth shop, it is hard to recommend unless you are just the biggest fanboy of the series or you just can’t get enough tactical RPGs in your life. But I can’t very well give it a harsh verdict either because it is still, in fact, a fully functional game. A mediocre game in the most genuine sense, but functional nonetheless. Mercenaries Wings could prove to be a decent filler piece in your strategy RPG slot if you are on a budget, but you’re better off picking up Chronicles first if a choice has to be made between the two.
Cattails is surprisingly fun and full of depth despite suffering from some design and mechanical setbacks.
Game Freak and Nintendo have made it clear that Pokémon: Let’s Go is not a replacement for the core RPG experience coming in 2019, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t appeal to series veterans at the same time. It is true that the exclusion of random encounters and wild Pokémon battles (among other things) is weird and makes the game a whole lot easier. However, Let’s Go still manages to exude that Pokémon essence we all know and love despite the changes. Being able to experience the wilderness of Kanto on a TV for the first time is wonderful, and the option to play with even the least experienced player out there definitely has its perks. Pokémon: Let’s Go has the potential to scratch that catch-em-all itch for a while, although hardcore challenge seekers will really have to get creative with self-limitations in order to maintain any true level of difficulty before reaching post-game. But if we’re being honest, isn’t the most difficult part of any Generation I-esque game getting Mew out from under that blasted truck near the S.S. Anne?
This roguelike stands as one of the best available among a myriad of challengers, and a must-buy for anyone who enjoys action RPGs or waxes nostalgic for the original Legend of Zelda. The progressive challenge of the dungeons and their floors never felt unbalanced or unfair, and the game's economy moves along at a satisfying pace, avoiding the feeling of grindiness or redundancy. The balance found in Moonlighter between dungeon diving and shop keeping creates an addictive gameplay loop that will keep you saying, "One more run. One more run."
OK K.O.! Let’s Play Heroes puts us in the shoes of a young aspiring child named K.O., that will stop at nothing to become a real hero.