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While the game is fun, and WayForward does a good job of mixing stage hazards up to keep things fresh, I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed with Friends to the End. This is in large part due to the fact that we’re still playing essentially the same levels with the same bosses, despite the new plot and humorous interplay of banter between the trio. Maybe I was spoiled by Shovel Knight, where each DLC is distinct and featured significant new content, but I can’t help but want more. While Friends to the End is enjoyable, it also feels like the most barren of the Shantae DLC. I was able to beat the entire episode in a little over 2 hours, and feel little desire to get 100%. If getting all the Dream Squids unlocked a true final boss or new area, similar to a basic Metroidvania, I would have been much more likely to platinum the game, instead I ended up with only 79%. I appreciate that this is the least expensive of the DLC, sitting pretty at $7.99, but I still wish it was a lot meatier. Hell, it doesn’t even have a truly new final boss, as the one here is a reskin of the foe Risky faced in Pirate Queen’s Quest. The only real new stages are the intro stage and final stage, the latter which feels more like a series of infuriating challenge rooms than a cohesive new area. If you’re a fan of Shantae and have to own all the DLC, then by all means pick Friends to the End up. For everybody else, wait til it’s on sale. Here’s hoping the next Shantae game learns more from Pirate’s Curse and less from Risky’s Revenge.
In total, I spent about four hours playing Hive Jump, with most of that spent in Campaign. I also briefly tried out Arcade on easy, which seemed easier than Campaign at first but then the bosses utterly destroyed me. In fact, a boss I had no problems with in Campaign was suddenly a beast in Arcade. While the game is fun solo, I truly feel it was meant to be played with friends. It’s just too easy to get overwhelmed by the hordes of Ordovicians. So if you don’t have a bunch of friends who can crash and play on your couch, the game is much harder than it needs to be. And regarding the glitches, while not the worst thing, the Wii U version of Hive Jump can’t be its best while they persist. That said, for $14.99, Hive Jump is a fun, if flawed, experience. I’m glad I was finally able to play it on the console I backed it on, and I’m happy that Graphite Lab is making such a concerted effort to make the best game they can. I only hope the Wii U build gets patched soon, so Nintendo fans can enjoy it to the fullest.
All in all, I enjoyed my time with Dimension Drive. It took me 6 and 1/2 hours to beat all 13 levels, which is pretty good for a SHMUP. What’s nice is after you beat the game, you unlock Mirror Mode, which when combined with the Data Cubes, offers solid replayability. For $12.99, you get a pretty great adventure in Dimension Drive. I’m happy to finally play the polished end result of 2Awesome Studio’s hard work. They’ve managed to offer some innovation in a genre that typically rests on its laurels. While the game isn’t perfect, it’s solid and fun, and shows a lot of heart. Here’s hoping this isn’t the last adventure we get from the talented indie studio. I have a feeling there’s a lot more story for Jack and V.E.R.A. to tell, especially after that cliffhanger ending…
In summation, VA-11 HALL-A was well worth the wait on my Vita. It drew me in much deeper than I would have thought possible, making me actually care about the lives of these characters. Kudos as well to Sukeban Games for subtly tying in themes of consciousness, sexual identity, depression, true friendship, love and much more. For $14.99, VA-11 HALL-A is a game every Vita fan should own. It’s full of heart, drama and hope. My only hope now is that the world of the game gets expanded in the future, as I would love a sequel or something similar from the developers. VA-11 HALL-A is the bar I desperately need in my own life, and after playing it, you’ll feel the same.
Overall, I rather enjoyed my time with Cursed Castilla EX. It’s old school hard, but not quite as difficult as Super Ghouls n’ Ghosts. It plays very well on my Vita (though I wish that the graphical options didn’t only stretch the game, making it look fuzzy and unappealing). For $11.99, you really can’t go wrong. If you like the NES hard games of yore and want a more modern, portable successor, this is the game for you.
Overall, Creeping Terror was a revelation in my horror gaming experience. In my 4-hour playthrough, I was constantly on edge, yet kept putting one foot in front of the other in my attempt to find out what was actually happening. Though I did manage to get Arisa safely home, I didn’t get the best ending, so I will assuredly be playing it again very soon. If you’re a fan of horror and own a 3DS, Creeping Terror is a bargain at $8.99. Aksys has published a winner here, and I hope they continue to bring over unique and creepy titles.
Though reviews require I look at games with a critical eye, I truly did enjoy my time with Omega Strike. I could hardly put it down, and my biggest complaint was the lack of replay value. Considering that this was made by a one person team though, I have to cut it a little slack. For $12.99, you get a quality Metroidvania that is only really hampered by the lack of difficulty. While it would be nice if the game was a little cheaper, I can’t help but recommend Omega Strike. It’s fun, moderately challenging and full of character. If this is what one person can accomplish, I can’t wait to see the next game by Woblyware.
All in all, I really enjoyed my time with Let Them Come. It featured intense action, tactical decision making and brutal boss battles. For only $4.99, it’s a hell of a bargain. While I did get frustrated getting past a couple of the bosses, that didn’t drag the entire experience down. If you want a challenging action game infused with the machismo of the action movies of yore, you can’t do better than Let Them Come. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have more alien scum to mow down in New Game+!
Even though it stumbled a little, overall I was quite pleased with Metroid: Samus Returns. I managed to beat it in just over 12 hours with 62% map completion, and only got seriously stuck a handful of times. Not only was this remake gorgeous, but it offers a fantastic return to form for the long running series. If you’re a fan of the series, or are just looking for an excuse to jump on board, you can’t go wrong for only $39.99. Best of all, if the ending is any indication, this might not be the last remake of a 2D Metroid we can look forward to! Here’s hoping Samus is around for many years to come, annihilating alien scum and looking great while doing it.
Overall, I was quite impressed with A Robot Named Fight. It provided a healthy challenge, tons of unexpected variety and just enough exploration to satisfy fans of the genre. It’s clear to me that Matt truly understands the factors that make this genre great, and did his level best to include all of them in this, his very first game. While the base journey is pretty short, the various achievements and the need to find everything keeps me playing. I would venture that even Sundered, another fantastic Metroidvania with random generation, isn’t quite so adept at procedural generation as this one. For only $9.99 (or 25% cheaper for the next few days) this game is one any Metroidvania fan should own. I can only hope that it does well in sales, since I’d love to see it make its way to other consoles, as well as maybe getting some DLC. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and beat the Megabeast for the third time and finish getting 100% of those achievements!
Having said that, I greatly enjoyed my time with Pirate Queen’s Quest. After playing this DLC adventure, I can say with confidence I would love Risky to get her own standalone game, maybe even a prequel that shows how and why she became a pirate queen, as well as where the Tinkerbats came from. Though I had some minor complaints, all in all I feel it fixed the issues the original game had and offered a streamlined and fun experience. I managed to beat it in a little under three hours with 93% item completion. For $9.99, this DLC is a must have for any fans of classic platformers, lovable genies, naughty pirates or who just want to support WayForward. If anything, this just made me hungry for more cartoony adventures in this lush world. Here’s hoping we won’t have to wait too long for the next game in the Shantae series.
In the end, I was very happy with Chicken Wiggle. While comparisons to Renegade Kid’s previous works are unavoidable, I felt it differentiated itself enough and more than made up for any deficit with the expansive Level Editor. While it’s true I was a little disappointed by the total lack of unlockable content, I found myself drawn into this strange new world, and desperately hoping for a bigger and crazier sequel. Atooi has proven it still has that magic touch when it comes to retro styled platformers, and I hope this is just the first of many successful new games. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have more levels to make!
It’s true that Hey! Pikmin might not be for everyone. It’s not a pulse-pounding adventure or an intrigue-rich escapade, but that’s okay. It’s not supposed to be that sort of game. Hey! Pikmin is more like a service animal, meant to help provide a relaxing and comforting experience, not unlike playing a Kirby game. If you enjoy simple, fun and relaxing games or are just a fan of Captain Olimar, you can’t go wrong with this one for $39.99. Arzest and Nintendo have done our spacefaring captain justice on the 3DS.
Overall, while I enjoyed aspects of Cryptark, the unbalanced nature of the game and perplexing difficulty spikes made it a unfortunately frustrating experience. Though I did spend a couple hours with the game, I was unable to beat Campaign mode once, and had zero chance in Rogue mode. While I admire Alientrap Games for their art and sound design, the gameplay needs much more balancing before I can recommend it to any other than the most hardcore of fans, at least without massive future updates. Here’s hoping Alientrap learns some lessons from Cryptark and manages to make a more enjoyable and approachable roguelike game in the future.
Overall, I really had a great time with Runbow Pocket Deluxe. It provides a pretty meaty package for just $29.99, including the base game and all the DLC besides a few costume options. Despite some annoying gameplay issues I encountered, it still ran pretty smoothly and I never experienced any real slowdown to speak of. 13AM Games has made the definitive platformer for every Nintendo fan out there. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go back and get the rest of those medals!
All in all, for $29.99 Cave Story+ is still a great deal. It takes all the aspects that make it a classic and further refines them in small ways to offer fans a reason to be excited again. I also personally appreciate that it’s on the Nintendo Switch, especially since the physical version came with sexy preorder bonuses. My only minor complaints are that you can’t skip dialogue and that it’s unclear how to unlock more challenges. Regardless, if you’re a fan of Cave Story already or are just a fan of retro games, I can’t recommend Cave Story+ highly enough. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does remind fans why this game is still relevant today.
I really enjoyed my time with Mighty Gunvolt Burst. While it does tilt towards the hardcore side of the game spectrum, it was a blast to play on my Nintendo Switch. I hadn’t realized before playing Mighty Gunvolt Burst that this is what I really wanted from Mighty No. 9. For $9.99, you get an incredible bargain which should appeal to any retro gaming fans. Until it comes to the 3DS later this month, I’m glad it gives Switch owners something fun to tide them over until the likes of Super Mario Odyssey and other fantastic games. Mighty Gunvolt Burst is probably the best Mega Man experience not to have that titular character in the title. I can’t recommend it highly enough, especially for old fans like myself.
All in all, I quite enjoyed how Echoes brought Fire Emblem back to its roots. While I have enjoyed recent forays in the series, this felt more like the Fire Emblem I grew up playing. For $39.99, you get a ton of content, and that’s not even taking into account the DLC, which I didn’t sample in order to keep my experience more pristine. There’s a lot of replay value as well, with optional quests aplenty and many hidden memory prisms which unlock more lore. It’s also a long adventure, as my final playtime with the game was just short of 40 hours, longer individually than either Awakening or Fates. While not everyone will appreciate the hardcore emphasis of the game, I feel it’s a great sendoff for the Nintendo 3DS, which has done so much for the series. Now I just have to patiently await the next great adventure in Intelligent System’s fantastic tactical RPG saga.
I admit that it was a bit daunting to review a game like Disgaea after such a long hiatus. That said, Disgaea 5 Complete does a pretty good job of streamlining things and explaining new mechanics at a good clip. While not every little thing was explained to my satisfaction, I shoulder some of the blame, as I’m sure many aspects of the game would be far more familiar had I played any of the recent entries. While there were some frustrating aspects of the game, there is far more to love. The characters and plot were especially enjoyable, though I found myself more invested in Void Dark’s Generals as villains than the big bad himself. If you enjoy tactics games and own a Nintendo Switch, you get endless hours of fun for only $59.99. That’s not even taking into account all the DLC, which I didn’t even touch for the purposes of this review. I spent some 60+ hours and barely scratched the surface of all the content. NIS America has outdone themselves once more, and I’m happy to finally see Nintendo getting a little Disgaea love. I just hope this trend of 3rd party support from fantastic publishers continues. Now if you doods will excuse me, I have plenty more game to tackle!
Overall, I was incredibly impressed with Blaster Master Zero. This is indisputably the definitive version of the classic Sunsoft game. Inti Creates has poured their heart, soul and artistry into making a game from 1988 not only relevant again, but a must-own title for any Switch (and eventually 3DS) owner. I truly enjoyed my time with the game, especially once I realized that the ending I got wasn’t the only one. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to jump back into the Sophia III and go find that best ending!