Donald Theriault
It's hard to fully rate these fan discs or compilations of post-game content because they're so dependent on how well the base game clicked with you, or if you weren't satisfied with the handling of a suitor and want to see them get their comeuppance. Later x Crowd is one of the better fandisc treatments on the Switch, however, with a good mix of modes and two games worth of fanservice. It's a definite recommendation after clearing the original.
2021 is quickly turning into an argument for the Switch being a top 3 RPG console ever, and we're only at the end of #JRPGJuly. NEO: The World Ends With You is living up to the hype I was feeling when it was announced and then some as it took everything I already loved about the original and made it work on a single screen in the modern day. Don't miss it.
My final typo count was only in the single digits. There's two things I can credit for this: Wintertide Miracles did get localized previously, and with the release schedule slowing down from the "six launches in ten months" pace of 2020, it does allow more time for squashing editing bugs. Last week's announcements that the next otome from Aksys that's coming out won't be until "fall 2021" is raising my hopes for the editors when that wave comes crashing in.
Overall, it’s a solid package, but not good as a jumping-in point.
As an exploration of modern vampire life, it’s a gripping story, but it’s missing some things that would be needed to make it a better-playing game.
Although Nintendo originally published Culdcept Revolt in Japan, their 2017 dance card was full enough that NIS America was able to pick this up for the rest of the world. And I'm glad that they did, as it feels like a game that'll be a cult hit, but won't be a breakout hit.
Little things in the text set off my editor senses. The plot quickly derails and is so overbearing with the focus on fanservice that I wanted to scream. Maybe PQube should try again with the Judgment 7 version next year, but I'm not holding my breath for it.
Touhou Kobuto V: Burst Battle originally started out as a PlayStation Vita game, and would have released there a few months ago but for NIS America's desire to do a simultaneous multiplatform release. A game of this quality wouldn't have been acceptable on the Vita, and being on the Switch is only serving to expose its myriad flaws to more people. If you need to see girls beat the snot out of each other on the Switch, there's already plenty of better options.
If there's a patch to fix the text bugs - as of the review time, the game was still on 1.0.0 - then I might endeavor to dive back into Chaos;Child. But for now, there's still plenty of other things for me to read that I'm not worried about bouncing out of the game early.
However, Wrestling Empire isn't quite "so bad it's good" territory, nor is it the worst. It's basically the small indie wrestling company bringing in a guy with TV exposure to sell tickets. And with more competition coming in the short and hopefully longer terms for Switch wrestling games, it'll be one of those "Oh yeah, that happened" games in short order.
It has a purpose in theory and might have been acceptable in its current form several years ago, but more efficient ways are on the way to get a sports fix. And with Baseball Stars 2 hopefully coming from Hamster and the fingers-crossed dream of mine that Super Mega Baseball 2 will touch 'em all including the Switch, we won't be lacking for smart baseball options. In a simulation game, I'd at least like to bring Youppi back to a baseball stadium, but that'll have to wait 'til next year.
If you're OK with putting up with -chan lingo and otaku of the highest order, then it might be worth sitting down with Chaos;Head Noah for a weekend - or even if you want to see what led to the Steins;Gate series. As for me, I'm going to head to the sequel and hope the main character is a little less irritating. (Or maybe J. Michael Tatum can make him not sound like a complete twit, I don't know.)
If you're ready to go all-in on Astria Ascending… well, you probably already have. If not, there's plenty of fish in the RPG sea on Switch and some more marlins coming before the year's out. You'll be able to get your fill.
The Space Invaders Forever might keep me playing forever between grabbing everything in the Arkanoid game and trying to boost my scores in Extreme. But it's impossible to ignore what's been left out to try and get people to shell out for a physical game: you can't really call it "Forever" when the oldest game of the bunch debuted after I graduated from university. Keep an eye out for updates, but as for what's available in December 2020? Wait.
The developers FreakZone Games have created a pair of competent games that play to their source material well. If you're into platforming that's as hard as diamonds and still enjoy the series's brand of humour, you might want to take these games for a spin. But for me, who hasn't watched a Nerd video in years and had his fill of NES hard when the NES was the system of record, I'm out.
It's hard to find a close comparable for Collar x Malice Unlimited. I loved the story of the first game and appreciated the chance to see where things went, but the text issues just became too much for me to handle. If it gets redone however, I will dive back in to relive some of these moments again.
When we didn't have many options for baseball games on Switch, I put way more time into RBI Baseball than would be considered sane. But with the arcade realm owned by the two Super Mega Baseball games and the Arcade Archives, and the best in the business arriving next year, RBI Baseball is probably going to end up as a talking head on a team's postgame show.
Power Disc Slam is a fine game in theory, but there’s something missing that will prevent it from breaking out on the 3DS. This is the kind of game that would benefit from a larger view – maybe a console port? - and making it easier to show others that it exists even through Download Play. But as it stands, it’s probably better to hope the Japanese mob lets Windjammers come out again.
I suspect I'm not in the audience that Cast of the Seven Godsends is targeting. I think speedrunners will get a lot of mileage out of this game, and if you somehow managed to enjoy Super Ghouls and Ghosts back in the day take the Cast out for a spin. As for me, I'm moving on to less painful pursuits, like sorting out E3 rumors.
undefined.If I'm not having fun with an RPG I've noticed lately that I have to force myself to play it. Monark started strong but my opinion of it dropped rapidly every time I spent an hour checking everything I had unlocked in the school; I had to be missing SOMETHING that would get me to proceed, right? If you're feeling sharp and are okay with little to no environmental variety then Monark might be worth a look - there's a demo for it - but it's nowhere near the best RPG from this developer in the last six months.