The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV builds off of the previous three entries and finally brings a conclusion to the long-running Erebonian Arc.
After seeing the criticism, some of it even being our own, on how lazily put together the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection was last fall, I’m stoked that Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury ended up delivering me as much fun as it did. I went ahead and pre-ordered the day before release to be able to pre-download and start immediately at midnight, and I think I sat there and made it to world six by 5am, collecting a good chunk of the stars and stamps along the way. I was hooked for a solid 3 days straight, finishing it before the weekend ended, but that’s okay because I spent 20 hours total and loved every minute of it. Whether you played through the original release or not, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury is worth the price of admission and deserves a spot in your Switch library, offering up a nice trip back to a great Wii U release that most didn’t get to enjoy, and a stellar side addition that could have been so much more had it released alongside Odyssey as some DLC or an Expansion Pass.
Trails in the Sky the 3rd is a bittersweet release that fans have been crying out for ever since completing the first two games. XSEED has delivered on a promise that many thought wouldn't be able to happen. A great send-off to a trilogy that introduced a ton of people to the franchise. Just be aware that a majority of the game takes place in one location. This is a must-play for anyone that has invested time in the first two games. Anyone else, I encourage you to hold off until after playing through the original two.
Disgaea 5 Complete marks the return of the series to Nintendo consoles, and it feels like it never left. If Sony doesn't produce handhelds going forward, it's nice to know that the franchise will always have a home on future Nintendo systems. With all of the DLC included for free and the complete package that was offered on the PS4, if you have yet to experience this game, now is the perfect time to jump in!
Anyone that’s a fan of the old Sonic games, or just misses this style of game and is looking for a new experience. You owe it to yourself to pick this up on Nintendo Switch. It’s a combination that just can’t be beat.
IO Interactive continues to impress with Hitman Episode 2, and it might honestly be my favorite Hitman experience to date, in any of the games. You can literally get lost for hours, wandering around the coastal town and just seeing what all there is to do and interact with. They have continued to build a living, breathing world, full of NPC’s that live their own lives. It’s amazing how many different areas there are that are fully explorable, and you can find ways to complete the mission that don’t even involve any of the Opportunities, or are so far out there that hardly anyone probably thought to try it. I actually almost pulled off a run taking both targets out in less than ten minutes without being spotted, but slipped up right at the end and was killed. It’s those types of moments that will keep people coming back to this installment of Hitman over and over again, because each consecutive playthrough has the potential to be so radically different.
Watch Dogs 2 is a great step up from the original Watch Dogs, and certainly seems to be driving the franchise in the right direction moving forward. It’ll be interesting to see where Ubisoft decides to take the series next. One thing for sure, I hope that there is another sizeable gap between this one and the eventual Watch Dogs 3, if there does happen to be another one. Going away for a couple years gives fans of the games time to appreciate them more, especially with Watch Dogs 2 since it is such a great game with a lot of content to hold fans over for now.
It felt so good being back in the world of Fairy Fencer F, as it’s definitely my favorite Compile Heart release to date. I truly hope they continue to explore this world with future releases, as there’s so many more stories to be told here. It’s also their most beautiful game available on PlayStation 4 to date. Even if you aren’t a fan of their other releases, you owe it to yourself to play this one if you’re a fan of JRPG’s.
The King of Fighters XIV is definitely the best version in the series to date. With the introduction of the 3D models and beautifully realized graphics, on top of the traditional and classic fighting system that SNK has perfected over the years, this one will keep fans coming back for quite some time.
Resident Evil 7 is exactly what the series needed to keep it moving forward, and honestly, it’s what the horror genre needed to keep it fresh and exciting. Hopefully other developers become fueled by the success and praise Resident Evil 7 has been receiving to kick start a revival of this beloved genre, which has been quite lacking as of recently. Capcom fully has my attention again, and while the game isn’t perfect, it is absolutely the best Resident Evil game we’ve seen in the last decade.
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero will whisk you away on a platforming nostalgia trip while you platform through beautifully designed levels to a rocking soundtrack in the background. The platforming featured throughout is some of the most fun I’ve had with the genre in quite some time. The actual design of the levels is intricate yet fun to navigate, as each one holds secrets galore. Different forms that Shantae will gather allows her to revisit older levels to try and find secret areas and collectibles that you may have missed the first time through. And some of those forms are necessary to reach these areas. The game definitely offers a lot of replayability and invites players to keep coming back to past areas and levels in order to see everything Shantae: Half-Genie Hero has to offer. And since the game is quite fun, doing so didn’t feel like a chore either.
Games like Virginia are extremely rare in the industry. It will grab at you from the opening moments, and it will refuse to let go until well after the credits have rolled. It’s also on the short side, as a complete playthrough should take about two hours, three if you actively seek out the few collectibles it has to offer. While not a perfect game, as it does have small hiccups here and there, it’s definitely one of the better adventure games that I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing in recent memory.
Seasons after Fall is a game that deserves all the praise and attention it will undoubtedly receive. Offering a unique style of gameplay with the ability to control the seasons, and a lovely artistic style that other games only dream of having, this is one that fans of platformers everywhere need to experience. Get lost in this word, and let the feeling of walking through nature as a child and appreciating every little thing engulf you once again. You won't regret it.
Dragon Quest Builders is one game that is definitely worth your time and commitment if you are a fan of the series, a fan of creation within games, or even better, both of those combined.
I wish I could say this was the definitive Dead or Alive experience. I really do. That honor still belongs to Dead or Alive 4. There’s an insane amount of fun to be had in DOA6, and it truly is a great game for pure fighting mechanics and unique characters.
Fans of platforming games and Nintendo fans in general, if you haven’t played Yoshi’s Crafted World yet, you’re doing yourself a disservice. While this isn’t a perfect game and does have some drawbacks like the easy difficulty, what it manages to do with different platforming mechanics like having Yoshi control a freaking airplane by moving around it in one stage, made this title worth the journey for me. An incredibly cute and fun adventure, this title is sure to please even the most hardcore of fan when all is said and done.
The amount of fun that you and a friend will have while playing through Tick Tock: A Tale for Two far outweighs any small negatives that are present. We need to see more of these types of games releasing on a regular basis, as they offer a different type of gameplay we don’t normally see from traditional multiplayer games.
Crash Bandicoot’s resurgence into modern culture is a welcome breath of fresh air. Now, let’s get both a new entry in the kart racing series that has never been seen, but more importantly.. a brand new platforming game. Crash is back!
I think Code Vein is a special release for anyone that appreciates the FROMSoftware formula and is a big fan of their work like myself that is really also an anime fan at heart. Bandai Namco put a lot of work into making this feel epic and grand on a scale they’ve not yet done before, and it paid off for the most part. The combat is fast and fluid while maintaining the difficulty fans want of this genre. The storytelling is top notch with characters you’ll want to bleed and die for. The small annoyances that existed throughout were a bit of a shame and definitely took us out of the experience a few times, but for the most part.. this is a game worthy of playing in a Fall lineup that is absolutely packed.
A sequel would do wonders for Tokyo Mirage Sessions. It would be fun if ATLUS took it in a similar route to that of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel. Without diving into any spoilers, we could see Fortuna Entertainment years down the road with a new cast of playable characters as the Mirages are breaking into our world once again, and throughout the story, we could run into many of the previous playable characters from this game and have them join our party as cameo members for an Idolasphere dungeon or something. Sound too good to be true? It probably is, and my biggest fear is this is a one and done series. But I hope not. There’s so much to love here, and even though it’s a few years old and doesn’t look nearly as modern as some of the other games coming out in 2020, it’s still one of the best JRPG experiences you can find on the Nintendo Switch.