Welcome to your July 23rd edition of the SwitchArcade Roundup, where news, impressions, new releases, and sales are always covered every weekday. This tradition continues with this new week of Switch-related content for your Monday. I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and played some awesome games! I got some heavy playing time into our Game of the Day, which saw its release last Tuesday. Consider this a Game of the Day and some impressions all rolled up in one! That’s killing two badniks with one Spin Dash! …Or something to that effect.
Game of the Day
Sonic Mania Plus (Retail: $29.99, Digital: Sonic Mania + DLC = $19.99)
Last year’s Sonic Mania was one of my favorite games of 2017. That’s mighty fine praise when you look at all of the competition across all platforms. Unlike past efforts at bringing Sonic back to his roots, Sonic Mania played superbly, offering myriad zones–four new and double that number returning with unique new level mechanics to them–and physics that felt pilfered directly from the Genesis (or Mega Drive, depending on what you are familiar with) era 2D Sonic the Hedgehog games. Considering Sonic Team has struggled with this for years now, and all it took was a group of developers who were originally fan game creators to upstage them, that is seriously one impressive feat.
Sonic Mania can either be purchased digitally for $14.99 and then the Encore Mode DLC for $4.99, or one can get the game physically for $29.99. As a connoisseur of collecting games (that phrase made me sound snobbier than I actually am), I definitely felt the need to jump on the physical edition, despite already owning the digital version of Sonic Mania on the Switch. That’s more a testament to my sheer admiration and joy I have for this game (and being a slave for physical games), which I deem to be my favorite 2D Sonic game–yes, even besting Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Please do not pull out and/or light any torches.
Sonic Mania Plus‘s Encore Mode is harder when compared to the game’s traditional Mania Mode; the latter being the normal difficulty of the game. What makes Encore Mode worthwhile and different are the additions of being able to switch between characters with a press of the X button. You can have up to five characters at once, but only two can be on screen at the same time. By hitting special switching monitors, the characters you can control change. Don’t like your partnership of Tails and “Knock-knock, it’s Knuckles, unlike Sonic I don’t chuckle" Knuckles? Find the appropriate monitor to bash into and change things up! When a character perishes, you have one less to work with. So, if “new"comer Mighty were to get knocked out, you’d only have up to four characters left. Have all of them die, and, if you’re without a continue, it’s game over.
Encore Mode also alters the structure of levels, adding in more challenging obstacles and enemy patterns, changing up where Special Stage Rings are, adds seven new Special Stage levels (the first one of which is equal to Mania Mode’s fifth or sixth Special Stage in difficulty), and gives its zones a colorful makeover. For instance, Green Hill Zone is played out during sunset instead of daytime, and Chemical Plant Zone is cast in a blue hue rather than a red one.
Whether you go for physical or digital, go for Sonic Mania Plus and its fantastic Encore Mode. The controls are as tight and responsive as the Genesis/Mega Drive classics, the physics actually feel right, the level design is sublime, and the overall presentation knocks it out of the proverbial park, as does the entire retro gaming package.
News
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild content announced for Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
Between last week’s dual announcement and release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild‘s crossover content in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, being able to dress up your custom character in the Champion’s Tunic in The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim, and now this bit of news, Breath of the Wild certainly gets around more than a traveling salesman who regularly uses up their frequent flyer miles!
On August 28th, Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate–an updated expansion to the original Nintendo 3DS Monster Hunter Generations game–will receive The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild-themed DLC officially in the western side of the world. You will be able to wear the Champion’s Tunic with your specialized hunter, and in addition to that, your Felyne friend can dress up as a Korok. Do you plan on getting Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate next month?
Take-Two says it’s pleased with the sales of its Nintendo Switch games
Take-Two hasn’t been the absolute strongest supporter of the Switch, but in terms of Western third-parties, they’re near the top–and that says more about the weak level of support from the bigger Western publishers on the Switch than anything else. That notwithstanding, Switch owners have seen some fine efforts from Take-Two, including NBA 2K18, a port of L.A. Noire, and to a much, much, much, much less extent, WWE 2K18 (which is less of a “sports entertainment" simulator and more of a “technical mess" (or in pro wrestling terms, a “technical botch") simulator.
GamesIndustry spoke with Take-Two’s CEO, Straus Zelnick about a number of subjects, but the one that relates to the SwitchArcade Roundup is how Take-Two’s Switch offerings have sold. No numbers were given–just a quote from Zelnick saying that “What we’ve put out so far has been successful." Adding to that, Zelnick mentioned that more Switch games are on their way. Two of these include this fall’s NBA 2K19 and the return of a series that started on the Wii, Carnival Games.
Western Taiko Drum Master release forthcoming?
Some subtle clues of Taiko Drum Master possibly being localized in the West after an absence of over ten years have popped up here and there. Earlier this month, the Australian Classification Board rated Taiko Drum Master for the Nintendo Switch, spurring lots of excitement among longtime fans of the franchise. Fast forward to now, where a dataminer going through the Japanese version’s files has found an English logo and related files to a game called Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun. The odds are pretty good that those interested in the game won’t need to import this time around. Now, that’s some promising news I can drum to!
Attack on Titan 2 receives free update on August 9th
To celebrate the airing of the third season of the Attack on Titan anime, Koei Tecmo has a brand-new, free update to its Attack on Titan 2 video game releasing on August 9th. Starting off is the addition of a new hat in the character editor, representing a new character debuting in Season 3. Also, a breezier difficulty setting called “Heaven" will be included, where all consumable items can be used infinitely instead of being limited. For the first time, custom characters will have the ability to gain and equip skills and abilities from characters from the show. In addition to all that, the two online-exclusive modes will offer the option to practice them offline before you dive right into them against online players. I’m quite liking the gift that keeps on giving, Attack on Titan 2‘s free updates, as the game is a thrilling romp that even coming from someone who isn’t committed to the source material, enjoyed (i.e. me).
de Blob 2 officially colors and paints its way to the Nintendo Switch next month
The Switch already saw the release of de Blob last month to add some color to Switch owners’ library of games. Now, from a listing on the North American Nintendo eShop, we have a confirmation of its sequel, de Blob 2, getting ready to splash onto the system next month–August 28, to be specific. With more platforming aspects, including some rather sweet 2D sections, de Blob 2 is ready to paint the town red, blue, yellow, orange, gree–well, you get the picture! Check out the trailer for the game. (While it’s for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions released earlier in the year, it should look and play similarly on the Switch.)
New Releases
Life Goes On: Done to Death ($12.99)
Nothing better to kick off the start of the work week by getting morbid! Life Goes On: Done to Death has players guiding several knights to their deaths, all the while putting their dead corpses to use through platforming and puzzle challenges. Chop a knight in half to have its body hold down a button to allow your other knights to pass, or use a knight’s body to blast it out of a cannon, because death in Life Goes On: Done to Death isn’t a form of punishment–rather it’s a form of progression.
Zaccaria Pinball (Free-to-play with microtransactions)
With this free-to-play pinball game, you get automatic access to two playble tables for no cost. If you want to play another table without limits (such as without a score limit), you’ll need to plop down some digital dollars. Available in both arcade and simulations modes, Zaccaria Pinball will have you bounce, tilt, and flip your way to high score heaven on a multitude of pinball tables. Just be ready to open your wallet if you want the full lineup of 30+ tables.
Sales
New Games on Sale
- One More Dungeon ($5.99 from $7.99 until August 5)
- Plantera ($3.74 from $4.99 until August 5)
- Plague Road ($1 from $15 until August 12)
- Rock’N Racing Off Road DX ($5.99 from $7.99 until August 12)
Sales Ending Tuesday, July 24th
- Bomber Crew ($11.99 from $14.99 until July 24)
- Bomber Crew: Deluxe Edition ($14.99 from $19.99 until July 24)
- Slime-san ($5.99 from $11.99 until July 24)
Monday’s SwitchArcade Roundup has officially rounded up all of the pertinent news, new releases, and sales going on right now on the Switch. Nothing left for me to say except, keep your Joy-Cons charged and your Switches entertained with great games!
