Welcome to your SwitchArcade Roundup for September 24th, 2018. This past weekend was the Tokyo Game Show, and while the announcements for Switch owners were few, there’s still plenty to cover on this first SwitchArcade Roundup of the week. I have news, new releases and sales from Friday, and some Cities: Skylines – Nintendo Switch Edition impressions to provide for everyone today. Get ready and get set, because we’re going!
Cities: Skylines – Nintendo Switch Edition Impressions
I grew up loving everything about roads and cities. I loved traveling in the car with my dad, asking where so-and-so road went, and where such-and-such street ended. It was like I was on an adventure. That curiosity built into a love for city-building simulators like SimCity, which I, of course, didn’t really care about playing by the rules. I just wanted unlimited money on and disasters off so I could create my desired metropolis uninterrupted… or at least make something that resembled a city.
Now that I’m older in age (but whether I’m wiser or not is anyone’s guess), I’ve gotten more interested in the ins and outs of city management. Since EA has pretty much taken the SimCity franchise out back and pulled an “Old Yeller" to it, I’m forced to look elsewhere for new games to feed my city-building vice.
That’s where Cities: Skylines comes in. Despite owning the PS4 version of the game after hearing how excellent it was, I kept putting it off and putting it off. There’s something about playing a game while stuck to a TV that isn’t as conducive to the long hours I like to spend in a game like this. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised to see a Switch port of Cities: Skylines–sensibly enough called Cities: Skylines – Nintendo Switch Edition–get announced during the Nintendo Direct about two weeks ago. I could play in handheld mode and lose myself in my city-making at the comfort of my chair, couch, desk, and toil–well, you see where I’m going with this.
I was pretty overwhelmed starting out with Cities: Skylines. There’s a lot of information to take in. While the tutorial helps with the basics, it doesn’t go into enough depth to give you all you need to know without having you resort to outside sources for assistance. That said, I appreciate Cities for having an unlimited money mode so I could play around with the gameplay systems involved so I wouldn’t get frustrated right from the word “start". I could experiment with the different tools and not really be penalized for doing so.
As I played, I realized I was building my city out way too fast. That’s my inner child who was playing–building as many roads that led to all sorts of cool places as possible. However, once I started with a new city, starting with a handful of blocks, I found myself better adjusting to the rigors of being mayor. Suddenly, my income wasn’t in the red; my citizens weren’t dying in their homes, stuck there with no nearby cemetery around to rest in peace; and my town was actually turning into a bustling burg.
However, with being a bustling burg, the Switch version of Cities: Skylines meets its match performance-wise. Once I reached a population of around 12,000 people, I could only fast forward in double speed instead of up to triple speed. The frame-rate struggled even harder to keep up than it had previously. However, even with these problems, I found myself fully immersed in my city-building. Dammit, I was mayor! Regardless of tornado, flood, or frame-rate stuttering, I was going to make my city the best it could possibly be!
It seems that other Switch owners don’t mind these performance issues either, as Cities: Skylines – Nintendo Switch Edition remains a top-seller on the Nintendo eShop, at least here in North America. You might say, “So what, Phil!? Those stupid Beanie Babies sold a lot in the ’90s, so sales don’t always equal quality!"
To that I say: 1) Don’t bring up Beanie Babies ever again. Our family invested thousands in those freaking things and now they’re worthless, and 2) Cities: Skylines on the Switch IS good, despite these previously mentioned performance problems. It’s a testament to how excellent the gameplay systems are and how well designed they are that makes players like me continue to come back to the game and lose countless hours with it.
News
Dragon Quest XI for Switch has been given its official name
…And not much else! Though it was one of the first titles–if not THE first title announced for the then-“NX" system, Dragon Quest XI is still nowhere to be seen on the Switch. There’s no question of two things regarding the Switch version of Dragon Quest XI: 1) It was announced a BIT too early, and 2) It’s going to be fashionably late compared to its PS4 and 3DS older brothers.
However, some new news came the Tokyo Game Show, and it’s the smallest of the small news: an official name. The Switch version of Dragon Quest XI will be officially known as Dragon Quest XI S. Yes, the top story of the SwitchArcade Roundup’s News section is dedicated to Square Enix adding the letter “S" to the title of the Dragon Quest XI. You are welcome, world. Seriously though, I wouldn’t expect the game to launch on the Switch until late next year at the earliest.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy is officially preparing its case for the Switch
Objection!!! Well, that’s too bad–because Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy was announced for the Switch and will be localized for the West whether you objected or not! Seeing as how dedicated the series’s fans are because of the high quality of these detective/courtroom adventure games, why would you even want to object to these hitting the Switch in the first place?! You can relive or enjoy these high-stakes, turnabout-is-fair-play courtroom dramas for the very first time when the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy launches on the Switch next year.
The Sword Art Online series strikes and slashes its way onto the Switch, as does an entry in the BlazBlue franchise
A trio of third-party ports is hitting the Switch with BlazBlue: Central Fiction Special Edition, Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization Deluxe Edition, and Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet Complete Edition. Arc System Works’s BlazBlue: Central Fiction originally hit arcades and consoles in 2015, whereas Bandai Namco’s Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization released in 2017, and more recently, Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet released this past February in North America.
While BlazBlue has already seen an appearance on the Switch with BlazBlue: Cross-Tag Battle, the two upcoming Sword Art Online games mark that franchise’s first showing on Nintendo’s hybrid. No specific release dates were given for any of three games by their respective publishers–in fact, the announcement of BlazBlue: Central Fiction Special Edition was just from a slide! At least there’s a confirmation of a localization in the following trailer provided by Bandai Namco celebrating the five-year anniversary of the Sword Art Online series for Hollow Realization Deluxe Edition and Fatal Bullet Complete Edition.
Ubisoft’s Sports Party for the Switch gets a release date and trailer
While the demographics of Nintendo console owners have certainly changed from the Wii days compared to the modern Switch days, it’s always nice to have some more casual-oriented, family fare available to folks as well as all of the more traditional gaming experiences we’ve come to expect from the Switch. Ubisoft now brings a Wii Sports-like game to the Switch audience with Sports Party. Featuring six sports in all (Basketball, Beach Tennis, Frisbee, Golf, Jet Ski, and Skateboarding), classic and button controls, unlockable attire and accessories for your custom avatar, and much more, Sports Party will have the action heat up for Switch families for when the weather cools down on October 30th. (I’m pretty proud of that clever contrast I just wrote there!)
New Releases
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country ($39.99)
A prequel to the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, this new chapter–Torna ~ The Golden Country–is seen by Nintendo as a respectable entry point for players to get up to speed with the original Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Of course, Nintendo also wants to sell the game to as many people as possible, so maybe play XC2 first. For everyone else, if you enjoyed your time in XC2‘s world, then you’ll most likely find a lot more to love with Torna. This past Friday marked the physical release of Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country. The week prior, those who owned the original XC2 could purchase this new chapter in the game as a separate DLC purchase on the Nintendo eShop.
Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse ($29.99)
Okay. One broken sword? Fine. It’s okay. Everybody messes up eventually. Two broken swords? All right. Maybe you were dual-wielding and the action got so intense you broke both of ’em. By the time you get to your fifth broken sword, you’re going to have your butt chewed out by your blacksmith. In actuality, Broken Sword 5: The Serpent’s Curse is an adventure game from 2013 from the long-running Broken Sword franchise (where else?), and it’s now available on the Switch as of this past Friday.
Other New Releases
- My Brother Rabbit ($14.99)
- Debris Infinity ($4.99)
- Arcade Archives Excitebike ($7.99)
Sales
New Games on Sale
The publisher Nicalis has most of its wares on discount as of this past Friday, so check out some excellent deals. May I recommend Cave Story+, Ikaruga, Ittle Dew 2+, and The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ especially?
- Cave Story+ ($14.99 from $29.99 until October 1)
- Ikaruga ($9.99 from $14.99 until October 1)
- Ittle Dew 2+ ($14.99 from $29.99 until October 1)
- Knight Terrors ($1.99 from $2.99 until October 1)
- The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ ($19.99 from $39.99 until October 1)
- The End is Nigh ($4.99 from $14.99 until October 1)
- Tiny Barbarian DX ($9.99 from $29.99 until October 1)
- VVVVVV ($4.99 from $9.99 until October 1)
- Super Volley Blast ($8.49 from $9.99 until October 4)
Sales Ending Today – Monday, September 24th
While Nicalis’ sales begin, publisher Two Tribes’ sales end. Sunrise, sunset. Sunrise, sunset. Outside of Two Tribes, games like Air Mail and Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles (both previously Games of the Day) have their discounts expire later today.
- Air Mail ($11.99 from $14.99 until September 24)
- Light Fall ($9.74 from $14.99 until September 24)
- Never Stop ($3.99 from $4.99 until September 24)
- RIVE: Ultimate Edition ($8.24 from $14.99 until September 24)
- Spheroids ($5.99 from $7.99 until September 24)
- Spy Chameleon ($5.99 from $7.99 until September 24)
- Toki Tori ($2.74 from $4.99 until September 24)
- Toki Tori 2+: Nintendo Switch Edition ($8.24 from $14.99 until September 24)
- Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles ($23.99 from $29.99 until September 24)
Sales Ending Tuesday, September 25th
- Hand of Fate 2 ($23.99 from $29.99 until September 25)
- Mutant Mudds Collection ($7.49 from $14.99 until September 25)
- Shape of the World ($11.99 from $14.99 until September 25)
- Soccer Slammers ($4.99 from $9.99 until September 25)
- Totes the Goat ($2.49 from $4.99 until September 25)
- Voxel Shot ($7.2 from $8 until September 25)
- Xeodrifter ($4.99 from $9.99 until September 25)
We’ll see you back here next time for another installment of the SwitchArcade Roundup. Remember, all: Keep your Joy-Cons charged and your Switches loaded with great games!
