News

SwitchArcade Roundup: Will Nintendo “Switch” Things Up With the Switch?

Posted on by Phillip Stortzum

Welcome to your SwitchArcade Roundup for October 5th, 2018. Your Titan-attacking friend Phil is here on this Friday evening to wrap this week of Switch goodness up. This final roundup of the week is a full one with all of the news, new releases, and discounts that you’ve come to expect from a post-Thursday edition of the SwitchArcade Roundup! You’ve also come to expect a Game of the Day, and today I don’t disappoint in that regard either. Let’s begin!

Game of the Day

Attack on Titan 2 ($59.99)

With the anime in its third season, it seemed like a clever enough idea to talk about a game from Koei Tecmo that tells the story of seasons one and two–albeit in a more digestible manner. It’s Attack on Titan 2, and while the game apparently retells the same story of the first game for most of its duration until getting into all-new season two content, Attack on Titan 2 managed to keep me engaged. It probably helps that I’ve yet to watch the actual anime, but even then I felt I could easily follow along with all of the happenings and goings-on within the story.

Missions in Attack on Titan 2 primarily follow the same formula. Your goal is to take down target Titans by locking onto and attacking the napes of their necks. With the proper distance, velocity, and timing, you can incapacitate them in one swift strike. Larger Titans will need to have some of their extremities cut off first in order to make their weak points vulnerable.

Combat isn’t relegated to the ground. In fact, most of the time you’ll be doing battle in midair, zooming through the sky with your custom character’s Omni-Directional Mobile Gear as you narrowly avoid the swipes of Titans who wish to swallow you whole. My custom character apparently tasted delicious because these Titans loved trying to gobble him up. Of course, you can’t just rely entirely on being jettisoned around the battlefield at all times, as your gear will run out of gas.

While the objective is to defeat Titan targets or defend a base or NPC, it’s worth one’s while to kill as many Titans as quickly as possible in order to reap the rewards after successful missions. This way you earn better ranks in battle, which in turn unlock better materials to create better gear.

There is a good deal of repetition to be found in the core gameplay loop of Attack on Titan 2, so take heed. However, I found constantly slaying dozens upon dozens of Titans to be highly enjoyable and almost cathartic. Dashing through the sky, attempting to get to the back of each Titan to lay the final blow on their vulnerable spot made for some involved, though not tremendously strategic battles. While the eShop still has Attack on Titan 2 available for full price, you can most likely find it for cheaper for a physical copy.

News

Is a hardware revision for the Switch in the cards?

Possibly so, and it might be as soon as the second half of 2019, as the Wall Street Journal reports. What will be included with this new Switch revision from Nintendo? Well, coming from the report, not even Nintendo is completely sure, as the video game giant is currently carefully deciding what new hardware features to include and how much including each feature would cost to manufacture. A possible hardware revision could see an upgrade to the screen of the Switch, bumping it up to a higher quality, energy-saving version. We’ll see if the Wall Street Journal is right on the money with this report, but for current Switch owners out there, how would a new Switch revision make you feel?

Nintendo drops some details on The World Ends With You’s battle system

If you haven’t played The World Ends With You either with the Nintendo DS original or the iPhone remaster, then the upcoming Nintendo Switch version, The World Ends With You: Final Remix, might be a great way to play the game. You’ll leap in to the hip and funky fresh game world set in the Shibuya district in Tokyo, Japan.

The World Ends With You was critically acclaimed and became a hit with DS owners, and now Switch players can see what the fuss is all about or experience this modern JRPG all over again with new added content. This particular trailer from Nintendo showcases how battles work within the Switch version of the game. Note: You can only play The World Ends With You: Final Remix with either touch controls in handheld mode or the Joy-Con’s pointer controls otherwise–a potential point of contention for some prospective players out there.

Monster Boy receives a short delay, now releasing on December 4th

Straight from the publisher, FDG Entertainment’s figurative mouth, all versions of Monster Boy are seeing a one-month delay due to issues during the physical version’s production process. The original planned date was for November 6th, and now the scheduled release date is set for December 4th. While the news is slightly disappointing, it’s alleviated by the delay being less than a month. We’ve waited about five years for Monster Boy, so we can probably wait an extra month!

Nicalis asks players to answer the call with Save me Mr. Tako: Tasukete Tako-San

Save me Mr. Tako: Tasukete Tako-San has been announced for a while now, but no firm release date was ever given by the publisher Nicalis. That is until now. Well, technically it’s the Nintendo eShop listing that gives the release date, but let’s not split hairs here. As the listing states, Save me Mr. Tako: Tasukete Tako-San will possess six individual worlds, a multitude of hats to collect and wear–and these aren’t just to be fashionable, they give our star new abilities–and more side quests and dungeons than you can shake a tentacle at. Mr. Tako and his aquatic Game Boy-style platforming adventure game is set to release on October 30th for a price of $14.99.

Chasm opens up to Nintendo Switch owners for purchase next week

Speaking of Nintendo eShop listings, the well-received action-adventure game Chasm has set its sights on the Switch, releasing next Thursday, October 11th. The game uses a plethora of designer-created rooms and level pieces and arranges them in a way that will be unique to each and every player. It’s your own special world to explore. Will you be dropping some dollars into Chasm when it launches on Switch at $19.99?

New Releases

Super Mario Party ($59.99)

The Mario Party series returns back to its roots–ditching the car mechanic of Mario Party 9 and Mario Party 10 and bringing back traditional free-for-all movement across the game’s four boards. 80 new mini-games across a variety of free-for-all, 2 vs 2, 1 vs. 3, co-operative, and musical categories make clever use of the single Joy-Con controller of the Switch. This isn’t just Mario Party–it’s Super Mario Party, and it’s available today. This isn’t the last you’ll see of Super Mario Party on the SwitchArcade Roundup either, as next week I’ll have some detailed impressions for everyone.

Nefarious ($14.99)

It’s good to be bad. That’s the attitude of Nefarious, where you play as the damsel-stealing bad guy, avoiding do-gooders while also being on the other side of boss battles. Nefarious actually has you be the boss in battles inspired by Final Fantasy, Sonic the Hedgehog, shmups, and many other classic games and genres! Nefarious originally was set to release a couple of weeks ago, but the release date came and went without the game’s appearance on the eShop. Now, it’s finally available for you to give in to your bad side.

oOo: Ascension ($8.99 from $9.99 until October 11)

Don’t touch the sides! …Or the lasers! …Or the walls! …Or those damned spinning blades of death and destruction! oOo: Ascension has a simple premise: pilot your ship around each spherical level with the objective of getting to the goal. In the meantime, anything and everything is trying to obstruct your path and destroy you. Levels may take a minimal amount of seconds to complete, but your attempts in trying to do so will most definitely take several minutes… hell, maybe several dozens of minutes! Try out oOo: Ascension if you dare to look for a challenge, fellow Switch friends!

Art of Balance ($8.99)

Do you recall that project that Shin’en was teasing as its next game? Well, it was a bit of a deflating announcement–yet another port of the WiiWare service’s Art of Balance. Still, it’s not as if the game is a poor title–quite the opposite, in fact. Participate in various balancing and stacking challenges to satisfy each level’s condition to progress further in Art of Balance. All you need is a steady hand. …Oh, and $8.99.

Other New Releases

There are some… uh… interesting titles released this past Thursday on the eShop. I mean “interesting titles" in a good and not-so-good sense. I’ll leave it to you to watch these trailers and game footage to determine which is which.

 

Sales

 

New Games on Sale

 

Thursday saw no less than 40 new game discounts! The SwitchArcade Roundup has them all conveniently… “rounded up" for you.

 

  • Crush Your Enemies! ($6.8 from $8 until October 10)
  • JYDGE ($8.24 from $14.99 until October 10)
  • Soulblight ($13.49 from $14.99 until October 10)
  • Beach Buggy Racing ($4.99 from $9.99 until October 11)
  • Farming Simulator Nintendo Switch Edition ($29.99 from $49.99 until October 11)
  • Garage ($10.49 from $14.99 until October 11)
  • Guts and Glory ($10.49 from $14.99 until October 11)
  • Masters of Anima ($11.99 from $19.99 until October 11)
  • Minit ($7.49 from $9.99 until October 11)
  • Mr. Shifty ($10.49 from $14.99 until October 11)
  • oOo: Ascension ($8.99 from $9.99 until October 11)
  • Phantom Trigger ($10.49 from $14.99 until October 11)
  • Punch Club ($10.49 from $14.99 until October 11)
  • Riptide GP: Renegade ($4.99 from $9.99 until October 11)
  • Road to Ballhalla ($10.49 from $14.99 until October 11)
  • Super Blast Panic ($13.49 from $14.99 until October 11)
  • The Final Station ($13.99 from $19.99 until October 11)
  • Ultra Space Battle Brawl ($10.04 from $14.99 until October 11)
  • Vertical Drop Heroes HD ($6.99 from $9.99 until October 14)
  • Mulaka ($15.98 from $19.98 until October 15)
  • BINGO for Nintendo Switch ($2.49 from $4.99 until October 18)
  • Burly Men at Sea ($7.49 from $9.99 until October 18)
  • Don’t Die, Mr. Robot! ($1.34 from $8.99 until October 18)
  • Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime ($8.99 from $14.99 until October 18)
  • Maria the Witch ($2.49 from $4.99 until October 18)
  • Shikhondo – Soul Eater ($6.99 from $13.99 until October 18)
  • Slain: Back From Hell ($5.99 from $19.99 until October 18)
  • Super Beat Sports ($11.99 from $14.99 until October 18)
  • Super Ping Pong Trick Shot ($2.49 from $4.99 until October 18)
  • The Coma: Recut ($5.99 from $19.99 until October 18)
  • The Next Penelope ($8.49 from $12.99 until October 18)
  • Tiny Troopers Joint Ops XL ($8.7 from $12.99 until October 18)
  • Unepic ($4.99 from $9.99 until October 18)
  • AeternoBlade ($8.99 from $14.99 until October 24)
  • Mad Carnage ($2.49 from $4.99 until October 24)
  • Old Man’s Journey ($7.99 from $9.99 until October 24)
  • Subsurface Circular ($4.79 from $5.99 until October 24)
  • Tactical Mind ($1.49 from $2.99 until October 24)
  • Wanderjahr TryAgainOrWalkAway ($5.99 from $9.99 until October 24)
  • Jumping Joe & Friends ($1.99 from $4.99 until October 25)
  • One Strike ($1.99 from $4.99 until October 25)
  • Robonauts ($3.47 from $8.69 until October 25)

Sales Ending This Weekend

 

  • Death Squared ($13.49 from $14.99 until October 7)
  • Gaokao.Love. 100Days ($9.99 from $11.99 until October 7)
  • I, Zombie ($3.99 from $4.99 until October 7)
  • Kentucky Robo Chicken ($1.99 from $2.49 until October 7)
  • The Long Reach ($5.09 from $14.99 until October 7)
  • Detective Gallo ($11.99 from $14.99 until October 8)
  • Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Deluxier Edition ($11.99 from $14.99 until October 8)
  • Superola and the Lost Burgers ($3.59 from $5.99 until October 8)

 

That’s all she wrote for this edition of the SwitchArcade Roundup. We’ll see you back here next week for more news, impressions–such as for Super Mario Party–new releases, sales, and more when the SwitchArcade Roundup returns! Until then, keep your Joy-Cons charged and your Switches loaded with great games!