News

SwitchArcade Round-Up: Nintendo Direct Scheduled for Today, Pokemon Let’s Go Gets a Demo, ‘Iron Crypticle’ Releases, Today’s Sales, and More

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for February 13th, 2019. This is one of those days where I wish I wasn’t operating from a different time zone, because today is going to be all about that Nintendo Direct happening this afternoon, at which time I will be snug in my bed here in Japan. Oh well, that’s just the way it goes sometimes. In any case, we’ve got a few news items, a look at today’s sole new release (at the time of writing), and a full list of today’s sales. Feel free to use the comments section for wild Nintendo Direct speculation and discussion, though. Let’s get to it!

News

The Latest Nintendo Direct Airs This Afternoon at 2pm PST

I’d like to think I brought this Nintendo Direct into being by speculating about it in the last paragraph of yesterday’s article, written earlier in the day but published after Nintendo made its announcement. Well, anyway. Nintendo Direct! Finally! It starts this afternoon at 2pm PST, will run for 35 minutes, and will include more information on the upcoming Fire Emblem: Three Houses at the very minimum. Which is good, because that is apparently coming out this spring? Anyway, we’ll have a recap tomorrow, but you should try to watch it yourself on YouTube or something.

Nintendo Puts Up a Demo For ‘Pokemon Let’s Go’ For Those Still on the Fence

Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee and Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu have been out for a few months now, but if you were interested in the slightly new approach the games take to the tried and tested formula, but not interested enough to buy it, Nintendo has an offer for you. They’ve put a demo for the game up on the eShop across all regions, allowing you to try out a portion of the game before you commit. It’s… it’s a little late, to be honest, but better late than never?

The Next ‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’ Spirit Event Focuses on ‘Zelda’

This weekend’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Spirit Board event has been announced, and it’s going to be themed around The Legend of Zelda. Titled Power, Wisdom, and Courage, it will see the various Zelda-related Spirits show up at an increased rate. Defeat them and you’ll earn some extra gold for your coffers. As usual, the event will kick off this weekend and run through both days, giving you plenty of time to rack up the wins.

‘Super Mario Bros. 2’ and ‘Kirby’s Adventure’ Are Now Available in ‘NES Switch Online’

Subscribers to Nintendo’s Switch Online service can update their NES Switch Online apps right now to get access to two newly-added classics: Super Mario Bros. 2 and Kirby’s Adventure. Both are fantastic games, and well-worth playing again. Those who have downloaded the Famicom Switch Online app can also get access to Tsuppari Ozumo, a pretty fun sumo wrestling game that never came out in the West. There are, as usual, a couple of SP versions in this update as well. Blaster Master SP puts you right near the end of the game, while Metroid SP2 (another one?) drops you not in front of Ridley like the last one did, but actually at the end of the game. Wrap things up without too much dawdling and you can see Samus step out of her power suit in the ending.

New Releases

Iron Crypticle ($9.99)

SwitchArcade Highlight!

I’m probably going to write a proper review of this one soon, but I have some pressing personal issues to take care of so you’ll have to get by with this paragraph for now. Iron Crypticle is another twin-stick shooter, but it’s quite a good one. One cool feature is that up to four players can play this one at once, so it’s quite a good choice if you’ve got a room full of friends. It feels a bit like Smash TV mashed up with a Ghosts ‘n Goblins aesthetic, with a few sprinklings of RPG and roguelite elements for good measure. There are lots of good choices in this genre on the Switch, and Iron Crypticle probably isn’t going to shake things up, but it’s certainly good fun.

Sales

At least at the time of writing, the most exciting thing going on is yet another sale on Diablo 3: Eternal Collection, which I’m pretty sure they want every Switch owner to buy sooner or later. There are a few other interesting games on sale, but nothing that really jumps out at me personally. Quite a few sales are ending soon, so make sure to check through the list to see if anything was of interest to you. With the Direct looming, I’m sure time will make a fool of me once again after this has been written, of course.

New Games on Sale

Diablo 3: Eternal Collection ($39.59 from $59.99 until 2/20)
Anima: Gate of Memories Arcane Edition ($26.99 from $29.99 until 2/19)
Anima: Gate of Memories – The Nameless Chronicles ($13.99 from $19.99 until 2/19)
Anima: Gate of Memories ($13.99 from $19.99 until 2/19)
Ginger: Beyond the Crystal ($9.99 from $19.99 until 2/19)
Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today ($7.49 from $14.99 until 2/19)
Nightmare Boy ($5.49 from $9.99 until 2/19)
Freaky Awesome ($10.39 from $12.99 until 2/19)
Demon’s Crystals ($11.99 from $14.99 until 2/19)
Mars: Chaos Menace ($7.99 from $9.99 until 2/19)
Leopoldo Manquiseil ($5.39 from $5.99 until 2/19)
Awe ($4.49 from $4.99 until 2/19)
Moonlighter ($18.74 from $24.99 until 2/24)

Sales Ending Tomorrow, Thursday, February 14th

Mecho Wars: Desert Ashes ($4.99 from $9.99 until 2/14)
Tokyo School Life ($13.49 from $14.99 until 2/14)
Solstice Chronicles: MIA ($13.49 from $14.99 until 2/14)
Six Sides of the World ($2.00 from $10.00 until 2/14)
Milanoir ($6.49 from $12.99 until 2/14)
Hyper Sentinel ($1.94 from $12.99 until 2/14)
Oh…Sir! The Hollywood Roast ($1.19 from $2.99 until 2/14)
Oh…Sir! The Insult Simulator ($0.79 from $1.99 until 2/14)
Rocket League ($11.99 from $19.99 until 2/14)
Semispheres ($4.99 from $9.99 until 2/14)
Green Game: TimeSwapper ($1.49 from $2.99 until 2/14)
Red Game Without a Great Name ($1.49 from $2.99 until 2/14)
The Stillness of the Wind ($11.04 from $12.99 until 2/14)
Merchants of Kaidan ($8.99 from $9.99 until 2/14)
Guess the Character ($2.09 from $2.99 until 2/14)
Harvest Life ($24.99 from $29.99 until 2/14)
Pinstripe ($10.49 from $14.99 until 2/14)
A Case of Distrust ($7.49 from $14.99 until 2/14)
Time Carnage ($6.49 from $12.99 until 2/14)
Lifeless Planet: Premiere Edition ($9.99 from $19.99 until 2/14)
Realpolitiks ($6.24 from $24.99 until 2/14)
MUSYNX ($20.99 from $29.99 until 2/14)
Die for Valhalla! ($7.19 from $11.99 until 2/14)
Coffin Dodgers ($6.49 from $12.99 until 2/14)
Superbeat: XONiC ($10.49 from $29.99 until 2/14)
The Bridge ($2.89 from $9.99 until 2/14)
Cycle 28 ($3.49 from $6.99 until 2/14)
Elemental Knights R ($20.47 from $22.75 until 2/14)
Swords & Soldiers ($4.94 from $9.99 until 2/14)
Tumblestone ($4.34 from $14.99 until 2/14)

That’s it for now, but tomorrow will definitely have a lot of interesting news to sort through. All that and the new releases for the week, too. Yes, it’s going to be a big one tomorrow, so make sure you swing back around and see what’s up in the world of Switch. As for me, I’m going to go rest because I’m pretty sure my hands are going to be hurting tomorrow. Thanks as always for reading!