Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for April 12th, 2019. Despite yesterday’s deluge of new releases, we’ve still got a bunch more to look at today, not the least of which being Nintendo Labo VR Kit. I also jammed a broom handle into the sales scouting machine and you will not believe how much fell out. In short, we’ve got a bit of news, some new releases, and a monstrous list of sales. Let’s get to work, shall we?
News
‘Star Wars Pinball’ Comes to Switch September 13th, Packing 19 Tables
Pinball FX 3 is pretty great on the Switch and all, but it’s missing so many tables that can be found on other platforms. One of the biggest missing names is Star Wars, which has been a staple of Zen Studios silverball for many years now. That will be corrected, sort of, on September 13th when Star Wars Pinball comes to Switch. It includes 19 tables, which I believe is all of the ones we’ve seen on other platforms over the years. The game will be available digitally and at retail, so if you want to have a physical copy of these tables for your Switch, that’s a thing you can make happen.
‘God Eater 3’ is Coming to Switch on July 12th
Sure, Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate is great and all, but what to do when you’ve finished it all? It doesn’t look like Capcom has anything coming along anytime soon, so it’s lucky for us that Bandai Namco is looking to fill that gap with its own awesome multiplayer monster hunting series. God Eater 3 will be coming to the Switch on July 12th in the West, having already released on PlayStation 4 and Windows earlier this year. How will it turn out? We’ll have to wait and see, but if you take a chance and pre-order the game, you’ll get some special Tales of Vesperia costumes. Your call.
‘Gal Metal’ Gets Bonus DLC Containing Five New Songs
Oh no, I put the whole story in the headline again. I even have the song names in the image right above this text. What am I going to write about now? Oh right! This isn’t the last DLC coming to the charming Gal Metal. Publisher XSEED has said at least one more free pack of five songs will be coming later. No release date for that, but that’s alright. You already have five new songs to play for now. And if you don’t own Gal Metal, it’s on sale right now for a cool $17.99.
New Releases
Nintendo Labo VR Kit (Complete $79.99, Starter $39.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Well, Nintendo’s latest stab at VR is here, and let’s hope it goes over a bit better than the first one did. Let’s be real here: the Switch doesn’t have the hardware punch to do the same level of VR as other consoles, or even as well as some high-end mobile devices. What it does have is Nintendo’s brilliant designers making software for it, and that counts for a lot. Like the other Labo Kits, this is more of a toy than a game, and it’s probably not going to keep your attention for a terribly long time. If it does have any longevity, it will be in the VR Garage section, but we’ll have to see what people come up with. Nintendo seems to be interested in supporting the VR Kit in software outside of this set, though, and let’s hope other Switch developers decide to do that as well.
Street Basketball ($5.99)
Hm, well. This is a very simple-looking basketball game. Indeed, perhaps one of the most simple-looking basketball games I’ve seen in about 30 years. One-on-one, single-plane, featuring characters who come from the Rayman school of limbless protagonists, Street Basketball probably isn’t going to keep anyone busy for very long. Each character has their own signature move and you can customize their outfits to an extent, and you can level them up over time to improve their stats. I’m sure it’s not a terrible diversion, but I feel like your money and time can most likely be spent better elsewhere.
Arcade Archives Time Pilot ($7.99)
Well, look at who Hamster is working with now. Time Pilot is a 1982 shoot-em-up from Konami, and one of the company’s first hits in the game business. The game was the first designed by Yoshiki Okamoto, who would go on to fame at Capcom as the director or producer behind games like 1942, Final Fight, Street Fighter 2, and Gun.Smoke. Years later he would join Mixi where he would create the massive mobile hit Monster Strike. So yeah, quite the pedigree, and Time Pilot is quite a good game given its age. The time-travelling hook is still pretty fun, even if the game is lacking in a lot of the bells and whistles you may expect from a 1980s shoot-em-up. Hamster’s given it an ace treatment as per usual.
Slime Tactics ($9.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Ambition of the Slimes was a novel and enjoyable take on the tactical strategy RPG genre. It seems the slimes aren’t finished with their wargames, however, and this time, it’s real-time. Like the previous game, Slime Tactics has its fair share of rough edges, but it’s so charming and basically entertaining that you can’t help but take a shining to it. Remember, one slime is weak, but together they can take on almost any foe. The real-time nature of the game can make it a little busy and confusing at times, but it generally works out alright. Certainly worth a glance for fans of strategy games or slimes.
Rolling Sky ($10.99)
Okay, so you know those rolling games that are super popular on mobile right now with schoolkids? The ones where you have to guide a marble or ball or whatever through narrow lanes while the speed keeps on picking up and the hazards keep multiplying? This is one of those. Like, literally. Rolling Sky is very popular on mobile, where it is free to download and play. Even buying a couple of IAPs to remove ads and give you unlimited balls wouldn’t add up to the price of this Switch version. Plus, is this really something you want to play on your console rather than your phone? Well, I won’t tell you what to do. At the very least, you can check the game out on mobile first at no cost, so that’s nice.
Super Weekend Mode ($4.99)
An interesting little puzzle action game. You control two paddles at the bottom of the screen and need to catch hearts while dealing with dangerous bad guys. The visuals are a bit garish but there is a certain appeal to how it all looks, and the difficulty curve is satisfying. The main thing you may dislike about it is that the game likes to pull gotchas like crazy on you, and you’ve got little chance of surviving the majority of them without taking a hit. So you really have to memorize your way through this and execute actions carefully to make progress through its nine stages. Not bad, though.
A Dark Room ($6.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
You probably know this one. A Dark Room is the awesome text adventure game that made its way from computers to mobile a few years ago with some serious improvements implemented along the way. It was a huge hit, mostly thanks to its many interesting twists and turns. Even all these years later, I don’t feel comfortable talking about its biggest twist, so I’ll just say that if you like adventure games or resource management, you should play this game one way or the other. The developer of the mobile version took a lot of care in preparing this Switch version, and it really shows. Highly recommended.
Sales
Okay, well. The last couple of days were quiet, or so I had thought. But what really happened is that my way of tracking sales stopped working due to Nintendo changing the structure of its website and… well, anyway. Here’s what we missed, friends! It’s… it’s a lot! Find some good stuff and buy it if you like, because there’s a bunch of good games in here. I can’t even begin to make suggestions with a list this big. So yeah, good luck.
New Games on Sale
Aqua Kitty UDX ($4.49 from $8.99 until 4/28)
Table Top Racing: World Tour Nitro Edition ($23.99 from $29.99 until 4/30)
88 Heroes: 98 Heroes Edition ($14.97 from $29.95 until 4/25)
AeternoBlade ($11.99 from $14.99 until 4/24)
Agartha-S ($3.99 from $7.99 until 4/25)
Asterix & Obelix XXL 2 ($29.99 from $49.99 until 4/24)
ATV Drift & Tricks ($13.99 from $34.99 until 4/24)
Bedtime Blues ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/25)
Bot Vice ($8.99 from $9.99 until 5/1)
Bulb Boy ($2.24 from $8.99 until 4/25)
Cat Quest ($6.49 from $12.99 until 4/25)
Cinders ($17.99 from $19.99 until 4/21)
Coffin Dodgers ($6.49 from $12.99 until 4/25)
Conga Master Party! ($5.97 from $9.95 until 4/25)
Cycle 28 ($2.09 from $6.99 until 4/18)
Danger Mouse: The Danger Games ($3.99 from $4.99 until 4/30)
Dexteritrip ($3.49 from $6.99 until 4/27)
Doggie Ninja The Golden Mission ($5.00 from $8.00 until 5/1)
Drawful 2 ($5.99 from $9.99 until 4/25)
Farming Simulator ($24.99 from $49.99 until 4/25)
FIFA 19 ($23.99 from $59.99 until 4/25)
Fe ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/25)
Flashback ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/24)
Fly O’Clock ($0.19 from $1.99 until 4/25)
Gal Metal ($17.99 from $29.99 until 4/18)
Grab Lab ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/25)
Gunman Clive HD Collection ($2.99 from $3.99 until 4/25)
Hello Kitty Kruisers ($14.97 from $29.95 until 4/25)
Heroes of the Monkey Tavern ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/23)
History 2048 ($3.49 from $4.99 until 4/25)
Holy Potatoes! A Weapon Shop?! ($11.99 from $14.99 until 4/25)
Holy Potatoes! We’re In Space?! ($11.99 from $14.99 until 4/25)
Hunter’s Legacy: Purrfect Edition ($4.89 from $6.99 until 5/1)
The Jackbox Party Pack 2 ($14.99 from $24.99 until 4/25)
Jumping Joe & Friends ($0.49 from $1.99 until 4/28)
Koi DX ($3.50 from $5.00 until 5/1)
L.F.O.: Lost Future Omega ($3.99 from $7.99 until 4/25)
Lumo ($11.97 from $19.95 until 4/25)
The Mahjong Huntress ($0.99 from $4.99 until 4/25)
Masters of Anima ($7.99 from $19.99 until 4/25)
Mecho Tales ($0.49 from $0.99 until 5/1)
Mercenaries Saga Chronicles ($10.49 from $14.99 until 5/1)
Mercenaries Wings: The False Phoenix ($10.39 from $12.99 until 5/1)
Monster Energy Supercross 2 ($38.99 from $59.99 until 4/25)
Moto Racer 4 ($13.99 from $34.99 until 4/24)
Mulaka ($11.98 from $19.98 until 5/1)
My Memory of Us ($12.74 from $14.99 until 4/21)
Neko Navy: Daydream Edition ($10.39 from $12.99 until 4/25)
Ninja Shodown ($8.97 from $14.95 until 4/25)
Ninjin: Clash of Carrots ($7.49 from $14.99 until 4/25)
Pan-Pan A Tiny Big Adventure ($3.00 from $5.00 until 5/1)
Plague Road ($0.99 from $15.00 until 5/1)
Pirates: All Aboard! ($0.59 from $5.99 until 4/28)
Red’s Kingdom ($7.49 from $9.99 until 4/25)
Reigns: Game of Thrones ($3.39 from $3.99 until 4/18)
Rock Boshers DX: Director’s Cut ($3.49 from $6.99 until 4/28)
Shelter Generations ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/1)
Solitaire Klondike Black ($3.50 from $5.00 until 5/1)
Solstice Chronicles: MIA ($13.49 from $14.99 until 5/1)
Spintires: Mudrunner – American Wilds ($27.99 from $39.99 until 4/25)
Star Story: The Horizon Escape ($0.99 from $9.99 until 4/25)
Startide ($0.99 from $9.99 until 4/25)
Storm in a Teacup ($2.24 from $2.99 until 4/25)
SmuggleCraft ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/24)
Super Daryl Deluxe ($13.99 from $19.99 until 4/13)
Super Star Path ($3.99 from $4.99 until 5/1)
Syberia 1 & 2 ($13.99 from $34.99 until 4/24)
Time Carnage ($7.79 from $12.99 until 4/25)
Tiny Troopers Joint Ops XL ($6.49 from $12.99 until 4/25)
Toridama: Brave Challenge ($3.50 from $5.00 until 5/1)
Unholy Heights ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/25)
Vostok Inc ($7.49 from $14.99 until 4/25)
Way of the Passive Fist ($11.99 from $14.99 until 4/18)
Will: A Wonderful World ($10.49 from $14.99 until 5/1)
World Conqueror X ($5.99 from $9.99 until 5/1)
Warriors Orochi 4 ($41.99 from $59.99 until 4/23)
Warriors Orochi 4 Deluxe Edition ($62.99 from $89.99 until 4/23)
Yume Nikki: Dream Diary ($13.99 from $19.99 until 4/24)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Feather ($8.99 from $9.99 until 4/13)
Super Daryl Deluxe ($13.99 from $19.99 until 4/13)
Battle Group 2 ($1.99 from $9.99 until 4/14)
Car Mechanic Simulator ($10.49 from $14.99 until 4/14)
RIOT – Civil Unrest ($13.99 from $19.99 until 4/14)
The Count Lucanor ($3.74 from $14.99 until 4/14)
Unbox: Newbie’s Adventure ($7.49 from $14.99 until 4/14)
That’s all we’ve got for today in the SwitchArcade Round-Up, and indeed for the week. Think this one was wild? Wait until next week, friends. Final Fantasy X/X-2! Cuphead! The first Konami Anniversary Collection! And an awful lot more. I hope you’ve got some time off coming up, because things are about to get hot. I’ll see you all on Monday to kick things off. As always, thanks for reading!
