Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for May 17th, 2019. It’s the end of another week, and if there’s a theme happening today, it is ‘retro’. A Tetris 99 tournament is going on that allows you to unlock a Game Boy theme. Castlevania, Guilty Gear, and the latest Arcade Archives release are all available. And Capcom is having a big sale on many of its games, including its compilations of Mega Man, Mega Man X, Street Fighter, and its arcade beat-em-ups. So let’s turn back that clock and party like it’s: 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1998. And probably a few others, too!
News
‘Dead Cells’ Free DLC ‘Rise of the Giants’ Hits Switch May 23rd
The amazing Dead Cells gives you a lot of bang for your buck, but it’s about to get even better. The Rise of the Giants DLC, which hit other platforms several weeks ago, is finally ready to go for the Switch version. It will arrive next Thursday, May 23rd. It includes 10 new enemy types, 10 new weapons, 3 new skills, and a new hidden level that leads to a new ending. There’s a bunch of other stuff in here, but suffice it to say that it is a very spicy chunk of new, absolutely free content.
Reminder: The Game Boy Theme for ‘Tetris 99’ Can Be Obtained This Weekend
If you like Tetris 99 and have some good old nostalgic feelings for the Game Boy version of Tetris, you’ll probably like the new theme that has been added to the game. It not only makes the game look like the Game Boy version, it also uses the same music and sound effects. Yes, even that weird BAAA noise when you lose. It’s a great theme, but as of now the only way you can get it is by participating in this weekend’s Maximus Cup. You need to earn 100 points before the tournament is over, and different ranks will earn you different amounts of points. I just finished unlocking it and it took about an hour. I’m hardly a champ at this game, so I think I can safely say that anyone can get this theme if they try. Now go out and get it, friends!
New Releases
Castlevania Anniversary Collection ($19.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
The second of Konami’s latest line of classic compilations is dedicated to the early history of the Castlevania series. Handling the chores this time is M2, so you would reasonably expect this to be a fantastic set with accurate emulation and all the options you could ask for. You would expect that, but… hm. Not sure what happened here. The emulation is mostly fine, but the audio on some titles has an odd beeping now and then. In terms of options, there are some different filters and scaling options, and there are save states, thankfully. In terms of missing features that we’re getting used to seeing, there is no option to remap buttons, no rewind feature, and only a single save file per game. The eight included games are limited to the region you bought the collection from, though Japanese versions will apparently be added later. Hopefully some of the other issues get sorted as well, because in terms of content this is a great set.
Arcade Archives Buta San ($7.99)
Of all the companies that hung around in the games industry for at least a couple of decades, Jaleco may be the most baffling. The company had the odd decent seller here and there, but it more or less rode a wave of mediocrity for a lot longer than you’d expect. Anyway, this is Butasan. It’s a game where 100 pigs throw bombs at each other until only one is left standing and… holy crap. Is this a battle royale game? From 1987? Well, only two people can play at once, so not really. But it’s okay. Not great, but okay. Our UK readers may or may not remember this as Psycho Pigs UXB, which was the name it went under when it was ported to a variety of home computer platforms. Hamster has done its usual job here preserving everything, so if you want an authentic Butasan on your Switch, here you go.
Guilty Gear ($9.99)
Uh, okay. So we got the final updated version of Guilty Gear XX yesterday, but I guess we also got a port of the original Guilty Gear, too. It’s not as good as the follow-up, though still not too bad of a fighter on its own merits. Still, it’s pretty hard to recommend this first game to anyone save those collecting retro classics on their systems. Guilty Gear XX is bigger, better, supports online play, and is only five dollars more. I guess it’s nice that this is here for archival purposes if nothing else. That’s about all I can say in its favor, though.
Devious Dungeon 2 ($7.99)
I actually already reviewed this game back when it came out on mobile a few years ago. This, I think, was where Woblyware’s formula started to get at me a little bit. Grind those coins to get the gear. Grind the levels to have access to the gear. Don’t worry too much about dying because the penalty is really low. Just grind, grind, and grind some more and you’ll get your ending eventually. This does improve on the original with more character classes and such, but it’s similar enough that anyone who played the first can just go with their gut on whether or not they want another helping.
Chicken Rider ($3.99)
Ah, at last. Some real junk. Chicken Rider is an endless runner that is free on every other platform it has appeared, but also carries a bunch of microtransactions elsewhere. So you pay your $3.99 here and you won’t have to be tempted to buy bags of coins and power-ups and what-not. That leaves you to enjoy a really poor side-scrolling runner that is funny for the first few minutes and sails downhill rapidly from there. Four bucks isn’t a lot of money when it comes to Switch, but I guarantee you can find a better way to spend that cash on the eShop than picking up stuff like this.
Akane ($4.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
This is an arena-based action game where you use guns and swords to try to survive as long as possible. I know what you’re thinking: why use a sword when you have a gun? Well, your ammo is limited. You can only restore it by killing enemies with the sword. So there you go. There are special challenges that, if completed, will give you extra goodies to bring with you the next go around. Akane isn’t amazing or anything, but for five whole dollars? It’s not bad at all. I’d definitely recommend it if you go in for these arena survival things.
Sales
Yeah, there’s the weekly dumptruck full of sales. As for what’s interesting this week, Capcom is having a pretty big sale. All of the selected games are pretty good, with the exception of the somewhat questionable second set of Mega Man X games. Aside from Capcom, other notable titles on sale include Horizon Chase Turbo, Dead Cells, and Yoku’s Island Express among many others. The weekend outbox counts in its number Limited Run’s digital library, with Cosmic Star Heroine the stand-out of the lot. Plenty to buy, but do you have time to play? Ha ha, mortality!
New Games on Sale
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate ($29.99 from $59.99 until 5/23)
Mega Man 11 ($23.99 from $29.99 until 5/23)
Mega Man Legacy Collection ($9.89 from $14.99 until 5/23)
Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/23)
Mega Man X Legacy Collection ($14.99 from $19.99 until 5/23)
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 ($14.99 from $19.99 until 5/23)
Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection ($25.99 from $39.99 until 5/23)
Resident Evil Revelations ($13.99 from $19.99 until 5/23)
Resident Evil Revelations 2 ($13.99 from $19.99 until 5/23)
Okami HD ($14.99 from $19.99 until 5/23)
Capcom Beat ‘Em Up Bundle ($11.99 from $19.99 until 5/23)
Vertical Drop Heroes HD ($2.49 from $9.99 until 5/30)
The Room ($5.99 from $9.99 until 5/27)
GRIP ($26.79 from $39.99 until 5/30)
Nidhogg 2 ($8.99 from $14.99 until 5/30)
Horizon Chase Turbo ($11.99 from $19.99 until 5/30)
Jewel Fever 2 ($3.99 from $4.99 until 6/3)
Omega Strike ($4.49 from $14.99 until 5/30)
Fall of Light: Darkest Edition ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/30)
Ninjin: Clash of Carrots ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/30)
Shikhondo – Soul Eater ($4.75 from $13.99 until 5/30)
Nefarious ($4.49 from $14.99 until 5/30)
Spectrum ($2.99 from $11.99 until 5/30)
Hacky Zack ($2.49 from $9.99 until 5/30)
Ink ($2.69 from $8.99 until 5/30)
Digerati Indie Bundle: Ink & Hacky Zack ($2.99 from $14.99 until 5/30)
Blacksea Odyssey ($3.24 from $12.99 until 5/30)
Pipe Push Paradise ($4.39 from $10.99 until 5/30)
Uncanny Valley ($3.39 from $9.99 until 5/30)
The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human ($3.89 from $12.99 until 5/30)
Clock Simulator ($1.35 from $3.99 until 6/5)
IHUGU ($1.35 from $3.99 until 6/5)
Hyperide ($0.99 from $1.99 until 6/5)
Robothorium ($5.99 from $14.99 until 5/30)
Observer ($22.49 from $29.99 until 5/28)
Degrees of Separation ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/30)
Bard’s Gold ($5.84 from $8.99 until 6/5)
Monster Slayers ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/30)
Rollin’ Eggz ($2.69 from $2.99 until 6/3)
Lost Artifacts: Soulstone ($6.99 from $9.99 until 6/3)
My Lovely Daughter ($9.99 from $14.99 until 5/30)
Troll and I ($7.49 from $29.99 until 5/30)
Super Cane Magic Zero ($22.49 from $24.99 until 5/30)
The Jackbox Party Pack ($12.49 from $24.99 until 5/30)
The Jackbox Party Pack 4 ($14.99 from $24.99 until 5/30)
Letter Quest Remastered ($2.99 from $11.99 until 5/30)
Slain: Back From Hell ($5.99 from $19.99 until 5/30)
Bleed ($3.59 from $11.99 until 5/30)
Bleed 2 ($4.49 from $14.99 until 5/30)
Slayaway Camp: Butcher’s Cut ($4.49 from $14.99 until 5/30)
Shadow Bug ($4.49 from $8.99 until 5/30)
Don’t Die, Mr Robot! ($1.34 from $8.99 until 5/30)
Three Fourths Home: Extended Edition ($1.79 from $8.99 until 5/30)
The Coma: Recut ($5.99 from $19.99 until 5/30)
Yoku’s Island Express ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/27)
Pode ($14.99 from $24.99 until 5/30)
Paranautical Activity ($1.59 from $7.99 until 5/30)
Neverout ($3.74 from $7.49 until 5/30)
Frost ($3.89 from $12.99 until 5/30)
1979 Revolution: Black Friday ($3.59 from $11.99 until 5/30)
Dead Cells ($19.99 from $24.99 until 5/31)
Unexplored ($4.50 from $15.00 until 5/30)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Balance Blox ($1.49 from $2.99 until 5/18)
Bubble Shooter DX ($1.49 from $2.99 until 5/18)
Cosmic Star Heroine ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/18)
Hiragana Pixel Party ($6.29 from $8.99 until 5/18)
M.A.C.E. Space Shooter ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/18)
Marble Power Blast ($1.49 from $2.99 until 5/18)
Monica e a Guarda dos Coelhos ($10.04 from $14.99 until 5/18)
Night Trap – 25th Anniversary ($7.49 from $14.99 until 5/18)
No Heroes Here ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/18)
Nuclien ($1.99 from $3.99 until 5/18)
Perry Pig Jump ($1.49 from $2.99 until 5/18)
Saturday Morning RPG ($4.99 from $9.99 until 5/18)
Space Lift Danger Panic! ($3.49 from $4.99 until 5/18)
Spencer ($3.49 from $6.99 until 5/18)
Swamp Defense 2 ($1.49 from $2.99 until 5/18)
The Legend of Evil ($7.15 from $7.99 until 5/18)
Ultra Hyperball ($5.99 from $9.99 until 5/18)
Knock-Knock ($4.89 from $6.99 until 5/19)
Red Game Without a Great Name ($0.89 from $2.99 until 5/19)
That’ll wrap things up for another week for the SwitchArcade Round-Up, friends. Next week is a big one. We’ve got the latest Atelier game for RPG fans. Racing fans have Team Sonic Racing on deck. Survival horror and action fans have a bunch of Resident Evil ports to check out. Got a hankering for some sneaking and assassinating? Assassin’s Creed 3 Remastered is coming, too! That’s not even touching all the indie stuff on its way. So gather ye rosebuds while ye may, because there’s plenty of gaming action over the horizon as usual. Thanks for reading!
