Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for February 6th, 2020. In today’s article, we’ve got news about some great games that are coming surprisingly soon, summaries of today’s interesting crop of new releases, and a fresh list of sales to check out. This week isn’t as packed with new games as last week, but there are still some really cool games to check out. Let’s get to work!
News
‘Double Dragon & Kunio-Kun Retro Brawler Bundle’ Coming February 20th
A while back, Arc System Works released Kunio-Kun: The World Classic Collection in Japan. It collected 11 Kunio-Kun Famicom games, 4 of the localized NES Kunio-Kun games, and the three NES Double Dragon games. Interestingly, all of the menus and flavor text had English language support, which pointed at a worldwide release. The main problem was that more than half of the included games were in Japanese, and some of those games had a fair bit of text. But what can you do? Translate almost a dozen 30-year-old Famicom ROMs? Uh, well, apparently that’s exactly what Arc System Works has done. Double Dragon & Kunio-Kun Retro Brawler Bundle will be releasing on February 20th and not only includes the seven previously-localized games but also freshly-localized versions of the eleven Famicom games. Wow. Yes, please.
The ‘Kingdom Rush’ Series is Coming to Switch, ‘Frontiers’ Set for February Release
Ironhide’s Kingdom Rush series needs no introduction for mobile gaming fans. Some of the most popular tower defense games of all-time on the App Store, the Kingdom Rush games have provided players with tons of fun for years now. Well, the three games will be making their way to the Switch over the course of the next little while, with the first being Kingdom Rush Frontiers on February 27th. The challenge with ports of mobile tower defense games seems to be in the controls, so we’ll have to see how Ironhide handles things in these fully remastered versions. Pre-orders for Kingdom Rush Frontiers go live on February 13th if you want to give them your money early.
New Releases
Kunai ($16.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
It is time! For! Another Metroidvania! Fun fact: about 17 years ago, I was part of a small team that was working on a Game Boy Advance game that ended up never releasing. It was a ninja game, and we planned to make it a Metroid-style game because we felt there was a huge demand going unserved for such titles. Well, our ninja Metroidvania may not have made it to the finish line, but at least we can enjoy plenty of good Metroidvania games today, many of which feature ninjas. Like this one! Kunai is a really fun game to play, which is the first half of the battle in this genre as far as I’m concerned. It also has a neat art style, interesting upgrades, and some excellent tunes. I’ll be reviewing this soon, but if you need a preview: thumbs-up.
Knights and Bikes ($19.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Created by some developers who formerly worked on the LittleBigPlanet games, Knights and Bikes is an enjoyable adventure game that is best enjoyed with a friend. The two main characters, who get everywhere they need to go on their trusty bikes, have to work together and use their unique skills and abilities to solve puzzles. If you don’t have a second player to dig into it with, you can just switch between the characters as needed and rely on the AI to control the second character the rest of the time. It has an interesting art style, a good sense of humor, and a soundtrack by the person who did the score for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Double Fine is the publisher here, and the game certainly fits well alongside its own homegrown titles.
Yuoni: Rises ($12.99)
This is a visual novel where you follow the story of a pair of elementary school students who are having a lot of trouble at home. It’s set in Japan in the 1990s at a time where things like cell phones and the internet weren’t the commonplace things they are today. Everything plays out from your seat at your school desk, and as the narrative progresses it becomes apparent how your character fits into things and what is really going on in this curious classroom. There are lots of neat tidbits about Japanese culture packed into this one, which should prove to be a nice extra for those interested in the post-bubble era of the country.
SEN: Seven Eight Nine ($9.99)
A minimalistic puzzle game where part of the fun is figuring out how it works on your own, SEN promises instruction-free, relaxing puzzle-solving. It features a soothing soundtrack and multiple gameplay modes. So warm up your skills at recognizing patterns in numbers, colors, and shapes, and dive on in. I’m not sure how this game is, to be honest. I wasn’t given a chance to play it early and the developers have been keeping the actual gameplay pretty close to their chest. I’ll likely give it a try once it’s up on the eShop and if I find it particularly cool, I’ll be sure to mention it in a future article.
Just a Phrase by POWGI ($7.99)
Lightwood Games has its latest word game available, but this one seems a bit too straightforward. In my opinion, anyway. The idea behind this one is that you’re trying to guess letters to complete phrases in a manner similar to Wheel of Fortune or Hangman, but one of the words in the phrase has been swapped for a homophone to add a bit of difficulty. This also has the side effect of creating some rather humorous or bizarre twists on familiar expressions. The presentation is quite simple as always, but if you like the sound of the concept, you’ll find plenty to do here.
Shiny Ski Resort ($14.00)
Hey, it’s Kairosoft again. Porting another one of their mobile sims and charging nearly triple the price, as usual. This one is about building and managing a ski resort, and as always it’s fun if you haven’t burnt out on this developer’s formula yet. If you don’t mind playing games on your mobile device, I would strongly recommend picking this up there and pocketing the extra nine bucks. You’re not really gaining anything with this port except the ability to play on your big TV screen, and I actually feel like Kairosoft’s games fit mobile almost perfectly. But if you like sims, ski resorts, and only have a Switch? You won’t have a bad time with this.
Nerved ($8.99)
It is time! For! Another first-person horror game! A couple who also happen to be paranormal investigators are on their latest case. Heading into the Bitterwood Forest, they’ll have to explore dark and spooky areas to find out the truth about the forest and its mysteries. Hopefully they’ll make it out alive! Like a lot of games like this, Nerved focuses heavily on building a sinister atmosphere. There’s some light puzzle-solving and some enemies you’ll have to avoid, but it’s mostly about unfurling the spooky story. I’m not really the audience for games like these, but if you are, nine bucks isn’t a lot to gamble.
Code: Realize -Guardian of Rebirth- ($39.99)
It is time! For! Dating hunky men! This visual novel sees you in a steampunk version of 19th century London, meeting sexy versions of many famous literary and historical figures like Arsene Lupin, Victor Frankenstein, Impey Barbicane, and more. You play as a young woman who has been isolated from the world due to her poisonous touch that rots or melts anything she comes into contact with. One day, some Royal Guards come to take her away and she is rescued by the dashing Lupin. Together, they set out to find the heroine’s father and try to get some answers. This game has proven popular on other platforms, and I’m sure it will find a receptive audience on Switch as well.
Sales
Okay, at the start of the article I said we had a fresh list of sales to check out, but I didn’t promise that it was a good one. I mean, it’s Thursday, and I’m like 14 or 15 hours ahead of most of you. I’ll be tucked into my cozy little bed when the big sales start to roll in, so we’ll look at those tomorrow as usual. For now? Eh, I have no special recommendations. Even the outbox doesn’t have anything particularly interesting going on. That’s how it is some days.
Select New Games on Sale
12 is Better Than 6 ($1.99 from $9.99 until 2/12)
Standby ($0.99 from $4.99 until 2/12)
Barrier X ($0.59 from $2.99 until 2/12)
Vortex Attack EX ($5.99 from $9.99 until 2/19)
8-Ball Pocket ($2.99 from $5.99 until 2/25)
Queen’s Quest 2 ($7.49 from $14.99 until 2/16)
Gurgamoth ($1.49 from $9.99 until 2/13)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Friday, February 7th
Almost There: The Platformer ($1.49 from $9.99 until 2/7)
Blindy ($0.79 from $7.99 until 2/7)
Bouncy Bob 2 ($0.50 from $5.00 until 2/7)
Car Mechanic Manager ($0.39 from $3.99 until 2/7)
Car Mechanic Simulator Pocket ($7.99 from $19.99 until 2/7)
Catch a Duck ($0.49 from $4.99 until 2/7)
Crash Drive 2 ($7.64 from $8.99 until 2/7)
Darkest Hunter ($0.53 from $5.29 until 2/7)
Down to Hell ($5.99 from $9.99 until 2/7)
EQQO ($5.40 from $6.00 until 2/7)
Godly Corp ($0.79 from $7.99 until 2/7)
I Wanna Fly ($0.24 from $2.39 until 2/7)
Marooners ($12.74 from $14.99 until 2/7)
Not Tonight: Take Back Control ($22.49 from $24.99 until 2/7)
Robot Squad Simulator ($1.49 from $14.99 until 2/7)
Scrap ($0.49 from $4.99 until 2/7)
Selma and the Wisp ($0.99 from $9.99 until 2/7)
Shadows 2: Perfidia ($0.79 from $7.99 until 2/7)
Ships ($1.39 from $13.99 until 2/7)
Sky Rogue ($9.99 from $19.99 until 2/7)
The Mims Beginning ($5.39 from $8.99 until 2/7)
The Town of Light: Deluxe ($8.99 from $9.99 until 2/7)
That’s all that’s good for today, friends. I’ll be back tomorrow with the remaining new releases for the week and whatever new sales come along. If there’s any interesting news, that will be there as well. You know, the usual Friday stuff. I’ll see you all tomorrow, and I hope you have an excellent Thursday. As always, thanks for reading!
