Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 16th, 2020. In today’s article, we’ve got a few news stories to digest before we head on into the newest releases. It’s not a bad crop today, though not a terribly exciting one either. We finish things up with the usual incoming and outgoing sales, as we tend to do around here. It’s a bit of a breather today, but business is going to pick up in a big way tomorrow so enjoy it while you can. Let’s march!
News
‘Donkey Kong Country 2’ and More Coming to Switch Online Next Week
While many thought Nintendo might add a new retro console to the Switch Online service for its second anniversary, that’s looking a lot less likely after today’s announcement. In addition to Super Mario All-Stars, which was added to the service two weeks ago, another batch of games are slated to go up on September 23rd. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, Mario’s Super Picross, The Peace Keepers, and S.C.A.T. bring a nice variety of experiences to the service. This will be the first time Mario’s Super Picross is released in North America, so that’s cool.
Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase Set For Tomorrow Morning
We’re getting Nintendo Direct Mini presentations every other week lately. This one is another Partner Showcase, which means it will focus on third party games and not the next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character. Third. Party. Games. The presentation is scheduled for a bright and early 7 AM PT on September 17th, which puts it at 11:00 PM where I’m at. That means it won’t make it into tomorrow’s article, so we’ll have to summarize it on Friday. I’m not sure what to expect from this one, but I suspect we may hear something about Bravely Default II‘s release date. We’ll see if I’m right.
This Week’s ‘Super Smash Bros.’ Event Wants to Get Up Close
Two weeks ago, the Smash event announcement was delayed to keep the Mario Direct a secret. One week ago, I was yakking my guts out so the article was canceled. Finally, we are back to the usual Wednesday news! The next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate event is a tournament focusing on close-quarters fighters. Characters who use ranged weapons or attacks are not invited, as you can see by that NO MEGA MANS ALLOWED part of the picture. The event kicks off on Friday and will run for three days as usual.
New Releases
Active Neurons 2 ($4.99)
You may remember the predecessor to this title from when it released earlier this year on the Switch. Or you may not. It’s been some kind of year, after all. The idea here is basically taking those ice block-pushing puzzles you see in a lot of adventure games and cranking them up to eleven with a bunch of interesting gimmicks and tricks. Some people hate those sorts of puzzles and this probably won’t change your mind on the topic if you’re one of them. But I have to admit that if you’re going to do that kind of thing as its own game, Active Neurons 2 does a really good job with it.
Travel Mosaics 5: Waltzing Vienna ($7.99)
The latest in the series of beginner-friendly Picross-style puzzle games, Travel Mosaics 5 sees the Walker family on their latest trip. This time they’re visiting Vienna, and that means a bit of Austrian trivia to go with the 140 puzzles. Play the puzzles in two different difficulty levels, and if you need some help there are plenty of hints you can tap. As is always the case with this series, the puzzles are probably a little too easy for Picross veterans, but it’s a nice place to start if you’re getting into this kind of game for the first time.
Space Elite Force ($2.99)
Space Elite Force 2 ($4.99)
I’m going to lump these two together because I’m not sure I have enough to say about them separately. The sequel does feature more modes and options, so it’s a proper sequel of sorts. These are cheap but reasonably well-made horizontal shoot-em-ups. The kind where you start off with a weak ship, collect bits and bobs from the ships you blow up, then use those bits and bobs to upgrade your ship between stages. Certain enemies drop temporary power-ups, adding a little flavor to the proceedings. The second game has a campaign mode, and both games feature local co-op multiplayer. Frankly, they’re not bad at all for the prices they’re going for. I’ve paid more for far worse in this genre.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Nothing too thrilling among the new sales today, with many of the games being the usual suspects that appear here every month or more. I will point to the deep discounts on Troll and I and Not Tonight: Take Back Control simply because they’re very low prices on games some people may be interested in. Some good stuff in the outbox, though. Check through the list and think hard about whether or not you want things. We’re heading into the expensive season, so don’t go wasting money foolishly.
Select New Games on Sale
Demon’s Rise: War for the Deep ($4.19 from $6.99 until 9/29)
Thumper ($5.99 from $19.99 until 9/23)
Ninjin: Clash of Carrots ($1.99 from $9.99 until 9/22)
Rooms: Anne & George ($8.84 from $14.99 until 9/22)
Trine: Ultimate Collection ($14.99 from $49.99 until 9/22)
Trine 4: Nightmare Prince ($8.99 from $29.99 until 9/22)
Beast Quest ($11.99 from $29.99 until 9/22)
Tank Mechanic Simulator ($14.39 from $17.99 until 9/22)
Her Majesty’s Ship ($8.79 from $10.99 until 9/22)
Override: Mech City Brawl ($15.99 from $39.99 until 9/22)
Degrees of Separation ($5.99 from $19.99 until 9/22)
Alien Cruise ($4.52 from $11.30 until 9/22)
Isoland ($1.88 from $2.17 until 9/22)
Isoland 2 ($2.71 from $3.62 until 9/22)
Deer Drive Legends ($5.99 from $19.99 until 9/22)
Rain City ($6.44 from $7.58 until 9/22)
Bear With Me: Lost Robots ($1.99 from $4.99 until 9/22)
Troll and I ($2.99 from $29.99 until 9/22)
Little Triangle ($8.09 from $14.99 until 9/22)
Not Tonight: Take Back Control ($2.49 from $24.99 until 10/4)
Newt One ($4.99 from $9.99 until 10/4)
Figment ($4.99 from $19.99 until 10/5)
Space Elite Force ($1.49 from $2.99 until 10/5)
Space Elite Force 2 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 10/5)
Croc’s World ($0.99 from $4.99 until 10/6)
Jewel Fever 2 ($0.99 from $4.99 until 10/6)
Pacific Wings ($0.99 from $4.99 until 10/6)
Yellow Fins ($0.99 from $4.99 until 10/6)
Water Balloon Mania ($0.99 from $4.99 until 10/6)
Ghost Grab 3000 ($3.74 from $4.99 until 9/24)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Thursday, September 17th
#NoLimitFantasy Puzzles Dream ($4.95 from $6.19 until 9/17)
20XX ($8.99 from $17.99 until 9/17)
6180 the moon ($1.99 from $3.99 until 9/17)
99Moves ($0.98 from $2.99 until 9/17)
99Seconds ($0.98 from $2.99 until 9/17)
Abyss ($0.98 from $2.99 until 9/17)
Alvastia Chronicles ($7.79 from $12.99 until 9/17)
Beach Buggy Racing ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/17)
Blossom Tales ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/17)
Bulb Boy ($1.79 from $8.99 until 9/17)
Chasm ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/17)
Connection Haunted Server Error ($3.99 from $4.99 until 9/17)
Darts Up ($0.98 from $2.99 until 9/17)
DayD: Through Time ($3.99 from $9.99 until 9/17)
Dreaming Canvas ($0.49 from $4.99 until 9/17)
Dusk Diver ($24.49 from $34.99 until 9/17)
Family Tree ($2.39 from $7.99 until 9/17)
Ghost Blade HD ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/17)
Grand Prix Story ($12.00 from $14.00 until 9/17)
Gunman Clive HD Collection ($3.19 from $3.99 until 9/17)
Half Dead ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/17)
Happy Animals Bowling ($2.49 from $4.99 until 9/17)
Hotshot Racing ($15.99 from $19.99 until 9/17)
Iro Hero ($3.89 from $12.99 until 9/17)
Jamestown+ ($8.99 from $17.99 until 9/17)
Kholat ($11.24 from 14.99 until 9/17)
Kingdom Rush Origins ($11.99 from $14.99 until 9/17)
Legrand Legacy ($1.99 from $19.99 until 9/17)
Mechstermination Force ($9.59 from $11.99 until 9/17)
Monster Energy Supercross ($8.99 from $29.99 until 9/17)
Oceanhorn ($7.49 from $14.99 until 9/17)
Perils of Baking ($1.49 from $4.99 until 9/17)
Pity Pit ($3.49 from $4.99 until 9/17)
PlataGO! Platform Game Maker ($9.99 from $19.99 until 9/17)
Power Racing Bundle ($11.04 from $16.99 until 9/17)
Rally Rock ‘N Racing ($3.99 from $9.99 until 9/17)
Riptide GP: Renegade ($4.99 from $9.99 until 9/17)
Seek Hearts ($10.49 from $14.99 until 9/17)
Slayin 2 ($5.99 from $11.99 until 9/17)
Solitaire Spider Minimal ($0.69 from $2.99 until 9/17)
StarDrone ($5.99 from $9.99 until 9/17)
Steel Rain ($9.74 from $14.99 until 9/17)
Streets of Red – Devil’s Dare ($6.99 from $9.99 until 9/17)
SUPERHOT ($14.99 from $24.99 until 9/17)
Tanky Tanks ($4.01 from $5.99 until 9/17)
The Office Quest ($2.39 from $11.99 until 9/17)
Tower Climb ($1.20 from $6.00 until 9/17)
Unitied ($1.49 from $2.99 until 9/17)
Up Cliff Drive ($1.20 from $6.00 until 9/17)
Vampire – Shadows of New York ($11.69 from $12.99 until 9/17)
Venture Kid ($0.99 from $9.99 until 9/17)
Wintermoor Tactics Club ($15.99 from $19.99 until 9/17)
Wizards of Brandel ($9.09 from $12.99 until 9/17)
That’s all that’s good for today, friends. Tomorrow is of course Thursday, which means we’ll have a whole lot of new games to look into and summarize. We should also have some new sales to check out, perhaps from Capcom. If there’s any very big news, it will be included as well. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday, and as always, thanks for reading!
