Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for March 10th, 2022. In today’s article, we’ve got a little news to digest before heading into the absolutely massive list of new releases for the day. Plenty of good stuff in there, so make sure you read up on our summaries to know what’s worth digging into. We’ve also got the usual lists of new and expiring sales to finish things off. Let’s get to work!
News
‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection’ Announced
Are you ready to kick shell? As if it’s not enough that we’re getting a promising-looking new brawler from DotEmu and Tribute Games this year in the form of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. Konami, Nickelodeon, and Digital Eclipse will be bringing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection to Switch and other platforms in both digital and physical form later this year. It includes thirteen classic TMNT games, which basically everything from Konami on the Arcade, NES, Game Boy, Super NES, and Genesis. Yes, even the Tournament Fighters games. Select games offer online play, and the usual Digital Eclipse bells and whistles will be included. The Cowabunga Collection is set to retail at $39.99, which is a pretty fair price per game. Awesome!
New Releases
Chocobo GP ($49.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Chocobo and friends are back to the race tracks in this kart racer from the folks at Square Enix. An assortment of familiar characters from the Final Fantasy series here, including best boy Gilgamesh. You can try out the game via the free Lite version, but most people’s assessment is that it’s decent if not necessarily up to the standards of Mario Kart. Perhaps more contentious is the presence of paid season passes, with characters like Cloud being locked behind the proverbial paywall. I’ll be honest: it feels like a heavily-monetized F2P game, except it costs fifty bucks. Mmm.
Move or Die: Unleashed ($14.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Looking for your next party game hit? Move or Die: Unleashed has you covered. This is a party game where the main rule is to keep moving. If you stop, your health will drain. So yeah, hustle. Now as for what you’re doing while you move, that changes with each mini-game. You’ll have to think fast, no matter which one you’re playing. Up to four players can join in on the fun either locally or online, and you can also play against AI opponents to practice if you like. A very clever game, and tons of fun if you have people to play with.
Young Souls ($24.99)
We get good beat-em-ups fairly often these days, but they seem to skew somewhat towards the pure brawler type, with the previously-popular RPG hybrid fading out a bit. If that is a flavor you miss, you may want to check out Young Souls. Either solo or with a friend in local multiplayer, you’ll take control of a set of twins as they battle through a parallel world filled with vicious goblins. You can upgrade your characters and your gear as you go. Lots of story in this one, but the action backs it up fairly well. I’ll have a review of this one soon.
Republique: Anniversary Edition ($14.99)
I’m not precisely sure which anniversary is being celebrated here, but let’s not get caught up on details. Republique is a stealth adventure from developer Camouflaj, who have gone on to do such cool things as that Iron Man VR game. Seriously, that game is dope. One of the best reasons to use the PlayStation VR set. As for this game? It certainly grew beyond its roots as a mobile affair, appearing on a wide variety of other systems and consoles. Reviews were always hit or miss on it, but it certainly has its fans. And now it is on Switch! With director commentary!
Aztech Forgotten Gods ($29.99)
This is a fairly straightforward action-adventure game about a young woman named Achtli who has to use her special powers to defend her city and people from the ancient gods on the attack. The setting helps this one stand out, imagining a future where the Aztec empire had continued on without interference. Achtli’s most useful power is her ability to fly, and you’ll be using it a lot. It’s certainly an ambitious game, though like many of that sort it falters in various regards. The camera may well be a secret evil god for how much of a pain in the neck it is. Still, you have to appreciate the attempt here.
Potato Flowers in Full Bloom ($17.99)
A 3D dungeon crawler with a rather distinctive look to it. You’re diving into the depths to find some special crop seeds that were left there long ago by some weird alchemists. Exploration is first-person, while the turn-based battles take on an interesting diorama-style appearance. Build a team of three characters from various classes, each with their own skill tree to grow out. Seems cute if you’re looking for a game of this sort from someone other than the usual developers.
Arcade Archives QIX ($7.99)
Sometimes it feels like the off weeks between Namco releases on Arcade Archives lately are stuffed with games of dubious value. Well, this week certainly isn’t filler. QIX is a ridiculously fun game where you need to carve away portions of the play field while avoiding enemies. It has had many imitators, but there’s a certain essential charm to this original game. The only caveat here is that this is one of the games on the upcoming Taito Milestones collection, so if you plan on buying that you may want to hold off on this purchase to avoid double-dipping.
Grand Mountain Adventure Wonderlands ($34.99)
Mmm. Okay, so this is a port of a mobile skiing/snowboarding game. That mobile game is free to download and offers a single course. There are a pair of IAPs you can buy for five bucks and four bucks respectively that bring the total number of courses up to ten. This Switch version has twelve courses, so there is some new stuff in here. It’s probably also easier to take advantage of the local multiplayer feature in this console port. But is it worth paying twenty-six dollars over and above the mobile version with both IAPs? I don’t think so, but maybe you’ll feel differently. Either way, I recommend giving it a test spin via the mobile version’s free course first.
Ancient Islands ($12.49)
This is a tower defense game with a couple of twists to help it stand out from the pack. First, you can actually set the behavior of each individual tower to maximize their strategic value in your defense plans. Second, you have a little fenced-in area where you’ll build things to help collect resources and so on. Like a little town. You’ll want to stop the attackers on the roads if possible, but you’ll also want to lay out your town in such a way that if an enemy slips through they won’t take anything too dear to you. There are fairly large skill trees included for you to pursue as you see fit. The only problem is a familiar one: games of this sort don’t really play terribly well on a controller.
The Last Cube ($19.99)
It’s got a fancy lick of paint, but this is a very familiar type of puzzle game. You control a cube and have to roll it around, solving puzzles using the special abilities you pick up by stamping its sides. There are lots of extra challenges and secrets to sniff out, and the world is really quite interesting for a game of this sort. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Time Loader ($14.99)
In Time Loader you play as a little time-traveling robot who goes back to the 1990s in order to set right what once went wrong. The game takes the form of a rather lovely-looking puzzle-platformer, with the time travel gimmick leading to multiple endings based on your actions. This adds some replay value to the game, and that’s certainly a good thing as the puzzles aren’t all that challenging and a playthrough only takes a few hours. Still a neat jaunt and a nice gaming experience.
Ashwalkers ($19.99)
Ashwalkers is a survival game that feels like it doesn’t want to be a survival game. It wants to be a narrative game, and that is where its strengths lie. A really striking presentation combined with an engaging story drives this game forward, while its survival mechanics feel absolutely perfunctory. I’ll have a review of this one soon, but if you’re looking for something with deep survival gameplay, this isn’t it. If you’re more searching for a story about surviving? Maybe this will be your thing.
Time Blazer ($14.99)
Here’s a multidirectional shoot-em-up where you have the ability to slow down time. As the levels progress, the amount of enemies and debris increase significantly. Collect resources and upgrade your ship to stay ahead of the curve. Fall behind, and you won’t last long.
Frightence ($5.99)
Another first-person horror game. The story of this one is that you’re the janitor of an apartment building that has become the subject of many rumors and legends over the years. Everyone in the building has received an eviction notice, and it’s your job to head in there tonight and make sure everyone has left. Scary things are sure to follow. It’s a fairly short affair, appropriate to its price.
Dungeon Color ($3.99)
This is a mellow little puzzle game where you play as a golem who is trying to reach the rainbow flame in each of the game’s fifty levels. Doors of different colors will block your path to the rainbow flame, and you can only open them by lighting yourself with a flame of the appropriate color. You can only hold one color at once, so you need to think carefully about which colors to pick up and when in order to reach the goal. Affordable, breezy puzzling.
Pocket Slimes ($9.99)
Paint the floors of each stage in the fewest possible moves. If you like puzzle games, you have probably played something similar to this before. There’s a two-player mode here for some local competitive play if that’s something that interests you. One hundred levels, three different biomes, a bunch of unlockable skins, and an infinite mode are included.
Slide Stories: Neko’s Journey ($2.99)
Do you like sliding tile puzzles? Because that’s what this is. You get six animated pictures to assemble, and you can play each of them at five levels of difficulty. The level you choose will determine how many tiles there are. The six pictures tell the story of a cat doing some traveling with its owner. If you get stuck, there are a few different helper features to assist you.
Retro Pixel Racers ($9.99)
Another top-down single-screen racing game, this time leaning on a retro pixel art theme. There are twenty-six courses to race on, twenty different cars to choose from, and no multiplayer options whatsoever. Frankly, I think you’re better off grabbing Moto Roader MC for a few bucks less. But if you can’t get enough of this kind of racer, here is another one for you.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Not too much exciting in the list for today. Another Hatsune Miku game, a lot of usual suspects, some discounts on Fantasy Strike DLC, and that’s about it. The outbox is similarly lacking in excitement, but I suppose that isn’t the worst thing. Tomorrow will likely have more to offer.
Select New Games on Sale
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA MM ($19.69 from $39.39 until 3/16)
Arcaea ($27.99 from $39.99 until 3/16)
RazerWire: Nanowars ($1.99 from $9.99 until 3/16)
Urban Flow ($1.99 from $14.99 until 3/16)
Breakpoint ($2.21 from $4.99 until 3/17)
#Funtime ($4.40 from $14.99 until 3/17)
Deleveled ($3.43 from $9.99 until 3/17)
Roundguard ($7.87 from $19.99 until 3/17)
Fracter ($3.10 from $6.99 until 3/17)
Cozy Grove ($10.47 from $14.99 until 3/17)
Space Otter Charlie ($9.65 from $14.99 until 3/17)
The Ambassador FT ($5.15 from $14.99 until 3/17)
Battle Brothers A TBTRPG ($20.99 from $29.99 until 3/18)
Scrapnaut ($8.99 from $11.99 until 3/23)
Wind Peaks ($8.99 from $14.99 until 3/24)
Fantasy Strike Core Pack ($9.99 from $19.99 until 3/24)
Fantasy Strike Collector’s Pack ($49.99 from $99.99 until 3/24)
Blackwind ($19.99 from $24.99 until 3/24)
Hentai vs Evil ($6.99 from $9.99 until 3/25)
Moero Crystal H ($23.99 from $39.99 until 3/25)
Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire ($4.19 from $5.99 until 3/25)
Drizzlepath: Deja Vu ($4.89 from $6.99 until 3/25)
Horatio Goes Snowboarding ($4.89 from $6.99 until 3/25)
Waifu Discovered 2 ($6.99 from $9.99 until 3/25)
BarricadeZ Revisited ($9.74 from $14.99 until 3/25)
The Letter A Horror Visual Novel ($13.99 from $19.99 until 3/25)
Trigger Witch ($9.74 from $14.99 until 3/25)
Super Arcade Racing ($4.99 from $9.99 until 3/30)
Deadly Days ($2.08 from $18.99 until 3/30)
Encodya ($5.99 from $29.99 until 3/30)
Leisure Suit Larry WDDD ($3.99 from $39.99 until 3/30)
Leisure Suit Larry WDDT ($7.99 from $39.99 until 3/30)
Leisure Suit Larry WD Saga ($9.74 from $64.99 until 3/30)
Jessika ($2.09 from $14.99 until 3/30)
The Innsmouth Case ($2.09 from $14.99 until 3/30)
Shakes on a Plane ($1.99 from $19.99 until 3/30)
Super Arcade Football ($4.99 from $9.99 until 3/30)
Don’t Be Afraid ($6.49 from $9.99 until 3/30)
Heaven Dust 2 ($13.49 from $14.99 until 3/31)
64.0 ($1.99 from $2.99 until 3/31)
Wenjia ($3.99 from $7.99 until 3/31)
Never Breakup ($6.99 from $9.99 until 3/31)
The Sinking City ($9.99 from $49.99 until 3/31)
Heaven Dust ($3.99 from $7.99 until 3/31)
Cruel Bands Career ($2.79 from $3.99 until 3/31)
Magical Girls Second Magic ($3.99 from $4.99 until 3/31)
Gomoku Let’s Go ($3.49 from $4.99 until 3/31)
Reversi Let’s Go ($3.49 from $4.99 until 3/31)
Arrog ($2.79 from $3.99 until 3/31)
SELF ($3.49 from $6.99 until 3/31)
AngerForce: Reloaded ($6.99 from $9.99 until 3/31)
Devil Slayer Raksasi ($10.49 from $14.99 until 3/31)
Sudoku Universe ($3.49 from $6.99 until 3/31)
Candleman ($10.49 from $14.99 until 3/31)
Jigsaw Masterpieces EX KCG ($14.99 from $29.99 until 3/31)
Duel On Board ($5.59 from $7.99 until 3/31)
Venus: Improbable Dream ($6.99 from $9.99 until 3/31)
Sushi Reversi ($9.99 from $13.99 until 3/31)
Break Dot ($3.99 from $4.99 until 3/31)
Madoris R ($4.00 from $5.00 until 3/31)
Refreshing Sideways Puzzle GH ($16.79 from $27.99 until 3/31)
Magical Girls ($4.00 from $5.00 until 3/31)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Friday, March 11th
A Gummy’s Life ($13.99 from $19.99 until 3/11)
A Pretty Odd Bunny ($3.49 from $4.99 until 3/11)
Apple Knight ($1.99 from $9.99 until 3/11)
Art Sqool Deluxe ($1.99 from $13.99 until 3/11)
Behind The Screen ($4.99 from $9.99 until 3/11)
Brawl Chess ($1.99 from $9.99 until 3/11)
Bulb Boy ($2.69 from $8.99 until 3/11)
Cargo Crew Driver ($5.99 from $11.99 until 3/11)
Circa Infinity Ultimate ($1.99 from $10.99 until 3/11)
Crumble ($11.24 from $14.99 until 3/11)
Day of the Dead Solitaire ($10.99 from $19.99 until 3/11)
Defoliation ($4.99 from $9.99 until 3/11)
El Hijo A Wild West Tale ($13.99 from $19.99 until 3/11)
Extreme Car Driver ($5.99 from $11.99 until 3/11)
Five Dates ($9.09 from $12.99 until 3/11)
Horned Knight ($2.49 from $5.99 until 3/11)
Lost Artifacts: Soulstone ($3.99 from $9.99 until 3/11)
Lyrica2 Stars Align ($12.49 from $24.99 until 3/11)
Monster Energy Supercross 2 ($5.24 from $34.99 until 3/11)
Moonfall Ultimate ($3.89 from $12.99 until 3/11)
MotoGP 20 ($5.24 from $34.99 until 3/11)
Multilevel Parking Simulator ($5.99 from $11.99 until 3/11)
Pako Caravan ($2.39 from $7.99 until 3/11)
Pile Up! Box by Box ($10.49 from $14.99 until 3/11)
Rotating Brave ($2.49 from $4.99 until 3/11)
Shadow Bug ($2.24 from $8.99 until 3/11)
Sin Slayers ($1.99 from $19.99 until 3/11)
Skydrift Infinity ($10.49 from $14.99 until 3/11)
Storm Tale 2 ($10.99 from $19.99 until 3/11)
Super Daryl Deluxe ($4.99 from $19.99 until 3/11)
The Game of Life 2 ($20.99 from $29.99 until 3/11)
The House of Da Vinci ($3.99 from $9.99 until 3/11)
They Breathe ($1.99 from $3.99 until 3/11)
Time Carnage ($7.79 from $12.99 until 3/11)
Truck Simulator 2 ($5.99 from $11.99 until 3/11)
Void Gore ($1.99 from $4.99 until 3/11)
X-Force Genesis ($3.50 from $7.00 until 3/11)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new games. Yes, more. Games like .hack//G.U. Last Recode, Chex Quest, and more. We’ll have summaries of those games, plus whatever new sales and big news roll in over the course of the day. I hope you all have a thrilling Thursday, and as always, thanks for reading!
