Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 9th, 2022. In today’s article, we’ve got some news about a Splatoon 3 Nintendo Direct, a review of QUByte’s Thunderbolt Collection, a single new release summary, and the usual lists of new and expiring sales. Not the biggest of articles today, but sometimes things are like that. Let’s get to it!
News
Check Out a ‘Splatoon 3’ Direct Tomorrow
With Xenoblade Chronicles 3 released, Nintendo has started to more heavily market its next big release, Splatoon 3. The game is scheduled to be released on September 9th, so we’re only a month away now. Perhaps with that in mind, Nintendo has scheduled a special Splatoon 3 Nintendo Direct for tomorrow. I hope you’re an early riser, because it starts at 6:00 am PT and 9:00 am ET. In all, the presentation should run for about thirty minutes and will offer a deep look at Splatoon 3. Only Splatoon 3. Don’t go getting excited about other games showing up. Splatoon 3 only.
Reviews & Mini-Views
QUByte Classics: Thunderbolt Collection by PIKO ($7.99)
I take no joy in giving a game a negative review. I know the lane that QUByte works in, and I try to keep my expectations at the appropriate level. Similarly, I know the kinds of games that PIKO has absorbed into its catalog. They’re typically not the cream of the crop, but just because a game is mediocre it doesn’t mean it should be forgotten. With all that in mind, it’s with a heavy heart that I say Thunderbolt Collection is absolutely dreadful.
The ‘Classics‘ in the title has rarely done as much heavy lifting as it is doing here. The only sense in which these games are classic is in that they are a few decades old. This collection contains two Taiwanese bootlegs, originally released for the Famicom (NES) and Mega Drive (Genesis). They’re both vertical shoot-em-ups, and both went under a title that could translate to Thunderbolt 2. The kanji used for their shared title was exactly the same as Raiden 2, however, and I doubt that was a coincidence.
‘Bootleg’ is not a term I use lightly either. What we used to refer to as bootlegs are essentially the same as today’s homebrew games, and given the negative connotations of the word I tend to avoid it. But it fits the two games in Thunderbolt Collection perfectly, I’m afraid. The 8-bit game included here is nothing more than an attempt to make a Famicom version of Hudson’s TurboGrafx-16 game Super Star Soldier. The 16-bit game is even worse: it’s a marginally modified, possibly hacked, version of Namco’s Dangerous Seed. Neither game runs, sounds, or plays as well as the game it’s knocking off, so even if you’re okay with the lack of originality on display here, the games really aren’t worth playing.
I don’t blame the publisher here. It’s just republishing a couple of old games it licensed from a company that should probably be vetting their acquisitions a little better. QUByte has put the games in its usual emulation wrapper, and that all works fine as usual. While the poor quality of the games was immediately evident when I started playing, it took even me a little bit of time to realize they were biting so hard off of pre-existing titles. But whoever you want to blame, at the end of it all this really isn’t a collection worth buying unless you have a bizarre fascination with the history of poorly-made copies.
SwitchArcade Score: 1/5
New Releases
Two Point Campus + Bonus Content ($39.99)
The folks behind the rather charming Two Point Hospital are back with a follow-up focusing on building a university. Much like how that game had a wide array of silly made-up illnesses, so too does this have a variety of made-up fields of study. This is an early release for people who preorder, but it seems like the regular release coming next week is the same price. So… I guess get this one? It also includes some bonus content for Two Point Hospital if you happen to own that.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
If you want to stock up on Witcher games or some of the DLC for Bandai Namco’s anime-licensed fare, today is for you. The Contra homage Super Cyborg is at its lowest price yet, and both Horizon Chase and its DLC are on sale again. Over in the outbox, the latest batch of discounts from Arc System Works are ending. Check those lists as usual, chums.
Select New Games on Sale
The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt ($19.99 from $39.99 until 8/15)
Thronebreaker: Witcher Tales ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/15)
Ni no Kuni: WotWW ($9.99 from $49.99 until 8/15)
Naruto Ninja Storm Trilogy ($9.99 from $39.99 until 8/15)
Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 ($9.99 from $49.99 until 8/15)
The Adventure Pals ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/15)
Arsty Pixel ($4.89 from $6.99 until 8/16)
Mr. Prepper ($7.74 from $15.49 until 8/16)
Ignatius ($2.49 from $4.99 until 8/16)
Demon’s Residence ($3.49 from $4.99 until 8/16)
Viki Spotter: Shopping ($3.49 from $4.99 until 8/16)
Viki Spotter: Camping ($2.49 from $4.99 until 8/16)
Viki Spotter: Around the World ($3.49 from $4.99 until 8/16)
Car Mechanic Simulator PE 2 ($4.64 from $15.49 until 8/16)
Hundred Fires: TRoRS ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/16)
Ludo Game: Just Chill Out ($1.99 from $4.99 until 8/16)
Horizon Chase Turbo ($4.99 from $19.99 until 8/16)
Katamari Damacy Reroll ($7.49 from $29.99 until 8/22)
The Company Men ($14.99 from $19.99 until 8/22)
Super Cyborg ($3.49 from $6.99 until 8/22)
Fates of Ort ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/23)
SkateBIRD ($12.99 from $19.99 until 8/23)
Immortal Realms: Vampire Wars ($13.99 from $39.99 until 8/25)
Grim Legends 2: SotDS ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/29)
Abyss: TWoE ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/29)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 10th
Alternate Jake Hunter DAEDALUS ($4.80 from $39.99 until 8/10)
Ary & the Secret of Seasons ($7.99 from $39.99 until 8/10)
Blazblue Centralfiction SE ($19.50 from $49.99 until 8/10)
Blazblue Cross Tag Battle ($5.00 from $19.99 until 8/10)
Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia ($29.99 from $49.99 until 8/10)
Chaos Code New Sign of Catastrophe ($6.69 from $9.99 until 8/10)
Clan N ($5.99 from $14.99 until 8/10)
Code Shifter ($4.50 from $14.99 until 8/10)
Demon Gaze Extra DDE ($48.74 from $64.99 until 8/10)
Double Dragon ($3.49 from $4.99 until 8/10)
Double Dragon 4 ($3.50 from $6.99 until 8/10)
Fishing Star World Tour ($17.99 from $29.99 until 8/10)
Guilty Gear ($6.89 from $9.99 until 8/10)
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core+R ($9.74 from $14.99 until 8/10)
Inferno Climber Reborn ($4.76 from $13.99 until 8/10)
Kill la Kill -IF ($10.00 from $19.99 until 8/10)
Lost Words: Beyond the Page ($2.99 from $14.99 until 8/10)
Mononoke Slashdown ($4.19 from $6.99 until 8/10)
Ninjala Story Pack: Chapter One DLC ($0.99 from $9.99 until 8/10)
Ninjala Story Pack: Chapter Two DLC ($0.99 from $9.99 until 8/10)
Of Mice and Sand ($6.69 from $9.99 until 8/10)
Override Mech City Brawl ($5.99 from $29.99 until 8/10)
Remothered: Broken Porcelain ($5.99 from $29.99 until 8/10)
Rock of Ages 3 ($5.99 from $29.99 until 8/10)
The Missing JJ Macfield ($7.50 from $29.99 until 8/10)
Worldend Syndrome ($10.00 from $39.99 until 8/10)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new releases, more sales, and perhaps some news. I’ve been cheekily adding more affordable Game Boy cartridges to my collection of late, particularly since my son can change the batteries now. Today’s mail had the Game Boy Color version of Donkey Kong Country and the ever-awesome Wario Land 2 in it. I’ll play them when I need a Xenoblade break. I hope you all have a great Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!
