Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 16th, 2022. Today we have another two reviews for you. There’s a lengthy look at Shin chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation, then a shorter evaluation of Voyage. After that, there are a couple of new releases to check out. One is very cool, one is very dubious. We wrap things up with a surprisingly bulky list of new sales, plus the expiring discounts for the day. Let’s get to work!
News
‘Wave Race 64’ Comes to Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack August 19th
It’s easy to forget those old days where you would get one or two games a month at best when a console launched. Heck, the Switch just got one or two new games while I typed that sentence. But if you were a day one Nintendo 64 owner, the wait tended to be very real. It’s a lucky thing that when Nintendo released something, it would usually keep you busy for a while. Wave Race 64 was one of my favorites for the system, and it looks like it’s coming to Nintendo Switch Online via the Expansion Pack this Friday. They’ve kept the Kawasaki branding, too. Nice. I’m looking forward to revisiting this one later this week.
Reviews & Mini-Views
Shin chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation -The Endless Seven-Day Journey- ($39.99)
There are a few ways to come at Shin chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation -The Endless Seven-Day Journey-. That is the very last time I will ever type that full title, by the way. First of all, if you happen to be a fan of Crayon Shin-chan, you can just go ahead and pick this up. From top to bottom it is a fantastic adaptation of those characters and their world. It looks perfect, the voices are all provided by the proper Japanese VAs, and the sense of humor is exactly where it should be. The blend of bizarre and mundane that characterizes the show as a whole is also on display here.
The next group I want to address are the folks who played Attack of the Friday Monsters on the Nintendo 3DS. This is the same developer, doing a similar type of game, and it’s similar to that game in how it weaves the fantastical with normal kids’ summer stuff. This game is longer and has more to do in general than Friday Monsters, and I feel very confident recommending it to anyone who enjoyed that title.
Third group: the Bokunatsu fans. You know who you are. This is indeed the latest game from Millennium Kitchen, the team behind Bokunatsu. And hey, it has Summer Vacation right in the title. I think you’ll enjoy this game too, though perhaps not as unreservedly as some others. It absolutely scratches that Bokunatsu itch, but having gone through this game twice now, in both its Japanese and Western form, I must soberly admit that it wasn’t quite as enjoyable for me as any of the games from that series. Close, mind you. Close enough that you’ll probably still want to check it out. But expecting it to be Bokunatsu 5 is only going to leave you disappointed.
Alright, that’s the priors covered. So that must leave us with the people who have no idea about Shin-chan, Friday Monsters, or Bokunatsu. The good news is that you don’t need to know about any of that to enjoy this game. It’s enough to know that Shin-chan is a weird little five-year-old Japanese boy on a summer vacation with his family. This takes him to a small countryside town where his mother’s old friend lives, where he will spend a peaceful time catching bugs, fishing, and playing. Or at least, that’s the plan.
Things go awry when they meet a mad scientist who gives them one of his inventions, and go further off the road when he reappears a few days later with something unusual in tow. I’ve said it a few times before, but once more for the cheap seats: the story here is a careful blend of extremely ordinary life and some wildly absurd fantasy. As high stakes as things get, there’s never any legitimate pressure to deal with. You can keep messing around, burning away your vacation one day at a time, as you like. Things will work out in the end.
So what do you do in this game? You have a number of activities you can engage in. I mean, there’s that main plot there if you want to pay attention to it. You can also collect bugs with your trusty net, try to catch all of the different kinds of fish, and do some light farming. There are also toys you can collect and use to battle against other kids. Just about anything of note you find or do will be recorded in Shin-chan’s picture diary, and you can bring that picture diary to the newspaper office to help them increase their circulation. Little Shin-chan has a crush on a lady who works there, and he managed to get her to agree to a date if he helps out enough.
There’s no urgency to any of this, and no truly correct way to play. Just have fun and try to lose yourself in the setting. This is what is compelling about Bokunatsu and Friday Monsters, and it works here too. A sort of nostalgia for a time and place you may never have been or experienced before. A lovely little magic trick, that is. It’s slightly diminished in this game because Shinnosuke is a proper character all of his own, making it a bit harder to project yourself onto him. But hey, just pretend you were a goofy little imp when you were five. You’ll be fine.
Fans of Shin-chan, Bokunatsu, Attack of the Friday Monsters, or those who just enjoy a bit of slow-life low-pressure adventure will likely appreciate Shin chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation. It could be a little fuller, and I don’t know how to feel about how it wraps up its story, but it’s unique, silly, and nostalgic in all the right ways.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
Voyage ($14.99)
A nice jaunt while it lasts, and I like that you can play alone or with a friend. You’ve got two characters either way, and you travel through some really pretty areas, solving the occasional light puzzle. There’s a little bit of navigation and a whole lot of pushing and pulling, and that latter bit does sometimes get a little tedious. The story is ambiguous all the way through and the ending is going to leave you with more questions than answers, but I suppose if you like games where you can draw your own conclusions, you won’t mind that. It takes a couple of hours to run through, and the only real incentive to replay is to experience it again.
I had a pleasant enough time with Voyage in spite of a couple of issues popping up. It’s aiming more to be an experience than to test your skills with difficult puzzles, and as long as you are okay with that, I think you’ll enjoy the ride well enough. I’m not sure how long it will stick in my memory, but as ephemeral confections go this one is satisfying enough.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
New Releases
Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince ($14.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
The charming Zelda-inspired Blossom Tales was a highlight of the Switch eShop’s first holiday season. It’s been some time, but we’ve finally got a sequel. Grandpa’s got another tale of adventure starring Lily, this time setting her against the Minotaur King in a bid to save her brother. I’ll have a review of this one as soon as I can manage, but from what I’ve played so far anyone who enjoyed the first will surely have a great time with this follow-up.
Puppy Balloon Ride ($4.99)
Well, this looks like a student project. Not a particularly good one, either. You’ve got a puppy in a balloon and you need to guide them through all of the hazards and obstacles in each stage to help them get home. Not something I’d spend a fiver on, but maybe you would?
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Wow, that is a ton of new sales for a Tuesday. Lots of good stuff in there too, though I will specifically point out that the Idea Factory games are about as cheap as I have ever seen them. They’re not to everyone’s tastes, but if you’ve ever considered taking a punt, it’s hard to argue with these prices. Lots of Capcom stuff, but that goes on sale every few weeks. The outbox doesn’t have too much to get bothered about, but the latest Monster Hunter discounts are wrapping up. Check both lists, as usual.
Select New Games on Sale
Dice Legacy ($4.99 from $19.99 until 8/22)
Gravity Runner ($4.99 from $9.99 until 8/22)
Windbound ($4.99 from $19.99 until 8/22)
Pinball FX3 Bethesda DLC ($4.39 from $10.99 until 8/22)
Pinball FX3 Universal Monsters DLC ($5.99 from $9.99 until 8/22)
Overlord Escape From Nazarick ($23.99 from $29.99 until 8/23)
Jin Conception ($7.50 from $15.00 until 8/23)
A Little Golf Journey ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/23)
Demon Turf ($18.74 from $24.99 until 8/23)
Demon Turf: Neon Splash ($4.49 from $4.99 until 8/23)
Metal Max Xeno Reborn ($33.99 from $39.99 until 8/29)
Okami HD ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Mary Skelter 2 ($9.99 from $39.99 until 8/29)
Mary Skelter Finale ($19.99 from $49.99 until 8/29)
Maglam Lord ($27.99 from $39.99 until 8/29)
Maglam Lord: Deluxe ($41.99 from $59.99 until 8/29)
Shinsekai Into the Depths ($14.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen ($9.89 from $29.99 until 8/29)
Mega Man Legacy Collection ($7.99 from $14.99 until 8/29)
Mega Man Legacy Collection 2 ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Mega Man 11 ($9.89 from $29.99 until 8/29)
Mega Man X Legacy Collection ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2 ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Mega Man Zero/ZX Collection ($14.99 from $29.99 until 8/29)
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles ($24.79 from $39.99 until 8/29)
Phoenix Wright: AA Trilogy ($14.99 from $29.99 until 8/29)
Ace Attorney Turnabout Collection ($39.59 from $59.99 until 8/29)
Devil May Cry ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Devil May Cry 2 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Devil May Cry 3 SE ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Onimusha Warlords ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Calturin ($4.19 from $5.99 until 8/29)
Bustafellows ($25.99 from $39.99 until 8/29)
Root Film ($19.99 from $39.99 until 8/29)
Aggelos ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/29)
Evergate ($3.99 from $9.99 until 8/29)
Fairy Fencer F: ADF ($5.99 from $29.99 until 8/29)
Azur Lane Crosswave ($14.99 from $49.99 until 8/29)
Super Neptunia RPG ($11.99 from $39.99 until 8/29)
Death end re;Quest ($8.99 from $29.99 until 8/29)
Death end re;Quest II ($19.99 from $49.99 until 8/29)
Moero Chronicle Hyper ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Megadimension Neptunia VII ($8.99 from $29.99 until 8/29)
Neptunia X Senran Kagura Ninja Wars ($24.99 from $49.99 until 8/29)
Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls? ($11.99 from $39.99 until 8/29)
Cat Quest ($6.49 from $12.99 until 8/29)
Arcade Spirits ($6.59 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers ($16.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Nexomon ($6.69 from $9.99 until 8/29)
Nexomon: Extinction ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
PUSS! ($2.39 from $11.99 until 8/29)
Tormented Souls ($16.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
OMNO ($8.79 from $15.99 until 8/29)
Anima: GoM Arcane Edition ($7.79 from $29.99 until 8/29)
Katana Kata ($5.99 from $14.99 until 8/29)
Resident Evil Revelations ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Resident Evil Revelations 2 ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Resident Evil ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Resident Evil 0 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Resident Evil 4 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Resident Evil 5 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
Resident Evil 6 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/29)
The Smurfs: Mission Vileaf ($23.99 from $39.99 until 8/30)
Star Wars: KotOR II: Sith Lords ($12.74 from $14.99 until 8/30)
Agatha Christie ABC Murders ($11.99 from $29.99 until 8/30)
Professor Rubik’s Brain Fitness ($5.99 from $29.99 until 8/30)
Asterix & Obelix: Slap Them All ($17.99 from $29.99 until 8/30)
My Universe: Doctors & Nurses ($17.99 from $29.99 until 8/30)
My Universe: Farmer’s Friends ($23.99 from $29.99 until 8/30)
Beyond a Steel Sky ($23.99 from $39.99 until 8/30)
Grand Mountain Adventure Wonderlands ($20.99 from $34.99 until 8/30)
LEGO Star Wars: Skywalker Saga Deluxe ($48.99 from $69.99 until 9/5)
Endless Fables: Dark Moor ($1.99 from $14.99 until 9/5)
Runbow ($2.99 from $14.99 until 9/5)
Kao the Kangaroo ($23.99 from $29.99 until 9/5)
Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield ($7.19 from $11.99 until 9/5)
Mortal Kombat 11 ($9.99 from $49.99 until 9/5)
Depth of Extinction ($4.19 from $14.99 until 9/5)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 17th
35MM ($5.99 from $9.99 until 8/17)
Barn Finders ($11.99 from $19.99 until 8/17)
Cris Tales ($13.99 from $39.99 until 8/17)
Deadly Premonitions Origins ($20.99 from $29.99 until 8/17)
Dying Light: Definitive Edition ($29.99 from $49.99 until 8/17)
Gem Wizards Tactics ($1.99 from $12.99 until 8/17)
In Rays of the Light ($4.79 from $7.99 until 8/17)
Jade Order ($2.09 from $6.99 until 8/17)
Melty Blood: Type Lumina ($32.49 from $49.99 until 8/17)
Monster Hunter Generations Ult. ($11.99 from $39.99 until 8/17)
Monster Hunter Rise ($30.59 from $59.99 until 8/17)
Monster Hunter Stories 2 ($29.99 from $59.99 until 8/17)
Monster Hunter Stories 2 Deluxe ($34.99 from $69.99 until 8/17)
Music Racer ($4.19 from $6.99 until 8/17)
Pantsu Hunter: Back to the 90s ($7.79 from $12.99 until 8/17)
Rustler ($8.99 from $29.99 until 8/17)
Summertime Madness ($8.99 from $14.99 until 8/17)
That’s all for today, friends. It’s the last day of the Obon holidays here in Japan, more or less. I work every day regardless, but for many it’s the end of summer vacation. That means we should start seeing the news flowing again for Japanese games, especially since the busy season is right around the corner. We’ll be back tomorrow with some new releases, some sales, and perhaps a bit of that news. I hope you have a terrific Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!
