Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for April 14th, 2023. We’re doing the usual Friday business today, which means mopping up the remaining releases for the week and checking in on some hot sales. The highlight of the new release list today is Capcom’s excellent Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection, but there are other interesting titles to consider as well. Let’s finish up the week!
New Releases
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 1 ($39.99)
Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol. 2 ($39.99)
If you’re forty or over, the name Mega Man likely conjures up the likes of Mega Man 2 or Mega Man X. But if you’re around thirty, I suspect you connect that name with a highly successful series of Game Boy Advance RPGs and the animated series based on them. Now for the first time ever, we’ve got collections of those games. The first three are on the first set and the remaining three are on the second set, including all of the variants of each. Just the Game Boy Advance versions, mind you. Don’t expect the Nintendo DS version of 5. Anyway, the games have been given a number of enhancements, and you can look forward to all the details when I post my review of them early next week.
Castle of the Underdogs Ep1 ($9.99)
Lots of indie RPGs recently. Well, here’s another one. It uses a voxel-ish style for some of its graphics but not all of them. Structurally it follows the turn-based RPG style of games like Suikoden or Final Fantasy X, and it leans hard into comedy. That’s always a risky bet, but let’s see how that plays out for them. At the very least, it seems to have had a warm reception over on Steam since its initial release there in 2021. Will there be an episode two? It… might be a bit. So savor the flavor if it’s one you favor.
Contract Killer ($11.99)
A quirky beat-em-up where the main characters are all writing utensils for some reason. Up to four players can join in via local multiplayer, and there are unlockable characters and various modes to enjoy. Really odd, but it’s decent enough to play. I’d imagine if you can get enough people together this would be a real hoot. Yes, I call things hoots. I’m getting old.
IGS Classic Arcade Collection ($29.99)
Well, this is the heartbreak of the day for sure. International Games System is a Taiwanese game publisher who mainly put out arcade games on a NEOGEO-like multi-game system back in the late 90s and 00s but is still kicking around these days doing various things. Its games are not the best of the best, but they’re quite good and their obscurity makes them qualify as that most dreaded of term, “hidden gems", for most. This collects eight of those games and even features online play, so it seems like a winner. Unfortunately, the emulation has some major issues including frame skipping and messed-up audio, and the display options don’t allow you to use the proper aspect ratio for most of the included games. If it gets patched, this is an easy recommendation. Otherwise, and I truly hate to say this, give it a pass.
Puzzle by Nikoli S Shikaku ($4.99)
Another unique, clever puzzle game from the folks at Hamster. In this one, you need to divide each puzzle into rectangles or squares, each one containing a single number and a corresponding amount of cells. I imagine many people are sleeping on these Nikoli puzzle games because of how plain they look, but they really are some of the finest, most original logic puzzles on the eShop. This is a fine addition to the line-up.
Ultra Pixel Survive ($4.99)
This game makes me nostalgic for the days where everyone was rushing for those Minecraft bucks but mobile devices weren’t quite where they needed to be power-wise so everyone did 2D takes. And yes, as it turns out, this is also available on mobile devices. Anyway, it’s about what you would expect or remember when someone asks you to imagine a completely average Minecraft-style game in 2D. For a fiver, that’s probably enough.
Mixx Island: Remix Plus ($13.99)
Hmm. This is around four or five bucks on Steam, and I’m not sure what’s been added to make it cost three times as much on Switch. The thing is, at around a fiver this would be a decent enough little boss rush run-and-gun game. At fourteen bucks… no, this just isn’t substantial enough to hang with the competition at that price tier. An okay enough game, at least. You can have fun with it.
Bugvasion TD ($9.99)
Yet another tower defense game, but this one has a neat twist thanks to its premise, which sees alien-possessed insects attacking your house. That means all of the environments are the usual household locations, and you are like a giant next to the invading waves of foes. In addition to the usual defenses, you can also unleash some slightly silly but thematically appropriate super moves like stomping with your feet and such. I’m pretty tapped out on this kind of game, but if you’re not then you might get a kick out of this one.
TAPE: Unveil the Memories ($19.99)
This narrative horror adventure game came out around a year ago on other platforms, and the general response wasn’t excessively good or bad. The gimmick is that you have to use a special video camera to move objects through time in order to solve puzzles. Be there monsters? There be. A solid premise and compelling enough story that ultimately are let down a bit by the puzzles and enemy encounters getting a little too rote too quickly.
Farm Slider ($4.99)
If you’re going to take on a well-trodden concept, at least make it look good. And that’s more or less what we’ve got here. You get forty-eight sliding tile puzzles to play. Move the tiles around until the farm matches the target picture, and away you go. Nothing new under the sun with this one, but it’s cute and affordable.
Lost Dream Darkness ($4.99)
Play as a dark-looking fox-like creature in this atmospheric game. It’s about twenty minutes long all-up and there’s really nothing to it but walking around and heading towards your destination. Not for me, but surely for someone.
Drone Master Racing ($5.99)
The idea in this game is that you have to pilot your drone through all the checkpoints as fast as you can without wrecking it. The description mentions competing against other players, but you have to take turns playing. No simultaneous racing. There are a few secrets in play here, so some effort was made to add extra things to do. This is another one that doesn’t do a whole lot for me, but I’m just some clown writing words on the internet.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Not as big of a batch of new sales as I was expecting, with a lot of the usual suspects at the usual discounts. I’ve pulled out some of the more interesting ones for this list, and I’ll just let you go ahead and look through that on your own. As far as the outbox goes, Team 17’s latest sale is finishing up. Those sales will be around again in a month or so, but if you want to play them now, the time to grab them is now.
Select New Games on Sale
Pawarumi ($4.99 from $19.99 until 4/17)
Sunrise GP ($13.49 from $14.99 until 4/21)
Slime Rancher: Plortable ($12.49 from $24.99 until 4/25)
Time on Frog Island ($8.49 from $24.99 until 4/25)
Monster Harvest ($4.99 from $19.99 until 4/25)
The Lightbringer ($4.49 from $14.99 until 4/25)
Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX ($6.79 from $19.99 until 4/25)
Cubers: Arena ($3.74 from $14.99 until 4/27)
Dicey Dungeons ($4.99 from $14.99 until 4/27)
Rock of Ages 3: Make & Break ($2.99 from $29.99 until 4/28)
Pankapu ($2.39 from $11.99 until 4/28)
Old School Musical ($3.89 from $12.99 until 4/28)
PictoQuest ($3.49 from $9.99 until 4/28)
Piczle Cross Adventure ($3.99 from $9.99 until 4/28)
Alt-Frequencies ($2.39 from $7.99 until 4/28)
Accidental Queens Collection ($4.49 from $14.99 until 4/28)
Ashwalkers ($12.99 from $19.99 until 4/28)
A Normal Lost Phone ($2.03 from $5.99 until 4/28)
Another Lost Phone Laura’s Story ($2.03 from $5.99 until 4/28)
Lost Phone Stories ($2.99 from $9.99 until 4/28)
Mech Armada ($11.99 from $19.99 until 4/28)
Linelight ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/28)
Rustler ($2.99 from $29.99 until 4/28)
NeuroVoider ($3.49 from $13.99 until 4/28)
ScourgeBringer ($8.49 from $16.99 until 4/28)
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure ($8.99 from $19.99 until 4/28)
Iris and the Giant ($7.49 from $14.99 until 4/28)
Knights of Pen & Paper Bundle ($5.62 from $22.49 until 4/28)
Old School RPG Bundle ($8.99 from $29.99 until 4/28)
Astria Ascending ($23.99 from $39.99 until 4/28)
Guild of Ascension ($10.19 from $16.99 until 4/28)
The Dungeon of Naheulbeuk: TAoC ($23.99 from $39.99 until 4/28)
Instant Sports ($5.99 from $14.99 until 4/28)
Cassiodora ($12.74 from $16.99 until 4/28)
They Always Run ($14.99 from $19.99 until 4/28)
Souldiers ($14.99 from $19.99 until 4/28)
Cris Tales ($7.99 from $39.99 until 4/28)
Raiden IV x Mikado Remix ($14.99 from $29.99 until 4/28)
Raiden V: Director’s Cut ($8.99 from $29.99 until 4/28)
Void Scrappers ($3.19 from $3.99 until 5/4)
Fates of Ort ($5.99 from $14.99 until 5/4)
Sable’s Grimoire: Dragon’s Treasure ($4.79 from $5.99 until 5/4)
Kao the Kangaroo Bundle ($18.14 from $32.99 until 5/4)
Antigravity Racing ($2.96 from $8.99 until 5/4)
Pachi Pachi on a Roll ($2.09 from $6.99 until 5/4)
Pachi Pachi 2 on a Roll ($2.39 from $7.99 until 5/4)
Samurai Maiden Deluxe ($59.99 from $74.99 until 5/4)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Clone Drone in the Danger Zone ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/15)
Dark Fantasy: Jigsaw Puzzle ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/15)
Dark Fantasy: Jigsaw Puzzle 2 ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/15)
Deep Space Shooter ($2.79 from $3.99 until 4/15)
Gang Beasts ($14.99 from $29.99 until 4/15)
Golazo 2 Pixel Soccer ($12.78 from $15.98 until 4/15)
Mokoko X ($4.59 from $11.49 until 4/15)
Mudness Offroad Car Simulator ($1.99 from $14.99 until 4/15)
Passpartout: The Starving Artist ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/15)
Automachef ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/16)
Bounce Journey ($1.99 from $2.99 until 4/16)
Crown Trick ($4.99 from $19.99 until 4/16)
Epic Chef ($6.24 from $24.99 until 4/16)
Golf With Your Friends ($5.99 from $19.99 until 4/16)
King of Seas ($4.99 from $24.99 until 4/16)
Modern Combat Blackout ($1.99 from $19.99 until 4/16)
Monster Sanctuary ($6.99 from $19.99 until 4/16)
Moving Out ($6.24 from $24.99 until 4/16)
My Time at Portia ($7.49 from $29.99 until 4/16)
Neon Abyss ($6.99 from $19.99 until 4/16)
Orn: The Tiny Forest Sprite ($2.20 from $8.99 until 4/16)
Out of the Box ($5.99 from $14.99 until 4/16)
Overcooked 2 ($6.24 from $24.99 until 4/16)
Raging Justice ($3.74 from $14.99 until 4/16)
The Survivalists ($6.24 from $24.99 until 4/16)
Worms Rumble ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/16)
Worms WMD ($5.99 from $29.99 until 4/16)
Yooka-Laylee & the Impossible Lair ($5.99 from $29.99 until 4/16)
That’s all for today and this week, friends. We’ll be back next week with more new releases including Advance Wars 1 & 2: Re-Boot Camp and the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters, plus more reviews, sales, and perhaps even the odd bit of news. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and as always, thanks for reading!
