Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for June 18th, 2019. The week is off and rolling, and we’ve got a few nice little news tidbits to get your blood circulating. There’s only one new release today, but it’s at least of some interest, so we’ll have a little look at that as well. Then there are the sales. Well friends, we’ll be saying good-bye to those epic E3 sales tomorrow, so make sure you have a good hard look at the outgoing list to make sure you grabbed everything you wanted. As for the new sales, they are few in number, but some of them are very strong indeed, particularly if you have an affinity for a certain blue hedgehog. Let’s slide on in!
News
The Kombat League Comes to ‘Mortal Kombat 11’ Today
Looking for something extra to do in Mortal Kombat 11? Well, from today you can join in on the Kombat League, a special ranked online mode where you can battle your way to some sweet rewards. Each four-week season sees you progressing through nine tiers, each coming with its own goodies to add to your pile. There are also daily and seasonal quests that can earn you some extra items and rewards. As soon as each season finishes, the next one will begin immediately, with a whole new batch of prizes to earn. This update also gives you a meter showing you your chances of winning prior to each ranked match, but do you really want to know the odds? I leave that to you, friends.
All Three Konami Collections Have Updates Available
Ever have one of those days where an update for a game arrives that fixes everything you complained about in your review just one day before? Just me? Well, as Konami promised, all three of its recent Anniversary Collection releases have been updated with Japanese versions of each game. They’re accessible through a separate menu, so you just have to scroll to the end of the list in the main game selection screen to get to them. On top of this not-insignificant addition, the Contra and Castlevania Anniversary Collections now allow you to remap your buttons as you like for each game. You can now rotate the display for vertical play in the arcade Contra games, and weird bugs like the shrill beeping in the BGM of stage two of Castlevania have been fixed. Frankly, I’ve got almost no complaints with any of these sets anymore. Buy ’em, friends!
The 4th Maximus Cup Event in ‘Tetris 99’ Runs This Weekend
I feel like the last Maximus Cup event in Tetris 99 was the one where I saw the highest number of my friends and acquaintances joining in. And why not? Everyone could take home that Game Boy theme if they put in the time. Sadly, Nintendo can’t give away a cool theme for every event, so the 4th Maximus Cup is back to the same set-up as the previous ones, more or less. Earn points based on your finishing rank, and at the end of it all the top 999 players will win 999 Gold Coins. The event kicks off at 12 AM PT on June 21st and runs until 11:59 PM PT on June 23rd. The announcement of this event coincides with Nintendo of Japan announcing a physical version of Tetris 99 in its home country. It releases on August 9th for 3,148 yen (around $30) and comes with all of the DLC released to date as well as a one-year subscription to Nintendo Switch Online. No word as to whether a similar set will be made available in the West, but I feel like there’s a good chance of it.
New Releases
Citizens of Space ($14.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
It’s not hard to find an indie game inspired by Nintendo’s Earthbound these days, but one of the earliest, most on-the-nose ones I can remember is Eden Industries’s Citizens of Earth. You play as the slightly overbearing Vice President of Earth who ends up saving the world with a little help from his constituents. Citizens of Space sees you as the slightly overbearing Ambassador of Earth who has to save the planet with the help of some galactic citizens. The Earth is missing, and you need to find out what happened and bring it back. Being a politician, you won’t get your own hands dirty, however. You need to recruit citizens, each with their own abilities and skills, to give you some assistance. The original game was a bit of a slog at times, but a lot of people liked it for its strong sense of personality and silly humor. The developer has probably learned a trick or two since then, so RPG fans may want to give this a closer look.
Sales
As I mentioned in the introduction, the biggest story in sales today is that the bulk of the E3 2019 sales are finishing up tomorrow. This is your last chance to pick up anything you had your eye on. I wouldn’t count on most of these going on sale again until Christmas in the best possible scenario, so don’t be bashful about it. As for new sales, SEGA has put the rest of the Sonic games on sale to go with the currently-running sale on Sonic Mania. SEGA AGES Sonic the Hedgehog is at its lowest price yet, and even the recently-released Team Sonic Racing isn’t missing the party. And hey, there are some sales on the pair of Escapists games as well. Not so bad all-around.
New Games on Sale
SEGA AGES Sonic the Hedgehog ($3.99 from $7.99 until 6/24)
Team Sonic Racing ($29.99 from $39.99 until 6/24)
Sonic Forces ($14.99 from $29.99 until 6/24)
The Escapists Complete Edition ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/30)
The Escapists 2 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/30)
Nelly Cootalot: The Fowl Fleet ($17.99 from $19.99 until 7/7)
Tinboy ($0.79 from $1.99 until 7/7)
Unknown Fate ($10.49 from $14.99 until 7/8)
Zombie Scrapper ($2.54 from $2.99 until 7/7)
Professor Lupo and his Horrible Pets ($12.74 from $14.99 until 7/9)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, June 19th
Almost There: The Platformer ($6.99 from $9.99 until 6/19)
Battle Chasers: Nightwar ($19.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
Carnival Games ($19.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
Celeste ($13.39 from $19.99 until 6/19)
Child of Light Ultimate Edition ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/19)
Chocobo’s Mysterious Dungeon Everybuddy ($31.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy ($29.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
Crypt of the NecroDancer ($3.99 from $19.99 until 6/19)
Cuphead ($16.99 from $19.99 until 6/19)
Dark Souls Remastered ($27.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
Darksiders Warmastered Edition ($23.99 from $29.99 until 6/19)
Dead Cells ($19.99 from $24.99 until 6/19)
Diablo 3: Eternal Collection ($39.99 from $59.99 until 6/19)
Disgaea 1 Complete ($29.99 from $49.99 until 6/19)
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ($40.19 from $59.99 until 6/19)
DOOM ($29.99 from $59.99 until 6/19)
Dragon Ball FighterZ ($41.99 from $59.99 until 6/19)
Fe ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/19)
FIFA 19 ($23.99 from $59.99 until 6/19)
Final Fantasy IX ($16.79 from $20.99 until 6/19)
Final Fantasy VII ($12.79 from $15.99 until 6/19)
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD ($39.99 from $49.99 until 6/19)
Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age ($39.99 from $49.99 until 6/19)
Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition ($17.99 from $29.99 until 6/19)
Fire Emblem Warriors ($40.19 from $59.99 until 6/19)
Frederic 2: Evil Strikes Back ($0.49 from $4.99 until 6/19)
Frederic: Resurrection of Music ($0.59 from $5.99 until 6/19)
Freedom Planet ($8.99 from $14.99 until 6/19)
Goetia ($0.99 from $9.99 until 6/19)
Golf Story ($9.89 from $14.99 until 6/19)
Hard West ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/19)
Hollow Knight ($7.50 from $15.00 until 6/19)
Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition ($40.19 from $59.99 until 6/19)
Just Dance 2019 ($19.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
Katamari Damacy Reroll ($20.99 from $29.99 until 6/19)
Kirby Star Allies ($40.19 from $59.99 until 6/19)
Mana Spark ($6.99 from $9.99 until 6/19)
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle ($19.79 from $59.99 until 6/19)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe ($40.19 from $59.99 until 6/19)
Mario Tennis Aces ($40.19 from $59.99 until 6/19)
Mega Man 11 ($23.99 from $29.99 until 6/19)
Millie ($0.49 from $4.99 until 6/19)
Monopoly ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom ($33.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate ($29.99 from $59.99 untili 6/19)
Mortal Kombat 11 ($49.79 from $59.99 until 6/19)
NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 ($14.99 from $29.99 until 6/19)
NBA 2K19 ($2.99 from $59.99 until 6/19)
NBA 2K19 20th Anniversary Edition ($32.99 from $99.99 until 6/19)
No Thing ($0.19 from $1.99 until 6/19)
Okami HD ($14.99 from $19.99 until 6/19)
Overcooked! 2 ($17.49 from $24.99 until 6/19)
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy ($23.99 from $29.99 until 6/19)
Puyo Puyo Champions ($4.99 from $9.99 until 6/19)
Qbik ($0.49 from $4.99 until 6/19)
Rayman Legends Definitive Edition ($15.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
Risky Rescue ($3.34 from $4.99 until 6/19)
Rocket League ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/19)
SEGA Genesis Classics ($20.99 from $29.99 until 6/19)
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse ($11.99 from $19.99 until 6/19)
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/19)
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI ($40.19 from $59.99 until 6/19)
SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy ($29.99 from $49.99 until 6/19)
South Park: The Fractured But Whole ($23.99 from $59.99 until 6/19)
South Park: The Stick of Truth ($14.99 from $29.99 until 6/19)
Sparkle 3 Genesis ($0.49 from $4.99 until 6/19)
Sparkle Zero ($0.49 from $4.99 until 6/19)
Stardew Valley ($11.99 from $14.99 until 6/19)
Starlink: Battle for Atlas ($29.99 from $59.99 until 6/19)
Super Chariot ($7.99 from $19.99 until 6/19)
Super Mario Odyssey ($40.19 from $59.99 until 6/19)
Swim Out ($3.99 from $5.99 until 6/19)
Syberia ($9.99 from $29.99 untl 6/19)
Syberia 2 ($9.99 from $29.99 until 6/19)
Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition ($34.99 from $49.99 until 6/19)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim ($29.99 from $59.99 until 6/19)
The Messenger ($13.99 from $19.99 until 6/19)
Titan Quest ($19.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes ($20.99 from $29.99 until 6/19)
Trials Rising Standard Edition ($14.99 from $24.99 until 6/19)
Undertale ($11.24 from $14.99 until 6/19)
Unravel Two ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/19)
Wargroove ($13.39 from $19.99 until 6/19)
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus ($29.99 from $59.99 until 6/19)
World of Final Fantasy Maxima ($19.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
WWE 2K18 ($14.99 from $59.99 until 6/19)
Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ($26.79 from $39.99 until 6/19)
And that’ll do it for today’s edition of the SwitchArcade Round-Up. Check back tomorrow for the latest news, summaries of whatever new releases come along, some sales information, and maybe even a review if I can just finish the last part of the game I’ve been working on for the last few days. As always, thanks for reading!
