Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for April 28th, 2021. In today’s article, we’ve got a whole bunch of news to check out. We’ve also got a handful of new games to look at, though nothing terribly exciting. There are some very interesting sales today, particularly if you want to fatten your library of Arc System Works games. And we’re not even at Thursday yet! Well, let’s get to work.
News
‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ and ‘Super Mario Party’ Get Updates
A couple of updates arrived in the last day. First, and perhaps most exciting, is for Super Mario Party. You know how it was a big bummer that you couldn’t play the game online? Well, that’s changed. You can now play a bulk of the game’s content against others on the internet. Unexpected, and very good. More expected was the latest update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons. It fixes a few bugs, sets up the next few events (repeats from last year, broadly speaking), and adds in some new seasonal items that will pop up at the appropriate times at the Nook Shop over the next little while. A bit underwhelming, but it’s something I suppose.
‘Monster Hunter Rise’ Version 2.0 Update Details, Up Now
Monster Hunter Rise has been a big hit so far. No surprise there. Still, those who have been playing fervently are probably ready for some new challenges. The version 2.0 update went up today, and it has a few bits to chew on. You can raise your hunter rank cap when specific conditions are met, and new monsters will start popping up in some quests. After raising your cap, new monsters, quests, gear, decorations, and skills will be available. Layered armor! Palico and Palamute level caps have been raised, and a long list of bugs have been fixed. There are other things in there, so make sure to update your game and enjoy the goodies. Oh, and to go with all that, Kamura Pack 2: Big Hit Celebration is now available, giving you a ton of free items like Mega Potions and Mega Armorskins. Get that too while you’re at it.
Try the Demo for ‘Miitopia’, Now Available on the eShop
Miitopia is coming to the Switch relatively soon. Next month, in fact. If you haven’t played the game on the Nintendo 3DS and are wondering what it’s all about, you’re in luck. Nintendo has put a demo for the game up on the eShop that you can download and try out. I’m still not entirely convinced the game is going to work as well on a platform that doesn’t emphasize either Miis or Street Pass, but I suppose we’ll see. And indeed, you can see all on your own. Just grab the demo and give it a go. The full game will hit on May 21st, so you’ve got a while to make your decision.
The Special Flag and Bomber Feature in the Latest ‘Super Smash’ Event
Lots of things going on in many games this week, so Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is taking a week to rest a bit with a somewhat half-hearted event theme. The next weekend event is a tournament focusing on two featured items: the Special Flag and the Bomber. Rack up the wins and you’ll earn higher quality spirits, as usual for this sort of affair. The event kicks off on Friday and will run the typical three days through the weekend.
New Releases
Taiwan Monster Fruit: Prologue ($2.99)
A prologue, hunh? Ambitious. I like it. So this is a game where you have to use the motion controls, no way around it. If you have a Switch Lite, don’t bother buying this. Ditto if you generally like to play in handheld mode. Anyway, you pick a team of monsters and participate in a bunch of events. Up to four players can join in on the fun. There’s also a card collecting element. I’m not really sure about the details of that, but apparently the cards can be found while playing and can be equipped to convey various benefits. Nothing about this one is really catching my attention, unfortunately.
Grisaia Phantom Trigger 01 to 05 ($59.99)
This is a bundle of the first five chapters of Grisaia Phantom Trigger, originally available as four separate purchases that add up to five or so dollars more than this pack. This is not the complete story, but it is the first half. Well, I assume that if you want one of these episodes then you’ll want them all, so this bundle might be a good way to grab everything released so far in one go if you haven’t picked anything up yet. On the other hand, you’re not really saving a ton by getting this, so if you’re not sure you want to go all-in you still may want to buy them a la carte. Up to you, but at least there’s a choice now.
Car Demolition Clicker ($6.99)
Yeah, that’s one of those titles that essentially tells the whole tale. There are cars (and other vehicles), you see. They sit in the middle of the screen. You “click" on them to destroy them. You’ll earn money from doing so, which can be used to buy drones and other weapons to help you in the process of destruction. It’s about as orthodox a take on the clicker genre as you could imagine, apart from its superficial theme. Not something I’d buy, but maybe you feel differently. At the very least, it’s honest about what it has to offer.
Crime Opera: The Butterfly Effect ($9.99)
This is a visual novel that had fifteen minutes of notoriety last year for getting banned by Steam. It weaves a tale of the children of a Mafia family, and it doesn’t exactly pull any punches about the kinds of things they’re exposed to and the effect it has on them. You can choose to play it a largely non-interactive story or have it prompt you for choices along the way. There are six kids who are the focus of the story, and a total of twenty-four chapters telling their tales. The writing quality isn’t the best, but the story comes through. Certainly not one of my favorites in this genre, but if you’re interested in the subject matter it may prove its worth to you.
Street Cleaner: The Video Game ($15.00)
Street Cleaner is the name of a synthwave musician, apparently. That would certainly explain why the music in this game is as good as it is. I guess the musician wrote an album that served as a soundtrack for a movie that never existed, and this game is the hypothetical NES game that would have been based on that movie. You play as a vigilante with a gun and a baseball bat and make your way through seven stages of retro-style side-scrolling action. Seems fine as these sorts of things go, and it has fairly positive reviews from players on other platforms. One nice point is that it seems to offer up a wide range of difficulty options. And yes, there’s aforementioned excellent music. Lots of games like this on the Switch, but here’s one more.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
While most of the games today have been on sale before and tend to be discounted every couple months or so, the prices on them really should be noted. Double Dragon & Kunio-Kun Retro Brawler Bundle is an amazing collection of NES games and it’s just ten dollars! It would cost you more to buy the three Double Dragon games it includes if you picked them up separately. The Missing, Alternate Jake Hunter, and Worldend Syndrome are also ridiculously cheap at the moment, so if you have a hankering for some adventure games do consider partaking. The outbox has some good games in it as well, but most of them will be back around before long. Have a good look and see what jumps out at you.
Select New Games on Sale
Sky Rogue ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/4)
Street Cleaner: The Video Game ($12.75 from $15.00 until 5/4)
Death End re;Quest ($26.99 from $29.99 until 5/5)
Teslagrad ($4.49 from $14.99 until 5/6)
World to the West ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/6)
My Little Fast Food Booth ($2.99 from $3.99 until 5/6)
De: Yabatanien ($9.37 from $13.99 until 5/10)
Kill la Kill -IF ($10.00 from $19.99 until 5/13)
Damascus Gear Operation Osaka ($2.40 from $19.99 until 5/13)
Blazblue Cross Tag Battle ($5.00 from $19.99 until 5/13)
Blazblue CentralFiction Special ($19.50 from $49.99 until 5/13)
Guilty Gear ($6.90 from $9.99 until 5/13)
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R ($9.80 from $14.99 until 5/13)
Inferno Climber: Reborn ($4.75 from $13.99 until 5/13)
Azure Reflections ($12.49 from $24.99 until 5/13)
GensokyoDefenders ($9.99 from $19.99 until 5/13)
Gensou Skydrift ($19.19 from $23.99 until 5/13)
Touhou Luna Knights ($14.39 from $17.99 until 5/13)
The Missing: JJ Macfield ($7.50 from $29.99 until 5/13)
Alternate Jake Hunter: Daedalus ($4.80 from $39.99 until 5/13)
Worldend Syndrome ($10.00 from $39.99 until 5/13)
Of Mice and Sand Revised ($6.69 from $9.99 until 5/13)
Double Dragon & Kunio-Kun Bundle ($10.00 from $39.99 until 5/13)
Double Dragon ($3.50 from $4.99 until 5/13)
Double Dragon 2: The Revenge ($3.50 from $4.99 until 5/13)
Double Dragon 3: The Sacred Stones ($3.50 from $4.99 until 5/13)
Double Dragon 4 ($3.50 from $6.99 until 5/13)
Chaos Code: New Sign of Catastrophe ($6.70 from $9.99 until 5/13)
Keen: One Girl Army ($2.49 from $4.99 until 5/13)
Fault: Milestone Two Side Above ($11.99 from $14.99 until 5/13)
Fishing Star World Tour ($17.99 from $29.99 until 5/18)
Woven ($1.99 from $19.99 until 5/18)
Crime Opera: The Butterfly Effect ($7.99 from $9.99 until 5/19)
King of Seas ($19.99 from $24.99 until 5/25)
Buried Stars ($39.99 from $49.99 until 5/30)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Thursday, April 29th
#SinucaAttack ($2.99 from $4.99 until 4/29)
A Duel Hand Disaster: Trackher ($4.99 from $9.99 until 4/29)
Art Sqool ($4.54 from $12.99 until 4/29)
Axiom Verge ($9.99 from $19.99 until 4/29)
Bamerang ($5.89 from $6.99 until 4/29)
Bonkies ($10.49 from $14.99 until 4/29)
Castaway Paradise ($15.99 from $19.99 until 4/29)
Chameleon Run Deluxe ($1.99 from $5.99 until 4/29)
Clumsy Rush ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/29)
CMS ($2.99 from $14.99 until 4/29)
Crazy BMX World ($2.40 from $3.00 until 4/29)
Cyber Protocol ($1.99 from $9.99 until 4/29)
Delicious! Pretty Girls Solitaire ($4.79 from $5.99 until 4/29)
Demon’s Tilt ($11.99 from $19.99 until 4/29)
Devil Slayer Raksasi ($11.99 from $14.99 until 4/29)
Factotum 90 ($1.99 from $7.99 until 4/29)
Graviter ($6.39 from $7.99 until 4/29)
Jim is Moving Out! ($4.49 from $14.99 until 4/29)
Kawaii Deathu Desu ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/29)
Legend of Keepers: Career of a Dungeon Manager ($15.99 from $19.99 until 4/29)
Lost Sea ($2.99 from $9.99 until 4/29)
Many Faces ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/29)
Mekorama ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/29)
Monkey Barrels ($8.99 from $14.99 until 4/29)
Monster Energy Supercross ($5.99 from $29.99 until 4/29)
Moonfall Ultimate ($2.59 from $12.99 until 4/29)
Moorhuhn Wanted ($5.59 from $6.99 until 4/29)
Nirvana Pilot Yume ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/29)
OMG Police: Car Chase TV ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/29)
Palindrome Syndrome: Escape Room ($7.99 from $9.99 until 4/29)
Ravensword: Shadowlands ($5.59 from $6.99 until 4/29)
Red Colony ($5.59 from $6.99 until 4/29)
Royal Roads ($2.99 from $9.99 until 4/29)
Savage Halloween ($2.49 from $4.99 until 4/29)
She Sees Red: Interactive Movie ($2.99 from $9.99 until 4/29)
Skatemasta Tcheco ($1.99 from $4.99 until 4/29)
Space Warrior ($3.49 from $4.99 until 4/29)
Speed Truck Racing ($5.99 from $9.99 until 4/29)
Super Glitch Dash ($6.99 from $9.99 until 4/29)
The Keep ($5.39 from $17.99 until 4/29)
The Sinking City ($12.49 from $49.99 until 4/29)
They Breathe ($1.99 from $3.99 until 4/29)
Vaccine ($1.99 from $9.99 until 4/29)
West of Loathing ($7.70 from $11.00 until 4/29)
Zero Strain ($3.99 from $9.99 until 4/29)
Zombie Scrapper ($1.99 from $2.99 until 4/29)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with a look at a bunch of new games that will be hitting the eShop. We’ll also have whatever sales come along, though I’m not expecting terribly much in that regard. Let’s hope I’m not unpleasantly surprised. I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday, and as always, thanks for reading!
