Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for July 25th, 2023. In today’s article, we again start things off with a couple of reviews. Dotemu’s Might & Magic – Clash of Heroes: Definitive Edition and Marvelous/XSEED’s Touhou: New World get evaluated in our usual manner. After that, we have a batch of new releases to check out. This Way Madness Lies and Mr. Run and Jump seem to be the best games of the bunch, but I’ll let you read and decide on your own. After that, it’s our usual lists of new sales and expiring discounts. Let’s get to it!
Reviews & Mini-Views
Might & Magic – Clash of Heroes: Definitive Edition ($17.99)
It’s nice to see an old favorite return, especially one that you had resigned yourself to never playing on new hardware again. That’s just what I got with Might & Magic – Clash of Heroes: Definitive Edition, a spiffed-up new version of the game that was originally released on the Nintendo DS back in 2009. More or less, that’s all we get here. Some of the art has been changed, and I’ll leave it to you to decide if it’s better or worse. You can play multiplayer local or online, and that’s a great way to extend an already generous game. There’s a new character to use in multiplayer, and the DLC is fully included here at no extra cost. Otherwise, this is the same game you may have played on a variety of other consoles.
But hey, it’s been a while since this has been available on consoles, so it doesn’t really need to do too much more than show up as far as I’m concerned. This is a very cool game, showing that even early on Capybara Games had some serious chops. At its core it’s primarily a strategic match-3 game where your pieces are your units in a battle against the CPU. You can place them defensively or offensively as needed, with a few other tricks that get woven in as you go. As you battle, your character and units will gain experience and level up. Throw in a handful of other RPG mechanics and you’ve got a nice package. There isn’t much else exactly like it out there, so even if I’ve played the single-player campaign before, I didn’t mind going through it again. The multiplayer mode can keep the party going forever if you’re looking for that.
Might & Magic – Clash of Heroes: Definitive Edition doesn’t add very much to the original game, but it was already a strong game that stands for itself quite well in modern times. Dotemu has done a capable job of bringing it to the Switch, and it fits the platform almost as well as it fit the Nintendo DS. If you’re looking for a cool new puzzle game that offers both a substantial single-player mode and enjoyable multiplayer gameplay, you’ll likely be quite satisfied with what this game has to offer.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
Touhou: New World ($24.99)
This seemed like a fine enough idea on paper. Take the reliable action-RPG stylings of the mid-00s era Ys games and fuse it with Touhou Project‘s characters and bullet hell stylings. It kind of works, but not as well as I had hoped it would. You take control of Reimu or Marisa on an adventure that takes you through Gensokyo and the Oustide World as an unexpected visitor threatens to damage the balance between the two realms. You have a basic attack, the ability to jump to avoid bullets, a guard that you can use with careful timing for counter-attacking, a healing ability, and an assortment of skills with cooldown timers. Combat is functional but never feels quite as good as that of Ys, but it isn’t dreadful.
This game feels like the modest effort that it probably is. The bosses are well done and reasonably exciting, but the rest of the game is lacking. Trash mobs don’t come in many varieties, the environments are sparse and full of invisible walls, and the layouts just aren’t all that interesting to explore. There is treasure to be found, often rewarding you with new gear, but it’s the sort where you really have to be jazzed about an extra 2% to some stat or another. Visually it it’s serviceable but not impressive, while the soundtrack is pretty solid if somewhat lacking in volume.
If you like Touhou Project and can enjoy a relatively mindless action-RPG with rough edges all around, you’re in the best position to appreciate Touhou: New World. Keeping its scope in mind, it’s a decent way to spend a day or two of gaming. Just don’t expect it to get anywhere close to the quality of the games it’s paying homage to. I suppose that’s the nature of many of these Touhou Project spin-offs, but it’s frustrating when it gets as close to being more as this one does.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
New Releases
This Way Madness Lies ($9.99)
Oh, it’s this way? Well, very good. I’ve been looking for it. This is an RPG from Zeboyd Games (Cosmic Star Heroine, Cthulhu Saves the World) that mashes up magical girls and Shakespeare. That might sound like something out of Game Dev Story, but it works really well. It’s on the shorter side as this genre goes, and you can easily finish it within ten hours. Perfect for those who love RPGs but perhaps don’t have as much free time as they did in their younger years. We’ll have a review of this one soon, but if you liked this developer’s other work then you’ll almost certainly like this.
Mr. Run and Jump ($24.99)
Given my age and life situation, Atari’s heyday was just a little before my time. With that being the case, I don’t know why it makes me smile a little to see this company’s slow but steady comeback story. With reissues and remakes handled quite well, the next frontier is to get more fully original titles out there. Mr. Run and Jump isn’t reinventing the wheel, taking plenty of notes from the likes of N+ and Super Meat Boy, but it’s a very well made game of that sort. It’s been reviewing quite well elsewhere and I’m sure it will fare well when I tackle it as well.
Magic Exposure – Yuri Visual Novel ($4.99)
The subtitle fills in the basics here. This is a furry visual novel with a yuri theme. The heroine is cleaning her father’s attic when she finds a camera that seemingly reveals spirits when photos are taken. This kicks off a series of events with some very unlikely love interests and unusual characters. If you like the genre and the premise, I think it’s a fair game for its price.
Skeljump ($3.99)
I can’t really make heads or tails of this particular puzzle game. From the title, I’m guessing it involves jumping. From the screenshots, we can tell it’s top-down and involves small platforms with what appears to be a variety of switches and special blocks. Well, at least it’s a cheap mystery to solve if one is inclined to do so.
Heist Force ($9.99)
This is a fairly plain-looking top-down shooter with the twist of you having to pull off a robbery and escape. The levels are procedurally generated, so that means endless fun! Right? Right? You have access to an assortment of weapons and tools to help you with each heist, which should offer up some variety in theory.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Wow, a sale on the Mini Metro/Motorways games. Those are rare, and only happening due to an anniversary. There are also some new low prices on a few Bandai Namco games, plus a handful of indies. Nothing is really jumping out at me in the outbox, so I’ll just cut things short here and advise you to check both of those lists.
Select New Games on Sale
Mini Motorways ($11.24 from $14.99 until 7/31)
Mini Metro ($4.99 from $9.99 until 7/31)
Time Loader ($4.49 from $14.99 until 7/31)
Nadir: A Grimdark Deck Builder ($9.99 from $19.99 until 7/31)
Bonkies ($2.24 from $14.99 until 7/31)
Death Coming ($2.09 from $6.99 until 7/31)
The Uncertain: Last Quiet Day ($4.49 from $14.99 until 7/31)
Lone Ruin ($7.49 from $14.99 until 8/1)
The House of Da Vinci 3 ($6.99 from $9.99 until 8/1)
Resident Evil 4 ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/7)
Dragon Ball Z Kakarot ($17.99 from $59.99 until 8/7)
Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus ($4.99 from $19.99 until 8/7)
Pac-Man World Re-Pac ($14.99 from $29.99 until 8/7)
Namco Museum ($5.99 from $29.99 until 8/7)
Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris Deluxe ($53.99 from $89.99 until 8/7)
Taiko no Tatsujin Rhythm Festival Deluxe ($32.99 from $54.99 until 8/7)
Captain Tsubasa Rise of New Champions ($11.99 from $59.99 until 8/7)
Warsaw ($1.99 from $19.99 until 8/7)
Gems of Magic Dwarf’s Destiny ($2.49 from $9.99 until 8/7)
Active Life Outdoor Challenge ($12.49 from $49.99 until 8/7)
.hack//G.U. Last Recode ($17.49 from $49.99 until 8/7)
SD Gundam Battle Alliance Deluxe ($42.49 from $84.99 until 8/7)
Digimon Survive ($35.99 from $59.99 until 8/7)
Digimon World: Next Order ($35.99 from $59.99 until 8/7)
Doraemon Story of Seasons FotGK ($29.99 from $49.99 until 8/7)
Inhabit ($3.49 from $4.99 until 8/7)
QuickSpot ($7.99 from $19.99 until 8/7)
Constellations ($3.49 from $4.99 until 8/7)
Katana Kata ($4.49 from $14.99 until 8/8)
Summer Catchers ($3.59 from $11.99 until 8/8)
NUTS ($5.99 from $19.99 until 8/8)
Calturin ($1.99 from $5.99 until 8/8)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, July 26th
Aeterna Noctis ($13.49 from $29.99 until 7/26)
Alan Wake Remastered ($17.99 from $29.99 until 7/26)
Arise: A Simple Story DE ($4.99 from $19.99 until 7/26)
Aspire: Ina’s Tale ($1.99 from $12.99 until 7/26)
ATONE: Heart of the Elder Tree ($1.99 from $14.99 until 7/26)
Badland: Game of the Year Edition ($1.99 from $5.99 until 7/26)
Beautiful Desolation ($1.99 from $19.99 until 7/26)
Big Dipper ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/26)
Blazing Beaks ($1.99 from $14.99 until 7/26)
BPM Bullets Per Minute ($12.49 from $24.99 until 7/26)
Demon Turf ($12.49 from $24.99 until 7/26)
Demon Turf: Neon Splash ($3.49 from $4.99 until 7/26)
Flame Keeper ($4.99 from $11.99 until 7/26)
Gamedec: DE ($4.99 from $29.99 until 7/26)
Golf Club Wasteland ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/26)
GUNGUNGUN ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/26)
Kargast ($5.99 from $9.99 until 7/26)
Little Racer ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/26)
Lumberhill ($1.99 from $14.99 until 7/26)
Merrily Perilly ($1.99 from $4.99 until 7/26)
Potion Party ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/26)
Redemption Reaper ($29.99 from $49.99 until 7/26)
Splatter: Zombiepocalypse Now ($1.99 from $7.99 until 7/26)
Velocity Noodle ($7.79 from $12.99 until 7/26)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new releases, more sales, perhaps a review or two, and any big news that rolls in. I need the big RPGs and RPG-like games to slow down a little bit for a while. My sleep is suffering badly. I’m going to go take a nap now. I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!
