Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for January 29th, 2024. It’s another rough Monday as far as new games are concerned, but we’ve got a couple of reviews to save the day. I take a look at Nintendo’s Another Code: Recollection and Idea Factory’s Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters and offer up my thoughts on the games. After that, we wade into the bins to see what’s new on the eShop today. We finish things up in the usual manner, with the lists of the newest discounts and expiring sales. Let’s get this week going!
Reviews & Mini-Views
Another Code: Recollection ($59.99)
I’ll be upfront about this: I’ve never gotten into developer CING’s adventure games the way some others have. I owned and played through Trace Memory (the North American version of Another Code) back in the day on my Nintendo DS, and found it merely okay. A few inspired puzzles, a reasonably engaging story, but a lot of elements that I felt didn’t click right. Many of the puzzles were dull, relying a little too much on genre standards, and I had trouble getting into Ashley’s side of the story in particular. Another Code R didn’t come out in North America, so I haven’t played it in its original form. I did play CING’s Hotel Dusk and felt a bit bored with it despite its stylish presentation.
So with that out there, it probably won’t surprise many of you that I didn’t find Another Code: Recollection particularly compelling. It’s a gorgeous remake, to be sure. Trace Memory was a rather humble game on the Nintendo DS in terms of production values, and it’s been fully remade into modern 3D here. You also get plenty of voice acting that helps add to the atmosphere. As mentioned, I’m not familiar with the original version of the second game, but it carries forward the excellent presentation of the first in this remake. Overall, the settings of both games feel a lot more immersive and the stories come alive a bit better.
The puzzles are also quite different here, but that is of course out of necessity as much as anything else. The puzzles in the original games leaned heavily on the respective gimmicks available to the Nintendo DS and Wii, after all. Don’t worry, the new ones are plenty gimmicky too. Don’t even think of playing this without a controller that has the full capabilities of the official first-party ones. You’re going to be using motion control and a few other things to solve the problems that block your way. If it’s too difficult to figure out, you can make use of another new addition for this remake. You can turn on a hint feature that will give you some advice at the press of a button. You can also make use of a feature that will point you to where you need to go next, allowing people who are just here for the story to chew on it with as little friction as possible.
As adventure games go, Another Code: Recollection is a good one even if I don’t think it quite reaches the level of great. Fans of the originals will likely be thrilled with this, as I don’t think anyone expected any of CING’s works to get this kind of treatment. Newcomers looking for a decent adventure game will find one here, complete with some clever puzzles that occasionally get a bit too clever. It didn’t change my mind on Another Code, but I don’t think it was really supposed to do that anyway.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters ($49.99)
Gameindustri is in trouble again, and this time it falls to Nepgear and the other CPU candidates to save the day. This is an action-RPG, and I’m going to be frank and say this game feels like par for the course for a series that hasn’t really made much meaningful progress since the PlayStation Vita was new. This isn’t the first time the series has done an action-RPG spin-off, but you would certainly think it is by how it plays. The combat system is incredibly bland and just not a whole lot of fun even as your characters progress. The exploration is about as enjoyable as ever, which is to say that it’s not all that interesting but not terrible either. You get a light puzzle thrown in here and there, though that is a generous description. Lots of side quests! Not very interesting ones, but they are certainly there.
But hey, I’ve been on this ride long enough to know that people aren’t really playing Neptunia games for the gameplay. No, they’re here for the characters and story. That’s where Sisters VS Sisters manages to come through, provided you like the goofy-yet-sometimes-dead-serious vibes of the series. It once again attempts to present an allegory for some aspect of the game industry, though the analogy is starting to get stretched so thin I fear it will soon break. This time, it has some scathing thoughts on… the rise of mobile free-to-play gaming? What year is this? Well, that’s about the size of it. Probably best just to ignore the ham-fisted attempts at commentary and enjoy it as a silly story. Fans of the series should have fun, while newcomers might be a little lost without all the pre-existing info about character relationships and such.
I feel like the Neptunia series is mostly about preaching to the choir at this point, and in that capacity Sisters VS Sisters is a decent enough spin-off. The thing is, I’m not sure where to send people who want to get into the series at this point, and Sisters VS Sisters presents an equally awkward entry for such people. It assumes you already have some familiarity with the cast, and the emotional beats and twists heavily depend on that. The battle system is really bland, and I feel that the cut corners which are practically a staple of the franchise at this point are getting harder to ignore as the years pass. I had some fun with Sisters VS Sisters, but I was bored a lot more often than I’d prefer to be.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
New Releases
The Bin Bunch
10 in 1 Games Bundle ($9.99)
Zombie Football Simulator ($9.99)
Tail.io ($0.99)
Counter Shooter Strike Zone ($11.99)
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
The list of new sales ended up being pretty big, even if it does largely consist of the usual suspects. Some goodies to be found in there to be sure, though little of it is super high priority since it will likely be back around again before long anyway. In the outbox, WayForward is finishing up its latest sale and it’s your last chance to get the Batman: Arkham Trilogy at its lowest price so far. I wouldn’t buy it for Knight, but the other two games included are quite nice.
Select New Sales
Venice 2089 ($4.19 from $6.99 until 2/3)
Duck Race ($1.99 from $2.99 until 2/3)
A Painter’s Tale: Curon 1950 ($4.19 from $6.99 until 2/3)
Pew Paw ($1.99 from $6.99 until 2/6)
Colorful Colore ($1.99 from $2.99 until 2/6)
Grood ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/6)
Girabox ($1.99 from $2.49 until 2/6)
Hokko Life ($9.99 from $19.99 until 2/7)
Killer Frequency ($12.49 from $24.99 until 2/7)
Yooka-Laylee & the Impossible Lair ($5.99 from $29.99 until 2/7)
Ageless ($3.74 from $14.99 until 2/7)
Crown Trick ($4.99 from $19.99 until 2/7)
Attack on Beetle ($2.39 from $5.99 until 2/7)
Magician’s Chase: Missing Curry Recipe ($3.59 from $8.99 until 2/7)
Raging Justice ($3.74 from $14.99 until 2/7)
Worms W.M.D ($5.99 from $29.99 until 2/7)
The Escapists: Complete Edition ($2.99 from $14.99 until 2/7)
Automachef ($2.99 from $14.99 until 2/7)
Time on Frog Island ($7.49 from $24.99 until 2/9)
Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX ($4.99 from $19.99 until 2/9)
Fresh Start ($9.99 from $19.99 until 2/9)
No Place Like Home ($12.49 from $24.99 until 2/9)
Spells & Secrets ($17.99 from $29.99 until 2/9)
Necrosmith ($1.99 from $7.99 until 2/9)
The Lightbringer ($3.74 from $14.99 until 2/9)
Aragami: Shadow Edition ($5.99 from $29.99 until 2/9)
Aragami 2 ($11.99 from $39.99 until 2/9)
Ponpu ($2.24 from $14.99 until 2/9)
Sparklite ($4.99 from $24.99 until 2/9)
Hayfever ($2.24 from $14.99 until 2/9)
Bramble: The Mountain King ($14.99 from $29.99 until 2/9)
Whateverland ($7.49 from $14.99 until 2/12)
Spirit Roots ($1.99 from $6.99 until 2/12)
Broken Lines ($3.74 from $24.99 until 2/12)
Retro Machina ($2.99 from $19.99 until 2/12)
Alchemist Adventure ($2.99 from $19.99 until 2/12)
Genetic Disaster ($1.99 from $14.99 until 2/12)
Bridge Strike ($1.99 from $6.99 until 2/12)
Pumpkin Jack ($7.49 from $29.99 until 2/12)
Fall of Porcupine ($9.99 from $19.99 until 2/16)
Orbital Bullet ($3.99 from $19.99 until 2/16)
Lacuna ($1.99 from $19.99 until 2/16)
Pizza Tycoon ($2.09 from $14.99 until 2/16)
Far: Lone Sails ($2.09 from $14.99 until 2/16)
Itorah ($4.99 from $19.99 until 2/16)
Dr. Fetus’ Mean Meat Machine ($3.99 from $9.99 until 2/16)
Let’s Build a Zoo ($10.99 from $19.99 until 2/16)
Cardaclysm: Shards of the Four ($1.99 from $14.99 until 2/16)
The Inner World ($1.99 from $11.99 until 2/16)
Rigid Force Redux ($4.99 from $19.99 until 2/16)
Truberbrook ($1.99 from $29.99 until 2/16)
Runbow ($2.99 from $14.99 until 2/16)
Hell Pie ($9.99 from $24.99 until 2/16)
Growth ($6.99 from $9.99 until 2/16)
Three Minutes to Eight ($9.74 from $14.99 until 2/16)
BPM: Bullets Per Minute ($12.49 from $24.99 until 2/17)
Lil Gator Game ($11.99 from $19.99 until 2/17)
Yooka-Laylee ($3.99 from $39.99 until 2/17)
Blossom Tales II: Minotaur Prince ($8.99 from $14.99 until 2/17)
Swordbreaker: Origins ($4.99 from $9.99 until 2/17)
Music Racer ($2.79 from $6.99 until 2/17)
Norman’s Great Illusion ($1.99 from $4.99 until 2/17)
Need a Packet? ($2.79 from $6.99 until 2/17)
My Aunt is a Witch ($3.99 from $9.99 until 2/17)
Steam Tactics ($3.99 from $9.99 until 2/17)
Aircraft Evolution ($3.99 from $9.99 until 2/17)
Mask of Mists ($5.99 from $14.99 until 2/17)
Blood Waves ($3.99 from $9.99 until 2/17)
Overcooked: All You Can Eat ($15.99 from $39.99 until 2/18)
My Time at Portia ($5.99 from $29.99 until 2/18)
Moving Out ($6.24 from $24.99 until 2/18)
The Survivalists ($2.49 from $24.99 until 2/18)
Headbangers: Rhythm Royale ($13.39 from $19.99 until 2/18)
Blasphemous 2 ($20.09 from $29.99 until 2/18)
Worms Rumble ($2.99 from $14.99 until 2/18)
Golf With Your Friends ($6.59 from $19.99 until 2/18)
Taimumari: Complete Edition ($1.99 from $7.99 until 2/18)
Mystery Lover ($7.99 from $9.99 until 2/18)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, January 30th
Batman: Arkham Trilogy ($35.99 from $59.99 until 1/30)
Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse-Bouche ($5.59 from $7.99 until 1/30)
Dragon Wings ($7.49 from $14.99 until 1/30)
Legrand Legacy: TotF ($3.99 from $19.99 until 1/30)
Lunark ($11.99 from $19.99 until 1/30)
MADiSON ($23.32 from $34.99 until 1/30)
Mystic Academy: Escape Room ($6.99 from $10.99 until 1/30)
RWBY: Arrowfell ($14.99 from $29.99 until 1/30)
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse ($9.99 from $19.99 until 1/30)
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero Ultimate ($14.99 from $29.99 until 1/30)
Shantae: Risky’s Revenge ($4.99 from $9.99 until 1/30)
Touken Ranbu Warriors ($32.99 from $59.99 until 1/30)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more reviews, more new games, more sales, and perhaps some news. It was a nice weekend, all told. Spent some time with Mrs. Musgrave and relaxed a bit. Highly recommend that “relax a bit" business. It’s probably good for a person now and then. I hope you all have a magnificent Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!
