Hungry Meem is part real-time strategy, part simulation and tasks you with feeding little monsters called “Meems” and slowly expanding their village and holding feast events to grow the World Tree at the center of their home. Through the use of an on-screen cursor, you select areas, activities, and Meems in order to gather materials, construct buildings, and feed these odd-looking creatures. The in-game tutorials aren’t quite as effective as they could be, and so it’s not a bad idea to lower the difficulty level early on before you fully get your bearings.
The World Tree functions like a dungeon that houses the materials you need to scavenge in order for the Meems to survive and thrive. By picking up and moving a storage bag, you can guide your Meems to forage for sticks, food, vines, and other items. Your first challenge is to use the giant cooking pot in the village to craft snacks so that your Meems don’t lose their nerve while scouring the World Tree. It turns out that cookies and other snacks you’ll eventually be able to produce are vital for your success; when a Meem’s mental health reaches zero, they bug out and will start dumping the goods you’ve acquired from your bag and generally ignore everything they’re supposed to be doing. Of the three parameters you need to monitor–hunger, physical health, and mental health–the latter seems to be the most vital, at least early on when you have fewer mechanisms to raise it up.
When you return from a successful dungeon crawl, your hard-earned gains are thrown in a general storage area for you to use on cooking, building production, or individual Meem requests. One of the main ways that you make progress in Hungry Meem is by completing the tasks assigned to you by an omniscient statue named Tohren. After you’ve gone through a dozen or so such quests, you’re invited to throw a feast for the village, and this increases the level of the World Tree, which in turn opens up new areas of the dungeon for you to explore. Along the way, you’ll have the opportunity to grow your village’s population by having two Meems mate with each other to produce an egg that you can incubate and even assign specific learned skills from the parents to the offspring.
The overworld map also grows as you collect specific construction materials from Tohren quests and inside the World Tree, so the exterior and interior both gradually expand over time. That said, the gameplay loop doesn’t seem to change a whole lot, and the challenge is more focused on acquiring the materials you need to throw the next feast and keeping your Meems hale, hearty, and sound of mind. In terms of visuals, the presentation and menus are fairly lackluster, which makes the grind a little less palatable. The sound effects range from bizarre to unpleasant, and so most of the aesthetic part of the experience lands on a sour note.
Hungry Meem reminds me a little bit of Pikmin except clumsier. The zoomed-in dungeon perspective makes it difficult to position the storage bag so that the Meems will act how you want, but even then they can struggle in a multitude of ways, like eating the foods you want to bring back because they’re hungry little Meems. Much like raising toddlers and kids who seemingly have bottomless stomachs and insatiable desire for snacks, so too do the Meems that you rely on to progress forward in the game. This means that you are constantly juggling enjoyable but fleeting moments and frustrating considerations, and the end result is one that’s hard to recommend. It’s a little fun once you figure out how to get what you want from it, but Hungry Meem takes a bit more than it gives, and ultimately it serves up a feast that filled me up after just a few courses.
A single glance at Survival Kids would not be nearly enough to make the connection back to the 1999 Game Boy title of the same name, and from the same publisher, Konami. The Game Boy release was a punishing, non-linear adventure that focused on real-life, stranded on a deserted island type gameplay. On Switch 2, however, we have a family-friendly co-op puzzle game that plays well, if not a little too safe. Different in a lot of ways, the two experiences do share an emphasis on crafting, and taking pages from Overcooked and Moving Out makes the 2025 game a bit more than meets the eye.
The premise sees a group of kids discover an old treasure map that sets them on a path towards adventure, but a storm leaves them stranded on a series of islands situated on the backs of giant turtles. After customizing your character, the first island functions as a tutorial for the primary mechanics like chopping wood, light crafting, cooking, and fairly simple puzzles. The difficulty ticks up slowly but really not to a point that I would consider daunting. Breezy platforming and dragging and throwing objects across pits or to ledges round out the gameplay loop. You have a stamina meter that drains quickly when you carry or climb anything, so you need to cook food to raise your energy level.
It's clear from the outset that Survival Kids is designed around two things: cooperative gameplay and younger or less experienced players. There is a lot of built in repetition of simple tasks and a lot of handholding from the in-game narrator, in addition to a constant waypoint nudging you in the right direction, which can fortunately be toggled off. Those looking for a more rugged, complex experience may be bored halfway through the game's four regions and stages that can take over 25 minutes to finish, but even playing mostly solo I developed an appreciation for how Survival Kids was introducing this popular genre to newcomers. The gradual adding of new crafting recipes and the repetition of specific mechanics like elevators and stamina requirements are sure to foreground incredibly common features in other video games, like Breath of the Wild. An interesting note about the co-op is that trees and rocks take longer to chop on your own compared to solo play, which encourages working together while simultaneously discouraging players from dividing and conquering.
What may entice more seasoned players or those who want to play with their younger kids are the stars awarded in each level for finishing under a certain time threshold and finding the carefully hidden treasure stones. It is worth noting that the timer display is toggled off by default, so check out the main menu options before diving in. Two-player co-op on a single Switch 2 splits the screen vertically, with two people also able to join up online with a lobby code. What should be a definite selling feature of Survival Kids is its ability to use GameShare, one person per console, to broadcast the game to two other Switch 2 or even original Switch consoles, for three-player co-op. I was able to try two-player splitscreen and GameShare to my Switch OLED, and both of those setups fared well.
Survival Kids has the potential to be a gateway for both of my kids, who are still early in their gaming journeys, to more advanced and challenging puzzle, action, and co-op video games. In-game achievements, various fruits, veggies, and fish, and more than two dozen hidden glyphs provide reason to revisit stages over and above earning more stars (which you'll need to unlock some of the end-game content). While veteran players will almost certainly derive more multiplayer enjoyment from Switch 2 launch titles like Split Fiction or Fast Fusion, Survival Kids provides fun for the whole family, and it plays that role to a T.
Bravely Default finally came to North American 3DS systems in early 2014, and it marked another in a long line of impeccable turn-based RPGs to grace Nintendo's last dedicated portable system. The launch of the Switch 2 has brought with it Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster, and it’s been a joy to revisit one of my favourite RPGs from the last decade or so. That said, the 3DS version was so tailored to that console and its features that the HD Remaster does feel like it lacks some of this charm, but that shouldn’t hold you back from playing through another solid Square Enix offering.
Bravely Default follows the journey of four heroes working to restore the faded crystals of their world: Luxendarc. The cast is largely likeable–the milquetoast Tiz aside–and grows together over the course of the adventure, and the villains they encounter have their own unique personalities and stories that make the side quests as worthwhile as the main story, both from a narrative and a gameplay point of view. The dungeons and overworld may lack character, but the city spaces are particularly attractive, although some of their pop-up book charm was lost in the transition to HD.
One of the standouts of Bravely Default is its turn-based battle system, which was adapted for the Octopath Traveler games. In Flying Fairy HD Remaster, you can Default (or defend) to store up charges to use in future turns. The Brave action allows you to cash in these charges to act up to four times in a row, making for a very engaging risk/reward mechanic. Many of the boss encounters turn into puzzles where you need to not only figure out when to Brave and Default, but which job classes and abilities to bring into battle. It’s not uncommon to have to adjust your party and strategy in major ways ahead of the more prominent boss encounters. Even the asterisk battles that allow you to earn new jobs can pose a noticeable challenge and can require a similar amount of customization before you can claim victory.
As you progress, your party of Tiz, Agnes, Edea, and Ringabel level up as characters but also earn job points to improve their prowess across more than 20 different job classes. You can even carry with you the primary ability of a second job class to pair alongside your current job, in addition to a handful of learned passive buffs from any of the classes you’ve dabbled in. It follows then that there is generally some required grinding as you level up your jobs to make them more powerful and effective, and the encounter meter is a helpful tool for this work. Initially, you can set it to one of four rates: 50, 100, 150, or 200%. It’s a bit annoying that in order to unlock further rates (such as 0% and 400%), you need an accessory that can be acquired by cashing in tokens earned from the two new mini-games added to the Switch 2 release, but these both require using the Joy-Con in mouse mode and aren’t terribly enjoyable.
One of the primary changes, as the title of the game implies, is that the graphics of Bravely Default have been made HD, and there’s a sharpness to the world and everything you see it in that I would characterize as clean. That said, the character models being in HD doesn’t do them any favors given their plain, empty faces; in that regard, the 3DS was better at doing them justice. Other additions include a Heal All function from the equipment menu, recommended character levels (displayed as a range) for each dungeon, and the ability to fast-forward event scenes. The city rebuilding mini-game from the original release is here, but the charming Streetpass functionality has been replaced with spirit NPCs who show up randomly in towns and can be added to the population of Norende (Tiz’s destroyed hometown) to assist with the construction efforts. The aforementioned Switch 2 specific mini-games are Luxencheer Rhythm Catch, which sees you moving both Joy-Con around to activate notes in rhythm game fashion, and the more involved Ringabel’s Panic Cruise. The latter sees you steering the airship through rings and engaging in ship battles as you manipulate various switches and mechanisms from the airships cockpit. Each mini-game feels like just an easy way to add in Switch 2 functionality and likely won’t demand much of your time unless they really hit for you or you want to collect more of the tokens to spend on extra items and equipment.
It’s imperative that I give a shout out to the soundtrack, because it’s incredible and filled with memorable tracks. The ones that play when you activate special moves in battle are among my favorites, but the whole set is worth listening to. Outside of the optional Party Chat segments, most of the dialogue is voiced and adds a nice depth to the at-times heavy story. There’s a nice balance between levity and humor, often surrounding Ringabel’s womanizing, and the dire plight of the world and its inhabitants.
Having finished Bravely Default multiple times on 3DS, it’s safe to say that the primary experience and story are intact with the Switch 2 release. If you’ve never played a Bravely Default game, this is a decent way to do so if you happen to have a Switch 2 and not a 3DS–although you can buy a secondhand 3DS and Bravely Default game for much less than the cost of Nintendo’s newest console. The visual upgrade is nice on the whole, but I personally prefer how the characters looked on 3DS, and how the cities and towns popped off the 3DS screen. The inability to set the encounter rate to 0 from the outset is a bit disappointing, and the added mouse-focused mini-games don’t offer much in the way of entertainment. Nonetheless, any turn-based RPG fan worth their salt needs to be able to say that they’ve played Bravely Default, and Flying Fairy HD Remaster represents a fantastic way to christen your Switch 2. If you’ve already played it through once or twice on 3DS, my recommendation is a little less resounding.
Announced as part of Summer Game Fest, Mina the Hollower has a fitting release date, October 31, 2025. The gothic theming of the title and bone-chilling difficulty seem a perfect match for the spooky season, and we can't wait to finally sink our teeth into Mina's mouse-y adventure this fall.
While you wait, check out our most recent PAX West impressions of Mina the Hollower here.
Nintendo has a history of knocking it out of the park with their console pack-in games: Super Mario Bros with the NES, Tetris with the Game Boy, Super Mario World with the Super Nintendo, and of course Wii Sports with the Wii. Riding the high of the Switch's success, Nintendo had the courage to release a standalone product called Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which straddles the line between charming curio and glorified instruction manual.
One way to sell consumers on a new video game console, especially one that's backwards compatible with your previous one, is to advertise all of the new bells and whistles that it has, and this seems to be the primary aim of Welcome Tour. The goal is to collect stamps from multiple areas of a model version of the console that represent its various parts, like the controller buttons, the console fans, and the dock ports, and doing so allows you to explore the next part of the console or the next peripheral. On each section there are info tidbits to peruse, requisite quizzes that test that knowledge, and mini-games to play, which shine a spotlight on the Switch 2’s new features and improvements. One of these is a more pronounced and effective HD Rumble, but many of these games focus on the added mouse controls. I was pleased to learn that using the Joy-Con like a mouse is quite seamless, even if the armrest of my recliner didn’t serve as the best test surface for it.
It’s equal parts understandable and frustrating that Welcome Tour’s breadth means that you won’t be able to complete all of the mini-games present without owning a compatible USB camera or the new Pro Controller, as those two sections each contain an activity that requires said peripherals. That said, the mini-games that require more than the Switch 2 console provides out of the box are minimal, and I was able to see most of Welcome Tour had to offer in my time with it. Adding to the title’s longevity are medals that you can earn from the mini-games to open up activities throughout the different sections of the game. A number of these trials are timed and so you can shoot for improving your high scores when you want to take a break from working towards exploring every part of the console and controllers.
My primary impression of Welcome Tour is that it’s more robust than I had initially expected, and it provides a comprehensive, hands-on experience with all of the upgrades offered by the Nintendo Switch 2. I’m eager to return to the game in small bursts to finish off more advanced versions of the mini-games I’ve unlocked, while also being a good student and “studying” for the numerous quizzes that help you learn about the new console and features. Just as the name implies, this tour lingers and doesn’t overstay its welcome. However, it does feel like it may have served as a very effective pack-in title, perhaps just outside the pantheon of those I mentioned earlier. I get it, though: in a world where many don’t have the patience for or interest in multi-page manuals, Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour fills a role. Ultimately, I come away with a better sense of the capabilities of my new Nintendo console, and that at the very least helps ease the pain of my poor wallet.
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma seems designed for those who enjoy farming games but don't like the built-in waiting and potential tedium that the genre has standardized. Instead, this side game to the main Rune Factory series throws a well placed curve ball that allows players to divine both their own water sources and the pace of their adventure. There's more to see and do in the world of Azuma than might be apparent initially and up to even halfway through the experience, and what ended up standing out the most was the freedom I had to live my Earth Dancer life as I saw fit.
After choosing your male or female protagonist (Subaru or Kaguya), birthdate, and difficulty level, Guardians of Azuma doesn't quite start at the beginning, as it relies on a bit of flashback to reveal more and more about the amnesiac player character's background. Rather, you're pushed right into tutorial mode, and the process is a smooth and effective one, guided largely by your sidekick Woolby, whose reactions made me laugh on multiple occasions. It takes only an hour or two before most of the major features of the game will be second nature, and what ends up being the case is that the larger story takes a bit longer to emerge while smaller matters and exploration buoy the first half of this action RPG, farming hybrid.
The gameplay division into three separate but related segments represents that player freedom I alluded to earlier. If you want to sink your teeth into farming and raising livestock, you'll be rewarded with the produce and funds to power up your character and your inventory of restorative dishes and beverages. The sacred instruments you acquire can really speed things up by helping crops grow faster or making watering or harvesting your fields a snap. Another element is the construction and organization of each of the four seasonal towns of which you will end up becoming chief, and this entails building houses, shops, production facilities, and decorations to boost the population and overall level of each town. Of course, the better and more thorough your construction efforts, the more raw goods you'll have to process and the more citizens you'll have to take care of your farms and work your businesses. Yes, you can literally set and forget your crops and fields and the townsfolk will take care of the rest. Your functioning commune life awaits!
Perhaps you're less interested in the agricultural and architectural aspects of this Rune Factory experience? Then there's a satisfying, balanced action combat system that takes you though caves, plains, dungeons, and even any underworld city. You can initially invite a trio of friends from the different towns to join you in exploring the slightly larger spaces outside of each town as you complete different main and side objectives to push the narrative and your relationships along. The fighting itself can be fairly button-mashy, but the ability to dash and score perfect dodges, in addition to elemental tools with their own individual skill trees, mean that there are a bevy ways to take down smaller enemies and bosses.
One downside to the action portions are the limited number of different enemy and boss types, with many being palette swaps and rematches. Fighting the same tree or horserider boss multiple times grows stale; a saving grace is that you and your team are constantly leveling up and picking up precious monster parts that can be turned into equipment or traded for building materials. The slow upward slope on which your opponents increase in difficulty pushes you towards upgrading your weapons and armor, in addition to preparing edibles and potables for the road ahead. Your inventory and storage are constantly being filled up, but it’s simple enough to move things between them.
Another enjoyable aspect of Guardians of Azuma is the interactions with your fellow townspeople, many of whom can join you in battle. As you increase your bonds with them, not only will they become more stout combatants, but they'll also allow you to spend time with them in different ways, such as cooking together, chatting about one of their hobbies, or if you’re lucky, huddling together under an umbrella. Once you reach a certain threshold with the marriage-able characters, you can enter into a relationship with them and eventually tie the knot and even have children. All of this does take a fair bit of time and a few specific items, but with consistent effort you can entice the boy or girl of your dreams to marry and start a family with you. The cutscenes and events that open up along the way do much to help you get to know these characters; for my chosen partner, Iroha, I became a pivotal part of her journey towards making her teahouse as successful as it could be. My Subaru, who now affectionately goes by Handsome, couldn’t be more proud of his darling Iro.
One of your primary tasks and methods by which you open up the explorable combat environments is by ridding them of blight, which takes the form of elemental infections of the land that often gate your progress. As you acquire sacred treasures from the gods and goddesses of each village, you are able to remove these blighted spots, which both opens up the world and also improves your standing with the associated town. There is even blight that can be blocking off a section of town, and by removing it you gain access to new plots of land to develop.
Other mini goals include activating frog statues to gain new cooking recipes and fulfilling requests made to the job board in town. As your recipe book expands, you'll gain more and more options for how to outfit yourself, your villages, and your team members. Everything you do seems to have a positive impact on the growth of the people and places of Azuma, except for when you choose to share a disliked activity with a friend or more-than-friend. When you're bored of the four towns, you can even take to the skies to find new islands to explore with their own treasures, and naturally, some good fishing spots, too.
With a dedicated Switch 2 version of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma also on the way, it’s worth considering the performance on the original Switch hardware, which is what this review is based on. Because the game itself is quite snappy, with multiple loading screens, there were many opportunities to become frustrated with the amount of time I was staring at a black screen, but fortunately the loading is quite minimal. Action sequences against singular bosses or smaller groups of enemies yielded a fairly consistent frame rate, but larger groups and busier animation sequences did lead to noticeable slowdown and stuttering–noticeable but not a major detraction from my enjoyment. Object pop-in is a frequent occurrence, but worse than this would be the appearance of distant villagers and even enemies, whose pace would slow to a pixelated crawl until you walked closer to them. Fortunately, there were no crashes or bugs that I encountered in my 25-plus hours. All in all, I found the experience tolerable, but it did serve as another reminder of how sorely needed the Switch 2 is at this point in time. We’ll have Switch 2 focused performance impressions closer to the console launch.
Having previewed it earlier this year, I was delighted to see Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma deliver on its promise of being an approachable, varied adventure that expedites some of the slower, more mundane trappings of the farming game genre. It deftly blends multiple systems without overcomplicating them, and provides ample freedom for players to explore its world at their own pace. The farming and construction mechanics are designed for expedience and ease of use, exchanging realism for simplicity, a real bargain given the satisfying main story and likeable characters. Even the helper/partner Woolby ended up growing on me by the time I had rolled credits. Guardians of Azuma may do as much to spoil farming games as invite players to earlier Rune Factory entries, but it’s a worthwhile dance that marches to the beat of its own, confident drum, and I’m hopeful we’ll see more like it.
Throes of the Watchmaker DLC reviewed on Steam Deck
The adventure of Zale and Valere that makes up the base Sea of Stars game was one for the ages. I was compelled to award it the highest score our site could give when it launched in the summer of 2023 (check out the review here). Nearly two years hence and the folks at Sabotage Studio have delivered another gift: this one in the form of a free 8 to 10-hour DLC campaign entitled Throes of the Watchmaker. Accessed as part of the post-game for Sea of Stars, Throes of the Watchmaker dresses itself in a carnival theme, complete with two new classes for the protagonist pair and a new but familiar character to round out the trio. I’m not one who normally returns to many games after rolling credits, even for zero-cost extra content, but Sea of Stars was always going to be an exception, and I’m definitely pleased that I made time for it.
The premise of the DLC is that the party returns to the Clockwork Castle to assist the Watchmaker with a miniature world of her own creation, Horloge, in which an evil has taken hold and spun off into a cursed carnival, complete with dopplegangers of Valere, Zale. and the Watchmaker herself. After being granted the ability to shrink down to size, the party make their way into Horloge to solve its mysteries and set things to rights. Here, Zale exchanges his sword swinging for fire-based juggling, while Valere becomes a nimble acrobat. Friendly robot companion Arty, whom players will likely recognize, brings cannon and laser-based abilities to bear against the hostile denizens of Horloge.
After a brief introduction area, a sprawling city space offers shops, NPCs, and mini-game challenges to test your mettle. You also get to ride a train on the overworld map to take you from place to place, including more requisite RPG fishing holes. The familiar recipes and cooking mechanics return here, too, but progression is a little more limited in that levelling up features no choice in terms of stat boosts; instead, the three party members see all of their stats tick up after each of the seven or so maximum levels to gain. Some of these level-ups bestow a new ability, and a variety of gear can be found or purchased to keep your team fighting fit. Early on, the combat is pretty tough, especially for those who haven’t played Sea of Stars since release, but once you figure out the timing for the new attacks (yours and your foes’), the going gets easier.
One of the most noticeable aspects of Throes of the Watchmaker is its abundance of puzzles within the three major dungeons. Enemy encounters pop up periodically, but they feel much less prominent compared to the block pushing, order-of-operations type activities that require more brain power and less manual dexterity compared to the battles. If you enjoyed the smattering of puzzles from the base game, you’ll be well served by the DLC; if you were more fond of the story and combat, you may find those slightly lacking in comparison. That said, the quality of the puzzles and a new power transfer-type mechanic inspired by adding Arty to the team still make for a satisfying bookend to the Sea of Stars campaign.
None of the above sentences hammer home the relentless charm that continues to pour forth from the characters and situations you encounter, but references to classic Super Nintendo games in particular made this ‘80s and ‘90s kid grin from ear to ear. If this is the last we see of Valare and Zale, it’s a fitting send off for the pair, but I hope Throes of the Watchmaker isn’t the last adventure in the universe that started with incredible action-platformer The Messenger. Sabotage Studio, you’ve got my curiosity AND my attention.
Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade is an action roguelite with three playable characters. Shigure wields a longer ninja sword; Sara attacks with a pair of shorter daggers; and Taketora alternates between a bow and his fists. There’s a unique storyline for each member of the trio with overlap among the characters and the world. Like with any run-based experience, the opening hours typically feel new and fresh before the potential monotony of starting over again and again sinks in. Fortunately, the three protagonists add welcome variety to the gameplay, but the lackluster story and slow progression can make it hard to keep pushing forward.
From the title screen, you start a new game and choose your character; this creates a dedicated save file for them. In other words, none of the progress you make in your Sara file will carry over to Taketora or Shigure. One reason why this is frustrating is because the buffs and stat increases you can unlock for the characters are the same–except for their weapons–and can be quite underwhelming at that. You’ll get to unlock new weapons after each run, or you can save up the same materials to power up weapons already added to your arsenal, but those improvements are equally miniscule. On the plus side, new weapons have some interesting traits to them, and you can enhance and alter those traits during each run.
The writing and presentation render the game’s narrative an afterthought, but this issue doesn’t negate the fact that the combat of Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade is genuinely fun. It’s fast and gives good player feedback, with an easy-to-learn but hard-to-master parry system. Each character has a weak and strong attack that can be combo-ed together, in addition to a dash and a dash strike. Every third area involves a boss fight, after which you get to enter a village festival space where you can use accumulated gold to purchase items and upgrades. The loop can feel satisfying after you get to the more difficult stages, but the early segments of each run eventually feel like a waste of time.
As a pleasant distraction, Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade fits the bill with challenging boss fights and three characters that feel different enough to play as. While the slow progression and plain dialogue mean that you really need to enjoy the combat to see this roguelite through to the end, fans of quick-paced, action-focused games where you’ll need to start over again and again may find a more satisfying experience here. There wasn’t quite enough nuance or uniqueness to keep me coming back for more Legends of the Demon Blade, but I had a good time with what I played.
ONE BTN BOSSES is a simple but challenging single-screen action game in the “avoid-’em-up” subgenre. You play as a tiny ship that fires automatically and controls with a single button press, as advertised. There's an addictive quality to the gameplay that shines through and pushes you to try, try again in the face of the game's well sloped difficulty curve.
Across 50 stages, your primary objective is to destroy a boss or mini boss in the middle of the screen. Your ship orbits around the enemy, firing automatically and at a faster rate the longer your movement is uninterrupted. You can take three hits before your ship is destroyed, and the primary way in which you avoid projectiles and other obstacles generated by each boss is to simply change direction along your orbit. The variety of things conjured and fired your way adds to ONE BTN BOSSES’ addictive gameplay.
The campaign mode has wrinkles that change up the gameplay and give the player some neat choices. In addition to new color palettes that gradually unlock, points you earn also open up new abilities and movement patterns. The first of these is a dash move, which replaces the basic ability to simply change direction from clockwise to counterclockwise. With the dash, your button press makes you speed up and become impervious to damage, but sees you rely on a rechargeable energy meter that powers the dash. When you reach a boss segment, you generally have a choice of multiple stages and only need to complete a portion of those to advance. Of course, you can take on all of the stages to earn extra points and unlock even more moves and palettes.
ONE BTN BOSSES is a charming game that executes on its straightforward premise. The music and sound effects contribute well to the experience, and the new obstacles that enter the fray make for a varied enough experience. I did encounter a softlock that forced me to reboot the game, but no other performance issues popped up. If you enjoyed Just Shapes and Beats or other titles like it, you will almost certainly have a great time with ONE BTN BOSSES.
At today's Switch 2 Direct presentation, the next big Nintendo 3D platformer was unveiled, and Mario was nowhere to be seen. Instead, we were shown the first member of the DK Crew, starring in Donkey Kong Bananza, a name that deliciously alludes to the titular character's favorite fruit. At first glance, it looked like a potential sequel to 2017’s Super Mario Odyssey, but once the smoke cleared and a familiar simian emerged, it was all the way on like Donkey Kong.
With sprawling, open environments reminiscent of Odyssey, Donkey Kong will be smashing and bashing his way through some new enemy types. While we didn't see any Kremlins or King K. Rool himself, I won't be surprised if Nintendo is saving them for the next trailer. Instead, the focus here was on exploration and some intriguing new mechanics. Donkey can now drill into the ground and then pop out into a different part of the environment. More than this, he can also grab pieces of the ground and cliffs and throw them at other geological structures to uncover the treasure hidden within. Destruction seems to be the name of the game here, and just like how Cappy enabled Mario to transform and soar to new heights, DK’s newfound abilities feel like a genuine game changer. No longer will we need to book time at our local Anger Room to smash random objects into tiny pieces; we'll channel our rage into Donkey Kong's fists instead.
Looking a little bit closer at the trailer, we can see other elements that capitalize on what worked in Super Mario Odyssey. For one, we see a glimpse of a throwback Donkey Kong Country segment that shifts to a more 2D-style perspective, in the same way that Odyssey featured a number of original Super Mario Bros. challenges and the unforgettable Jump Up, Super Star section in New Donk City (appropriately so). Some of the new enemies are eerily reminiscent of the Broodles, like the one riding the floating rock, and DK even has a purple rock-like companion astride his hearty shoulders. The crescent moon shape created by the clouds above Ingot Isle calls to mind the moons collected by Mario. Even some of the environments, like the opening underground jungle space and the flower and grass-filled plains made me question whether I was watching a trailer for Super Mario Odyssey 2. Instead, we ended up with something I want to get my hands on even more.
Donkey Kong Bananza is the freshest DK title we've had since Donkey Kong 64, and there was a banana boatload of ways that a new 3D game in this franchise could grow and evolve. What looks to be the next release from the Super Mario Odyssey team has me pounding my chest in excitement. I wasn't overwhelmed by the Switch 2's new features, but Bananza leaning into what made Odyssey so great is exactly what I needed to see from the Direct. His prominence in the Super Mario Bros. Movie, a theme park ride at Universal Studios., and now a brand new adventure front and center for the Switch 2 launch window all point towards one indisputable fact. Donkey Kong is here. And he's here to stay.
At an exclusive preview event last week, I had the opportunity to go hands on with the PC build of Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma. Having only dabbled in the series to this point, I was eager to see if this would be the entry that would hook me in. I’m happy to report that there's a lot to love about the game, and Rune Factory may have a new devotee after an impressive demo showing.
I was taken through three separate segments that showcased distinct gameplay elements of Guardians of Azuma, and I was offered the choice of female protagonist Kaguya or male protagonist Subaru before each one. The first was the “base building/city building” element where you can clear out your land of debris and diseased roots called blight to free up space for farming plots and other buildings. I set up a carpentry business and a bakery cart where I could assign certain townsfolk to work and offer their services. After that, I used my hoe to till more farming plots and set them up with seeds. What's most compelling about the familiar farming mechanics is that you have special tools that can expedite the process, even speeding up the rate at which your crops grow. While unassigned folks in the village will help out with tasks like farming and mining, you have the ability to quickly and efficiently grow, cultivate, and gather your harvest. Setting up each seasonal village seems like an enjoyable and smooth way to customize each space to your liking. One of the best parts of this segment of the demo was the ability to switch to an overhead view to quickly clear the land and really expedite preparing and developing the space.
The second segment took me through a more open area that focused on combat and exploration. While there was a bevy of resources and treasures to collect, the highlight was the fluid combat, which saw me and my three party members taking out a variety of demon-looking foes on a rocky beach. Shortly after, we made our way into a brief dungeon with more enemies and goodies. A boss encounter at the end was enjoyable but not overly challenging; my party may have been overleveled or overprepared. The centaur-like creature had a couple of displayed weaknesses, physical and fire, and taking advantage of these by switching between my available weapons allowed me to fill its stun meter and make short work of it. You can switch between two equipped weapons on the fly and all of the guardians tools available to you with ease, making combat feel varied and fast-paced. I'm eager to try more of it but the first impression was positive. One aspect that genuinely stood out was the umbrella, one of the sacred instruments, that lets you float down from high places, which elicited a huge grin every time I did my best Mary Poppins impression.
The third segment revolved around relationships and characters that you encounter in the multiple seasonal villages that you can open up. Waypoints and helpful map elements make traversal and pathing a breeze. My encounters revolved around two characters, Iroha and Murasame. The former gave me a simple retrieval task to complete and I was able to raise my bond level with her by choosing one of four types of conversation topics. The interaction with Murasame was more like a date as we headed out to collect chestnuts at his request. A longer, deeper conversation took place about his past and personal feelings he was trying to reconcile. An added touch during these conversations is that you can rotate the camera around to set up the perspective however you choose. The scenes with Murasame in particular were heartfelt, and I left the demo excited to learn more about him and the other romanceable characters.
After the demo, I had the privilege of interviewing producer Hisashi Fujii, who had some interesting things to say about the game. He mentioned having worked on Monster Hunter Stories 2 and was bringing his experience with that RPG to Guardians of Azuma. Fujii-san also highlighted the Japanese myths that influenced the game and set it apart from earlier Rune Factory titles. I asked whether Guardians of Azuma could be a good entry point for players who were new to Rune Factory, and he noted that the expanded RPG and exploration elements could appeal to those who aren’t as into farming simulation games. I always save a fun question for the end of the interview: “What is your favorite video game of all time, and why?” In reply, Fujii-san shared that Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War for Super Famicom was that game, a strategy RPG that has marriage and children who can become the next generation of heroes. This was the first time he had encountered such an element and it had a major impact on him. I appreciate the insightful conversation I had with Fujii-san after playing the Guardians of Azuma demo.
Last year, I reviewed Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, and it felt like that entry in a long-running series could be the one to pull in a mainstream audience. Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma has a similar potential, with familiar, approachable systems that have been upgraded to lessen some of the built-in monotony and repetition of farming games. It's important that this isn't a numbered entry, too, because it feels distinct from what came before, and I feel like there are a lot of positives here. Guardians of Azuma is snappy, vibrant, and full of life, and I can't wait to get even more into the game as we approach its May 30, 2025 release date.
The original Everhood, released in 2021, was one of the most unforgettable titles of that year, primarily for its outstanding soundtrack, unique gameplay, and bountiful surprises. Without a doubt, any follow-up to it would have gigantic shoes to fill, and somehow Everhood 2 not only matches its predecessor; it exceeds it in every way. An Undertale-like adventure with musical combat that never misses a beat, Everhood 2 enters must-play territory a few hours in, and it only gets better from there.
The opening presents a series of quiz questions meant to shape your experience with the game, and it’s not the first time that Everhood 2 will attempt to speak directly to the player. In many ways, the satire shines through and you’re as likely to find yourself laughing at the game’s slapstick humor as you are the call backs to video games and platforms of the past. You play as a nondescript human whose soul color is connected to the aforementioned quiz, and while you’re occasionally joined by random party members, it’s almost always you against the world. Attempting to describe the world in which you find yourself would be a tall task, but anyone who’s played the first game or remembers Earthbound’s Moonside will have a good idea of what to expect. The hub areas of Everhood 2 and the guidance of a purple raven make the overall journey a bit smoother this time around.
A simple but major change to the combat is what pushes the original’s awesome battles into the realm of perfection. Positioned at the bottom of five columns, your character had to evade different motes and beams of light in order to survive until the end of the song, or eventually reflect some of these in the direction of your foe; in Everhood 2, however, you get to fight back from the very beginning, and it’s fun as all heck. By absorbing groups of the same colored lights, you can launch a projectile back at your foe, with a more powerful strike the more lights you absorb. Each battle involves constantly having to decide between whittling down their life meter with a cascade of smaller attacks or risking it all on a mega absorption combo to deal a massive amount of damage. No written explanation can fully capture the satisfaction of landing a charged blast after pulling in 30 lights in a row, or the disappointment of missing a jump or dodge that would preserve such a combo. In playing Everhood 2 for review, I’m not sure what was higher: the thousands of points of damage I rained on my opponents, or the number of swear words shouted out in the process.
Everhood 2 leans much more heavily into its RPG trappings, with a dedicated experience meter, treasure chests full of EXP to help you level up, and power gems to acquire so that you can strengthen your weapons. The better you are at the combat, the less time you might need to spend exploring thoroughly or grinding for level ups, but in reaching what I believe to be the game’s full or true ending, I never found myself having to grind. There are also four difficulty levels to choose from to tailor the game further to individual preferences.
The ridiculous, zany cast are another unforgettable element of Everhood 2, ranging from Carl Jung and Rasputin to a giant watermelon, a horde of tomatoes, or an all-powerful dragon. Familiar faces and places from the original Everhood also make an appearance, creating a compelling continuity between the two games. Puzzles that may seem complex at first are often simpler than they appear and typically played for laughs, and their inclusion adds a pleasant variety to the largely linear spaces that you explore. Some of the environments include a Lost Woods-inspired forest, the inside of a video game system, a vegetable kingdom, and many others, and at no point did I feel like I wanted my time with Everhood 2 to end. The amount of entertainment to be derived from its charming spaces and captivating battles is nigh endless.
The more I feel that words lack the power to explain the joy of a game, the closer that game might be to utter greatness. There are stones left unturned in the world of Everhood 2 that I fall asleep thinking about, like the random codes and keys to be used in a mysterious hotel elevator that can take me to encounters unknown, or a colosseum where you can replay any fight from the game to achieve a higher damage total and put your name on the online leaderboard. In later segments of the story, you even get to play as some of your friends in a tower defense-style mini-game. I’d be doing a disservice by sharing anything further about the incredible moments around every turn; in a word, they’re magnificent.
Everhood 2 upgrades every element of the first game and even streamlines the experience to create a more well crafted, captivating, and pulse-pounding adventure. The enjoyment of the battle system is underscored by its simplicity and the way each encounter feels fresh, with the major boss fights crafting some truly legendary moments. There’s a bit of repetition built into seeing every single thing under the hood, but repetition is no real issue when it’s so darn groovy. While I may have completely forgotten that this sequel was announced in 2023, I’ll make no such mistake if developer Foreign Gnomes deigns to go for a three-peat. It’s undoubtedly a beautiful day in this neighborhood.
Nowhere does “Good things come in small packages” fit better than in describing Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip, one of the best examples of alliteration on Switch. The premise sees titular Terry working to secure a vehicle, not to travel around or earn money by working, but so that he can get to space. Aside from a smattering of random objectives, you’re basically free to explore the town of Sprankelwater to your heart’s content, chatting with local residents or maybe even stealing their cars and selling them. Everything is in service of Terry’s ultimate goal, but how you get there and how many of the townsfolk you choose to interact with is up to you.
The game begins with Terry sitting beside his uncle at a recruitment office, where Terry is willing to take any job that will give him a car. Taxi driver seems a good fit, and the hiring manager is extra pleased to offer Terry the position given that Terry doesn’t want to be paid: he just wants a car. My first inclination after hopping into the taxi was to look for passengers to pick up so that I could make some dough and relive my Crazy Taxi days, but I had forgotten why Terry wanted a car in the first place, and so I had to start looking about the town and driving around to figure out what to do next. The first 30 minutes or so can be a little confusing given the lack of handholding, but once you start visiting the question mark icons on the map and talking to folks, you get a clearer sense of the tasks Terry can work on to make his dream come true.
Some of the activities will reward you with the junk pieces you need to upgrade your car or money to purchase new tools, like a bug catching net, baseball bat, or perhaps a stylish hat. Others are just for marking off your to-do list, but even these are played for worthwhile laughs, making all of Sprankelwater worth a visit. The brief dialogue exchanges between Terry and the townsfolk are all manner of funny, and outside of getting my bearings at the outset of the game, I never cared very much whether I was making significant progress. The sights and sounds of this Turbo Trip are very much worth experiencing at a leisurely pace.
At one end of town I found Terry’s school–the one he was supposed to be attending for summer school–and his pals there organized a soccer match after chatting about the awkward placement of the school playground, hanging over a cliff. Except it wasn’t with a soccer ball but something resembling an orange fruit, and the clumsy controls made for another comedic moment, before I realized I needed to score five goals to complete the “Impress your friends” objective. Near the beach, I encountered a restaurant owner selling only one item, Beach Fries, of which Terry had somehow won a lifetime supply. The owner tasked me with catching insects for a new menu item, Bug Buns. Other encounters are just as unique and funny, and it was difficult not to think of titles like A Short Hike and even The Simpsons: Hit and Run as Terry hopped and bopped his way around town.
The quest to see Terry into space takes a backseat to the charm of exploring his hometown and its every nook and cranny. There’s about 4-6 hours of content here, and you’re likely to spend most of that runtime with a dumb grin on your face. My kids couldn’t contain their own laughter as they burst out every time Terry took a ramp at high speed or got ran into while crossing traffic; a bumper car battle with rival Ricky was the loudest I’d heard them in months. From the characters’ squawking voices to their amusing dialogue, Tiny Terry’s Turbo Trip is a joyful vacation to a nonsensical playground where its small world is your oyster. The Switch performance isn’t perfect, but for a game with a fair bit of jank built in, it didn’t detract from the experience. At a time when the desire for escapism is at its highest, I’ll gladly recommend a trip to Sprankelwater for the best medicine that money can buy.
Thanks for checking out the review! I'm also curious to see what happens with Falcom and Switch 2; there's obviously an audience on Nintendo platforms, and fans will be eager to see what improvements can be made to these games.
The last few years have been kind to Trails fans on Switch, at least in terms of how many games are now available. Visual fidelity and performance are other matters entirely. Cracks in the window dressing become harder to ignore when the plot and game mechanics themselves are pretty weak, and I don't like to admit that Trails through Daybreak II is the first Legend of Heroes game I've played where my motivation to finish the story basically dried up after about a dozen hours. The first game was more than enough Daybreak for this long-time RPG fan.
The sequel sees protagonist Van Arkride getting the band back together, and along with familiar faces like Agnes, Elaine, and Feri from the first game, newcomers Swin and Nadia (who played a major role in Trails into Reverie) become main party members here. It's tough not to find their particular shtick a little extra compared with the cast we already have from the first Daybreak, and I regularly found myself longing to spend more time with Van, especially in the early to mid-game. The narrative structure of Daybreak II employs multiple sections within each chapter that involve different party members; you do get that variety, but Nadia and Swin just aren't as compelling as Van is. Even one of the principal antagonists is essentially just a red version of Van’s Grendel, which is a letdown.
For a better breakdown of combat and more basic mechanics, check out my review of Trails through Daybreak here. If you already enjoy the flavor of the recent Trails titles, you're getting a lot of that in the follow up, and then some. That said, it's gotten to the point where there's almost too much going on during combat, in terms of positioning, meters filling, and equipment and Orbments to slot in. The franchise may have peaked with the final two Cold Steel entries, but I do still appreciate how you can do a bit of action combat in the dungeons before switching over to turn-based. Daybreak II also adds a bit more depth to that action component as well by giving your characters the ability to cast arts in the field.
There are two primary departures that the sequel introduces, and one reminds us just how hard it is to do time travel well in video games. Specifically, the team possesses a device that they discover can reset things back to a previous point in time, and no matter how much of a tolerance for (or enjoyment of) such a mechanic, I’m fairly certain you’ll have had your fill long before the credits roll. The third chapter in particular makes such egregious use of the reset that I could only laugh as I was brought back to the branching path screen over and over to try again from an earlier moment in the story. The other new feature is reminiscent of the Reverie Corridor from Trails into Reverie; Daybreak II’s version is the Marchen Garten, with multiple dungeon floors that open up periodically as you hop, skip, and jump through the story. The Garten is an effective way to ensure your characters are levelled enough to make it through some of the tough bosses that your different party configurations encounter. You can use the rewards from there to even level up your Craft and S-Craft abilities, which is a neat bonus for spending time here between completing 4SPGs and main story objectives.
It’s disappointing to report that the Daybreak II Switch visuals may be the worst of any Trails game yet released on Nintendo’s flagging handheld, and I say “handheld” purposefully here since that’s where the disparity is at its most damning. An especially glaring example is in the characters’ eyes, where even a description such as “lifeless” feels ineffective. The situation is of course better when the Switch is docked, but the object and character pop-in is laughably bad in both configurations. The frame rate drops regularly while exploring and during cutscenes, too. It might not be the worst performing Trails game on Switch, but it’s near the top of the list, and all in all I have a pretty hard time saying the trade-offs mentioned are worth the Switch’s portability. The Daybreak sequel is a painful reminder that Switch 2 can’t get here soon enough.
I’ve loved or really, really liked every Trails game I’ve played, from Trails in the Sky on a PS Vita, to Trails from Zero on Switch, and Trails of Cold Steel 2 on PS4. Trails through Daybreak 2 is the first time I’ve ever thought to dissuade anyone–be they casual RPG fan or Falcom diehard–from playing a game in the series. The new mini-games like basketball and a hacking maze add almost nothing to the package, with the latter actually being more of a net negative, and there’s a lack of charm and vitality to the character interactions and story as a whole. Gone are the cross-country tours of Cold Steel 1, and in their place are an overuse of familiar surroundings and lackluster bonding events. Van is a memorable protagonist, but he doesn’t have the poignant character moments he did in the first game. It may be that these Trails have simply run out of road, which is sad to say given the RPG heights the series has achieved.
Symphonia is a straightforward platformer in the vein of Celeste and Super Meat Boy, where you make your way through large areas divided into individual rooms and groups of rooms. It skews a little bit easier compared to the aforementioned genre standouts, but its musical theme and charming presentation combine to form a satisfying experience. While the combo of gradual upgrades and optional traversal mechanics lend themselves to an adventure that is both better as it goes along and can be tailored to suit your playstyle and experience, frequent softlock-type glitches and a lack of standouts moments keep it from achieving the heights of other platformers.
Fans of the genre will enjoy the way in which Symphonia stays true to its orchestra-themed world throughout. Cogs, levers, and pulleys give way to windmills, trumpet tunnels, and an array of platforms, some breakable, some rotating, and others button-activated. The audio-visual elements of the game are memorable and are what distinguishes Symphonia from its contemporaries.
You wield a violin that can be used initially to gain extra jump height like a Scrooge McDuck pogo stick jump (DuckTales, Woo Hoo!) or played to activate gates and platforms. You also gain a dash and hook shot in later areas that allow you to solve the unique challenges that these more challenging rooms contain. Secret rooms and out-of-the-way coins reward you with new moves that can be toggled on and off from the main menu or the crumbs of a story unraveling the wheres and wherefores of the game world.
Even though the minute to minute gameplay is solid, there were numerous occasions during my playthrough where my character would softlock after playing the violin. The playing animation would fail to disappear and my movement would be locked in one direction, with all buttons rendered useless. The only solution when this occurred was to reset the game entirely, but frequent auto saves were a saving grace here.
Symphonia represents a welcome starting point for players who want to cut their teeth on a more approachable precision platformer. Its difficulty curve is a gentle one, so those looking for something a bit more fiendish may want to skip this concert. The softlocking was frustrating but I enjoyed my time with the fairly brisk campaign.
After selling over 120 million Switch units, Nintendo didn’t need to start 2025 with a bang, but I wasn’t expecting this much of a whimper. We finally got our first official look at the Switch 2, and if you like curved plastic and magnets seen from a variety of angles, you’re probably pretty happy right now. If you’re like me and left wanting, it’s not hard to understand why.
In 2016, Nintendo announced the announcement of the Switch (then NX) with a tweet on October 19, prompting fans to tune in the following day at 10am ET for the first preview trailer. Coming off of the failure of the Wii U, Nintendo needed to go big and bold, and we learned a fair bit about how they were going to do so on October 20, with a video that ran just over three and a half minutes. In that video, we learned about the Switch’s game changing feature: the ability to dock for TV play or be taken on the go for portable play. An interesting variety of games–six in total–and situations were shown that really hit this point home. Splatoon 2 for eSports; Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the infamous rooftop party; Skyrim on a flight; and Super Mario Odyssey, the next 3D Mario adventure: there were honest-to-goodness video games to look forward to, and we couldn’t hardly wait.
In 2025, at the (likely) peak of their powers, Nintendo dropped a heavily rumored trailer that lasted exactly 2 minutes and 22 seconds, a playful nod to the boring but safe successor name, Switch 2. Less than 20 seconds of this runtime would be devoted to video games, in this case the long-awaited sequel to Mario Kart 8. Now, I won’t be surprised to see a third or more of all Switch 2 adopters pick up the next Mario Kart entry, but the first question I asked myself when watching this teaser trailer was whether I was actually looking at a brand new game at all. I had hoped we would get even a few seconds of footage for the next 3D Mario game or maybe even the return of a dormant franchise like Star Fox or F-Zero.
The trailer really reminded me of the annual reveal of the next iPhone or Samsung Galaxy iteration. A lot of different angels, flips, etchings, and pop outs, but without any real substance; we know you’re going to buy it anyways. That kind of attitude. A fair amount of the video focused on the new Joy-Con, and it’s easy to see why when you consider that one of the chief complaints about the Switch was Joy-Con drift. Although an integral part of the Switch’s dual-configuration nature, these were among the worst built controllers I’ve ever used, and I’ve had to send various pairs in for repairs about half a dozen times since becoming a Switch owner at launch.
It was disheartening to see Nintendo focus on the element that fans had problems with, rather than the aspects of the Switch that propelled it past the hundred million mark in sales. But not all advertising and messaging is meant for the fans, or the gamers, or the masses. Jason Schreier pointed out on Bluesky that this reveal opens up the window for third parties to start announcing Switch 2 support. Lest we forget that Square Enix announced Dragon Quest XI for NX before Nintendo had even shown off the console.
With Nintendo Switch hardware sales starting to flag, there's also an investor-focused reason to reveal the Switch 2 and in the minimalist, business-like fashion that they did. Now stockholders can hang their hats on the 2025 Switch 2 launch and the forthcoming April Nintendo Direct that will likely showcase the console's launch line up, price, and other key details.
The Nintendo of 2016 is in a very different place than the Nintendo of 2025. The Switch 2 reveal didn't spark joy for me and many others in the way that the original Switch reveal did, but I'm ready to board the hype train in a few months when we're all reminded of the reason why longtime fans continue to support the brand. And that's games you simply can't play anywhere else that are bursting with timeless Nintendo charm.
It's been a while since we've had to rewind a video tape before returning it to Blockbuster, but Digital Eclipse is ending 2024 by bringing us back to 1993 in all its Putty-punching glory. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind is a side-scrolling Brawler straight out of the ‘90s, and fans of the show and that generation of video games should find an enjoyable romp. It's not without a few blemishes that keep it from reaching the heights of other recent beat-'em-ups, but the gameplay variety manages to keep things fresh enough to make it worth summoning the Megazord one more time.
The plot of Rita's Rewind takes us from the present to the past as a robotic version of the titular villainess finds a way to open a time portal to bring herself back to the ‘90s and the beginning of the original Power Rangers’ team and story. Yes, we're talking Jason, Billy, Zach, Trini, and Kimberly, and you can throw in Skull and Bulk for good measure. Your objective is to foil the plans of not one but two Ritas as they cause havoc all over Angel Grove. From city streets, rooftops, and highways to a base on the moon, it's your job to put the “might” in Mighty Morphin.
The controls feel pretty good as you punch, jump kick, and blast your way across more than a dozen stages. Most of these come in the form of straightforward side-scrollers, some play like rail shooters like Star Fox or Space Harrier, and the rest consist of Punch Out-like boss bouts. The brawler segments feature secrets to find and pretty standard elements like health restoring items and a super meter that fills up as you smash Putties, taunt, or collect coins (typically found in crates). The shooter stages utilize a behind the back camera as the Rangers zip through in their Zords or on motorcycles. The larger-than-life boss fights in the Megazord are challenging but largely play out the same each time, which is a bit disappointing.
The Switch version has local co-op for up to five players (six after rolling credits) with online multiplayer set to be added in a planned update. Performance is solid all around, and the attractive hand-drawn pixel art helps to conjure up nostalgia for when I had my own light up Morpher toy and Dragonzord-summoning dagger. The soundtrack is fine enough and employs the classic theme an appropriate amount. There doesn't seem to be an easy way to switch characters outside of quitting the game and reloading your story file, which is a little frustrating.
In addition to an unlockable sixth character and fourth difficulty mode, there are a handful of early arcade-style games you can access after finding hidden parts in the game. These arcade cabinets are at the show’s juice bar, along with some familiar faces you can interact with. A speed run mode rounds out the extras on offer. There's an odd mechanism that pushes the screen forward sometimes and can force your party members to fall into a pit or miss out on collectibles, and I hope it gets addressed in a future update.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind does an admirable job of channeling the ‘90s show and video game era. The Rangers themselves are a bit hard to distinguish in terms of how they play, which makes subsequent playthroughs a bit less enticing, but there are stage objectives to complete for those so inclined. While the different stage types keep the action from getting stale, the Megazord segments are a bit of a letdown in terms of both gameplay and presentation. All in all, seeing another decades-old property brought back for another ride that plays well and hits those nostalgic notes is a welcome fourth quarter addition to the Switch’s stable of brawlers.
Turn-based RPG players may be among the most nostalgic individuals in all of video games. The developments in storytelling, music, and gameplay often contain major influences from the classics that came before, like the original Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. It's not uncommon for smaller development teams to try and capitalize on that nostalgia with throwback titles that utilize a retro art style and other trappings from once upon a time. 8-Bit Adventures 2 is one such game that panders to that thirst for the distinct flavor of ‘80s and ‘90s RPGs, but its insistence on handholding and a painfully slow opening hold it back from soaring in the way some of its predecessors did.
The story revolves around an antagonist known as the Glitch and a growing party of heroes who come together to stop the Glitch’s plot to transform the world they all live in. The young and plucky Charlie is one of the main protagonists who recruits powerful allies to take on this quest, including the three main characters from the game’s direct predecessor, 8-Bit Adventures. Fortunately, the sequel doesn’t require knowledge of the first game. Spending more hours with the cast does reveal enjoyable character moments and a greater level of depth and charm, but it does take some time and patience to reach that point.
The turn-based combat perspective is reminiscent of Final Fantasy Mystic Quest, but fortunately it's much more involved in actual mechanics and fairly transparent. A bar on the right keeps track of turn order, and enemies have a health gauge above their heads that depletes as you strike them. You take up to three characters into battle but can swap them for other party members as your crew grows. The cast each bring their own abilities and skills to the battlefield, leading to some fairly engaging fights as the game progresses, especially with the satisfying Omega Burst finishing moves thrown in. In the early game, though, the number of encounters and boss battles is quite low, which means that one of the highlights of 8-Bit Adventures 2 takes a bit of a backseat until later on.
The game runs into trouble in terms of pacing, with the first 5 to 10 hours being particularly dialogue heavy and light on action and memorable events. It's completely fair for an RPG to take time to really get going, but it somewhat sours the overall experience when an homage to something like Final Fantasy on NES frontloads so much story and character interaction without interspersing fun combat sequences or puzzles. For comparison, the opening two hours of that NES classic featured the fight with Garland, the bridge crossing scene, and even earning your own sailing ship. On the other hand, there's a lot of Point A to Point B before 8-Bit Adventures opens up in the second half. Fortunately, there are some interesting places that you eventually get to visit after you get an airship, and it’s fairly satisfying when the game finally does find its footing.
Neat features like strategic airship battles and the ability to swap party members in combat buoy an experience that can at times feel overly jokey and contrived. The graphics and art style do a great job of transporting you back a few decades, but some of the music can be a bit repetitive and droning. On the plus side, the choice to replace random encounters with enemies on the map is a welcome change from the RPGs that inspired 8-Bit Adventures 2. The vibrant use of color and variety of settings help make adventure maintain momentum once it gets going, but it’s hard not to see the finished product as needing a good trim. If you need to explain what a save point does in a game tailormade for RPG fans, then you aren’t really respecting the time of your target audience. There’s a really enjoyable 20-30 hours here if you cut out a portion of the early game and the over-tutorializing, but in a year of incredible additions to the RPG genre, 8-Bit Adventures 2 is a tougher sell.
It may seem standard practice to begin any SaGa game review with a history lesson, about how it’s seen as a successor to Final Fantasy II and how it would borrow that naming convention for the Western releases of the Final Fantasy Legend games. There are more than a dozen entries in the series, but Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is all about looking forward. It epitomizes the heights of what can be achieved when remaking something old, and it absolutely soars with its unique gameplay, approachable systems, and countless surprises. While it retains a lot of what SaGa veterans love about the original versions of Romancing SaGa 2, it’s the modern upgrades lovingly implemented that make this not only the definitive SaGa experience, but an unmissable RPG that stands among the giants of the genre.
At its core is a lineage system that deftly interweaves progression and world building. Your hero, the Emperor of Varennes, persists across generations, which means that should he or she fall in battle, they return as a new Emperor; or perhaps you accomplish a major victory against one of the titular Seven, triggering a time skip of 48 or maybe even 86 years. The progress you’ve made comes with you, including sites and cities you’ve visited, stats you’ve gained, and equipment you’ve acquired: all of these stay with your kingdom.
What follows is an engaging push and pull between wanting to see your Emperor and their retinue go as far as they can, and then perhaps unexpectedly having the reset button pushed (or pushing it yourself), forcing you to discover the joys of new character classes or seeing how familiar places have changed in the intervening years. Some of the quest paths are tied to having the Emperor take on a particular job class or gender, and so there’s much to be gained from having a new individual donning the mantle.
The world around you grows steadily as you complete quests and converse with your citizens. Spending a night in the inn or downing a pint at the pub can lead to conversations that populate new places to visit on the world map, and so begins a simple but satisfying loop of exploring the sights in one territory until you reach its boundaries and push into the next one. It doesn’t hurt that the music and voice acting are also excellent and truly do bring this world to life. Even tracks that were repeated in many instances continued to leave me humming along long after my latest play session had concluded.
Along the way, you’ll encounter the deformed members of old heroes who have come back to exact their revenge, and it’s through taking them down that you recapture territories for the empire and expand not only your revenue generation but also your exploration horizons. In various caves and dungeons you also run into relics that grant a look back at the past to understand what happened to the Seven that set them on their course for vengeance. Story beats like these are doled out at a steady clip that help to color the world of Romancing SaGa 2.
Rather than feeling like a long connected story, the 30 to 40-hour runtime plays out more like a series of vignettes, with each territory of the empire having its own smaller tales and overarching narrative. Fighting the Seven and understanding their backstory provides a throughline for the game, but its soul comes from the way you accomplish different goals in every generation. The world is full of surprises and wonder, and there aren’t countless hours of wandering in the middle (aimless or otherwise) that sometimes bogs down RPGs of this length.
One of the glimmering stars of the show is the combat system, which feels refined compared to recent SaGa titles and a generational leap or two ahead of the original Romancing SaGa 2. After adding four comrades to join the Emperor in battle–from over 30 job classes–you slot them into a growing number of battle formations that bestow advantages and disadvantages to take advantage of based on your team composition. Throw a tank in front who will absorb most of the punishment, or perhaps opt for a formation that boosts your spell power and go mage-sage crazy. Many of the side and even main story quests unlock new job classes, and it’s good fun to start every generation with a fresh face or two as you work toward building the right party for the challenges of a new age.
The actual turn-based battles themselves feature a timeline at the top of the screen that displays ally and enemy turn order, including when your foes are preparing a particularly dangerous move. It's familiar proceedings, barring a few wrinkles.
One of these is the United Attack, which carries over from SaGa Scarlet Grace and Emerald Beyond, allowing multiple party members to unleash double damage blows in succession. Another is the Glimmer system, where new techs and spells are learned at random in and after combat. A light bulb icon will show up beside moves in your arsenal that offers a chance to glimmer a new ability, and so even though your basic sword slash attack might not hit a weak point or do the most damage, it may be worth choosing to increase the number of sword techs in your repertoire. The likelihood of glimmering goes up against stout opponents like bosses, which creates an exciting risk-reward system for expanding your kit.
Enemy weaknesses are displayed below their sprites in battle, and as you discover them this information persists across generations. With eight weapon types and six spell elements, it's worth unlocking as many weaknesses as you can so your future parties will know how best to dispatch foes. You also glimmer the ability to evade certain enemy attacks, and these become equippable in future generations. But outside of boss moves, it can be hard to know which evasions to bring with you into battle. As much as the combat feels like standard genre fare, it takes beloved elements from earlier games like Octopath Traveler and Final Fantasy X and creates a system that stays fresh over an entire playthrough.
Character progression is fairly transparent and carries over between generations; this includes both the Emperor and the job classes of your party members. It can initially feel like starting over from scratch when a time jump occurs or when your party falls in battle, but it's central to Revenge of the Seven’s premise that you are playing a lineage and a world more than an individual character and a static setting. The world progresses with you, with areas opening up as you liberate them from evildoers and monsters or follow tribes as they migrate across the land. The game is brimming with compelling and rewarding side stories that tell about the lives of those living in your kingdom, with the Emperor being a figurehead almost universally beloved and respected by the populace.
Another remarkable aspect of Romancing SaGa 2 is your choices really do matter. I wasn't able to see everything during my first playthrough, with a couple of paths and multiple sidequests eventually gated off as I focused on other objectives. Your order of operations as a ruler plays a key role in how much of the world you get to experience, and so it may be easy for new players and the unprepared to miss out on parts of the game. Rather than be disappointed by this, it instead galvanizes my resolve to start another playthrough and try out different classes and strategies, working to see what I missed the first time around.
In spite of how much I enjoyed my time with Revenge of the Seven, its performance on Switch is not without flaws. There’s a slight hitch when loading into combat or accessing some cutscenes, and I experienced three or four crashes during my first 10-15 hours (with none in the remainder of my time). Fortunately, the auto-save is quite regular and no real progress was lost. The visual fidelity is pretty decent in both docked and handheld, but there’s texture pop in, particularly with the clothing worn by the various characters. I experienced noticeable frame drops in one late-game fight, but otherwise frame rate appeared to be fairly steady. If you’re particularly attuned to performance issues, you may want to consider another platform, but for me the overall quality of the game was able to win out over these nagging concerns.
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven has become my favorite game of 2024, and it might be the best turn-based RPG on Switch. From the moment I played the demo at PAX West to when I rolled credits and immediately dove back in, I’ve been completely enamored with its nonlinear trappings and charming world-building. It’s my sincere hope that the team that brought this remake to life will be given the reins to a Romancing SaGa 3 remake and then new SaGa titles moving forward, because they hit a grand slam with this one. There’s no doubt on my end – cold or otherwise: Revenge is a dish best served with romance.
It feels like this generation, more than any other, we're blessed with a bounty of retro compilations that allow us to relive or discover classic games. Castlevania Dominus Collection gathers not only the three Nintendo DS games, but it offers two bonus games: Haunted Castle and Haunted Castle Revisited. A bevy of achievements, art images, and music tracks mark another worthwhile set of re-releases from Konami.
The first of the Castlevania trio, Dawn of Sorrow, is a sequel to Aria of Sorrow, which appeared in the Castlevania Advance Collection. It will likely feel the most recognizable to those coming from the GBA trilogy or Symphony of the Night, whose absence from the eShop continues to be inexplicable. Protagonist Soma Cruz uses whips, swords, lances, and other weapons, in addition to an ever-growing arsenal of magic, to navigate a replica of Dracula's castle. Defeating enemies will sometimes yield souls that turn into abilities and buffs you can equip. The frequent save rooms, teleport pads, and enjoyable boss fights make for a fun, if overly familiar experience. It's solid but stands out a bit less compared to the other two DS games.
Portrait of Ruin is the first Castlevania title (I believe) to feature two protagonists whom you can switch between and even use both simultaneously to solve puzzles and take down creatures. This is its primary gimmick, but its secondary one involves adding smaller zones to the larger castle setting. Heroes Jonathan and Charlotte can hop into large paintings scattered about Dracula’s castle to find new items, abilities, and bosses to defeat. The paintings take you to a haunted fair, a mummy-filled pyramid, and an abandoned city, among others, and their addition adds nice flavor to the tried-and-true Metroidvania experience. The final boss gauntlet is an absolute doozy, and being either incredibly skilled or well stocked with potions seems required to pass this ultimate test.
Order of Ecclesia is the most interesting of the trio for the ways in which it takes the usual formula and twists it around. It adapts the ability-granting soul system of Dawn of Sorrow by swapping souls for glyphs, which drop from enemies and become weapons or bestow skills. You can even equip weapons in two different hands (on two buttons), allowing for a quick succession of thrusts or stabs, for instance. What genuinely separates Ecclesia from Dawn and Portrait is its inclusion of a world map, complete with a hub town and individual levels you can select. These levels have their own maps as well, with some of them functioning in a similar way to the interstitial stages of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The character sprites during dialogue exchanges do look pretty rough in the transition from DS to Switch screen, but some of the abilities that protagonist Shanoa wields are really neat. And she needs all of them for what may be one of the hardest Iga-developed titles in the Castlevania series.
The transition from Nintendo DS to Switch was definitely one of the concerns before the announcement of Castlevania Dominus Collection, I think that those fears are mostly allayed by the final product. The touch screen functionality has been relegated to a cursor controlled by the right stick, and the second screen is simply reproduced on the right side of the Switch or TV screen. In handheld mode, the map screen is admittedly quite small by default, but there are five screen settings to choose from that can address this potential issue. Making matters more welcoming for new players or those seeking a slightly less challenging search action romp are save states and a rewind feature, and I feel no shame in admitting that I almost broke the latter trying to finish Portrait of Ruin. Not today, Death!
Well, maybe today after all. The two bonus games mentioned earlier take Castlevania back to its roots. Haunted Castle is a title I had the misfortune of experiencing back in 2019 with the Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection, and even save states and rewind do little to make Haunted Castle less of a nightmare. The more interesting inclusion here is Haunted Castle Revisited, which is much prettier and more playable than its predecessor. For some reason, it doesn’t have save states or rewind, but it ends up being fairly short and largely forgettable if you’re a Dracula-slaying veteran. It’s an interesting novelty but more of a distraction compared to how satisfying the three DS games are.
Konami stays winning with their compilation releases, as Castlevania Dominus Collection brings even more Metroidvania goodness to Switch players. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia in particular feature some absolutely banging music tracks. While we aren’t hurting for Metroidvanias on the eShop, the ones on offer here are among the finest in the genre and are all well worth the time it takes to go through them. We’re not quite into the spooky season yet, but you’d do well to add this package to your wishlist so that you’re prepared with the proper amount of skeleton-smashing entertainment ahead of Halloween.
The two Miles Edgeworth games that comprise the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection represent a noticeable departure from the adventures of Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice. The pair of Investigations titles also mark the final two dominoes falling into place: every Ace Attorney game (barring the Professor Layton crossover) is now available on Switch. Who needs a GBA or DS anyhow?
While still dealing in the facts and truths of legal cases, protagonist Miles Edgeworth brings his own brand of justice and flair to Investigations: Miles Edgeworth and Investigations 2: Prosecutor's Gambit. The latter is particularly notable for being unlocalized until the release of this compilation, and long-time fans who have been clamoring for more Edgeworth are finally seeing their wishes come true. As someone who didn't play the first game, which originally released on DS in 2010 (in North America), being able to sink my teeth into not one but two completely new games was a genuine treat.
Whereas Phoenix Wright spends more than half of his time in a courtroom, the Investigations games see Miles Edgeworth doing just that: going hands-on to investigate crimes in the field, often within hours of their occurrence. There's also a shift from first person to third person that adds a welcome new flavor and a bit more of a dynamic quality to the gameplay. The player uses the control stick or D-pad to move Miles around a crime scene and connected areas to find clues and piece together exactly what happened. And “piece together” is a perfectly apt phrase because one of his signature mechanics is to combine mental puzzle pieces using Logic to gain new information or a fresh perspective on the case. Little touches like visual indicators of an object or scene element having been fully explored helps remove some of the potential repetition that can drag down adventure games. Overall, the investigations in this collection feel different because of the proximity to the crime and the criminals.
The other gameplay type is rebuttals, during which you'll use evidence collected to find inconsistencies in the testimony of other characters and suspects. Like in the other Ace Attorney games, you can press for more information and present evidence when you discover a contradiction. These segments are quite similar to the courtroom scenes of Phoenix and Apollo, but there's no judge character to interject or be swayed, which leads to a more serious, mature atmosphere (at least in some places).
Both Edgeworth games contain five episodes, each of which is divided into chapters. You can choose to start with any episode and even any chapter, allowing you to bypass events you may have already experienced previously. The crimes that Miles deals with are more adult and violent in nature; there's a departure in tone here if you're coming from the mainline Ace Attorney series, which can feel more slapstick or played for humor. The two Investigations entries are an effective complement to the courtroom-focused adventures, and while the gameplay is still very much point-and-click, the sum of all the small changes (such as the hologram crime scene recreations or mental chessboards) make for an experience that feels fresh. That said, the pacing is more effective in the first Investigations title, so be prepared for a bit of a longer, sometimes tedious journey through the second game, with your reward being a story that coalesces into something great.
Seeing Edgeworth, Dick Gumshoe, and newcomer Kay Faraday have their time in the spotlight makes for a pleasant detour from the affable Apollo and charismatic Phoenix. Ace Attorney Investigations Collection also contains built-in achievements, a music collection, a handful of design documents, 20 save files, and the ability to switch between the original pixel art or the updated HD visuals. If you're a fan of the Ace Attorney series, you owe it to yourself to give the Investigations Collection a shot, just don't use a loaded gun or you'll have Mr. Edgeworth giving you the business.
I always look forward to finding my favorite game of the show when I come to PAX West, and this year none of the indies and other games in the expo hall were grabbing me. Fortunately, I had a booking with Square Enix to try out a few of their upcoming RPGs, and the one I went into the appointment thinking the least about, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven, not only surprised me; it blew my expectations out of the water.
Having played both Romancing SaGa games on Switch at their respective launches, I was familiar with their brand of turn-based goodness, but for a multitude of reasons, the newer SaGa entries like Scarlet Grace and Emerald Beyond just didn't hit for me. Before actually getting hands on with Revenge of the Seven, a top-to-bottom remake of Romancing SaGa 2, even the short presentation we were shown got me excited about all the changes coming to this updated version. My positive feelings on the game only grew as I sat down and relished just over 30 minutes of demo time on Switch in handheld mode.
The demo situates you as the next in line for the throne after your father (the king) has passed away. Romancing SaGa 2 employs a lineage system where offspring receive bonuses and buffs from their departed forebearers, and it is with these passed down benefits that you can eventually become strong enough to defeat the titular Seven. There's even a moment near the end of the demo that showcases this system in an extremely cool way, but more on that later.
Within the game's hub town, you can change up your party members and purchase new equipment. Your typical classes are present here–knight, archer, mage–and there are over 30 classes in the full game, with the protagonist apparently able to learn skills from all of them. While we only got a taste of the party composition and lineage mechanics, I'm eager to see more and experiment with different paths and options.
The demo offered a few different objectives to take on, including defending the castle and surrounding town from an orc attack. After sprinting around the city to repel the invasion, I faced an orc captain mini-boss, who put up a solid fight. I should also note that I was playing on the normal difficulty, of the three available, with the “Hard/Classic” representing the challenge of the original 1993 release. After successfully defending my castle, a ceremony was held and one of the not-yet-convinced companions ended up joining my ranks. From there, I had the option of heading to the orc’s hideout for retribution or seeking out one of the Seven, Kzinssie, who was holed up in a mansion across the continent. Completing all of these tasks provided a great sense of how combat and progression work, and it’s hard not to see the evolution in this remake as an excellent way of modernizing the series.
The turn-based combat of Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven was an obvious standout from my time with the demo. A particularly noteworthy feature was a light bulb icon that appears beside your attacks, indicating moves that have a chance of “glimmering,” which unlocks a new move and is one of the primary progression methods. More than that, every successful battle awards technique points towards your weapon proficiency rank and meters that raise your HP and BP (battle points). United attacks and formations add another layer of depth to the combat, too. All of this is to say that progression and growth are much more transparent than maybe they’ve ever been, and so Square Enix seems focused on making these games more approachable for a wider audience.
Even though the handheld visuals left something to be desired, performance was solid over the course of my playtime. This may be one of those RPGs where you’ll want to dock your Switch to better enjoy the look of the remake, but if you’re okay with a softer, less sharp look, there didn’t appear to be any major drawbacks in how the game ran portably. Battles in particular were snappy and quick to load, which was a welcome sight for a combat-heavy experience.
What really solidified Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven as my game of PAX West 2024 was when my hero, Gerard, starring certain doom in the face, announced that he had inherited the memories and abilities of his father, allowing him to evade Kzinssie’s deathblow. It was a poignant reminder of the lineage mechanic at play, and it made me think of cartoons and anime where the hero is finally able to use all they’ve acquired in their journey to defeat the final boss. To put a fine point on it, I’ve dabbled a fair bit in the SaGa series, as far back as The Final Fantasy Legend, but I’m expecting this remake of Romancing SaGa 2 to make me a dedicated believer. While I’ve already circled October 24 on my calendar, it’s going to be tough seeing the leaves start to fall with Revenge of the Seven firmly imprinted on my mind. Akitoshi Kawazu, it looks like you got me again!
Another demo provided to us at PAX West was for Fantasian: Neo Dimension, which was announced during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct. Long thought to be trapped on Apple devices, Fantasian potentially represents Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi’s final RPG, and so it was with much fanfare that a version of the game was finally coming to consoles and PC. I had an opportunity to play a brief demo of the game in Switch handheld mode during an appointment with Square Enix, and while certain aspects were definitely appealing, others made me more skeptical of this born-mobile title.
Starting from a save file a couple hours into the adventure, I was introduced to the battle system almost immediately, which pit two of my characters against a couple wolf-like foes. There’s a simplicity to the presentation that reminds you of Fantasian’s mobile roots, but at the same time it’s neat how you scroll through your abilities and then your items simply by pressing right on the stick or D-pad. Doing so brings up a vertical list on the right side of the screen for easy access to spells, techniques, and your stock of items. The result is a view of combat that’s less cluttered for sure, and I hope that some of the more advanced attacks and formidable bosses will take advantage of the increased amount of screen space.
As soon as I regained control of my character and started roaming around the hilly landscape, my audible sigh simply could not be suppressed: the controls are downright wonky and just feel awkward. Pressing the stick in a particular direction won’t always take you in said direction, and while I could brute force my way through the bridges I had to pass over, the movement was fairly unsatisfying overall. It’s unfortunate, too, because the diorama-based environments are quite unique to look at, even if there’s a twinge of uncanny valley in seeing your sprite move around them. Another sour note was a random encounter I had with a talking pot creature who asked me to give it particular items and then wail on it, with the promise of a special reward if I finished the job quickly enough. Much to my chagrin, I wasn’t able to deal enough damage before the creature transformed and started smacking my entire party with a giant hand, making short work of my squad. Fortunately, I had the option to just restart the battle, but it was annoying for what might have been an early-game encounter.
I didn’t quite make it to the golem boss waiting at the end of the area, but I was able to try out the “Dimengeon” system, which essentially stores random encounters within a separate dimension until it reaches capacity and you get to fight all of the creatures at once. One of the highlights of Fantasian’s combat is that many of your abilities have either a radius of damage that can hit multiple foes or follow a straight-line path that can hit any enemies on that line. This mechanic is made great use of in the Dimengeon, where enemies litter the screen and need to be dispatched before they can gang up on you. Your attacks and spells can even hit small bonus orbs that enhance your stats or grant extra turns. Just the visual spectacle of seeing the battlefield filled with all sorts of enemies and then the joy of hitting three, four, or five of them with one move makes for an exciting and engaging event, and I’m glad I got to see it in action.
I went into the Fantasian: Neo Dimension demo with fairly high expectations, and I’d say those are more tempered at present. It may be a blessing that the game has yet to be given a solid release date outside of Winter 2024 as this could signal the developers taking more time to improve the controls, for example. That said, as a lifelong Final Fantasy player, I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes on what may be Sakaguchi’s last story–not to be confused with Wii standout The Last Story.
Over three years ago, we got our first look at the latest remake for the long-running Dragon Quest franchise, a series that’s been no stranger to the remake treatment. My main exposure to the third Dragon Quest title came in the form of the mobile port released on Switch in 2019, and while I did enjoy the gameplay and story, the visuals left me wanting. You can imagine my delight at the 2021 announcement of Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, and with the game’s November 14th release date looming, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to go hands-on with the Switch version at PAX West.
The demo begins in the town of Romaly, and we were encouraged to try out the new monster arena battle mini-game that’s been added for the remake, which will be familiar to long-time DQ fans. After trouncing my three sets of opponents, I raked in some rewards and set off for the open dungeon of the demo, Skyfell Tower. It was handy to have the Zoom spell available from the main menu, rather than it being a spell I needed to learn and cast. The dungeon offered random encounters that showcased the revamped battle screen in all its HD-2D glory, with your squad of characters visible at the outset of combat before the perspective reverted to the traditional menu-based/row of enemies look. Spells and attacks had a much more distinct effect on screen, but I could see newcomers and even veterans perhaps wanting a little bit more oomph (not the spell) in terms of the battle presentation. The random encounter also seemed a little bit high during the dungeon portion of the demo.
Following my victory over Robbin' 'ood and his pals atop the Tower, I elected to explore a couple of the towns to soak in the visual splendor and test performance. Playing the game in handheld mode provided an opportunity to gauge things like loading times, pop-in, and frame drops; from what I could tell in my 30-minute session, the performance was very solid, with fairly short loads, almost no object pop-in, and what appeared to be a consistent frame rate. The HD-2D graphics add a palpable vitality and charm to the already charming towns I visited, with the standout being a woodland village whose name escapes me. The familiar sights and sounds that DQ fans have grown so fond of are alive and well in this Square Enix remake.
With the ability to customize your own party, in the vein of the original Final Fantasy, and the addition of a new job class–Monster Wrangler–whose talents focus on using monster-inspired abilities, there’s more to love about Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake than just what’s in front of your eyes. Seeing the game in action and getting some hands-on Switch time with it made me confident that this version should be able to hold its own against those on other platforms. November 14th may be just around the corner, but we’ve got a few other RPGs to cover at Nintendo World Report in the meantime, so stay tuned for more impressions from PAX West.
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