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[It ain't easy, but I'm doing my part.]

1

TalkBack / Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War (Switch 2) Review

« on: Today at 08:00:00 AM »

It ain't easy, but I'm doing my part.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/74806/starship-troopers-ultimate-bug-war-switch-2-review

Starship Troopers was a seminal film from my youth; all of my friends and I had seen it in theaters and then countless times on VHS. I'll always have a fondness for the property, and so the announcement of an indie first-person shooter set in that universe was one that definitely caught my eye. It turns out that my time with Ultimate Bug War coincides with my online gaming group getting into Helldivers 2, so I've enjoyed my fair share of bug busting the last couple weeks. An interesting wrapping and decent gameplay make for a good time while it lasts, but some rough edges take a bit of the “boom” out of this boomer shooter.

The premise is that you're playing a character in a video game simulation, which is meant to train and/or discover capable soldiers to join the war effort for the Federation. You play as Samantha Dietz–Sammy, to her comrades–and it's your job to lead the war effort across eight separate missions. Each stage has a variety of objectives to complete that are spread out across a medium-size map, with plenty of chatter over the coms between squadmates. One of the real standouts narrative-wise is the cutscene interstitials between missions that function like 4th-wall breaking propaganda hosted primarily by Johnny Rico himself, now an eye-patch wearing commander but still unmistakably cool as only Casper Van Dien can be.

Gameplay leans heavily into classic FPS titles like Doom, with a variety of guns that increases the deeper you get into Ultimate Bug War. Objectives include defending outposts, destroying bug hives, activating switches, and taking down massive superbugs. The levels are distinct enough visually to make the missions feel fresh, and their length manages to successfully balance traversal and explor-ability. A funny aspect involves your NPC allies who appear almost at random and often find themselves in the line of fire, which means you might need to be prepared for a hefty amount of scolding during heavy combat sequences. Other times, it's nice to have some firepower support and additional targets for your enemies to pursue.

Typically, missions take between 15 and 30 minutes to complete, and a bit longer if you want to find the pair of hidden secrets. What surprised me most out of the gate was the steep challenge of the default difficulty setting for the first proper mission. One of the defend your base-style objectives took me more attempts than I care to specify lest my gamer cred be forfeit, and so I ended up alternating between the first and second difficulty settings throughout my time with Ultimate Bug War. I'd suspect that even seasoned FPS players will find a more than respectable challenge across the four options, and for those who just want to see the bug world burn, there's a God Mode option in the menus.

In addition to the eight human missions, there are also five bug missions where you play as the assassin bug, which can fly and spit acid. In these missions, your objectives include raising the terror level of the enemy soldiers and destroying the human bases. While a neat departure, I found controlling the assassin bug to be awkward and janky, and I was rarely able to get it to act how I wanted. It's cool to be able to rally more of the regular bugs to help you by getting close to their hives, but I wasn't nearly as interested in completing these missions compared to the human ones.

Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War combines nostalgia with tried-and-true first-person shooter mechanics and gameplay. The way it puts the player into infomercial-like military propaganda serves as neat window dressing, and the number of difficulty and control options, including Switch 2 Joy-Con mouse mode, make for a fairly customizable experience. There are some frame drops during more intense battles and an annoying sound effect issue where gunfire sounded scratchy and ear-piercing, but the performance largely holds up. Fans of Starship Troopers and classic FPS games will find enough to love here, even if the bug missions are a letdown. Everyone fights; no one quits. But maybe turn down the difficulty until you get your space legs.

[A pixelated tower defense with staying power.]

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TalkBack / Bean Beasts (Switch) Review

« on: March 12, 2026, 05:00:00 AM »

A pixelated tower defense with staying power.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/74632/bean-beasts-switch-review

The titular bean beasts feel like only one piece of the puzzle that makes their game so darn enjoyable. I wasn't expecting tower defense when I first saw the title, but I'm glad I took a second look and gave it a chance because Bean Beasts reminds me of just how addicting the genre can be. Fun progression, strategic gameplay, and a stout challenge culminate in an experience that will entice veterans and newcomers alike.

A handful of cutscenes portray a lizard on a boat exploring new lands before finding the island where Bean Beasts take place. Across a total of 40 stages, you encounter a variety of enemies, environments, and obstacles that require their own strategies to overcome. There's a bit of an initial learning curve as you figure out how your bean beasts, traps, and special abilities work, but after getting through a handful of stages, you'll have a solid foundation of the game's mechanics and all the choices you can make to survive and even thrive.

Three initial difficulty settings and a fourth unlockable one allow players to customize the experience to their liking, but the harder you go, the more gems you can earn and then spend opening up new perks, weapons, and characters from the main menu's shop. Each stage also has two side objectives, like not allowing your main character–a lizard riding your choice of mount–to take damage, or using cannons to shove a set number of enemies into an open pit. The layout of paths, pits, trees, and other features changes noticeably with every new level, which means that you will want to change up your (initially limited) arsenal before giving it a go.

At the start of each stage, you have an unlimited amount of time to spend your meager starting resources on setting up your defense. Energy can be spent to deploy weapons like crossbows and swords or traps like spike pits and barrier-forming boxes; you earn more energy with every enemy you take down in the wave. Beans are used to deploy and upgrade bean beasts, and you typically earn one bean per round. At certain moments, your lizard hero will shout a battle cry that immediately bestows multiple beans and hundreds of points of energy, and this is typically a signal that a difficult wave of foes is on the way.

Before each wave of enemies emerges, arrow indicators show their exact path to your “tower,” which allows you to plan your defense effectively, at least some of the time. What you can't always plan for are enemies that will destroy your boxes, instead of going around them, or swift enemies that will zoom past your slow-firing cannons. Certain waves will contain powerful “nemesis” creatures that pose a very real threat to the mounted lizard and its health counter, so you'll want to save abilities like the lizard's rain of arrows, your mount's earthquake-producing stomp, or the earth-type bean beast's spike cannon for particularly dire moments. Speaking of, the final stage in each area involves a boss fight that truly tests your tower defense mettle, and I always looked forward to these and even tried them out with different setups to see what worked best.

Tower defense as a genre hasn't really grabbed my attention as a Switch user, but Bean Beasts has made me think I need to pay more attention for potential hidden gems like this one. The steady drip feed of unlockables means there's always something new to try, especially if your tried-and-true tactics don't work on a particular stage, and the initial learning curve quickly gives way to a satisfying challenge that ebbs and flows across the various biomes, boss fights, and special levels with an endless number of enemies.  Frequent but short loading screens are a minor nuisance, but they're worth the price of admission for this incredible entry in the tower defense pantheon. The name might not do it any favors, but don't judge these Bean Beasts by their cover. There's plenty of tasty meat on these bones.

[A Playdate-sized Zelda-style adventure.]

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TalkBack / Ratcheteer DX (Switch) Review

« on: March 05, 2026, 04:00:00 AM »

A Playdate-sized Zelda-style adventure.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/74427/ratcheteer-dx-switch-review

I don't own a Playdate, the charming, pocket-fitting handheld with a crank on the side, but every year it's been at PAX West, I've taken a good long look at it; there's a definite yearning. Season 1 of Playdate saw 24 handcrafted titles come to the miniature platform, and among them was Ratcheteer, a pint-sized Zelda-like. The DX version marks the game's move to Switch and Steam, and while it's not the first Playdate title to make that leap, it is one that's a solid action-adventure in its own right.

The hero awakes in Mechanic Town to find the power shut off, which sets up one the game's primary challenges: leaving you literally in the dark, with only a lantern to light your way. Shortly after you find a wrench that plays the role of sword surrogate and you're off on a mission to rescue the town's Master Mechanic. A central feature of the town is an engineer working on restoring a mech suit, and so another primary goal involves recovering spare parts and an ever-increasing amount of ore to fulfill that endeavor. There's also an underlying story about aliens named Astrals and an entire language of theirs that you gradually piece together in the same way that you learn Al Bhed in Final Fantasy X.

The gameplay loop involves moving to different areas–many of which are underground like the starting town–and exploring those spaces to find any regional inhabitants and the requisite dungeon. The dungeons are fairly well designed aside from a frustrating one involving ghosts that move with every step you take. Chests are noted on the map and generally contain pieces of ore or heart fragments: collecting two of these increases your life meter. One element you struggle against is the darkness of these subterranean spaces as subtle visual clues can indicate a secret that needs to be uncovered for you to progress; another troublesome element is the need for backtracking, especially later in the game, but that's a minor complaint considering the size of Ratcheteer's world.

The unique boss encounters and the interesting abilities that you acquire on the journey were a pleasant surprise. Certain bosses require that you make deliberate use of your lantern’s beam of light or the float and stomp moves that your jump boots unlock. That you frequently open a chest only to find 10, 25, or 50 pieces of ore was a bit disappointing given the lack of ways to spend it, essentially a choice between purchasing life-restoring rations or funding the mech suit repair. On the plus side, you’ll also collect Astral Runes along the way that allow those inclined towards lore to dig in a bit further, while also being used for some puzzles. On the whole, though, there are more positives than negatives, especially if you enjoy the minimalist aesthetic.

It only took a couple sittings to finish the 3 to 5-hour experience, but Ratcheteer DX makes for a good time  nearly the whole way through. It’s well paced and introduces new tools regularly, all with two different functions or uses. There are some points of frustration, but none soured the adventure for more than a few minutes. If you enjoyed games like Minit or Master Key, you’ve got no reason not to dive into the underground and become a full-fledged ratcheteer yourself. Bonus points if you choose the pea soup color palette for maximum Game Boy nostalgia.

[A solid Zelda-like with a few tricks up its sleeve.]

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TalkBack / Under The Island (Switch) Review

« on: February 16, 2026, 03:00:00 AM »

A solid Zelda-like with a few tricks up its sleeve.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/74296/under-the-island-switch-review

Top-down Zelda games have always been my preference over the 3D games, and so I've ended up trying out more than a dozen indie Zelda-likes since the inception of the Switch. The best among these have a good grasp of what makes an action-adventure compelling while adding its own unique flavor. Under The Island has a bright, cartoony aesthetic that works well for its levity and lightheartedness. It's reminiscent of Link's Awakening and Minish Cap, but marches to the beat of its own drum enough to stand out.

The plot focuses on a teenager named Nia who is relocated from her hometown by her parents who have a one-year research project on Seashell Island. Nia encounters a girl named Avocado, and the pair end up being given a quest to collect four mechanical gears to stop the island from sinking into the ocean. There's also a central town you'll return to frequently to purchase upgrades and find out where your next destination is. As you might expect from a Zelda-like, there are numerous sidequests to undertake that reward you with upgrade materials and heart containers, and it's fun to explore the map as your repertoire of tools expands.

The 10 to 15-hour adventure takes you across forests, beaches, and a snowy mountaintop, with main quest progress often requiring a detour or two before you get into one of the major dungeons. Your tools include a flower that shoots out a ball of flame, handy for lighting up dark passages, burning down plants, or damaging enemies; and a bag of animal snacks that help you guide turtles, rams, and sheep to step onto switches or ram into sealed doors. One neat mechanic is the way fast travel is unlocked around the island by solving a block-pushing puzzle. Another interesting feature is how multifaceted the boss fights are; one even begins with an Overcooked-style cooking competition.

While Under The Island does run well and look good both docked and handheld, there are some minor annoyances. Your sword stand-in, a hockey stick, can feel a bit awkward with its three-hit combo attack, which makes the game's challenging final boss all the more difficult. There are also swamp areas and other small bodies of water where the game doesn't visually discern between shallow and deep water, so there's a trial and error to exploring these spaces that just makes for a frustrating time overall. The difficulty curve is such that you'll know when you're exploring an area you shouldn't be yet, but the final boss really pushes the envelope in that direction, so you'll want to be as prepared as possible before heading into the final dungeon. The dungeons themselves don’t require a ton of backtracking or headscratching, and so veterans of the genre may be left wanting in that regard.

Under The Island didn't take long to sink its charming teeth into me as I had been itching for something a little lighter, both in tone and runtime, after making my way through a handful of long RPGs. Along Nia’s adventure, you end up encountering a variety of different gameplay types, including stealth sequences and arcade-style minigames, and so what has become a well-trod genre does feel quite fresh. If you're in the mood for a whimsical Zelda-like with some unique items and boss fights, the dozen-plus hours you can spend on Seashell Island are absolutely worth your time.

[Multiple blasts from the past, with an odd Switch 2 upgrade.]

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TalkBack / Super Bomberman Collection (Switch) Review

« on: February 09, 2026, 02:12:38 PM »

Multiple blasts from the past, with an odd Switch 2 upgrade.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/74293/super-bomberman-collection-switch-review

The Bomberman franchise has provided hundreds of hours of both single but especially multiplayer entertainment. The series has had a special place in my heart all the way back to the NES original, which launched in North America in 1989. When Super Bomberman came out and was bundled with the multitap, it was a game changer for my elementary school friends and me in terms of our after school and weekend hangouts, and the recent release of Super Bomberman Collection from Konami brings me right back to those youthful days of yore.

This explosive compilation combines Super Bomberman 1 through 5, and then throws in Bomberman 1 and 2 for good measure. You'll forgive a bit of a history lesson, but that's one of the most fascinating aspects of Super Bomberman Collection: the third, fourth, and fifth 16-bit titles never got released in North America. Super Bomberman 3 did see a PAL release, and it also happens to be a title I experienced in bootleg form near the end of the Super Nintendo's lifespan. A music room option and art gallery are particularly worthwhile additions for longtime Bomberman fans, like yours truly.

From the start screen, you can choose to hop into one of the five Super games or find the two NES titles and the aforementioned art and music offerings within a separate menu. Each Super Bomberman has its own separate Boss Rush mode with three difficulty levels. The experience of owning each game is well represented here: you have access to single-player, multi-player, and even the original box and manual. The single-player stories can be enjoyed with save states, rewind, and a handful of display options. There’s little doubt that the Collection represents a full and definitive way to experience these SNES (and NES) era games.

For Bomberman purists, it's easy to appreciate the subtle changes made to the formula across seven games in Super Bomberman Collection. Given that the final three SNES/Super Famicom games stayed outside of North America, it will be many players’ first encounter with them, and of course it's the addition of rides and mounts that drastically impacted both single and multiplayer. I absolutely adore the kangaroo creatures--named Louies–from Super Bomberman 3, but some of the new power-ups, rides, and mechanics in 4 and 5 are also pretty neat, like the Bomb Tank and its sticky bullets or the non-linear stage progression specific to Super Bomberman 5.

All this said, if you're lukewarm on Bomberman, this collection isn't likely to change your mind. There’s a lot of repetition built into the story modes (“story” used very loosely here), despite the neat evolution of the formula from Bomberman (NES) to Super Bomberman 5. As someone who grew up with these games, it's been a blast to return to them, but without online multiplayer, the overall value of the package is slightly diminished. In an odd twist, the Switch 2 version of Super Bomberman Collection comes at a higher price compared to, or a paid upgrade from, the Switch version. What you appear to be paying for is the GameShare feature and 4K visuals. It's an unfriendly separation of SKUs for a package that largely appears a labor of love.

Super Bomberman Collection showcases some of the best Bomberman gameplay the franchise has ever seen. If you have friends or family for local co-op or competitive play, there are a lot of options, stages, and features to explore. While I will continue to bang the drum for thoughtful compilation releases, of which this is definitely one, more online connectivity would have been a great addition to the package. Perhaps best enjoyed in short bursts, Super Bomberman Collection is the best Bomberman release since the Bomberman 64: The Second Attack!

[Tempted with a good time, and a fun role reversal detour, too.]

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TalkBack / Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties (Switch 2) Tech Impressions + Review

« on: February 09, 2026, 05:00:00 AM »

Tempted with a good time, and a fun role reversal detour, too.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/74255/yakuza-kiwami-3-n-dark-ties-switch-2-tech-impressions--review

When the original Yakuza Kiwami released on Switch, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the port. The reimagining of the original Yakuza lost very little in its translation to Switch. On Switch 2 we’ve seen a multitude of Yakuza titles arrive within the first year. As the original target hardware for these games has spanned multiple generations the Switch 2 runs the gamut in terms of performance metrics. Yakuza Kiwami 3 along with its side story, Dark Ties, presents the first day and date release for a Yakuza game on the platform, and thus the greatest technical challenge for the series thus far.

Due to the scope of this title, I will be covering the technical aspects of this release while Jordan Rudek will be diving deep into the brand new Dark Ties expansion. But as for Kiwami 3 itself, as expected this is an excellent modern re-working of the PlayStation 3 original. The story does take quite a while to get going, but once it finally kicks into gear it proves very compelling. New content abounds and outside of the very small explorable environments, little remains to hint at its 2009 origins. I’ve particularly enjoyed the new expansive questline involving Kiryu getting mixed up in an all girls gang in Okinawa and waging war against the other gangs. The storyline is ridiculous and paired with fun over the top gameplay that truly exemplifies the Yakuza series.

Kiwami 3 avails itself well of the Switch 2. While I’d by no means call this some sort of miracle port, it feels very natural on Switch 2. There are some compromises of course when compared to other versions, but all well within reasonable expectations. In both docked and handheld mode the game runs at 30 frames-per-second. I found that outside of expansive combat within heavily populated areas, the framerate remained very consistent throughout. The game does suffer from a noticeable hitch going from gameplay to cutscenes that lasted just long enough to make me question if the entire game had actually crashed before loading into the next scene.

Resolution is dynamic in both docked and handheld mode and both are upscaled via the system’s native DLSS. The actual underlying pixel counts range from about 1080p down to 720p when docked and from 720p to 540p in handheld mode. In the vast majority of scenarios I found the range to sit closer to the high end of those metrics, but select circumstances were able to visibly drop the resolution. Of course with DLSS in the mix those underlying numbers don’t really tell the whole story, and the general perceived resolution winds up generally sitting significantly higher.

Dark Ties Review

Yakuza Kiwami 3 continues SEGA’s mission to remaster the original Yakuza titles for modern platforms, including Switch 2. Whereas Kiwami 1 and 2 released as budget titles at launch, Kiwami 3 is going for the gusto at $59.99 USD, but to sweeten the deal, the package includes a standalone side game called Dark Ties, which sees players step into the polished shoes of Yoshitaka Mine. It is Mine who takes on the role of primary antagonist for Yakuza 3, and switching sides with Dark Ties makes for an enticing little diversion, coming in at about 4-6 hours to roll credits on its main story.

While you can start Dark Ties without finishing Yakuza 3, the game warns that the ending of the former spoils the latter, so it is recommended that you play through Kiwami 3 first. That said, I found it an interesting experiment to spend time with Dark Ties right away since it has much less preamble upfront compared to a full Yakuza game and its version of Kamurocho is very much a condensed one. The combination of being pushed out of the company he founded and being a witness to a grisly encounter with Sixth Chairman of the Tojo clan, Daigo Dojima, push Mine into the criminal underworld, but it's a fresh scaffolding for his story that makes Dark Ties a delicious aperitif or nightcap to the main game.

The gameplay premise sees you as second-in-command to a bumbling oaf of a man, Tsuyoshi Kanda. It's comedy to see the stoic, calculating Mine acquiesce to the laziness and horniness of Kanda, as your main objective is to raise his reputation around town by solving citizens' problems and granting their requests. About a dozen of these missions play out like the Substories the Yakuza series is known for; others are simple fetch quests or rescues where you get to beat the stuffing out of bad boyfriends and boisterous bullies. Every time you level up Kanda's standing, you earn money to spend upgrading your stats and sometimes a special cutscene featuring Kanda and Mine. Your hard-earned yen can also help you procure a variety of CDs to change your traveling music and even a handful of Game Gear cartridges to help you unwind back at the home base. If you're still traumatized by the decision to buy a real Game Gear in the early ‘90s, you can sock a few dingers or invite Kanda out for some darts instead.

Wanting something more compact after recently spending time with Yakuza 0, Kiwami 1, and Kiwami 2 on Switch 2, Dark Ties was a perfect encapsulation of what makes the series so fun and charming, without the bloat that can creep in from time to time. Mine's combat style is simple but fast-paced, meaning random street encounters with unfriendly Yakuza never lasted more than 30 seconds. It may hit differently if you choose to roll credits on Kiwami 3 first, but for what it is, Dark Ties represents a welcome pack-in and the type of additional content I hope we see with the next Kiwami remaster.

[The longest Dragon Quest is charmingly remastered and noticeably trimmed, but loses a bit of its heart in the process.]

7

TalkBack / Dragon Quest VII Reimagined (Switch 2) Review

« on: February 02, 2026, 05:00:00 AM »

The longest Dragon Quest is charmingly remastered and noticeably trimmed, but loses a bit of its heart in the process.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/74110/dragon-quest-vii-reimagined-switch-2-review

The announcement of 3DS remakes for Dragon Quest 7 and 8 was the motivator I needed to finally get into the long-running RPG series. Ahead of their 2016 and 2017 releases in the West, respectively, I would find my way to acquiring Dragon Quest 4 through 6 on DS, spending months on end in classic, turn-based heaven. After having finished each of these aforementioned titles, I was quite firmly in the camp of actually loving Fragments of the Forgotten Past, the seventh mainline Dragon Quest game. I have fond memories of putting that world back together and finding its individual stories and peoples quite endearing, to the point of feeling emotional during certain story moments. As a result, I was delighted by the sudden announcement of Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined, which comes on the heels of HD-2D remakes for the first three games in the series. While I adored basically all of the changes made to those remakes, I’m more lukewarm on Reimagined’s approach.

The premise of Dragon Quest 7 is that you are finding puzzle piece-like fragments that allow you to return to the past to rebuild the world of the present. It’s a fascinating conceit and presents a clear objective to the player up until you find all of the fragments. It isn’t until more than halfway through the game that a more central antagonist appears, and so the earlier proceedings can grow tedious as you rinse and repeat the collecting of fragments, opening up of new islands, and then solving typically a singular quest on each before returning to the present day. What this means is that it can feel like you’re going on dozens of hours of fetch quests before a more focused plight rears its head and compels you forward.

While most will certainly appreciate Reimagined’s streamlined approach to the structure of Dragon Quest 7, as someone more fond of the original than others, I do feel like part of its heart is missing. For sure, the addition of helpful mini-map markers to guide you towards fragments works quite well; the fact that it doesn’t take 20 hours to access the job system is undeniably a feather in the hero’s proverbial cap. The removal of The Haven, the casino, and a number of regions can be seen as trimming the fat, but I was somewhat put off by the sheer amount of streamlining. For reference, I reached the credits in under 30 hours, albeit without working my way through all of the optional content. I have to give partial credit here to the revamped battle system, which includes an automated feature that’s great for grinding or running through dungeons, and the speed-up options we’ve seen in more recent Dragon Quest releases.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined adopts a beautiful, diorama-style look that complements the Toriyama art exceptionally well; it reminds me of Sakaguchi’s Fantasian. The aesthetic is absolutely one of the highlights of the remake. Added voicework brings another level of depth to the characters; Roly Botha as Kiefer is particularly excellent. Seeing your party running around the overworld map can only be described as cute, and from beginning to end I never tired of what I was seeing on screen. There aren’t many of them, but the CG cutscenes were an absolute delight. I’m gushing about the art style, and for good reason: I’d love to see Dragon Quest 8 given the Reimagined treatment, too, but maybe with fewer edits.

Another major positive is the job system, which allows you to eventually have two vocations at the same time, like Mage and Warrior. Mastering certain classes opens up more advanced ones, but I did find that on the normal difficulty, I didn’t need to go any further than having only one or two of the intermediate classes opened up. The head of Alltrades Abbey even gives you a device so that you can switch vocations at any time, even within dungeons, which is perfect for creating a specific party composition before a boss encounter. Although it’s a bit annoying that mastering a vocation doesn’t allow you to retain your learned spells, working towards the higher-tier classes and the ability to switch on the fly do ease that frustration to an extent.

One of my takeaways during the review period of Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is that the game may be more enjoyable in short bursts, even with all of the streamlining that’s been put in place. Because the gameplay loop is so repetitive, so perfectly circular, longer gaming sessions really magnify the shallowness of how you put the world back together. The characters you meet are interesting for a moment, but because you have somewhat fleeting interactions with them, it’s harder to see each one as memorable. Once you finish their basic requests of you, it’s on to the next questgiver on a different island. It feels like I’m complaining about some standard RPG tropes and mechanics, but the structure of Dragon Quest 7 seems to accentuate the negatives built into these elements.

In terms of performance the Nintendo Switch 2 version runs steady. With minimal load times and a smooth 60fps, it is a delight to play through. The one noticeable oddity is that there is a clearly visible “rendering line” that makes textures and smaller obstacles load in a few frames late. It's probably something you will only start to notice many hours into your adventure, especially at the beginning of combat encounters. Other than that the Switch 2 version comes highly recommended. The Switch 1 version offers a steady and smooth 30fps itself. Though it is a shame that for physical lovers, the Switch 1 version cannot be upgraded and the physical Switch 2 release is restricted to a Game Key Card.

The question I have to ask myself, and perhaps one that will be asked by others who love(d) an earlier version of Dragon Quest 7: Why does Reimagined not quite strike the same chord as the original or the 3DS remake? Has it been pared down too far, or have the dozens of RPGs to come in the intervening years driven our tastes towards something else? Normally, I would be fairly eager to dive back into a Dragon Quest game to explore the post-game content or seek out side quests left incomplete, and even though I know there’s a good bit more I can do here, the drive to compel me back just isn’t there. After four remakes in less than a year and a half, I may be Dragon Quest-ed out, and I’m surprised to even think such a thing.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined is a beautifully designed turn-based RPG that is much more approachable to new players than the 3DS remake in 2016, but it may leave fans of earlier versions feeling slighted. Small changes like enemy weaknesses or immunities being highlighted in battle can make combat less challenging, so RPG veterans may want to consider a higher difficulty and avoid auto-battling entirely. I can’t recall the last time I defeated a Dragon Quest final boss on the first try, but such was the case with Reimagined despite doing little grinding, and the result left me feeling deflated, rather than triumphant. Even though there aren’t any glaring problems with this remake, it never felt as satisfying to play as the HD-2D games or Dragon Quest 11, so be prepared for a noticeably different experience compared to those RPGs.

[An engrossing choose-your-own-adventure comic book with a captivating cast. I’ll remember that.]

8

TalkBack / Dispatch (Switch) Review

« on: January 28, 2026, 07:00:00 AM »

An engrossing choose-your-own-adventure comic book with a captivating cast. I’ll remember that.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/74103/dispatch-switch-review

Frequent NWR guest and contributor Syrenne McNulty was involved with development for Dispatch. The review was written and edited without any input from anyone who works with Syrenne.

Having been eager to check out Dispatch last year during its episodic launch, I ended up holding off after learning that a Switch version was imminent. I can safely say that the experience has lived up to the hype and positivity the eight-episode game generated around 2025 game of the year talks. If you enjoyed classic TellTale interactive narratives or superhero stories like Invincible, Dispatch is a call you need to answer.

The plot centers on Robert Robertson, a former superhero, who falls in battle and has to abandon his Mecha Man alter ego. Shortly after, he's propositioned by the enticing heroine Blonde Blazer to join the Superhero Dispatch Network (SDN), and the downtrodden Robert is all too eager to accept what this attractive gift horse is offering. As the name implies, SDN pairs superhero teams with a dispatcher who sends team members to individual distress calls, and this forms about 30 percent of the gameplay loop. A small portion is taken up with a fairly rudimentary hacking minigame, and the lion's share consists of cutscenes that show Robert's redemption and the relationships he cultivates (or destroys) as the newest dispatcher at SDN.

In that order, the dispatching of superheroes is a fun way to listen in on the banter and jokes of your team as you build up their experience and stats, while also honing your skills as a leader and mentor. It generally takes place a couple times per episode, offering a nice switch up after longer story beats. You have to read between the lines in order to determine the best member of your squad to send on each errand; Prism is a better talker, but she's not naturally strong (you can change that by levelling up her strength stat, of course). Flambae is a hot head, but a gifted fighter, so he's better for subduing thugs when fisticuffs are expected. Your odds of success increase when you choose the right heroes to dispatch, and you'll earn experience for every mission accomplished; the flip side is that you'll earn nothing but a stat-reducing injury if you fail. When the dispatching gameplay blends seamlessly with the exposition and cutscenes outside of it, Dispatch truly shines.

Of course, any narrative experience relies almost entirely on the quality of its script, and the writing of Dispatch is top notch. Every member of the cast has their own unique personality, and the voice work of Aaron Paul as Robert, Jeffrey Wright as Chase, and Laura Bailey as Invisigal, among other standouts, adds an impeccable flavor to the dish. I laughed out loud during multiple episodes and couldn’t take my eyes off the screen during the thrilling finale. The dialogue choices do feel meaningful, but as is the case with these interactive stories, you can’t always see all the impacts unless you go through the game multiple times. That said, the quality of Dispatch is such that I’m certainly entertaining that prospect during the next slow release period this year.

The Switch 2 version, a free upgrade for anyone who purchases Dispatch on Switch, boosts the performance from 30fps at 720p to 60fps at 1440p. I certainly wasn’t put off by playing through the game on Nintendo’s last gen device, but the upgrade is a welcome one. I’ve seen the question asked frequently on various online forums and can confirm that the Switch version of Dispatch is censored for nudity, with no option as of writing to remove the somewhat jarring black censor bar. One handy element that did have a toggle was for quick-time events, which I turned off so that I could focus on the story.

Dispatch is an unmissable interactive narrative for those who miss the glory days of TellTale’s Walking Dead series or enjoy the mature comic book worlds of Invincible or The Boys. I had no trouble ripping through the eight episodes and eagerly await the potential announcement of a second season. I found myself genuinely buying into the redemption arcs of your motley crew of villains-turned-heroes; it’s rare for a story to hit with basically every character, but Dispatch doesn’t miss in this regard. Even if it doesn’t go for an immediate follow-up, AdHoc Studio is now firmly on my radar for a genre I had fallen out of love with years ago.

[Scooby Scooby Rue, where are you?]

9

TalkBack / Rue Valley (Switch) Review Mini

« on: November 23, 2025, 11:42:25 AM »

Scooby Scooby Rue, where are you?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/73394/rue-valley-switch-review-mini

The eShop description of Rue Valley is a bit misleading; it bills the game as a “narrative RPG,” which is only half true. It's much more a point-and-click adventure mystery than a role-playing game, and if that's a swap you're happy to hear about, then you might get on with it better than I did. You also need to enjoy being stuck in a 47-minute time loop and the built-in repetition that comes with it.

You play as Eugene Harrow, a man undergoing therapy for some kind of mental or emotional struggles. A fair part of Rue Valley involves the creation of an internal mind map that records events and tasks called Intentions for Harrow to complete. The game starts at a roadside motel where you find yourself in the room of Dr. Finck, and from this point on every loop begins back 8:00pm during the final minutes of your therapy session with him and ends with an explosion of light at 8:47pm. Before the story actually gets underway, you have an opportunity to choose some character parameters that determine the dialogue choices you can make later on.

From both a narrative standpoint and a game design one, Rue Valley starts off slow and murky. It takes some time before the mechanics and ways of making genuine progress become clear. Within its isometric perspective, you guide Harrow around a handful of environments to solve a number of smaller mysteries in addition to larger ones like the nature of the time loop he's stuck in. Once you acquire a new piece of information, you can bring that to conversations with folks around you to yield new dialogue branches, and what follows then is a bit of trial and error before you figure out which tidbits unlock which doors in your mind map. Additionally, you need to consider the schedule of the other characters and events that take place in Rue Valley so that you know where and when to progress the story.

There are some tense and memorable character interactions, such as when you break into your therapist's room to learn more about another motel guest. When you have multiple objectives on the go, Rue Valley has a genuine sense of momentum that means almost everything you do will lead to a new insight or twist. However, the way in which your create-a-character's mental profile gates off certain interactions and dialogue trees is frustrating and made me feel often like I had just rolled a bad character; I can't see myself returning to a narrative experience like this one after seeing the story through, so I'm not sure why all the gatekeeping and roadblocks exist. If you're a sucker for Groundhog Day, time loop tales, or point-and-click mysteries, your enjoyment of Rue Valley may reach a higher peak. I was already tempted to check out of this motel before my suitcase was unpacked.

[A fairly flavorless roguelike.]

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TalkBack / Morsels (Switch) Review Mini

« on: November 23, 2025, 11:32:31 AM »

A fairly flavorless roguelike.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/73393/morsels-switch-review-mini

The glut of run-based games makes comparison inevitable, so it’s becoming harder and harder to stand out in these rogue-ish seas. The gross-out aesthetic of Morsels reminds me of The Binding of Isaac, and with both being roguelikes, the gameplay is similar as well. What differentiates the addictive standouts of the genre from the more forgettable is often feel, precision, and impression, rather than markedly new mechanics. Unfortunately for Morsels, no matter how much you bite off, the flavor seems to dissipate far too quickly.

The premise sees you playing as a tiny mouse who enlists up to three partner “Morsels” to help it through a series of top-down sewer-based dungeons. Once you run out of Morsels, the run ends and you’re sent back to the beginning. Progression is limited to unlocking new potential buffs/abilities to find during gameplay, so to keep making it further you’ll have to rely on your skills and slowly accumulating knowledge. I emphasize the more glacial gain of knowledge because there’s a noticeable lack of tutorials and instructions about the different objects, events, and abilities you encounter. Trial and error is fine, to an extent, but it’s overkill here. Some of the interstitial encounters between dungeon floors have mini-games and propositions to consider, which add some variety but can be equally inscrutable.

Of the dozen or so Morsels I’ve spent multiple runs with, each one has a couple unique moves to stand out from its peers. Some have short range projectiles coupled with a special ability that can trap enemies inside a bubble; others have dash moves or singular, more precise shots that require aiming and patience. One of my favourites is a mushroom Morsel who summons near-endless copies of itself that can run into enemies to damage them. What genuinely dampens the fun variety of Morsels is that both your standard shot and special move both have their own cooldown meters, and so the twin-stick shooter-adjacent gameplay starts and stops like a broken traffic light. It feels antithetical to the gameplay not being able to attack more freely all of the disgusting creatures that litter each dungeon.

I’m happy to give any roguelike or lite a try to see if it hooks me, and after successfully completing my first run, I knew that my stomach was already full of Morsels. If you enjoy its gross, purposefully ugly style and love everything run-based, you’ll probably get a kick out of Morsels. In such an oversaturated genre, there are plenty more appetizing offers to satiate your hunger.

[Hard to turn down another invite from Kiryu-chan.]

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TalkBack / Yakuza Kiwami 2 (Switch 2) Review

« on: November 12, 2025, 04:00:00 AM »

Hard to turn down another invite from Kiryu-chan.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/73271/yakuza-kiwami-2-switch-2-review

Yakuza definitely feels like an IYKYK franchise now. No longer are the games trapped on different Sony consoles. With the Kiwami remakes bringing refinement and polish to older games in the series, those who enjoyed recent titles like Yakuza 0 or Like A Dragon can easily go back to their roots. Whereas with some sequels you can pretty easily jump right in without the context of earlier titles, I wouldn't recommend doing so with Yakuza Kiwami 2, but fortunately we're getting both Kiwami 1 and 2 on the same day as dedicated Switch 2 versions. This review focuses on Kiwami 2 given that there is already a Switch 1 version of the first Kiwami game, but comparing the two games on Switch 2 shows that the performance is actually better with Kiwami 1.

Anyone with knowledge of the Yakuza series can appreciate their dense, soap opera-ish storytelling combined with over-the-top character interactions and humor. The Kiwami line offers a welcome opportunity to check out early Yakuza games in a contemporary package; I had already finished the PlayStation 4 versions before coming back to them on Switch 2. Based on my memory, the latter feel comparable, even when playing portably, so if you're looking to visit or re-visit the settings of Kamurocho and Sotenbori (added in Yakuza 2), then the Switch 2 is a nice way to do so–especially considering that we're getting Yakuza Kiwami 3 early in 2026.

That said, Yakuza Kiwami 1 outperforms Kiwami 2 when playing on Nintendo’s latest console. While both games display at 1080p resolution in docked mode, it’s unfortunate to see Kiwami 1 running at 60 FPS when Kiwami 2 only hits 30 FPS, and not even a completely stable framerate at that. It’s possible that because Kiwami 1 had already been released on Switch that the transition for that game to Switch 2 was easier and allowed for a better performance, but it’s disappointing to have them side by side and see the earlier game running much smoother. A bit of digging reminded me that this was also an issue with the PlayStation 4 releases of Kiwami 1 and 2, running at 60 and 30 FPS, respectively, but with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series versions of Kiwami 2 coming in December, I am holding out some hope that the launch on those two platforms could see a patch come to the Switch 2 version–contingent on the Sony and Microsoft releases also running at 60 FPS, of course.

In terms of gameplay, Yakuza Kiwami 2 contains a lot of fun and familiar mini-games, like batting cages, mahjong, and karaoke, in addition to more fleshed out ones like Clan Creator (a top-down strategy game) and Cabaret Club Grand Prix (a management sim). I don’t typically get sucked into any one of these too deeply, but they provide a pleasant distraction from the lengthy cutscenes and beat-’em-up style combat. Normally I run into some steeper difficulty spikes with some of the boss fights or grunt gauntlets, but the Switch 2 version of Kiwami 2 provides you with a bevy of weapons, armor, and experience-granting items worthy of a true Japanese mafiaso. Of course, you can ignore or embrace these bonuses as you wish. The choose-your-own adventure style of progression that sees you spending five categories of experience points on stats and abilities of your choosing also lets you customize your Yakuza journey, and really that’s one of the best selling features of these games.

Yakuza Kiwami 2 features a compelling cast of new and returning characters, chief among the unfamiliar faces being antagonist Ryuji Goda, who cuts a formidable figure and plays an excellent foil to gold-hearted Kiryu. While I enjoyed another romp through the small burrows of Tokyo and Osaka that feel now like a second digital home, returning to Kiwami 2 felt more in service of Kiwami 3, which will be here before we know it. The Switch 2 port is a serviceable one for sure, especially when considered against the PlayStation 4 version, and there isn’t a major sacrifice made to run around these punk-filled streets on-the-go. If you’re becoming a Yakuza collector or have never experienced the second game in the series, there may not be a better time.

[Switch gets a lovely helping of shoot-'em-ups early next year.]

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TalkBack / Raiden Fighters Remix Collection Coming in February

« on: October 31, 2025, 06:06:00 PM »

Switch gets a lovely helping of shoot-'em-ups early next year.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/73088/raiden-fighters-remix-collection-coming-in-february

If you're a 'shmup fan like myself, you'll instantly recognize the Raiden brand of vertical shooter. Next February sees the Japanese and International versions of Raiden Fighters Trilogy bundled together as Raiden Fighters Remix Collection.

In addition to features like Retry, Beginner-Friendly, Settings Customization, and BGM Customization, the Remix Collection aptly includes remixed music tracks from notable composers, some of whom have worked on earlier Raiden titles.

It was also announced that the three titles in the Collection will also be sold separately on the eShop: Raiden Fighters Remix, Raiden Fighters 2 Remix, and Raiden Fighters Jet Remix. The bundle and individual games are releasing on February 26, 2026. Check out the trailer below for a sneak peek:

[An artful roguelite brawler that simply smashes.]

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TalkBack / Absolum (Switch) Review

« on: October 09, 2025, 05:00:00 AM »

An artful roguelite brawler that simply smashes.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/72837/absolum-switch-review

A collaborative effort spearheaded by Dotemu, Absolum offers an atypical beat-em’-up spliced with roguelite DNA. With attractive cartoon and comic book-inspired art, you and a potential co-op partner move from zone to zone, taking down all manner of foes and bosses on your way to a final encounter with Azra in his heavily guarded tower at the edge of the world. The end result is a familiar but fresh fighting experience with a surprising number of twists and turns along the way.

The story centers on a conflict between Sun King Azra, responsible for enslaving wizards across the land, and High Enchantress Uchawi and her group of rebels. As one of these rebels, your goal is both to defeat Azra but also restore faith in wizardkind across the world of Talamh, which was devastated by the work of rogue wizards. Understandably, even the townsfolk you encounter are scared of you, so the places you visit are full of danger and devoid of friendly faces save a few.

What differentiates Absolum from other action Roguelites isn't a major new gameplay mechanic but more so the style and polish of its presentation and gameplay. Before looking at the world map, in the starting hub area you can choose your character, track your progress, and unlock a variety of boosts and upgrades. Your starting party only offers two characters to select, an elven fighter and a dwarven engineer, but you'll unlock a few more along the way, including a swift rogue and a powerful mage. The character design, even for the bosses, is top notch and injects a hefty amount of personality into this dystopian fantasy world.

The roguelite aspect sees you collect crystals that can be spent to boost your stats on a permanent basis, while also translating the distance you travel and your overall success into a score that rewards you with materials for unlocking new skills and upgrading the runes you encounter on your journey. These runes are attached to elemental affinities and can pop up at the conclusion of a battle before you move on to the next area. You might also be offered a choice of trinkets to boost your attack, luck, or defense, gold, or the aforementioned crystals, which I was always happy to see.

Your brawling kit involves a basic attack that can combo multiple times, a special attack with a bit more range and usually a knock up effect, and an arcane ability that consumes mana charges that build up as you fight. Any of these moves can be buffed through the runes that you collect, making parts of your kit more deadly, but it's strategic use of all your capabilities that's needed to keep making progress on your journey. The basic brawling that is enough to take down minor foes often fails in the face of the oversized bosses hellbent on preventing you from reaching Azra.

An aspect that really struck me with Absolum is the number of sidequests that pop up just from talking to characters you encounter in each area. The objectives of these aren't all that taxing, but in addition to a long list of in-game accomplishments, they do offer another goal to pursue. Roguelites really hit for me when they offer multiple forms of progression and even adjustable difficulty, and aside from a multi-hour delay in learning about how to spend a particular currency, it's easy to find new things to do and ways to change up each run.

There’s more to do after rolling credits the first time, but my main take away is just how good the combat feels and how gorgeous everything looks while you're doing it. Absolum is made by a team that understands how to make a great brawler, like Shredder's Revenge and Streets of Rage 4, so you can expect a similar level of polish and chops. I ended up clearing the game with every character because I was having such a good time, and with all the awesome games I still haven't played from September, that's proof positive that any beat-'em-up fan should absolutely be checking out Absolum.

[Feel like a Greek goddess over and over again.]

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TalkBack / Hades II (Switch 2) Review

« on: September 24, 2025, 07:00:00 AM »

Feel like a Greek goddess over and over again.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/72565/hades-ii-switch-2-review

On one of the dozens or runs I've started in Hades II, I was trying a new weapon for the first time, the twin flames, having just unlocked it. The early rooms left me feeling like I wasn't going to get very far; this loadout wasn't clicking with me. But then all of a sudden, it was. A few upgrades and boosts later and I had turned into a whirling dervish of rotating torches, and I ended up getting significantly further into the game than I had before. This is just one aspect that makes Hades II nearly impossible to put down: at any moment, you can make something out of nothing, turning despair into triumph.

A follow-up to 2020's Hades, the sequel trades hero Zagreus for heroine Melinoe, who also happens to be Zagreus’ sister. This family affair sees Melonoe aided by a cavalcade of Olympians, including Hermes, Artemis, and her Headmistress, Hecate, among many others. Your primary objective is the defeat of Chronos, the Titan of Time, who has imprisoned Melinoe's family. Much of the enjoyment of the story comes from the interactions between you and the rest of the cast, which serve as a drip feeding of plot details, world building, and relationships. The narrator, none other than Homer (of Illyad and Odyssey fame), adds a delightful flavor, especially when Melinoe takes the opportunity to call out one of his mistakes.

The roguelite action gameplay revolves around traveling from room to room within a specific biome on your path to Cronos. Each biome has a particular theme, unique enemies, and a boss to conquer at the end. To defeat enemies you encounter you have a basic, usually more close range strike, a special attack that typically offers more range, and a cast that places a circle on the ground to various effects, like slowing enemies or gradually damaging them. Completing a room typically offers a reward to help you power up, either for that run or future ones. Compared to the first game, Hades II features a variety of currencies and items to earn and collect that can unlock different bonuses and buffs to increase your chances of successfully meeting and defeating Cronos. One neat mechanic is Arcana cards that can be unlocked and then activated up to a certain limit (which can also be raised), and these grant healing, extra attack power, and other perks. As an RPG man myself, I prioritized upgrading the hub world, unlocking new weapons, and opening up as many possible benefits as I could.

Hades II makes each run feel meaningful, from both a narrative and gameplay standpoint. While you don't earn experience points, you gain valuable insight into the different boons and upgrades available to you on each trip through the Underworld. Maybe the icy powers of Demeter are helping you keep your distance from more aggressive enemies, or you might prefer the lightning-based attacks that Zeus bestows with his boons. Every run is different because you don't know what power-ups you're going to find. And when you're tired of going down to the underworld, you can instead go up, to another set of biomes and a path to Mount Olympus, provided you've jumped through a few alchemy-based hoops.

A major aspect of progression in Hades II centers on collecting materials and ingredients to craft weapons, potions, and other objects to fulfill requirements assigned to Melinoe by her neighbours in the hubworld sanctuary: The Crossroads. Sometimes you finish a run and check off a box or two; sometimes you make it further than you ever have and come home to a bounty of changes and new faces. And those new faces are happy to receive gifts or make small talk, with the former unlocking individual trinkets that can also be leveled up, in addition to individual relationship meters that can also grow over time. It wouldn't be unfair to say that there's maybe too much to keep track of, too many different flowers, stones, meters, and currencies. But for those who don’t mind that juggling or having lots to do and collect, Hades II is an incredible playground.

The aesthetic of Melinoe’s world, including the sights, sounds, and other characters, is unmatched. The Crossroads represent such a perfect contrast of being both alive but also full of underworld theming. The art style of the gods and goddesses but also the enemy bosses contribute so much vibrancy and vitality to the visual experience of Hades II, and for good reason when a game’s loop revolves around repetition. You genuinely want to see people pop up from time to time for another bit of flavor text or to see how they can impact your next run. The voice acting imbues every character with a sense of realism and purpose, from Hecate’s instructive chiding to Chronos’ cocky antagonizing. The presentation works all the way through, and the Switch 2 performance is flawless. Nintendo’s latest console ends up being another perfect home for this roguelite darling.

It will take me dozens more hours to see all of what Hades II has to offer, and that’s not even considering some specific endgame challenges it adds after you complete your first run. I am fully invested in squeezing all of the story juice from this delicious fruit, and that’s primarily due to how masterful the gameplay feels. Moving, dashing, attacking, and casting are all incredibly satisfying, and it’s rare to see any video game so skillfully combine gameplay with aesthetic and story. Without a doubt, Hades II lives up to its predecessor, and surpasses it in a number of ways. While it can at times be overwhelming in terms of collectibles and crafting materials, there are also so many ways to enjoy the experience, through options like God Mode and Aim Assist, or just grinding out in-game achievements and other unlockables. Ultimately, my first complete run through the first Hades signalled the end of my time with that game, but for the sequel, it felt more like I was just getting started.

[The best version of a tactics masterclass.]

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TalkBack / Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles (Switch 2) Review

« on: September 24, 2025, 05:00:00 AM »

The best version of a tactics masterclass.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/72564/final-fantasy-tactics-the-ivalice-chronicles-switch-2-review

The idea of game developers getting an opportunity to go back to a title from their past and use modern technology to achieve something closer to their original vision is an inspiring endeavor. Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles represents such an enterprise, and not only does it improve upon a classic formula and experience, but it also showcases the love and dedication that a team had for the story and art they helped to create almost three decades prior.

Final Fantasy Tactics follows the exploits of Ramza Beoulve, a young knight from a powerful noble family. Caught up in what becomes The War of the Lions, where two sides want their chosen representative to sit the throne of Ivalice, Ramza sees the lines between friend, family, and foe constantly blurred. One such character is Delita Heiral, who experiences his own personal tragedy that fuels a drive for revenge and power, and these two men end up as two of the most important characters in the conflict. The overarching narrative and its various character moments are filled with drama and emotion, and the newly added voice acting makes every dialogue and battle cry all the more memorable. Final Fantasy Tactics has always had a story for the ages, and The Ivalice Chronicles telling of it, with a refreshed script and talented voice cast, ensure that this is the best way to experience it.

Anyone who has played the original PlayStation version of Final Fantasy Tactics will immediately recognize the glow up to the menus, world map, and overall presentation. Moving between menus, exploring the world, and basically everything related to the job class system is easier to navigate and more fluid. Tactical games by their nature involve so much moving of a cursor between different options, tiles, and characters, and so when that process is smoother, you feel less bogged down in the mechanics and small details (as much as veterans might enjoy that element). I never felt annoyed to have to backtrack on the world map or re-open character menus over and over to re-check stats, equipment, and job progression, and this is a testament to the snappiness of The Ivalice Chronicles version.

As moving and mature as the story is, the gameplay is where The Ivalice Chronicles showcases how timeless the original experience is. For the most part, the essence of the 1997 release (in Japan) is untouched and instead polished to a glimmering shine. You take turns moving characters around diorama-like environments like city streets, forest clearings, and castle halls, with the objective usually being to defeat a single enemy combatant or rout the opposing squad entirely. Every battle plays out differently, with scripted ones bringing different job classes onto the field, and even the random encounters between cities on the world map typically offering different monsters to fight. You often have to deal with the terrain, buildings, and elevation as much as your foes, but the competent enemy AI and their level scaling make for thrilling battles, and of course, some grinding along the way.

And frankly, seeing the numbers go up is one of the most enjoyable parts of Final Fantasy Tactics. While it may be missing some of the job classes that were included in The War of the Lions release on PSP, The Ivalice Chronicles retains that magic of watching your job class pool grow as you earn more job points in battle, become more proficient, and unlock new abilities, giving you the opportunity to customize your squad. Usually bringing four or five allies, including Ramza, you’re able to combine a primary job with a secondary one to have two sets of abilities at your disposal, in addition to a basic attack, a reaction ability, a support ability, and a movement ability. Some of these are better than others, such as Movement +3 vs Movement +1, but others can be unlocked early on and stay relevant for dozens of battles, like the Chemist job’s Throw Item. I spent hours and hours experimenting with different classes and combinations and endeavoring to unlock all of the jobs, including the hilarious Mime class that simply mimics the actions of other party members. Eventually I settled on an endgame party involving a couple of the recruitable special characters, my girl Agrias obviously, and a few from my starting retinue of Chemists and Squires.

Three elements of The Ivalice Chronicles release genuinely stand out in terms of combat improvements. The first is the fast-forward mechanic, which you can activate by holding down a button to breeze through not only the motions of battle, but cutscenes in and out of combat as well. When it came time for some late-game experience and job point grinding, the ability to fast-forward through what can be a fairly tedious process was incredible, encouraging me to play around the job system even more and try out some combos I hadn’t used when playing the two previous versions of Final Fantasy Tactics. For the second element, you can save mid-battle, which is helpful when the outcome is uncertain and you’re knee-deep in 50-50 propositions or hoping for the best with abilities and skills that aren’t guaranteed to connect. Finally, you can move your character to a spot on the battlefield, gauge how effective their next action is going to be, and then undo that move if the plan isn't the best one. In the original game, you would be stuck in the spot you moved to, even if after getting there you learned that such a move was fruitless or less effective than another alternative.

Spending some hours with the original Final Fantasy Tactics, included in this updated release, gave me even more appreciation for The Ivalice Chronicles than my memories alone would have allowed. By comparison, the battles can be slow and plagued by a fair bit of dumb AI logic. The Ivalice Chronicles has three difficulty options to choose from, another addition. The medium setting offers a challenging but fairly balanced experience, provided you can navigate some pronounced difficulty spikes. Even the simple inclusion of an overhead camera makes battlefield strategizing all the easier. While playing the classic version, I came to really miss the voice acting too, especially considering the fuzziness of the dialogue text font as it's displayed on a modern screen. The Switch screen fairs a bit better in this regard, but the visual enhancement of The Ivalice Chronicles genuinely helps with overall readability to a massive extent.

Whether playing on Switch or Switch 2, The Ivalice Chronicles turns in a respectable level of performance. Both systems run the game at 60 frames-per-second in either docked or handheld mode. If you’re playing on the original Switch, you’ll be working with 720p when docked and 540p in handheld mode. Over on Switch 2, these numbers get bumped up to 1080p docked and 720p handheld. It is worth noting that between a depth-of-field effect and a parchment-like, dithered overlay, aliased edges are surprisingly few and far between. This is of course assuming you’re playing the remastered version. If you swap to the classic version you’ll be looking at a crispy 240p regardless of platform and configuration.

If you recognize Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles as a labor of love, and the result of a desire to perfect an already formidable RPG, this release is a major achievement. It's not definitive, but there's no question that it's the best way to experience a seminal title in the tactics genre. Certainly, it could have opted for more graphically impressive visuals, but it opts for faithful over brave--classic over contemporary. And I'm good with that. The job class system remains a standout, and the plot–as heavy as it is–stands as one for the ages. There is no better time to hop on a Chocobo, and delve into an RPG of and for history. One of the most replayable Square Enix games has never been more worthy of the title.

[Them's fightin’ words.]

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TalkBack / Wander Stars (Switch) Review Mini

« on: September 19, 2025, 08:00:00 AM »

Them's fightin’ words.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/72557/wander-stars-switch-review-mini

Sometimes it's the combination of a neat art style with a unique premise that is enough to entice me towards a new game. Wander Stars features an eye-catching anime look and creative turn-based combat that involves turning words into actions. The result is a novel experience, but one with a few rough patches along the way.

Playing as a young girl named Ringo, you go on a journey to find your brother using your budding martial arts moves. The narrative plays out across visual novel-style cutscenes and fairly lengthy dialogue exchanges. The story didn't grab me too tightly, but its episodic nature was an effective delivery mechanism and fit well with the anime theming. Between story beats, you traverse different environments that look a bit like a board game map, with certain spots containing battles, treasures, or character moments.

The turn-based battles are the highlight of Wander Stars, with progression involving a few different factors. By choosing an attack command, such as kick or punch, an element like fire or wind, and a modifier like Super, Extra, or Wide, you can hit an enemy's different weakpoint(s), apply extra damage, or be able to strike multiple targets at once. Victory can reward you with new words for your arsenal, but you only have a limited number of slots to fit those words into. Once you run out of stamina, you pass to the opponent for their turn, but you can earn extra stamina by hitting an enemy’s weakpoint. You're also rewarded for taking an enemy down to a specific health threshold and then peace-ing out, rather than knocking them out entirely.

At the end of an episode, you can spend Honor, effectively experience points, to permanently raise certain stats or limits, like the number of attack words you can bring into battle. A star ranking system encourages return trips to each episode, but I found that once was enough for me. Some stuttering, some janky animations, and even a softlock put a damper on my time with it, but Wander Stars is a relatively fun romp while it lasts, particularly if you're in it more for the RPG mechanics over the plot.

[Co-op shenanigans in space.]

17

TalkBack / STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions (PC) Hands-on Preview

« on: September 10, 2025, 06:00:00 AM »

Co-op shenanigans in space.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/preview/72409/starseeker-astroneer-expeditions-pc-hands-on-preview

Knowing that I would be spending part of PAX West with some close friends, I was in search of a multi-player focused demo for the four of us to check out. When Devolver Digital reached out about a specific coverage opportunity that checked that very box, I couldn't rightly refuse to check out an upcoming game from one of my favorite publishers. The title in question was STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions, and even though I am not overly familiar with its predecessor with whom it shares a universe, my pals and I happily bopped around the co-op focused world before completing our task and being whisked away off planet.

The demo situated us right in the middle of the action, with an objective marker to head towards as we gradually figured out the controls and our capabilities as space station crew members. Filled with vibrant and pastel-shaded colors, we worked to achieve our first task of reaching the relay station. Much of the fun came not from getting to the station but from bouncing around the world and playing with the different equipment we started the demo with. My tool could be used to deform the ground to create pits or tunnels or in its alternate mode could shoot a blast of air or energy to propel enemies (or maybe friends) forward; another friend could shoot water from his kit to clean off goop disrupting our progress or coating important objects. I was left with no choice after we had finished all of the demo’s main tasks but to use my gear to launch my teammates off the mountain we had scaled. It’s this type of freeform, emergent gameplay that Starseeker appears to revel in.

After exploring the relay station, our next goal became the retrieval of a missing sensor array, which fortunately wasn’t too far away. Of course, the mission wasn’t going to be over that easily, and so our true test came from scaling a nearby mountain while one of us brought the array all the way to the top. Our squad had to work together to ward off enemies, create a tunnel that had to spiral gradually upwards toward the summit, and carry the array along this path. The temptation for mischief was ever present, but we managed to resist long enough to get the equipment up the mountain and activated, which signaled the conclusion of our work. All that was left was to traverse another short distance to our nearby shuttles. Equipped with gliders reminiscent of Buzz Lightyear, we took a leap of faith and slowly made our way down to the final objective marker. Attempting to snatch away our victory at the 11th hour was a rocky creature, but our combined efforts were enough to push it away so that we could make our escape.

The simplicity and freedom of the PAX West demo was one of my major takeaways, and it felt like I had only scratched the surface of what could be a really fun but maybe less stressful co-op experience. I dare use the term “cozy” here, but loosely I think it fits: the cartoonish visuals, the abundance of color, the relative ease with which we could escape danger. I can see the potential in Starseeker for an online multiplayer experience that I return to in large or small bursts for the purpose of chilling with friends and losing ourselves for a while on strange planets in a connected universe. I’m excited by the prospect of a more lowkey, less pressure-filled adventure with friends, and in 2026 we’ll be able to see and learn more as Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions prepares for launch on Switch 2.

18

TalkBack / Re: Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles (Switch 2) Hands-on Preview

« on: September 08, 2025, 04:03:31 AM »

Did they add unmove to the battle system? In all seriousness, that is the sole issue I care about regarding if I get it or not. If they added it, day one buy. If they didn't add it, I won't even touch it.

From what I remember of the demo, there was an option to undo your movement, but wait for our final review for confirmation of this. I'll make sure it's mentioned in our coverage.

[I don't know if 1 + 2 equals 3, but I'm desperate to find out.]

19

TalkBack / Dragon Quest 1 + 2 HD-2D Remake (Switch 2) Hands-on Preview

« on: September 04, 2025, 07:00:00 AM »

I don't know if 1 + 2 equals 3, but I'm desperate to find out.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/preview/72343/dragon-quest-1--2-hd-2d-remake-switch-2-hands-on-preview

I have to admit: I’m a sucker for these HD-2D remakes of the Dragon Quest games, and I’m more than ready for Square Enix to sell me everything up to Dragon Quest 11 at least one more time. Having reviewed the mobile port of Dragon Quest 3 when that came to Switch, playing through the HD remake version last year absolutely felt like a breath of fresh air, and it was good news following good when it was also announced that the first two DQ games would also be getting the HD-2D treatment. Spending about 25 minutes with each game during my final demo appointment at PAX West, my body is definitely ready for more of Yuji Horii’s classic turn-based fun.

In Dragon Quest 1, the Hero now has access to scrolls that bestow additional spells and abilities, and one result of this is that you have to be prepared for battles against multiple foes. One of my strongest impressions about the game was just how much more cinematic and lively it is compared to earlier versions of the game, as evidenced by the opening scene of the demo where a conversation was taking place between townsfolk and a swindler peddling the thief’s key. The added horsepower of the Switch 2 made the game look impressive and run incredibly well, and I even encountered an old friend from Dragon Quest 3 who thought he could get away with stealing the aforementioned swindler’s prized possession.

Dragon Quest 2’s inclusion of a new playable character, Princess of Cannock, was the most interesting aspect of my time with Dragon Quest 1 + 2 HD-2D Remake. The only downside to this portion of the appointment was just how punishingly tough the lighthouse dungeon was, which saw me running from more than half of the random encounters. The Princess appears to be similar to her brother in terms of being part fighter, part spellcaster, but she’s billed as more swift and seems to have a wider selection of offensive magic, rather than healing spells. Even with an additional party member, I was unable to fully complete the demo, eventually falling to the final boss. Had I my own thief’s key and a few more hours in the day, I would have stolen into a locked broom closet, grinded out another couple levels for my characters, and gave that lighthouse-guarding fiend the beating of a lifetime.

I was truly living the RPG life with headphones on and enjoying both early Dragon Quest games on the Switch 2. It’s funny to recall the experiences of playing Dragon Warrior and its sequel on NES, or the original dual-pack for the two games on Game Boy Color, and then compare them against Dragon Quest 1 + 2 HD-2D Remake. The attention to detail and elements like spell effects and the vibrant and colorful towns add so much depth and beauty to the game, without undermining the way beloved RPGs can enthrall with gameplay, systems, and story.

With Dragon Quest 3 being such a massive adventure, especially when put side-by-side with the first Dragon Quest, it wouldn’t be wrong to have some concern about the value proposition of Dragon Quest 1 + 2 HD-2D Remake. Does 1 + 2 actually equal 3 in this case? From what I’ve seen so far in terms of how DQ 1 and 2 have been elevated and rejuvenated, the answer is crystal clear. If you’ve ever enjoyed a turn-based RPG, the creation of HD remakes for some of the most important titles in the genre is something to celebrate, and this is going to be the best way to access them. Their release date, October 30th of this year, is one I already had circled on my calendar, and my hands-on time with both pretty much confirmed what I’ll be doing while sneaking pieces of my kids’ Halloween candy.

[Rebuild a town and double the fun of combat in this RPG prequel.]

20

TalkBack / Octopath Traveler 0 (Switch 2) Hands-on Preview

« on: September 03, 2025, 05:00:00 AM »

Rebuild a town and double the fun of combat in this RPG prequel.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/preview/72339/octopath-traveler-0-switch-2-hands-on-preview

The second demo opportunity during my Square Enix PAX West appointment was for Octopath Traveler 0, and I went into this one with the strongest mix of trepidation and excitement. My original concern was that this was a mobile version, Champions of the Content, being brought to life on consoles, but in just under an hour, I can admit that such a concern was all but washed away. The new town-building mechanics combined with the familiar exploration and combat seem to make for a winning combination, with a few slight reservations.

Left to my own devices, I spent the first 10 minutes or so playing around with the town building, which involved a series of largely empty plots that I could erect houses, shops, decorations, and a variety of path materials. It wasn't until returning to the town later in my session that I could better understand the progression and purpose of reconstructing the town; a character freshly recruited could be installed as a shopkeeper, for instance. Going a bit deeper, that new citizen's shop would expand with additional equipment and items based on contracts I could find in the world, eventually expanding to carry in his shop products from many different stores found in the cities of Orsterra. The possibility of not only enlarging the town of Wishdale and its population but also the potency of their trade is an enticing prospect.

The second portion of the demo took me to the town of Sunshade, with which you might be familiar if you played the first Octopath Traveler game. Dancer Primrose’s starting location, Sunshade was a place where I could reacquaint myself with the series’ signature path actions, convincing, enticing, or persuading people in town to provide information or perhaps something more material. Here I also found the objective of my mission, a merchant named Ludo. I didn’t have all of the context for needing to find this individual, but conversing with him revealed our goal of bringing a merchant to Wishdale, so that we could boost trade in the town as part of our rebuilding efforts. Of course, Ludo had a request of his own: he asked us to clear out a group of lizardmen plaguing a nearby trade route. Doing so would prove us worthy of his services, so off I went.

Exploring the town and then the areas surrounding it felt very familiar as someone who finished Octopath 1 and 2. The dungeon didn’t take long to reach, nor did it take long to navigate, but a new element was particularly intriguing: elite enemies. Guarding a chest was a large sandworm that I could see on screen and choose to challenge or avoid. This particular foe put up more of a fight than the boss of the dungeon, but I was told that there are different tiers of elites, with some needing you to come back later to be better prepared to take them on. A war of attrition, the sandworm fight eventually saw me emerge victorious, and shortly after I found the lizardmen Ludo charged me with eliminating.

One of the major additions to Octopath Traveler 0 is in combat, where you bring a team of eight to the fight instead of the usual four. There are a score of interesting dynamics at play as a result. For one, you can freely swap between individual front row characters as soon as their turn comes up, which can be particularly helpful in trying to break enemy defenses by hitting their various weakpoints. For another, allies in the background recover some HP and SP at the end of each round of combat, allowing them to soothe their wounds for a spell. As was the case in the first two games, your team gain action points (AP) with every passing turn, and these AP can be cashed in to make up to four total actions in a single turn; your backrow teammates also gain AP at the same rate, so you can deploy them strategically, perhaps against a defenseless boss, to dole out major damage. It stands to reason that having eight characters in battle is a bit more demanding than four, but the strategic possibilities are all that more plentiful in turn.

Octopath Traveler 0 appears to be playing with the tried-and-true formula established in the series that built upon the foundations of Final Fantasy and Bravely Default. Playing on a Switch 2 in handheld mode felt incredible, with smooth performance and attractive HD-2D graphics looking great on the console’s larger screen. I was a bit skeptical early on in the appointment because of a rudimentary feeling to the base building, but when Ludo joined the town and I could see how his offerings would grow over time, I was definitely intrigued by the potential of rebuilding Wishdale. While I had hoped to gain a better sense of the overall story, I left having only checked out some of the party chat moments and the interactions between the protagonist you create, a comrade named Phenn, and Ludo, so I do want to learn more about what’s going on in this prequel and how it informs Octopath 1. For certain, though, my appetite has been whet, and I’m ready for more, of the soundtrack especially. Octopath Traveler 0 comes to Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 on December 4, 2025.

[Not so vanilla Ivalice, Ivalice, baby!]

21

TalkBack / Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles (Switch 2) Hands-on Preview

« on: September 02, 2025, 06:00:00 AM »

Not so vanilla Ivalice, Ivalice, baby!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/preview/72338/final-fantasy-tactics-the-ivalice-chronicles-switch-2-hands-on-preview

I never owned a PS1 myself, but a close friend down the street did have one, and that’s where I first played both Final Fantasy 7 and less than a year later, Final Fantasy Tactics. To say that I was smitten with both is an understatement, but it was the challenge, story and customizability of the latter that stuck with me for years. While I enjoyed them, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and A2 didn’t quite hit in the same way, and so I’ve eagerly awaited a new incarnation of the series. More than just another in the long line of Square Enix remakes and remasters, Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles feels like a worthwhile release for this classic turn-based RPG, which hopefully inspires a true sequel sometime down the road.

During PAX West 2025, I had the opportunity to demo a handful of upcoming Square Enix RPGs, the first of which was The Ivalice Chronicles. When the game was first revealed, my initial impression was one of slight disappointment; I had hoped for a more full makeover for the almost 30-year-old title. Having a chance to go hands-on with it forced me to change my tune pretty quickly. For one thing, the added voice acting imbues the gravitas of the main story and its individual character moments with an even greater depth and resonance. An early example of this was the scene involving Ramza’s father on his deathbed, where the voice actors truly accentuated the drama and grief of the moment. Another standout from the demo was the work of Paul Panting in the role of Gaffgarion. I’m excited to see this compelling narrative brought to life through the efforts of its capable voice cast.

The enhanced, modern version of Final Fantasy Tactics that is included in the package appears to offer a faithful but polished experience. While it doesn’t include the War of the Lions content, there is added flair and presentation elements that will be welcome to both newcomers and veterans. A small introduction scene plays whenever a guest character joins your party, and something similar happens when an ally turns traitor, which was fun to see. The menus, world map, and combat environments are all easier to navigate in terms of controls and appearance. A new fast-forward mechanic makes it easy to speed through character dialogue and more importantly the battles with perhaps foregone conclusions, like the random encounters that can pop up when traveling between map points. Given that I’ve played through the game multiple times, including on PS1 and via the PSP version on Vita, I’m pleasantly surprised that this 2025 release manages to feel fresh and contemporary within a much more crowded tactical-RPG genre.

I recall with frustration the lag and slowdown that plagued The War of the Lions release on PSP, and so it’s already a fairly big win to see how smoothly Final Fantasy Tactics runs on modern platforms. My demo included time with the PS5 version and the Switch 2 version in handheld mode, and the experience was absolutely comparable on both, particularly in terms of performance. I’m expecting that Switch 2 owners won’t have to make any major sacrifice if they want to take the game on the go.

I didn’t have time to check out the Classic Mode included with The Ivalice Chronicles, which uses the mechanics and graphics of the original 1997 release but with The War of the Lions script and an added auto-save feature. However, what I could play of the Enhanced Mode has absolutely pushed Final Fantasy Tactics - The Ivalice Chronicles higher up on my list of fall and winter games-to-play. It reminds me of taking your favorite blanket out of the dryer on a cold day; it’s comfortable, warm, and familiar, but it also manages to feel like new. Best of all, we don’t have long to wait before we can get our turn-based, job class swapping fix. The Ivalice Chronicles launches on September 30th on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.

[Rough around the metal edges, but fun gameplay for the most part.]

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TalkBack / Daemon X Machina Titanic Scion (Switch 2) Review

« on: September 02, 2025, 05:00:00 AM »

Rough around the metal edges, but fun gameplay for the most part.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/72204/daemon-x-machina-titanic-scion-switch-2-review

A surprise re-emergence, the follow up to 2019's Daemon X Machina, Titanic Scion, was shown off at the April Nintendo Direct earlier this year. Again developed by Marvelous, the open-world action sequel follows a pilot who crash lands onto a world referred to as the Ground and effectively becomes a mercenary for a resistance group. While the gameplay loop genuinely grew on me, the bland environments and uneven performance put some rust on this mecha.

Despite a decently compelling set of antagonists in the Neun, with whom the hero shares a complicated background, Gameplay remains the obvious focus of Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion. After an awkward, red-saturated start, the experience opens up a fair bit once you enter your main base and are introduced to all of the ways you can progress your character. Specifically, you are given a customizable Arsenal suit that can be adapted to suit your playstyle, with quicker melee weapons like a laser sword or heavier ones like a combo-less mace. Your suit's other hand can hold a second melee weapon or better yet a ranged piece like a machine gun or assault rifle. Add to that a shoulder mounted missile launcher and you've got a recipe for mechanized disaster.

By defeating enemy Arsenal or other foes, you can loot their remnants for new gear to upgrade your current holdings or sell for money. An interesting aspect of the looting mechanic is that you can only choose a single piece to take with you, even if there are multiple items available. This is true even at the conclusion of boss encounters. The result is that such decisions, coupled with a fairly dense introduction of gameplay systems, can be overwhelming or confusing. You could choose to read all of the tips and tutorials or just pick it up as you go, and either path should eventually lead to steady progress. Some of the major boss fights against evil military group the Neun require you to change up your accessories and strategies, and it is fun to figure out what works best against these tough opponents.

The Fort and its underground Base serve as your hub for acquiring and completing missions, talking to NPCs, and outfitting your Arsenal. You'll return here often with the currency you've earned, gear you've acquired, and minerals and materials you've harvested. Fast travel points make it easy to head out into the world to achieve your objectives, like escorting an NPC or destroying a specific target, and then quickly return to base before taking on the next mission. There isn't always major fanfare between main chapters in the story, so it can be difficult to discern exactly when one ends and the next begins, giving more credence to the notion that the narrative of Titanic Scion takes a backseat to the world and what the player chooses to do within it.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the sequel is jetting around the world in your Arsenal. From almost any point on the map, you can engage your thrusters and float or blast through the air towards your next destination. Spending time opening up fast travel points and supply stations by flying from The Fort reminded me of Xenoblade Chronicles X and also BioWare's Anthem. The combat itself can be clunky at times, but the joy of movement largely makes up for it. The side missions are a bit repetitive, so I didn’t end up completing too many of those, but there is a colosseum where you can climb the ranks in 1 on 1 battles, which ended up being a good way to test out different builds and earn some spare parts.

There are other ways to improve your character based on specific materials you find in the world, especially after encounters with bosses and mini-bosses called Immortals. It feels like there are a number of options in terms of customizing your character and their Arsenal, but understanding the hows and whys does take some time. One specific system involves taking biological pieces back to a lab and altering your character’s genetic make up to bestow new weapon techniques and passive buffs, and as neat as this was, I either didn’t harvest enough of what I needed to get more moves or didn’t upgrade the lab enough for it to make meaningful changes.

With Titanic Scion coming to all major platforms, while also being a Switch 2 specific release, taking note of how it looks and runs was a key objective for my time with the game. In short, the Switch 2 performance definitely leaves something to be desired. Frame drops and hitching are common occurrences, especially during combat, and for an action game that is trying to be faster than its predecessor, such issues are hard to ignore. The performance did improve with a day one patch that was applied during the review period, but there’s still some work to be done in this area. Even though it’s far from unplayable, a smoother, more stable performance could really help Titanic Scion shine.

Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion has a neat premise and fun ways of customizing your character and your Arsenal to meet the different combat challenges found in its world. It’s unfortunate that the world itself feels lifeless at times, with repetitive enemy encounters and side missions. The best moments are when you come across a gigantic Immortal that you just know will require the combined might of co-op partners, be they real or NPC, but you make a solo attempt anyways, only to be smashed to pieces, which is a humbling experience. Those interested in online multiplayer will be glad to know that the whole campaign is playable cooperatively, but I did not have a chance to check out the cross-platform multiplayer for myself, and I am concerned that online play could further compromise how the game runs. If you’re not afraid of a bit of jank and some performance hiccups, Titanic Scion offers a good time in short bursts. That said, the cracks begin to show through a little more during longer play sessions, and ultimately the sequel appears to have taken only baby steps ahead of its predecessor.

[Thou art not so tarnished after all.]

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TalkBack / Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition (Switch 2) Hands-on Preview

« on: August 31, 2025, 06:57:40 PM »

Thou art not so tarnished after all.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/preview/72336/elden-ring-tarnished-edition-switch-2-hands-on-preview

During PAX West 2025, I was fortunate enough to get into the always busy Nintendo booth, which was showing off demos for five upcoming Switch 2 games. Among them was the much anticipated open-world RPG, Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, finally coming to a Nintendo platform and available for portable and TV play. Both demo configurations started at the beginning of the adventure, with character creation. For each 15 minute session, I chose a different class and went in a slightly different direction as I tried to get my bearings after not having played since the base game launched. Of course, I lost to the tutorial boss immediately so that I could put the game through its paces on Switch 2, and not at all because I'm a filthy casual who rarely defeats these FromSoftware staples.

With the Switch 2 console in my grubby mitts, my first impression was that this had to be an improved version compared to what we saw coming out of Gamescom, and I did get confirmation that the PAX West demo was based on a new build of the game. While it's clear from comparing the handheld and docked that a sacrifice is still being made to go portable, the experience felt perfectly serviceable; I could totally see myself bringing Elden Ring to bed for a few more minutes of exploring its vast lands prior to sleep taking me. My demo involved fighting a handful of spear-toting soldiers before descending into a nearby mine to check out the visibility on the smaller screen. It was really dark and hard to find my way around, so it's worth considering how the more enclosed spaces could feel particularly tight when playing on the go.

On the TV, I activated a few Sites of Grace and ran straight to Melina to acquire Torrent and roam about on horseback. It was a smooth ride through and through. After messing around with some mounted combat, I headed towards Stormveil Castle to fight the boss, Margit, knowing quite well that this was a test of the Switch 2's capabilities and not my own. The performance and visuals reminded me of my original playthrough on PS5, with the Switch 2 version perhaps being a slight step down from that. Again, I didn't get the sense that I would be making a major sacrifice to play Elden Ring on Switch 2.

There were some hiccups during my session, more so when playing off TV. Frame drops were present but not to a burdensome extent, and were most noticeable on my way through Storm Hill, the windy, enemy-filled path up to Margit. Pop-in was almost non-existent, even with distant objects like trees, and sprinting and jumping with Torrent looked and felt good, at least until I was knocked off my mount by a ballista bolt. There's still time for work to be done on this version of Elden Ring, so I'm hopeful that Switch 2 owners will be playing a near definitive edition that also holds up to comparison with other platforms. Perhaps not entirely gone, my fears about the performance of FromSoft's open-world Soulsborne entry are mostly allayed, and genuinely I'm eager to get more time with the game closer to launch, which is still currently scheduled for sometime in 2025.

[Just in time to try the free eShop demo for this sequel.]

24

TalkBack / Interview with Daemon X Machina Producer in Lead-up to Titanic Scion

« on: August 19, 2025, 12:55:54 PM »

Just in time to try the free eShop demo for this sequel.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/72111/interview-with-daemon-x-machina-producer-in-lead-up-to-titanic-scion

Thanks to Marvelous, we had an opportunity to interview series Producer Kenichiro Tsukuda as we quickly approach the launch of Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion. Below you'll find the questions curated by Jordan and the responses from Mr. Tsukuda.

Q: Compared to the first Daemon X Machina, Titanic Scion is launching on much more powerful hardware, including PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2. How have those platforms guided your design and development process?

A: These days, game development is done on PCs. Regardless of the available console hardware, we first develop the game on PC before bringing it to each platform. In this regard, there are now fewer challenges when moving from the relatively unrestricted PC environment to the more controlled console platforms.

Q: What was learned from player reception during the development of and after the release of Daemon X Machina, and how is that knowledge being applied to Titanic Scion?

A: We’re often able to find the solutions to challenges the team face through examining the actions of players. We learned of the importance of being able to choose between solo play and online play, and that there are more players who prefer co-op over PVP. We enhance what already works, and try to improve, rather than remove, elements that don’t work as well. You’ll see the results of some of these learnings later in our DLC rollout.

Q: How do you balance freedom and player customization with crafting compelling story beats and a satisfying narrative experience?

A: We strive to prioritize gameplay, even over story. Although each player may have their own unique preferences for what they want out of a game, the one thing I make sure of is that our game is fun, as players are spending their hard-earned money to play our game. An interesting story is great, but you can also get an interesting story from a movie, anime, or novel. Gameplay is what sets a game apart from other media.

In Titanic Scion, we maintained story depth found in the previous game, while simultaneously narrowing story scope. I also want to mention that we strive to prioritize characters over story as well. A story exists because characters exist, not the other way around. Therefore, I want to make the characters as appealing and satisfying as they can be. That said, sometimes as a player you need to defeat other characters in order to get new equipment and items. That’s part of the fun of games, after all.

Q: Are there any influences from outside of video games that are relevant to Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion? Put another way, would fans of a particular TV, anime, book, or other media property be particularly attracted to Titanic Scion?

A: I think people interested in the field of science in general, fans of novels by James P. Hogan and Isaac Asimov, and those who enjoy science fiction media will all find something they like. In terms of manga and other media, Titanic Scion is also influenced by Shotaro Ishinomori, who often depicted the sorrow and conflicts of non-human beings. Additionally, we built our game world based on various theories about the formation of the Earth and planets. In terms of anime, we were inspired by Gundam, among other properties. As for superheroes, we were inspired by Iron Man. With Titanic Scion, I set out to create something that appeals to all fans of mech and mech-adjacent media.

Q: We always like to end interviews with a fun question: What is your favorite video game of all time and why?

A: I usually don’t answer these types of questions because I feel it would be disrespectful to our development team if I answered with anything other than our own games. However, given the challenges I’ve faced in life recently, I’d like to make an exception this time. The video game I’ve enjoyed the most is Nintendo’s Brain Age. While I enjoyed playing it as a child, it was only as an adult that I had the opportunity to play it with my beloved parents. I truly enjoyed that. Unfortunately, I’ve lost that opportunity in recent years. I now aspire to create games that can bring people together in a similar way.

Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion launches on Nintendo Switch 2 on September 5, 2025.

[A noteworthy precursor to better indie RPGs.]

25

TalkBack / OFF (Switch) Review

« on: August 15, 2025, 09:35:43 PM »

A noteworthy precursor to better indie RPGs.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/72099/off-switch-review

As someone who discovered indie games a little later, having taken a bit of a hiatus from PC gaming, I was not familiar with OFF prior to a definitive version being announced for consoles. A quirky, minimalist, turn-based RPG, OFF will feel familiar to fans of Undertale and Earthbound (the Magicant portion in particular). I can appreciate how OFF inspired indie RPGs and other titles since its original release in 2008, but its value seems to derive more from its historical significance than its gameplay or narrative.

After naming your unseen player observer, you are introduced to the primary character you control, the Batter. On screen, outside and inside of combat, the Batter does the talking and of course the swinging. You can eventually acquire three other entities to join you in combat, and these take the form of circles referred to as Add-ons that each have their own abilities. They serve no other purpose than to aid you in battle, however. Fortunately, a kooky cast populates the different areas of the game, and the brisk, linear adventure doesn't wear out its welcome.

Your objective is to purify the handful of zones the world is divided into by ridding them of spirits, which range from funny-looking ghosts to more grotesque monstrosities. Along the way, you encounter puzzles that frequently take the form of inputting numbers into a telephone keypad-like setup. In many situations, what you see isn't always what you get, and so it's important to talk to everyone and be aware of small details and changes in your surroundings. An arrow here or an innocuous box there and you'll have the hints you need to progress. One neat example of this is one Lost Woods-type place where you can reorient a building's entrance by taking the path around it and to the left, which pops you back out to the right of the building, except its entrance now takes you to a different floor or wing.

The turn-based battle system is fairly standard, with meters beside your foes and under your characters that indicate when each member will be able to make their move. The Batter has a number of healing moves and bat swings, but the new abilities he unlocks are generally just more powerful versions of earlier ones. The Add-ons have slightly more interesting moves, like inflicting status effects, bestowing buffs, or hitting for a random amount of damage. Experience points allow your party members to level up, and currency earned from battles can be spent to acquire better gear. Intrepid explorers are rewarded with more potent equipment that helps with some of the tougher battles, but as someone who has played his fair share of RPGs the last 30 years, I never needed to grind or backtrack to achieve the first of OFF's multiple endings.

I'm not able to speak to how OFF compares to its 2008 release, but according to the press materials, it features “an all-new battle system, balancing improvements, as well as new areas and hidden bosses from the game’s creator, Mortis Ghost.” I was honestly expecting a more challenging experience overall, but the hurdles I encountered were much more from the puzzles and story than the combat, so fans of those elements will be better served here. I would imagine that anyone who played and enjoyed the original release would get a kick out of revisiting the 2025 edition to see the changes firsthand.

OFF is among the curios of independently developed video games that appears to have had a noticeable impact on the indie landscape. It's worth playing as a reminder of how far smaller, more unique RPGs have come in the last two decades, but its gameplay and story aren't captivating enough to warrant a full recommendation. While I respect how its niche-ness is part of its identity, you really need to value that aspect prior to diving in. My overall impression is that I'm happy to have experienced it and glad to have another piece of video game history on the Switch eShop. But once I've turned it OFF, I'm ready for something with more meat on the bone.