3 months ago
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Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 5th, 2024. It’s the start of a new week, and that means we have some reviews for you to digest. I’ve got my looks at Tokyo Xanadu eX+, Aero The Acro-Bat, SNK Vs. Capcom SVC Chaos, and Mists of Noyah. Quite the mix of games there. After that, we’ve got the new release section. It’s massive! No, it’s not. In keeping with many recent Mondays, there isn’t much to see there at all, but we’re going to check in on what we have. After that, we have sales! New! Expiring! All of those. Let’s get going!
Reviews & Mini-Views
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ ($49.99)
First released on the PlayStation Vita about ten years ago, Tokyo Xanadu was a rare step for the modern Nihon Falcom outside of its flagship Trails and Ys series. Sadly it turned out to be a very brief foray, but with a new Tokyo Xanadu apparently on the horizon, the time has come to remind people the first game exists. As with many Vita to Switch ports, the game suits the platform very well. Though I suppose this is technically a Vita to PlayStation 4 to Switch port, as it’s actually the improved eX+ version of the game with a new translation in place. Well, details. The key is that the game was built around a satisfying portable experience, and that benefits it here.
Tokyo Xanadu is a rather lengthy action-RPG from the masters of excellent pacing at Falcom. Oh wait, no. Falcom’s not very good at pacing, is it? And that is the biggest problem here, because while Tokyo Xanadu is definitely a lot of fun, the game drags badly. It’s probably twice as long as it needs to be, and while the story has its moments it’s just too thin to carry the game for the fifty or so hours it takes to finish. The bright point, narratively speaking, comes from the cast of fun characters. I haven’t played the PlayStation 4 version before, but in comparison to the Vita game I found the new localization does an even better job of bringing out best in the dialogue.
The gameplay is interesting in some sense, because it’s a lot like if you took Persona‘s procedurally-generated dungeon crawling and ditched the turn-based combat in favor of Ys-like action. You’ll eventually have several characters to make use of, but only the one you’re actively controlling will participate in combat. The strategy comes in using the right person for the right job, which will help you more quickly and easily dispatch your foes. This is important because your performance in each dungeon is graded, and time is a factor in that. The combat isn’t anything fancy, but it gets the job done well enough. As with the Ys games, it’s snappy and satisfying.
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ is a solid port of a fairly good, if not spectacular, game. Falcom knows how to write an interesting cast of characters and it certainly knows its way around action-RPG combat, and both of those elements are present here. Tokyo is an enjoyable setting even if it’s getting to be a rather familiar one, and while this isn’t the most visually impressive game around it looks good on the Switch’s screen. Some pacing issues drag the experience down somewhat, as it piles on the quantity without ensuring the structure can properly support it. As long as that isn’t an issue for you, this is a pleasing action-RPG to add to your Switch collection.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
SNK Vs. Capcom SVC Chaos ($19.99)
There are no two ways about it, SVC Chaos is not a great fighter. It came out during a very tumultuous chapter of SNK’s history, and it shows. It’s the worst of the various Capcom/SNK mash-ups, and I think someone could make a case for it being the worst of SNK’s NEOGEO fighters past the first year or two of the console’s life. My big hope with this release is that it might hint at Capcom reissuing its side of the equation. With all that said, this game is something of an obscurity and I’m never unhappy to see things like that see the light of day again. Particularly so when the job is handled as ably as the Code Mystics have done here. This is a relatively solid treatment of a game that may not have deserved it, but got it anyway.
I’ll go over what I like here first. It’s neat to see the Capcom characters done up in SNK-style graphics. The roster is extremely interesting, pulling in some characters you probably wouldn’t expect to see. Well, that’s that then. On to the bits that Code Mystics deserves credit for. Some actual rollback online play, which is nice. A new training mode, plus the option to make the hitboxes visible. A lovely little gallery of art to look at. Leaderboards and achievements, and an extensive array of options to tinker with. They did what they could.
The fundamental problem with this release is that SVC Chaos isn’t a very good game. The Code Mystics have done their usual reliable job with bringing the game to Switch, and it’s certainly an interesting game to poke at if you haven’t played it before. But when the nuts and bolts of a fighting game are as busted, imbalanced, and frankly unfinished as they are here, there’s only so much fun you’re going to get out of actually playing it. If you’re okay with that, then by all means. It’s as good as it’s going to be.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
Mists of Noyah ($9.99)
Mists of Noyah is a somewhat ambitious game by design, blending elements of survival/crafting games like Terraria, Metroidvania-style action/exploration, tower defense, and some RPG bits for good measure. If it sounds like that’s a tough thing to pull off well, you would be right. Mists of Noyah certainly can’t manage it, failing on two different levels. First and foremost, the game is extremely buggy. There is so much weirdness that can and probably will happen to you in any session, from stuck sprites to broken actions to full-on crashes. I didn’t have a single sit-down with the game where something didn’t break, and that’s not something you want to see in any release.
The thing is, even if everything was working as intended, I think Mists of Noyah has a lot of problems with its design. The broad structure where you spend six days exploring, crafting, completing quests, and whatever else you need to do to upgrade your character so as to survive the tower defense portion on the seventh day is sound enough. But while there are a lot of activities to engage in, they’re all very shallow. Gathering resources is tedious thanks to the sheer quantities required, and the RPG bits feel almost pointless since each of the five characters more or less progresses in exactly the way no matter who plays them and how. Amusing enough to play, but not really fun enough to stick with.
Mists of Noyah is in such a buggy state that I can only hope the developers are going to swing back around and fix things up. Even if that happens, however, the game is still a long way from achieving the potential it reaches for. Enjoyable in the moment but tedious over the long haul, this is the kind of game that needed a lot more polish and testing before it was ready for prime time. Perhaps it will get hammered into shape after release, but what’s here now is rather disappointing.
SwitchArcade Score: 2.5/5
Aero The Acro-Bat ($5.99)
While the 8-bit generation saw Sunsoft rise in prominence on the back of the excellent NES games from its Japanese studios, the 16-bit generation seemed to be more about the Western branch of the company. Suddenly the Sunsoft name was more tied up with licensed Looney Tunes, DC Comics, and Disney games, ports of Western computer games, and the occasional original Sunsoft USA property. The most well-known falling into the latter category were the trio of Aero The Acro-Bat games, with the main character serving as Sunsoft’s mascot in the West for several years after.
Originally devised by the father and son team of David and Justin Siller and developed by Iguana, Aero The Acro-Bat was Sunsoft’s entry into the busy and seemingly obligatory mascot platformer genre. It follows the adventures of an anthropomorphic bat named Aero as he attempts to rescue his friends from the wicked Edgar Ektor and his Psycho Circus gang. I wonder if they like KISS? To save the day he has to run, jump, and spin his way through twenty good-sized stages, each with its own objective to clear to finish the stage. Sometimes you have to jump through rings, sometimes you have to find and remove certain platforms, and sometimes you just have to survive a thrill ride.
Aero is a bit of an awkward game to play, mostly owing to Aero’s unusual means of attack and the level designers’ penchant for running the player into doorknobs. Aero can throw stars to defeat enemies, but your supply of them is very limited. You also have a drill attack that can be done mid-air either diagonally upward or downward, but some enemies will just shrug it off. Enemy placement favors gotchas, and there are spikes that will kill you in a single hit sprinkled everywhere. The visuals and audio are pretty good (this is the Super NES version, so you even get the requisite flex of Mode 7), but the frustrating level of difficulty make this an acquired taste.
With that said, this Ratalaika release has some useful features to mitigate that. The best of them is the rewind feature, which I feel there is no shame in using when the game is such a butthead about hitting you with death you couldn’t possibly prepare for. You can also use save states, allowing you to take this rather lengthy game in chunks if you so desire. The usual other Ratalaika options are here, including a selection of cheats if you really just want to go for it. In a welcome change from the usual from this publisher, you also get a great museum of sorts filled with scans, artwork, and more. I’m happy to see this, and I hope it carries on through the remaining reissues of the series coming soon.
I do wish that the SEGA Genesis version had also been included in the package. It’s nice to be able to switch between the North American and Japanese versions of the game, but I feel the choice of console version would carry a lot more weight. The Super NES and Genesis versions both have their merits, and I know some people swear by one version over the other. It’s unfortunate that only one side of that debate is being served by this release of the game.
Aero The Acro-Bat isn’t exactly a must-play 16-bit game, but the added features in this rerelease help curb some of its more annoying aspects. For better or worse, it is fully symbolic of its era, and the inclusion of some cool extras help place its context in the history of gaming. If you’re interested in trying out a rather challenging and sometimes very clever 2D platformer, you might want to give Aero a look. Just be prepared to die more often than a rookie Elden Ring player with a broken controller.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Select New Releases
The Villainess Is Adored by the Prince of the Neighbor Kingdom ($39.99)
This visual novel is based on the popular series of novels of the same name. Specifically, it covers the first three volumes. A young woman is reincarnated in the world of her favorite otome game, which sounds good. Unfortunately, she has reincarnated as the villainess of the game, Tiararose. Her fate is nothing short of exile, but at the moment of truth the story takes a different turn. Naturally, this game allows the story to flow slightly differently based on your choices. It should be a lot of fun for fans of the novels or the various adaptations, but it’s hard to say how well it will hit with anyone else.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
A short list today as far as the inbox goes, but titles like Kingdom Eighties, Triggerheart Exelica, and DREDGE are all worth considering. Some great games in the outbox as well. 1000xRESIST is hekki good, and so are Citizen Sleeper, Beacon Pines, and Unavowed. Have a careful look through both lists and see if anything catches your eye.
Select New Sales
In Stars and Time ($15.99 from $19.99 until 8/10)
Kingdom Eighties ($7.79 from $11.99 until 8/12)
Mirrored Souls ($1.99 from $14.99 until 8/13)
UDO Unidentified Drilling Object ($5.99 from $14.99 until 8/13)
Lesson Learned ($5.99 from $9.99 until 8/15)
BIT.TRIP Collection ($2.49 from $9.99 until 8/17)
Turn to Mine ($7.99 from $9.99 until 8/17)
Egglia Rebirth ($13.99 from $19.99 until 8/18)
My Next Life As A Villainess ($29.99 from $49.99 until 8/19)
Sympathy Kiss ($24.99 from $49.99 until 8/19)
Triggerheart Exelica ($25.49 from $29.99 until 8/19)
Road to Valhalla ($3.99 from $7.99 until 8/20)
Conjured Through Death ($2.24 from $14.99 until 8/22)
Demon Turf ($12.49 from $24.99 until 8/24)
Blasphemous ($6.24 from $24.99 until 8/25)
Overcooked 2 ($6.24 from $24.99 until 8/25)
DREDGE ($16.24 from $24.99 until 8/25)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, August 6th
1000xRESIST ($15.99 from $19.99 until 8/6)
Beacon Pines ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/6)
Citizen Sleeper ($9.99 from $19.99 until 8/6)
Clone Drone in the Danger Zone ($6.99 from $19.99 until 8/6)
End of Lines ($8.49 from $16.99 until 8/6)
Genesis Noir ($4.49 from $14.99 until 8/6)
Gigantosaurus Dino Sports ($31.99 from $39.99 until 8/6)
Heaven’s Vault ($8.99 from $17.99 until 8/6)
Jenny LeClue: Detectivu ($2.99 from $24.99 until 8/6)
Lucy Dreaming ($15.19 from $18.99 until 8/6)
Machinarium ($4.99 from $19.99 until 8/6)
Paradise Killer ($5.99 from $19.99 until 8/6)
Primordia ($5.24 from $14.99 until 8/6)
Tails Noir ($7.49 from $24.99 until 8/6)
The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow ($9.74 from $14.99 until 8/6)
Times & Galaxy ($17.99 from $19.99 until 8/6)
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2 ($10.49 from $29.99 until 8/6)
Unavowed ($5.24 from $14.99 until 8/6)
Whateverland ($3.74 from $14.99 until 8/6)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new releases, more sales, more reviews, and perhaps some news. I think we will, anyway. I’m off to the hospital again today, so if the doctor says I have to stay then I can’t do much about that. Fingers crossed, eh? I hope you all have a magnificent Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!
English (US)