Romancing SaGa and the SaGa series in general has had a long history in the RPG world, first launching in 1989 as The Final Fantasy Legend. While we’ve seen a few SaGa games localized since then, Romancing SaGa 2 in particular never saw a release until recently on mobile a few years ago, before making its way to consoles now just before the new year of 2018. Unfortunately, this is a poor port of the mobile version of the game localized years ago, and not a remaster of the original title on the Super Famicom. This becomes problematic in a lot of ways, and the Switch suffers heavily from it.

More: highlight, Romancing Saga 2, Square Enix, top

[Review] The Next Penelope

Posted on 7 years ago by Jakob Vujovic(@jakovujo) in Reviews, Switch eShop | 1 Comment

System: Switch (eShop)
Release date: December 21, 2017
Developer: Aurélien Regard / Seaven Studio
Publisher: Plug In Digital

Set in a far-future interpretation of one of the oldest pieces of western literature, The Next Penelope has an engaging aesthetic wrapper for its gameplay mixture of top-down shooter and Micro Machines style racing. As novel as space Poseidon might be, these narrative elements are also its flimsiest facet. The snippets of dialogue that are peppered throughout the game’s five main major challenges fumble with some inelegant wording, odd grammar, and a few comma splices. The premise isn’t given the space to develop into much beyond passing references to the Odyssey. Fortunately, this is all just window dressing – the game’s hectic arcade-style shooting fares much better in blending somewhat dissonant gameplay concepts. It comes together as an impressively well constructed genre hybrid.

More: Aurelien Regard, highlight, Plug In Digital, Seaven Studio, The Next Penelope, top

[Review] Rocket League

Posted on 7 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch | 2 Comments

System: Switch
Release date: November 14, 2017
Developer: Psyonix / Panic Button
Publisher: Psyonix

Rocket League has seen tremendous growth in popularity and players over the past few years since its original release, and also now cements itself as one of the largest eSports franchises in the world. At the same time, it remains easy to pick up and play for the casual gamer to enjoy. Although we’ve seen a surge in online multiplayer titles for quite awhile now, Rocket League maintains a dedicated and respectful consumer base thanks to its low cost of entry, hours of fun, and, most importantly, no pay-to-win nonsense. The cars won’t run faster, but having something like the Batmobile will definitely make you look cooler than most out on the field (besides the incredible Metroid car, of course).

More: highlight, Panic Button, Psyonix, Rocket League, top

[Review] RIVE: Ultimate Edition

Posted on 7 years ago by Vincent Ward in Reviews, Switch eShop | 1 Comment

System: Switch
Release date: November 17, 2017
Developer: Two Tribes
Publisher: Two Tribes

In RIVE, you control a spider-mech that is piloted by a loud mouthed, raunchy captain as he tries to escape a space warehouse that constantly pours threat after threat his way. As far as story- that’s as much as you’re going to get, aside from awkward one-liners and poor pop culture references. The story never grows into much more than that, but that’s completely fine. A game like RIVE doesn’t need a huge encompassing tale to keep you invested, just the quick paced action of the 7ish hour campaign will keep you invested enough.

More: highlight, RIVE, top, Two Tribes

[Review] Ittle Dew 2+

Posted on 7 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch, Switch eShop | 12 Comments

System: Switch
Release date: November 14, 2017
Developer: Ludosity
Publisher: Nicalis

Years after Ludosity’s well-received Ittle Dew back in 2013 on Steam before making its way to consoles about a year later, Ittle Dew 2+ is here and makes its way over to the Switch, offering fans of top-down dungeon crawlers and old-school Zelda players something to look forward to, and a sequel that finds itself just as wildly charming and humorous as it was the first time around. The game brings with it some new treats that make it feel like a fresh, albeit familiar, new adventure for our protagonists Ittle Dew and Tippsie.

More: highlight, Ittle Dew 2, Ludosity, Nicalis, top

[Review] Poi: Explorer Edition

Posted on 7 years ago by Jakob Vujovic(@jakovujo) in Reviews, Switch eShop | 10 Comments

System: Switch
Release date: October 24, 2017
Developer: PolyKid
Publisher: Alliance Digital Media

Poi is a tribute to the nearly forgotten exploratory 3D platformer. Nearly, that is, if 2017 hadn’t seen a sudden resurgence of the genre with Yooka-Laylee, A Hat in Time and, of course, Super Mario Odyssey. Poi isn’t inventive – it’s nostalgic to a fault. It hasn’t made strides to progress past Super Mario 64’s game flow of hub world-to-level-to-hub world. Even within that flow there aren’t many ideas or mechanics that haven’t already been thoroughly explored in past 3D Mario games, to the point where Poi stop being referential and becomes just plain derivative. Taken on these terms the game isn’t remarkable, but it’s not trying to be remarkable. It’s a throwback.

More: Alliance Digital Media, highlight, Poi, PolyKid, top

[Review] Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth

Posted on 7 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in 3DS, Reviews | 3 Comments

System: 3DS
Release date: October 17, 2017
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus

Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth makes its numbered return since Legends of the Titan released back in 2013 for North American 3DS owners and brings with it a fresh new outlook while retaining the series’ staple of creating your own characters and telling yet another story of Yggdrasil, for better or for worse. While I’m a firm believer that Etrian Odyssey is one of the best dungeon RPGs around, if not the one currently leading the pack, Etrian Odyssey V also reminds me that while the classic mode is perfectly fine, the lack of any significant story makes for an overall grindy and unrewarding experience that doesn’t have exciting enough gameplay to make up for it.

More: Atlus, Etrian Odyssey V, highlight, top

[Review] Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions

Posted on 7 years ago by Vincent Ward in 3DS, Reviews | 2 Comments

System: 3DS
Release date: October 6, 2017
Developer: AlphaDream
Publisher: Nintendo

For many of us, Mario titles were the games we fell in love with growing up. Whether you were raised on the NES, N64, or even playing the more recent releases like Super Mario 3D World on Wii U, it’s likely you have some fond memories. For me, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was that game. I remember the very concept of having a game this large in my pocket with me everywhere I went fascinated me all that time ago, and to hear that Nintendo is finally looking back on it with a glorious remodel filled my heart with joy. As someone who has already completed Superstar Saga several times over, I was a bit concerned about this new look being enough to buckle me in for a revisit. Yet thanks to some new additions, a trip down memory lane was definitely worth it.

More: AlphaDream, highlight, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, top

[Review] Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

Posted on 7 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch | 19 Comments

System: Switch
Release date: September 22, 2017
Developer: Dimps
Publisher: Bandai Namco

The illustrious Dragon Ball franchise by the brilliant mind of Akira Toriyama still goes strong today over 30 years later thanks to its unforgettable characters, world, and expansions into realms of other media such as films, video games, and more, including its brand new anime follow-up Dragon Ball Super. Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 takes the core concept and canon of the series and adds a twist to it, giving players a “what if” scenario by having them right the wrongs of altered history as a Time Patroller – a character which you’ll create before starting the game to serve as your primary avatar on your journey through time. Unlike other titles that have you reliving the show, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 feels like a fresh take on the series.

More: Bandai Namco, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, highlight, top

[Review] Pokken Tournament DX

Posted on 7 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch | 14 Comments

System: Switch
Release date: September 22, 2017
Developer:: Bandai Namco
Publisher: Nintendo

In what feels like an annual tradition now, Pokken Tournament will be making another debut following its initial 2015 release in arcades, then 2016 for Wii U, and now in 2017 on Switch. While the Wii U version was missing a few Pokemon from the arcade version for whatever reason, the game itself presented a fun and unique take on mixing great elements from Tekken and Soulcalibur and infusing them with the world of Pokemon. For fighting fans and Pokemon enthusiasts, it was a great game to own and add to your Wii U library, and, while not entirely robust, certainly kept the attention and fun for a while following its release. The Switch port, Pokken Tournament DX, aims to be the “deluxe”, or definitive, version of the game much like how Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is. But unlike Mario Kart 8 Deluxe where it felt like a genuine upgrade on Switch riding its way from the Wii U, Pokken Tournament DX fails to deliver any plausible reason to jump in for round 2 unless you didn’t own a Wii U or skipped out the first time around.

Reviews

[Review] Romancing SaGa 2

Posted on 7 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Switch eShop | 6 Comments