Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for May 27th, 2022. In today’s article, we’ve got even more new releases than yesterday to look at. Pac-Man Museum+, Kao the Kangaroo, Remote Life, and Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers are just a few of the many games we’ve got to run through today. There’s also a bit of news that popped out of nowhere, as news does I suppose. There are also a bunch of new sales to check out, and a teeny-tiny list of discounts set to expire on the weekend. Let’s get into it!
News
More Retro Games Have Been Added to Nintendo Switch Online
Hey, another surprise drop of new retro games for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. Three new games this time, and they’re… well, they’re consistent with what we have generally come to expect from this service. The NES app gets Nintendo’s Pinball, a rather enjoyable title from the system’s early days. Over on the Super NES app, beat-em-up Rival Turf! from Jaleco and Joe & Mac spin-off Congo’s Caper are now available. I know, they’re probably not the games you want, but at least give them a shot. I really enjoy Congo’s Caper in particular.
New Releases
Pac-Man Museum+ ($19.99)
SwitchArcade Highlight!
Are you ready for the third way to play the arcade version of Pac-Man on your Switch? Here’s Pac-Man Museum+, a collection of fourteen (yes, fourteen!) Pac-Man games. Here’s the list: Pac-Man, Super Pac-Man, Pac & Pal, Pac-Land, Pac-Mania, Pac-Attack, Pac-in-Time, Pac-Man Arrangement (Arcade), Pac-Man Arrangement (PSP version), Pac-Man Championship Edition, Pac-Motos, Pac’n Roll Remix, Pac-Man Battle Royal, and Pac-Man 256. While it’s not an exhaustive collection (Ms. Pac-Man isn’t here and she’s been edited out of every game that she did appear in), this is definitely a nice slice of the career of gaming’s first icon. There’s an amusing meta-game element where you are decorating an arcade and completing missions, and you don’t get much in the way of options or extras for any of the games. Ultimately, it’s hard to argue against the value of this set for Pac-fans.
Kao the Kangaroo ($29.99)
Do you remember Kao the Kangaroo? It’s okay if you don’t. It was a pretty bland 3D platformer for Dreamcast and Windows PCs that was more than a little inspired by Crash Bandicoot. It managed to somehow get a couple of sequels before vanishing, as countless other 3D platformer also-rans did when the sun set on the PlayStation 2. So here’s a revival, because just about everything gets a revival now. Then something surprising happens: this is actually fairly good! I mean, I don’t think you should bust down the doors to buy it or anything, but if you like 3D platformers you’ll find a lot to love here. If someone were to tell me that they liked this better than say, Crash Bandicoot 4, I wouldn’t argue with them very vigorously.
Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers ($19.99)
Game does well, game gets sequel. That’s how things work in this business. Usually, anyway. So I assume Arcade Spirits did well, because here is a sequel. It’s a gamer-flavored visual novel with lots of choices leading to multiple endings. You can customize your character to a fairly great degree, just like in the first game. This is a stand-alone sequel, so don’t worry if you didn’t play the first one. You can jump in just fine here. At any rate, you’re trying to become an ESPORTS champion in a world where arcades basically rule gaming culture. Along the way, you will meet a variety of interesting characters, and even have a chance to romance some of them. If you enjoyed the original game, this is an easy one to recommend.
Remote Life ($18.99)
Normally Ratalaika’s games are a bit on the smaller and cheaper side, but it’s going a bit bigger than usual with this side-scrolling shoot-em-up. This is a port from a well-received PC release, and it really shows. Tiny text. Pull out the magnifying glass if you’re playing on the handheld, you’re going to need it. That said, it’s not bad in action. There’s a good variety of weapons, and the twin-stick firing system is uncommon enough in the genre to still have a novelty to it. The game is very, very Euro-shmuppy, but sometimes that’s a flavor you’re reaching for. The atmosphere is really well-done, and the stage layouts are solid. Fans of the genre should take note, even if it is a little pricier than some indie shooters.
Jade Order ($6.99)
Maybe this is my mobile gaming-soaked brain in action, but this game reminds me a lot of Hitman GO. Each of the fifty levels is made up of a bunch of nodes, and you have to move around in turns, defeating enemies, avoiding traps, and lighting the beacons. It has a nice pixel art look to it and the gameplay looks enjoyable. Puzzle fans will want to consider this, particularly since it’s so reasonably priced.
Farm Tycoon ($19.99)
Going with a title like this is a bold choice. There are tons of games with ‘farm’ or ‘tycoon’ in their titles on Switch. This one has both. But it’s by SONKA, who generally do good work, and it does seem to be a proper effort at a Tycoon-style game in the classic sense. You can choose what kind of farm business you want to run, whether it be a specialty-focused approach or a more general one. There are different crops to cultivate, various buildings and machines to acquire, and lots of different ways to play. Since this game was built specifically for console play, its interface should be more agreeable than the many, many games of this sort ported from PC that use wonky pointers. Not my thing, but it could be yours.
Freezer Pops ($9.99)
This is a visual novel about a money-crunched guy named Alexandre who hits on the great idea to sell gourmet freezer pops at the nearby beach to make the cash he needs to balance his budget. But what ho? This beach is full of hunks! Hunks that you can romance! It’s not all love and ice candy, though. A freezer pop empire owned by an old lady threatens to put Alexandre out of business for good. Your decisions will determine what happens, and which hunk (if any) is there by his side through it all. We don’t see a whole lot of bara visual novels on the Switch, so if that’s your thing you’ll want to check this out.
Senren * Banka ($31.49)
It’s another randy visual novel, but a rather good one as these things go. Some seemingly plain dude goes back to the remote mountain town where he hails from. In that town, a sword is stuck in a stone. Local legend and all, but no one seems to be able to pull it out. Seemingly plain dude gives it a shot and manages to break it in half. In order to make amends, he has to marry the village’s sexy shrine maiden. Given the nature of the game, there are of course other women in the mix. Including the sword. There are multiple endings depending on who you romance, as usual. The writing is pretty solid, the characters are developed well, and the core story actually feels worth reading instead of just being cheap dressing for the cheeky romance.
My Little Pony: A Maretime Bay Adventure ($39.99)
Outright Games, makers of all sorts of decent yet bland licensed fare, have another piece of decent yet bland licensed fare for us. This time it’s My Little Pony-flavored. Not that version that was super-popular for a while there, but the new one. Is it also popular? I don’t know, I’m a 40-something dude who lives in Japan. But I’m sure it’s popular enough that a lot of kids will be happy to see a game based on it. Play as Sunny and explore the Maretime Bay area, collecting items and participating in minigames in order to put on a celebration of friendship and magic. If you have any kids who love the show or the characters, I reckon they’ll have fun here.
Bad Writer ($5.99)
Well, this is an odd one. Kind of a life simulation of sorts? You play as a woman named Emily who just lost her job and has decided to take the opportunity to chase her dream: to become a writer. She and her wife have enough savings to give the idea one month. Walk around your house, try to come up with ideas, and submit them to see if the publisher will bite. Make sure you write something each day or Emily will get sad, and if she gets too sad she’ll give it all up and go back to a more reliable job that won’t see her staying at her desk until midnight trying to write literally anything to scrape together enough money to pay the rent. Wow, that would suck. Hopefully she can keep doing the writer thing.
Mischief Dungeon Life ($19.90)
What kind of mischief is this rascal getting up to? This little scalliwag! Oh, he’s being a weird creep. Well, I guess a demon has no obligation to behave themselves in polite company or anything. Anyway, this is a visual novel about a guy from our world who dies (Truck-kun!) and is reincarnated in another world as a snake-like demon. It features a bunch of fantasy ladies that puberty was inordinately kind to, and your lusty shape-shifting main character is going to cause a lot of trouble for them. It is extremely poorly-translated and the text can’t even get the characters’ genders straight. And as you can see from the above screenshot, word-wrapping has also apparently been isekai‘d to another world. Hey, it’s your twenty bucks. I won’t tell you how to spend it.
Super Toy Cars Offroad ($19.99)
From the makers of the somewhat middling Super Toy Cars and the slightly better, but only slightly, Super Toy Cars 2 comes Super Toy Cars Offroad. It’s Super Toy Cars, but now it’s off the road! Mud, snow, sand, all that fun stuff. Don’t put your real toys in those things, kids. Race your little mini cars around fifteen tracks either against the computer or another player via local multiplayer. With twenty vehicles to choose from, you’ve got a lot of options to find a ride that is right for you. It’s about on par quality-wise with the previous games, so if you got into those then you will probably get into this. If you didn’t… well, you can do the math.
Balloon Flight ($5.99)
Some really quirky games today. In this one, you’re trying to fly your glider as far as you can before time runs out. You can control your altitude and make corners, but since you’re floating it’s a little tricky to go exactly where you want. If you can fly through the rings, you’ll earn some extra time. You also have a balloon gun that allows you to plant or pop balloons, actions that can used for a variety of situations. If you like weird physics things, this might be worth looking into.
Mudness Offroad Car Simulator ($14.99)
The description claims it’s multiplayer, the actual game details says it’s single-player. Who to believe? I’d assume the latter unless someone confirms the former, as the description appears to have been carelessly copied and pasted from the original mobile version’s App Store listing. It’s free over there if you want to try before you buy. Anyway, pick your favorite vehicle that is in no way representative of a real car this game has no legal access to, then head out and make some deliveries. You can tell it’s a good port because they literally left the big honkin’ touch buttons on the screen in the eShop screenshots.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
Phew, plenty of sales today. Nothing wildly unusual but we do have some new low prices on things like Panzer Dragoon Remake, Valfaris, and Letter Quest Remastered. Oh, and a KEMCO sale! How about that? Hey, they can’t all be Golden Week sales. And in the outbox: almost nothing! Check the lists as always, my stalwart chums.
Select New Games on Sale
Chasm ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/2)
Aria Chronicle ($31.86 from $29.83 until 6/2)
Radon Break ($2.79 from $6.99 until 6/6)
Johnny Turbo’s Arcade, Assorted ($1.99 from $7.99 until 6/7)
Johnny Turbo’s Heavy Burger ($2.49 from $9.99 until 6/7)
Skulls of the Shogun BAF Edition ($4.99 from $19.99 until 6/7)
Valfaris ($7.49 from $24.99 until 6/9)
The Magister ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/9)
Nefarious ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/9)
Super Blood Hockey ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/9)
Reverse Crawl ($2.59 from $12.99 until 6/9)
Oniken: Unstoppable ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/9)
Slayaway Camp ($2.24 from $14.99 until 6/9)
Guild of Darksteel ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/9)
Odallus The Dark Call ($2.39 from $11.99 until 6/9)
Golem Gates ($4.99 from $24.99 until 6/9)
Slain: Back From Hell ($2.99 from $19.99 until 6/9)
Letter Quest Remastered ($1.99 from $11.99 until 6/9)
Sumire ($4.99 from $9.99 until 6/9)
Nongunz: Doppelganger Edition ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/9)
Snakeybus ($3.59 from $11.99 until 6/9)
Monster Slayers ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/9)
Coffin Dodgers ($3.89 from $12.99 until 6/10)
Boreal Blade ($1.99 from $3.99 until 6/10)
Sine Mora EX ($5.99 from $29.99 until 6/10)
Giana Sisters Twisted Dreams ($5.99 from $29.99 until 6/10)
Forward to the Sky ($39.19 from $48.99 until 6/10)
MotoGP 18 ($1.99 from $19.99 until 6/10)
Clouds & Sheep 2 ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/10)
Way of the Passive Fist ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/10)
MageQuit ($1.99 from $14.99 until 6/10)
Smashing the Battle ($4.49 from $4.99 until 6/10)
Smashing the Battle Ghost Soul ($12.99 from $14.99 until 6/10)
Inner Voices ($5.59 from $7.99 until 6/13)
MilkChoco ($20.99 from $29.99 until 6/15)
Heaven Dust 2 ($9.99 from $14.99 until 6/16)
S. Holmes: Crimes & Punishments ($19.79 from $29.99 until 6/16)
The Wake ($4.89 from $6.99 until 6/16)
Asdivine Saga ($10.49 from $14.99 until 6/16)
Antiquia Lost ($6.49 from $12.99 until 6/16)
Chroma Quaternion ($8.99 from $14.99 until 6/16)
Alphadia Genesis ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/16)
Frane: Dragons’ Odyssey ($6.49 from $12.99 until 6/16)
Alvastia Chronicle ($6.49 from $12.99 until 6/16)
Everdark Tower ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/16)
Archlion Saga ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/16)
Bonds of the Skies ($6.49 from $12.99 until 6/16)
Crystal Ortha ($8.99 from $14.99 until 6/16)
Yodanji ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/16)
AngerForce Reloaded ($6.99 from $9.99 until 6/16)
hocus 2 ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/16)
Legend of Keepers: Dungeon Manager ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/16)
Banners of Ruin ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/16)
The Enigma Machine ($3.99 from $7.99 until 6/16)
Panzer Dragoon Remake ($2.49 from $24.99 until 6/16)
BigChick ($2.49 from $4.99 until 6/16)
Cooking Simulator ($1.99 from $19.99 until 6/16)
Hot Shot Burn ($2.24 from $14.99 until 6/16)
Danger Scavenger ($1.99 from $9.99 until 6/16)
Thief Simulator ($1.99 from $19.99 until 6/16)
Green Hell ($2.49 from $24.99 until 6/16)
Overcooked Special Edition ($4.99 from $19.99 until 6/16)
Overcooked 2 ($6.24 from $24.99 until 6/16)
Yoku’s Island Express ($4.99 from $19.99 until 6/16)
Worms W.M.D. ($5.99 from $29.99 until 6/16)
Mercenaries Saga Chronicles ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/16)
Mercenaries Blaze: DotTD ($15.99 from $19.99 until 6/16)
Shadows of Adam ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/16)
The Escapists Complete ($2.99 from $14.99 until 6/16)
The Escapists 2 ($4.99 from $19.99 until 6/16)
The Survivalists ($6.24 from $24.99 until 6/16)
Yooka-Laylee ($7.99 from $39.99 until 6/16)
Yooka-Laylee & the Impossible Lair ($7.49 from $29.99 until 6/16)
Blasphemous ($6.24 from $24.99 until 6/16)
Monster Sanctuary ($6.79 from $19.99 until 6/16)
Omega Labyrinth Life ($23.99 from $59.99 until 6/16)
Moving Out ($6.24 from $24.99 until 6/16)
EDF World Brothers ($27.99 from $39.99 until 6/16)
Funghi Explosion ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/16)
Abyss of the Sacrifice ($19.99 from $39.99 until 6/16)
Neoverse Trinity Edition ($4.80 from $24.00 until 6/16)
Lotus Bloom ($1.99 from $2.99 until 6/16)
Cube Blast Match ($5.40 from $18.00 until 6/16)
32 Secs ($7.50 from $25.00 until 6/16)
Monster Rescue ($2.32 from $3.49 until 6/16)
Sales Ending This Weekend
Among Us ($3.75 from $5.00 until 5/28)
Attentat 1942 ($13.94 from $15.49 until 5/28)
Gang Beasts ($20.99 from $29.99 until 5/28)
Mail Mole + Xpress Deliveries ($9.99 from $14.99 until 5/28)
That’s all for today and this week, friends. We’ll be back next week with more new games, more reviews, more news, and more sales. I’m going to be busy again this weekend, but I’m getting used to it. I hope you all have a more enjoyable weekend than I’m going to, and as always, thanks for reading!
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