Switch owners with a passion for retro gaming will be in their element this week, with more re-releases than usual on the eShop.
Stone cold classic Final Fantasy VII is getting the most attention. It not only introduced countless western gamers to the Final Fantasy series, but JRPGs in general – the genre was seen as somewhat niche before FFVII waltzed in with its swanky cut-scenes, impressive visuals, and instantly likeable battle-hardened heroes.
At £12.79 it’s a no-brainer, but expect a few rough edges – Square-Enix doesn’t put much thought into these conversions. They’re known for peculiar bugs and sound issues.
Master System classic SEGA AGES Alex Kidd in Miracle World has also turned up out of the blue, launching alongside the cult Mega Drive RTS Gain Ground.
Miracle World is easily the best of the pre-Sonic mascot’s outings. Due to the ability to purchase items and use them wherever and whenever it’s more complex than your typical 8-bit platformer. Vehicle sections add variety, too. Gain Ground, meanwhile, has gained a cult following over the years, being a strategic shooter set over different time periods. At £5.99 a pop, both come recommended.
There’s also Cel Damage HD – an early GameCube car combat game, originally published by EA. That’s joined by a remake of The Bitmap Brothers’ Amiga side-scroller GODS – which boasts both original and remastered graphics – plus Arcade Archives Armed F, a vertical space shooter released by Nichibutsu in 1988.
Yoshi’s Crafted World is easily the biggest Switch re-release this week. The Metacritic currently stands at 80%, including a 9/10 from Nintendo Insider, an 8.25 from GameInformer, and an 8/10 from GameSpot. Filled to the brim with creativity but light on challenge is the general consensus.
“Its most interesting ideas never evolve past their first introductions and are frequently confined to one or two levels, but individually, those levels both reward your curiosity and your willingness to slow down and look at what’s around you–and it’s those simple pleasures that provide the most joy,†said GameSpot.
Xenon Racer has parked up too, priced at an eyebrow-raising £44.99. Despite being set in the future, there are no WipEout style loops or F-Zero style corkscrews – it simply features high-powered muscle and sports cars on typical race tracks. This makes it feel more like Ridge Racer than anything else from the golden era of futuristic racers.
You’ll also find Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid – a glorified mobile conversion which is currently review shy (never a good sign), the apparently middling JRPG The Princess Guide, impressively presented space shooter GALAK-Z: The Void: Deluxe Edition, and the addictive FTP match-three puzzler Gems of War.
As always, a full list of new releases can be found below:
Yoshi’s Crafted World – £49.99
Lead Yoshi on a brand new Nintendo Switch adventure that will turn everything you’ve come to expect from side-scrolling games upside down! Explore a diorama-like world made of stuff like boxes and paper cups, where each side-scrolling stage has the traditional front side as well as a flip side with different views and surprises.
Xenon Racer – £44.49
In the near future, the official racing federation has ordered a season’s pause from racing, to allow teams to ease into the transition to flying vehicles. To bridge this gap, top hybrid car manufacturers host a rogue championship for rookie drivers on the streets of cities worldwide. Their advanced cars drive on electricity and Xenon gas, resulting in crazy speeds. Get behind the wheel, keep your adrenaline in check and drift through the streets. Boost to absurd speeds and become the ultimate Xenon Racer!
Moai VI. Unexpected Guests – £14.59
From vibrant jungles bursting with colour, to an underwater wonderland teeming with aquatic life, to a cluster of floating islands, you’ll traverse many magical lands filled with miracles. You’ll also go toe-to-toe with awesome giants, outwit clever jellyfish and pet cute Manu-Ai to receive mana. Characters that range from the charming Posei-Don to the wicked Moko-Moko lizards will make each encounter a memorable one.
Nelke & the Legendary Alchemists ~Ateliers of the New World~ – £49.99
An Atelier town built together with legendary alchemists. This title aims to combine the “slice-of-life†atmosphere of living in a town and collaborating with various characters and the exaltation that comes from successfully governing a town and expanding your world.
The Princess Guide – £35.99
Choose among four princesses on their quest to forging a world of their dreams. Will you choose to end world hunger with Liliartie, the hungry-but-happy Warrior Princess? Or you may want to help Veronica, the brash-but-talented Witch Princess, achieve world domination? Perhaps unearth family secrets and end poverty with the Rose Princess, Monomaria? Or spread words of peace and faith across the world with Alpana, the Dragon Princess?
FINAL FANTASY VII – £12.79
The world has fallen under the dominion of the Shinra Electric Power Company, a sinister corporation that has monopolized the planet’s very life force as Mako energy. In the urban megalopolis of Midgar, an anti-Shinra rebel group calling themselves Avalanche have stepped up their campaign of resistance. Cloud Strife, a former member of Shinra’s elite SOLDIER unit now turned mercenary, lends his aid to the rebels, unaware that he will be drawn into an epic battle for the fate of the planet, while having to come to terms with his own lost past.
The World Next Door – £11.69
An addictive mix of lightning-fast puzzle battles, powerful storytelling and immersive visual novel elements, The World Next Door follows Jun, a rebellious teen girl trapped in a parallel realm inhabited by magical creatures, who must find her way home before time runs out.
Warparty – £19.99
Warparty is an old school RTS where players must gather resources to unlock new buildings, units and upgrades, with the goal of destroying all their opponents’ bases. Players can also control a powerful chieftain that they can shape by selecting talents when they expand their settlement. These talents also offer new units or bonuses that can change the way players play.
Inventioneers – £8.99
Solve clever and funny inventions with the help of the amazing Inventioneers! They have special powers you can use and at the same time learn about physics in a creative way. Blaze, for example, can create fire. Magneta uses magnetism to pull metal stuff. Freezy likes to…freeze stuff. Bunny is a rabbit. The possibilities are endless.
President F.net – £4.49
The second title in the ‘F’ series, in President F.net your task is to get rid of your cards as quickly as possible! The player to clear their cards becomes ‘President’ and deals for the next round, so you’ll need to rise up the ranks and triumph over your opponents!
Gems of War – Free
Match gems and skulls to turn the tide of battle, build your team of heroes and conquer mighty kingdoms! Immerse yourself in a world of adventure as you collect heroes from across the realm and battle foes with the power of the puzzle board. Match gems and skulls to build up mana and crush your enemies!
GALAK-Z: The Void: Deluxe Edition – £12.59
Be the hero in a world that oozes classic Saturday morning anime but plays like a tough, modern, tactical shooter. Try to survive the hostile environments of deep space, battling warring factions full of unique and cunning enemies. Unlock ever more powerful upgrades as you learn the secret of the GALAK-Z, and die and die again as you valiantly struggle to become the ultimate pilot – finally good enough to beat what GALAK-Z throws at you!
Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid – £17.99
Pit current and classic Rangers and villains like never before in 3 vs. 3 tag battles. Test your skills online against friends and players from around the world for endless replayability. A streamlined combat system welcomes newcomers with simplified controls while maintaining depth for the most dedicated competitor to learn and master.
Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid Collector’s Edition – £35.99
COLLECTOR’S EDITION – Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid (Full Game) – Season 1 DLC (day 1 Skin, 3 post-release characters) – Exclusive Lord Drakkon Evo II Skin – Exclusive Kimberly Hart, Mighty Morphin Pink Ranger Skin Bonus: Green V2 Skin DLC until 02/04/2019, 23:59 local time
OMG Zombies! – £0.99
As a lone cop armed only with bare wit, a large-calibre sniper rifle and bullets coated in a zombie-exploding pathogen, you are the last man standing at the epicentre of a zombie outbreak. Your mission? To succeed where the police and army failed by clearing the streets of 8 different strains of bloodthirsty zombies and stop Armageddon in its tracks!
Neon Caves – £3.49
Recently rediscovered by your research team, use your ship’s anchor ability and elite implements to stabilise the cave while keeping the hostile inhabitants at bay.
Airfield Mania – £4.49
Are you the right person to guide aircrafts to their runway? Now you can prove it with “Airfield Mania”! Airfield Mania is an addictive line-draw air traffic control game.
Windscape – £15.99
Windscape is a first-person exploration action-adventure full of exciting challenges. Its unique art style is reflected in expansive worlds and their bizarre inhabitants. On your journey, you will find dark caves, ancient ruins and mysterious woods. By exploring the beautiful game world, mining resources and fighting epic monsters you collect numerous materials that can be used to craft items, weapons and armour. – Read our Windscape review
Arcade Archives Armed F – £6.29
“Armed F’ is a shooting game that was released from Nichibutsu in 1988. Players equip ‘Armor’ what can make variety attacks, and fight in a variety of worlds such as the insect stage and the machine stage. Wipe out enemies in a wide range attack with reversing the Armor to change formations.
Cel Damage HD – £8.09
Take control of the world’s nuttiest cartoon drivers to demolish your friends with insane weapons and wacky arena hazards! Cel Damage HD is the definitive local multiplayer game, so just add a couch and have a blast with your friends and family. Master the single-player mode to get a leg up on the competition!
Croixleur Sigma – £13.49
Wielding magical blades, four girls fight back encroaching waves of monsters in this exhilarating hack & slash action game! Featuring various battle styles and a variety of weapons to mix and match (up to four) to develop your own unique fighting style.
GOKEN – £7.99
GOKEN seeks to bring back everything that was right about gaming in an action-packed open world environment in the form of the good old Action RPG genre and have the old school gamers tremble in nostalgia.
Istanbul: Digital Edition – £14.39
In Istanbul, you lead a group of one merchant and his four assistants through 16 locations in the bazaar. In each such a location, you can carry out a specific action. The challenge, however, is that to take an action, you must move your merchant and an assistant there, then leave the assistant behind to handle all the details while you focus on larger matters. If you want to use that assistant again later, your merchant must return to that location to pick him up. Thus, you must plan ahead carefully to avoid being left with no assistants and thus unable to do anything…
Lyrica – £17.09
This is a game that allows players to enjoy musical pieces that are fusions of the classical Chinese poetry of Li Bai and Du Fu with modern music such as rock, ballad, and jazz. There are three modes, Story, in which the stories of modern and ancient China are intertwined, Songs, in which players can freely play pieces, and Challenge, in which players take on the challenge of clearing difficult requirements.
MUSYNX – £26.99
Experience MUSYNX, the new music game sensation! Featuring classic hardcore rhythm gameplay mechanics!
She Remembered Caterpillars – £8.99
She Remembered Caterpillars is a colour-matching puzzle game with an unsettling fungipunk aesthetic. Set in a phantasgamorphic world of writhing caterpillars, brightly-coloured Gammies, and living architecture, the game will have players eavesdropping on what appears to be one scientist’s quest to save her father.
Snow Battle Princess Sayuki – £13.49
Help Sayuki, a snow princess, break an evil curse set upon her loved one by finding 8 items scattered across 8 lands. The treacherous journey will take you across Blizzard Mountain, Monsters Castle and Hells Valley where you will encounter many mysterious yokai monsters.
SEGA AGES Gain Ground – £5.99
It’s 2348 and the Gain Ground battle-simulation supercomputer has gone rogue, trapping people inside with rampaging robots! It’s up to you to rescue them.
SEGA AGES Alex Kidd in Miracle World – £5.99
Over three decades since its humble beginnings, Alex Kidd is back to smash rocks, collect items, and play Rock, Paper, Scissors with evil henchmen! The beloved boy martial artist must traverse the kingdom of Radaxian to face off against evil villain Janken the Great. Does he have what it takes to save the kingdom, or will all be lost to evil.
Undead’s Building – £3.59
Operate an elevator in a zombie invested apartment where the undead wander the hallways! Use the security monitors to check each floor and then move between floors as quickly as possible to pick up survivors. Delay and the undead will eat them before you get there.
Ultrawings – £14.99
Ultrawings is an open-world, aerial-themed game where you’ll pilot an Ultralight, Gee Racer, Rocket-powered Glider and Sport Plane to complete a variety of challenges across a beautifully-stylized, island-themed world. You’ll pop balloons, perform spot landings, snap pictures, compete in thrilling air races, and more! Earn in-game money to unlock new airports and new aircraft.
UNI – £6.29
UNI is a two-player party game containing 30 different types of mini-games. It includes games from many genres adapted for a two-player game experience: Sports, Action, Fighting, Arcade, Racing… Even RPG! It’s easy to play and the rules are quite simple, making it enjoyable for all people regardless of age or gender.
Event Horizon – £2.69
Take command of a space fleet and start your galaxy exploration mission. Battle hostile aliens, conduct scientific research, capture resources, trade, build new ships and upgrade existing ones. Thousands and thousands of star systems, ferocious battles and surprising encounters are waiting for you.
GODS Remastered – £16.99
Join the nameless warrior on a dangerous journey through four worlds to defeat the Great Guardians who have stolen the homes of the gods. As a reward you will receive immortality and a place in the eternal hall of fame…
METAGAL – £3.99
Players are thrown into the shoes of “Meta,” a cyborg girl, in her quest to rescue her Creator “Dr Ray” from the hands of “General Creeper,” the evil leader of a rogue army!! To make matters worse, Metagal’s sisters were also kidnapped by Creeper and he’s turned them all into battle cyborgs, in order to use their powers so that he can at last, rule the world!! With no other option, Meta must face her sisters, free them, and copy their abilities, if she wishes to take down save those she loves and the world.
Shadow Blade: Reload – £8.99
Shadow Blade is an action-platformer set in a visually striking world where the ancient teachings of ninjas and samurai clash upon a modern landscape. Sprint through stages littered with traps, slaying enemies along your path without hesitation as Kuro, the blade of shadow!
New Switch demos
Airfield Mania
Are you the right person to guide aircrafts to their runway? Now you can prove it with “Airfield Mania”! Airfield Mania is an addictive line-draw air traffic control game.
Super Phantom Cat
Super Phantom Cat is a “Pawsome” retro platformer, or what we like to call “Catformer,” in which you explore quirky environments, clear purrrfect colourful levels, solve the mysteries shrouding the Phantom world and rescue your kidnapped little sister, Ina.
New Switch pre-orders
Duck Game – £11.69
The year is 1984. Ducks run wild in a frantic battle for FAME and GLORY. Win over spectators by destroying your feathered friends with an IRRESPONSIBLE NUMBER OF WEAPONS. One shot and you’re ROASTED. This is DUCK GAME. Finally on Nintendo Switch with more LEVELS, more
GUNS and more QUACKING.
Bow to Blood: Last Captain Standing – £16.19
In Bow to Blood you will compete to become Champion of the Arena, as its inscrutable Overseers test you and your fellow challengers in a winner-takes-all fantasy reality show.
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!! – £12.99
Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!! is the massive sequel to the surprise best-selling original, one of the few games that gives players complete control on how they want to build their restaurant.
Yet Another Zombie Defense HD – £4.04
Yet Another Zombie Defense HD is all about defending yourself against hordes of darkness attacking you every night. However, when you’re a lone survivor struggling against waves of enemies who are getting stronger and stronger, your end is inevitable. The only important question is how long can YOU survive?
Back to Bed – £4.49
Back to Bed is an artistic 3D puzzle game with a surreal twist. Bob is an unlucky narcoleptic who has a tendency of falling asleep in his boring office and then proceeding to sleepwalk into the dangers of the big city. Luckily, Bob has a subconscious guardian named Subob, who protects the sleepwalker and guides him back to the safety of his bed.
Pressure Overdrive – £10.99
Pressure Overdrive is a complete overhaul of the original Pressure game. In this enhanced version, you revisit an action-packed world, filled with crazy characters and funky humour. Pressure Overdrive will challenge your skills, while you race, ram and blast your way through countless bullets and enemies. Customize your buggy for clever play styles and have a friend join the cause in local coop mode. “La Resistance†counts on you! Do you have what it takes?
Shadowgate £12.79
Shadowgate is one of the most well-known and beloved adventure titles in gaming history. It quickly endeared players with its fantastic atmospheric soundtrack, perilous locations to progress through, countless puzzles to solve, and more ways to gruesomely die than gamers previously thought possible. Thrust into the role of “The Seed of Prophecyâ€, players travel deep into the castle, in hopes of defeating the evil that dwells within – the dreaded Warlock Lord.
Sephirothic Stories – £12.14
Shendoah―a world protected by Sephiroth. However, with the power of the world tree having begun to wane, countless people have been overcome by an encroaching murk that has transformed them into monsters. Now with the world on the verge of destruction, an unlikely band sets out an adventure with their convictions…
ASCENDANCE – £5.99
ASCENDANCE is a calming, relaxing and minimalist first-person 3D Platformer. Shape your way with mysterious abilities and rise with the enchanted wind platforms beyond the skies within a world which evolves and transforms around you.
Hob: The Definitive Edition – £16.19
From the creators of Torchlight and Torchlight II! Traverse and transform the mysterious world of Hob. This vibrant, atmospheric adventure game is set in a stunning and brutal world in disarray. As players delve into the mysteries around them, they discover a planet in peril. Can it be mended, or will the world fall further into chaos? Now with enhanced performance and features, only available on Nintendo Switch in this definitive edition.
Next week: SpellKeeper, Bow to Blood: Last Captain Standing, Silence, Pitfall Planet, Royal Adviser, Sephirothic Stories, The friends of Ringo Ishikawa, Pressure Overdrive, Yet Another Zombie Defense HD, Monster Slayers, and Zombie Scrapper.
