Nintendo begins to assemble their autumn line-up this week with the release of Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 for Switch and Switch 2. That’s set to be followed by Pokémon Legends: Z-A on 16th October, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment and Kirby Air Riders in November, before ending 2025 with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond in December. Not a bad line-up, although there are fewer third-party Switch 2 titles on the horizon than expected. Still, we wouldn’t rule out a surprise conversion or two.
While Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 doesn’t sound void of effort – featuring a 4K resolution bump on Switch 2, an easier assist mode, a music player, and additional Rosalina picture book tales – the £58.99 price tag is controversial. They’re available to purchase separately for £33.99, which is handy for anyone who owns the elusive Super Mario 3D All Stars, but isn’t a price any easier to swallow for standalone Wii re-releases – especially when Super Mario 3D All Stars cost £49.99 at launch and featured Galaxy along with two others.
Another revival on the agenda is Square-Enix’s Final Fantasy Tactics – The Ivalice Chronicles – a remaster of their cult PS1 strategic battler with a bunch of quality-of-life improvements, out now on Switch and Switch 2. The Metacritic score currently sits at an impressive 88%, with the only major downside being that it lacks the content from The War of the Lions on PSP.
Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny has been receiving positive reviews too, being described as a fun callback. It’s a top-down fantasy affair in which characters level up and acquire new gear, essentially making it a simplified and family friendly RPG. The roster is large – even the Ninja Turtles feature – and new playable characters are gradually introduced. While it doesn’t have a Metacritic score just yet, it’s also yet to receive any negative reviews.
In addition to Final Fantasy Tactics, RPG fans may also want to check out Shujinkou – a dungeon crawler intended to teach Japanese, with forty dungeons to traverse. The PC version was well received, and the announcement of this Switch release was welcomed.
We’re pleased to see LEGO Party going down well, as it appeared a bit formulaic upon its reveal. “LEGO Party doesn’t completely reinvent the tried-and-true Mario Party formula, but it does introduce some welcome tweaks to its structure, a uniformly high quality collection of minigames hard-tuned for hilarity, and an enjoyably silly game show-style presentation that’s yet to overstay its welcome,” said IGN.
We cracked the whip at Buildest earlier this week. It’s a co-op construction game similar to Overcooked and Moving Out, only here you’re grabbing materials and yelling at builders to get the job done. Although there’s the need to follow instructions, keep on budget and deliver within a time limit, the next level unlock regardless of how you performed. Together with the lack of creatively, this makes for something rather uncompelling. Not terrible but definitely misjudged.
Candy Rangers meanwhile is an on-rails shooter in which four colourful heroines make their way along a pre-set path, leaving you to leap over hazards and shoot down enemies. Stages are intended to be replayed, not just to obtain high scores, but also to collect the coins used to unlock new stages and boss battles. It reminds us of Yoshi’s Safari, and that’s despite it using an isometric view.
This week’s EGGCONSOLE release is the 1986 isometric MSX RPG Aramo – which reminds us of the ZX Spectrum classic Ant Attack – while the latest Arcade Archives re-release is Gee Bee – a pinball sim from 1978, being the first internally developed game from Namco.
Other releases for this week include the matchmaking Love, Ghostie, a new version of the side-scrolling action game Castle of Heart, the return of the 2007 horizontal shooter Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer, and the tower defence battler Notice Me Leena-senpai. Consider it noticed.
New Switch eShop releases
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS – The Ivalice Chronicles – £49.99
Lead your party in exhilarating encounters where strategic positioning and forward planning determine the outcome. Use the varied terrain of 3D battlefields to your advantage, skillfully manipulate the turn order, and victory will be yours for the taking.
Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 – £58.99
Embark on an enhanced pair of interstellar escapades in Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 for Nintendo Switch! Journey into space on the hunt for Power Stars, overcome a universe of challenges and most of all – stop Bowser!
Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny – £39.99
Embark on a fantastical quest with your favorite Nicktoons characters—reimagined as epic Action-RPG heroes!
Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny is a vibrant, universe-spanning mashup that brings iconic Nickelodeon heroes into a world of fantasy-style tropes and real-time RPG action. Roll the the dice and dive into a wild, action-packed adventure with SpongeBob and more Nickelodeon characters! Get ready for epic battles, dynamic environments, and recognizable character moments, all with an engaging gameplay experience for players of all ages.
Compete against your friends in wacky Challenge Zones and 60 hilarious minigames from across your favorite LEGO sets like LEGO Pirates, LEGO Space, LEGO NINJAGO® and more.
Join your friends online no matter their platform, or get together for a LEGO Party game night. With multiple game modes and tons of minifigures to unlock, you’ll have all the bricks to build the ultimate party!
Challenge players near or far, customize your character and compete in a variety of awesome minigames to get as many Golden Bricks as you can, by any means necessary! But beware, watch out for monsters, traps and flying roast turkeys on your way to become the next star of LEGO Party!
Gift items to lift their spirits, set them up on dates, and watch love bloom! Discover cute romances with a unique story between every pair of residents! How will love blossom in your manor?
Race against time in this brand new on-rails shooter where you control 4 characters at once! Meet Candy, Mint, Lemon and Plum, quadruplets that live together and work as rangers to fight creatures that come in to ruin the natural environments of the city.
Castle of Heart: Retold – £13.49
Castle of Heart: Retold is a massively upgraded and expanded version of the original game, featuring significant enhancements across gameplay, story, visuals, and more.
Stand against the Sorcerer—a servant of the evil god Chernobog—to rescue the last priestess of the goddess Mokosh and liberate the land from his tyrannical rule. As a Slavic warrior named Svaran, you must overcome not only magical creatures and lethal contraptions, but also a terrible curse that has turned your body to stone. You need to keep your kill streak going—otherwise your body will begin to disintegrate, eventually costing you limbs and the ability to wield weapons!
Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer – £8.99
As Earth’s resistance forces struggle to defend against a deadly infection consuming both life forms and technology alike, it falls to an anti-hero mercenary and bounty hunter to pilot a mighty prototype starfighter in hopes of locating the virus’ origin, saving civilization and earning a massive payday in the process!
Set in the distant future, Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer is a fast and furious shoot’em up presented in 2.5D side-scrolling style with a pumping soundtrack, seamlessly blending old-school gameplay inspirations with fresh modern innovations.
In short, the game is similar to other co-op action games, except this one is about architecture. Explore the level, craft the necessary building materials, and order workers to build. You can play alone or with friends up to 4 players.
Being architect is easy: examine the design plan, gather resources, give the order to build, and repeat. It is that easy! Once you get familiar with the basics, be ready to learn more about the craft of architecture.
Notice Me Leena-senpai! – £7.19
Notice Me Leena-senpai! is a lighthearted tactical tower-defense game with visual novel storytelling. As war breaks out between demons and humans, defend the All-Girls School of Magic with 28 unique towers across 10 worlds. Strategically place and upgrade units in grid lanes, earn gold for power-ups, and survive endless waves!
With 2 survival modes and 5 difficulty settings, no two battles are the same. Can Leena and her friends protect their school—and her favorite food?
Arcade Archives GEE BEE – £TBA
“GEE BEE” is a brick breaker released by NAMCO LIMITED (current Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.) in 1978.
A monumental title, and the first arcade game developed in-house by Namco, it gained popularity for its unique gameplay that adds pinball elements to a classic block-breaker. The Arcade Archives version supports mouse controls, making it even easier to play
In TORCHED, darkness has spread across the land, and only the light of your torch can bring hope back to the towns. As a young paladin aspirant, your mission is to illuminate the path, overcoming obstacles, creatures, and puzzles that stand in your way.
Master grid-based movement to navigate intricate challenges and progress through your sacred ranks. Each level tests your logic, timing, and creativity as you carry the flame of light against the growing shadows.
Unleash chaos and creativity in Castle Crumble! Journey through colourful worlds, from lush jungles to mysterious islands, and destroy mighty fortresses with explosive power. Every castle is a unique puzzle, built to challenge your tactics and imagination.
After your car breaks down near your late grandfather’s abandoned house, you step inside in search of help. But your search quickly descends into a nightmare — the house is no longer empty, and a violent madman is on the loose. Your only chance of survival is to explore every shadowy corner, solve puzzles, and uncover hidden items as you fight to stay alive… before it’s too late.
Off-the-Ground Survival – £7.69
The player starts on the top 99/F of a high-rise building, starting with no weapon or food, and has to reach the ground floor. Unfortunately, the elevator in the building is not always available. Moreover, rooms and hallways are filled with different types of monsters. To survive, the player has to grab a weapon on the go, collect food to stay healthy, and loot items to solve different problems.
Keep an eye on the time to ensure you make the most of your week in the psychospherical house of MOUTHOLE. Solve puzzles and unravel mysteries to forge convoluted paths of discovery and exploration. Navigate quotidian existence. Crawl into your mouth. Brush your teeth?
The Ancient Magus’ Bride Midsummer Pilgrimage – £30.41
A non-human, living alone in the night of London.
One evening, he meets a girl seeking help in the fog.
She has lost her memories and knows not why she is there.
In saving her from the darkness, the two become fast friends.
The non-human, wishing to help his very first friend recover her memories, makes for two beings he has heard about by way of rumors among the fae: the Thorn Mage Elias, and Chise.
Wild fireballs have gone haywire, and you must shoot them down using your special hookshot.
Shoot the hookshot straight upwards to attach it to the ceiling, where it will stay briefly, destroying any fireballs that touch the hanging rope. Gain access to various powerups, such as freezing movement, replenishing countdown time, faster shots, upgraded defenses, and more.
Can you clear each level before time runs out without getting burned?
This is an action RPG released in Japan by Zainsoft in 1986. The player is a lone man who has crash-landed on a planet and explore this world of a long-dead ultra-advanced civilization, seeking a way to escape.
The game uses a quarter-view perspective with block-built terrain, creating a fairly vast world. Its block-based design can make many areas look similar, so you might get lost. Mapping your surroundings, checking landmarks and item locations during exploration is recommended. In dungeons, the perspective switches to top-down for better visibility, but they feature complex mazes and turret attacks, offering a fairly challenging adventure.
Combat uses the familiar body-check mechanic of action RPGs. Firearms can be used with a key. Defeating enemies fills your experience gauge, and if it’s full, you level up. This intuitive gameplay makes for an accessible system. The vertical gauge represents HP—if it runs out, it’s game over (but resting on the surface restores health, so watch it closely).
Smith & Dungeon: Crafting the Legendary Weapons – £10.99
The kingdom announced a grand reward for anyone who could craft a powerful weapon worthy of equipping the hero and their companions on their mission to defeat the Demon King. Only weapons approved by the king would be rewarded.
Upon hearing this, a young blacksmith, dreaming of fame and fortune, resolved to create the ultimate weapon.
“I want to craft a weapon capable of defeating the Demon King with my own hands!”
To achieve this, he set out to explore dangerous dungeons under the Demon King’s control, searching for rare materials to forge a weapon so powerful that it would prove its worth to the king.
Thus, his perilous journey into the dungeons began!
Shujinkou is a dungeon-crawler that offers a unique opportunity to learn Japanese as you play. In addition to being a full-fledged JRPG, it features thousands of Japanese words, phrases, kana, kanji, and grammar elements that players can master through focus, diligence, and consistency. The language content offers new knowledge for language learners of any level.
Next week: Yooka-Replaylee, Disgaea 7 Complete, Little Nightmares III, Snoopy & The Great Mystery Club, Bye Sweet Carole, LAPIN, Barbie Horse Trails, Scurge: Hive, Absolum, Rise Eterna 2, Battle Suit Aces, Dawnfolk, Lost in Fantaland, Super Mining Mechs, Next of Kin: Fidelity, Color Breakers 2, ROPOKO for Nintendo Switch, Neffy Moonlight Labyrinth X, We Were Here Together, Meganoid: Chronicles, Battle Puzzle 2048 – Wicked Witches, and Mystic Pathways: Crystal Quest.