When you mention Spelunker to someone they likely think you mean Spelunkey and got confused, but Square Enix has released its underground puzzle platform game in various guises in the past. In April it released Minna de Wai Wai! Spelunker at retail in Japan; now it's being localised to the West.
In the West it'll be called Spelunker Party!, riffing on the puzzle platformer's emphasis on co-op play - which was both online and offline in Japan. It's been confirmed for the Switch eShop and Steam with a new trailer, giving a release date of 19th October. [Update: The UK eShop shows that it'll cost £24.99 in the country]
As it's a rather short trailer, below is a longer video from the Japanese release.
Let us know if you plan to dig into this one on the Switch next month.
Comments 45
Why did they change the name? Why? Why! Spelunker!
I enjoyed the japanese demo of this, it's surprisingly hard though, partly due to dying if you fall even just a few inches off the ground lol
Will probably buy the full game
I’m not clear about the multiplayer. Is it split screen as shown briefly in the Japanese trailer? If so, then is the other footage single player? How are we controlling four characters at once? Anyway, looks like a decent pickup if it’s cheap
Hm... well now. If the physical version gets English support patched in, I'll probably import.
I was a fan of the original nes game, so I'm definitely interested in this sequel/remake(?). The only thing that may out me off would be ridiculous pricing. Please don't disappoint in that regard Squeenie
Ha! I downloaded this demo from the JPN eshop months ago.
But...but...I want Spelunky...
Looks kind of fun. Here's hoping it plays as well as it looks. I would love another party co-op game. The Switch is great for those.
Downloaded the Japanese demo months ago and never got round to playing it.
Spelunky would be awesome for switch and two pairs of joy cons. Brutally hard. Always hilarious.
Price is 30€ according to European eShop. I played the demo with my sister, it's fun. I'm going to get it at some point. I do want Spelunky as well.
Oh. Was wondering why this didn't release out of Japan.
But what about a physical copy?
Sweet! I've greatly enjoyed the demo. Will get this day one.
@RyanSilberman my thoughts exactly, if this was coming out physically I'd be getting it day one, however if it's digital only I'll wait
I'm buying if it is between $30-40; $50 is too much for this imo.
This Game is great, i bought the japanese version. Wish this would have been announced earlier. :/
Oh man, I'm so happy right now. That game is really weirdly addicting, but its so hard to play when you can't read it. I never thought this would come west.
This looks fun, but I wonder how it is for a single player?
Wish it was Spelunky coming - that game is seriously special.
@JJ286 it's 29.99
Derek Yu, please, give us Spelunky HD 2/remix/whatever on Switch.
ooh i recognize the music. someday i'll understand what i'm supposed to do in the original.
@Pahvi : Yes! In fact, the game includes a copyright date circa 1983 acknowledging the original copyright holder of the game.
Another great co-op game to add to the collection. I know what I'll be playing a week before Odyssey.
I'd pretty much given up hope of this ever making it to the West. It was the perfect launch title for that initial drought, so it feels totally redundant now.
I've already imported the original Japanese release, so I'll probably skip this unless there's a physical release of the English language version (or if there's a heavy discount in the eShop). This is simply far too expensive for a digital-only release, especially when you consider the calibre of what is being released at around the same time.
This looks like that PS3 remake they had in Japan. good to see it coming to the Switch!
Oh that's quite expensive! How much memory does take up?
@crackafreeze : No, it's not. Some games have split releases, such as Disgaea 5 Complete, the U.S. version being identical to the Japanese cartridge/release, while the European/Australian release, while including the same English localisation, also contains additional European languages, but no Japanese option.
There is only one version of I Am Setsuna worldwide (that I'm aware of), which includes Japanese, English and perhaps a few European languages. This version is the same that is available everywhere with no regional variation, hence why the English version was included on the cartridge. English language versions are often included to appease other Asian markets as well, such as Singapore, Malaysia etc., where there is an English packaged version of I Am Setsuna available at retail. Many Japanese releases of Western games, such as Cars 3 for instance, only include Japanese and English, with English being included to make the game marketable to other Asian audiences. This is often the case where the Japanese localisation would cause a delay in the release of a Western game, hence the separate Japanese release. Mario + Rabbids is another such example.
Spelunker was not originally designed with any other languages in mind, so Spelunker Party is a separate release to the original Japanese edition Minna de Wai Wai! Spelunker. This is not just a language patch of the original game. It is a separate release entirely of the same core game. The eShop page also indicates that English is the only language that will be included in this release.
@Tate24 : Just over 3GB.
Really excited to check this one out. One of my switch friends in Japan has over 200 hours logged in this game on his profile... I had no idea what it was!
I absolutely adore this game! I gather friends and family together to play 4 player co-op of the Japanese version all the time. We've spent over 100 hours playing this together on Switch. Now that's some multiplayer fun!
I really really really hope that this game will auto-update to allow english play. I've already bought the game once and I don't want to buy it again just to play with english. (most the UI is easy to navigate in Japanese anyway because there's so many icons and such to tell what things are.)
I want to play in english but not at the cost of losing over 100 hours of progress on the Japanese version. Please Square Enix let me continue my party from where it left off!
Demo was fun
I would much prefer to see Spelunky on Switch.
I had a lot of fun with the demo, so i think i'll pick it up.
is it fun and playable entirely solo?
I loved the demo. Now I'm more tempted to buy it since I'll be able to read the menus. lol.
The game looks nice and fun but jeez 30 bucks??? I might bite for $20. On the radar though
Yay!!! Spelunker!!!!! Finally! Wanted Spelunker World on PS4 but this is even better! And Spelunky SUCKS compared to this. And for those who don't know; Spelunky is a clone of Spelunker, which came out on the C64, Apple II and others in the 80s - one of my favourite games EVER!
And for those who don't know; get a Japanese Switch account and test the demo, it's AWESOME!
PS. Drunk, Yes! Exclamation marks? YES!!!!!!!!
Time to get that Spelunker theme stuck in my head again.
I loved the version on the PS3.... And the demo was fun. Can't wait to have it in English to play with my roommates and have better races with them haha
@Mando44646 There are a couple of multiplayer quests and, to my knowledge, 1 item piece that require 2 players.
That said, the game's style and the switch's two joycons out the gate make them more a mild to moderate annoyance than something stopping full completion.
Just do each player in 1 section at a time and leave the other by a checkpoint and occasionally walk over the checkpoint again. Annoying but far from impossible.
Oh, there is a pet that will press switches for you, so no worries about needing multiplayer for that, though you need to find it first... (switches are mostly for side stuff anyways, nothing stops you from beating any level by yourself)
Like the look of this but it seems a multiplayer game and I don't have friends that are into gaming like me so might give it a miss.
@wazlon Nah, while its multiplayer capable its very much designed for mostly solo play. There are a few things, see my post above, that require 2 joycons if not another player to complete, but beating each level is 100% soloable.
Now, it may be more fun with friends yelling in your ears the whole time, but thats a subjective thing.
@crystalorbie Thanks for the info, might get it after all
@faint then I'm buying.
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