World

This seems like a really interesting update to the Mario Kart formula! I've never been all that interested in Mario Kart as the games have never felt that substantial to me and playing the same tracks over and over in multiplayer has never been enough for me.

But this sounds like a potentially meaningful addition to the usual experience! I'm very curious how it'll review now.

@Tyranexx That sounds amazing honestly; I might make this just to see what it's like!

@LikelySatan Stop Sign and Some Dirt would be fire as DLC. Fingers crossed also for Mario Kart Logo and Switch 2.

Well that's disappointing; despite some early issues, these S-Tributes have been great so far!

@StyrofoamCup You get it!!! For me, the ACA has been a revelation and it is one of my most played "games."

Yes, there are many many alternative options now for playing arcade games at home but honestly the Switch is still the most convenient and user-friendly. Just pick it up and you have hundreds of arcade classics ready to go. I love it!

I never buy consoles at launch as I'm just generally kind of immune to FOMO, but this time I honestly have too many games still to play with the OG Switch and not enough that I want on the Switch 2 (with ACA2 games coming to OG Switch, the number is currently zero actually) so it doesn't make sense to me yet. With the OG Switch, I waited until I had a wishlist of 10 games until I bought one. I might do that again.

Still playing the Taiwanese otome, Falling for Yaoguais, on Steam. I've completed one route (and the bad ending). It's pretty good!

Dating sims (or, specifically, modern otomes that are mostly just VNs with choices) are my most-played genre, but I'm still undecided on this one. I don't like the Western-style parody dating sims they talk about, and I appreciate what they're attempting but to me it still seems like a parody game. That said though, I think it's cool that this exists because I do feel like this one will appeal to a wider audience than the usual dating sim and you can't really go wrong with Team17!

I definitely wasn't expecting a follow-up to Wilmot's Warehouse! Wow, that one is definitely on my radar.

Not at all a surprise, as modern EA hates video games and those who play them. But Codemasters has also been kind of restricted by them, so I wonder if some of the devs will escape and form a new company that's more like the old Codemasters. It could happen!

I found a Taiwanese otome on Steam called Falling for Yaoguais, so I'll be playing that. I've played a few chapters so far and it seems pretty good!

Oh, this is a great list! I'm excited for that Gradius game as I've never played it and the original Sword of Hope (I have the sequel on 3DS).

Two S-Tributes in one week! And Cookie Clicker! And the MSX Hydlide II? I'd say overall a pretty good week!

I'm not interested in any of these games, but if they offer a game I like, I will definitely be buying it. Love the idea!

Oh, neat! I was hoping we'd see something like this after the Another Code re-release.

Yesterday, I finished Episode 3 of Taisho x Alice and am now working on the Epilogue.

It is definitely unique among otomes; it manages to be sweet, shocking, and by times genuinely disturbing. I'll reserve final judgement for after the epilogue, but I've enjoyed the ride so far.

Oh neat! I probably won't get this as I've played enough Cookie Clicker for a lifetime (well never say never, I guess) but it's cool to have this on Switch!

This weekend, I've been playing Love Story of the Restoration, another otome set during the Bakumatsu period. It's pretty interesting in that the love interests are more varied than typical games with this setting, which mainly feature Shinsengumi members. This one has a couple of Shinsengumi, along with some other historical figures and a few OCs.

Oh neat! Final Zone is published by Ratalaika, so the price point will be lower. I thought since it's a Renovation game it'd be published by Edia and be subject to their pricing scheme which is ambitious to say the least.

Hope that bodes well for Vapor Trail (the main one I hope to see on Switch from Renovation)!

Oh neat! Twinkle Star Sprites is probably my favorite Neo Geo game. I had it on Dreamcast and currently have it on Switch from the ACA so I likely won't get this collection but it's cool to see it in physical again!

Oh, that's actually pretty cool! For retro re-releases, I'd love for more of these middling games getting a complete collection with historical facts that shows people why they're significant or interesting, even if they're not top tier classics.

I would say no. I'm allergic to FOMO and only ever buy games on my own timeline and if I miss out I miss out. I also don't really play first-party releases or highly hyped third-party games and mostly stick to weird things that catch my eye so generally I don't spend that much on the games themselves. The exception is otome games, which are often in their own higher price tier. But I'm okay with that. So in light of rising prices, I'll just keep on keeping on.

As an otome fan, I'm used to paying in the $80-$100 range for games already so this isn't that huge of a shock for me (although I guess it probably means a bump up in otome prices too which, like, yeah they'll get it out of me because I'm terrible and in too deep haha).

Oh, that's interesting; I thought we'd miss the next two S-Tributes in the West as I'd only seen pre-release stuff for the Japanese versions. That's good though; now that City Connection has figured out the emulation, these are great. My favorite is Elevator Action Returns, but none of the ones I've played have let me down.

I think like some others have said, targeting individual bad games that are actual games isn't great because what makes a game bad is subjective. However, I do think banning the obvious fake games, asset flips, and AI stuff at the developer level would go a long way in cleaning up the shop. I also wish there was some accountability for scummy publishers (who sometimes release real games that in many cases aren't even that bad) for trying to game the new release list with their multiple versions. AAA Clock was already brought up, but RedDeer honestly needs to be kicked off the shop for being the main offender of this.

This weekend I'm playing a few things that were in my backlog: Mission in Snowdriftland and the S-Tribute version of Layer Section.

I came into this article ready to defend Gremlin Graphics' globe-trotting thief, but it's just the Mario guy. Yeah, I don't like him either haha

I like the NA one here as it is more distinct and reads more "video game cover" to me, whereas the EU/JP cover has higher-quality art but could be anything.

I'm playing this week's Eggconsole Pyramid Warp. It's a lot of fun! A simple maze game with enough going on to make it interesting. And, unlike the more ambitious/elaborate EC releases, it really has that early computer game feel to it.

I also downloaded TongTong. It isn't really much of a game, per se (basically a simple slot machine). But it's a neat simulation of old kids' medal games in Japanese game centers. I'd love to see this one start a trend as more of those would be neat to have from a preservation perspective.

I've never played Croc, but I know in the PS1 days these mid-tier kind of games often ended up being my favorites. Not sure how I'd feel about a game like this in the present day, but I'll likely pick this up at some point.

I really like this game! I much prefer the STG levels as I like that genre, while I'm not really a run 'n' gun fan, although those levels aren't too bad. I'd agree the on foot levels are generally too long, but for me they're much more manageable than, say, Contra.

I like the colour scheme and layout of the Japanese one the best. It most neatly captures the chaos that is Tomodachi Life. The EU one is good too, but the giant text blurb at the bottom ruins it for me.

The NA one is a bit too cluttered; it kind of has the vibe of one of those "find the things" picture book games.

Episode 3 of Taisho x Alice and Rendering Ranger R2 for me this weekend!

@Ristar24 R2 is great isn't it? So glad we have this gem on Switch now!

It's not on this list (I guess maybe it'll show up on next week's?), but Rendering Ranger came out today. Pretty cool to have such a rare Super Famicom game available on the eShop!

I think the theory on it being related to Twitter is valid. I don't think it's necessarily them building their own personal Twitter or whatever, but the realization that a social media space can be permanently altered for the worse at any time I think made them realize the need for a dedicated media space that they control.

I don't think I'm going to use this, but I also think it makes sense for it to exist.

I think if anything it's a Kirby thing, or perhaps multiple Kirby things. I don't think it's going to be any kind of bombshell announcement though.

@OorWullie The Speccy version is definitely one of the better classic versions of it in my opinion!

This looks really cool! Breakout is one of those concepts that didn't really need to be updated but they somehow found a way to reinterpret it so it seems fresh. I love remakes that offer up a genuinely new perspective on the game (and here maybe "perspective" is more literal than most, heh).

This looks like a perfect puzzle game!
(And by that I mean I'm going to enjoy playing the first ten levels or so before it gets too hard and defeats me.)

I voted Japan. Neither of these are great, but the random in-game portraits made me laugh; also the tagline on the NA boxart would surely have made it sell negative copies back in the day.

Wow, this game looks unreal. Jeff Minter is, in my opinion, one of the true geniuses of the industry (although I can rarely actually play his games as they're pretty bad in the migraine trigger department).

Nothing on Switch this weekend, but on Steam I am working through Episode 2 of Taisho x Alice, and I picked up the STGs Ginga Force and Natsuki Chronicles so maybe those too if I have time (they are set in the same universe, but Ginga Force is vertically scrolling and Natsuki Chronicles is horizontally scrolling).

I love that we're getting Juno First! I wonder what that means for other Konami games published by someone else in NA (yes, I want ACA Amidar).
And Gulkave has a neat weapon system, and then there's Assault Suits Leynos 2! A pretty good week for STG fans!

Cool! I can't speak to the other games, but Wall of Fire is pretty good, and honestly it's an ideal intro to RoTK because there's a glitch (at least in the original) that lets you have infinite soldiers which you can use if you just want to get your feet wet in the series.

Cool! These are super cute!

@CRB1984 Ooh, nice comparison! Yeah, I can definitely see it!

@GregamanX Oh, good choice! I love Lunistice! And you're right that it nails the PS1 aesthetic.

Nothing on Switch this weekend, but I'm playing Taisho x Alice on Steam as I picked up all the episodes in the recent Steam VN sale.

I'm enjoying it! It's super bantery and a bit more bawdy than the other otomes I've played which, as a reader of contemporary romance novels as well as otomes, I like.

The main character is also one of the most aggressive otome heroines I've ever seen; she is just constantly hitting on the love interest right from the very beginning. There have been a few eyebrow-raising parts, but so far nothing that would make me stop playing. I'm on the second route and it's a pretty fast read so far so I guess it's whatever the otome equivalent of a page-turner would be.

@Thirteen1355 Oh yeah definitely! I'm with you on the value of "clones" too. They're not all amazing, but some pretty big games started as pretty clear homages to other things (e.g., Stardew Valley).

This weekend I'm playing the generically named Ultimate Shooting Collection for Wii. I recently learned it is actually a collection of three Milestone shmups: Karous, Radirgy, and Chaos Field.

I bought it for Radirgy, but I find I like the other two more than I thought I would, especially Chaos Field which is essentially a boss rush game and I never enjoy that mode in games. Karous' light RPG elements are neat too.

I like both of these! Picross is always fun (although I liked the SFC Mario Picross more than this one) and DK '94 was too hard for me, but I did enjoy what I played of it.