ramu-chan

Gorgeous art style in this. This is what indie games should be doing, not endlessly chasing faux retro visuals. I say that as a huge retro gamer.

I have these on the PC but I've never really been able to get into them. The art is wonderful of course, as is the world building, but the SRPG mechanics are quite basic and limited. Compared to say, Disgaea, they're rather rudimentary and simplistic games.

This is already on my Switch ready for action. This is likely going to be the best game of the year on the Switch, and whilst I wish it ran better (30fps at best really isn't good enough for a game with such simple visuals) I can forgive the technical gaffs as the game is just so good.

@MsJubilee The point is that if they don't run all that well on a PS4 then they're going to run a whole lot worse on the vastly less powerful Switch.

What an ugly game. So many indie games hide poor art behind low resolutions and fake nostalgia. The likes of Capcom, Konami, or Square would never have put out anything as ugly back in the day.

There are few studios capable of high quality low resolution art anymore, but one which is, is d-pad studio (Owlboy). The team behind Sonic Mania also know their way around chunky pixels.

@OorWullie To each his own I guess. I played Dragon Blaze for the first time on the Switch and I was rather shocked at just how bad the score was. Horses for courses.

Just play them on the PS4. The current Yakuza engine (Yakuza 6 and Yakuza Kiwami 2) is a PS4 engine which frankly doesn't run all that well even at 30fps. Shoehorning it into the Switch would produce a horribly compromised result.

More realistic would be a port of Kiwami 1, which runs on the old, much more simplistic engine at a pretty solid 60fps. But even then, what's the point? Just buy the PS4 version.

I had this on the DC and I still have the first one on the Saturn. The Psikyo shooters are solid if a little derivative, and all rather weirdly have incredibly forgettable, generic music.

There are many better shooters out there (Ikaruga being by far the best on the Switch), but we may be waiting a while before we see ports of Battle Garegga, Dodonpachi, Radiant Silvergun, Hyper Duel, and all of those great Konami shooters (such as Twinbee Yahho, Salamander 2, Gradius 5, and Sexy Parodius)

Keep 'em coming I say. I love retro on the Switch, and I'll love it even more when my Flip Grip arrives.

It's always a red flag when a games official "screen shots" are renders on the eShop.

This is low rent stuff, and looking at it on YouTube it's a fuzzy mess with shadow draw in so close it's virtually on top of the car.

Why would anyone buy this shovelware?

I thought it was really weak. Typically ugly Western faux-anime style, low budget, and very little to do with Castlevania. Voice cast was okay, but even fake anime feels wrong when it isn't in Japanese.

Very weird that it was lacking any Castlevania music too. Such a missed opportunity.

I love the original Pilotwings but this looks like something you'd get for 50p on the app store.

@meppi64 I have Elevator Action Returns on the Saturn. A truly great game which few have played. Far superior to Ninja Warriors, which despite it's high price tag on eBay now is something of a stinker.

I love old school brawlers but.. this one is kind of basic. Now what I would dearly love to see would be a Golden Axe collection from Sega. Bringing together the two Golden Axe arcade games (the original and the sequel - The Revenge of Death Adder), and the two Mega Drive Golden Axe sequels. Now that I would buy in a heartbeat.

Sadly Sega seems to have forgotten Golden Axe these days, content as they are to simply re-release Sonic and Gunstar Heroes on every platform ever made.

@Jeronan Beyond the limit, especially in handheld mode. The low resolution and poor frame rate are barely acceptable in docked, but in handheld it's far below what is expected of a modern AA game.

Their weak game line-up this year should worry Nintendo far more than parts shortages. After the amazing launch last year, this year has been very much a slew of reheats, budget games, and C grade fodder. The best game on the system this year may end up being Octopath, and that's far from AAA quality and budget.

Sounds sensible. I ended up giving up on Xenoblade 2 as the combat was such a grind. It had very little depth and took far too long, and when I was attacked by a much higher level enemy my entire party would be wiped out in seconds. It's the worst battle system I've come across in an RPG, even worse than the brainless combat in FF15.

I managed to grab one of Limited Run's PS4 copies, and they sold out within a minute. This one has collector all over it, so expect it to sell out within seconds of going live.

I'd hope this domination in Japan will spur some Japanese dev for the platform. So far it's been tepid at best. When Square arrive with a original AAA exclusive for the platform, then things will get interesting.

This unfortunately isn't as good a game as it should be. It also ran horribly on the PS4, so it will be interesting to see if things are even worse on the Switch.

@Toshiro_Baloney Both Doom and Wolf 2 are 60fps games. This gave Panic Button an instant head start as they could half the frame rate to 30fps on the Switch. If Panic Button were to start with a 30fps PS4/XO title, they would be in a much, much trickier spot. Halving to 15fps is simply not acceptable. And of course, the vast majority of PS4/XO games are 30fps...

An impressive achievement, but it goes without saying that if you have literally ANY other platform this game is on, choose that version instead. This is massively compromised in every way.

My Switch is for games built for the Switch, or for retro stuff which runs well. I have my PS4 and PC for everything else.

@dystome You could just buy the PC version, which is far superior to the Switch port, and is currently £16 on Steam.

They should have based him on the style used on the box art of the original NES release.

@MJ1200

Bizarre. Sloppy port, I'll pass.

The return of waggle. Wow.

I think I preferred it when Konami stopped making video games, as this is just embarrassing. Hey Konami, how about something for actual gamers, you know, something like Castlevania or Contra perhaps. Or better still, something ORIGINAL.

Looks like a long lost Wonderboy game from the Master System, with added parallax scrolling.

I assume this is 60fps on the Switch? It's a Vita game, so anything less wouldn't be acceptable.

I passed on this on the PS4 despite it recently being on sale for next to nothing. It just has that look of a very low budget game about it, which is common to pretty much all Vita RPGs. I'd much sooner have a richly detailed 2D presentation over naff looking budget 3D.

I don't buy that gaming is an addiction, no more than people can be interested in any hobby. How is it different to people who enjoy books, music, art, or movies?

Some people simply lack self control and over indulge. It's why the Western world is full of so many fat people. It's puzzling to me personally, but then again, I have willpower.

@NESlover85 Xenoblade 2 is unusable in handheld mode. The resolution drops to unacceptably low level and the frame rate nose dives. It's a mess.

@JasmineDragon

I take it you've never played a VC game. They play much more like third person shooters than traditional Advance Wars type strategy games.

It will be interesting to see what corners were cut for the Switch port. If the PS4 version is 60fps (which I don't know is the case), then a drop to 30 is an obvious first cut. Then drop the res from presumably 1800p or 1440p to 720p or 600p.

There are a lot of post effects in the Valkyria games too which hammer the GPU. They could be cut back or removed too.

All of that aside, if 4 can recapture the magic of 1, it will be a minor masterpiece. (which sadly few will buy)

If Nintendo want to censor a game, they'll censor it regardless of who is in charge of the English script.

I'm more concerned about the generally lack of quality in the Fire Emblem Switch trailer. It looked seriously dated, like a game from the Gamecube era.

Nier Automata is a fun game, but it barely ran on the PS4 and PC. If it ever does come to the Switch, lower your expectations.

Well they only have themselves to blame. E3 is the industry's big event, the chance to lay out your stall and show the world what you have in store for them. Nintendo apparently have very little, or at least, very little they thought worthy of sharing.

And of what they did show, a truly ugly looking Fire Emblem game and yet another re-heated Smash Bros sequel aren't enough.

@EvrgrnCmln

If all they have of note for 2018 is Smash and Mario Party then they're sunk. After an amazing 2017 Nintendo are stumbling badly it seems.

Well the drop from 60 to 30fps is a gigantic compromise, as is the drop from 2160p to 720p.

If you want to play this just buy it for the PC people. That's how it was meant to be played. That said, buy the previous one instead, as it's far superior.

@retro_player_22

Nintendo managed to get a ton of third party content onto the NES and SNES mini. Anything is possible if you have the will and the money.

@MrBlacky Microsoft showed 50 games. That's what you can do when you have strong third party support.

Nintendo are struggling on that front, which is rather baffling given Switch hardware sales. Perhaps the Wii U burnt too many bridges.

@yacsama Not going to happen. Microsoft are publishing it.

It was incredibly weak. After the great show Microsoft put on, and the very solid effort from Sony, Nintendo really screwed up. Very little third party stuff was shown, and the lack of a strong first party line up is unforgivable. It just wasn't enough, and it makes me worry for the future of the Switch.

Who would want to play this at 30fps with mangled visuals?

The game is being built for the PS4, so just play it on the PS4.

No third party stuff as expected. Shame as SNK vs Capcom was one of the best fighters on the system.

The system itself is an interesting, unusual design. I'm frankly surprised they went with it, as it won't really work under a TV, and the tiny screen won't really cut it for long. A mini AES would have had much more mainstream appeal.

@BraveLilac

Treasure were a tiny developer, reliant on a few key staff members. Most key of all was Hiroshi Iuchi. He was the behind the game design, most of the visuals, and even the soundtracks of pivotal Treasure games, including Radiant Silvergun and Ikaruga. He's been working at M2 for many years and is currently prototyping a new shooter on the PS4.

If somehow Treasure ever do make a new game, it will be with an entirely new team.

Treasure haven't existed as a developer for many years now, they're just a holding company for their old IP. Ports of Treasure games are all outsourced.

It's really a terrible shame, as in their prime (MD and Saturn era) they were in a class of their own. Radiant Silvergun and Alien Soldier are I think their finest achievements, which is probably why they go for several hundred on eBay.

That's a brave price for Sushi Striker. I can't see that selling much until the price is inevitably slashed.

Some real red flags around this one. I suspect it will be a stinker.

Nintendo's move into telephone gaming was a warning, a drop in standards and a race to the gutter. Now the infection has spread to their console division. If they don't nip it in the bud, it will be the end of them as a AAA developer.

Konami make video games? When did that happen?

Seriously I wouldn't get your hopes up. The talent at Konami is long, long gone.

"What first-party Wii U games could launch on Switch?
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Sing Party
Star Fox Zero / Guard
Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE
The Wonderful 101"

None of the above are first party games. They're all second party.

@Aerona No UK codes yet. People are going nuts at Inti over on Kickstarter, as they should. They couldn't have got this more wrong.

@YANDMAN

"first"? Really? Are you 8 years old?