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[The best argument for mouse mode.]

1

TalkBack / Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun (Switch 2) Review

« on: Yesterday at 06:00:00 AM »

The best argument for mouse mode.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/74794/shadow-tactics-blades-of-the-shogun-switch-2-review

It's been a while since I’ve had as much trouble landing on a score for a game as I have with Shadow Tactics. Ultimately, a substantial factor in your enjoyment of this game will come down to how you’re playing it. Are you using a controller, or the Switch 2’s mouse mode?

Shadow Tactics is a real-time strategic stealth game. From an overhead view, you control a variety of unique units through large levels. Each unit has unique abilities that make them more suited for one situation or another. For example, your starting character can throw a shuriken to take out enemies silently from a distance. However, he’ll need to get to that fallen enemy and retrieve it before he can use it again. Another can lay traps on the ground for unsuspecting enemies to wander into, or draw them over with her flute. No one unit is overpowered, so you’ll need to take advantage of each to cover for the weaknesses of the others.

This is a game that expects you to fail, a lot. There is very little margin for error, even compared to other stealth games. Every move through a crowded area, or enemy killed without detection feels like immediate cause for a quicksave. In fact an on screen prompt appears anytime it's been more than a minute since you saved. When playing in mouse mode the SR and SL buttons on the non-mouse Joy-Con are mapped to quicksave and quickload respectively. It is a very clear indicator that Shadow Tactics wants you to try things, fail, and immediately have another go.  It is a gameplay loop that can very quickly become frustrating, especially if you feel you’re struggling more with controller mapping than level design.

My first experience with Shadow Tactics was with the Switch 2 Pro Controller. I felt the game was clunky, awkward, and just not fun to play. As I pushed through, I decided to try out the mouse mode, and it transformed the game. In an instant, the game changed from endless button combos and radial menus to a straightforward interface. If I wanted to use an ability I could simply click it, or push its associated hotkey on the opposite Joy-Con. It felt like playing with a mouse and keyboard. It was immediately clear that this is how Shadow Tactics was built to be played. Suddenly I had no trouble quickly swapping between characters to pull off complex combo actions. I had an easier time navigating the map, and as a result, a better awareness of enemy patrol patterns. Don’t get me wrong, Shadow Tactics is still a difficult game, but in mouse mode it becomes a satisfying difficulty rather than a frustrating one.

One thing that mouse mode doesn’t clear up is some uneven difficulty scaling. Difficulty spikes abound in odd places. For example, I’d argue that the opening level is more difficult than the next couple that follow it. It can also be somewhat vague what exactly an enemy can see or not at any given time. You can drop a marker on the ground to highlight any time an enemy can see that spot, but that will include a segment of their viewcone that won’t see you if you’re crouched. But you can’t always see the viewcone of every enemy at all times making the marker more or less useless. Visibility based on height is also vague and seemingly inconsistent. In one stage I could hop between carts and be completely invisible, whereas in other stages I could be easily spotted on the roof of a building.

There is plenty of fun to be had with Shadow Tactics but be prepared for a lot of trial and error. Playing with the standard controller setup I found to be frustrating, and nearly caused me to put the game down. On the other hand, Shadow Tactics may just be the best argument we’ve seen yet for mouse mode on Switch 2. It is transformative to the point that I almost feel like the game ought to specifically recommend it to the player on startup. Underneath all of that is an interesting, though at times inconsistent, stealth game full of unique characters and scenarios. Just be sure to have a clear surface available mouse mode and plenty of patience as you whittle away at the challenge.

[Yeah sure okay.]

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TalkBack / Tokyo Scramble (Switch 2) Review

« on: February 11, 2026, 05:00:00 AM »

Yeah sure okay.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/74294/tokyo-scramble-switch-2-review

The one thing no one can accuse Tokyo Scramble of being, is unoriginal in its premise. You play as a young girl who, after a subway crash, finds herself trapped deep underground. As she comes to and begins looking for a way out, she quickly discovers that this subterranean environment is inhabited by dinosaurs.

Progression is level based with most levels consisting of one or two large rooms. Your goal is to sneak your way past wandering enemies and out the other side. Every stage or two will introduce a new monster, ranging from fairly straightforward dinosaurs, to giant bugs and bats. Each creature theoretically has a unique mechanic; however, in practice, a lot of them just amount to being an enemy that will see you and run after you. That’s the biggest struggle Tokyo Scramble faces. While the premise is wild, the actual execution just isn’t very interesting. There is a lot of enemy variety visually, but your method for dealing with them rarely evolves in any real way. The stealth mechanics blend both visual and auditory detection and each works reasonably well. Though it can be difficult to determine exactly what the detection range of enemies is, which makes the stealth feel a little loose.

Your only companion as you journey through the underground is your smart watch, which can be used to interact with various environmental objects. Signs can be lit up, escalators activated, and fire alarms pulled. These interactions generally serve as distractions or traps for enemies. That said, I found that I had to use them exactly as the game intended with very little margin for creativity. For example, the escalator can be activated to trap a certain kind of dinosaur on an endless treadmill. I first tried to do this by getting the dinosaur to chase me up an escalator then activating once it stepped on, only for it to ignore the movement on the steps entirely. Rather it has to notice the escalator while off of it and trigger a pre-scripted animation to step onto it and be trapped. There is a trend throughout the experience of not just understanding what an interaction does, but needing to figure out how the game wants you to use that function specifically. Your watch also has a flash function with a limited number of charges which can be used to briefly stun pursuing enemies. I found myself falling back on this mechanic rather than fiddling with the other interactive parts of the environment, which was unfortunate as the game clearly wanted me to engage with that puzzle element. It just wasn’t fun.

Visually, Tokyo Scramble can be a little bland. The monsters themselves all look very good, and animate well. It is clear that they are where the majority of the effort has been placed. Environments by comparison are very flat with largely pre-baked lighting that doesn’t feel like it's pushing the hardware in the slightest. On the bright side, that means performance is smooth and the image is reasonably sharp.

Tokyo Scramble has a wild, if somewhat nonsensical pitch, that unfortunately doesn’t translate to a very good game. It neither uses its premise to create a unique stealth experience, nor does it lean into its own ridiculousness enough to be compellingly campy. There is a nice attempt at enemy variety, and an honest effort at puzzle-based stealth, but it just never comes together. There are moments where you can see what Tokyo Scramble was aiming for, but what you’re left with is a remarkably mediocre stealth experience.

[An improvement with some lingering awkwardness.]

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TalkBack / Abxylute N6 Switch 2 Handheld Controller Grip Review

« on: March 10, 2026, 07:19:18 AM »

An improvement with some lingering awkwardness.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/74721/abxylute-n6-switch-2-handheld-controller-grip-review

[How long can he spend on a very short demo?]

4

TalkBack / John Plays New Star Fox-like from Original Star Fox Designer

« on: February 24, 2026, 04:01:23 AM »

How long can he spend on a very short demo?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/74516/john-plays-new-star-fox-like-from-original-star-fox-designer

The local Star Fox nerd sits down with Wild Blue Skies, the new Star Fox inspired title from Giles Goddard and Chuhai Labs.

[One heck of a glow-up.]

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TalkBack / Fur Squadron Phoenix (Switch) Review

« on: February 18, 2026, 04:00:48 AM »

One heck of a glow-up.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/74425/fur-squadron-phoenix-switch-review

Back in 2023, when I reviewed the original Fur Squadron on Nintendo Switch, I concluded with “Fur Squadron is a reasonably well executed love letter to Star Fox and rail shooters in general, and it is clear that the potential is there for this developer to pull off something of a much larger scale.” Just under three years later and I could not be happier to say that Fur Squadron Phoenix absolutely delivers on that potential. Developer Raptor Claw manages to address nearly every critique I levied at that original release and the result is a thoroughly entertaining and heartfelt Star Fox-like experience.

You play as a new protagonist, Robin, a member of Phoenix Squadron. After your entire squadron is shot down in the opening mission, you are re-assigned to Fur Squadron to train up and get some sweet revenge. The campaign consists of eight stages. Each one is fairly long and odds are you’ll need a couple of tries to get through some of them. Levels are split between training missions which take place in a virtual environment, and story missions which take place in the real world. Training missions award you with experience that can be used to upgrade your ship. You get experience whether you complete the training missions successfully or not, creating a nice sense of progression even when replaying the same level to clear it. Story missions on the other hand award you nothing if you get shot down. I enjoyed this from a narrative perspective and how it dramatically reinforced the tension of story missions. With no checkpoints, failing a story mission feels like a much more significant loss than losing a simulated training mission.

Rail shooters that are built on replaying levels to earn upgrades don’t always work for me, as difficulty often feels artificially inflated for the sake of padding out the experience. I didn’t mind as much in Fur Squadron Phoenix. The difficulty curve felt challenging but never outright unfair. It would be difficult but I suspect it is completely possible to finish the game with the starting ship if you really wanted to. It also helps that level structure and enemy layout is somewhat randomized in each run. The big set piece moments are always the same but you’ll come up against different enemy patterns that prevent you from completely memorizing any stage. The one downside here is that you start to pick up on the different enemy attack patterns that come up within each level's more randomized segments. I’d have liked to see this randomization be a little more aggressive. At the same time, there is some satisfaction to be found in coming up with the perfect combo of charge shots and special weapons to use to effectively combo your way through patterns when you learn to recognize them.

Level design itself ranges from passable to excellent. At worst, some of the early levels feel very open, with the only real challenge revolving around managing the waves of enemies. But after the first few stages, there gets to be a bigger focus on piloting around obstacles in more authored set piece moments. A couple of the later stages revisit earlier ones briefly before sending the level off in a wildly different direction. Some of the best moments involve weaving through twisting tunnels as the camera snakes around behind you. It is incredibly satisfying to come out of these moments having cleared every enemy and dodged every obstacle. It's in these moments that you can see how well Fur Squadron Phoenix understands what makes the genre great and my only complaint is that I wish it would let loose like this a little more often.

While there is no distinct Switch 2 version of Fur Squadron Phoenix, the developer has taken smart advantage of the hardware by including a performance mode toggle. This unlocks the frame rate, allowing the Switch 2 to hit a consistent 60 fps where the original Switch defaults to 30 fps. It is a nice option and from my experience playing a pre-release build on my Steam Deck, the Switch version is well optimized and the Switch 2 offers an even smoother experience. The rendering resolution is definitely constrained by the Switch limitations but it still looks pretty sharp on Switch 2. I did find the controls a little stiff when trying to make subtle movements. This was an issue I raised with the original game, and while it feels a bit better here, I did still wind up adjusting the sensitivity to alleviate the issue.

There have been plenty of reviews I’ve written over the years where I’ve said something to the effect of wanting to see a developer take a second run at something. Seeing the evolution from Fur Squadron’s simple half-hour long debut to Fur Squadron Phoenix's visually diverse and expansive campaign is incredible. The controls are still just a little stiff and there is perhaps a bit more repetition than is ideal, but it is hard not to be taken in by the charm. This is a great rail shooter that hints at even more potential for a third entry. If you’re looking for something to fill the perpetual Star Fox shaped hole in your heart, Fur Squadron Phoenix makes for a wonderful alternative. I can’t wait to see what this developer does next.

[Worth the upgrade?]

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TalkBack / Ys X: Proud Nordics (Switch 2) Review

« on: February 16, 2026, 04:00:00 AM »

Worth the upgrade?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/74330/ys-x-proud-nordics-switch-2-review

I reviewed Ys X: Nordics on Nintendo Switch back in 2024. I gave it an 8.5 at the time and I stand by that score. It was a great game that combined the fun lighthearted adventure of Ys VIII with the improvements to traversal and exploration found in Ys IX along with plenty of its own ideas. Now, Ys X makes its way to Switch 2 as Ys X: Proud Nordics. This release combines a touched up version of the original game with some brand new content that is available here for the first time. I won’t fully re-review the entire game and if you want my thoughts on the core experience please check out my original review. Rather I’ll be looking at this release from the perspective of my own primary question when I first saw it revealed. Is it worth picking up if I already have the Switch version?

One key detail to get out of the way right at the start, is that Proud Nordics does not have cross-progression with the original release. So even if you’re part way through the Switch version, you’ll have to start over on Switch 2. It's a little disappointing but I assume this is due to the way the new content is implemented. The new side story is built directly into the main game and is played alongside the primary story. It feels very natural within the context of the rest of the game, but it means you can’t go directly to the new stuff even if you’ve already played the game before. I won’t go into the actual plot of the new content but it is fairly substantial with new areas and characters.

Outside of that new content the big thing you’ll notice immediately if you’re coming from the Switch version is the substantial performance boost on Switch 2. The Switch was a lead platform for the original release so it was always technically solid, but the Switch 2 offers substantial improvements. You get modes for both 60 frames-per-second and 120 frames-per-second as compared to the original’s 30 frames-per-second. On the original Switch Ys X’s dynamic resolution generally landed around 720p. Out of curiosity I decided to capture my comparison footage of the original Switch version on a Switch 2 just to see how different it would actually be from the Switch 2 version. Backwards compatibility is able to brute force that 720p up to a full 1080p which was a pleasant surprise. It's actually the same underlying resolution as the full Switch 2 version. The difference here is that the Switch 2 version benefits from proper anti-aliasing improving the image quality significantly. If you’re coming from having only played this version on an actual original Switch then the difference will be even more stark than these comparisons.

The updates aren’t purely in image quality and frame rate, however. One of the first things I noticed was improvements to draw distances. The original Switch version suffers from some aggressive LODs and secondary detail and character culling. Elements of the environment constantly appear directly next to you as buildings pop between levels of detail. On Switch 2 the LOD issues are more or less entirely resolved. Pop in is pushed out significantly. Detail like foliage is denser and draws out farther from the camera; in some instances, it appears in areas it was completely absent from on Switch, such as on islands when sailing.

Various elements of lighting have been improved as well. Shadows are of a significantly higher resolution, though the cascade is still very obvious. Ambient occlusion has been added to fill in pockets of shade in the environments making them look significantly less flat. It also helps to give characters proper grounding shadows in dimly lit interior areas. The stylized rim lighting used on characters now also applies to environments, which I felt was more cohesive overall. The Ys series has long been a lower budget title that hasn’t pushed the boundaries of graphics by any means, but I think Ys X in particular really manages those limitations well, and this version presents those budget conscious decisions in a positive light.

As it always has been, Ys X remains an excellent game. This new version is undeniably the definitive way to play. While it ran well on the original Switch and actually benefits quite nicely from backwards compatibility on Switch 2, the technical improvements that come with a proper Switch 2 version are hard to ignore. The combat in particular really benefits from those higher frame rate options. The new content means there are fresh experiences here for returning players. It also includes all the costume DLC released for the original game. However, the lack of cross-progression does mean that you’ll have no choice but to start over. On the other hand, if you’ve yet to play Ys X, I can wholeheartedly recommend this version. While returning players do have to wrestle with whether the upgrade is worth it, new players should absolutely dive in without hesitation.

[Nearly there.]

7

TalkBack / Big Hops (Switch & Switch 2) Review

« on: January 12, 2026, 05:00:00 AM »

Nearly there.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/73917/big-hops-switch-n-switch-2-review

UPDATE 1/15/2026: A patch was released later in the day after we issued our previous update. Patch 1.0.2 significantly improves frame rates in select large hub areas on the original Switch. Some stability issues remain as of this patch.

UPDATE 1/14/2026: A score has been assigned based on version 1.0.1. Substantial stability issues persist on both Switch and Switch 2 that may impact your ability to complete the game and significant performance issues are present on Switch 1. While the underlying game is excellent, unfortunately too many technical issues exist with the Switch release to recommend playing it on that platform. While the performance issues are largely addressed by playing on Switch 2, stability issues remain, particularly at the very end of the game.

Original review text:

Now and then I review a game where assigning a review score proves incredibly difficult. Big Hops is visually charming, endlessly creative, and boasts a surprising amount of mechanical complexity. Unfortunately, it also has some pretty difficult to ignore stability issues on Switch that are only somewhat mitigated on Switch 2. I have been informed by the developer that they are actively working on what will hopefully be a launch day patch, but I can only really review the version of the game I’ve been given. For that reason, I’m leaving my review unscored for a day which will ideally give me time to test the patch and provide a more accurate score.

In Big Hops, you play as a frog named Hop. After being separated from your sister you wander into a strange shrine where you are whisked away to an alternate dimension called The Void. Here you meet Diss, a strange being with unclear motives. Ultimately Diss sets Hop on a path through multiple distant lands as Hop struggles between finding a way home and uncovering what Diss wants from him. While I never felt the overall story truly paid off in an interesting way, individual characters in each region were compelling. Every line of dialogue is fully voice acted and the cast includes some surprisingly great talent such as Steve Blum (Spike Spiegel), Kirk Thornton (Shadow the Hedgehog), and Giselle Fernandez (Princess Daisy). The voice direction for some of the smaller secondary characters is a bit hit and miss but each area always has a few legitimately compelling characters.

Hop’s core move-set feels heavily influenced by Super Mario Odyssey, but with a lot of originality stacked on top. As a frog, Hop can use his tongue to grapple and freely swing, zip to certain points, pick up objects, and otherwise interact with the environment. He’s able to climb on vertical or even fully inverted surfaces at the cost of stamina which can be extended by eating bugs. Each area also hosts a variety of throwable vegetables that can do things like generate bounce pads, sticky points on walls, or even zero gravity bubbles. Big Hops places a heavy focus on complex platforming and momentum, but allows the player room to experiment. Hop has a backpack so you can carry vegetables from one area to another, and often find multiple solutions to most challenges. This is especially true of hidden challenge levels which require a much deeper grasp of various mechanics. In the entire game I only found one spot where a challenge forced me to solve a problem in a specific way despite a vegetable I had brought with me theoretically allowing for an alternate solution. I regularly had moments of completing an area and thinking “I don’t know if that's what they expected me to do but it worked.”

Beyond a reasonably sized opening tutorial area, Big Hops consists of three massive environments that are each built around a self-contained series of quests. Your mysterious companion, Diss, will send you after Dark Drips, which he will exchange for upgrades. At the start you’ll only be able to equip two upgrades at a time, but by the end (assuming you’ve been seeking out challenge stages) you’ll be swimming in a wide variety of upgrades and plenty of slots. It is worth noting that the game doesn’t really force you to engage with its collectibles and makes these upgrades entirely optional. It also doesn’t flood you with Dark Drips, so I never really felt overpowered or like it was a chore to go get one when I saw an opportunity.

Big Hops is an extremely attractive looking game regardless of platform. There isn’t a dedicated Switch 2 version currently, but the Switch version played via backwards compatibility is an extremely smooth experience the vast majority of the time. I did notice a few times in larger areas where I could get some frame stutters, but I only found this impactful to gameplay in one late game section. Needless to say, these occasional hitches are significantly more noticeable on Switch and can be felt in several of the larger areas.

The one significant issue Big Hops faces on Switch and Switch 2 comes in the form of stability. When playing for an extended period of time I’d generally get a loading screen crash after a few hours. A solid autosave system meant this rarely hurt my actual progression but it was a mild annoyance. However, at the very end of the game during some fast-paced platforming challenges I began experiencing crashes with such regularity that I struggled to reach the credits. I wound up bouncing my save between both my Switch and Switch 2 as I found they would crash at different points, and I could leapfrog (no pun intended) around them by making use of both systems. I have reached out to the developer and been informed that they are aware of the issue and that a patch is incoming, hopefully at or around launch.

In the current pre-launch state in which I’m reviewing it, Big Hops bounces triumphantly up to the finish line before tripping on a pebble. With stability addressed I will have no doubt recommending this as an early contender for indie of 2026 on Switch and Switch 2. Until then, consider other platforms or double check that the launch day patch has hit. I’ll be checking back in on Big Hops with the hopes of giving it the positive score it deserves, very soon.

[Now where were we?]

8

TalkBack / Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Switch & Switch 2) Review

« on: December 16, 2025, 05:00:00 AM »

Now where were we?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/73696/metroid-prime-4-beyond-switch-n-switch-2-review

What do you do when it has been nearly two decades since the last numbered game in your series? Do you up the ante and position it as something that has been building for all that time? When the main character first walks on screen do you hold for applause? Do you completely reinvent it for a modern audience? Or do you simply brush off the dust, stretch a little, and calmly ask “now then, where were we?”

In the period immediately following the events of Metroid Prime: Federation Force, the mysterious hunter known as Sylux has taken over leadership of the Space Pirates and a contingent of metroids (technically mochtroids). Federation bases are coming under attack as he searches for an artifact from an unknown ancient civilization. It is here that we join Samus, who confronts Sylux before being warped away by the artifact to a distant world. Buildings, gear, and personnel from the Federation base are pulled in with her.

Like previous Metroid Prime games, Metroid Prime 4 strives to strike a balance between classic Metroid gameplay, and progression that at times feels more akin to pre-Breath of the Wild 3D Zelda. Taking notes from some of the more often cited criticisms of Metroid Prime 3, it presents an entirely unified map and removes the option for fast travel, requiring you to backtrack through the map as you gain access to new areas via different abilities. The structure of the map, spidering out from a central hub area calls to mind the structure of Metroid Fusion. Like Fusion and previous entries in the Prime subseries, you will rarely be left wondering where to go. Your map nearly always has a marker on it and the challenge instead is found in thoroughly exploring along the way for upgrades and lore, solving puzzles, and engaging in combat. In contrast to many of those contemporary reviews of Metroid Prime 3, I would prefer that Metroid Prime 4 provide you with some fast travel options. I don’t have any issue with revisiting any of the environments. That’s just Metroid. Even the large central desert environment offers some unique gameplay and optional side areas. But, because you’ll often need to return to your base camp to install new abilities the trek back and forth can get annoying.

One key element of the Prime series, and one that has been continuously aped by other games ever since, is the scan visor. Every enemy has a detailed scan available full of lore. Much of the best storytelling is handled through details gleaned by scanning random bits of the environment. From the writings of this world’s long dead civilization, to incidental scene details, Metroid Prime 4 proves that Retro remains the king of this style of storytelling. That being said, it isn’t quite perfect. Back in Metroid Prime 3, color coding was added to scannable objects to make it clear what was a random scene detail, which was something that would be tracked in your logbook (necessary for 100% completion), and what was an object that could be interacted with. Metroid Prime 4 highlights interactable objects in yellow but everything else is the same color of green. This can make filling up your logbook a bit of a hassle as you check random scene geometry or even different sections of bosses for unique scans. Bosses are handled particularly oddly as you are able to get their main scan again after defeating them if you missed it during the fight, but you’re not able to get their secondary scans (usually for their limbs, weapons, or spawns). It is an inconsistency in how the game views missable, one-time scans.  

Metroid Prime 4 is the best looking first-party title to be released thus far on the Switch 2. Given that it is more-or-less a Switch title running at a higher resolution and framerate, this is both a compliment to Retro and an indictment on the rest of Nintendo’s first-party output. While I have no doubt the Switch 2 could produce an even better-looking Metroid Prime game, within the context of this being a Switch game much more so than a Switch 2 game, the output here is remarkable. Performance is essentially flawless, even when set to run at 120 frames-per-second. My one critique here (and this likely comes back to its original platform) is that many secondary elements such as particle effects, are animated at 30 frames-per-second. The gap between 60 and 30 is significantly less noticeable than the gap from 120 to 30, where these animations can be quite jarring. I also noticed some issues in certain cutscenes where the camera or certain character animations were tied to a lower frame rate. It is a nitpick but when dealing with performance this good, nitpicks are really all there is.

Much has been made of the addition of a small cast of Galactic Federation soldiers who Samus encounters on her quest. While the characters themselves feel very much in line with Tanabe’s efforts to expand on the Galactic Federation in Metroid Prime 3 and Metroid Prime: Federation Force, there was concern that they would take away from a feeling of isolation or that their writing would come up short. Ultimately, I found that I had the opposite reaction. Because you’ll be alone for 99% of the game, the rare instance in which you encounter another human character feels like an exciting event. As it turns out, isolation is a lot more noticeable when you have a basis for comparison. Your limited excursions with each character generally bring with them one-off mechanics that help to add variety to gameplay in each area of the map. I wound up getting pretty attached to each of them and would spend extra time in base camp making sure I hadn’t missed any optional dialogue.

But the visuals, the fantastic soundtrack, the surprisingly endearing cast, and the richly built world, all serve to bring you back into the unique feeling of Metroid Prime. These games are known for presenting dense worlds full of narrative detail, landscapes that inspire a sense of awe, and soundscapes that are at once thrilling and haunting. There is nothing quite like a Metroid Prime game. Sometimes they’re puzzle games, but the next moment you’ll turn the corner and find yourself in a horror game. One moment you’re alone digging through ancient ruins, and the next you’re embroiled in first person combat. Each game may add its own mechanics and narrative spins, but they all carry that core Metroid Prime identity. Some are quiet journeys through abandoned and remote locations; others carry the grand scale of galactic war against the Space Pirates. Metroid Prime 4 manages to land somewhere in the middle. It never hits the narrative scale of Metroid Prime 3, but does place a greater focus on narrative than Metroid Prime or Metroid Prime 2.

In the eighteen years since Metroid Prime 3, a lot has changed in the world of game design and the world of Metroid. Over in the parallel world of Yoshio Sakamoto’s 2D Metroid series, Metroid Dread has made waves as a glorious return for classic Metroid. The Legend of Zelda, which was in many ways a sibling series to Metroid in terms of design, has become an open-world sandbox and reignited the series. But amidst that backdrop of reinvention and revitalization, Kensuke Tanabe and his team at Retro just seem interested in making Metroid Prime 4. A game that picks up its game design right where it left it in Metroid Prime 3, and its story right from where it left off in Metroid Prime: Federation Force. For that reason, Metroid Prime 4 feels like a world we never left, like I had simply missed another Metroid Prime game that came out a couple years after Metroid Prime 3. It can be difficult to describe how comforting it was to simply go back and have another adventure without the need to reinvent. It's not that Metroid Prime 4 is exactly like any of the other Metroid Primes. Honestly, taken individually none of them are all that similar. Rather, Metroid Prime 4 just feels like another one. It doesn’t expect you to point and clap when Samus walks on screen. Metroid Prime 4 presents a world in which Samus never left.

[You got Contra in my Wild Guns!]

9

TalkBack / Neon Inferno (Switch) Review

« on: November 20, 2025, 06:14:20 AM »

You got Contra in my Wild Guns!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/73365/neon-inferno-switch-review

What do you get when you combine 16-bit run and gun action with a gallery shooter? The answer is Neon Inferno, a game that proudly touts itself as Contra meets Wild Guns. Set in a cyberpunk New York City and drenched in gorgeous pixel art, Neon Inferno makes a strong impression. But does it have the substance to back up all that style?

The game can be played both single player and cooperatively with a second player. Levels play out in a 2D field but enemies can appear both in the foreground alongside the player and the background. In the foreground you’ll run, jump, and shoot freely. You also have a melee attack (that doubles as a counter) and a dodge. By holding down the right bumper you can instead fire into the background. While doing this you won’t be able to move so its important to carefully manage enemies in both the foreground and the background. Attentive players can also make use of bonus damage by using the melee counter to deflect bullets from the foreground into the background. Punctuating this gameplay are regular set piece moments that will have you jumping between flying vehicles or fighting off enemies from the back of a motorcycle weaving through traffic. Not only does each level feel highly unique, but there is a surprising amount of variety within each level from one screen to the next.

Between stages you’ll have the option to visit a shop where you can purchase special weapons that make use of limited ammo. These cost gold found in levels. However each one has extremely limited ammo and new ammo does not drop mid-level. This makes the actual value of any of these weapons highly questionable. I’d have much rather they be dropped by enemies in a manner more in keeping with the gameplay of the titles that inspired Neon Inferno.

It goes without saying that at any given moment there is a lot to keep track of. Neon Inferno deserves a lot of credit for how readable it manages to keep its chaos all while presenting absolutely beautiful artwork. You also have the option to strengthen or reduce the default CRT effects placed on the game. The art seamlessly blends between 16-bit sprite work that calls to mind the best of the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis era, with modern volumetric effects and real-time lighting. Being in the world of Neon Inferno is visually enthralling and I was always excited to see what the next screen would have on offer.

By default the game is set to hard mode, but also features a medium and easy mode. I opted for medium for my first playthrough. After a couple stages I started to feel pretty comfortable and figured I’d up the difficulty. I was disappointed to see that there was no way to do this without starting an entirely new save file. That obviously goes for lowering the difficulty as well. Add to this a questionable checkpoint system with extremely uneven placing and difficulty balancing does become something of an issue.

Neon Inferno executes on all the toughest elements of its design flawlessly but occasionally gets tripped up in more traditional areas. Blasting your way through enemies before using a sword to deflect bullets into a sniper waiting in the background is extremely satisfying. But at the same time a poorly implemented alternate weapon system and badly paced checkpoints prevent Neon Inferno from ever quite hitting the heights it deserves to hit. That being said even with those occasional missteps it is hard not to get caught up in everything Neon Inferno has to offer. This is a beautiful throwback to some of the best of the 16-bit era that achieves something entirely original.

[Great visuals struggle to save clunky gameplay.]

10

TalkBack / House Fighters: Total Mess (Switch) Review Mini

« on: November 18, 2025, 09:04:36 AM »

Great visuals struggle to save clunky gameplay.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewmini/73363/house-fighters-total-mess-switch-review-mini

House Fighters: Total Mess is an aerial combat game in which you control a small toy plane against opposing toys. It's a genre and aesthetic that I absolutely love. Unfortunately, extremely limited gameplay and some rough controls don’t quite live up to the charm of the premise.

Outside of the final mission, the entirety of the game takes place within a single house. Across a variety of missions, you’ll have access to different areas of the house, but the entire thing exists as one continuous environment. Slightly altered layouts for objects within the house and a slow drip-feed of new rooms keeps things fresh for the first chunk of the campaign, but by halfway through you’ll have seen everything. Most missions amount to flying to a certain spot in the house before engaging against enemy planes and turrets. Now and then a level will make use of some one-off mechanics. For example, one mission required me to pick up ingredients for a cake and drop them into a mixing bowl. Moments like that give a glimpse into a much more compelling avenue for House Fighters’ gameplay. However, they are the exception not the rule.

As you progress you’ll unlock new planes and visual customization options. A lot of the customization unlocks are found by exploring the house outside of your main objective for each mission. Unfortunately flying around as your little toy plane doesn’t feel particularly good. Movement is jerky with a camera that is locked tightly behind your plane with no sense of fluidity. The camera focuses on your plane itself rather than where it is going which makes tracking enemies feel clumsy.

What I can unquestionably complement House Fighters on is its visual design and technical setup. The game actually has graphics settings for low, medium, and high visuals. By default, the graphics are set to medium which is likely your best option if playing on an original Switch. However, if you’re playing on Switch 2, you can swap to the high settings with no loss in performance. The high preset adds highly improved light maps that significantly improve the visuals of the game. The low setting meanwhile appears to change resolution settings but even on original Switch hardware I didn’t see much of a reason to use it.

House Fighters: Total Mess is a great concept, but it just never quite executes on it as well as it should. The single player campaign is the only mode and only took me an hour or two to complete. Now and then some more interesting level design will peek through but for the most part this is a forgettable shooter wrapped in a very charming shell that ends just when it is starting to get interesting.

[It's really good.]

11

TalkBack / Replaying Metroid Prime Hunters in 2025

« on: November 07, 2025, 04:10:54 AM »

It's really good.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/73149/replaying-metroid-prime-hunters-in-2025

I hadn't played through Metroid Prime Hunters since it originally released. With Prime 4 just around the corner I decided to revisit it.

[Worth upgrading or fine on Switch?]

12

TalkBack / Pokemon Legends Z-A - Switch VS Switch 2 Technical Analysis

« on: October 17, 2025, 05:00:00 AM »

Worth upgrading or fine on Switch?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/72920/pokemon-legends-z-a-switch-vs-switch-2-technical-analysis

[An early indie is made brand new again.]

13

TalkBack / Platypus Reclayed (Switch) Review Mini

« on: October 11, 2025, 01:17:18 PM »

An early indie is made brand new again.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewmini/72855/platypus-reclayed-switch-review-mini

Platypus originally released in 2002, predating what many of us think of as the modern indie game movement. It is perhaps best recognized for its 2006 release PSP. The game's graphics were notable for their use of stop-motion graphics built from photographing physical clay assets. Platypus Reclayed goes beyond a simple HD release of the original as it required brand new assets to be sculpted and photographed. The end result is a visually stunning shooter.

Like the original, Platypus Reclayed plays out as a horizontally scrolling shoot-em-up. You’ll choose from a selection of a few different ships, each with different stats. You only have access to a single weapon so gameplay is pretty simple. Periodically you’ll find temporary weapon upgrades. These upgrades significantly enhance your firepower but will be lost if you take damage or after a certain amount of time has passed. By shooting a weapon pickup you’ll cause it to cycle through multiple available weapon types. So while you can’t carry a specific weapon indefinitely, there is some strategy to be had in picking the right weapon for the job. Being smart about your weapons becomes essential as the level design comes with some noticeable and somewhat uneven difficulty spikes.

Gameplay is solid, even if it is very by the book. But the real star of the show in Platypus Reclayed in the presentation. What stood out to me most was that the game never really cheats with its graphics. For example a rotating turret on the side of a ship isn’t rotated by simply rotating the image, it is actually photographed at each incremental angle. When it fires there is a real, practical light illuminating the physical model. I often found myself playing just one more stage to see what the game would present visually. The only negative in this department is that in certain biomes some background and foreground structures can blend together, making unclear what is decoration and what is an actual hazard.

Platypus Reclayed is an excellently handled update that consistently delivers top notch visuals. It even includes the full original game if you’re feeling nostalgic. Level design comes with the occasionally odd difficulty spike in places, but in general provides a satisfying shoot-em-up experience. It doesn’t really push any boundaries in the gameplay department but handles the basics well. On very rare occasions the gameplay takes second seat to the visuals but most of the time they work together to create an memorable and enthralling journey.

[Yooka-Laylee reimagined for better or for worse.]

14

TalkBack / Yooka-Replaylee (Switch 2) Review

« on: October 08, 2025, 05:00:00 AM »

Yooka-Laylee reimagined for better or for worse.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/72839/yooka-replaylee-switch-2-review

Yooka-Laylee, as it launched back in 2017, was a somewhat divisive game. Developed by ex-Rare veterans of games like Banjo Kazooie, it promised a lot of Nintendo 64 nostalgia in a brand new package. Depending on who you ask, you may hear that Yooka-Laylee was too slavish to that late ‘90s 3D platformer inspiration. Others will tell you that it was the deviations from that formula that are the cause of any of its problems. For myself, I actually think Yooka-Laylee is a pretty good game. So when Yooka-Replaylee was announced as a sort of reimagined remaster, I was curious exactly what the result would be.

At its core, Yooka-Replaylee, just like the original, is a 3D platformer that leans heavily into ‘90s collectathons. As a chameleon named Yooka, you team up with a bat named Laylee to recover the stolen pages (Pagies) of The One Book. To do this, you’ll explore Hivory Towers, a factory run by Capital B who intends to use the Book for nefarious purposes. Within Hivory Towers you’ll gain access to five different worlds, each littered with Pagies to find.

Right from the start, I was surprised by just how different Yooka-Replaylee actually is. The entire opening has been redesigned and expanded. A brand new tutorial segment is paired with a new story that lends more significance to Yooka and Laylee’s quest to recover the pages that have been stolen by Capital B. In fact, the story in general has been significantly altered with major changes made throughout. Once things get moving, it becomes difficult to catalogue all of the changes. Collectibles have been reworked and new functionality has been added for them. Feathers allow you to buy upgrades from Trowzer while coins can be spent buying cosmetics and optional game altering tonics from Vendi. Your entire moveset is now unlocked from the start of the game and no longer needs to be acquired from Trowzer. Finally, you no longer need to spend Pagies to expand levels.

This last point is particularly worth highlighting as it constitutes my primary complaint with Yooka-Replaylee. By removing the level expanding system, Yooka-Replaylee has essentially lost its very intentional level design. In the original game, each world would start as a pretty small and easy to cover area. After finding a certain number of Pagies you’d be able to expand the level. This would add new areas to the level along with new, more difficult challenges. The designers were able to gate the difficulty curve behind this expansion because they knew the player would be more experienced by the time they reached those later challenges. After expanding the level enough, you’d eventually be able to reach the level’s boss. In this way each stage, despite being an open sandbox, had an evolving sense of progression to it. Now, to be clear, this system was controversial in the original game. But controversial or not, the levels were built around it. In Yooka-Replaylee you simply wander into absolutely massive levels with no real structure. As a result you’ll encounter random difficulty spikes because the levels weren’t originally designed to be explored this way.

Now granted, as a fan of the original game, I was concerned that this may simply be my own dislike of a change in the formula. So I reached out to Jordan Rudek who has also been playing through the game to help me gather footage for this review. Jordan hasn’t played the original game, so I asked him what he thought of the level design. He responded by telling me that they felt too big and saying that he wished he had some sort of direction. On the other hand, I will give Yooka-Replaylee credit for taking a couple small steps to somewhat alleviate this issue. You now have access to a proper map along with fast travel points throughout each level. The map also includes a checklist for Pagies you haven’t found yet. This by no means solves the progression issue, but it does make the massive stages somewhat more manageable.

As for the Switch 2 specifics, Yooka-Replaylee does an adequate job of conveying the new visuals but does leave some things to be desired. The game runs at 30 frames-per-second, while other versions of Yooka-Replaylee run at 60. It should be noted that the developers have commented saying that they’re investigating adding a 60 frames-per-second mode on Switch 2 post launch. Evidently they only got access to Switch 2 dev kits very late. But that comment is somewhat telling in other areas as well. Both myself and Jordan encountered disturbingly regular crashes both during loading screens and when resuming the game from the home menu. During the final boss fight, I actually noticed that a background texture’s alpha layer had been applied incorrectly and was inverted. This meant instead of a skybox full of clouds, I had a skybox full of bright white squares with a cloud shaped cutout in the middle. Upon beating the boss, the game crashed on the loading screen into the ending. When I re-launched the game it simply flagged that I had beat the boss and loaded me back into the game world. I had to beat the boss again in order to see the ending.

A lot of the changes in Yooka-Replaylee are at best merely different and at worst actively detrimental. But I do what to highlight some legitimately good changes, because there are quite a few. Character control and feedback in combat feels significantly better. Collectibles are more intentionally placed and naturally lead you through levels rather than just being randomly strewn. The soundtrack has been rearranged and re-recorded by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. There are a bunch of nice technical touches in the graphical update such as volumetric snow and fog. There has clearly been a lot of very thoughtful work put into improving Yooka-Laylee but somewhere along the line, a few elements of key identity have been lost in the shuffle.

At the end of the day I think there is an argument that Yooka-Replaylee is a more accessible entry point for this game than the original. But it is disappointing that I can’t say that more definitively. There are a lot of great quality of life updates but between stability issues and some questionable feature removal, it is hard to recommend this version without reservation. As I said at the outset, I like the original Yooka-Laylee. And I like Yooka-Replaylee. I think I can say that it probably fixes more than it breaks, but I’d rather it avoided breaking anything in the first place.

[Might have some Pikmin music.]

15

TalkBack / Nintendo Shares Short Film - Close to You

« on: October 07, 2025, 05:33:28 AM »

Might have some Pikmin music.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/72838/nintendo-shares-short-film-close-to-you

This morning, Nintendo posted an unnanounced short film on their YouTube channels. The video is called "Close to You". It bears no overt ties to any existing Nintendo franchises however some of the music does seem to reference tunes from the Pikmin series.

The short depicts invisible forces manipulating various objects in a baby's room after the baby's mother leaves to answer the door. While whatever is causing the objects to move is not directly shown, it has led to further comparisons with Pikmin. This would not be the first time Pikmin has been the subject of short Nintendo animated films. A series of shorts was produced during the Wii U era centered around the adventures of the Pikmin and Olimar.

While it is possible the film will tie into a yet unannounced game from Nintendo, it is also possible that it is designed to serve more as a short demo for potential investors. It may be intended to simply show Nintendo's ability to produce this level of animation internally in addition to licensing IPs through studios such as Illumination who have handled the Super Mario Bros. Movies.

[If I had a nickel for every time I've reviewed Castle of Heart on Nintendo Switch, I'd have two nickels.]

16

TalkBack / Castle of Heart: Retold (Switch) Review

« on: October 03, 2025, 08:00:00 AM »

If I had a nickel for every time I've reviewed Castle of Heart on Nintendo Switch, I'd have two nickels.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/72767/castle-of-heart-retold-switch-review

Castle of Heart originally launched as a Nintendo Switch exclusive way back in 2018. Seven years later it is releasing on Switch again as Castle of Heart: Retold. I reviewed Castle of Heart for NWR in 2018, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to return it in 2025 to stack it up against this new version.

If you are unfamiliar with the original game, the basic premise was that you are a knight who has been cursed and turned to stone. As you work your way through levels you will constantly lose health as your body reverts to its stone form. Killing enemies and picking up health are the only way to keep the curse at bay. Gameplay is similar to classic 2D action games like the good Castlevanias or even Super Ghouls and Ghosts.

In my 2018 review, I gave Castle of Heart a 7/10 concluding that, “If you can overcome the controller lag, Castle of Heart can quench the thirst for classic action platforming among diehard genre fans.” That reference to controller lag was my biggest issue with the game at the time. Going back to it now with fresh eyes I’d characterize the problem less as controller lag and more a general issue with character animation, combat, and platforming. So, I was excited to see that Castle of Heart: Retold was specifically set to address these exact issues.

Now obviously there are some huge visual changes, and we will get to those, but I don’t want them to overshadow the actual gameplay updates. From the moment I started playing Castle of Heart: Retold I was shocked by just how much more I was enjoying it, as compared to my memory of the original. Platforming felt more responsive, combat was more engaging, and the whole thing just felt good to play. I wound up redownloading the original just to check to make sure that my memory wasn’t flawed. There are a lot of small changes to how the game works, and I won’t go deep into all of them, but I do want to highlight one big one. In the original game when you attacked an enemy, they wouldn’t suffer any knockback or interruption. This meant that fights often devolved into both of you wailing on each other waiting for the other one to die. In Retold, hitting an enemy can interrupt their action making timing your attacks and blocks feel more meaningful. As a result, combat feels more intentional and thus more engaging. I also noticed that your knight no longer does an awkward little shuffle if you attack while moving forward which constantly moved me out of position while playing the original version.

If we do hop over to the visual side of things, it is hard to know where to start. This isn’t just an update, but rather a complete rebuild of most levels. The actual layouts are generally the same. However, the environments and even some enemy placement are wildly different. In 2018 I thought the game looked fine. It looked like a lower budget Xbox 360 game, but it ran well and was pretty sharp compared to what else we were seeing on the system. Retold brings the game up to modern standards with high-end materials and beautiful post-process effects. You will spot some low-resolution textures on some characters when they manage to get a little too close to the camera in cutscenes, but during regular gameplay it generally looks very good.

Naturally then the question is, how does Castle of Heart: Retold run as compared to the original. This is especially interesting given that we aren’t running this on different hardware. This is still a game built for the original Switch. The original game ran at 1080p docked and 720p handheld. As I mentioned in my original review, it was a sharp looking game. This was then paired with a 30 frames-per-second target that the game generally hit without issue. As for Retold the story is, surprisingly, exactly the same. 1080p docked, 720p handheld, at 30 frames-per-second. It does make me curious if a lower resolution mode could be implemented to open up the game to a higher frame-rate. But regardless, it speaks to the advancements that can come on a single piece of hardware simply through greater developer understanding.

I’ve never disliked the original game, but with a score of 7/10 it's clear that in 2018 I felt there was plenty for Castle of Heart to improve on. While it still isn’t perfect, Retold allows us to play this game likely as its developers always hoped it would be. While this is releasing as an entirely separate game from the original, anyone who purchased that 2018 Switch release can get a hefty discount on the Retold version, making it a very worthwhile upgrade. If you didn’t play the original, then I finally feel like I can very earnestly recommend this game. I wouldn’t have expected back then that Castle of Heart would loosely bookend my experience with the Nintendo Switch, but it has been a very pleasant surprise.

[Is this what a cozy rail-shooter looks like?]

17

TalkBack / Candy Rangers (Switch) Review Mini

« on: October 02, 2025, 05:12:16 AM »

Is this what a cozy rail-shooter looks like?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewmini/72765/candy-rangers-switch-review-mini

One of the nice things about being an outspoken fan of a niche genre like rail-shooters is that, now and then, someone makes one and sends it to you. Such is the case with Candy Rangers from solo-dev Mechano. While I went in completely blind, it was hard not to be immediately charmed by this highly original take on gallery style rail-shooters.

You play as a group of four rangers who set out to fight the Unna, a corrupt group of monsters roaming the world. The game is presented from a primarily isometric perspective. Your four rangers automatically march forward along a course leaving you in control of a crosshair. Each ranger’s weapon has a unique color and is tied to the A, B, X, or Y button. Different weapons ricochet off enemies in different directions. For example the red gun ricochets to the left and right after hitting an enemy. So if you’re approached by a line of enemies in a horizontal formation, shooting them with the red gun will quickly defeat them. The ideal weapon type is shown by a circular overlay on top of enemies that displays a color that also corresponds to the location of its assigned button. It took me a moment to get a hold of and I will note that without any colorblindness settings I was relying primarily on placement of the indicator for certain colors. It would be nice to be able to set my own colors but the indicator can be read without them.

As you get accustomed to blasting away large groups of enemies with optimal weapon choice, the game quickly begins throwing new mechanics at you. While your characters move automatically, you do get access to a dash and a brief stop which you can use to dodge hazards. You can also jump, double jump, and parry certain attacks. All of these actions are assigned to the triggers and bumpers. It is a lot to keep track of in the chaos of later stages but when you do manage to get a feel for it, it becomes extremely satisfying managing everything at once.

Progression is handled by a world map with occasional gates built around collecting medals in each stage. Some of these require replaying levels as they will occasionally be placed along diverging paths so it is impossible to get them in a single run, even if played perfectly. I’m not a big fan of slowing progression like this in highly arcade style games but Candy Rangers does it very sparingly. Oftentimes just for the last couple stages in an area.

Candy Rangers just feels good to play. Simple clean visuals are accompanied by an incredible soundtrack that at times feels like a middle ground between Sonic Adventure and Pilotwings 64. The whole experience is buttery smooth and pretty snappy. This is a unique rail-shooter with a lot of legitimately new ideas that I’ve never seen elsewhere. There are some mild colorblindness issues to be aware of if that is relevant to you, and now and then progression feels a little padded, but it is hard to complain too much when Candy Rangers is doing so many new things and doing them well.

[More beautiful than the day I lost you.]

18

TalkBack / Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac (Switch 2) Review

« on: September 25, 2025, 07:40:50 AM »

More beautiful than the day I lost you.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/72571/pac-man-world-2-re-pac-switch-2-review

In 2002 we were on the tail end of 3D platforming’s golden age. Super Mario 64, Banjo Kazooie, and Spyro had enjoyed their time in the spotlight. There was a push to add ever increasing depth to the genre. For some this was adding elements of third person shooters, or perhaps a large seamless open-world. And then there was Pac-Man World 2. A follow up to the Playstation exclusive Pac-Man World, the sequel branched out to the Gamecube, Playstation 2, and Xbox. While it certainly carried with it some expanded ambition as compared to the original, it maintained a focus on simple, tight platforming. As a kid, I loved Pac-Man World 2, and it has always quietly occupied a space in my memory as one of the best 3D platformers of that generation. It had some awkwardness in its camera controls and level design wasn’t always even, but there was just something about it that stuck with me. Granted, a lot of that comes from being ten years-old when Pac-Man World 2 released.

So it was with a heart full of nostalgia that I sat down with Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac. What I found was much more than a simple, remastered nostalgia trip. But rather an exceedingly impressive effort to make Pac-Man World 2 live up to that nostalgia far more than the original actually does. As it turns out, when you address the few lingering issues in the original game, you wind up with an astoundingly good 3D platformer.

When the ghosts attack Pac-Village, steal the golden fruit, and unleash the powerful ghost Spooky it is up to Pac-Man to restore the village and put things right. You’ll set out across six regions to best the ghosts, recover the fruit, and foil Spooky’s plans for Pac-Land. While I doubt anyone is coming to Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac for the drama, the new and more extensive voice work does lend the story some fun new gravitas. Martin Sherman who played Pac-Man in Pac-Man World 3 returns to deliver fresh dialogue for this previously silent version of Pac-Man. Wormwood, as voiced by Xander Mobus also turns in a particularly great Saturday morning villain performance.

Each region of the overworld map contains a few linear 3D platforming stages and a boss fight. Contrary to what I was expecting, these stages are not 1:1 recreations of the originals. Rather, the developers seem to have been given the freedom to alter, expand, or rearrange, as felt appropriate. We can see it right in the very first stage, where a maze segment has been moved from the beginning of the stage to a point significantly later. Thorn bushes in the original game have been replaced with bear traps, removing the potential confusion with other foliage. Every area of this level is clearly taken from the original game, but rather than being a perfect recreation, it has been somewhat reimagined and in every instance, is an improvement on the original game design. Boss fights tell the same story. Bosses have been given new attacks and phases not seen in the original game. The first boss you’ll face is a large mechanical frog. In the original game you’d wait for him to stick out his tongue, use Pac-Man’s butt-bounce attack, and then wait for him to do it again. In Re-Pac, the frog now has several other attacks, and smaller explosive enemies also wander the field. You’ll have to dodge these new attacks while you wait for your opening. And when the frog does stick out its tongue, a well placed explosive enemy can be caught up in it, getting you an extra health pickup in addition to damaging the boss. It's as if they went back to 2002, took every piece of feedback the original game received, and then rebuilt it from scratch to solve all of those problems. It is utterly ridiculous how much work has clearly gone into touching up every inch of this game.

Pac-Man's movement was always a strong point for the original and it has been made even better here. Paired with a completely rebuilt camera system that holds up to modern standards, the simple act of exploring is now much more satisfying. My one complaint here is that by default Pac-Man’s Rev Roll move (a dash attack similar to the Spin Dash from Sonic the Hedgehog), is mapped to B. Aiming the Rev Roll is best done with the right stick which is awkward while holding B. I remapped this to the unused ZL button instead and found this worked much better. Having the action on B is more consistent with the original controls, but is one area where an obvious opportunity for improvement was missed.

The Switch 2 version of Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac comes with two graphics modes. Thankfully unlike in the Re-Pac version of the first Pac-Man World, performance is now the default selected option. This mode targets 60fps and manages to hit it the vast majority of the time. I did notice a one-off bug where after a cutscene, the camera seemed to be animating at a lower frame rate than the rest of the game. Restarting the level fixed this issue and I wasn’t able to re-create it again. Meanwhile the resolution mode boosts the output resolution slightly and targets 30fps instead. Much like the previous Re-Pac, there is really no reason to opt for resolution mode. The actual increase in resolution is minimal, and the effect on playability is substantial.

It is worth highlighting just how much content is included in Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac. Some of this is carried forward from the original game but this new version goes far beyond that. Each level has a series of missions that can be completed to unlock alternate costumes for Pac-Man, music that can be swapped out for the overworld music, and arcade games to be played in Pac-Village. Unfortunately, due to legal issues, Ms. Pac-Man is not playable in the arcade this time around but you do get access to the original Pac-Man, Pac-Mania, and Pac-Attack. After completing a level you’ll also unlock a time trial mode which also includes access to an online leaderboard. While I didn’t do time trials for every single stage, I did enjoy trying to outperform other reviewers in every boss fight. There is even some new post game content that I won't go into detail on.

I went into Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac expecting a nostalgic trip through a delightful yet flawed 3D platformer of my youth. Instead I got a lovingly re-imagined overhaul that exceeded my expectations in every way. This is now just an excellent 3D platformer with no need for qualifiers. Level design is varied with a nice gradient of difficulty and one-off mechanics in nearly every level. Every good idea from the original has been preserved and everything around it has been improved. While it isn’t technically an incredibly long game, it is dense with content and replayability. The Switch 2 version itself runs great outside of a rare technical hitch. Last but not least, they credit the entire original design team. The biggest negative I can give to Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac is that it makes it very hard to go back to the original.

[A little dessert after Heretic and Hexen.]

19

TalkBack / Wizordum (Switch) Review Mini

« on: September 23, 2025, 03:00:00 AM »

A little dessert after Heretic and Hexen.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewmini/72562/wizordum-switch-review-mini

Wizordum is a first-person-shooter based in a world of swords and sorcery. It was odd seeing it crop up in my review docket so shortly after Heretic + Hexen as it clearly draws deep inspiration from these classic shooters. At the same time, it is refreshing to see this style of shooter take something other than Doom or Quake as a source of inspiration. So I went into Wizordum quite excited to see what it would be able to bring to the evermore crowded genre.

You can choose between two classes to start which will alter your starting stats. As you progress through levels you’ll unlock weapons and secondary items at a pretty regular clip. Ammo and other item refills are pretty plentiful so regardless of which weapons I prioritized, I rarely found myself running out of ammo. I did find it a little awkward that switching weapons is on the radial menu that pauses the game, with seemingly no button to quickly tab through buttons. It means you’re breaking up the action every time you need to swap weapons. However, each weapon feels good to use, with unique ideal use cases for each one. An early favorite was an ice rod that could freeze enemies, before using an alternate function to shatter everyone you had frozen.

Overall design is heavily influenced by the early first-person-shooters of the 90s. While much of Wizordum’s gameplay pulls from Heretic and Hexen, its visuals and elements of its level design reminded me more of Wolfenstein. Levels are labyrinthian but don’t feature any real vertical traversal outside of separately loaded zones. In other words while the game looks fully 3D, you are largely operating on a 2D plane. That being said, the level design is still highly complex. And while you don’t do much vertical movement, enemies can still attack from elevated positions. Right from the start, levels have a lot of complexity and generally involve looping through previously explored areas as you find keys and access both critical and optional areas of each map. In an odd way it felt somewhat like Wizordum was starting from the middle of a game, with a lot of level complexity right from the get go. The designs are generally very good but it does make it harder for the levels to escalate as the game goes on.

Your overall enjoyment of Wizordum will depend heavily on what you’re looking for. It doesn’t do much to separate itself from other shooters of this style. It feels very much like a middle ground between Wolfenstein and Heretic. It does that very well and is fun to play, but I would have liked to see it bring in a few more unique ideas. Progression also feels a little flat. Each individual level is well made but I rarely felt like they were getting harder or more complex as I went. This is a solid and well made first-person-shooter, if not a revolutionary one.

[If I had a nickel.]

20

TalkBack / Nintendo Gave Samus a Motorcycle and I'm Excited

« on: September 14, 2025, 10:42:58 AM »

If I had a nickel.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/72495/nintendo-gave-samus-a-motorcycle-and-im-excited

[Somehow, Panzer Dragoon II Zwei Remake returned.]

21

TalkBack / Panzer Dragoon II Zwei Remake Re-emerges For TGS

« on: September 09, 2025, 06:46:00 AM »

Somehow, Panzer Dragoon II Zwei Remake returned.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/72408/panzer-dragoon-ii-zwei-remake-re-emerges-for-tgs

After last being mentioned way back in 2021, Forever Entertainment's Panzer Dragon II Zwei Remake has made a surprise return for this year's Tokyo Game Show. A playable demo will be available at the event. This will be the first time this remake has been playable. Alongside the announcement came a selection of new screenshots which are the first official look we've had at this remake. We also now have a price set at $24.99.

Forever Entertainment previously published a remake of the original Panzer Dragoon on Nintendo Switch back in 2020 which we gave a 7.5/10 in our review.

Panzer Dragoon II Zwei Remake is set to release on Nintendo Switch, Steam, GOG, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S but no official release date has been announced at this time.

[A visually stunning adventure that holds up great on Switch.]

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TalkBack / Particle Hearts (Switch) Review

« on: September 09, 2025, 04:00:00 AM »

A visually stunning adventure that holds up great on Switch.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/72404/particle-hearts-switch-review

Note: Game was played across both Switch and Switch 2. Included screenshots were all captured from a Switch in docked mode

I’ll be honest, after being offered a review code for Particle Hearts I went and watched a trailer for the game to get a feel for it. My first thought upon seeing a screen filled with alpha transparencies on characters and foliage, all emitting dense clouds of particles was “There is no way this runs well on Switch.” So my technical curiosity demanded I take the review and find out. As it turns out, not only does Particle Hearts actually run great on both Switch 1 and via backwards compatibility on Switch 2, it's also an extremely impactful narrative adventure.

The game opens with very little context. You are seemingly alone in an ethereal world, but a voice guides you to collect wind chimes. The sound of these chimes gently guides you as you explore and slowly reveal your character’s history; I found the story immediately enthralling. I don’t want to dive too deep and get into spoilers, but it deals with themes of betrayal and forgiveness in a very real way. An early chime will instruct you to make your way to gleaming, white, gateway-like structures. These gateways lead to challenges that must be overcome through a combination of platforming and puzzle solving. Upon completing a challenge you’ll be given an object that can be fed to a massive red creature back in the overworld in order to gain entry to the next large area.

The gameplay loop starts simple, mechanically limited to running, jumping, and dashing. As you progress you’ll gain the ability to briefly scatter your particle-based form, allowing you to pass through certain types of objects. Later you’ll learn to absorb the elements of particles you encounter to take on the qualities of water or fire. Each of these is then excellently factored into the challenge stages, which get progressively more complex in their puzzle focus. I did find that while the worlds you explored developed visually over the course of the game, giving plenty of variety, the challenge stages largely look the same. You’ll spend a lot of time working your way through extremely similar looking purple areas. Even just swapping out the underlying color every few challenges would do a lot to make them feel more distinct.

The world of Particle Hearts is presented in an extremely abstract style. Your character and much of the environment is assembled from tiny particles of light. Trails of errant particles drift through the air and along your path as you move through the world. This is achieved via a combination of legitimate particles being rendered in real-time, and the clever use of animated textures on characters that give off the impression of being built from more of the particles. It generally works very well and the Switch handles it with seemingly no real issue. The one area where I was able to catch the smallest glimpse of the Switch limitations was in the textures used for the environment itself. These are noticeably low resolution and fall short of the otherwise sharp edged particles seen elsewhere in the game. That being said the visual concept is still excellently accomplished overall, and at a smooth framerate and good resolution.

Particle Hearts isn’t a deeply complex game, but it balances what complexity it has in gameplay with an impactful story. I found it easy to simply sink into. I was always equally as excited to reach the next challenge as I was to unfold a little more of the story. There are moments that very genuinely hit and caused me to simply pause for a moment and absorb the storytelling. The world it creates is enchanting and against all odds holds up almost flawlessly on Switch. This is the level of narrative adventure that even with a few blemishes, I can’t help but fall in love with.

[This might be the Switch 2's most impressive game.]

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TalkBack / Star Wars Outlaws on Switch 2 has Ray-tracing

« on: September 04, 2025, 05:06:59 AM »

This might be the Switch 2's most impressive game.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/video/72344/star-wars-outlaws-on-switch-2-has-ray-tracing

[An a game with plenty of Metroid inspiration based on an Anime that inspired Metroid.]

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TalkBack / Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening (Switch) Review

« on: August 25, 2025, 04:00:00 AM »

An a game with plenty of Metroid inspiration based on an Anime that inspired Metroid.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/72200/space-adventure-cobra-the-awakening-switch-review

Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening is a 2D action platformer based on the manga Cobra from the late 70’s. Specifically its television anime adaptation Space Cobra. Confusingly it does not directly pull from the 1982 anime film adaptation Space Adventure Cobra despite sharing its name. You play as the titular Cobra, a space pirate who erased his own memory and altered his appearance in order to escape the pursuit of the Space Pirate Guild several years ago. After awakening to his identity, Cobra is quickly pulled into his old life of planet hopping and treasure hunting. But it doesn’t take long for the Space Pirate Guild to pick up his trail and reignite their old feud.

Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening pulls its cutscenes directly from the anime series. Likewise levels are built to blend as seamlessly as possible with bookends provided by the anime. It is overall highly successful, though there is a somewhat unavoidable shock moving between the modern, real-time 3D rendered environments and the 80’s anime. But the way the game and the anime are so lovingly intertwined speaks to a true adoration for the source material.

Gameplay would be easy to initially mistake for a metroid-like, despite the game being a level-based, linear action-platformer. A lot of that comes from what are very clearly some strong influences from Mercury Steam’s Metroid Dread. Cobra’s basic move set and much of his animation feels directly lifted from Metroid Dread. I don’t mean that in a bad way. Cobra feels great to control. You run and aim with the left stick. By holding down the L button you can lock in place and freely aim in any direction. Cobra grabs ledges and smoothly mantles over low obstacles. By pressing A he can slide through small gaps or even between the legs of enemies. Y offers a melee attack though the otherwise close similarity to Metroid caused me to wish for a proper melee counter. The fact that this game takes such strong influence from modern 2D Metroid carries with it plenty of irony as Metroid itself was heavily inspired by Space Cobra as has been documented by historian Kate Willært. But that doesn’t mean that everything is pulled from Metroid. Cobra’s iconic psycho-gun is perhaps the game's most interesting and original mechanic. When fired, time freezes as you guide its firing path freely through the environment. This can be used to take out multiple enemies in a chain of destruction, or curve around corners to hit otherwise unreachable targets.

Levels themselves are nicely varied both aesthetically and in terms of actual gameplay. As you progress you unlock new weapons and abilities which are accompanied by new enemy types and challenges. And despite not being a Metroid-like, you can revisit old levels with these abilities to find hidden collectibles that were not accessible on your initial visit. I did notice that even on the standard difficulty, enemies tend to be extremely spongy. Even if you’re watching for gun upgrades, you’ll be sinking quite a few shots into some enemies. This leads to a somewhat inflated sense of difficulty that usually stems from simply spawning a whole bunch of enemies that all take a few too many hits to kill. Luckily the game's checkpoint system is extremely generous and there is no arbitrary lives system so if you die, you simply try again usually from directly before that encounter.

Borrowing heavily from the source anime, Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening also inherits its soundtrack. When mixed with remixed and original music the auditory vibes are outstanding. The anime sequences also feature a new dub in order to match their audio quality and voicework to that of the in game dialogue. It's overall very good. Though I spotted a few times where subtitles were mislabeled. It wasn’t a huge issue but there were some instances where I was playing handheld with the sound off and got briefly confused.

Switch and Switch 2 performance is good in terms of frame rate, though handheld mode leaves something to be desired in terms of image quality. Docked the games looks quite serviceable both on Switch and running in backwards compatibility on Switch 2. But in handheld mode the clean cell shade anime aesthetic is dulled somewhat by a very low resolution. It doesn’t affect actual playability but it certainly hurts the art design.

In a world where seemingly the vast majority of classic anime adaptations boil down to arena brawler after arena brawler, it has been wonderful to see Cobra get a more in-depth approach. What results is an enjoyable game that conveys the anime’s story not only in its cutscenes but throughout its level design as well. It is clearly a game made by a team with legitimate admiration for their source material. It has some small issues with enemy balance and a few minor presentational blunders, but it's hard to ignore the charm and passion that exudes from Space Adventure Cobra: The Awakening.

[It may not be the GOAT but there are several goats.]

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TalkBack / Herdling (Switch) Review

« on: August 21, 2025, 05:00:00 AM »

It may not be the GOAT but there are several goats.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/72113/herdling-switch-review

I’ve played a lot of games that in theory should be similar to Herdling. I’ve played plenty of narrative adventure games built around atmosphere and environmental storytelling. I’ve played games where I’ve managed multiple characters at once. But somehow Herdling still winds up feeling very unique. Because while it has elements of games like Abzu, Rime, or even Lemmings, ultimately Herdling is a shepherding-sim.

You play as a young boy who comes across a wandering Calicorn. Calicorn are furry goat-like creatures that come in a variety of sizes. Using a stick you find lying on the ground, you quickly learn to shepherd the lonely Calicorn. As you begin wandering alongside it, you’ll come upon another Calicorn and soon your duo will become a herd. The story and motivation for what you’re doing is borderline non-existent, and you find yourself guiding the Calicorns forward largely because this is a video game and that's what you do. Herdling has no dialogue so you’re relying entirely on environmental storytelling and natural moments to form attachments to its world and characters. Over time you’ll get a general sense for where you’re going but never any real reason why or a deeper understanding of the world itself. Now and then the music will swell and you’ll get a nice setpiece moment, but with no attachment to the herd of similar looking Calicorns, it is tough to be too invested in their progress or safety. That being said, it's a very compelling world to be in. It's an odd combination of ancient and more modern decay. It would be nice to learn more about either of those elements.  

Your control over your herd is straightforward. At any point you can press ZR to send the herd moving directly away from you. They’ll always move as a unit so you don’t need to worry about scattering them if you’re not quite standing in the right spot. Holding ZR in open areas allows you to charge up a stampede that can be quite satisfying after navigating treacherous terrain. You can also hold A to slow down your herd or double tap it to call for a quick stop. Most of the time you’ll just be moving through the world, but now and then you’ll also need to carefully navigate hazards. Though, the danger is generally just limited to your Calicorns losing the energy they need for the stampede charge. I should also mention that the camera is a little awkward; it seems to hesitate between being totally free and heavily scripted and can wind up in some awkward positions now and then.

The music, sound design, and overall presentation are quite good. I played primarily on a Switch 2 where performance was smooth for the most part. The original Switch can stutter a bit more, but of the sections I tested it was never too bad. Distant landscapes are noticeably low-poly but the immediate environment, your character, and the Calicorns all look good. The music is extremely restrained, but when it does come in it's always a highlight. I noticed that during some big moments the music even intelligently lowers the volume of other sounds giving the score more room to shine. This is definitely a soundtrack I’d happily listen to independent of the game itself.

Herdling has most of the pieces of a strong and unique narrative adventure, but comes up a little short where it matters. It rarely gives you moments to form any specific attachments to its characters. The world certainly has some cool setpieces accompanied by a soaring soundtrack, but at the end of the day I struggled to care. There is still a well crafted world and some interesting mechanics at play, but the storytelling causes it to fall short of the genre greats.