Things we missed last week: The belt slicer Castle of Dragon from Athena joined the Arcade Archives.

Normally the first full week of the new year has me grasping at straws trying to find what's worth calling out above the fold. This week made it pretty easy, however as a pair of action RPG remixes top the chart in Freedom Wars Remastered and Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana. We'll have reviews of those soon-ish, but I actually picked the Vita version of Freedom Wars back up this past weekend and I think I'm ready to do another million year stretch. Ys Memoire is notable for Falcom joining with their former regular partner XSEED one more time and creating a "three publishers in one year" situation for the JRPG powerhouse. (NIS America will be launching the second Trails Through Daybreak next month, and as we learned before Christmas GungHo is handling the Trails in the Sky The 1st in the fall.)

Apart from co-op 3D platformer Boti: Byteland Overclocked jumping over from the PC, it's a quiet start to the year. For now, who knows what horrors Thursday will bring. One thing of note despite this column's reluctance to discuss bundles: Chernobylite, the adventure game that released a couple of weeks before Christmas, has a "Premium Edition" being added on Friday that's including what appears to be all of the game's DLC for an additional $10 ($39.99 MSRP). See, THAT'S a bundle worth mentioning.

North America

Freedom Wars Remastered (US$39.99/C$53.49: Friday)

Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana ($29.99/$39.99: Tuesday)

Boti: Byteland Overclocked ($19.99/$27.99: Friday)

The Fox's Way Home ($15.99/$20.79)

Beyond Memories - Darkness of the Soul ($11.99/$18.00)

Chained Toward Heaven ($9.99/$14.00)

Gravity Escape ($9.99/$13.96)

Battle Royal - Battlegrounds Call ($9.99/$13.99: Friday)

Warfront Tactics ($7.99/$11.99: Saturday)

Burger Race ($7.00/$6.59)

Windborn - Journey to the South ($6.99/$10.30-)

Chained Climb Together ($5.99/$8.99: Friday)

Rivenaar's Grove ($4.99/$6.29: Wednesday)

Kiting Cat ($4.99/$6.83)

Kosmo Skirmish ($4.99/$6.49)

Super Onion Boy+ ($4.99/$6.99: Friday)

Crowd Run ($2.99/$4.49)

Revealed Later

Overdungeon ($14.99/$19.49)

Unsolved Case: The Scarlet Hyacinth ($12.99/$17.84: Friday)

Dragons vs Balloons TD ($12.00/$16.95)

Jewel Match Solitaire 2 ($9.99/$13.99)

H Girls: Adorable Angel ($8.99/$12.69)

Bonk! ($8.99/$12.99: Friday)

Puzzle Adventures - Forest Animals ($6.99/$9.99: Monday)

EggConsole Ys II MSX2 ($6.49/$7.34)

Fables Mosaic: Little Red Riding Hood ($5.99/$9.79)

Once Again ($5.99/$8.09: Wednesday)

Pocket Puzzle ($5.99/$7.99: Wednesday)

Rodgerbints: Romance and Scandal in High Society ($4.99/$6.95)

Princesses Lylop: Royal Puzzle Challenge ($2.99/$4.10)

Archives

Vs Family Tennis ($7.99/$9.87)

Sales and Price Drops

Highlights: A selection of Arcade Archives titles including Metal Slug 5 and Super Pac-Man is on sale until the 18th. PSPrices, DekuDeals

Europe

Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana (€29.99/£24.99: Tuesday)

Thinking of You Beyond Time (€25.99/£23.99: Saturday)

Boti: Byteland Overclocked (€19.99/£27.99)

Guns & Draguns (€12.79/£11.49: Monday)

Taxi Driver Simulation 2025 (€11.99/£10.79: Monday)

Beyond Memories - Darkness of the Soul (€11.99/£11.80)

Chained Towards Heaven (€9.99/£8.99: Monday)

Roller Skating (€9.99/£8.99: Friday)

Chained Climb Together (€5.99/£5.99: Friday)

Kosmo Skirmish (€4.99/£4.99)

Super Onion Boy+ (€4.99/£4.99)

Kiting Cat (€4.99/£4.49)

Ramp Bike Racing (€3.99/£3.59: Friday)

Crowd Run (€2.99/£2.59: Wednesday)

Detail Hunter (€2.99/£2.69: Saturday)

Jigsaw Puzzle Utopia (€2.99/£2.69: Friday)

Dot Piece Puzzle (€2.25/£2.00)

Revealed Later

Freedom Wars Remastered (€39.99/£32.99: Friday)

Furry Twins (€23.40/£22.40)

Gun Fire: AI Rebellion (€16.99/£14.99: Saturday)

The Fox's Way Home (€15.99/£13.49)

Unsolved Case: Murderous Script (€11.89/£10.69: Monday)

Unsolved Case: The Scarlet Hyacinth (€11.89/£10.69: Monday)

Felinea Tales (€9.99/£8.99: Monday)

Jewel Match Solitaire 2 (€9.99/£8.99: Wednesday)

Gravity Escape (€9.99/£8.99)

Battle Royal: Battleground's Call (€9.99/£: Friday)

Bright Side Quiz (€9.99/£8.99: Friday)

Cat Veterinary (€9.90/£8.90)

Dog Veterinary (€9.90/£8.90)

Escape Room Killer (€9.90/£8.90)

H Girls: Adorable Angel (€8.99/£8.99: Wednesday)

Bonk! (€8.99/£8.99: Friday)

Jalecolle Famicom Ver Saiyuki World (€7.99/£7.19: Wednesday)

Alice in Wonderland: Magical Labyrinth (€7.99/£4.99)

Traxion 2 (€7.99/£7.00: Friday)

Fables Mosaic: Little Red Riding Hood (€6.99/£6.29: Wednesday)

Pocket Puzzle (€5.99/£5.39: Wednesday)

Once Again (€5.99/£4.48: Wednesday)

EggConsole Ys II MSX2 (€5.59/£5.39)

Rivenaar's Grove (€4.99/£4.49: Wednesday)

Rodgerbints: Romance and Scandal in High Society (€4.99/£4.49)

Bimfli & His Time Travels: Japan (€4.90/£4.90: Tuesday)

Cats Visiting Underwater World (€3.99/£3.49: Monday)

Old Coin Pusher Friends 3 (€3.99/£3.99)

How To Plan Events (€2.99/£2.69)

Meditation and Mindfulness (€2.99/£2.69)

Princesses Lylop: Royal Puzzle Challenge (€2.99/£2.69)

Archives

Vs Family Tennis (€6.99/£6.29)

Japan

Freedom Wars Remastered (¥4950)

Boti: Byteland Overlocked (¥3400)

Beyond Memories - Darkness of the Soul (¥1930)

Parking Tycoon: Business Simulator (¥1899)

The Fox's Way Home (¥1800)

Battle Royale - Battlegrounds Call (¥1499)

Gravity Escape (¥1499)

Warfront Tactics (¥1299)

Wukong Sun: Black Legend (¥1200)

Windborn - Journey to the South (¥1133)

Chained Climb Together (¥999)

The Golden Eagle (¥880)

Super Onion Boy+ (¥780)

Burger Race (¥700)

The Legend of Cyber Cowboy (¥600)

Rivenaar's Grove (¥500)

Kosmo Skirmish (¥500)

Crowd Run (¥499)

Kiting Cat (¥499)

Revealed Later

Little Big Adventure: Twinsen's Quest (¥2750)

Overdungeon (¥1700)

Puzzle Adventures: Forest Animals (¥1099)

Pocket Puzzle (¥990)

H Girls: Adorable Angel (¥899)

EggConsole Ys II MSX2 (¥880)

Golf Up (¥880)

Once Again (¥880)

Vs Family Tennis (¥838)

Psycho Mystery Series Vol 7: "Yokohama Parsonage Murder Case" (¥800)

Creative Writing (¥490)

Princesses Lylop: Royal Puzzle Challenge (¥490)