The narrative is on the light-side, but that makes it perfect for short bursts at a time. By the time I came to the end of Miitopia, I found it slightly emotional to say goodbye to my companions of more than a decade, but it was truly worth the ride.

Strike Force Foxx offers cheap and amusing shooting fun that is executed wonderfully. Additional polish would have propelled it further, but its flight plan is both safe and enjoyable as is. This is also one of the better Choplifter clones you’re going to find on a portable, so there’s that.

Cube Creator 3D was an interesting attempt to bring the Minecraft experience over to the Nintendo 3DS. While not offering anything overly new, it gets the interface right and makes use of the hardware well.

It’s charming nonsense, and with plenty of additional options to replay levels to challenge yourself further, it won’t be a game you’re done with in a hurry either, once it has its hooks into you.

As I wrote in my review of A-Train on the 3DS: "I feel like sending a copy and a 3DS to our (then) Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, to point out to him that public transport grows cities, not the roads he is obsessed with building." A-Train: All! Aboard! Tourism is the same wonderful blend of genuinely enlightening and deeply rewarding simulation gameplay that will both make you realise the value of mass transit, and help you to understand just how hard it is to get all of it right. Even the cute anime aesthetic, which initially seems so out of place for something so complex, eventually makes sense, too. The Japanese have an understanding of the value of mass transport to a degree that perhaps eclipses any other nation. It's something that has become a source of pride to the Japanese culture, and the anime aesthetic simply solidifies the confidence that the developers have that the Japanese are the ones whose idea of public transport is most worth paying attention to.

Legrand Legacy is, in the end, a very playable JRPG. Sadly it's also one of marginal appeal, even to those who grew up playing old JRPGs back in the 32-bit era.

Despite a lack of originality and questionable controls I found myself coming back to Giga Wrecker Alt to tackle that puzzle, overcome that boss or just explore its world. If you are looking for a ground breaking new entry in Game Freak's reserve or something similar to the Pokémon titles then this may not be the title for you. However, Game Freak's team has stepped out of their comfort zone and developed a game with some rather satisfying qualities which may just tide you over.

There’s a place for this kind of game, though, and thanks to the great sense of humour, Maglam Lord remains a delight from start right through to its end. It’s a kind of comfort food that operates within the expectations of the genre, and so, while someone who is not familiar with JRPGs will find it all confounding, if you do appreciate the nuances and of the genre it’s going to entertain you a great deal.

Overall, however, the roster of events is good and varied, and there are more to come.

Football Manager is for people that care for an excess in spreadsheets and data, and for all its shoddy presentation and poor optimisation on the Vita, it's absolutely brilliant at all of that.

There is still room for improvement as some small tweaks to the in-city travel and chaotic combat would go a long ways towards improving the product as a whole, but the game we have now is still one that I easily sunk a lot of hours into.

If only the rest of the game could live up to those visuals. Crossing Souls works just fine as a vessel for rose-tinted '80s nostalgia, but shallow storytelling and gameplay that shifts from uninteresting to outright frustrating ensures that it never gets to be anything more than that.

Ultra Age is a middle of the pack action thing that has the basic mechanics of the genre down, but doesn’t do anything to stand out, and it has some real balancing issues. but struggles to balance difficulty progression as well as pushing boundaries in the genre. Unfortunately for the developers, this is one genre in which we are spoiled for choice, both in terms of finding challenging games to enjoy, and complex, thought-provoking experiences.

You probably came for the retro nostalgia, but in Save me Mr Tako! you'll get something far more robust.

Sparkle 2 may certainly be a game that has been played a hundred times before, but as it is on the PlayStation 4, it is truly a treat. The pick up and play aspect shines and the difficulty curve is spot on. It does get repetitive though, so short bursts are recommended. And I just can't get over how disappointing the lack of multiplayer is.

A truly classy, inventive game.

As a puzzler, Yuso is definitely a mixed bag. It has wonderfully cute aesthetics that are pleasing to the eye, Yuso is an attractive game for sure. The implementation of the puzzles leaves a bit to be desired, some puzzles feel very clever, some are very easy, and some are too difficult, to the point that they require trial and error to pass.

There's still a game in there that can delight, but it is a lot of work to align yourself with the vision now.

Recipe for Disaster, thankfully, was anything but. Yes, it was in-depth to the point of seeming complicated for me; but it’s hard to judge if that’s because the tutorials don’t explain things well enough or if it’s just my brain not linking the obvious together. Like I said, I need things shoved down my throat and even then I might not remember what to do. It also lacks a bit of charm, especially compared to games like Cat Café Manager. Regardless, all in all, it’s a solid game and I’d expect fans of management sims to gobble it up (see what I did there?)… but I’m left wondering if it might not be a hair too complex to really be enjoyed.

The Last Days of Old Earth is one of those lighter weight strategy games that can scratch a quick itch to unwind after a long day (beer and all), but is not the sort of game you will sit down with for an entire afternoon.

Nights of Azure 2 is a really lovely game, and I don’t really play it for the combat anyway. Rooted in various theatrical styles that give it an aesthetic and tone that I find so appealing, it’s not the kind of game that could ever hope to find mainstream acceptance, but that’s not unusual for Gust JRPGs. The things that it does well: the characterisation, the melodramatic - but not in a pejorative sense - storytelling and the general artfulness of it all, are the reasons I played the last one, and this new one doesn't disappoint with any of that.

If you own a 3DS and somehow don't own either Smash or Kirby Triple Deluxe, Kirby Fighters Deluxe offers a passable platform-fighting game with an excellent sense of style.

Unfortunately a lack of personality and gameplay that doesn't live up to its promises have left Ironclad Tactics dead in the water.

Happy Home Designer isn't going to dethrone Animal Crossing: New Leaf as the number one game in your 3DS' play log – not by a long shot. In taking away the scant few of the franchise’s stressors, however, it becomes a profoundly therapeutic life simulator that respects and rewards every millilitre of creative juice you pour into it. It’s a stop-gap on the road to Wii U/NX but a detour that won't soon be surpassed.

The expanded Utawarerumono franchise might never elevate beyond the most niche of niche properties, but it is a wonderful, positive contribution to video games, and Monochrome Mobius continues translates this from a blend of visual novel and tactics to a traditional JRPG with complete success. This is a beautiful, heartfelt and sweet little game that, at around 30-40 hours, doesn’t outstay its welcome. It also reminds you that sometimes a determination to tell a good story really is better than AAA-blockbuster production excesses and flashy and overly complex gameplay gimmicks alike.

Wrack is fairly similar to the games many of us have played at some point or another, albeit with a cel-shaded art style and a tweaked combat system thrown in for good measure.

Those new to the series should strap in and hold on tight - it’s one heck of a wild ride - but AiRace veterans might want to let this one stay in the pits.

There's no denying that Archangel is pretty, but in every other way it's a case of unfulfilled potential.