If you’re already an Etrian fan and never played EO3 (especially since it didn’t get a 3DS Untold release like the first two titles), then the multiple endings, varied character classes, and nautical theming are more than enough to warrant a look.

I’m thrilled that Etrian Odyssey exists beyond the DS and 3DS, but what we got doesn’t hit the highs of the series. Atlus admirably tried to make it work on Switch, but the controls for drawing your map aren’t as natural as they were on DS and 3DS. Etrian Odyssey II is still a great video game, with a really good progression through each stratum and a lot of depth and synergies between the classes and abilities. My hope is that if Etrian Odyssey survives beyond this dungeon crawl, the next release will be more future-focused than porting over the past.

With the focus on game preservation that we’ve seen in recent years, I never imagined that the Etrian Odyssey series would be preserved anywhere close to its original form. The fact that they thought it worth bringing to Switch is amazing, and though it didn’t come over entirely clean, it’s still worth bringing back Fight, Heal, and the rest of the crew for one more dungeon dive.

For any minor faults, Tears of the Kingdom is still a game that manages to dwarf what many would consider one of the best games ever made. In that sense the only criticism of Tears of the Kingdom I can really offer is that in a few nitpicky areas it is still only as good as one of history's most celebrated games. And beyond those few things, is a game that invites the player to engage with it to a degree I’ve never seen before. This is a game that revels in you outsmarting it. This is a game that shows the value of a game being given time to cook and of a studio that has supported a consistent group of developers working on the same series for decades. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is not a game anyone else could make. This is why you bought your Switch, even if you didn’t know it at the time.

If you’ve never played Final Fantasy V and have an affinity for RPGs, I suggest you drop everything and play this video game. I truly believe it stands tall among the best of the entire Final Fantasy series, carving its own distinct path with the refined job system. The Pixel Remaster is as close to a definitive release as we’ve had of Final Fantasy V in the west so far. I do wish I didn’t have to offer a handful of caveats, but this is still a good version of an all-time great.

Farming Simulator 23 is not a game for newcomers. My time playing was largely filled with confusion, and the in-game tutorials and guides do very little to point a new player in the right direction. It may appeal to core fans of the franchise since it is at least a portable version of the game, but the scaled-back features are likely to be what those players care about the most, and anyway the price tag of $45 is frankly a joke compared to the $8 this same version of the game costs on Android and iOS. Perhaps I’m wrong and there’s some X factor a hardcore Farming Simulator fan can tell I’m missing, but Farming Simulator 23 is a clear non-starter for newcomers that clearly lacks plenty of content that longtime fans have come to enjoy on more powerful hardware.

Puzzle Bobble EveryBubble emphasizes cooperative multiplayer but that doesn’t detract from it as a solo experience. The variety of levels and mechanics make each stage feel like its own puzzle, and the unlockable EX stages offer a stout challenge for those so inclined. The amount of content within the story mode in particular and the way EveryBubble scales based on the number of players lead me to give it a hearty recommendation. It could use a few more options in VS mode and extras in the main menu, but overall this is a puzzler well worth busting a move to.

Perhaps the biggest praise I can offer of the FFII Pixel Remaster is that it seemingly fixed the accuracy of healing items when I needed them in battle. Though another feature the game “offered” was differentiation between status effects that expire at the end of the battle and ones that remain, and they have separate curative spells. Said spells still “missed”. Thankfully, this didn’t happen late enough to be a hard stop on my enjoyment of the game. If you are going to go on the Final Fantasy vision quest, definitely make sure you use the Pixel Remaster to play FFII. If thou must.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is exactly what it promises. A polished and fine tuned remake of the original two Advance Wars games. In this package you’ll get two great strategic experiences that come with plenty of missions, objectives, multiplayer modes and even a map creator to keep you entertained for a good long while. Though the music may get a tad repetitive and the game feels best suited for short play sessions, these two games are a great return to form for the Advance Wars series. It does leave me hopeful that the next iteration will put less emphasis on the visual “Re-Boot” and more on the gameplay “Advancement” of this franchise.

Had I played Final Fantasy 3 in 1990, I probably would have been more impressed with it, but the job class system as an RPG mechanic has improved immeasurably in the intervening years. At the end of the day, FF3 does more interesting things with its run-time than does the original Final Fantasy, and I might even recommend it over that one. Taking full advantage of the quality-of-life features built into the Pixel Remaster series is a great way to enjoy one of the lesser played entries in this storied Square Enix franchise. While it shouldn’t be the only or the first Final Fantasy you play, it’s still worth a look for any RPG enthusiast.

In Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End and The Secret Key, there’s plenty of systems to min/max to your heart’s content, and fans will enjoy getting to hang out with the cast one final time. While I wish things were perhaps a bit more compact, most will enjoy the expansive world and plethora of experiences to have, even if the text is more than a little hard to read. This finale to Ryza’s summer adventures is nonetheless a worthwhile journey for fans to embark on.

Nuclear Blaze is a brisk experience, but one that will give just enough timing and puzzle challenges to keep you engaged through the entire run. Its simplicity is its strength, focusing on the action first and foremost and using those limited toolsets to approach each flame. An impressive approach to difficulty and an appropriate amount of mystery puts this game into a neat package that is approachable and as challenging as you’d prefer. Nuclear Blaze is short, sweet, and definitely worth a look.

The daunting scale of Dokapon Kingdom is both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. The length of the story mode heavily depends on the people you’re playing with and how efficiently you complete objectives, but discussion of the game online tells me that it takes roughly 25 hours to finish a single playthrough—and that’s if you’re quick! This enables an incredible opportunity to craft an ongoing adventure with friends that devolves into spiteful chaos as time goes by, with tension higher than any other multiplayer game I’ve ever played.

Speaking of unexpected, what Future Redeemed does best is recontextualize the ending of Xenoblade 3.

Final Fantasy is still a great game even if it shows its age and this release isn’t the best it could be. I love traipsing around this world with my warriors of light. I love the music and the style. If you’ve never played the original Final Fantasy before, the experience and money boosts make it easy to experience without the grind. This is a good enough release of Final Fantasy and for that I recommend it, but I wish this could have been the slam-dunk definitive version.

Tin Hearts is a delightfully charming puzzle game, the likes of which I’ve not played in a long time. The story is effortlessly engaging and the puzzle mechanics demand you play just one more level. They’re not unfairly obtuse while also still offering a solid challenge. The opening stages don’t show the game in its best light right away, but once things get moving Tin Hearts is difficult to put down. A few minor technical and user interface issues caused some brief stumbling but rarely put a damper on my enjoyment.

Afterimage will undoubtedly have its fans since the game has figured out the hard parts—gorgeous art, snappy combat, and a sprawling, detailed world. Sadly the game stumbles on the boring parts—tutorials, equipment screens, and general UX design—which creates a frustrating experience for anyone that doesn’t quite ‘get’ it on the first try.

Now that it’s been cleaned up, Norn9: Var Commons is one of the stronger romance novel entries on Switch. With a neat plot, no time to get bored with a suitor because there’s still plenty to go, and just enough hints to guess where the common ending will go, it'll be worth some time heading to meet The World.

Trinity Trigger still scratches a specific itch very well. This Mana-inspired game brings the three-player co-op fun back from the Super Nintendo era, but now without the need for a Multitap. This is a good romp for a single player, but it is best suited for a pair or a trio who want to traipse through a fantasy world slaying foes and finding treasure chests. This won’t rival the highs of action RPGs, but it’s an adventure well worth playing.

So far, the vast majority of the visual upgrades and the new quality of life features make the Pixel Remaster for Final Fantasy VI a strong candidate for being the best way to experience one of Square Enix’s most compelling RPGs. I almost neglected to mention that a bestiary, music player, and gallery are all accessible from the main menu, rounding out the package quite nicely. I’m eager to see how summoned Espers look in all their glory, in addition to the always sublime Opera House scene.

Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly refuses to fix what isn’t broken, and it adds a few new mechanics that freshen up the gameplay just enough. While elements of its narrative aren’t quite as strong as those of the first Coffee Talk, it remains an incredibly chill and peaceful experience, and I’d gladly play through as many episodes as the developers choose to bless us with. Catching up with old friends is one of my favorite pastimes, and being able to do it in video game form is something I can definitely raise a glass to.

As far as compilation re-releases go, you're getting basically all the Mega Man Battle Network experiences in a single package, and the achievements, online play, and bonus art make this the definitive way to play these 10 GBA games. If you're completely new to the series, know that the individual experiences on offer here don't change too much from MMBN 1 to 6; do your homework before committing to purchasing and playing more than one of these games. As an interesting departure from the action-platforming of other Mega Man titles, the Battle Network line certainly has my respect, but I'm not in a hurry to wade through all the repetition built into the MMBN Legacy Collection.

GrimGrimoire OnceMore (with feeling) is a textbook example of how to retain an enjoyable experience and modernize it for a contemporary audience. The whimsical characters and art shine in HD, and the RTS gameplay holds up well on Switch. The stages do get a little repetitive as you make your way through the main story, but there’s more than enough meat on these bones to justify a purchase for fans of Vanillaware’s previous works or anyone looking for a satisfying RTS with a fantasy coat of paint.

Overall, Curse of the Sea Rats is a game I think has a lot of potential, but the samey characters and bugs hold it back from being what it seems like it really could be. If you’re really itching for a new metroidvania experience, or just really like rats for some reason, you could definitely do a lot worse than this one, but I sadly cannot say I would recommend you dash to the eshop as fast as you can for it.

At the end of the day, I'm not left with much to remember about Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories. The charm of its characters and writing are readily apparent, but there's simply not much to do in places like Ham Town and Hog Town. While the hard crashes certainly put a damper on my experience, it was the fact that I really had to force myself to keep picking up the game that speak volumes. Those looking for a light and chill story-centered adventure may enjoy the handful of hours you can sink into Melon Journey. Others may want to stick to watermelon for their sweet memories.

Overall, Have A Nice Death is a great roguelike experience for those who are looking for something that isn’t too challenging to the genre as a whole. That’s not to say that the game itself lacks difficulty, far from it–the word “death” is literally in the title. But Have A Nice Death knows what it wants to achieve and really sharpens its blade on the combat, movement, and overall accessibility of its roguelike gameplay. Its unique style and theming definitely set it apart, although that really can’t be said for the characters you meet along the way. On Switch, it is a fine experience, but do keep in mind that loading times will be a constant issue while traveling through Death Inc. I think it is good that there’s a roguelike out there that forgoes the paperwork and just gets stuff done. What more can you ask for from a bureaucracy?

Dredge takes the simple fishing simulator formula and layers on just enough new mechanics to make the gameplay loop a spectacular experience from start to finish. The constant fear and impending sense of dread make sure you’re always uncomfortable, making Dredge a master class in the subtlety of horror. Even though the story never comes out and explains everything that’s happening, it does enough to make sure you can put it together, while relying on the journey you’ve made for yourself to stand tall. All in all, Dredge is one of those near-perfect indie games—it accomplishes everything it sets out to do, keeps the player entertained throughout, and manages to be innovative in an industry filled with games for us to play.

I ended my playthrough of Chained Echoes at roughly 65 hours. On the Switch OLED this game is beautiful, the vibrant pixel art aesthetic shines on screen, and its performance other than the aforementioned UI bug is flawless. Gameplay is also buttery smooth and appears to be running at a high frame rate. I enjoyed my time in Valandis so much that I experienced as much of the side content as I could. This full length RPG stands as a love letter to the games I grew up with. The inspirations are clear, and yet this is a wholly unique RPG experience that anyone who has an affinity for the style–and 90s’ RPGs in particular–owes it to themselves to enjoy.