The mystique of its systems and world is one of its most captivating elements, but there is no question that it will be frustrating to those looking for a more familiar or traditional experience. I myself bounced off of previous SaGa games, in spite of a constant fascination with them, but I am happy to say that Romancing SaGa 3 has become one of my favourite JRPGs. If you’ve never dabbled in the works of Kawazu, the release of this remaster is as good a time as any.

Children of Morta is one of the most wonderful surprises of 2019, and it needs to be on your radar. The progression system and unlockables mean that even an unsuccessful 20-minute run will yield tangible growth to make the next run easier. Those who aren’t wholly into rogue-lites, like me, will still enjoy the variety and action of the gameplay. Better still, it’s impossible not to be captivated by the Bergson family’s struggle for survival and togetherness against a formidable evil. A two-player co-op option is the cherry on top of this exquisitely-crafted experience. However you choose to go through it, Children of Morta is an absolute must-play.

Sparklite does an exemplary job of taking what works from the 2D Zelda genre but putting their own unique look and feel to the design. Where it falters is that the maps and dungeons that are a joy to explore in the Legend of Zelda have been replaced with dull and monotonous procedural generation. The discovery of new items and the different ways you can defeat enemies are enough to recommend Sparklite to those who are fans of the genre, the lack of meaningful exploration unfortunately prevents it from becoming a must-play title.

Override Mech City Brawl asks a lot out of potential customers for a much more flawed game. Even if it were a budget title, the framerate valleys, constricting scale, limited customization options, and a completely dead online presence would make it tough to recommend. In its current state, you’d do best to walk past the smoldering pile.

The gameplay loop of riding to places, exploring a bit, grabbing patients, and moving back is extremely novel and engaging. With every mission introducing unique attributes, it is always a delight to see what curve The Stretchers throws at you next. There were a few minor problems, mostly with precise movements, but never anything that soured the fun. Overall though, I can't help but admire the things Tarsier Studios put in. The Stretchers is a good time.

Cryogear brings some interesting new ideas to the genre, but unfortunately it doesn’t execute them well enough to really stand out. There’s a lot of depth to the gameplay, but most of it feels unnecessary and doesn’t influence the gameplay substantially. I’d love to see some of these ideas implemented more effectively, but as is it’s hard to widely recommend.

Thief of Thieves would be a boring game in the best of conditions, but the Switch version only serves to make a bad game worse. It’s incredibly short, clocking in at less than five hours, but I still found myself struggling to care to keep going long before I reached the end. From the bland, underdeveloped gameplay to the buggy port, Thief of Thieves spent so much time focusing on the comic book’s style that it didn’t bother including any actual substance.

Tsum Tsum Festival is not built to produce a competitive atmosphere, but is rather a heart-warming collection of mini-games. My husband, John, and I played most of the games in a cooperative mode because, frankly, it was way more fun. But if you’re going to have John on your team for Bubble Hockey, for the love of Tsum Tsum don’t have him guard the goal.

Incredible Mandy is not bad, it’s just also not good. It just kind of is. Aside from the clunky controls and tedious animations, nothing about the game is really offensive, but there’s just no hook that managed to keep me invested up to the end. The aesthetic is overall eye-catching, but it can’t hide the fact that Incredible Mandy is simply not that incredible. There’s nothing wrong with a simple game, but simplicity only works if there’s a high level of polish to back it up.

New Super Lucky’s Tale is the definitive way to experience this often overlooked platformer. For every small compromise, there are easily twice as many improvements to be had. It prioritizes exploration with consistently well hidden rewards and never devalues them by throwing too many at the player. It takes the fun original release and turns it into something pretty special. The Switch could be a fantastic new start for Lucky. Who knows, maybe he could have a crossover with another Nintendo fox someday. While the Switch has no shortage of great 3D platformers, New Super Lucky’s Tale shouldn’t be too far from the top of your list.

Overall, Devil May Cry 2 is not a terrible game. Coming off the heels of the original and the Bayonetta games, however, there is virtually no reason to play this game unless you’re truly curious. I enjoyed the four-hour adventure as a good distraction, but the glaring problems, such as the camera and story, left a bad taste in my mouth. There are certainly worse games to play, but if you’re itching for a new game in the genre to play, you may want to look elsewhere.

Overall, while her debut adventure is not nearly as grand as anything her father did, Katrielle’s story is still full of the same wit and charm one can expect from a game in the Professor Layton series. If you like past games in the series, you will probably still enjoy this more laid back entry, but first timers would be better off starting from the beginning. Various side features like dressing Kat in different outfits or decorating the agency’s office give the player ample opportunity to sit back and take a break from all the puzzles, and London’s streets are still fun to explore, especially when coupled with another fantastic soundtrack from series composer Tomohito Nishiura. If you find yourself craving some puzzles and English accents, Mystery Journey is a game you should look into picking up.

If I didn’t have a pub’s worth of RPGs on the Switch already to deal with, I could see myself putting thousands of hours into Disgaea 4 Complete+. The story is a blast, and the combat is addictive enough while also being a nice change from the huge maps of Three Houses. Right now, D4 is the best bet if you’re looking for some humor to go along with your strategy, dood.

A surprisingly fun game with a lot to offer. The Story Mode is somewhat amusing and easily goes by in five hours. While I wish there was more interaction with the modern world, I can't deny the effort at least. That being said, the real star of the show are the activities themselves. With 34 minigames to choose from, this is one of the most packed games in series history. It helps that the button controls work quite well, and help to sell the experience just that teensy bit more.

Overall, Skullgirls is a wonderfully charming fighting game, with an incredibly memorable cast of characters all represented by gorgeously animated hand-drawn sprites that just make them feel alive. From Peacock and Parasoul, to Beowulf and Big Band, you’re more than likely to find a character that appeals to you or your playstyle among the cast. The experience is especially heightened by the fantastic jazzy soundtrack provided by Castlevania composer Michiru Yamane. As stated before, if you’re not a fan of the genre as it is, Skullgirls probably won’t change your mind, but if you’re interested in fighting games or already enjoy them as a whole, this is one title you should probably pick up.

Resident Evil 5 was received favorably when it first released in 2009, but playing it for the first time in 2019 I feel like it’s a disappointing step down from its excellent predecessor. Even the Switch port isn’t quite as good as RE4’s, running at an inconsistent framerate that never manages to hit 60fps—sometimes not even hitting 30fps. I had a good time playing through a chunk of the game online with a friend, but playing on my own was just dull. It’s probably true that RE5 was never going to live up to RE4’s legacy, but now, a decade after its original release, I think it even fails to live up to its own.

While I was pleased with how my selected ending mirrored how I would have responded to a similar situation, I just wish that my journey to get there could have been more customized, instead of feeling like all endings were possible at the end, no matter what. Still, fans of visual novels with deep thought experiments and realistic characters should certainly download Eliza for lots of engaging reading on their Nintendo Switch.

Ring Fit Adventure never loses sight of its main goal: making moving your body accessible to players of all skill levels. In that sense, Ring Fit Adventure simply hits it out of the park and never looks back. I couldn't believe how well it scaled to my needs, which Nintendo deserves a lot of praise for. Spectacular stuff through and through.

Overall, I have pretty mixed feelings about Close to the Sun. I love the setting and the atmosphere, but the technical problems, chase sequences, and lack of story cohesion ultimately left me wanting.

Cat Quest II is a great improvement over the original. The game offers a teensy bit more variety and a bigger world, so it starts trucking almost instantly. I do wish that your AI co-op buddy was a bit more competent, but that’s a minor gripe. All in all, though, the time flew by and the smile stayed on my face through almost the entire playthrough. This action RPG promises a wonderful treat if you're looking for a pretty dense game.

Let’s Sing Country is a totally fine karaoke game that has a pretty lacking tracklist. It has made the conversion to Switch just fine as it’s easy to read the lyrics even in handheld mode and the mobile phone app means you don’t need microphones to have fun. However, there’s just not enough songs to make it worth buying for most would-be singers.

This is an essential entry into the greater view of video game history and I’m so happy that a collection like this exists.

After spending time with Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD, I’m still confused as to why this specific game was the pick to revive the franchise. The 10 mini-games included aren’t that strong and the main game is mediocre at best, dragged down by the motion-focused level design and abysmal boss battles. On one hand, I was happy to play Super Monkey Ball again, but on the other, I wish I could play a better Super Monkey Ball game.

It never feels good to solve a puzzle through sheer trial and error, and while every puzzle game has one or two duds there are just too many in Kine to allow for the good puzzles to feel worth it. It’s a shame that such a beautiful aesthetic was wasted on this, because the game is not nearly as exciting as the jazz riffs that accompanies it.

Luigi's Mansion 3 is a fun time, but not without its fair share of faults. While the gameplay and presentation deserve my highest praises, there are elements I'm less high on. The good and underutilized floors keep going back and forth without there being a real consistent pattern. It doesn't exactly help that the game gives away its conclusion too soon, way before you even come close to it. The ScareScraper is a lovely time as well, though with content being strapped back for a singular, clean game mode. Players who want to continuously enjoy the game might be better off trying to 100% the Story Mode. The collectibles are nicer to deal with now, which makes exceeding those initial ten hours not even a problem. Oh, and that Slam attack is pretty incredible as well.

The overall case is somewhat neat and tidy - it won’t take you much more than a few hours to solve the mystery - but the journey along the way is enjoyable. The voice acting and standout art and animation fits the distinctive characters very well, and with few exceptions, the puzzles and deduction sequences are engaging and brain-wrinkling. I hope this is the start of a new era in Detective Grimoire’s career, because I wouldn’t mind revisiting this world and gameplay style again soon.

Eyes of Ara is an excellent point-and-click adventure that gets bogged down in its final moments. Up until then, progress is smooth with excellently designed and balanced puzzles throughout. The docked controls are functional but handheld play is where Eyes of Ara really shines. If you’re part of the ever more niche crowd who still enjoys clicking their way through a complex environment, reading journals, and solving deep puzzles, Eyes of Ara ought to satisfy.

Ichidant-R comes as a gigantic bummer despite being a super neat and novel game that I never knew about before this release. The mini-games are enjoyable and the aesthetics are neat, but the fact that the Mega Drive options, including an RPG-lite mode and a multiplayer board game, are completely in Japanese renders those enticing options as non-starters. Unless you’re looking for a reason to try to learn some Japanese, this is hard to recommend, even if the basic arcade mode (that’s actually in English) is enjoyable.