Silent Hope from Marvelous feels like a long-lost 3DS game resurrected for modern platforms in the best way possible. The aesthetic, music, charm, and core gameplay loop come together nicely, but it will not be for everyone. I've enjoyed my time with it despite the few flaws on Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch.

With Disgaea 7, it feels like the series is back to being a statistical playground featuring tons of possibilities, excellent gameplay, a plethora of quality content, and polish after Disgaea 6. I'm glad that Disgaea is back with such a strong showing.

A nice addition to the base game for everyone who enjoyed this generation of Pokemon so far with a new location, some quality of life features, and its new content. It is however let down by a plethora of technical issues still plaguing the experience.

As a newcomer (mostly) to the series, Pikmin 4 has been fantastic to experience. It oozes charm, and I love how it eased me into the action throughout the campaign. While Pikmin 3 Deluxe didn't click with me, I'm glad I got into the series with Pikmin 4, and will be playing Pikmin 1 and 2 in the near future on Switch. This is a gem, and another essential from Nintendo in 2023.

Anonymous;Code is the best Science Adventure release since the original Steins;Gate thanks to its superb localization, story, and characters. This is an essential on Nintendo Switch, and only held back by a few issues.

The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails on Switch is actually Falcom's first internally-developed game for the platform, and it is an excellent version of a PSP classic. If you've ever wanted to sample some of the developer's older games and enjoy action RPGs, this is worth your time on both Switch and PS5.

The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails' PC version is another excellent PH3 conversion, and it is amazing on Steam Deck. It has fun gameplay, superb music, and feels great despite its age. This is an easy recommendation for Falcom fans.

As a huge fan of the Utawarerumono series, Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten should've been a slam dunk, but it is lacking in some key ways right now on PS5. The story, characters, and music make it worth your time, but the lack of polish in visuals and gameplay hold it back.

Rune Factory 3 Special does a great job at bringing a DS classic to modern platforms, and it also happens to be a fantastic experience on both Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch. It isn't as good as Rune Factory 4 Special, but few things are, and this is worth your time if you want to sample one of Marvelous' best series.

Taito Milestones 2 on Nintendo Switch is a better collection than the prior one, but it still is a bit too bare-bones compared to most retro collections. I'm glad Taito and ININ are doing these releases for the West, but hopefully we see more put into the bonus content and extras for the next collection to make things more attractive to those who already buy Arcade Archives releases on the eShop.

If you're new to Armored Core like I was before playing Armored Core 6, this is an excellent entry point into a franchise I wish I had experienced before. With Armored Core 6, FromSoftware has one of the best games of 2023, and it feels like the studio's most-polished release yet. It was a joy to play on Steam Deck pre-release, and I'm having a ton of fun replaying it on both PS5 and Xbox Series X right now.

Slap Fight has been the most interesting game from this collection, because I hadn’t played it before in any form. The 1986-released vertical shoot ’em up with its sci-fi setting looks great, but feels sluggish to play compared to what I’m used to in the genre. I like the gameplay mechanics that reminded me of B-Wings, but this game ended up being the weakest of the four in this collection. I still recommend it, but not as much as other games in BitWave’s classics series.

Hellfire is the only horizontal shoot ’em up in this collection. I recently played it through the M2 ShotTriggers release that had Hellfire and Zero Wing bundled, but I’m glad that it has finally come to PC for those who enjoyed Zero Wing from BitWave Games’ prior collection. This 1989-released Toaplan classic keeps you on your toes by having you adapt your attack patterns on the fly across very interesting levels and enemies. It is also a very difficult game towards the end, but it is my favorite of this bundle.

Fire Shark on the M2 ShotTriggers release was my first experience of the Toaplan classic, and while this PC release doesn’t match up overall, I don’t really think it is fair to compare them given the price differences and what each release is going for. I’m still not sure whether I like Fire Shark or Flying Shark more, but I can safely say I enjoyed my time with Fire Shark on Steam Deck quite a bit. The responsiveness and super fast boot up time makes me want more classics re-issued through BitWave Games like this one.

Flying Shark, like Fire Shark, is a shoot ’em up I already experienced on Nintendo Switch as my first taste of the Toaplan classic. Flying Shark debuted in 1987 and is also known as Sky Shark depending on the region. I already liked Flying Shark a lot, and it has been great revisiting it through this release on Steam Deck and my MacBook Air. I also had a ton of fun with it playing on my arcade stick connected to the Steam Deck. If you haven’t played it before, it is quite difficult, but the accessibility and practice options make it worth checking out in its current state.

Samba de Amigo: Party Central from Sega is worth your time if you like the songs included. It has a lot of fun game modes, and even plays great in handheld mode with the colors shining on the OLED display. I hope it gets some quality of life and motion control improvements after launch alongside some classic songs added though.

Batsugun Saturn Tribute Boosted from CityConnection brings a Toaplan classic I didn't even know about to modern platforms, and the overall package is better than expected. The gadgets included are lacking, but I'm glad to have a way to play this game that I now love on Steam Deck.

Raiden III x Mikado Maniax was my first taste of this entry in the series, and it is a great version of one of the less interesting MOSS-developed entries in the series. I only recommend this for those who already played and enjoyed Raiden IV, but want more from the series. The new soundtrack option is excellent as well.

Gimmick Special Edition feels great to play, and makes a Sunsoft classic more accessible than ever before, but this release should've had better extras. For its asking price, this is an easy recommendation as long as you're ok with the challenge.

Exoprimal is a very weird game that I enjoyed playing a lot by the end of it. Some multiplayer and early progression issues hold back an otherwise super fun experience that has me coming back for more daily even after 50 hours across platforms. It has the potential to be even better with some tweaking.

Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening is a great release in Koei Tecmo's long-running series, and one that feels right at home on both Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch thanks to smart controller support and touch controls on Switch. While the game needed a bit more work on both systems, I've enjoyed playing through various scenarios in handheld mode on Switch and also on Steam Deck.

Nobunaga's Ambition: Awakening on PS5 looks and runs great and even plays very well, but it could've used a better tutorial for newcomers to the genre on console. In its current state, it was a good decision from Koei Tecmo to bring this game to the West with all updates and the expansion included from the start because we finally have a Nobunaga's Ambition game that is worth playing day one for the first time in many years.

Dragon Quest Treasures on Switch felt like a long-lost 3DS gem that had all the charm from an older Dragon Quest game, but one that was let down by some technical issues. On Steam Deck, it is much smoother and a better experience overall. If you already played it, there isn't anything new here, but I'm glad Dragon Quest Treasures on PC is such a great experience out of the box on Steam Deck.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie on Switch is only worth getting if you exclusively play in portable mode, and have no access to other platforms. While the Crossbell games were best on Switch on the console side, Trails Into Reverie is the opposite. It is a magnificent JRPG, but the Switch version needed more optimization.

Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg and Atelier Marie Plus on Nintendo Switch feel like a perfect fit for Nintendo's hybrid system with the relaxed gameplay structure. While this release is a bit too expensive, it is definitely worth getting for Atelier fans thanks to its excellent music, great protagonist, and more.

Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg is a great remake of the first Atelier game that does more than just give an old game a fresh coat of paint. While this release is a bit overpriced, it is well-worth getting for fans of the Atelier series looking to sample the origins on PS5 with a fantastic protagonist.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie still feels like a dream release after how far behind the West was with Kiseki localizations. Well, it is now here, real, and spectacular thanks to its story, music, and brilliant PC port.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective's remaster is a cleaner and smoother version of the DS classic which is one of Capcom's best games. If you've not played it before, you're in for a treat. This month is very busy with major releases, but Ghost Trick with its excellent revival is a trick you don't want to miss.