Even with its flaws, Within the Blade is a solid 2D stealth game that pays homage to classic ninja games while also doing a bit more towards the actual concept than most of those past hits ever attempted to. The pixel art looks slick, the mechanics are enjoyable to learn, and the overall game is a really good time. While the stages can get a little dull in their layouts and the story doesn’t really go anywhere interesting, the moment-to-moment action makes this one well-worth picking up for ninja fans looking for their next shadow dancing partner.

The biggest problem with Ace Angler: Fishing Spirits is that it all feels too thin. For all the different modes, it all mostly comes down to luck. You can tell this was derived from a game that is only one step removed from gambling. It puts on a decent performance of making you think you have a say in the outcome, but you really don’t. Perhaps as a lower-priced affair I could see this working better, but at the price point it’s targeting there just isn’t enough meat on the bones here in any sense. If you’re a big fan of the arcade version, you’ll likely be happy to have the game at home with all kinds of extras. I can’t imagine many others finding a lot to love here, however.

You get about five or six hours of fun here, and while Intrepid Izzy may not keep pace visually I think it hangs well mechanically with similar games in the genre. It controls well, the suits add some fun gimmicks to play with, and the level designs are generally enjoyable to make your way through. The boss battles can be a little annoying, dragging on a little longer than needed, but combat is rather good overall. If you enjoy the Monster World or Shantae games, you might want to give this one a spin.

Gigantic: Rampage Edition with cross platform play and with how well it plays on Steam Deck is worth your time if you have people to play with despite the few issues I have with certain aspects of the experience. I worry for the online population, but this is a solid base at a low asking price. I just hope some sort of story mode can be added as future DLC or in an update.

Neptunia x SENRAN KAGURA: Ninja Wars doesn’t have much meat on the plate in most respects. There isn’t much depth to the action, and it’s over pretty quickly by the standards of Senran Kagura and especially Neptunia. The only area where it really goes beyond adequate is in the charming character interactions and amusing script. It would be nice if there was a little bit more here to enjoy, but I think for the fans of the brands, it’s enough. Those not already invested in either series will want to give this a pass, however.

It's a beautiful, well-told story, and an experience that isn't like much of anything being made today. It's worth a look for the sake of novelty alone. And while I can't say they'll all live happily ever after, winning your way through the game's brief tale is a satisfying experience on its own.

While I did enjoy a lot of Moonscars in the time I’ve put into it on Switch as of version 1.3.003 and the current PC build, it feels like an early access release that is close to hitting the finish line. There are a few things that need work like enemy HP, some areas looking too similar, and the unforgiving nature not pushing me to learn, but frustrating me in parts. In its current state, I’d recommend it assuming you’re ok with all of that and some performance issues on Nintendo Switch.

While the quality of Breakout: Recharged is generally good and the new additions help spice things up, this one didn’t quite click for me the way the last couple of Recharged games did. Power-ups aren’t a huge game changer here thanks to the existence of Arkanoid, and Breakout is just never going to play as well as it needs to without a paddle or spinner controller of some sort. Fans of the original or the Recharged line as a whole won’t be disappointed, but those looking for a good brick breaker can probably find better options on the Switch.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising is a companion game and it feels very much like one. It’s a very average game overall, with the strongest point being its presentation and the weakest being how much of a grind it becomes. It’s hard to recommend to anyone who isn’t deeply interested in Eiyuden Chronicle, and even then something tells me this isn’t going to be a critical piece of lore for the main game. It’s adequate, and given how many excellent games we have on the Switch of a similar style, I’m not sure that’s enough.

The reality TV-style presentation remains a highlight, but the actual gameplay bits get repetitive. A shame, as this Switch port is excellent from a technical standpoint.

I feel like the Neptunia series is mostly about preaching to the choir at this point, and in that capacity Sisters VS Sisters is a decent enough spin-off. The thing is, I’m not sure where to send people who want to get into the series at this point, and Sisters VS Sisters presents an equally awkward entry for such people. It assumes you already have some familiarity with the cast, and the emotional beats and twists heavily depend on that. The battle system is really bland, and I feel that the cut corners which are practically a staple of the franchise at this point are getting harder to ignore as the years pass. I had some fun with Sisters VS Sisters, but I was bored a lot more often than I’d prefer to be.

I think Wild Card Football is a decent starting point towards filling the void left by the long absence of NFL Blitz, but as it stands it doesn’t quite have what it takes to fulfill that role. This Switch version in particular struggles with some technical issues that will hobble anyone looking to take advantage of the online cross-play feature, which is a major problem when so much of the game’s experience rests on that mode. I think you can have a good time here, but you would likely have a better time on another platform. This might be the best football game the Switch has, but that speaks less for this game’s quality and more for the sad state of the genre on the platform.

The more I played Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX, the more I questioned who it’s supposed to be for. It leaves too much of the of-its-time original game intact to be a good choice for new players. It changes too many things that probably should have been left alone to work as a hit of nostalgia. With SEGA’s own fantastic SEGA AGES release of Miracle World available on the Switch for a fraction of the price, this game should have been free to take bigger chances on modernizing the gameplay as much as it updates the presentation. In the end, it’s a weird mid-point that may appeal to some (but not all) hungry Alex Kidd fans and very few others.

Level 22 is a delightful re-creation of some of the best parts of the retro stealth action games. It's mostly a "one and done" affair as there is little reason to return after you've completed it, but odds are you'll spend an entire afternoon playing through it.

While it is easy to be skeptical of free-to-play games like this, especially from a big publisher, Rival Knights winds up being quite the fun game.

If the concept of simply fighting enemies over and over without any interruption whatsoever, Infinity Danger may not be for you. But if you're a shmup addict, there's plenty here to test your mettle, and keep you interested for quite some time. Or at the very least, a perfect excuse to bust out your device and hone your skills.

I am a sucker for ARPG games, and I really was hoping Uprising would be able to evoke some of the feeling I get when playing my favorites. I think with some updates it has the potential to improve but until then Uprising is going to be in the 'miss' column for me.

I have my share of issues with NEOGEO Pocket Color Selection Vol.2. The untranslated games are a bummer. It’s extremely likely that if you’re interested in this, you’ve already bought some of the separately-released games. But as a whole, even counting out a few games for lack of translation or double-dipping, this is still a really strong set of games that show what the road less-traveled looked like on the handheld. The oddball nature of the line-up gives it a strong appeal for those looking for something a little different, warts and all.

With how polarized the reactions on the forums have been regarding the controls, it really seems like Touch Racing Nitro is a game that badly needs a lite version.

In some ways, the sheer depth of Cafeteria Nipponica acts as both a blessing and a curse.

Ultimately, Runaway: A Road Adventure is a beautiful looking, average sounding, and at times, many times, frustrating experience. It's a worthy addition to the collection if you're into the old 'point and click' and it certainly isn't bad… just keep in mind that it has a lot of flaws, some to do with the original design, some to do with the transition to mobile devices.

Overall, that’s the highest kind of compliment you can give for Gold Diggers, a game in a genre that often relies heavily on in-app purchases and cheesy grinding schemes to bring players back. If that’s enough to entice you to try another endless runner, then Gold Diggers has a lot to offer.

Even if it could stand to have more unique features, The Balloons - Endless Floater is worth trying, especially if you've grown tired of the increasingly annoying energy reliant titles.

Delightful to watch and wonderful to listen to, but not terribly interesting to play. It's a handsome exercise in the rote that falls short of what enthusiastic chin-scratching ambitions it may have had.

If you like Touhou Project and can enjoy a relatively mindless action-RPG with rough edges all around, you’re in the best position to appreciate Touhou: New World. Keeping its scope in mind, it’s a decent way to spend a day or two of gaming. Just don’t expect it to get anywhere close to the quality of the games it’s paying homage to. I suppose that’s the nature of many of these Touhou Project spin-offs, but it’s frustrating when it gets as close to being more as this one does.

It has some strong points when it comes to overall presentation and the quick play (you can finish a level in under 10 seconds), but I really missed the ability to tilt my phone to help control PoPo. It just felt like a feature that was missing, and while the game is good without it, it could have been great with it.

Like most Gameloft's titles, it's a small-scale rendition of a bigger console experience that's worth playing for all the collectibles, missions, and upgrades, despite several shortcomings.

The truly unfortunate thing about Warheads is the lack of any kind of online scoring.