Hello, gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for September 5th, 2024! Thursday already? Time flies! We're diving straight into reviews today, with two covering Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate. Mikhail also contributes his thoughts on Nour: Play With Your Food, Fate/stay night REMASTERED, and the TOKYO CHRONOS & ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos TWIN PACK. After that, we'll explore the day's new releases and wrap things up with our sales lists. Ah, Thursday. Let's get to it!
Reviews & Mini-Views
Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club ($49.99)
Resurrecting dormant franchises is the latest trend, it seems. Nintendo's surprise revival of Famicom Detective Club, mostly known in the West through a fleeting remake, has yielded a brand-new adventure—a first in this millennium! The challenge? Balancing faithfulness to the original with modern sensibilities. Emio – The Smiling Man sticks closer to the recent remakes' style, creating a curious blend. Modern visuals meet a story that pushes boundaries beyond its 90s counterpart, yet the gameplay retains an old-school feel. This is key to whether you'll enjoy it.
The mystery begins with a student found dead, a smiling face on a paper bag his only calling card. This echoes unsolved murders from eighteen years prior, raising questions about a resurfaced killer, a copycat, or the very existence of the legendary Emio. The police are stumped, so it's up to the Utsugi Detective Agency to uncover the truth! You'll explore scenes, interrogate suspects (often repeatedly), and connect clues to solve the case. Think Ace Attorney’s investigation segments, but with a potentially slower pace. Some aspects could be smoother, with clearer signposting of logical connections.
While I have some story-related criticisms, I enjoyed Emio overall. The narrative is engaging, twisty, and well-written, although certain plot points may not resonate with everyone. To avoid spoilers, I'll leave it at that. The game truly shines when the plot picks up.
Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club is atypical Nintendo fare, but the team shows no signs of rust. While its mechanics adhere closely to the originals, and the pacing occasionally falters, the mostly excellent plot makes it a thoroughly enjoyable mystery. Welcome back, Detective Club! Don't take so long next time.
SwitchArcade Score: 4/5
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate ($29.99)
The Switch is getting a nice collection of TMNT games! From the Cowabunga Collection classics to Shredder's Revenge and Wrath of the Mutants, now we have Splintered Fate, a more console-style experience. So, how does it fare?
Pretty well, actually. If you've played it on Apple Arcade, you know the gist. Imagine a TMNT beat 'em up blended with Hades. You can play solo or with up to four players locally or online. The online multiplayer worked well in my experience. While solo play is fine, adding more players enhances the fun.
Shredder and a mysterious power cause mayhem, putting Splinter in danger. The Turtles must save him! Fight enemies, use tactical dashes, collect perks for your run, and earn currency for permanent upgrades. Death means starting over. It's a roguelite beat 'em up with the Turtles—automatically better, right? It's not groundbreaking, but it's solid.
Splintered Fate isn't a must-have, but TMNT fans will appreciate this twist. The multiplayer is well-done, a crucial element for TMNT. While other roguelikes on Switch might be superior, Splintered Fate holds its own in a competitive genre. Not bad at all.
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Nour: Play With Your Food ($9.99)
Nour: Play With Your Food's initial PC and PS5 release surprised me by skipping Switch and mobile—it seemed perfect for touchscreens! I enjoyed the PC version, but it’s not a traditional game. If you enjoy playful sandbox experiences and food, you’ll love Nour, but the Switch version has shortcomings.
For newcomers, Nour lets you playfully interact with food in various stages, accompanied by interesting music and over-the-top fun. You start with basics, but the amount of interaction is surprising. This highlights why touchscreen control might be problematic.
The lack of touchscreen support on Switch is disappointing. Performance is also compromised, with long load times in both docked and handheld modes.
Nour: Play With Your Food is worth experiencing for food and art lovers. While the Switch version isn't ideal, its portability is a plus. I hope it does well enough to warrant DLC or a physical release. Games like Nour and Townscaper are great complements to more involved titles. -Mikhail Madnani
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Fate/stay night REMASTERED ($29.99)
Fate/stay night REMASTERED, released recently on Switch and Steam, is a remaster of the 2004 visual novel. It's the best entry point into the Fate universe, offering a chance for anime and game fans to experience the origin story as intended. The 55+ hour experience makes the low price incredible. While it’s a remaster, the sheer volume of text and work done make it a fantastic value.
For those familiar with the original Japanese versions, Fate/stay night REMASTERED offers significant improvements: English language support, 16:9 support, and updated visuals for modern displays (though not as visually stunning as Tsukihime's remake). Touchscreen support on Switch is a welcome addition, making it ideal for both handheld and docked play. It also works flawlessly on Steam Deck.
The only drawback is the lack of a physical Switch release. I hope its success leads to one!
Fate/stay night REMASTERED is essential for visual novel fans. The low price and availability on Switch and Steam make it highly recommended. Despite not matching Tsukihime's visuals, it's still a worthwhile experience. -Mikhail Madnani
SwitchArcade Score: 5/5
TOKYO CHRONOS & ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos TWIN PACK ($49.99)
Having missed out on VR gaming, I was curious about TOKYO CHRONOS and ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos, praised for their VR stories. The Switch version allows experiencing these stories without VR.
TOKYO CHRONOS follows high school friends in an alternate Shibuya, dealing with lost memories and killers. While the narrative is predictable at times, the visuals are good, and I'm intrigued to try the VR version.
ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos is far superior, with better production values, music, writing, voice acting, and characters. It goes beyond a pure visual novel, making it more memorable.
While some story aspects may not resonate strongly, the Switch version's camera movement has performance issues. However, touchscreen support and rumble make up for it.
TOKYO CHRONOS & ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos TWIN PACK offers a great Switch experience. The demo is worth trying. -Mikhail Madnani
SwitchArcade Score: 4.5/5
Select New Releases
Fitness Boxing feat. Hatsune Miku ($49.99)
The title says it all: Fitness Boxing with Hatsune Miku! 24 Miku songs plus 30 from the Fitness Boxing series. Mechanically, it's similar to other entries in the series.
Gimmick! 2 ($24.99)
A faithful sequel to the original, with improved visuals and challenging platforming.
Touhou Danmaku Kagura Phantasia Lost ($29.99)
Combines rhythm game and bullet hell shooter elements.
EGGCONSOLE Hydlide MSX ($6.49)
Another Hydlide version for fans of the series.
Arcade Archives Lead Angle ($7.99)
A gallery shooter from 1988.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
No Man’s Sky is a highlight among the sales.
Select New Sales
Sales Ending Tomorrow, September 6th
That's all for today! We'll be back tomorrow with more. Check out my blog, Post Game Content! Have a great Thursday!
