Category Archives: Nintendo Switch
Pato Box
Punch-Out!! is one of my favorite franchises of all-time and it simply doesn’t have enough entries in the series or games that try to copy it’s formula. When I found out about Pato Box, it looked like Punch-Out!! with a Mad World-esque art style, I was very interested.
You play as a boxing Duck that just lost a fixed fight, and you are out for revenge against your management team/mob that backstabbed you and set you up to lose. The story is kinda goofy, but you can tell the developer had fun creating it. As you go through the Casino’s floors you will have to punch office chairs into a storage room, dodge gigantic swinging blades, play some casino games and navigate various other situations to spread out the fights. I respect the attempt at a campaign and some of the puzzles, and again, the goofiness is a bit entertaining, but any puzzles and challenges mechanics are similar to what you’ve seen in many games before.
My biggest complaints and problems with the game unfortunately is the fighting. There are 6 fighters, a machine (which is like a rhythm based fight) and a final boss that replays all previous fighters Shang Tsung style. This is by far the most important aspect of the game, and the controls are simply not responsive enough to handle the dodging and quick strikes that are necessary for a boxing game like this. Some of the opponents also had inconsistencies in their recovery time for attacks, they would throw a barrage of power punches and miss, but the opportunity for me to counter them never opened up, sometimes missing a combo didn’t phase them. I can appreciate the attempt here, but I simply would not recommend this to anyone unless they are truly dying for another Punch-Out!! type of game. I grew a whole new appreciation for Punch-Out!! after playing this.
- Interested because of the unique art style and I’m a Punch-Out!! fan
- Made it to the final boss (which is just replaying all of the previous fights) and didn’t feel like finishing.
- Got stuck on some fights, but finished through trial and error
- Felt like the controls weren’t as responsive as they needed to be
- Physical Limited Edition [Asia Import – PLAYasia Exclusive] (Switch)
- Digital Copy (Switch)
Yoshi’s Crafted World
Crafted World is a casually fun 2D platformer with a vast amount of hidden items and reasons to replay each level. Besides your standard red coin and flower collectibles, after completion the levels are flipped and played in reserve with a task to chase down hidden Poochy Pups. To add even more, you’re given a scavenger hunt of unique items to find in each level when you’re all done, it’s impossible to 100% a level in one play through. These hidden collectibles are the main draw of the game and is where you’ll find most of the challenge.
The platforming, combat and boss fights are fairly simple, the game is very laid back as previous Yoshi’s and Kirby games are. The level design is well done, but being able to hover jump infinitely undermines some of the maps. The game’s creativeness shines in the crafting styles, everything in the game looks like a hand crafted diorama project, it’s very charming. The music is repetitive and mostly the same recycled tunes, but the level’s actually have a good amount of variety, controlling a giant “mech”-Yoshi, Jet-Planes, Race Cars, and other ways that change up the gameplay. I very much enjoyed this game, it’s the only Yoshi I’ve ever beaten, and my favorite of the non-Island Yoshis.
- Played it consistently for the first few weeks after release until completing the campaign
- 100% completed close to half of the levels, I’ve collected over 350 flowers
- Only played the first couple worlds of Yoshi’s Wooly World and hadn’t played Yoshi’s Story until 2019
- I believe Yoshi’s Crafted World is the best non-Island Yoshi game.
- Physical Copy
Super Mario Odyssey
Super Mario Odyssey delivers greatness that goes right alongside the best games in the franchises’s history. I personally believe Super Mario Odyssey is the best game available on the Switch. The worlds are stuffed with moons to find and other challenges to do. After “beating” a world, more content unlocks within that world, and when you beat the game, even more content is added to those worlds. This is probably the largest Mario game ever.
There are no regular power-ups, no fire flowers, no raccoon leaf’s etc, but you use your hat to possess over 50 different things. These possessions fill the void of no power-ups, as they will enable you to do abilities like fly and shoot fire among other things. The range of abilities, puzzles, platforming and the large amount of content are everything a Mario fan would want. This is a must-have for all Switch owners.
- Super Mario series is my favorite game series/franchise
- I’ve beaten every Super Mario game
- I own all of the mainline Mario games
- Picked this up at launch, took me a little over 2 months to beat the main campaign. I recently picked it back up to do the post-game content and finished the final-final level. I still have about 400 Moons to get!
- Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) – Physical
Bomb Chicken
With a retro style, a creative concept and a familiar feel, Bomb Chicken seems like a hit early on. You play as a bomb laying chicken that stacks and kicks bombs to maneuver through the levels and solve puzzles. While the mechanics feel like a mix of other older games, I don’t believe there is anything else like it.
In the first half of the game, I thoroughly enjoyed the challenges and clearing each level. I was actually thinking this game had 5/5 potential. But as I reached later levels, I started to encounter flaws in the level design and mechanics. Some of the later levels challenges relied more on luck, being thrown into a room full of hazards while trying to open a timed gate seemed nearly impossible. I knew I’d eventually get it, but I also felt like my strategy wasn’t bad, my skill wasn’t poor, it was just too much for the limited abilities of the Bomb Chicken. When I’d finally clear these later challenges, I only felt like I “finally” got lucky that things worked out in my favor.
The game is still a fun experience, it’s not expensive and it’s not long either. The end levels exposed some weakness, and left me with an “average” feeling but I’d still recommend it to those interested in it.
- Purchased it at launch for $14.99
- Played it periodically over a 6 month time frame
- Beat all of the levels, but did not 100% it, nor do I want to
- Took under 5 hours to beat all the levels
- Bomb Chicken (Switch) – Digital
Has-Been Heroes
Early on, winning battles and progressing through the game feels rewarding, it kept me coming back to the game for more. However I hit a wall early on and still after 10 hours of play, I’m only able to get deep into a battle with the 2nd Boss. The formula and challenge of Rogue-like games is to teach players to master the game through trial and error until they can beat it without dying. After those 10 hours, I no longer felt reward and began to feel I was wasting my time, even if I was slowly improving at the game.
Maybe I’m bad at Has-Been Heroes, but there is still something to appreciate here. I personally however don’t think this game was worth the money or the time. I only picked this up because there wasn’t anything else early on in the Switch’s life. My opinion on this game has gone down as more time has passed.
- One of my first experiences with a Rogue-like (not a fan)
- I enjoy strategy games, so that’s why I had some fun with this early on
- This was one of the first Switch titles, and I only picked it up and gave it a strong chance because I was desperate for Switch games to play. I would’ve never shown interest in this any other time in the Switch’s life. I’ll probably never play it again
- Has-Been Heroes (Switch) – First Print
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Breath of the Wild was well worth the wait. It has managed to reinvent the Zelda series with a new open-world style that brings one of the biggest changes in gameplay the franchise has ever had. The entire game feels very polished and is loaded with content. Exploring the world is fun on it’s own, even when not pursuing a main objective.
I finished the main game, but still come back once in a awhile to drop in and have fun going after the extras, shrines, and seeds I have yet to complete. This game is an absolute must-have for any Zelda fan, any Wii U owner, and Switch owner. It is one of the best games of it’s era.
- One of my favorite franchises of all-time
- Played the majority of Zelda games
- Bought this with the launch of the Switch (Mar 2017) took my time slowly going through it trying to cherish it, didn’t finish it until 10months later (Jan. 2018)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Special Edition (Switch)
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U)
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