Reviews Featuring ‘Jack Jeanne’ & ‘Bloo Kid’, Plus the Latest Releases and Sales – TouchArcade
Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for June 19th, 2023. In today’s article, we’ve got a bunch of reviews. There are a couple from our pal Mikhail, and a few from yours truly. Please savor them, because there’s only a single new release today and it is very dubious. Business will pick up as the week goes on, but it seems we’re off to a quiet start. Anyway, we’ll finish up with the usual lists of new and expiring sales. Let’s get to business!
Reviews & Mini-Views
Trinity Trigger ($49.99)
Ah yes, Furyu, we meet again. Over the years, despite enjoying my time with many aspects of Furyu games, I’ve grown to just roll my eyes when a new localization is announced because each one involves the usual push for a new game by trying to sell it based on classic games some of the staff was involved with. The end result rarely lives up to even 1/5th the quality of the games used to push said new releases. This may sound harsh as the opening for a review, but the games deserve to be sold on their on strengths rather than pushing older titles because this just ends up disappointing those who expect more of the classic games. Usually the story and music in is great with the gameplay bringing everything down in a modern Furyu developed or published game. With Trinity Trigger, I think Furyu is close to actually delivering a great game, but it is held back by a few issues right now.
Every recent Furyu game feels like it is trying to offer the company’s take on another developer’s JRPG. Caligula reminded some people of Persona, but Trinity Trigger interested me as it felt like Furyu trying to make a Mana game. Without wasting your time, I’d say you should play Trials of Mana above Trinity Trigger, but if you already enjoyed Trials and Secret of Mana, Trinity Trigger might be exactly what you’re after, once it gets a discount.
Trinity Trigger has a serviceable story, great combat, loads of customization, and very good visuals all carried by a lovely soundtrack. Expect to take over a dozen hours to beat it, and this would’ve been an easier game to recommend had it not cost $49.99 and had a lot of paid DLC day one.
Nearly two months after launch, I’ve been chipping away at Trinity Trigger on both Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck. The OLED screen on the Switch definitely elevates the experience, and this might be Furyu’s best Switch port I’ve played as well. It even supports local co-op which is nice to see in a game inspired by the Mana series.
Trinity Trigger would’ve been an easier recommendation had it been cheaper. This might be my favorite Furyu release since The Alliance Alive, and I recommend it for any fans of Secret of Mana who would like to play a game inspired by that classic, but the price point and paid DLC makes it a hard pill to swallow. Once it gets discounted, Mana fans should consider this. -Mikhail Madnani
SwitchArcade Score: 3.5/5
Jack Jeanne ($49.99)
Aksys Games has been at the forefront of otome in the West for many years now. While we’ve finally seen the likes of Idea Factory International start doing a localization in the subgenre once in a while, Aksys is basically carrying the genre here. I’ve enjoyed almost every otome game from them in recent years, but I was very excited for Jack Jeanne. It delivered in spades, and it my current favorite game in the subgenre.
In a lot of ways, Jack Jeanne isn’t the usual otome experience. It blends in simulation, rhythm gameplay, and has less of a romance focus than the norm, but these blend in with a high quality story and superb art to deliver one of the most compelling otome games out there, and a celebration of theatrics.
The aspect that interested me before learning about the rhythm game sections was the art. Jack Jeanne‘s character designs by Sui Ishida, the interface, and the art in general are superb. Since this is on Switch, you can also use the touchscreen during the game, as I normally do while playing visual novels given the option.
Barring the main story and over half a dozen character routes in the main story, the gallery in Jack Jeanne lets you view the various art, rhythm action segments, listen to music, and look at the in-game trophies you’ve unlocked. One thing to note is that Jack Jeanne has a lot more content than the usual visual novel across its lengthy routes and the gameplay segments with replay value.
Jack Jeanne is easily the best otome game you can play right now, if you’re ok with rhythm gameplay. I love rhythm games and good quality otome games so Jack Jeanne feels tailor made for me. If you enjoy rhythm games but haven’t been able to get into the otome sub genre yet, this is for you. Just go buy Jack Jeanne. –Mikhail Madnani
SwitchArcade Score: 5/5
Bloo Kid ($6.99)
Bloo Kid started its life as a mobile game, launching on Android before making its way to iOS nearly twelve years ago. It was a fixed-screen “elimination platformer” arriving in a world that wasn’t particularly keen on them, and received a bit of criticism for its nature. That led to the sequel adopting a more standard scrolling style, and it seems to have gone well because it’s been released pretty much everywhere. The first game has finally made a similar jump, and ironically I think its concept is more welcome in the current year than it was in 2011.
Unfortunately, the bar for a fixed-screen platformer has been raised a fair bit thanks to games like Donut Dodo and Annalynn. Bloo Kid isn’t bad, but it is rather bland. The stage layouts aren’t terribly interesting, and there’s no gimmick to taking out the enemies. You just bop on their heads to take them out. Making a run for the bonus star on each stage when you’ve defeated the last enemy is the most unusual idea here. Given the wealth of good-to-great platformers around this price point on the Switch, it’s hard to recommend this decent one with much enthusiasm.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
Beat ‘Em Up Archives (QUByte Classics) ($9.99)
These releases from QUByte really leave me torn. I love that we’re seeing rereleases of obscure games both good and not-so-good. Gaming history is more than just the big hits from the companies who survived and thrived, after all. Realistically, relatively few players would have had a chance to play this pair of Super NES beat-em-ups developed by British game developer Arcade Zone. They were incredibly obscure releases in their time and until Piko picked them up there was no one to champion reissues of them. Are they the best examples of their genre? No, they’re decent on a good day. Fine enough, but Streets of Rage 2 won’t be sweating anytime soon about them.
The problem comes from the technical side. The lag in these games is readily apparent, both in terms of controls and audio. I have Iron Commando on the Evercade console, and the way it plays here compared to there is night and day. The options are as basic as they get, and there is naturally nothing resembling extra material here. With games as rare and under-the-radar as these, it would be great to have some kind of context or history to read about them. Instead all we get is a pair of adequate brawlers presented in a bare bones, less-than-optimal package.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
GyroGunner ($7.20)
We’re enjoying a great period for traditional scrolling shoot-em-ups right now, and there are so many solid shooters on the Switch that it’s almost overwhelming. GyroGunner does something different. You can roam around each stage’s map as you like, making this a multi-directional shooter along the lines of Bosconian or the top-down stages of Thunder Force II. You have specific targets to take out, and once you do a boss will appear that you have to destroy. We don’t get a lot of games like these, so it’s nice to have another one.
GyroGunner is a bit rough around the edges, though. The presentation is quite bland, the hit boxes aren’t as kind as you might like, and there just isn’t a whole lot of depth to the game. I think there’s still some fun to be had here, particularly if you’re a fan of this type of shooter. That said, I wouldn’t be rushing out to pick this up given how many other ways you can get your shooting kicks on Switch.
SwitchArcade Score: 3/5
New Releases
Wolf Simulator: RPG Survival Animal Battle ($9.99)
Some new junk from the junk chefs at GOGAME CONSOLE PUBLISHING. It’s absolutely dreadful, so leave it in that bin where it belongs. All hail the bin.
Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)
It’s easy to spot the highlights today for shooter fans. Grab those Cave shoot-em-ups while they’re hot, folks. And throw Radiant Silvergun in the cart, too. Just a grand old time can be had with those, is all. There isn’t anything I feel strong enough about to highlight in the outbox, so I’ll just leave both lists to you to sort through.
Select New Games on Sale
Dust & Neon ($13.99 from $19.99 until 6/26)
911: Cannibal ($1.99 from $3.99 until 6/26)
Super Trunko Go ($5.99 from $9.99 until 7/7)
DoDonPachi Resurrection ($12.99 from $19.99 until 7/7)
Espgaluda II ($12.99 from $19.99 until 7/7)
Mushihimesama ($12.99 from $19.99 until 7/7)
Radiant Silvergun ($13.99 from $19.99 until 7/7)
Mothered: A Role-Playing Horror Game ($5.99 from $9.99 until 7/7)
Remnants of Naezith ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/7)
The Fairy’s Song ($7.99 from $9.99 until 7/7)
Farmer Simulator ($2.99 from $14.99 until 7/7)
BouncyBoi in Puzzle Land ($5.98 from $14.95 until 7/7)
Moon Dancer ($13.29 from $18.99 until 7/8)
Bus Simulator City Ride ($22.74 from $34.99 until 7/8)
Truck Simulator USA ($2.99 from $14.99 until 7/8)
Bus Driving Simulator 22 ($9.79 from $27.99 until 7/8)
War Titans ($2.24 from $14.99 until 7/8)
Extreme Trucks Simulator ($2.24 from $14.99 until 7/8)
Sales Ending Tomorrow, Tuesday, June 20th
A Little Golf Journey ($9.99 from $19.99 until 6/20)
Birds and Blocks 2 ($1.99 from $5.99 until 6/20)
Blossom Tales II TMP ($9.74 from $14.99 until 6/20)
Boyfriend Dungeon ($12.99 from $19.99 until 6/20)
Demon Turf ($12.49 from $24.99 until 6/20)
Demon Turf Neon Splash ($3.49 from $4.99 until 6/20)
JellyCar Worlds ($5.59 from $7.99 until 6/20)
Lil Gator Game ($12.99 from $19.99 until 6/20)
Pupperazzi ($14.99 from $19.99 until 6/20)
Super Toy Cars Offroad ($7.99 from $19.99 until 6/20)
The Shrouded Isle ($2.24 from $14.99 until 6/20)
That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with a handful of new releases, more reviews, more sales, and perhaps a bit of news. Recently I’ve been replaying Chrono Trigger on my Nintendo DS. Still a pretty good game, if I do say so. I hope you all have a great Monday, and as always, thanks for reading!
