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Articles by Elly Oak
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD (Nintendo Switch) One Of The Best Zelda Remakes On The Switch?
Developed By: Nintendo EAD Tokyo (Original), Tantalus (Remaster) Published By: Nintendo Category: Adventure Release Date: 07.16.21 Price: $59.99 The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword is my favorite game in the Legend of Zelda series. It’s been that way since 2011 when it launched on the Wii, and nearly a decade later it still is. To me, it ends the legacy of a traditional Zelda game on a high note. But that wasn’t exactly the consensus for everyone.
[Review] Taito Milestones 3 Proves that Third Time is the charm
Developed By: Hamster Published By: ININ Games Categories: Retro, Compilation Release Date: 12.10.24 Price: $39.99 I was curious how they were going to top Taito Milestones 2. While I felt that the first release may have been a bit too “vintage” for my tastes, 2 had personal favorites of mine like Darius II (a version not included in Cozmic Collection at that), Metal Black, and The NewZealand Story.
eshop Archives - The Switch Effect
Digital Games, download, Elly Oak, eshop, Game Collectors, Games, nintendo switch, Physicalphiles, Reviews [Review] Shadow of the Ninja Reborn – Nintendo Switch Developed By: NatsumeAtari, Tengo ProjectPublished By: ININ GamesCategories: Platformer, ActionRelease Date: 08.29.24Price: $19.99 It’s always a joy when a new… download, Elly Oak, eshop, Featured Cycle, Games, nintendo switch, Reviews [Review] Ace Attorney Investigations Collection – Nintendo Switch Developed and Published By:...
[Review] Shadow of the Ninja Reborn
Developed By: NatsumeAtari, Tengo Project Published By: ININ Games Categories: Platformer, Action Release Date: 08.29.24 Price: $19.99 It’s always a joy when a new AtariNatsume/Tengo Project title is released. Truly from all angles. Some of the absolute best spritework in the industry, let alone modern day. Classic gameplay, more often just being how it played back in the day with the original title, but smoother.
[Review] Ace Attorney Investigations Collection - Nintendo Switch
Developed and Published By: Capcom Categories: Adventure Release Date: 09.06.24 Price: $39.99 Capcom has done it, by god they did it. Every Ace Attorney (not counting the Layton crossover) is now on modern consoles, and better yet, in English! What this means, is I finally have an excuse to play the Investigations games. Time to get inside Edgeworth. Facts and logic do not care ab-I’m not going there.
[Review] Shockman Zero - Nintendo Switch
Developed and Published By: Ratalaika Games Categories: Retro, Platformer Release Date: 07.05.24 Price: $6.99 We did it, we finally got a overall, polished, and good Shockman title! Of course, it’s the one that originally released for the Japan only Super Famicom Satellaview. THIS is the kind of game we need more re-releases of. Games that (and yes I know it did have a licensed repro for carts in 2017) would otherwise be trapped on ill dated services. Nintendo has a lot of these, as did Sega.
[Review] The Land Beneath Us – Nintendo Switch - The Switch Effect
Developed By: FairPlay Studios Published By: Plug In Digital Categories: Action, Roguelike , RPG Release Date: 05.13.24 Price: $14.99 *Game Download Code graciously provided for the purpose of review. I’m normally not a huge fan of roguelikes but when I was reading into the gameplay mechanics for The Land Beneath Us, I became pretty interested because I thought it looked like a fun mix between roguelike and SRPG.
[Review] Dreamcutter - Nintendo Switch
Developed By: Ten Pennyfingers, Shady Corner Published By: Eastasiasoft Categories: Action, Platformer Release Date: 02.02.24 Price: $14.99 Listen, yes this is a game that’s thinly disguised porn. No, I don’t care. It’s still good. I’m going to be real. If I see an adult game that has even a modicum of effort slide into, I’m happy. Dreamcutter on first glance had good art and good spritework. Drawing me in to actually substantial gameplay.
[Review]Rainbow Cotton - Nintendo Switch
Developed By: Success, Kritzelkratz 3000 Published By: ININ Categories: Retro, Shooter Release Date: 05.09.24 Price: $19.99 We really are getting to the point where all of the Cotton games on the Nintendo Switch. That’s the thing that keeps me coming back to the console, almost entire series, plenty of them too, all can be played on just a little tablet. We’re at the last game before Reboot, the Dreamcast’s very own Rainbow Cotton! It might be my least favorite in the series though.
[Review] Little Kitty Big City - Nintendo Switch
Developed and Published By: Double Dagger Studio Categories: Platformer, Adventure, ??? Release Date: 05.09.24 Price: $24.99 No hyperbole. Little Kitty Big City cured my depression. Ok, maybe just a little bit of hyperbole. Ok a lot of it. But this game put a special form of happiness inside of me that seems near impossible to replicate. And it’s just a game where you play as a cat. You were just big eepin’ and you just kinda fall out of your high rise apartment.
[Review] – PAC-MAN Mega Tunnel Battle: Chomp Champs – Nintendo Switch - The Switch Effect
Developed By: Amber Studio Published By: Bandai Namco Categories: Arcade, Multiplayer Release Date: 05.08.24 Price: $19.99 *Game Download Code graciously provided for the purpose of review. I never thought there would be a huge necessity for a Battle Royale style Pac-Man game, but then Chomp Champs went and proved me wrong earlier this month. I wasn’t expecting much when I first started playing, but after a few matches, I was pretty much hooked with the gameplay loop.
[Review] El Shaddai - Nintendo Switch
Developed and Published By: Crim Inc. Categories: Action, Platformer Release Date: 04.28.24 Price: $29.99 So. How does one properly, accurately describe El Shaddai? Imagine if someone made a religion based game, but not about all of the preachy moral based tales, but more about the mythology behind it all? In particular, the Book of Enoch. You control the titular Enoch as he is set upon to find seven fallen angels as to prevent a great flood.
[Review] Mugen Souls - Nintendo Switch
Developed By: Compile Heart Published By: Eastasiasoft Categories: RPG Release Date: 04.27.23 Eastasiasoft has been really publishing a lot of these Compile Heart re-releases lately. This time it’s a port to the Switch of 2012’s Mugen Souls! This time all of it’s DLC is included on cart and the game is finally uncut. I never played the original, so perhaps this is a good time to dive in? By the by, did you remember that Keiji Inafune produced this game?
[Review] Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story - Nintendo Switch
Developed and Published By: Digital Eclipse Categories: Retro, Compilation Release Date: 03.13.24 Price: $29.99 It’s a new year and Digital Eclipse has released another title in the Gold Master Series. Releases that I struggle to call a game proper and more an interactive documentary or digital museum. And much like last time, Llamasoft has managed to get me into a developer and plenty of games I frankly had no interest in at all.
[Review] The Legend of Legacy HD Remastered – Nintendo Switch - The Switch Effect
Developed By: FuRyu Published By: NIS America Categories: RPG Release Date: 03.22.24 Price: $49.99 I’ve been telling everyone for the last few months that I thought FuRyu has been quickly growing into one of the best developers on the Switch. They developed or worked on many great games over the last few years such as Trinity Trigger, Crymachina, and The Alliance Alive, among many others.
[Review] INVECTOR: RHYTHM GALAXY - Nintendo Switch
Developed: Hello There Games Published By: Warner Music Group Categories: Music, Arcade Release Date: 02.08.24 Price: $24.99 The Nintendo Switch got yet another rhythm game earlier this month in the form of Invector Rhythm Galaxy. It’s the successor to Avicii Invector from a few years ago and features a ton of listened music tracks from I Need A Hero to Space Man. It’s definitely a fun game for those who love music and rhythm games, but should you play the Switch version?
[Review] Apollo Justice - Ace Attorney Trilogy -Nintendo Switch - The Switch Effect
Developed and Published By: Capcom Categories: Puzzle, Adventure Release Date: 01.25.24 Price: $49.99 Ace Attorney has had quite the rocky journey in the west hasn’t it? It starts out strong with the DS remakes finding the IP’s footing in the west after staying exclusive to Japan on the GBA for years. Then, a brand new sequel, our first game in his trilogy, Apollo Justice! After this would be a bit of a quiet spot.
When is the Nintendo Direct and What to Expect?
It’s almost the end of January which means that Nintendo Direct season is almost upon us. A few of the rumors and leaks of the past few weeks suggest the direct will fall on February 7th but the date doesn’t fully matter since we 100 percent know that we’ll be getting one in February. What does matter is what we’re going to get out of the direct. So here are a bunch of estimates, ones that are based on expectations, trends, and research instead of just what people are hoping for.
Dragon Quest Heroes II
This entry is part 15 of 15 in the series Dragon Quest Not too long at all after Dragon Quest Heroes released, something magical happened. Dragon Quest games started getting localized again. The 3DS remakes of VII and VIII, after years of waiting finally came stateside. A new side series arrived with Dragon Quest Builders. And last, but definitely not least, a sequel to Dragon Quest Heroes. One that is most definitely a better experience in every way than the original.
[Review] Super Mario RPG
Developed By: ArtePiazza Published By: Nintendo Categories: RPG Release Date: 11.17.23 Price: $59.99 Allow me to gush. The original Super Mario RPG on the Super Nintendo is by far and above my favorite video game of all time. My introduction to the JRPG genre, a quirky enough journey that let Mario spread his arms out a bit, and a game I swear I rented a dozen times as a kid.
December 2023 - The Switch Effect
download, Featured Cycle, nintendo switch, Reviews Developed By: GAME FREAK Published By: Nintendo Category: RPG Release Date: 11.18.22 (Game) 9.13.23 (TTM) 12.14.23 (TID) Price: $59.99 (Game) $34.99 (DLC) A little more than a year ago, GAME FREAK released Pokemon Scarlet and Violet for the Nintendo Switch, this year two DLC packs were released for the games. These DLC’s are called The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk and together make up The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero.
Evoland 10th Anniversary Edition is Coming Soon and is Perfect for Fans
Evoland, the video game history themed RPG from Shiro Games was first launched in April 2023. The Steam version racked up a decent amount of sales before it’s successor Evoland 2 was released two years later. In 2019 the Switch version of both games were released in a bundle called Evoland Legendary Edition. We’re not here to talk about the games themselves, you can read our review of them here. Today we’re talking about the cool new Limited Edition of the game that will be releasing in a few days.
[Review] Born of Bread – Nintendo Switch - The Switch Effect
Developed By: WildArts Studio Inc Published By: Dear Villagers Categories: RPG, Adventure, 2.5D Release Date: 12.5.23 Price: $29.99 *Game Download Code graciously provided for the purpose of review. I knew nothing about Born of Bread up until a few days before it was released but when I saw the charming and cute art style, I knew that it would be a game that I wanted to play.
[Review] IREM Collection Vol. 1
Develped By: Ratalaika Games Published By: ININ Games, Strictly Limited Games Categories: Shootemup, Retro, Compilation Release Date: 11.21.23 Price: $24.99,$34.99 IREM is a developer that I often bemoan the death of. A true powerhouse in the early days of Japanese arcades and a shining star in the world of AA games in the mid 00’s. Home to such IPs as Steambot Chronicles, R-Type, and took over the Spelunker IP.
Elly Oak, Author at The Switch Effect
Digital Games, download, Elly Oak, eshop, Game Collectors, Games, nintendo switch, Physicalphiles, Reviews Develped By: Ratalaika Games Published By: ININ Games, Strictly Limited Games Categories: Shootemup, Retro, Compilation Release Date: 11.21.23 Price: $24.99,$34.99 IREM is a developer that I often bemoan the death of. A true powerhouse in the early days of Japanese arcades and a shining star in the world of AA games in the mid 00’s.
Ranking the 50 Best Nintendo Switch Games of 2023
Ranking the 50 Best Nintendo Switch Games of 2023 As the year comes to a close, it’s time to look back at every game that’s been released on the Nintendo Switch. There have been some great ones and some not so great ones but we can all be sure that 2023 will be a year to remember in the gaming sphere. Over the last few days we took the initiative and ranked what we thought would be the 50 best games of the year.
[Review] Hello Kitty and Friends Happiness Parade - Nintendo Switch
Developed By: Dabadu Published By: Rogue Games Categories: Rhythm Release Date: 05.25.23 Price: $19.99 Why yes! The Switch Effect is going to cover some licensed games. And yes, even a Hello Kitty one! I like Hello Kitty and Sanrio. Thus leading me to finding myself joining the Happiness Parade. Wait, I can’t march I don’t have any coordination! I hope the fact I said march hints that Happiness Parade is a rhythm game. It’s a remarkably simple one too.
[Review] Alien Hominid HD - Nintendo Switch
Developed and Published By: The Behemoth Categories: Platformer, Shooter Release Date: 10.31.23 Price: $11.99 I told you that this topic was for another review! And now you’re stuck reading another one. Good thing this is also for a good game, and also Alien Hominid related. The flash game on Newgrounds may be memorable, but how many people actual recall the console ports? Well, port is a poor term.
[Review] Alien Hominid Invasion - Nintendo Switch
Developed and Published By: The Behemoth Categories: Shooter, Roguelike Release Date: 11.01.23 Price: $19.99 *Game Download Code graciously provided for the purpose of review Has it really been over twenty years since the original flash game Alien Hominid came out? Holy shit, this game can drink! Well, unless we’re talking about the console release, that was 19 years ago…but that’s a different review to talk about. Go read that one.
[Review] Air Twister - Nintendo Switch
Developed By: YS.Net Published By: ININ Games Categories: Rail Shooter, Arcade Release Date: 11.10.23 Price: $24.99 *Game Download Code graciously provided for the purpose of review Heavens do I really need to just bite the bullet and get an Apple device one of these days. There’s so many games that catch my eye like Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls, the Frogger titles, Fantasian, and the subject of this piece of “literature” Air Twister. I assume you know who Yu Suzuki is, right?
The Switch Effect - Page 2 of 174 -
eshop, Featured Cycle, Games, nintendo switch, Reviews, Richard Heaton Developed By: Mintrocket Published By: NEXON Categories: Fishing, Adventure Release Date: 10.26.23 Price: $19.99 Originally I had no interest in playing Dave The Diver at all. I had my fair share of fishing adventure games for the year thanks to Dredge and I wasn’t too thrilled about the art style.
[Review] Ashina: The Red Witch - Nintendo Switch
Developed By: GrabTheGames Published By: Ratalaika Games Categories: Adventure Release Date: 08.25.23 Price: $9.99 *Game Download Code graciously provided for the purpose of review I like what I see in Ashina. An adventure game that seems more formatted like an RPG as opposed to a point an click. The sprites are cute, the writing is a bit witty, I’m invested. The plot is pulling me in, a young woman can’t find her sister, a belonging is taken by a spirit into another world. A world of the dead.
[Review] Shockman 2 - Nintendo Switch - The Switch Effect
Developed and Published By: Ratalaika Games Categories: Retro, Platformer Release Date: 09.22.23 Price: $5.99 *Game download code graciously provided for the purpose of review While it was amazing to finally see Shubibinman in the west, now known as Shockman, the game itself was really sloppy and mediocre. It came off as an unfinished, overambitious game by amateur devs. Well, it’s sequel, now known as Shockman 2 is up and above an improvement. But where do I even begin with this?
[Review] Gastro Force - Nintendo Switch
Developed By: Inkeye Published By: Ratalaika Games Categories: First Person Shooter Release Date: 09.01.23 Price: $6.99 *Game Download Code graciously provided for the purpose of review I love boomer shooters. Really, I absolutely adore them. The fact that there is so many on the Switch fills me with joy, even better that they’re all getting fantastic ports. Now, this is something that had drawn me to Gastro Force. I did not enjoy this game. But lord help me I tried.
[Review] Taito Milestones 2
Developed By: Hamster Published By: ININ Games Categories: Retro, Compilation Release Date: 08.31.23 I love Taito games. I love game compilations. I even love the work that Hamster and ININ are doing. Yet, the first Taito Milestones didn’t exactly pull me in as much as I wanted it to. Be it the barebones nature of the collection or the games mostly just not grabbing me.
Lets Talk About Some Upcoming Things
Hi everyone! Elly here! As some readers or even the occasional visitors will know, The Switch Effect went down last week. It was probably a long time coming. Early in 2022, I was given reign of this website by it’s previous owner. While at first, it was giving me access to emails and social media to ease a workload, it then became fully taking care of the site. I went from doing at least two or three reviews a week to…maybe three a month.
[Review] Curse Crackers - For Whom The Belle Toils - Nintendo Switch
Developed and Published By: Color Grave Categories: Platformer Release Date: 08.24.23 I’m about the right age to have some serious nostalgia for GameBoy Color games, right? I was a kid when I got mine, my first games being Wario Land 2 and Pokemon Blue. If I had to imagine, the developer for Curse Crackers may have had the same experience as me. A deep nostalgia for this clear purple console, it’s games, and it’s aesthetic.
[Review] The Making of Karateka
Developed and Published By: Digital Eclipse Categories: Retro, Compilation, Action Release Date: 08.29.23 I may enjoy older games, but there’s usually a cut-off for me and I almost never bothered with PC games as a kid let alone Microcomputers. I was a console kid all the way. So then, why am I reviewing this? I don’t care about this game, right? Well, yeah. Before digging in, I felt Karateka was maybe a bit too old for me or too archaic.
[Review] LISA: Definitive Edition - Nintendo Switch
Developed By: Dingaling Productions Published By: Serenity Forge Categories: RPG Release Date: 07.18.23 You ever play a game that is just so hopelessly dire and dreary…yet still finding ways to have a sense of humor, as messed up as said humor gets? Yeah, that’s LISA. A bit of an indie darling of an RPG on the PC front funded through Kickstarter with a rather small budget, it’s now enhanced and now on consoles.
[Review] Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons
Developed By: Secret Base Published By: Modus Categories: Beatemup Release Date: 07.27.23 Hoowee it’s been a minute since we’ve had a new Double Dragon game, hasn’t it? In 2017 we got the retro throwback; Double Dragon IV, and even further back in 2012 we got the 2.5D, 80’s styled Double Dragon Neon. Now, in 2023, we have the next in new, original Double Dragon games, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons.
[Review] Garlic - Nintendo Switch
Developed By: Sylph Published By: Ratalaika Games Categories: Platformer Release Date: 07.07.23 Hey. Yeah! Hey You! There’s this massive tower you should go to. I hear, if you get to the top, this “Cyber Goddess” can grant you any wish you want. She’s really a hottie too, you should totally go. Quick warning though, its a real tough one and they really want you dead. In Garlic, you play as a little Onion boy with some tall aspirations..
[Review] Gimmick! Special Edition - Nintendo Switch
Developed By: City Connection Published By: Bitwave Games Categories: Retro, Platformer Release Date: 07.06.23 Gimmick! is a bit of an infamous game in online retro game circles isn’t it? A late release Famicom game by Sunsoft is usually enough to be a reason, but Gimmick! also had a fun release outside of it’s date. It’d be one thing if it was Japan only, there are a lot of Japan only games back in the day. However, Gimmick! was release in Japan as well as only Scandinavia.
[Review] Ray’z Arcade Chronology
Developed By: M2 Published By: Taito, ININ Games, Strictly Limited Games Categories: Retro, Shmup, Compilation Release Date: 06.30.23 Taito and M2. What better combination can I think of when it comes to retro game collections. Mix in ININ and Strictly Limited and you have my attention at it’s peak. The latest of these sets is the Ray’z Arcade Chronology. A bundle that contains the three vertical shmups RayForce, RayStorm, and RayCrisis. Are these good games? Did M2 hit another home run? Lets dig in.
[Review] Boo Party - Nintendo Switch - The Switch Effect
Developed By: Cosmikenkai Published By: Eastasiasoft Categories: Adventure, Erotic Release Date: 06.29.23 Now what do we have here? A new game from the developer of Crawlco Block Knockers? An erotic game I actually liked? Now don’t mind if I do. Boo Party definitely plays different though, going from a puzzle game to a bit of an adventure game. First things first, everything I loved about Crawlco is also here in Boo Party. Great sprites and AMAZING music.
[Review] Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Developed and Published By: Capcom Categories: Puzzle Release Date: 06.30.23 Hey, that girl is about to get shot! You need to save her!…too bad you’re dead. But you gotta do something, right? Well, why not a trick? Your spirit is just floating around, so why not put it in something. No not your corpse, an inanimate object like that bike or that wrecking ball! Kind of a Ghost Trick if you will. Lets just press the L button to see those objects to posses.
[Review] Constellations - Nintendo Switch
Developed By: Icedrop Published By: RAWR Lab Categories: Puzzle Release Date: 06.01.23 You ever just look out at the stars, look and see if you can find the constellations? Maybe even connect the dots? Well, Constellations is the game for you. It’s simple. Just connect stars to form these constellations. Ok, so it’s not *that* simple. Not too far after the first group, you’re given more restrictions or tasks. This star can only connect to so many at once. You can only put so many stars together.
[Review] Inhabit - Nintendo Switch
Developed By: Public Void Published By: RAWR Lab Categories: Puzzle Release Date: 06.08.23 You! Yeah you! How can you even live in this pig sty? Clean your house! Listen, we’ll even give you cute girls to guide you. You like puzzle games, right? Inhabit is a puzzle game just about stuff like this. Puzzles for the most mundane tasks. And I’m really drawn in. To simplify Inhabit a bit more, you’re doing grid based puzzles.
[Review] Cyber Citizen Shockman - Nintendo Switch
Developed and Published By: Ratalaika Games (originally Winds and Masaya) Categories: Retro, Platformer, Action Release Date: 05.19.23 Ratalaika is at it again with another Masaya title ported to modern consoles. It’s always a pleasure to see PC Engine games ported, of which today’s game is. Cyber Citizen Shockman! And for the first time in the west too. Wait, didn’t we already have a Shockman in the west? We did, but this is the game’s predecessor.
[Review] Puzzle Bobble Everybubble! - Nintendo Switch
Developed By: Taito Published By: ININ Games, Strictly Limited Games Categories: Puzzle Release Date: 05.23.23 It really has been a while since the last Puzzle Bobble hasn’t it? If we’re not counting Touhou Spell Bubble, which for all intents and purposes is a Tohou themed Puzzle Bobble, it’s been twelve years since the release of Universe on the 3DS.
[News] Eschatos Physical Release by Strictly Limited Games
Strictly Limited Games seem to have quite the knack for re-releasing older, maybe lost or obscure games. It’s something I’m sure many a retro game fan is a fan of, myself included. This time they are partnering with Qute to bring the once Japanese only Xbox 360 shmup, Eschatos to a physical worldwide release. Now with extras! Eschatos, despite being a relatively modern shmup, it harkens back to that old-school feel that you’d get in an older arcade title. It’s simple. Shoot, move and try not to die.
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