Thursday, January 09, 2020

10 Nintendo Switch games I want to play in 2020

I put time into a whopping 20 Nintendo Switch games in 2019. (Twelve of which are represented in this recent post.)

I'm not sure I'll be able to top, or even match, that number in 2020, but I'm going to give it my best shot--starting with the 10 existing and upcoming Switch titles below.

Alien: Isolation--I don't know if you're aware, but I'm a huge fan of the first two Alien films. For me, they're the movie equivalent of comfort food. That probably seems kind of weird given the content of those flicks and my preference for cute games, but it's true. At any rate, I've wanted to play through Alien: Isolation ever since it first came out for the Xbox 360 back in 2014. Honestly, I'm worried it's going to be too stressful for me, but I'm willing to chance it.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons cover
Animal Crossing: New Horizons--On the one hand, I'm one of those cranky old codgers who thinks the Animal Crossing series peaked with its original release. On the other hand, I put over two hundred hours into my two (or was it three?) copies of Animal Crossing: New Leaf in the year following that title's release. I get the feeling New Horizons will similarly take over my life after I get my grubby hands on it in March--despite my crotchety misgivings about the direction the series has taken since its debut.

Bravely Default II--I'm not sure why the bigwigs at Square Enix decided to call the third game in the Bravely series Bravely Default II, but whatever. All I really care about is a third Bravely game is coming out. And Revo is working on its soundtrack--I couldn't ask for anything more. OK, I guess I could ask for it to be less prone to exposition than its forebearer. But I'll gladly accept a "return to form" in that regard if everything else about Bravely Default II follows in the footsteps of its predecessors, too.

Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories--I haven't played, or even owned, a single Disaster Report game to date, but I hope to change that with the surprising Switch port of the long-running series' fourth and latest entry. To be honest, I have almost no idea what to expect from Disaster Report 4. Still, I'm champing at the bit to sink my teeth into it thanks to the positive word of mouth that surrounds its precursors.

Raging Loop--I eagerly awaited the North American release of this visual novel once I learned it was not only spooky but featured werewolves. I'm still a bit unsure about its art style, but at least it's unique. Plus, I didn't buy a copy of Raging Loop because its visuals wowed me. I bought it because I've heard only good things about its complex story, multitude of endings, and intriguing "revelation mode."

SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions--My original plan as 2019 came to a close was to purchase and play this game at launch and save the Romancing SaGa 3 remake for early 2020. In the end, the opposite happened. Although I enjoyed the 26-plus hours I put into Romancing SaGa 3 well enough, I'm hoping I'll enjoy SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions even more. At the very least, I suspect I'll have a blast with its battles, which sound a lot more exciting than those of Romancing SaGa 3.

Sega Ages: Fantasy Zone--No, your eyes aren't deceiving you here. This most recent port of Sega's 35-year-old cute 'em up really is one of my most-anticipated games of 2020. After stupidly turning up my nose at it for decades, I fell head over heels in love with Fantasy Zone a few years back via the PC Engine port from 1988. This release should be the best version of Sega's seminal shmup, so of course I'll be buying it the second it hits the North American Switch eShop this year.

Spirit Hunter: NG--Although I wouldn't say I adored this game's predecessor, Death Mark, I also wouldn't say I abhorred it. Actually, I had a pretty good time with it when I played through it last year. The macabre mysteries at the heart of that first Spirit Hunter title were a tad urban legend-esque, but it hardly impacted my enjoyment of it. Does the oddly named NG avoid such clichéd storytelling? I have no idea, but I'm willing to give it a try in 2020 anyway.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore cover
Susume!! Mamotte Knight: Hime no Totsugeki Serenade--I always find it kind of strange when I get excited about a sequel to a game I barely played. Well, in the case of Susume!! Mamotte Knight, I barely played two of its prequels--2010's Protect Me Knight for the Xbox 360 and 2016's Gotta Protectors for the 3DS. Still, I experienced enough of both titles to feel completely comfortable buying this latest entry in the Mamotte Knight series as soon as it releases in my neck of the woods--no matter what developer and publisher Ancient decides to call it this time around.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore--Of all the Wii U games I wanted to be ported to the Switch, this is the one I had the least confidence in ever making that leap. My interest in Tokyo Mirage Sessions is a bit peculiar, admittedly. After all, I've never been much of a Fire Emblem fan (gulp!), and my experience with Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei series has been depressingly limited thus far. Still, my gut tells me I'll get a kick out of this enhanced mash-up.

BONUS ROUND: Moon Remix RPG Adventure--I stupidly left this on-the-way port of cult developer Love-de-Lic's PSone classic from 1997 off my original version of this write-up, so I'm adding it in now. Hey, it's my blog and I can do what I want with it! Anyway, so what's the big deal? For starters, Moon has long been hailed as a quirky "anti-RPG" by those who've played it. Sadly, it's never been translated into English--either officially or unofficially. That's changing as we speak, though, and the end product of indie studio Onion Games' hard work should hit Western Switch eShops at some point in 2020. I'll buy this localized Moon the second it does thanks to my positive experiences with a pair of of Onion's previous efforts, 2018's Black Bird and 2019's Dandy Dungeon.

See also: 'Five Nintendo 3DS games I want to play in 2020'

Monday, January 06, 2020

Five Nintendo 3DS games I want to play in 2020

I know I had the Nintendo DS on the brain in 2019, and I'll probably still have it on the brain this year, but that doesn't mean there's no space in my noggin for that dual-screened system's immediate successor.

In fact, I'm currently scheming as to how I can fit the following 3DS titles--and maybe a few more--into my 2020 gaming schedule.


Bravely Second--Unlike some folks, I loved Bravely Default. Yes, even "that part." So why haven't I played its sequel? I have no idea. The only reason I can come up with is that the urge to start my way through Bravely Second always seems to hit me around the time I finish some other RPG. I guess this means I need to get out in front of such obstacles in 2020. So, the next time I feel like playing an RPG, I'll reach for my long-ignored copy of Bravely Second and then put it through its paces as quickly as possible.


Detective Pikachu--I'm not the biggest Pokémon fan around, but I bought this spinoff anyway early last year because it was on sale. OK, so another reason I bought it is I've developed a soft spot for adventure games in recent years--especially ones that seem quirky. I'm guessing Detective Pikachu also is a bit simplistic given its target audience, but that's fine by me. I'd much rather deal with that than deal with a mystery that forces me to search the internet for assistance every few minutes. (Yes, I'm looking at you, Touch Detective.)


Hey! Pikmin--The staff at developer Arzest, previously responsible for Yoshi's New Island, really went out on a limb when they decided to turn the Pikmin franchise into a strategic side-scroller with this portable release. By most accounts, their risky maneuver didn't pay off, but I don't care. I already own a copy of Hey! Pikmin, so I might as well play it. Who knows, I may end up liking it. It certainly wouldn't be the first time I enjoyed a game everyone else seems to hate.


Persona Q--True story: I didn't own Persona Q when I bought Persona Q2 last summer. Once I had a copy of the latter game in my hands, though, I felt a bit weird about not also having its predecessor. So, I kept my eyes on Amazon, and when it put Persona Q on sale a few months ago, I snapped up a copy. To the surprise of no one, I've yet to boot up either title. I hope to do that and a bit more--OK, a lot more--at some point in 2020.


Project X Zone--I know a lot of people have a rather low opinion of this strategy RPG that's packed full of Capcom, Namco, and Sega mascots. I also know a couple of people who like it quite a bit. That glimmer of hope combined with the inclusion of characters like Darkstalkers' Morrigan Aensland, Space Channel 5's Ulala, and Valkyrie from Valkyrie no Bouken, has me itching to give Project X Zone a try in 2020--even if it proves to be a turd after all is said and done.

See also: '10 Nintendo DS games I want to play in 2020'