Breaking: Nintendo Direct Highlights, Star Trader Review, New Games & Sales

Greetings, fellow gamers! Welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for August 27th, 2024. Today's update begins with some exciting news, followed by a review and a look at a new release. We'll also cover the usual sales, both new and expiring. Let's dive in!

News

Nintendo Direct/Indie World Showcase Recap

As predicted by some industry insiders, Nintendo surprised us with a last-minute Nintendo Direct, featuring a combined Partner Showcase and Indie World Showcase. The 40-minute presentation focused on third-party titles and indie games; no first-party announcements or Switch successor news were revealed. You can watch the full presentation above, and we'll provide a detailed summary of the key announcements tomorrow.

Reviews & Mini-Views

EGGCONSOLE Star Trader PC-8801mkIIsr ($6.49)

This untranslated EGGCONSOLE release presents a familiar dilemma: is the game itself enjoyable, and is it playable without knowing Japanese? Star Trader is an interesting, if not outstanding, game. Falcom blends adventure game elements with side-scrolling shooter stages, but neither aspect is particularly polished. The adventure sections feature appealing artwork, and the attempt to integrate a narrative into the shooter gameplay is intriguing. The core loop involves conversing with characters, accepting quests, and earning money to upgrade your ship. This is crucial for surviving the shooting segments.

The shooter sections, however, suffer from the PC-8801's limitations; the scrolling is noticeably jerky. Even with smoother movement, the gameplay might not be exceptional. The game's structure is unclear, but Star Trader is more captivating than truly excellent. This leads us to the language barrier. The adventure sections are text-heavy, requiring player input for optimal progress. Without understanding Japanese, players miss half the game and significantly hinder their progress in the other half due to insufficient credits. While brute-forcing is possible, it's not a satisfying experience.

Star Trader offers a glimpse into a developer's less-familiar work, but the significant amount of Japanese text severely limits its appeal to Western players. While some enjoyment can be derived from experimentation, a strong recommendation is difficult to give.

SwitchArcade Score: 3/5

Select New Releases

Crypt Custodian ($19.99)

This top-down action-adventure game follows Pluto, a recently deceased cat, who is banished from the afterlife and tasked with eternal cleaning duties. Explore, fight with your broom, meet eccentric characters, defeat bosses, and upgrade your abilities. It's a familiar formula, but executed well. Fans of the genre should definitely check it out.

Sales

(North American eShop, US Prices)

For fans of colorful shooters with unique mechanics, consider the Dreamer series and Harpoon Shooter Nozomi. Don't miss out on 1000xRESIST—it's a must-buy! Other titles worth considering include Star Wars games, Citizen Sleeper, Paradise Killer, Haiku, the Robot, and possibly some Tomb Raider titles. See the lists below!

Select New Sales

(List of new sales)

Sales Ending Tomorrow, August 28th

(List of expiring sales)

That's it for today! We'll be back tomorrow with a full rundown of the Nintendo Direct, along with new game releases, sales, and more reviews. Have a great Tuesday, and thanks for reading!