Big news for exactly me: new Arkanoid, from Pastagames

Tiny Cartridge faves Pastagames (Pix the Cat, Rayman Legends, Maestro: Jump in Music) releases a new game today, and… it’s a new entry in a legendary franchise, Arkanoid (that one big NES box I bought when I was like 7, the game that used that cool paddle controller on DS).

Arkanoid Eternal Battle updates the formula with, what else, a battle royale mode?? But also a single-player mode with new levels and new powerups, split-screen multiplayer, and what appears to be an emulated version of the original Arkanoid?

The game is currently on sale for $27, normally $30.

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It’s eShop Bike Doordash Crazy Taxi ⊟

That’s Food Delivery Battle, from “VTuber and streamer friendly” developer STPWorks. What that entails for this game is that you can use 3D models from VRoidHub and therefore BE your VTuber character in game… in the PC version.

I don’t see that functionality here in the Switch version, but that’s fine because what I do see is a $4 competitive anime bike food delivery game, with weapons.

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New Game Buddy games from an alternate universe ⊟

I love a fictional handheld, and this series of three “Game Buddy” games is extra cool. Not just because they appear to be excellently accurate pastiches of early Game Boy games, playable on Switch. And not just because WOW is Oumuamua a really inspired theme for an Arkanoid-alike.

The coolest thing for me is that all of these were created using Pixel Game Maker MV, which I guess is pretty capable software!

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There’s a new, actually new, Cotton game ⊟

All those Cotton remakes and rereleases (including Cotton Reboot which was really cool, and other ports I have yet to play) have been leading to this big news from developer Success and boutique publisher Strictly Limited:

Superlative Night Dreams: Cotton Fantasy is a brand new game in the witch/fairy cute-em-up series, coming to Switch in March 2022.

I’m not a “collector’s edition” person or, really, a “collecting figures” person, but I have to admit that the inclusion of a Cotton Nendoroid in the Strictly Limited pack is tempting! Preorders for all that open up on Nov. 13.

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Maybe I want to be an alligator sometimes ⊟

I don’t normally want to annoy and/or eat humans, but Angry Alligator makes it look kinda fun? Note to law enforcement: I only want to eat people while said people are virtual, and also my body is that of a virtual alligator.

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Disembodied-head shmup Zombie Nation is back, baby 👺

On Switch… and on NES! Strictly Limited Games, how you spoil me (assuming I can get a copy with which to be spoiled).

Not only will the NES game be faithfully reproduced on Switch, but it’ll include the Japanese version, Abarenbo Tengu, in which you control a giant animate tengu mask instead of a giant dead samurai head! “Moreover, this release includes new quality of life additions, such as the Rewind, Quick Save, and Quick Load functions.”

Strictly Limited will offer various collector’s editions, including either European or North American NES cartridges of Zombie Nation, starting October 10 at midnight Central Europe Standard Time. As yet I don’t have information about a digital release.

Fun personal story: after college in like 2004 I worked at a used game shop. Zombie Nation was, at the time, total dollar bin filler. And now… it’s not that. It’s extremely not that. And of course I didn’t pick it up at the time!

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Please enjoy every word of this escape game title ⊟

Prepare the First RPG Village～The Adventures of Nyanzou&Kumakichi: Escape Game Series～. I love that. I want to prepare the village! But also maybe escape from it? But in case you aren’t convinced, publisher AlignmentSharp offers more details on the game page:

We find ourselves in some RPG World.
The Devil suddenly shows up. People fall into great misery.
But, that’s when one young man makes a stand.

He comes to be known as the Hero. He leaves the First Castle, heading for the First Village nearby.

Leaving that aside for now, the First Village is very busy getting ready to welcome the Hero-sama.
Looks like Nyanzou and Kumakichi, who live in the village, are also going to help out with the preparations.

It’s your standard escape game, on the easy side, and highly recommended for beginners. It comes with autosave, hints, and memo functions.

I’m not sure how something could be so appealingly cute and still begin with “The Devil suddenly shows up.” And as it turns out, I’m an escape game beginner.

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First-cat feline rampage sim Catlateral Damage is back on Switch😹

We first covered Catlateral Damage seven(!?!?!?!) years ago, when our mascot was discovered in an early version of the game. Now, we’ve all grown a little, we’ve all learned some hard lessons, and it’s time to reconnect with our old friend Catlateral Damage on Switch, where it appears in its “Remeowstered” form. From the eShop page:

• A complete progression redesign
• More objects to topple and interact with
• 20+ new pet photos, bringing the total to almost 300
• Brand new tasks to complete
• Persistent stat boosts and abilities
• Revamped cat models and animations
• Overall improvements to UI, animations, and effects

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Monster Rancher 1 and 2 are back, even though CDs are not ⊟

No longer will I have to dip large lizards in salad dressing to fulfill my Monster Rancher cravings. The first two games in the series will be re-released in DX form, as a bundle, December 9.

And to anticipate your next question, yes, I thought the joke in the last paragraph was pretty bad and left it in anyway. And to anticipate the next question after that:

The Monster Rancher series originally launched with a unique feature that allowed players to use physical CDs to generate monsters in the game, with each CD having a unique ID that would spawn a different monster. This feature has been re-worked in Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX, allowing players to search a database to find their desired CD and generate a monster from its data. Enjoy searching a vast database of songs from around the world and generating monsters based off of some of your favorite music!

Not only does this make the feature more portable, appropriate for its Switch release (it’ll be on PC and iOS the same day!) but it means I don’t have to buy a bunch of used CDs to generate monsters. Instead, someone else can do the work of figuring out what’s worth using, and tell me online.

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Nintendo Switch Online’s most unexpectedly British month ever ⊟

Aside from Claymates, which was developed and published by American companies (Visual Concepts and Interplay, respectively) the latest batch of SNES games available to Switch Online members are of British origin.

Bombuzal is an isometric puzzle game originally designed for Amiga, Atari ST, and Commodore 64, and it has what I think of as a “This was an Amiga game” look about it.

Jelly Boy, meanwhile, is a platforming game about a transforming blob guy who punches from his stomach in a fairly off-putting way. It was exclusive to Europe until now! All three of these will be available July 28. I’ve never played any of them, which is exciting for me!

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The Wonder Boy renaissance continues May 28 ⊟

One of the weirder recent trends is the proliferation of Wonder Boy remakes and continuations, with the latest being Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World, out on Switch and PS4 May 28 (Steam to follow a month later). This is a 3D remake of Monster World IV, now developed by Artdink, with the assistance of original series producer Ryuichi Nishizawa and artist Maki Ozora.

If you want both the new version and the classic version, you can get the physical release from Strictly Limited Games. Or I guess you could buy the digital release and a Genesis Mini. Or the digital release and the PS3/Xbox 360 downloadable Monster World IV.

Having multiple different versions of the same Wonder Boy games only makes the tangled series more complicated. But bring them on!

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Cyber Gadget’s latest Switch controller is a Transformer ⊟

Whether you prefer a symmetrical or asymmetrical layout, or want to change the position of the d-pad for each different game, or if you like those Total eSports Trigger Things, or if you like losing parts of things, the Cyber Gyro Controller Pro has something for you. With its various augments and mods, it is the most cyber of gadgets.

Not that I’m a high spec gamer or anything, nor do I have around 70 dollars to drop on a controller, but with all the features and the ability to record macros, I’m definitely curious about this thing. I’d probably end up fidgeting with all my controller doodads instead of playing games…

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