Secret Switch games

I am always shocked at the number of new releases on the eshop when I log in to poke around. Then I am dismayed at the shop’s poor navigability, and bummed when I try to find a reputable, thorough account of what’s of interest when I look online for recommendations / reviews.

I know a large number of games are just ports of steam games, which is slightly less exciting, but playing something on handheld mode has its own value too. I also know/hope there are probably some weird small titles made just for the switch.

Do you have any games on your switch that you feel like don’t get the attention they warrant? Let’s make a pile!

To put one thing on the heap (though I’ve yet to purchase it), I’ve been looking at is Silverstar Go. Looks like this also has a ps4 and windows release (which I only just realized), but it looks like a go game that has a relatively robust instructional element, which gives me some hope of cracking into actually enjoying this game that obviously rules given it’s history.

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@MDS-02 also for us folks who don’t have gaming PCs, the switch shop tends to be the best and sometimes only way to play good steam indies! So I’m interested for sure.

I’m always evangelizing for Hamster’s three-quarter-assed ports on the Arcade Archives line. The NeoGeo library has a lot of obvious picks, Garou Mark of the Wolves, Last Blade 2, King of Fighters 98, etc., but I think their real strength is in repromoting more obscure games mostly from NMK, Jaleco, and Nichibutsu.

Some of my favs:

Cybattler: an 8 way space shooter with big mechs and bigger bullets

Butasan: Robotron meets bomberman meets dodgeball with pigs

Exerion: a trippy galaga clone with a space harrier esque pseudo3d perspective

Kowloon Highschool Chronicle

A remaster of an old PS2 first person dungeon crawler, first time it has been released in English. A really cool game! Unique release circumstances! First person Egypt dungeon crawling!

On the first person dungeon crawling theme there’s also Saviors of Sapphire Wings/Stranger of Sword City Revisited

Not the best game in the world but arguably the best Wizardry clone on the Switch if you need a Wizardry fix. It’s an Experience Inc. game so if you played any of their Vita games you probably know what to expect: somewhat bland characters and story, but very well executed dungeon design and everything works as it should.

Saviors of Sapphire Wings / Stranger of Sword City Revisited for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

I’ve mentioned it before, but Hyperspace Delivery Service is cool. It’s part space trading sim (gathering and selling resources), part simple space shooter, part simple FPS. It’s obviously got a retro PC vibe, and overall it’s a good game that you should play if you like the trading sim element, while not taking the other two parts of it too seriously.

@sabertoothalex !!
This… this is…
OMG I went looking to buy the PS2 version of this a while back but the “re:charge” version was more than I could afford so I had to shelve that idea. IIRC the staff behind it were also responsible for Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters, AKA one of my favourite games ever, so seeing this in English is ~fantastic~! :D

Oh man, Switch is my favorite place to play secret stuff these days. Here’s a buffet of things that, just coincidentally, are often available regularly or on sale for $5 and under (except for Katana Kami):

Yodanji (Kemco) a Yokai-themed, very old-school, very Rogue-like roguelike that is self-described as a “coffee break” game

Katana Kami: A Way of the Samurai Story (Acquire/Spike Chunsoft) an easygoing rogue-lite with light shop management elements & weird quirks that remind me of a PS2 game in a good way

Night Slashers (Data East) a chunky 1993 beat-em-up & a pastiche of '90s anime & VHS horror that is just a nonstop hoot

Lofi Ping-Pong (Calvares) a ping-pong game that is secretly a rhythm game/meditation aid/metronome simulator

Rod-Land (Jaleco) another arcade game from 1990, it’s just a cute delight you can play with a friend & the name is fun to say

Shikhondo (DeerFarm, EastAsiaSoft) a Korean bullet hell with a mythological theme, co-op play & dense hand-drawn art

Strikey Sisters (DYA Games) is here because I love Arkanoid-style games, & this one does that with nice pixel art, cute characters, neat enemies & powerups, lots of levels & a Mario-style world map, so there

Paratopic (Arbitrary Metric, Baltoro) is like if Twin Peaks: The Return was made in Soviet Russia on a time-travelling PlayStation, & is a weird vibey thing that can be finished in one sitting

Nitro Ball (Data East) it’s real dumb, you should play it

Mana Spark
This is on sale for peanuts all the time and I’d dismissed it as being a shovelware game but it’s a surprisingly competent action roguelike with some good bosses, solid action and some real heart-in-your-throat moments. Beatable inside 10 hours.

Horace
One of my favourite games of recent memory. It is an extremely British game with references to things like Coronation Street and so on but this puzzle platformer really grabbed me when I played it and I found myself incredibly attached to the main character by the end.

Gorogoa
I’m not hugely into abstract puzzle games but I had this highly recommended to me and decided to give it a punt. As the trailer shows the core mechanic is about image manipulation to progress the scenarios that you’re given. I don’t really want to talk too much about it but if the trailer looks like it’s your thing then it’s worth it.

Would also second Shikhondo too. Great shmup.

The switch has definitely been my go to for indie titles lately.

Severed

This is a neat game with a neat concept and art style. I think it was on mobile too. You use the touch screen to slash enemies in a first person dungeon crawler type set up. The goal is to slash limbs off of things before you kill them.

Ace of Seafood

This game… Oh man… I had to get it. Ocean warfare with lasers… But you’re fish. Just play it.

@tokucowboy I second Nitro Ball. It’s Smash TV but much much sillier, and a fun time all around.

@null

Whaaaat I did not know it was part of a series!! Gotta check out FIGHT CRAB.

I left my Switch in my van and my van is in the shop for repairs……

I don‘t really need the switch in my life for anything besides exclusives… But there is One Game which I did spend way too long trying to find for this thread….

It’s basically King's Field / Elder Scrolls indie version that totally sucks and is therefore awesome…. Will update soon.

@sabertoothalex Is there, uh… a particular reason this whole trailer is spoofing a certain mega-popular 90s anime series?

@tokucowboy
I put Night Slashers in my Switch wishlist yesterday, it’s on sale today for 75% off so I will be checking it out shortly!

I guess also worth mentioning that if you have the Switch online subscription you have access to the Famicom and Super Famicom Online hubs, not just the NES and SNES ones. You have to make a Japan account, download it, and then use them with your premium account.

Most of the exclusives are text heavy so if you don’t know Japanese they might be hard to play: SMT 1 and 2, Fire Emblems etc. But there are a few that are playable without that knowledge, notably Nintendo’s Street Fighter 2 clone on the Famicom, Joy Mech Fight

@LeFish I LOVE Mana Spark. I’ve been meaning to bust it open again for the dlc

My own nomination would be Standby, an action platformer that’s moreso about sliding and hitting cues with the right timing. The jump itself (everyone’s favorite action tuning focal point) sucks a bunch, but you have all of these drastic start and stop moments. Also uses only two buttons, which I love. Does have a massively quick reload after failure with really quick levels. It’s $5!! Full price!! Has like 54 levels and was made by a two person tan!

My side mention is Goetia

It’s a point and click adventure with a whole bunch of stuff going on. It’s titled after the art of summoning demons, and you play as the ghost of a girl that lived in the house the game takes place in. I admit I haven’t finished it yet, (and I’ve had to Google a couple of puzzles,) but I’ve found it to be enthralling

I recently grabbed Fatum Betula on Switch and really enjoyed myself. I’ve never played one of these before but I’ve heard it compared to King’s Field. You walk around, interact with the environment, and figure out how things interact with each other. Immaculate vibes. Highly recommend.

Not an exclusive either, but very well-suited to the platform as it’s nice for handheld play: NIS roguelike Void Terrarium. I’ve recommended this in other threads and I will do it again! Roguelike + tamagotchi + apocalypse = very good cohesion between the storytelling/theme & gameplay, and just a really good solid game all around. Probably my fave game of 2020!

void tRrLM(); //Void Terrarium for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site

There’s a ridiculous amount of stuff on the eShop!

Xeodrifter is a snappy bite sized Metroidvania, it is also frequently on sale

Xeodrifter for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Official Site