Friday, 3 March 2017

Nintendo Switch eShop Content

Well merry Switchmas, Switchanukkah and Switchwali. As we wait for the entire staff to get their shiny new machine from Nintendo lets take a look at what's on offer on the eStore.

First, let's take a look at the retail games on eShop.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo, €69.99 / £59.99) - The big one, possibly THE reason to get Nintendo Switch.

1-2-Switch (Nintendo, €49.99 / £39.99) - A showcase of 28 mini-games to show off the new tech and to highlight just how awkward things can get (we're looking at you competitive cow milking.)

Just Dance 2017 (Ubisoft, €59.99 / £49.99) - The Switch version of this dancing title will include early access to some songs. Fun fact: This title was one of the first announced and was our first hint at motion controls for the (then) NX.

Super Bomberman R (Konami, €49.99 / £49.99) - Don't worry this isn't the weird hypersexual one. This is a classic return to form for the historic icon and should nicely showcase the Switch's multiplayer anywhere ideology.

next, it's the download exclusive Switch eShop titles.

Snipperclips - Cut it out, together! (Nintendo, €19.99 / £17.99) - A UK-developed co-op puzzle title where players must slice pieces off one another in order to solve each level's puzzle. There will be a demo available and a retail bundle with Joy-Cons.

Fast RMX (Shin'en Multimedia, €19.99 / £16.99) - The expanded version of Shin'en's amazing "if Nintendo won't make an F-Zero we'll do it for them" Fast Racing Neo. This version has improved graphics, a steady frame rate, 4 player splitscreen, 8 player online, more tracks, more cups, and more vehicles. If you miss F-Zero or want high-speeded racer Fast RMX is an easy recomendation.

Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment (Yacht Club Games, €9.99 / £8.99) - A standalone download of the Specter Knight campaign, in which the character's unique moves and the campaign can be tackled.

Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (Yacht Club Games, €24.99 / £22.49) - This features all of the Shovel Knight campaigns and content, so that includes the Plague Knight, Specter Knight and King Knight campaigns.

I Am Setsuna (Square Enix, €39.99 / £29.99) - RPG that aims to bring to mind the classic JRPG titles of the 16-bit era whilst infusing it with modern designs. You'll notice the price is high but that due to it being a budget retail release in Japan.

VOEZ (Flyhigh Works, €20.99 / £18.99) - This is a music rhythm game that is also the first touchscreen-only title on the Switch. It features over 100 songs and has a strong following on mobile.

New Frontier Days: Founding Pioneers (Arc System Works, €9.99 / £8.99) - This former Android Free-to-play title in which you build a frontier town, colonising new land in the process; you're responsible for managing pioneers, gathering materials and even taming wild animals to be pets.

Vroom in the Night Sky (Poisoft, €8.99 / £7.99) - Imagine a "tricks" game like Tony Hawk but instead of a skateboard you have a big motorbike, instead of an ageing extreme sports star you play a anime "magic girl" and fly your bike in the sky.

Othello (Arc System Works, €4.99 / £4.49) - The famous board game comes to Switch with AI and multiplayer modes. It should be interesting how well this performs as the Switch could suit virtual board games.

The Switch is also seeing some SNK Neo Geo titles but to be clear these are not Virtual Console releases but are part of SNK's own version with added online functionality (sadly the leaderboard kind),

The King of Fighters '98 (Hamster, €6.99 / £6.29) - Well it might not be Street Fighter I've been desperate to play on Switch but KoF '98 is regarded as one of the best of the long series. I'm sure J Max may strike me down for that, but like SF KoF will match

Metal Slug 3 (Hamster, €6.99 / £6.29) - Honestly this is the only name I see in this section. The iconic series seems a perfect fit for the Switch's play anywhere multiplayer.

Waku Waku 7 (Hamster, €6.99 / £6.29) - Another fighting game... that I have no idea about. Wait, sorry, I know that it's colourful. That is all.

World Heroes Perfect (Hamster, €6.99 / £6.29) - This is the fourth instalment of the World Heroes series...

Shock Troopers (Hamster, €6.99 / £6.29) - This game is possibly the inspiration for every Micheal Bay film, admittedly in 16bit form.

To our friends in the US, I haven't been able to nail down a full list but it's largely the same but if anything is missing you can access the EU or Japanese eShops by creating new accounts "residing" in the retrospective countries.

Now if you'll excuse me I'll be staring out the window... for unrelated reasons