Tag Archives: Nintendo Switch Online

MUSHA Review

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It’s time for another retro game courtesy of the Nintendo Switch Online. I can safely say that this is a fun title but it doesn’t really stand out all that much compared to the other sci-fi titles that I’ve played. It’s a good game of course but eh it definitely could have been better if you ask me. In the end it needed a little more of a plot or some kind of super unique gimmick.

The gameplay is more of a top down shooter style. You are blasting away at all of the enemies that try to stand in your way. It can be a bit hard to tell when you are dealing damage since the visual indicator isn’t very obvious but keep on blasting and you will take the enemies down in no time. You can keep on switching the way that your robot fires its shots as well so I recommend experimenting until you’ve found the perfect blend for you. There are certainly many different ways to tackle this and you can also alternate between manual and automatic fire.

I found that the best firing method was the 3 guns style. It works well on automatic and you get a lot of coverage while you are moving around. There are wider guns like the 5 way but I felt like they didn’t do as much damage so ironically it was a bit tougher to use that one. I would often find myself being a bit held back there. You lost your extra firepower the more you get hit so it is important to dodge every blow. Seriously one wrong shot can send you all the way back to the basic gun which is the worst possible gun to have. If you’re down to that weapon you can pretty much turn in the towel at that point.

You can of course get the power ups back by hitting the collectibles but surviving that long is the tricky part. The bosses have a ton of health as well and they will drain your HP quickly. Your reaction times are probably the most critical part of the journey since that is what will keep you alive. The graphics are pretty solid for this time frame. The characters look solid and the backgrounds had a good amount of detail to them. The levels are also fairly different so it’s not like the same background is used over and over again or anything like that. Now that would have definitely been pretty lazy.

There isn’t a lot of replay value here but that’s pretty normal for a retro game like this. The main idea is to just complete it as you normally would and then it goes back on the shelf. You can probably have fun creating your own strategies like maybe trying to complete it while only dying 5 times or something like that but for the most part this will just be around for 1 hour. At least it’s an hour of quality content though. The soundtrack isn’t bad, no home run hits but it’s not a weak selection. It works pretty well with the look and feel of the game.

I do think the developers had a fun idea with the gun customizing and it feels like an early concept of what Armored Core would turn into. Customizing your robot can be fun whether it is in game like this one or pre game like the Leynos title. That said, it would also need to be perfected more. Each gun should have some kind of benefit to it and in this case some just felt like downgrades. Why would you ever use 2 guns instead of 3? Maybe one way you could do this is that you sacrifice more armor as you add more guns. That would be pretty fun or you could scale down attack power the way it seemed to work for the 5 way gun. That would make a lot of sense.

Overall, MUSHA is a good game to check out while you have the Switch Online. If you had to pay for it then I wouldn’t be able to recommend it quite as highly but there’s really not much of a downside when it’s free like this. Just jump in and have a lot of fun right? That’s really the way to go about it and a modern remake of this game could have a lot of potential. Even if this may not be the flagship title of the genre, I like the genre enough where it still works out in the end. Blasting away at enemies while zooming around is always a good bit of fun. I’ll do my best to keep on remembering the game at least for the remainder of the year. A true challenge indeed!

Overall 6/10

Thunder Force II Review

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It’s time for the next Genesis title with another shooter game. Thunder Force’s gameplay style is a bit unique though as it actually switches from overhead to 2D every level. So this way it’s like you’re playing two different games and while it’s not super long, it’s a bit longer than you’d expect thanks to the overhead levels. Definitely not a game that you should underestimate.

There’s really not much of a plot here which is too bad but not super surprising. Go take down the invading aliens and you will be able to save the world! The 2D levels are my favorite ones as you just get right into the game and start shooting down all of the opposition. It’s a true bullet hell type game as you have to dodge numerous kinds of attacks as you fly through the stages. One hit and you lose a life so it is not very forgiving. A unique part of this is you can keep switching the way that you fire. Every power up you get unlocks a new mode up to around 7. So you can shoot in multiple directions with extra firepower or go with more of a low grade weapon. The possibilities are fairly endless here and so you have a lot of control.

I felt like the gun that shoots downwards and upwards at the same time was the best one since you could just stay on top of an enemy and spam that gun. Depending on the boss you would have to change weapons though so I would advise you to always be ready. Even with that, I died tons of times here. It’s just extremely hard to dodge at all times and then some levels will suddenly speed up like crazy and you will have a hard time keeping up. I still don’t know how you’re expected to just react to that without memorizing the board. It felt a litttttttle cheap I have to admit. Once again I think I would have had a hard time being a big gamer if I grew up on the Genesis.

The overhead levels are a bit weaker than the 2D ones though and that’s because there is no map. So you have to fly around looking for enemy installations to blow up. Once you have blown them up then you will have completed the level but you’ll end up flying in circles a lot of times. There are some mazes to watch out for as well in case this wasn’t already difficult enough. Basically what I’m saying here is that you really have to bring your A game or it’s all over. There will be no way to escape.

The graphics here really aren’t bad. They’re not exactly top tier or anything like that but you always know what is going on and won’t be confused at any point. The soundtrack is also okay. I definitely don’t have any real issues here. They complement the gameplay well. Also while I may have had my share of issues with the gameplay, it was still enjoyable the whole time which is the important part.

I really tend to enjoy these sci-fi shooters and how creative they are. The enemy ship designs are all pretty good and I enjoyed the boss battles as well. The final boss even incorporated some gravity into the gameplay as you had to really go max speed to keep up. So that was definitely fun. This is a game with no real replay value though so you should know that once you complete the game, it’s all over. There really isn’t anything left after that. The game felt like it was about an hour for me so not the shortest Genesis game but still pretty short when you think about it.

Overall, Thunder Force II is a fun game. I think it had a lot of room for improvement though and it all starts with the overhead levels. I can’t stress enough how even a basic map would have made a world of difference. I would always be waiting for a 2D level to come up as a result. It also goes without saying that more of a story would be nice but I consider that to be a bit more of a technical limitation so I won’t be too hard there. Either way if you have the Switch Online then it is worth checking out. It may not stand out compared to some of the other games but it’s fun and at the end of the day that’s what counts.

Overall 6/10

Zero Wing Review

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Time for our next Genesis adventure with Zero Wing. This one definitely has a pretty iconic moment in the script and as a whole it’s pretty intense to see it. You really would not have expected the script to be this rough after the game was translated into English but I guess this squeaked through. In a way it makes the game funnier though so it works out and the game gets a full thumbs up either way thanks to the smooth gameplay.

The basic plot is about stopping the aliens who are trying to conquer or destroy the planet. You have to use your own ship to stop them and it must be a crazy high tier ship because it is destroying an entire army. I know that’s mainly gameplay mechanics of course but it’s still pretty fun to see. There sadly is not an ending cutscene here so after the opening you could say that the story completely dies. This is pretty odd because that just feels like it’s a given. Maybe there is some way to unlock an extra cutscene? Maybe not but that’s at least something that could make a little sense.

Ah well it may have ended on a weak note but the game was still fun. Think of this like a 2D Galaga where you are spamming your blasters at everything that moves. One unique thing about this adventure is that you can keep on switching your gun every time you get a power up but some in my opinion are better than others. Once I got the homing gun I would dodge all the other power ups because I didn’t want to lose it. It may be the weakest out of all the guns but at the same time the homing attack function just makes it something that you do not want to lose. This game is part bullet hell to an extent so you’re really focused on dodging. Not having to worry about where you are firing is a massive help.

Particularly since the attack power difference wasn’t massive. Yes, it’s enough to be noticeable but at the same time it’s still not a problem. The gameplay is very fast paced so you get to trust your reaction times while at the same time it’s not so fast that you have to make a lot of gambles. When you get hit, you know instinctively that you made a mistake. Often times you will immediately recognize your mistake as you get hit. With very few exceptions, it always feels reasonable that you can beat a level without getting hit but realistically everyone will slip up at some point.

Then for the graphics, the game is pretty good. The fact that we have actual illustrations with text is pretty good since most of this console’s games couldn’t seem to manage that. Meanwhile the soundtrack also gets a thumbs up without a doubt. The tunes are fun and really fit the gameplay. Definitely no issues on the technical side for this one. I do have to address the one weak point of the game though which is that it is very short. The game can be completed in under an hour and there is no real reason to play it again. The replay value here is absolutely zero and so you need to make sure that the single playthrough is enough for you to want to buy the game. If not, then that is a very valid reason on why you would want to skip it.

Zero Wing joins a bunch of other games that I’ve played where I feel there is a lot of potential to bring the series back. The story is already there so modernize it with more cutscenes and you can make a franchise out of it. Of course you can say that for many games but when you’ve already got the story and good gameplay at your disposal then it almost goes without saying. This is definitely not one that you want to miss.

Overall, Zero Wing is a pretty good game. I definitely had a good amount of fun with it. Of course it is a bit on the short side and there is technically no replay value. So this is a one and done type of game but hey that’s fine as long as that first playthrough is good. Naturally this isn’t really a game that I would spend money on but when you’re playing it as part of a full package deal then that’s really not a bad bet. I would definitely recommend checking it out, these sci-fi shooters are always so much fun!

Overall 7/10

Dynamite Headdy Review

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Now this is definitely one of the most difficult video games that I’ve played in a minute. Certainly one of the toughest platformers and without the power of access points and rewinding I don’t see how anyone was able to beat the final boss of this game. It’s incredibly difficult with randomized movements and a whole lot of health. I died so many times in this fight but of course in the end all I had to do was win once to turn the tables and that’s exactly what I did! You just have to keep on fighting until you have made it to the end.

The basic plot involves the main guy getting suckered by girl who keeps stealing stuff. Yeah okay that’s not technically the focus of the plot even though it’s what happens. Someone is putting the entire world at risk and has powerful robotic menaces under his disposal. Headdy had to destroy them all and save puppetkind but does he have what it takes to defeat everyone? He has the power needed to be sure but the guy isn’t the smartest and is easily suckered so you really have to take that into account. Trust me, the guy makes me roll my eyes sometimes to be honest because the same cutscene happens after every world. You’d think he would learn…

All that said, I’m glad that the game actually has a real story. There are lots of cutscenes even if there isn’t much dialogue and the characters are very expressive so you feel like you are always in the mix. This game would absolutely do well with a modern remake because even this one has aged well. The gameplay is also very unique with how you put on different heads to gain different abilities. You need to get used to jumping and then launching your head since that’s a bit different compared to the usual action of jumping and automatically grabbing onto something. Once your muscle memory gets used to it, you’re set though.

Also watch out because there are what I call trap heads. One in particular involves putting on a giant head that prevents you from moving for a little while and then you get destroyed. The game is very punishing with your mistakes so if you put that on…good luck. It’s over by that point and you’re not going to make it to the end. Other power ups like turning tiny are good for very specific circumstances but if you use it in the middle of a level it will often hold you back instead of helping you. So I’d say you should definitely keep that in mind. The best power up is probably the one that surrounds you with an energy barrier that damages any enemy who gets close. That one is super handy with no real drawbacks.

Now like I said with the difficulty level, the enemies hit hard! You will lose all of your health very quickly and the attacks can be hard to react to. Specifically I have to talk about the final boss here because he is the most noticeable by far. He has a ton of different attack options up his sleeve and there is barely a chance to see what he is going to do before he does it. The guy seems to have a different pose for each attack which is likely your entry way to being able to dodge in time but it’s still an incredibly tight window.

You also need to be able to grab the specific power up that you need in order to dodge his attack and that is way easier said than done. Trust me this is exactly the kind of enemy that you do not want to face because he is always in the perfect position to take you down. I died probably over 50 times against him and that was with the power of the Switch Online. He’s an awesome looking final boss though. Great design all the way and really someone who does strike fear into you. He’s an excellent final boss and definitely a villain who excels over 90% of other platforming villains. This game deserves to be a big series.

The graphics have aged really well due in large part to the fun artstyle. The soundtrack is really good too and I definitely have no complaints there. The length is not the longest as each world is fairly short but the levels all have a lot of originality to them. For example in one level you are flying around the whole time, then you’re underwater in one, etc. The gameplay itself changes to match the levels which is impressive. It’s not afraid to change things up a lot.

In fact one level even had a whole puzzle which really did stump me for a bit. You have to basically bounce off of a bunch of walls to get to the top and you have to do this really fast before you fall down or hit a spike. The timing was so specific that I overthought it which is part of why I didn’t think that was how to get past the puzzle. I was looking for a switch or an alternate exit but in the end the direct way was the right way.

Overall, This game was better than I was expecting. I’m not crazy about one aspect of the ending since the implications are rather dire but otherwise this was very satisfying all the way through. The game feels ahead of its time with how many different gameplay mechanics it used and the fact that it had a true story all the way through. Trust me, that’s really not an easy feat and it only gets more and more impressive as I play other Genesis games.

Overall 7/10

Columns Review

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All right it’s time for our next Genesis title but this one’s not one of the more impressive ones. In fact you could say that this is one of the weakest ones. I’m not totally sure what they were going for here except to say that it did not work. It’s a puzzle game that’s similar to Tetris and other matching games but the big difference here is that you can’t rotate the pieces sideways. They just go from up to down and that’s about it which to me makes the game not quite as fun. There’s still a lot of strategy so I won’t say in any way that this makes it more basic but it’s tougher to really land the combos that you want.

When you launch the game there is only one main mode here. You can play it on easy, normal, or hard. Beyond that the game is exactly he same on all 3 modes and the only difference is the speed at which the pieces fall down and also the points that you start with. On easy mode you start with 0, 20,000 on normal mode, and 50,000 on hard mode. What this means if you should always play hard mode because even if you lose almost immediately, you have so many points that it adds up. At least me personally it feels like the right way to go. Now if you can’t move the pieces on their sides, how do you get matches?

Well each tile has 3 colors so what you can do is change the orders of the colors on the block even though you can’t turn it. It’s definitely a tricky one and it’s hard to get the hang of it. You really have to forget everything you’ve learned about matching games previously and then get used to these rules. Otherwise you will really just end up playing yourself the whole time and putting yourself in a rough spot. Even by the end when playing this game I felt like I was making most of my matches by mistake. It was super hard to actually plan for them and more often than not I would just end up losing eventually without knowing what I was really doing.

The core problem is that as a result the game just isn’t super fun. It’s not awful or anything but there’s virtually nothing to do in the game. It’s as basic as possible and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing but then you really need an excellent gameplay style. Just being okay is not nearly good enough and that’s the real problem here. Give me some different backgrounds or something. Of course a story mode is the number one factor that would be super hype but these are other things that could have helped more. More songs, backgrounds, modes, etc.

As it stands this game is just too barebones and has not aged particularly well. There is really no particular reason to play this game as long as many others exist. I will just naturally find myself gravitating to those instead and I’m sure that the same is true for many gamers which is why you never hear about this title nowadays. The graphics are okay but it’s not like there is much on the screen for the game to show off either. So what you have is a game that is absolutely stuck without the ability to improve.

Also I’m pretty sure this is more of a Nintendo Switch Online thing than with the actual game or at least I hope that is the case but the game does not save your high score. Yes, you heard that right. It goes back to 0 each time so every time you play the game says that you now have the high score. A little suspect eh? That also takes away from wanting to play for too long because yeah you can write the high score down but how long will you actually remember it? It’s a real load off your mind to have the game store this kind of basic information instead of you.

Overall, There isn’t a lot of replay value here because you’ll basically just be playing the same level over and over and over again with nothing much beyond that. Nobody is going to be spending that amount of time on a single game for very long. It just wouldn’t make sense. You know it and I know it. I’d like to think that this would have potential with a modern day remake but I do think you would need a ton of bells and whistles to make it worth the purchase. Otherwise I would really just go with the classic Tetris style instead because I find it to be more fun. That’s what it really boils down to in the end.

Overall 3/10

Ecco the Dolphin Review

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It’s time to take a look at a game that is pretty well known for the Genesis, but is it actually good? That’s always the key question in these kinds of things and unfortunately I can confirm that it’s not one of the top titles. It is missing a lot of quality of life features that could have helped it out a whole lot like more of a full map, more of a tutorial on the controls, and just more signage in general. I should know where I have to go at all times. Instead of being a fun fast paced adventure, it ends up getting lost in the weeds.

The general plot is definitely pretty crazy especially if you haven’t read the booklet or anything. Some Dolphins are splashing around when there’s a giant tremor and a bunch of trippy lights appear. The whole crew is scattered and there may be something very sci-fi going on around the place. Ecco (Why isn’t he called Echo tho?) has to stop these invaders and creatures that are certainly not from Earth while also making sure that the rest of the Dolphins are okay. You meet up with one of them again in level 1 but he doesn’t really do anything. So really you are on your own here, Ecco is the last chance for all of Dolphin kind.

I think you’ve got a solid intro right there but the real problem is once you get onto the gameplay part. You only have 3 real controls here, acceleration, attack, and sonar. You’ll be using them all quite a lot as you go through the game but there are definitely some issues here. First off, it’s often hard to know exactly where you are even going. You might want to go right but then that’s not the right way and you’ll be blocked by a crystal. You try to go left and then you get stumped that way as well. You can try to pull off a lap and go the other way but then you’re still busted.

After a lot of trial and error you’ll see that this is really a puzzle game. You have to activate different crystals with your sonar which gives you the ability to move another crystal out of your way. Eventually you will have them all out of the way and then you can really move forward. So that’s pretty good but then there’s another problem, you have an air supply. You have to routinely find an area where you can go above water to replenish that or you instantly lose and go back to the very beginning of the level. Yes, the very beginning so you have to re-complete all of the puzzles again.

Ecco is a really fast creature but that works to your detriment most of the time as it means that you will be crashing into monsters constantly. Looking for a safe area? Crash! Looking for the next puzzle? Crash! It just keeps on happening and while you do have a few health points, you will quickly lose them every time. There is just no real safe zone here. Part of the problem is that the game isn’t ready for Ecco’s level of speed which means that crashing into everyone and everything is basically inevitable. If you go too slow then you’ll run out of oxygen after all. At least the game does remember the enemies that you’ve defeated so you can really take the slow and methodical approach but it also means that every level will probably take forever.

I can’t imagine trying to complete this without access points. It feels like it would be absolutely crazy. Once in a while I do get the feeling that I wouldn’t have been quite as big a gamer as I am nowadays if this was the era I started off on. Of course there were still a lot of solid games back then but it feels like tons of them were really unforgiving. Making constant save points a regular thing in the modern era was definitely a great move.

I can at least say that the graphics are pretty good here. The game looks nice all the way through and I didn’t have any issue there. The soundtrack is a bit more on the forgettable side but I’ve definitely heard worse. Also, I probably didn’t hear most of the soundtrack because of how early I died here. My understanding is that the length of the game is fairly short but at the same time I think you have to account for the difficulty level. So because of that this would be one of the longer Genesis titles. It’s not enough to win me over to their side or anything like that but it’s definitely worth noting. You do at least get a lot of bang for your buck.

Overall, Ecco the Dolphin is a game that had some potential but ultimately the gameplay just wasn’t all that fun. That is a massive problem because without fun gameplay you don’t really have anything. You need that in order to take the win. So we need to redo this game from the ground up. I would argue even the core gameplay should change because while there can be good quality of life features that come in, they won’t be enough on their own to turn this around. Maybe they can prove me wrong, I’ll probably play more Ecco games at some point and I have to imagine that they will beat this one. This is one of the rare titles where I would tell you to skip it for now. There just isn’t much reason to check this one out. When you boil a game down to the basics, it is all about having fun and so if you aren’t having fun then you are out of luck.

Overall 3/10

Ristar Review

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It’s time to jump right in to the big Ristar title. This one had a cool cover and a solid looking main character which are pretty massive factors when you’re looking into any platformer. If you want to be big then you need to be memorable and in the end this game pulls that off. My only main gripe is that the game is very short. Even for a platformer I would say this one is short as each world only has 2 levels rather than the standard 6-8. So that immediately makes the game fly by.

Still, the game starts off with a bang as the legendary hero is defeated and so his son steps in to put an end to the villain. Ristar may be new a this but he acts like a seasoned pro as he takes everyone down for the count. This guy is not going to be holding back. So you go through the 6 worlds and conquer the boss at the end of each before entering the final boss. The level structure is fairly straight forward here and the final boss has a classic 2 phases to him. For a second there I thought he was about to get a third with the way the game was shaping up with that last cutscene but ultimately it was really more of a cliffhanger setup for a sequel.

Now this is a franchise that we really need to come back. It’s just got a really fun gimmick. So the main difference here compared to another platformer is Ristar attacks with grabs. He grabs opponents who are far away and drags them up close. You also use the grabbing to latch onto objects and swing yourself to the other side. It’s pretty well executed with just about everything being grabbable.

The toughest obstacle was in one level where you have to keep bouncing across the walls in order to get high enough to grab onto the next object. There are spikes all around so one wrong jump and you end up getting taken out. You start each level with 4 life points but you’d be surprised at how quickly that gets taken down to 1. So the game’s difficulty level is the real deal without a doubt.

I’d say it’s probably tougher than the average platformer. It’s definitely fun and enjoyable all the way through though. The toughest habit for me to break was not jumping on the enemies all the time. In almost every other platformer you just keep on stomping them but here doing that actually causes you damage instead. So you have to remember to just grab everyone instead and completely forget about jumping as an option.

The bosses don’t always have much of an indication that they’ve been hit so if you’re unsure, just keep grabbing them. Ultimately that will always do the trick when the going gets tough. The boss designs are pretty fun. You could really tell that a whole lot of effort was put into this game which is why it’s hard to believe that it didn’t kickstart a big franchise. You get the feeling that this was always the goal here.

Again we do have to talk about the length though. I can’t imagine that word of mouth was terrific about how quickly you could beat this game. This isn’t an arcade title with tons of replay value. This is a platformer with a beginning and end so once you complete the game there isn’t much else to do. There aren’t any real collectibles or bonus levels to play through after all.

So it’s short enough where this has to be part of the conversation. I know back then games were shorter in general but 1 hour for a platformer? Eh that’s just a little too short. I imagine it was probably difficult coming up with a lot of levels using the grab mechanics especially since nobody else had been trying that before so I bet the sequel would have been longer.

I already talked about how good the game looks so the graphics are a definite win here. Meanwhile the soundtrack is on point here. Some pretty fun tunes all the way through. Also while the game didn’t have any flying gameplay, you can definitely see where that could have been a thing in the sequels because when Ristar gets enough momentum he becomes a shooting star. It doesn’t play much of a role here beyond cutscenes or ending a level but it’s pretty handy.

Overall, Ristar is a pretty fun game. I had no complaints with the gameplay itself and the overall presentation was handled very nicely. I would recommend picking it up while you have the Switch Online. If you had to spend money to purchase the game then definitely I would be very hesitant before saying anything but as it is, this is a good title to check out. It’s definitely got that nostalgia factor to it as well with the artstyle.

Overall 6/10

Flicky Review

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It’s time to check out the classic Flicky game. I’m making my way through the classic Sega games and this seemed like a good one to check out. The gameplay will feel very familiar when you turn it on and this works out in a nice way. The game has a few puzzles at the ready as the levels get tighter and tighter but in the end as long as you stay focused then you got this! I find it hard to imagine anyone clearing all 48 levels without access points though, the difficulty really spikes as you go through it.

Basically the gameplay here is to shepherd a bunch of baby birds to the goal before they are eaten by cats. So the stakes are really high and you can only run, jump, and shoot objects as you pick them up. You shoot as soon as you jump so you have to time that carefully. There aren’t a whole lot of objects to throw after all. The levels themselves are fairly small so they loop as you go right and left. That means you are never far from the goal but it also means that you are never far from the cats so you better keep that in mind. One wrong move and it’s game over.

The graphics here aren’t bad but they are noticeably old. I wouldn’t say it holds up as well as some of the other classics like Pac-Man but I will say that the backgrounds are very pleasant. You see a lot of nice looking buildings and designs behind you which is cool. The soundtrack is more forgettable but I don’t believe it’s bad or anything like that. Just could have used a little more action and excitement personally. Now with the length there are 48 levels and each level ranged from being around 30 seconds long to possibly 1-2 minutes if you are having a lot of trouble.

It’s not likely that a level would take longer than that as you’d probably have been caught by the cats by then or just naturally beaten the level. So this is really quick and you can beat the game in an hour easy if you take the difficulty aside. If you are trying to beat this on pure skill then I imagine it’ll take you way longer than that in the end. There isn’t much replay value beyond that though. You can always try to beat the game quicker or just get a larger high score but I don’t think the game quite has the staying power for that.

Still, it’s a fun game to quickly check out if you have the Switch Online. I would also say that the gameplay really is fun all the way through. Even if it may lose to other games, at the end of the day that doesn’t take anything away from this title as a whole right? I think there’s a whole lot you could do with a modern Switch Flicky game to be honest. Spyro is really the only main platformer series with full flight and he barely ever gets games so Flicky could easily steal that part of the market away from him. I do think you would need to go with a different gameplay style like that to get big.

Of course I do always believe that any gameplay style can work with the right story. If the story is engaging enough then you would play 100 levels of this gameplay style. Why not right? It is certainly fun enough. It just seems to be the case that arcade style platformers like this never really have cinematic stories. Maybe developers feel it would take you out of the immersion but I’d love it. Imagine a modern Galaga with the same gameplay but every few levels a massive cinematic cutscene shows up and furthers a cool RPG type plot. That would be awesome.

Overall, Flicky is a fun game. There’s not a lot to it which ultimately prevents it from getting much higher though. I just don’t really see the replay value in trying to get a high score as much as some of the other games. It feels more luck based. Yes there’s a bunch of skill here but even with the best reaction times you’re probably going to get blindsided a few times due to how the levels are structured. So once you’ve gotten about as far as you can that’ll likely be it for you. I can see this being a fun game to challenge friends to as you see who can go the farthest though.

Overall 6/10