Stitchy in Tooki Trouble (NSW) Review

Stitchy in Tooki Trouble launches tomorrow on the Nintendo Switch eShop. In the meantime and on the eve of the game's release, SPC has a review of the game for your reading pleasure. 

A scarecrow's journey that is short and somewhat sweet

Platformers are in great abundance on the Nintendo Switch ("great abundance" might even understate the situation on the Switch), and no matter what kind you're into, there's plenty of competition. Of course, there is Nintendo's stable of platformers, featuring Mario, Kirby, Yoshi, and Donkey Kong, with the latter being notable as an inspiration for the subject of this review: Stitchy in Tooki Trouble. A game developed by Polygoat, Stitchy in Tooki Trouble has some similarities to Donkey Kong Country, but only on the surface level and not as deep as the recently released Kaze and the Wild Masks (which SPC will cover when the physical release launches next month).

Regardless, when you're a platformer on the Nintendo Switch, it becomes difficult to separate yourself from the competition, especially with how strong said competition is. While Stitchy in Tooki Trouble serves as an incredibly competent and more importantly fun 2.5D platformer, it's hard to recommend over other, more proficient platformers on Nintendo's hybrid console.

While the difficulty does pick up after the first world, I never felt TOO challenged by Stitchy's adventure.

Stitchy the Scarecrow's adventure starts out simple and quick: a band of Tiki-like enemies approach the farm he's resting at and pilfer all of the crops from the farm's fields. Stitchy surprisingly comes to life and finds himself eager to go on a platforming journey to get those crops back and deliver some justice to the Tooki tribe in the process. 

What follows is a series of three worlds featuring an assortment of platforming challenges. There is everything from swinging from ropes, deftly leaping from platform to platform which are undulating due to the ocean waves, sliding along icy floors and platforms, running from rising as well as pursuing lava, blasting from cannon to cannon in a Donkey Kong Country-style barrel sequence, and speaking of DKC, riding mine carts on a hazardous track, complete with death-defying leaps requiring utter precision and quick reaction times. 

Shiver me timbers. I think I'm getting seasick with these uneasy waves!

The three worlds take place in a forest, a winter tundra, and a factory filled with lava. Each world consists of ten starting levels with the tenth being a boss battle. Boss battles are enjoyable enough, but there is a lot of waiting to deal damage to the boss in the process as they repeat rather simple patterns that need to be avoided as they linger in the background. Nevertheless, these battles employ some clever ideas. 

There is an eleventh bonus level in each world, and these are unlocked by collecting all three Tooki totem pieces in each world's nine pre-boss levels. They aren't too difficult to discover their locations, as every level is incredibly linear with occasional secret areas. However, these are seldom off the beaten path. More often I was faced with missing a totem piece due to having only one chance at it, such as needing to bounce off an enemy's noggin to gain extra height to reach the platform where the totem piece rested. If I missed, I either restarted the level or intentionally perished. The latter didn't really matter, as lives are prominent due to gaining one for every 100 ears of corn collected. These are handed out like... um... ears of corn at a state fair. Okay, not the most creative analogy, but you hopefully get the point anyway.

Ears of corn are to Stitchy as coins are to Mario and bananas are to Donkey Kong.
Collect 100 for an extra life!

Aside from collecting all of the Tooki totems in the game, there is also optional stars to obtain in each level as well. These don't involve collecting anything. Instead, they're purely speed running through levels to beat specific times. You can earn up to three stars in each level--including boss levels--for beating the game's target times. This is the most challenging aspect of an otherwise breezy game, and even then, it didn't take me that long to accomplish.

No, Stitchy in Tooki Trouble is not a lengthy platformer by any stretch. In fact, I got 100% on my save file in about three hours without having too much trouble. That isn't to boast or brag; it's merely to state that the level of difficulty in Polygoat's game isn't that strong. However, for children and less experienced platforming game players, I can see a lot of entertainment and challenge coming their way, which is fantastic, as Stitchy in Tooki Trouble is overall a well crafted game. It was just for me an incredibly short and breezy play.

Stitchy gets back in gear by collecting a heart to add to his health.

Stitchy of Stitchy in Tooki Trouble fame does not have a large move set to him. He isn't as well stocked with his repertoire of moves like Mario or even Donkey Kong in the Donkey Kong Country games. All he has to his credit is a jump, a double jump, and a ground pound-esque slam. The controls are simple to learn, but no, they're not tough to master at all, going against the cliché phrase. This simplicity and sort of slowness of Stitchy's movements might bore more seasoned players, but again, for the younger crowd and less experienced players, it's might work for them.

Despite my brief and breezy time with Stitchy in Tooki Trouble, I did find myself enjoying the game. There are some well executed ideas and concepts presented in Polygoat's title, and it looks and sounds pleasant as well. Veterans of the platforming genre won't find themselves tested too terribly much from Stitchy's adventure, aside from perhaps certain time trials, and the short length of the game is another glaring issue that might make a purchase less than ideal. For everyone else, there is a lot to like about Stitchy in Tooki Trouble. Just don't expect anything too a-maize-ing. (Sorry, not sorry.)

[SPC Says: C+]

A code was received by SPC from the publisher for the purpose of writing this review.

Super Kirby Clash (NSW) Review

Allow SuperPhillip Central to take you into your weekend with a free-to-start game that launched last month on the Nintendo Switch. Without further ado, let's team up and take on Super Kirby Clash together with SPC's review!

A Gem Apple a day keeps the Kirbys at play.

Team Kirby Clash Deluxe was a free-to-start game on the Nintendo 3DS that pit a team of four Kirbys against various large-scale enemies and bosses from the Kirby franchise. Super Kirby Clash is essentially a revamped version of the 3DS game with higher definition graphics, a lower frame-rate, and new battles thrown in. What it lacks in complexity, Super Kirby Clash more than makes up for in a solid boss battler with some addicting hooks.

The battles in Super Kirby Clash have you pairing up with three other Kirbys in Story Quests, which are offline, solo affairs where you're teamed up with three AI Kirbys--and Party Quests, which are played either online with three other random players, or offline with up to three other local players. The latter type of quests rewards more experience points, which in turn, levels up Kirby to be stronger in battle. Story and Party Quests not only have different orders of bosses you face, but they also have different Heroic Missions to complete, making both types of quests worth playing, as completing various Heroic Missions earns Gem Apples.

If you're looking for complex and deep battles, you won't find them in Super Kirby Clash,
but for me, that accessibility made for part of the game's charm and appeal.

Gem Apples are the premium currency of Super Kirby Clash. These are required to enter new battles for the first time in the game's Story Quests. Once they've been spent on a battle, that battle is available for play without ever needing to spend a Gem Apple again on it. In this sense, Gem Apples are the keys that open the locks to battles. However, even after unlocking a battle, you need to have enough Vigor, which is the game's implementation of a stamina system, to attempt it. If you don't have the necessary Vigor, you must either spend Gem Apples to recharge your gauge, or simply wait for a little while until the gauge restores itself.

This hub is where the quest board, Gem Apple tree, adventurer bell, and shoppe are located.

These Gem Apples are also used to purchase items and equipment in Super Kirby Clash's shoppe. As you progress through the game and beat various bosses, reach new levels, and complete Heroic Missions, you gain the ability to purchase higher level weapons and armor. These cost Gem Apples to buy, as well as Fire, Water, and Light Fragments, which are collected from completing quests. The more powerful the weapon and armor, the more Gem Apples and Fragments you'll need to fork over. Super Kirby Clash introduces even stronger weapons and armor than what were found in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, and these can be enhanced to a greater level.

Ooh. Bad look, Kirby. You're wearing white after Labor Day.

There are four roles in battle that your Kirby can take on, and these can be switched between before and after battles at your leisure. The Swordsman is the most balanced of the four roles, able to slice, dice, and carve up enemies, as well as summon an aura-like shield that can protect nearby players. Meanwhile, the Hammer has the most powerful offense in the game, but this role is also incredibly slow and charges attacks even more slowly. Next, the Mage has the power to blast a time beam at foes which can temporarily stop time, allowing your team to deliver damage while the boss is frozen solid. Finally, the Healer has a considerably smaller range of attack, but is a big time help for healing teammates with its potion when the need calls.

What kind of sorcery is this? The Electric Dragon is frozen solid by the power of the Mage!

Now, while I found it necessary to have a team possessing one of each role, it became apparent that getting Platinum Medals on quests relied on having at least two Mages to help stop enemies in their tracks, thus stopping the clock in the process. That way, we could whittle a foe's health down while clearing a quest quickly enough for the medal requirements.

Battles themselves in Super Kirby Clash are rather basic affairs where each role has a simple move set, all revolving around pressing the attack button and an analog stick direction to perform a different offensive move. Some moves can be charged by holding the attack button down to deal more damage, pending you're able to make contact with the enemy. Other moves are dealt by running towards the enemy and pressing the attack button. It's easy to learn and has the level of accessibility one would expect from a Kirby game.

Of course, bosses and foes don't just sit there and take damage from you. They're always on the move, engaging in their own offensive moves, and making battles considerably challenging with their unique move sets, attack patterns, and abilities. If a member of your team's health bar depletes, they faint in battle, able to picked up by another teammate. However, the more you revive in a battle, then longer the process takes. If all players perish in battle or if time runs out on you, it's game over, and you'll need to either start the quest anew or pay a Gem Apple fee to continue.

When you've knocked down a boss to its last half of health, it will become furious, using even more powerful and hard-to-avoid attacks. During this stage of battle, the boss eventually drops four Power Tablets that when collected allows your team of Kirbys to unleash a devastating comet attack to the enemy, usually dealing a powerful amount of damage in the process based on player button press timing.

Battles conclude with your team's performance being rewarded with a medal of some type: from bronze up to platinum. This is also where the Heroic Missions come in. Each battle in both Story and Party Quests have a range of Heroic Missions to tackle, and these have different goals such as clearing the battle in a certain amount of time, beating the battle as a specific role, not taking damage and earning a certain medal, among other challenges. Gem Apples are usually the rewards for completing these, so to make any kind of progress in the game, it's somewhat of a good idea to try to complete them. That said, there are also Heroic Missions for non-battle-related accomplishments, such as buying gear from the shoppe, collecting a given amount of Fragments or Gem Apples, or calling in for some help from other players' characters via the hub world bell.

It wouldn't be a Kirby game without the opportunity to beat Whispy Woods down to a pulp.

Despite Super Kirby Clash being a free-to-start game, it doesn't fall into the trap of being obnoxious with its wish for its players to spend money. In fact, you can easily play through the majority of the game's content without dropping a single dime on it. By paying out of pocket, you're merely expediting the process of clearing quests, walloping bosses, earning more Gem Apples, completing more Heroic Missions, leveling up, getting better gear, and so forth. A patient player, especially one with an online connection or other local players to enjoy the game with, can get through Super Kirby Clash as cheaply and as cost-efficiently as they desire. Thus, it's pretty darn cool that even with its monetization practices, they're completely avoidable and you can still enjoy the game without them.

Team up with three other players offline or take the battles online with some spotty Wi-Fi connections!

Super Kirby Clash isn't the Kirby series' most innovative or entertaining experimental spin-off, but it does offer a wealth of gameplay without the need to spend money--depending on your level of patience, of course. It lacks complexity, which may turn off a good portion of potential players, but for a game that one can pick up and play and then put down after an enjoyable bite-sized session, Super Kirby Clash is a winner. Besides, what do you have to lose but a little time--it's a free game to try out anyway!

[SPC Says: B]

Lode Runner Legacy (NSW, PC) Review

From one downloadable game on the Nintendo Switch yesterday to another downloadable Switch game (also released last year on Steam), I have a late night review to share. It's Lode Runner Legacy from Tozai Games, and here's the full scoop on it.

The Mother Lode

Back in the fourth grade, when I wasn't pretending to pay attention to the latest math lesson (probably a good reason why I'm so bad at math nowadays...), I was eagerly anticipating a break so I could use the old Apple Macintosh computer to play Lode Runner on. Some fellow classmates were more interested in Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, The Oregon Trail, or Frog Fractions, but your buddy Phil was always wanting to get further in Lode Runner.

Now, like the return of a long, lost, old friend, Lode Runner has all of a sudden returned into my life, this time on the Nintendo Switch eShop and Steam with Lode Runner Legacy. Packed with levels, a new look, and clever creation tools, Lode Runner Legacy serves the legacy of the Lode Runner series well.

Lode Runner Legacy doesn't mess with the formula that the series is known for. You are placed in levels with the goal of obtaining all of the gold inside while evading enemies. You're not completely defenseless, however, as you have the ability to destroy blocks below him to the left and right. This can temporarily trap enemies that wander over the holes created, but the holes also have another use. Many times you'll need to destroy sections of blocks in order to reach deeply buried pieces of gold.

Lode Runner can destroy blocks that allow him to fall through gaps and ensnare enemies.

This is where the strategy and critical thinking of Lode Runner as a series comes in. If you destroy blocks with a devil-may-care attitude, you'll usually find yourself trapped, killing you or worse, trapping you inside an impossible situation to overcome, requiring you to restart the level completely. Deaths in Lode Runner Legacy don't mean you have to retry a level; they merely decrease your point multiplier and cost you bonus points after a level is complete.

Hang tough, Lode Runner. You can get all this gold if you put your mind to it.

For those who want to go the extra distance, there's the option to aim for three stars completion in each level by moving through levels as fast as possible with zero deaths. However, this usually requires that you collect a special sparkling piece of gold first for a big point bonus, which most of the time is placed in a precarious position in the level to nab first. Some deep thinking is needed to figure out to reach this special piece of gold without collecting any other normal gold, 'else you miss you chance for the point bonus.

Lode Runner fans will have plenty to keep coming back to in Legacy's many modes.

There are five main modes in Lode Runner Legacy: Adventure, which is a collection of 50 levels where each batch of five levels introduces a new enemy type; Extra, which are 20 more levels that feature enemy types exclusive to this mode; Puzzle, which are levels where enemies are completely absent and it's up to you to figure out when and where to destroy blocks in order to complete them; Classic, which is over 100 levels taken directly from the original Lode Runner and given the old school of the game; and World, where you can create your own levels, characters, and collectibles, as well as download and play others' creations. So, to say that Lode Runner Legacy is lacking in content would be an objectionable statement to make. That said, you're pretty much performing the same tasks of collecting gold, destroying blocks, and avoiding enemies in every level, so there is a great sense of repetition involved in the game.

There's nothing like the classics, and that is part of what you receive in the Lode Runner Legacy package.

The World section of Lode Runner Legacy is the most promising, and it already delivers in some aspects. Being based on user-generated content, there are levels that shine more brightly than others, but thanks to a helpful search system, you can usually weed these out. Even still, you can opt to just play through a random selection of levels one after another, if you haven't gotten a care in the world as to what type of level you play as long as you're simply playing the game in general.

The creation tools on offer in Lode Runner Legacy are thankfully simple enough to use. You build characters, enemies, and collectibles one part at a time, and you can use a base model if you so desire to start you off and assist your work. Being able to play as Leonardo from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, collecting slices of pizza, while avoiding soldiers from the Foot Clan is a possibility, and I did just that. Of course, I couldn't say no to creating a certain character I'm sort of partial to, as seen in the screenshot below.

Well, don't YOU look familiar!

If you love the gameplay of the Lode Runner series, then you'll definitely find lots of enjoyment and hours of fun with Lode Runner Legacy. Everyone else might find the game a bit repetitive and good for small doses only. Whichever the case, Lode Runner Legacy is a stellar action-puzzle game with a bevy of modes, content, and satisfying creation tools to make it a recommended title to represent the Lode Runner series's legacy.

[SPC Says: B]

Review code provided by Tozai Games.

Vesta (NSW, PS4, XB1, PC) Review

With mere days left in the month of February, let's get to some final posts for the month! The first is a review for a cross-platform digital release seen on Nintendo Switch (the platform I'm reviewing the game on), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Steam. It's Vesta, developed by Final Boss Games and published by EastAsiaSoft. Let's take a look, shall we?

Child labor laws be damned.

While other platforms with digital storefronts have reached a point of saturation, one where average video games often get overlooked by the higher quality of everything else (making them all the more difficult to sift through from the rest), the Nintendo Switch is still (barely) less than a year old. Although it hasn't slowed down with its steady array of weekly eShop releases, it's much easier to gleam what games are coming out each week since the amount of total games on that marketplace is much smaller.

However, this is soon becoming an issue with the Nintendo Switch as well, and with it, so does the issue that games like Final Boss Games's Vesta will face on the Nintendo eShop like it has on other digital storefronts -- too much competition and little attention. That said, although Vesta isn't as big of a name as your Rocket Leagues or Stardew Valleys, is Final Boss Games's effort worth your attention regardless?

Careful, as one hit from an enemy and it's lights out!

Vesta is an isometric puzzle-adventure game that has you controlling one of two characters through a series of gradually-more-perplexing, puzzle-filled floors, sprinkled with the occasional boss encounter to overcome. You control the main character, a precocious young girl named Vesta and her helpful robotic droid companion. Each has their own use and abilities in the game, and many times you'll need to have them partner up as well as split apart to solve the puzzles, roadblocks, and challenges put forth in their mutual paths.

The main goal of each floor in Vesta is to acquire power sources to charge nearby environmental objects such as doors, platforms, and escalators -- to name a few. The order of turning these objects on is important, as not to get stuck on the current level, thus having to restart the entire floor. (An annoying problem to be faced with in later floors when these levels take quite some time to solve only to have to begin them all over again from a mental misfire.) By the end of each floor, you need to have three power sources available to you to open up the elevator to the next level. This means carefully planning which power sources you take from different terminals in a way that you can still make it back to the exit of the floor with the required amount of power necessary to progress.

This is not the droid Vesta's looking for.

Both the girl and her robotic buddy have their own uses. For instance, the robot droid can pick up the girl and toss her across small chasms as well as fire missiles at enemies, temporarily stunning them. As the enemies are stunned, the little girl can quickly run in and acquire their power sources, not only defeating them but also accumulating yet another piece of power to be used on a terminal in the level. Meanwhile, the girl is much more mobile and smaller than her robotic counterpart, giving her the ability to enter small, narrow compartments of levels that the robot cannot fit through.

Aiming with Vesta's robotic buddy is less than amazing.

These unique abilities of both characters allow the level designers and creators to continually force players to split the girl and robot up for various interesting gameplay possibilities. Levels can get rather complicated and involved regarding what a given player needs to do to solve them, such as which door to open first, which power source to place in what terminal, and the order of events deemed necessary not only just to reach the goal but to reach the goal with the necessary amount of power cells. This is performed through creating clever shortcuts that allow one or both characters to bypass areas they otherwise would be unable to enter, or to craft new ways of making it around floors in order to lower the amount of power sources needed to get through the given level. It's rather smartly done and designed.

Now, while the levels and the puzzles that are packed throughout them are pleasantly designed to my pleasure, what isn't as well done in Vesta are the controls, which I deem a bit clunky in their execution. Many early deaths and level failures occurred from misjudged angles and less second errors with moving the control stick, ending up in seeing my floor progress wiped away in an instant. Sure, there are checkpoints on floors, but these few and faraway in-between. It makes wanting to hunt for secrets in levels unappealing when you perform the hard work of discovering them and collecting them, only to lose progress from a cheap, control or camera angle-related death, thus forcing you to acquire that floor's secrets once again.

If you're looking for visual variety, you won't really get it in Vesta.

More positively, I can say that Vesta is a pretty lovely looking game. You won't get a lot of bright colors from the game, as the majority of it takes place underground with darkened, earthy colors and subterranean sewer hues, but what color there is in the game is vivid enough. Animations don't go too far past the bare minimum, but what there is here is serviceable. On the other hand, I cannot tell you anything about the sound and music other than it is very forgettable -- hence why I couldn't tell you anything else about them. The noise is just there, and that's rather unfortunate.

Vesta won't make my list of must-have games for the year, but at the same time, this isometric puzzle-adventure game won't make my list of games to stay away from either. Simultaneously, it's not the worst and it's not the best game I've played so far in 2018. Like my opinion of the game's sound earlier in this review, Vesta is just there. It's neither overly special or abundantly awful. For a double-digit price, though, perhaps perspective players out there should seriously consider if a game that is just "average" is worthwhile enough or not.

[SPC Says: C]

Review copy provided by EastAsiaSoft.

Riptide GP: Renegade (NSW) Review

And here we go! A barrage of end of the year reviews are coming to SuperPhillip Central. Our first game of the month and of this barrage is Riptide GP: Renegade for the Nintendo Switch. Released earlier this month, I found myself enjoying splashing across the water, the waves, and finding the greatest racing line to outwit my opponents. Here's the SuperPhillip Central review.

Blazing an aquatic trail

From the makers of Hydro Thunder Hurricane comes what can be considered a spiritual successor in Riptide GP: Renegade. This futuristic aquatic jet ski racer set in a world flooded by water has seen releases on multiple platforms already, including on mobile (which SuperPhillip Central gave a B- to in my original review of the game). Now, Riptide GP: Renegade splashes onto the Nintendo Switch's eShop for a relative low cost of entry, and it's very much worth riding these waves.

Riptide GP: Renegade plops you right in to the excitement with a race to quickly learn the controls. However, upon reaching a certain point in the race, a squad of police cruisers arrest you on the spot for illegal racing. A costly setup by a character named Krex that ends up with your character in prison for two years. In that time, your crew has come up with a multi-stage plan to get even with Krex, including getting new members to join you, and earning some race cred to get back into the official racing league.

Revenge is a dish best served wet.

All of this plays out in Riptide's career mode. Here, you compete in different event types across nine race tracks to put your crew's plan in action. There are standard races, as well as Elimination style, where after every 30 or so seconds the player in last place is eliminated until there is no one left but the race leader. There are also slalom events where you slosh along the water to situate yourself on the left and right side of slalom cones as you attempt to clear the track as fast as possible. Finally, Freestyle brings the trick system of Riptide GP into full display where pulling off the sickest tricks (while keeping mind that repeated tricks award less points) within the time limit is the way to go.

The career mode follows a linear path of events split in sections. These sections each have you and your crew trying to impress a certain character enough that they'll decide to race against you in a one-on-one contest. Win the race, and you'll not only be able to race as that character, but you'll also earn a more powerful ride with better stats and more upgrade potential.

Each event in the career mode awards you with up to three stars, depending on what place you get in on the podium. The events also provide cash and experience rewards. The former is used to upgrade your current jet ski in one of four categories such as top speed, acceleration, boost, and handling. Experience is used to level your rider up, netting you skill points that can be utilized to purchase new, more complicated tricks, as well as race bonuses like better drafting of other racers, a better boost at the start of races, and more boost energy upon successfully nailing tricks.

Helpful green signs like this one just ahead show when upcoming ramps are near.

Throughout the 4-6 hour career, you'll be spending a lot of time across the same nine tracks of the game, especially due to repeating certain events due to odd difficulty jumps along the way. This can be a bit repetitive to see the same nine tracks and having to compete on them repeatedly, but the tracks are designed so well that none of them stand out as anything close to bad. Many courses provide ample shortcut opportunities. Whether it's riding up a series of geysers to reach a giant half pipe for a perfect tricking spot or navigating the wild waves of The Ruins to pass under an overpass to discover an alternate path, these shortcuts are placed cleverly throughout each track, as are the decal-unlocking Easter Eggs to collect. Both shortcuts and Easter Eggs demand the player to be observant of their surroundings and to explore them, all the while gunning for first place.

You can customize your racer somewhat by not only changing which character you play as but also their vehicle. You can also alter both the color schemes of the racer and the jet ski with three different color categories to make colorful and artistic statements (or just go all Johnny Cash with a pure black outfit and bike if you like). Finally, decals and racing numbers can be applied to your racer/vehicle combination, and more and more decals are earned by competing events in career mode.

Use a color scheme and decal fit for jolly, good, old
racing representing Britannia or any country you like.

All of the events and tracks in the world don't mean a thing if Riptide GP: Renegade's gameplay isn't up to snuff. Thankfully, the handling of each vehicle, the physics of different wave types regarding how they bounce your vehicle around, and the collision detection regarding track geometry are all fantastic in design and execution. Skirting about the water's surface feels excellent, and leaping off waves and ramps to perform tricks (accomplished by tilting both analog sticks in specific directions) is always an exhilarating action.

Make sure you have plenty of room to perform your trick, or else you'll bail and lose valuable time!

Riptide GP: Renegade sports multiplayer options for local competition as well as online. The online portion isn't that active at all, unfortunately, but at the same time, with limited interaction between competitors in races, there isn't much to be found in variety. This makes the multiplayer experience a bit shallow when all it takes is one crash to be completely out of the race against more skilled players.

By virtue of being on a platform with better, more comfortable control options for a game of this type, Riptide GP: Renegade on the Nintendo Switch is a step up from its mobile offering, even though the price is more substantial on Switch. Excellent controls, handling, physics, track design, shortcuts, and a worthwhile career mode will present a lot of enjoyment for players while lackluster multiplayer options are hollow. Still, Riptide GP: Renegade manages to fly off the ramp, pulling off some incredible tricks midair while making a successful landing in the process. Forced metaphors aside, Riptide GP: Renegade is recommended by SuperPhillip Central.

[SPC Says: B]

Review copy provided by Vector Unit.

Tank Troopers (3DS) Review

On the eve of a special day for this site's owner and operator, comes one of a series of four reviews to close out this shortest month of the year. It's for Tank Troopers, a Nintendo 3DS eShop release that launched two Thursdays ago in North America. How is it? Let's find out with this review!

Tanks for the memories, Vitei!

Developer Vitei is by no means a household name like other studios that have worked with Nintendo, but some may be familiar with its work on the Steel Diver series. Its most recent game is the Nintendo 3DS eShop exclusive Tank Troopers, a game brimming with personality, right from its whimsical and grin-inducing variety of a wartime ditty. Though lacking a crucial feature for a game like this, Tank Troopers ends up being a worthwhile game with plenty to offer for its modest price.

First off, let's get to what I alluded to in the introduction-- the really bad part of Tank Troopers, a baffling omission that might make many prospective buyers of the game completely dismiss it. That omission is that Tank Troopers totally lacks any kind of online multiplayer. It's absolutely crazy that a game that would work so well and have its life extended so greatly through online multiplayer does not have it whatsoever, especially when Vitei's past work, Steel Diver: Sub Wars included it. Instead, all that is present in Tank Troopers is local play for six players who all own a copy of the game and download play, which allows one owner of the game to play with up to five others who do not own a copy. The latter mode is quite limited, only offering one map and everyone being stuck with the same tank with no choice in the matter.

Local multiplayer offers three main modes across five maps, all of the maps seen in the single-player experience, which I'll talk about in just a little but. Taking out opponent tanks and dealing damage is the main draw of the multiplayer, and it supports three main modes: a mode pitting all tanks against one another, a team-based deathmatch mode, and a cool Bomb Battle mode, where teams try to push and roll a bomb into the opposing team's base.

Tankfully-- I mean... Thankfully, you can team up in one of the three available local multiplayer modes.

Despite lacking in online multiplayer, I still find Tank Troopers to be more than worthwhile a purchase. This is because of the single player component of the game, offering 30 missions that need to be completed in a linear order. While being forced to do each mission in a strict sequence can be annoying due to some missions that pop up having massive fluctuations in difficulty (especially ones where you have to transport a ball of some kind across the map or push/shoot it into goals), it's overall not too much of an issue.

The 30 missions seen in Tank Troopers have a great variety to them. There are simple missions where you need to destroy a certain number of tanks, ones where you need to reach the goal, ones where you take on a monster-sized tank with both great offense and astonishing defense, ones where you need to defend a base, and many others. These missions have two forms: one where you take orders, meaning you're stuck with a specific tank and set of helper characters; and one where you're able to select whichever tank and series of troopers you like. With both forms, there's the need to complete each mission twice, once in each mode. Weirdly, even if you've already unlocked all of the missions in one form, you still need to complete the missions in order in the other form.

This shipyard area is one of the five available maps in Tank Troopers.

Each mission is scored depending on a number of factors each depending on the current mission. These factors can be things like how fast you completed the mission, how many enemies in tank or turret form you dispatched, to things like how much health you have remaining at a mission's conclusion. The best rank is an S, and completionists will have trouble but a good deal of fun trying to get the highest rank in all of Tank Troopers' missions.

And here I thought *I* had a big tank!

As you complete missions and compete in multiplayer skirmishes, you earn money that be spent on a multitude of things, such as new tanks, new paint jobs for said tanks, as well as new troopers. Each tank has its own set of strengths and weaknesses, as well as stats like firepower, how long it takes for a given tank to reload its ammo, defense, health, and speed.

Additionally, each tank can support a handful of troopers in it, called upon by tapping their icon on the bottom screen. This engages them, giving your tank a special perk or ability for as long as that trooper's gauge has some juice in it. The gauge depletes automatically over time and much more so when your tank takes damage. Once a trooper's gauge has been depleted, it takes a little while for it to recharge, allowing you to call them back into action. The troopers' abilities range in both offensive and defensive bonuses. Some unleash larger, more devastating bullets at targets, some shoot out a ball of paint that partially covers the damaged player's screen, while others give tanks a quick boost of speed to travel across the battlefield faster, or slowly regenerates the health of a tank.

Trooper Big Gunnar's name is fitting due to the super-sized shells he shoots out when called upon.

Controlling the tanks in Tank Troopers is a thankfully terrific experience with a small learning curve. Turning and such is performed with the Circle Pad while the A button moves the tank forward and the B button reverses its treads. With a tap of the R button, a tank unleashes a shot, and once the small bullet icon on the lower portion of the upper screen refills, another shot can be taken. L enables artillery mode, which allows your tank to move forward and backward while giving you 360 degree control of the turret. However, I found this mode to be mostly unnecessary, but it is nice to have regardless depending on your skill level and play style. You can aim with the help of the Nintendo 3DS's gyroscope controls, or you can turn them off like I did in order to keep the distance-judging stereoscopic 3D effect in place. Finally, the X button brings up a scope function, great for trying to pick off foes from afar. All in all, the tanks in Tank Troopers generally control well.

While it's definitely obvious that the lack of online multiplayer undercuts some of the value of Tank Troopers, the content-rich single-player experience (though lacking a story that ties it all together), the ability to try to S-Rank each of the game's 30 missions, and the constant gathering of currency to buy new tanks, paint jobs, and troopers make for a digital game that for me made the game very much worth its $7.99 price tag. Jump into a tank and start unloading rounds into the enemy, soldier!

[SPC Says: B-]

Olympia Rising (Wii U eShop) Review

An early Sunday morning review is here for you, SPC faithful! It's for a game that released in Europe last month on the Wii U eShop, but now it's available for gamers in North America. It's Olympia Rising, published by PlayEveryWare and developed by Paleozoic.

Rise Up

The old school pixel visuals of Olympia Rising fit right in with a lot of other indie games. To say that there are a lot of indie games gunning for memories and nostalgia of playing 8-bit games would be an understatement. Nonetheless, Paleozoic's Olympia Rising stands out enough by not only having an original concept to it, despite it being a 2D platformer, but by being an affordable and fun purchase for Wii U gamers.

You play as Iola, a warrior who has met her a terrible fate by being slaughtered in battle by a monstrous beast. Cast to the Underworld, Iola wants nothing more than her soul to be revived through reaching Mount Olympus. Not the easiest quest, however, as not only are there dozens of chambers full of death and danger, but a gatekeeper named Charon wants payment in the form of coins to let her pass each gate she comes across.

Charon is full of funny quips throughout the game.

Thus, this is the main structure of Olympia Rising: you play through various levels of varying linearity, collecting enough coins from defeated foes and those laying about to pay Charon to allow Iola to progress. Reach a gate without enough coins, and you are sent back to the start of the level.

Most levels are there for you to explore. Many of the harder-to-reach or more dangerous locations of levels house the greatest bounty of coins. Thankfully, Iola has a fair amount of abilities to her for both combat and for mobility. Iola's regular attack is done with a short sword. The range could be better, sometimes giving certain enemies an unfair advantage because their attack reach is farther while Iola has to move up close to them. Our heroine can also acquire magic abilities to give herself a better edge in combat, such as a burst of fire great for long-range attacks, a water shield for added defense, and a lightning magic that bestows higher power for sword strikes.

As for mobility, Iola can perform a double jump, but if she defeats a foe, not only can she jump once more, but if she keeps defeating enemies without touching the ground, then she gets a combo boost. This gives Iola more coins than she would otherwise get, so it's usually a good idea to defeat a bunch of enemies via combos to boost her coin total. Alongside jumping, Iola has the ability to hold onto walls, almost doing her best Mega Man X impression with repeated wall scaling.

The environments are just gorgeously done. Just don't let yourself get distracted.

The other type of level has Iola racing upwards to avoid a pursuing lake of lava that slowly fills a level. These levels require less coins to open the gate due to their linearity and lack of time to explore. However, these levels also sport an abysmal frame-rate, which many times resulted in me missing jumps or attacks, sometimes resulting in Iola's death.

No time to dawdle, Iola-- you have a flow of lava at your feet!

That isn't the end of Olympia Rising's technical problems, either. I ran into a glitch where Iola had one heart left, and I accidentally hit a tutorial scroll while in the middle of dealing with an enemy. This caused Iola to stand still while I had to read the message, but the enemy still was able to attack my extremely vulnerable character. This resulted in death, of course, but the strange occurrence wasn't until I was revived back at the start of the level. I still couldn't move, nor pause the game to back out of the level, and had to reset the game.

After three main levels, Iola encounters a boss. These battles are a good amount of fun and require you to memorize a foe's pattern. However, once a boss's pattern has been learned, it's pretty easy to defeat them, as they don't stray from their pattern or become more difficult as they approach death.

Once a boss's pattern has been learned, the battle becomes much easier.

When a boss has been defeated, they leave a heart behind to add to Iola's maximum health, and brings her to a different themed set of levels. Olympia Rising's difficulty curve is done so well that you may think the game would get easier with more health. However, the added enemies placed in later levels become more challenging as you play along, so you're not really getting an overwhelming advantage.

The visual style of Olympia Rising is full of glorious pixel goodness. Characters are designed well and animate beautifully. Environments are detailed, but there is a problem occasionally with being able to distinguish between platforms and what is actually just the background. Thus, it can be a bit of trial and error to determine what you can jump on and what you cannot. Meanwhile, the music is full of old school boops and beeps, wonderfully harking back to the sounds of the NES.

Olympia Rising isn't an overly long game, but at the same time, its price tag of around five dollars makes it a worthwhile purchase, pending you are patient enough to experience death over and over again. And you definitely will, as the game is rather challenging in an old school way. That said, there really is no replay value to be found with Olympia Rising, other than replaying through the game. Perhaps using coins for something other than passing through gates would have extended the length of the game some. Still, what Olympia Rising offers is an affordable adventure that will test your action-platforming mettle flaws and all.

[SPC Says: C+]

Review copy provided by PlayEveryWare.

Shutshimi (Wii U eShop) Review

This Tuesday morning sees a brand new Wii U eShop game getting the SuperPhillip Central review treatment. It's Shutshimi, a game that released in the fall of last year on the PlayStation 4 and the Vita. Now, the Wii U gets the game, and here's my review of this absolute blast.

Seriously sweet.

There's something in the water supply of the development team of Neon Deity, and whatever it is made them make this awesome and brilliantly insane game. I mean, what else can you call a shmup where fish have muscly humanoid arms; wield machine guns, mucus spewing weapons, and cannonballs; and don an assortment of fashionable hats? Well, Neon Deity calls it Shutshimi, and this ADHD sufferer's shoot 'em up is seriously awesome.

Shutshimi is no typical shmup. You don't play through long levels, blasting wave after wave after wave of enemies. Instead, each round last ten seconds exactly, and pits your fabulously fit fish against multiple enemy types-- sharks that shoot lasers from their tops and bottoms, kitties in little space ships, bears that somersault, squids that have their own flight patterns, and more kooky foes to blast to smithereens.

Kittens, and sharks, and bears, oh my!

In between each ten second round is an intermission of sorts, the same amount of time. Here, you have to quickly select between one of three power-ups to be used in the next round. It's a shame you're rushed if only because the item descriptions are so darned funny. Regardless, power-ups can give you positive bonuses like wearing a protective fishbowl shield, having an array of smaller fishies surround you and shoot a steady stream of bullets, or becoming equipped with one of many hats that have different abilities to them. Then, there are bonuses that may hinder the experience, such as slower movement, inverted controls, or no friction when moving, resulting in sliding around with every push of the d-pad.

Adding to the craziness are power-ups that turn the entire round into a rave party with flashing strobe lights and colorful spotlights moving all about. There's even a power-up that turns the whole round into a truce, having your fish bobble about in a bouncy castle, ricocheting off enemies as if they were pinball bumpers. Of course, not one to keep Shutshimi from being too uninteresting (I am being facetious here), there's also a power-up that turns the background and all enemies into moving butts of various sizes. I felt bad about shooting the poor defenseless butts while they were down on their luck and handicapped. After all, they already had cracks in them. (Insert Ed McMahon from his Tonight Show days' "Hi-ohhhhhh" voice clip here.)

A life lesson to behold: sometimes all you need for peace in this world is a bouncy castle.

Every five rounds you are pitted against one of six bosses. Well, technically it's just three with two versions each. Regardless, here the ten second rule is still in effect, so if you don't manage to take down the boss in one round, you'll have to survive around five rounds to continue where you left off. Once all six bosses have been defeated, you have essentially "beaten" what could be considered Shutshimi's campaign.

We all shoot at a yellow submarine. Yellow submarine, yellow submarine.

To add to the replay value when high scores aren't enough, you can play Shutshimi with up to four friends. That's four times the fish with muscly arms! Additionally, there is a hat encyclopedia that makes a note of each and every hat you've worn in-game. These range from Viking helmets and cop hats to more spirited and creative hats like sparkling gold hair that makes your fish reminiscent of certain Dragon Ball Z race, a yellow flattop haircut and American flag tattoo that according to the hat's description "goes with everything", and even some indie all-stars like Commander Video and Shovel Knight. Alongside trying to collect every hat in the game, you can also shoot to complete Shutshimi's list of achievements, which are a lot of fun to go after. Some can even make you change the way you play the game.

When one fish with extremely large human arms isn't enough, call in for re-fin-forcements!

While Shutshimi's arcade shmup sensibilities won't have you playing dozens of hours with it, it is a blast for the several hours you'll be playing it. The ten second rounds are perfect bite-sized chunks to keep you feeling like you're making progress, and the power-ups are constantly changing how you're playing each round. The gameplay is as great as the humor, and seeing that I cracked a smile and even chuckled on multiple occasions (and that's no easy task), that is a high honor indeed.

[SPC Says: B+]

Review copy provided by Choice Provisions.

FreezeME (Wii U eShop, Steam) Review

We cap off the first night of the work week with a new review. FreezeMe is a Steam game that saw a recent port on the Wii U eShop. How does the game fare? Let's find out with my review.

Unpolished Platformer 64

The original PlayStation and Nintendo 64 era of gaming was well known for its collect-a-thon based 3D platformers. Last generation we saw indies take on the 2D platformer, and do some really awesome things with it. I guess that it only makes sense that this generation we start to see some attempts at a very difficult genre to get right, the 3D platformer. While Poi and A Hat in Time are on the horizon, we have one of the first of many indie attempts, FreezeME, for both Wii U and Steam. 

What's there for the excuse of running through colorful 3D worlds isn't that fresh of an idea by any stretch of the imagination, but it has a character named "R" chasing after a villain named "Fat the Cat" who wishes to purge the world of dogs, including R's canine companion. 

In order to rescue R's dog, R will have to enter three expansive and lush worlds to collect Super Mario 64 Power Star equivalent "Golden Cubes" in each level. This is performed by completing various platforming, combat, and/or puzzle-solving tasks throughout FreezeME. When you enter a world, you get a quick flyover of the level, showing where the Golden Cube for the task you currently have selected is located, and a means to go about finding it. However, you don't get much help other than that. Forget the general area where the flyover view showed the Golden Cube? Then you'll have to either restart the level or push through and find it yourself with some heavy exploration. Some will find an issue with this, but I think it merely encourages exploration, and feels nice compared to some mainstream games that consistently want to hold your hand the entire way.

All that glitters is probably one of these Golden Cubes.

Speaking of which, exploration was key in 3D platformers of the N64 era, and it's key here in FreezeME as well. The large and luxurious levels are 3D platforming playgrounds for the player, full of platforms and obstacles to leap off, leap over, and leap through. It's easy to get lost in some of these levels, being so large. That said, the slow, methodical pace of exploring is broken up by many quicker platforming challenges, puzzles, and combat situations.

The tasks in FreezeME run the gamut from mixtures of platforming and puzzle trials, to races through levels, to collecting 150 red Pig Coins. Furthermore, there are some clever ones that utilize the game's central innovation, the ability to freeze objects momentarily with R's camera. (This feels great to do by tapping on the object or enemy you want to get frozen with the Wii U GamePad's screen.) Some missions you'll need to collect a specific amount of blue Pig Coins, but you definitely don't have enough time to do so. Instead, what the developer intends for you to do is to freeze the clock, which will in turn freeze the timer, allowing you to pick up all of the coins with plenty of time. 

Explore worlds both colorful and full of eye candy.

Levels in FreezeME range from good to bad. Let's get the bad out of the way. The hub world lacks character, is not overly enjoyable, can really feel like a chore to continually run up to level entrances when spit back into the hub after completing a task and collecting a Golden Cube, and the whole area just doesn't feel necessary. I really wouldn't have minded FreezeME going for a hub-less, level menu approach like the one found in Super Mario Galaxy 2. Either that or make the hub world more fun to leap around in.

As for the actual levels outside of the hub, the first, Sunshine Valley, seems like a random assortment of colorful platforms (whether by land or in midair), obstacles, and scenery across a hilly expanse. It all seems man-made instead of something more cut from nature, something that someone would come up to show off platforming game ideas rather than an actual level. Additionally, some pieces of the levels even jut out, are uneven, and look awfully amateur and incredibly incomplete because of this. However, despite all this, it's still very fun through move about in and explore. 

The first level or a platforming playground? ...Why not both?

Further, the clearly Super Mario Galaxy-themed planetoids and sections with their own rules of gravity don't fare as well as their inspiration, as the camera can really spaz out, especially in a specific challenge level where you must collect 20 blue Pig Coins across a myriad of similarly sized planets. Every time I'd move between planets, the camera would move every which way, completely disorienting me, a common problem with these types of in-game sections.

Some sections of FreezeME make up their own rules when it comes to gravity.

Yes, set to automatic, FreezeME's camera will thrust you into some awful predicaments where you will be forcefully fighting with it to keep it in the place you want it to be. This is apparent in one of FreezeME's early missions, where you must navigate an aerial bit of platforms, spinning rows of spikes, and lava jets. However, set to manual, you won't find yourself forced into fixed camera sections anywhere near as much. Sure, you still get stupid scenarios where the camera can get locked on scenery and stuck in a faraway view, such as trying to enter the second world's ice labyrinth, but overall, it isn't overly horrid.

However, where FreezeME heavily disappoints is in its controls. It's paramount for a platformer to nail its controls. If you aren't feeling a nice, tight responsiveness, then you're going to have a difficult time of the game you're trying to play. It's especially important to nail the controls in a 3D platformer, where there's things like full 360 degree rotation and depth to consider.\

"Clunky" is what I would best describe FreezeME's controls as. No matter how much the game apes Super Mario 64, in the place it should have aped the most, the controls, FreezeME falters. Moving R around feels slow and not as responsive as I would like for this kind of game. There is a total lack of being able to fine tune a jump while in midair, making for a lot of frustrating deaths to be found. 

"Feets, don't fail me now. (You will, but at least a girl can dream.)"

Like a certain Italian plumber in Super Mario 64, R can run, jump, and leap into the air and slide around on her belly to cover great distances at a faster pace. She also takes a page out of Mario's playbook by being able to attack with a jumping kick. The problem between Mario's jumping kick and R's is that Mario has a longer pair of legs on him than R. This means he gets more leg in his kicks. R has short, stubby legs that don't reach out that far, resulting in trying to make contact with an enemy very challenging. It became a guessing game to me whether R would successfully kick a baddie or if she'd just fling herself into a foe. That's not the kind of metagame I want to playing during a 3D platformer that demands precision. A game should not require you to feel like controlling it is a chore, and FreezeME violates this golden rule of mine.

The second world of FreezeME is suitably chill.

FreezeME contains ten Golden Cubes to obtain in each level. Like Super Mario 64, when one is collected, you're put back into the hub world, forced to reenter the level. As I mentioned earlier, though, you're put in the middle of the hub with a bit of a journey to reach each level in the hub. With Mario 64, it was as simple as doing a back flip or 180 back into a level painting. However, unlike Mario's first 3D outing, you can choose which Golden Cube you want to go after in the preview menu. What this means is that if a particular Golden Cube mission is causing you excess amounts of grief, you can merely skip over it. 

Alongside the three main levels containing ten Golden Cubes each and one final level containing three, challenge levels open up that reward green Pig Coins for completing them. These challenges all have a particular platforming obstacle or game mechanic to perfect. Green Pig Coins are also found in the three levels of FreezeME. These are hidden in clever locations and awarded to you for completing challenges posed by NPPs (non-playable pigs). 

There's no time for a vacation. There's a dog to save!

FreezeME is a wonderful sight for the eyes. Worlds of colorful and bright, and suitably so. There are some obnoxious clipping issues that are heavily prevalent to be conscious of, however. Plenty of bugs and glitches also plague the game, so be sure to have an extra dose of patience on you when you decide to play this game. 

Musically, the game's soundtrack complements the game's worlds marvelously. The greatest praise I could utter regarding it is that it sounds like music that a Nintendo composer would deliver. High praise indeed!

Taking into consideration that this game was designed mostly by one person, it's hard to want to be cruel to FreezeME, especially when it's in a genre from an era of gaming I hold so dear. Perhaps the game is then a disappointment because I was wanting another excellent 3D collect-a-thon platformer like Super Mario 64. Then again, perhaps FreezeME is just a disappointment because it's a profusion of good ideas marred by some truly glaring flaws, specifically the controls and tremendous lack of polish.

[SPC Says: C-]