Mario Party Superstars (NSW) Overview Trailer

Halloween is fast approaching, and I can't think of a better "treat" than Mario Party Superstars, launching on the Nintendo Switch on October 29th. Party hardy with Mario and the gang with five classic, remade boards from the Nintendo 64 era of Mario Party games, over 100 mini-games, and online play for essentially every mode available in the game. Check out all that is in store for prospective partygoers with this three-minute-long Mario Party Superstars overview trailer.

 

Review Round-Up - September 2021

Sonic the Hedgehog reached for the stars with this remake of Sonic Colors,
earning a B+ grade and top honors as SPC's Featured Game of the Month!

The month of September brought autumn to SuperPhillip Central as well as four new reviews published to the site. Let's dive into them like a pile of freshly fallen and newly raked leaves with the Review Round-Up!

We started the month of reviews early with an impressive, classic shoot-em-up known as DariusBurst: Another Chronicle EX+, which blasted its way to a B- grade. Following that was another game receiving a satisfying B- grade, Kitaria Fables, though this was an adorable but grind-heavy action-RPG.

Wrapping up the month were two stellar titles. SPC's Featured Game of the Month was Sonic Colors: Ultimate, bringing back of the Blue Blur's best 3D outings and making it marginally better in some ways, worse in others. It got a B+. Finally, we blasted off in more ways than one with the high-octane rides of Cruis'n Blast, which got a solid B.

As you can see, it was a month of satisfying games, all within the B range for September! If you want to see something else, check out the SPC Review Archive for every review ever published on SuperPhillip Central. Let's wrap up with a link to each review and a concluding excerpt from each, as we is customary to do on the old Review Round-Up! See you near the beginning of next month, all!

DariusBurst: Another Chronicle EX+ (NSW) - B-

DariusBurst: Another Chronicle EX+ is another shoot-em-up to add to the pile of stellar games within the genre on the Nintendo Switch. There is a ton of content to be found for those who enjoy partaking in the genre, and plenty of challenge to be discovered as well. The limited field of view and screen real estate utilized for the Switch version is a bummer, but ultimately, DariusBurst: Another Chronicle EX+'s mission to be an entertaining Switch home port of an older arcade game is a success.

Kitaria Fables (Multi) - B-

At the end of my 20 hours with Kitaria Fables, I found myself having played some marathon sessions of over five hours at times. There's certainly a "let's do one more day" or "let's do one more quest" type feeling I got from this game. There is definitely no shortage of things to do to preoccupy yourself in Kitaria's whimsical world, whether that be monsters to slay, materials to craft, treasure chests to open, bosses to battle, dungeon-like areas to explore, and quests to complete. You'll be doing all of this with a hefty focus on grinding and backtracking, too, so if you're not of the right mind for an experience like this, you need not accept your invite to Paw Village. Sure, you'll probably be put on the Empire's bad side, but at least you won't have to do busywork--whether enjoyable (like it was for me) or not.

Sonic Colors: Ultimate (Multi) - B+

Sonic Colors: Ultimate takes a great 3D Sonic game from the Wii and makes it marginally better. Not so much better that it makes the Wii version obsolete by any stretch of the imagination--which I could see as a bit disappointing for many--but marginally all the same. With glorious new graphics, mostly lovely new remixes alongside the original musical themes, new additions like Rival Rush, Tails' rescues from bottomless pits, and unlockable cosmetics, Sonic Colors: Ultimate makes a great impression. I loved the Wii original in 2010, and in 2021, I enjoyed revisiting this wonderful Sonic game. 

Cruis'n Blast (NSW) - B

Cruis'n Blast was a game that as soon as I saw videos of it being played in arcades, I felt the urge and definite desire to play it. It has taken a few years of patience, but now that I got to experience the game on the Nintendo Switch thanks to this home console port, I am pleased to say that my patience indeed paid off. Cruis'n Blast is ridiculous and crazy in all the right ways. How can you not love speeding through tracks where you witness UFOs whiz by, blowing up a dam, all the while you drift into your opponent, causing them to crash in a burning blaze of glory!? I defy you to not love that! Despite lacking online, longevity, and track variety, Cruis'n Blast delivers an action-packed arcade racer that will most likely make you laugh and smile with how outrageous its racing scenarios can get and how fun the overall package truly is.

We also went cruisin' with Cruis'n Blast on the Nintendo Switch, which is very much a "must-play" arcade racer!

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (NSW) "The Last Key" Trailer

This morning, Nintendo and Masahiro Sakurai revealed the final fighter to be added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It's been a long, lengthy, but enjoyable journey. It's almost impossible to imagine what the gaming world will be like without the sound of hype trains chugging for unannounced DLC fighters for Smash, but all good things must eventually come to an end! With this final character announcement revealed in this super special trailer (and that final shot in said trailer--my goodness!), a chapter closes on Super Smash Bros. and gaming history itself. 

Watch this trailer to find out the identity of the final Smash character, and then let the SPC community know what you think in the comments below!

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania (Multi) Launch Trailer

To commemorate today's launch of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania, SEGA has put together this gorgeously drawn animated launch trailer for the game, celebrating the Super Monkey Ball franchise's 20th anniversary. See the animated hijinks of Aiai and the monkey crew mesh wonderfully with lovely gameplay footage. Stay tuned to SuperPhillip Central for a full review of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania in the coming weeks!

Cruis'n Blast (NSW) Review

Wrapping up the month of reviews here at SuperPhillip Central for September is Cruis'n Blast from Raw Thrills. Originally published in arcades by Nintendo, it's great to finally see this arcade racer make its debut on the Nintendo Switch. Let's get behind the wheel with some Cruis'n Blast!

There're no Sunday drivers here!

At first glance, I remember thinking Cruis'n Blast was a high-octane, wild, wacky, and wonderful arcade racing game. I also knew I had to play it, but with the pandemic and a lack of access to arcades in my city, I was out of luck. Fortunately, thanks in part to Raw Thrills, Cruis'n Blast has rocketed out of the arcades and onto the Nintendo Switch for a home console port. Not going to lie here--this was one of my most anticipated announcements from Nintendo's E3 showing, and now that the game is in my hands, I can happily and excitedly say that Cruis'n Blast is indeed a thrilling ride from beginning to end.

Cruis'n Blast puts you behind the wheel (or in other cases, in control) of several supercars as you race from one point to another, witnessing utter chaos, havoc, and unbridled destruction on your way to the finish line. It's all just for spectacle, though, no matter how cool it is to see a gigantic rampaging donut roll through downtown Los Angeles, see a T-Rex take on another dinosaur in a fight, or see a tornado tear its way through a trailer park, for instance. Even when you think you're in danger, you merely clip through obstacles and other obstructions with no harm or penalty to be had.

Now might not be the best time to think about this, but I sure hope my car has good shock absorbers!

That's just fine, though, as the spectacle and almost sensory overload of the tracks are something to behold for sure. Plus, it allows you to just worry about the turns of each track and your nine other opponents instead of contending with them and any hazards you may have encountered. MotorStorm: Apocalypse this ain't. It's pure spectacle rather than something you need to worry about.

There are almost 30 tracks in Cruis'n Blast, and most of these are spread between a series of tours. Now, the 29 tracks is somewhat misleading because a lot of the tracks are just remixes of other tracks in the game. For example, one trip through a track features yetis, and one of which breaks the ice quite literally with racers, revealing a gigantic drop to fall through. A similar track features a dinosaur instead of yeti who pulls the same stunt and breaks the ice, also revealing that familiar fall for racers. So, really, of the 29 tracks, maybe 9 or 10 are wholly original. That doesn't make them any less entertaining or exciting, however. Again, this is where that spectacle of the tracks comes shining through. 

A Ferris Wheel rolling through the streets of downtown London?
Just another ordinary day in the world of Cruis'n Blast.

All tours have a set of four themed tracks. Some take place at night, some feature cop cars and vehicles that try to impede your progress, others are purely spectacle, such as having helicopters that fire missiles onto the track or UFOs that soar by, serving more as cool distractions than anything that can ruin a race for you.

There are four difficulties in Cruis'n Blast: Easy, Normal, Hard, and Extreme. The latter two difficulties need unlocking by completing Normal difficulty with a certain threshold of medals earned, and these two difficulties will put players through their paces most definitely. It's not just about taking turns well, it's also about performing as many stunts as possible to get boosts, as well as rationing your nitrous--though to be fair, with the rubber-band AI, it's more about saving up at least two nitrous boosts until the home stretch of the race. 

Yes, there is rubber-band AI for sure in Cruis'n Blast, but this isn't always against you. It oftentimes goes in your favor. You'll never reach first place after the first turn. Typically, it's always down to the final stretch where you can see and surpass your rivals and hopefully win the race. In Easy and Normal difficulties, passing first place and securing the win are relatively easy to do and can be done earlier in the race, than say Hard and Extreme, where it's usually always down to the wire and a well executed and timed nitrous boost is needed to win. Fortunately, even if you fail to secure the win in a race or do relatively poorly, you can simply retry the race instead of having to restart the entire tour. I can say that this feature makes for a major convenience and lowers the frustration level considerably.

Now, I REALLY hope my ride has good shock absorbers!

Even still, I seldom, if ever, found myself frustrated with Cruis'n Blast, even if I failed to place in the top three of a given race. Not only was I making money, used to purchase new vehicles and upgrades for said vehicles, but more importantly, I was having a freaking blast playing the game. It's so wild, it's so wacky, and it's so off-the-wall that it's hard NOT to smile while racing.

You start out in Cruis'n Blast with a handful of vehicles at your disposal, mostly supercars like the powerful Chevy Corvette. However, as you complete tours on different difficulties and find keys on tracks (there are three on each), new vehicles become available for purchase with in-game money earned by participating in and/or winning races, performing tricks and stunts, and taking out rival racers--something that never got old for me due to the Burnout-style slow-cam when you wreck a rival. Sure, the supercars are nice and all, but it's especially cool when you unlock and are able to race as a English-style Double Decker bus, a UFO, a hammerhead shark, a triceratops, a stealth chopper, a tank, and my favorite of the bunch, a unicorn. Each vehicle can level up by gaining experience from placing well in races. When a vehicle levels up (the max is level 5), you can purchase a new upgrade for them--things like neon skins, decals, accessories, and more. You can also customize your ride with a cavalcade of color choices, too. 

Majestic and magical, the unicorn is my preferred ride of choice in Cruis'n Blast.

Getting behind the wheel of your chosen vehicle, or in control of in the case of a triceratops or unicorn, is an absolute blast in Raw Thrills' racer. There's little to complain about when racing as your selected vehicle. Beginning players can opt to use an auto-acceleration function a la Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and there is also an option for tilt controls for those that want a wilder way to play. 

Steering feels nice enough, though a tad bit loose. However, this isn't too much of an issue due to the penalty for running into railings and walls being negligible enough (though you will lose on harder difficulties by continuously slamming into walls). The right shoulder button serves as a trick button. A double tap of the R or ZR button allows your vehicle to trick off ramps and jumps, as well as other vehicles (pretty much a required skill for winning harder difficulty tours). You can also drift to build up boost energy, which is separate from your nitrous, which is used by tapping the L or ZL button. The latter gives you three nitrous to work with per race, and they're generally best to use near the tail end of a given track. 

Though full of cars and other vehicles to fully level up, tours to complete on four difficulties, and keys to obtain on each track to unlock even more vehicles, Cruis'n Blast isn't a wholly complete package. One giant exclusion is that of online play. Now, local multiplayer which allows for split-screen for up to four players works well, but online play would definitely have extended the life of the game and put it into first gear for sure. Further, I wish races gave you a general idea on how much progress you've made on them. On so many tracks I'd be racing thinking I still had time to catch up with first place, when all of a sudden it was the home stretch and the finish line was mere yards away--way too late to realistically have a fighting chance for first place. A progress bar for each track would have done wonders. 

With so much going on during a given track, it can be difficult to concentrate at times!
Keep your focus and aim for first place!

Cruis'n Blast was a game that as soon as I saw videos of it being played in arcades, I felt the urge and definite desire to play it. It has taken a few years of patience, but now that I got to experience the game on the Nintendo Switch thanks to this home console port, I am pleased to say that my patience indeed paid off. Cruis'n Blast is ridiculous and crazy in all the right ways. How can you not love speeding through tracks where you witness UFOs whiz by, blowing up a dam, all the while you drift into your opponent, causing them to crash in a burning blaze of glory!? I defy you to not love that! Despite lacking online, longevity, and track variety, Cruis'n Blast delivers an action-packed arcade racer that will most likely make you laugh and smile with how outrageous its racing scenarios can get and how fun the overall package truly is.

[SPC Says: B]