The year’s almost over, so it’s time for my Fall 2024 Gaming Quickies! I’ve admittedly been more focused on manga and anime these past few months, but there are still a few games I picked up in the past few months! Check out my recommendations below, and let us know in the comments if there’s a game you’d like us to check out!
Fitness Boxing Feat. Hatsune Miku
I have a soft spot for all things Fitness Boxing. While they’re essentially the same game, there’s enough to make different releases every couple of years. While last year had a Fist of the North Star release, this year has a Hatsune Miku flavor. If you’re a Vocaloid fan, you need to pick this up immediately if you want to shed some extra pounds this holiday season!
Fitness Boxing is a series that has players lining up straights, hooks, uppercuts, and other boxing moves to move to the beat. There are different courses to choose that focus on different parts of the body. In order to succeed, players need to line up their strikes in time with the music.
Fitness Boxing Feat. Hatsune Miku doesn’t stray too far from this formula. The main difference that separates this title from the others in the franchise is the inclusion of Miku Exercise. This mode specifically targets Vocaloid fans as the base game includes 24 songs. (More will be available as paid DLC.)
Compared to the somewhat generic original beats of the main game, these songs are the real deal. While not as comprehensive a song list as, say, Colorful Stage, the list is jampacked with classics new and old. From Just Be Friends to Vampire, these songs work very well with the gameplay. You can also select from Miku, Luka, Rin, and Len as your virtual coaches. (For those who want the classic Fitness boxing hosts, Lin and Evan appear as voices that will guide your moves).
Players will need to duck and weave as well as throw punches consistently, as these are tightly made charts that are shorter than the regular routines but more intense. (Playing The Disappearance of Hatsune Miku on Intense difficulty is sure to make you cry!) There are some framerate hiccups while playing handheld, but the issues are mitigated when playing docked.
While Fitness Boxing 3 is on the way here this year, for those wanting a Vocaloid flavor of working out, I wholeheartedly recommend this version!
Pico Park 2
If you need a way to thin out your friends list for Christmas, why not try Pico Park 2? Either you’re going to be terrible enemies or best buds, there is no in-between. The sequel to the rage-inducing couch multiplayer includes a lot more content to bond or break friendships over.
In Pico Park 2, you and up to seven other players work together to finish different platforming challenges. While most levels require you getting to the end (with a key to grab), there are some other missions, like shoot-em-up style levels. If you don’t want to play the regular campaign, there are some other minigames that force you to go head-to-head with each other.
The main platforming elements are simple enough to grasp but very difficult by design. Why? Because you’re required to communicate with your friends. This is what makes the game so great, because the challenges are not insurmountable… but all it takes is one errant jump or bump to let the whole plan go awry. What makes this game perfect for the Switch is the fact that it uses the 8-player gameplay mechanics flawlessly. It’s a game that I can share with anyone, even in handheld mode (I do not recommend this however).
Pico Park 2 is a great local multiplayer game, and I wish there were more titles like it! (I wish I also had more friends, because I might be losing some due to this, ha-ha!)
SpongeBob Squarepants: The Patrick Star Game
As a lifelong Spongebob fan, I love Patrick Star, and with all the spinoff attention he’s getting, I can’t be happier for my pink friend. I was surprised but delighted to see that Outright Games released an open sandbox featuring the character, and it’s a silly little Goat Simulator-esque title the whole family can enjoy!
In The Patrick Star Game, players will control Patrick Star (wow, shocker). You can move about in Bikini Bottom meeting up with the cast of the show to go on missions. There’s original voice acting here, which really adds to the experience as well.
You can also burp on demand, so that’s nice!
The game does have some sloppy controls, but only to emulate the silly nature of the experience. Does the game break sometimes? Sure, but that’s not an issue, you can just reset the world and be on your merry way! I love the attention to detail with a lot of the game’s locations (like Glove World and the place hosting the Fry Cook Games). A lot of the side-missions and minigames are challenging enough for adults but easy to handle for kids, which is a nice balance.
This is the goofy Patrick game we needed this year, and I’m glad that the Spongebob franchise is getting a ton of amazing license games in recent history. Here’s hoping for the next ones to be just as excellent!
Yakuza Kiwami
Going from an E-rated children’s title to an M-rated remake, you can’t say my Fall 2024 Gaming Quickies column doesn’t have range! This remake’s been out for almost a decade but putting Yakuza Kiwami on Switch breathes new life into it. (It also helps that there’s a ton of new Like a Dragon games out soon!)
Known in Kamurocho as the Dragon of Dojima, Kazuma Kiryu goes to jail for a crime committed by his friend. After serving his time, he returns to see his former organization, the Tojo Clan, in shambles as ten billion yen was stolen from them. Kiryu must survive the ongoing street war in Kamurocho while protecting the young Haruka, who may hold the key to the missing money. It’s a very serious tale that’s also interspersed with a lot of wacky minigames and side-stories, and playing in on Switch made me realize how eccentric the series can be even with its debut title.
I appreciate the performance of the game on handheld, and it’s the first time North America got a Yakuza release on a Nintendo console as well. The game runs nearly perfectly in docked mode, and handheld mode, while a little blurry at times, runs at a consistent framerate. Getting to experience the classic beat-em-up formula on the go is a great feeling, and the improvements from the original 2005 game are fun too. The “Majima Everywhere” feature also adds fan-favorite Goro Majima in this game, which adds him into the limelight more than the original release.
At a price point of $19.99, Yakuza Kiwami on Switch is a must buy for anyone looking to start their foray into the Like a Dragon franchise.
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron HD Remaster
Speaking of recent HD Switch remasters, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron got one earlier this year. Now’s as good a time as any to sing its praises and recommend it to those looking for a brisk action game on Switch.
El Shaddai is based loosely on the apocryphal book of Enoch, books outside the Old and New Testament biblical canon. In this game, Enoch is sent by God to bring back the Grigori, fallen angel Watchers who reside on earth. The fate of humanity lies in Enoch’s mission, because God is planning to flood the earth should Enoch fail. Aided by Lucifel and others, players will explore a vibrant world to prevent the deluge from happening.
El Shaddai is a unique game in that it has no HUD; instead, you’ll have to look at Enoch’s armor and surroundings to see how much health you have. If you’re tattered, you’ll be splattered. Additionally, the main gameplay loop revolves around three main weapon types. The Arch gives you balanced strength and speed (with a good gliding double-jump), the Veil makes you much stronger at the cost of speed, and the Gale will make you speedy but fragile.
Each weapon is strong and weak against one other type, and you’ll have to cycle through the different weapons on the fly. You can do this by commandeering weapons from enemies and purifying them. Purifying your own weapon is necessary after a while, since each weapon gets corrupted after enough hits and will be less effective. This creates a wonderful rhythm of dodging and attacking while also deciding when to purify your weapon and change it out.
As I mentioned earlier, the game looks gorgeous, with vibrant locations that make the whole game look like a storybook. (Not surprising, since it’s based off extrabiblical literature.) Oddly enough, the story is the weakest part of the game, but only because of how incomprehensible it is at first. Once you finish it, it makes a little more sense.
I appreciate this remaster’s release on Switch because it allows new players to check this game out. You can switch between performance and graphical modes; I would recommend performance on handheld since the game looks great regardless, but also because having a smoother framerate makes the game much more palatable with more difficult battles. For those who missed out on it the first time, I would urge you to check this game out on Switch or PC!
And that’s our Fall 2024 Gaming Quickies! We’re still playing games for the holidays, so stay tuned for more gaming recommendations here on Miso.
