The only sorta new thing about Switch 2 this week is something called Drag x Drive. Oops, maybe I shouldn’t have blurted that out right off the bat. But it’s hard to keep secrets when the week’s both chill and like, totally overwhelming — kinda like when you decide to clean your room and end up reorganizing your entire life. Anyway, leading the charge is Gradius Origins, back from the March Switch 1 Direct days. I guess its lasers are what you need to finally take down that old NES Pro Wrestling boss. Totally makes sense, right? If you want to switch gears — pun intended — The House of the Dead 2 remake is up next. Just a heads up, it’s from Forever Entertainment, so, you know, buyer beware. And if you’re in the mood for anime, Demon Slayer’s got a new gig, and Fate/Hollow Ataraxia’s hanging out too.
Small weird things to keep an eye on: there’s this game The Edge of Allegoria. Somehow, it looks like a souped-up Pokemon RBY, but it’s not the most "are-you-kidding-me" copyright issue of the week. That title probably goes to Team17’s Ritual of Raven. Maybe.
Oh, and I totally missed this last week — oops again — but there was a Partner Showcase. Chilling By The Fire made an appearance, but sadly, the whole "Directs Without Saga Reveal" thing got reset again. Thanks, Square Enix. Anyway, a couple of 3DS Harvest Moons are getting Switch makeovers, and Taito’s "Field Day" was the Archives release. To those of you into that.
Now, can you play the EGGCONSOLE game without knowing Japanese? I’m hearing it’s possible. Apparently, it’s more action RPG this time. Could get a bit wordy, though, and then… good luck.
North America Releases
Here we go with the pricing rollercoaster:
- Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles 2 – $59.99/CA$84.99, hitting the shelves on Tuesday.
- Gradius Origins – $39.99/$53.49.
- Fate/Hollow Ataraxia Remastered – Tagged for Wednesday at $29.99/$38.99.
- The House of the Dead 2: Remake – You can grab it for $24.99/$34.00.
- More stuff I half-noticed: Fitness Adventure Pro ($24.99/$33.99), The Edge of Allegoria ($24.99/$24.99), Turbo Kid ($19.99/$27.29, launching Tuesday), plus a bunch of others like Drakkar Crew, Slopecrashers, Cats on Duty, and some oddly named titles that I can’t even focus on right now.
Sales craziness: Roki is at 90% off. Jump on that by August 17 if you want some deals. You know where to look, DekuDeals and all that jazz.
Europe Crowd
Let’s chat Europe now, shall we? Same Demon Slayer and Gradius stuff as in North America, but in euros and pounds, price-wise — because geography, folks.
- Demon Slayer (€59.99/£54.99: Tuesday)
- Gradius Origins (€39.99/£35.99)
- Gosh, did I mention more games? Yeah, a bunch with names I can hardly recall because spoilers! But you know the drill if you’ve been paying attention.
Japan Lineup
Japan’s got some goodies too. Yuukyuu no Tierblade prices in at ¥7700. Also, Gradius Origins is sitting there for ¥6380.
- Fate/Hollow Ataraxia Remastered – ¥3500
- Ritual of Raven, The House of the Dead 2: Remake, oh boy, so much shiny new stuff I can’t keep track of.
At the end of the day, if you have a radar out for the quirks of gaming releases, this week’s got a lot to offer — if you’re paying attention. It’s like trying to keep tabs on a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Fun though, right?
