2020 is almost at an end…a year that most of us are very happy to say goodbye to. Still, there was some good gaming to be done. Let’s see which games made 2020 a good gaming year for our writers!
A Little Bit of Reflection to Start Things Off!
2020 was a year of trials and tribulations for all of us in a lot of ways. Especially surrounding the ongoing pandemic that has bound a good few people at home in a lockdown situation including myself. It is a year I want to say “Sayonara” to as quickly as possible. But I am also gonna say that 2020 was the year that I got serious about pursuing a career as a games critic and I have to thank my former boss for getting my foot in the door of this fun career. I can hope that I can continue doing this for as long as possible. I am also thankful for a lot of the supportive people that I got in my life.
The Best of the Best of 2020 for Nintendo Switch!
Now while 2020 may have been a hard year for a lot of us to deal with there also has been a silver lining in the sense that we have had a lot of amazing releases all across the globe on the Nintendo Switch and I picked out those that I think are the best of the best in my personal opinion!
Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition
Genre: Action/Stylish Action|Age Rating: EU 16+
This year finally saw the Switch version of Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition one of the best action games ever made that originally released on the Playstation 2 years ago. This is one of those titles that I hold near and dear to my heart and have fond memories of.
I enjoyed playing it in the PS2 days and the Switch version 100% holds up and even introduces a few new things in the mix like co-op with a friend in the Bloody Palace mode and the FreeStyle mode that allows you to switch between Dante’s various styles on the fly during combat and missions. Sure you can do it on the PC version too through a mod but the Switch version is the first version that has it officially.
I fully recommend this game for people who enjoy action games and want to experience this timeless classic!
Shadowverse: Champions Battle
Genre: Card Battle RPG| Age Rating: JP CERO-B (For 12+ and older)
This is one of the few Import titles that will join the list. Shadowverse: Champions Battle is the Switch game based on the popular smartphone game called Shadowverse and is also an adaptation of the anime that’s currently on-going in Japan and available to watch on Crunchyroll.
Shadowverse: Champions Battle on Switch is a really fun and addictive CCG (Collectable Card Game) that features an original story that loosely adapts some of the plot points from the anime featuring game original characters like Rei and Kagura. The game also allows you to get and use the anime original cards like Ignis Dragon which have pretty overpowered abilities by completing the various quests and building up a relationship with the various characters.
I really recommend this one for people who enjoy card games and I hope this game comes out in the west!
Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions
Genre: Sports|Age Rating: EU 7+
Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions is a game that adapts the very popular soccer anime Captain Tsubasa. I may not be the biggest fan of soccer out there but I do enjoy games like Inazuma Eleven and I have watched a fair bit of the Captain Tsubasa anime when it was airing on a german channel.
I am also gonna say I have been enjoying my time with Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions. The Arcade-style gameplay is really fun and engaging with a good amount of action and challenge. It also had me hooked with the story mode where you have two modes in. Episode Tsubasa following Tsubasa Ozora bringing his school team to victory at nationals and Episode New Hero that follows your own created character as they join the soccer team of their school which you can choose at the start of the mode.
I recommend this one for people who enjoy soccer games and want to play anything but FIFA!
Yo-Kai Watch Jam: Yo-Kai Gakuen Y: WaiWai Gakuen Seikatsu
Genre: Action RPG|Age Rating: JP CERO-B(For 12+ and Older)
I am a huge fan of the Yo-Kai Watch series and I tend to import the games and merch personally and it’s no different with Yo-Kai Gakuen Y: WaiWai Gakuen Seikatsu which initially launched as a Digital only title on the Nintendo Switch but is now also physically available for the Switch and PS4. I enjoyed the anime it is based on a lot. It’s a fresh take on the franchise featuring slice of life themes and they take the Tokusatsu/Power Rangers route since the main party members can transform into Yo-Kai Heroes.
The game itself has a Chibi art style that is pretty similar to the Link’s Awakening remake that came out last year but the gameplay itself follows the Yo-Kai Watch: Blasters and Snack World The Dungeon Crawl Gold formula and it’s really fun. The game also loosely adapts both the movie and anime series events and also has had free DLC updates that add more quests and even a fun multiplayer mode.
I definitely recommend this to Yo-Kai Watch fans who are also into importing games as I am not sure if this one is coming over at all due to the closure of Level-5’s international branch.
No Straight Roads
Genre: Rhythm Action Adventure|Age Rating: EU 12+
No Straight Roads of course was one of the games that I was looking forward to this whole year and I am gonna say this straightforwardly as possible. I LOVE THIS GAME A LOT and I definitely would put this one as my indie game of the year especially on Switch that offers a three-player mode exclusive to the Switch version. Also the fact that this game didn’t make any compromise in terms of performance with the game running at a rock-solid 60FPS is something I praise a lot.
The game is an amazingly fun ride from start to finish and also shows a big love for music from Rock to the various EDM genres on offer in this game. It also shows off a lot of inspiration to boot. I have done a review for this game which you can see over here.
I really appreciate and love the passion that Metronomik has put into this game.
I really recommend this game to gamers who love music and want a fun action-adventure indie game to boot!
Games I Look Forward to in 2021!
A lot of amazing games came out this year but I also want to take time to tell you what games I am personally looking forward to in 2021!
NEO: The World Ends With You
Expected: Summer 2021
The World Ends With You is one of those games that is near and dear to my heart and it also was one of the best Nintendo DS games that used the touchscreen of the system to its fullest potential. 13 years after the original game we finally get a sequel for it on Switch and PS4. The game looks stylish with it’s cell-shaded aesthetic and I wonder how the gameplay will function. I do hope we don’t get the iffy implementation of motion controls like the Switch port of the original that while I enjoyed it I really prefer playing it with the touch controls.
Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & The Secret Fairy
Release date: January 26th 2021
I really enjoyed the first Atelier Ryza game a lot on the Nintendo Switch. It was a bold new step in the Atelier series by Gust and Koei Tecmo that streamlined a good few things such as the Alchemy system along with the combat system which I enjoyed a lot. The characters and story was also really enjoyable.
I do hope that the sequel keeps the good momentum going and that it is just as much fun as the original!
Persona 5 Strikers
Release date: February 23rd 2021
Persona 5 Strikers (Also known as Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers in Japan) is a Warriors-style Action RPG game that I am really looking forward to playing in English. It works as a sequel to Persona 5 and this is also the first Persona 5 game that gets released for the Nintendo Switch. The gameplay looks to be really fun there is also a good bit of exploration in both the real world and the Jails where combat takes place. Definitely a game worth looking forward to.
Inazuma Eleven: Eiyuu-Tachi no Great Road
Expected: Sometime 2021?
Like I said before in this article I really enjoy the Inazuma Eleven games and the newest game in the series Inazuma Eleven: Eiyuu-Tachi no Great Road(Great Road of Heroes) has been delayed several times from when it was announced as Inazuma Eleven Ares no Tenbin (Inazuma Eleven Ares) and it also had a rocky development cycle going on where there was a lack of motivation at one point. But now Level-5 has reconsidered its plans of developing the game alongside the anime and that hopefully allows them to make an amazing HD entry into the series.
I am definitely looking forward to this game
Scott Pilgrim VS. The World: The Game Definitive Edition
Release date: January 14th 2021
This game coming to the Switch is somewhat of a huge miracle considering how the original had been delisted on from various digital storefronts due to licensing issues but Ubisoft has managed to work out a deal with Bryan Lee O’Malley to bring back the awesome Scott Pilgrim game!
I had spent time with the demo of this game way back during the PS3 days and it’s a really fun beat’em up to spend time with so I am looking forward to getting my hands on this for the Switch!
In conclusion!
I hope you all enjoyed reading this personal reflection on 2020 and I wish you all Happy Holidays!
I can’t wait for the TWEWY sequel! That game was on of the main reasons I bought a DS back in 2008.
And since you mentioned some of the original’s features: It had a sort of early streetpass in that some of the pins evolved if they DS encountered a wifi signal from another DS. It wasn’t the first game to feature such a gimmick (I think), but it was very cool at the time.