SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring ‘Puzzle Bobble 16-Bit’, Plus the Latest Releases and Sales

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for May 30th, 2023. I was busy with other things today, so I had to bump one or two reviews to another day. But I did manage to put one together for the 16-bit console version of Puzzle Bobble that came out at the same time as the new game, so that’s what we’re starting with. After that, there’s one new release to look at. Just one. But it’s an interesting one, and it seems to have butts, so that’s nice. Finally, those new and expiring sales lists. You know them, I hope you love them, they’re here. Let’s get to it!

Reviews & Mini-Views

Puzzle Bobble / Bust-a-Move (16-Bit Console Version) ($7.99)

Okay, so yesterday I reviewed the latest game in the Puzzle Bobble series, Puzzle Bobble Everybubble!. It’s a solid new entry with a good hook to it thanks to its cooperative multiplayer. If you have friends or family to play with and you don’t mind the price, it’s a great pick-up. But maybe you’re on a tighter budget. Maybe you’re not so interested in co-op. Well, there’s some good news for you, my thrifty friend: the Super NES version of Puzzle Bobble was released alongside the new game for a very nice price.

“But Shaun," I hear the imaginary voices cry out. “Why would I want the Super NES version of this game when I can buy the NEOGEO version on Switch for the same price?" Valid question, my hallucination. The thing is, the Super NES version is better than the arcade original. It has seventy more stages in addition to the original thirty, culminating in an end boss battle. It also adds a new Battle mode, plus a few Special Bubbles to spice things up. Sure, you can just jump to Puzzle Bobble 2 and reap the benefits of some of this, but if you want the original, this is the best one you can get on Switch.

The emulation has been handled by ININ’s usual go-to developer, Ratalaika. You’ll probably recognize the interface. You can pick between the Japanese and Western versions of the game, though there isn’t any real reason to go with one over the other beyond the language. You also get all those nice display options, including their solid CRT filter. What you don’t get, surprisingly enough, is any kind of save state option. You’ll have to go old-school here and write your best scores on a napkin or something so you don’t lose track of them.

Puzzle Bobble is a fun puzzle game and it more or less hit its concept out of the park early on, which means it’s still fun to go back to the early entries even today. The Super NES version might not be the definitive version of this game, but it’s certainly a step up from the NEOGEO option offered by Hamster. The only thing holding this back is the curious lack of save states, which dampens the joy of aiming for ever-higher scores and forces you to rely on passwords to make your way through all of the stages in story mode.

SwitchArcade Score: 4/5

New Releases

To Hell with the Ugly ($19.99)

An adventure game from ARTE Experience, based on the 1948 satiric novel of the same name by Boris Vian. You play as Rocky, a handsome young man who goes out for a night on the town and gets a lot more than he bargained for. He wakes up in a mysterious hospital and needs to escape from the people who kidnapped him. The game is set in 1950s Los Angeles and leans hard into the noir genre, all backed up by a smooth jazz soundtrack. It’s certainly dressed up well enough, but we’ll have to see if it can walk the walk.

Sales

(North American eShop, US Prices)

Hot deal of the day, if you don’t have it already and have thirty-three gigabytes of storage to spare, is Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate. Nine bucks gets you a big-pants fighting game full of things to distract you from the fact that Capcom will never grace Switch with a Street Fighter past the third. Other than that, I don’t have any strong recommendations. Do what your heart tells you. And your wallet. Don’t forget to consult the wallet.

Select New Games on Sale

Demon’s Rise: Lords of Chaos ($1.99 from $7.99 until 6/12)
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth CE ($9.99 from $49.99 until 6/12)
Naruto Shippuden Ult. Ninja Storm 3 ($3.99 from $19.99 until 6/12)
Dragon Ball Z Kakarot + ANPA Set ($19.79 from $59.99 until 6/12)
Dragon Ball: The Breakers SE ($14.99 from $29.99 until 6/12)
One Piece Unlimited World Red Deluxe ($3.99 from $39.99 until 6/12)
Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions ($14.99 from $59.99 until 6/12)
Taiko no Tatusjin Rhythmic Adv. 2 ($14.99 from $29.99 until 6/12)
Taiko no Tatsujin Rhythm Fest Deluxe ($35.74 from $54.99 until 6/12)
Doraemon Story of Seasons FotGK Special ($41.99 from $59.99 until 6/12)
Mail Mole + Expansions ($7.49 from $14.99 until 6/19)
Kosmonavtes: Escape Reality ($1.99 from $3.99 until 6/19)
Kosmonavtes: Academy Escape ($1.99 from $5.99 until 6/19)
Panmorphia ($1.99 from $5.99 until 6/19)
Panmorphia: Awakened ($2.99 from $6.99 until 6/19)

Panmorphia: Enchanted ($1.99 from $3.99 until 6/19)
DobbyxEscape: Spooky Adventure ($2.99 from $3.99 until 6/19)
Scribblenauts Mega Pack ($5.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate ($8.99 from $59.99 until 6/19)
Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath DLC ($11.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
LEGO DC Super-Villains Deluxe ($11.24 from $74.99 until 6/19)
LEGO City Undercover ($5.99 from $29.99 until 6/19)
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes ($19.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 Deluxe ($8.99 from $44.99 until 6/19)
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga ($23.99 from $59.99 until 6/19)
LEGO Jurassic World ($7.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
The LEGO Movie 2 Videogame ($5.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
Yooka-Laylee ($3.99 from $39.99 until 6/19)
Blood Will Be Spilled ($1.99 from $14.99 until 6/19)
Feudal Alloy ($1.99 from $16.99 until 6/19)
Port Royale 4 ($24.99 from $24.99 until 6/19)

Sales Ending Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 31st

Guacamelee 2 ($4.99 from $19.99 until 5/31)
Guacamelee Super Turbo CE ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/31)
HunterX ($10.49 from $14.99 until 5/31)
Nobody Saves the World ($14.99 from $24.99 until 5/31)
Sakura Gamer ($7.99 from $9.99 until 5/31)
Severed ($3.74 from $14.99 until 5/31)
Tales From Space MBA ($3.49 from $9.99 until 5/31)
Uzzuuzzu My Pet ($1.99 from $14.99 until 5/31)

That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow to close out the month with more new releases, more sales, perhaps a review, and maybe even some news. I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!