Time for our regular roundup of the mostly (but not strictly) retro-interest games releases on the way for the coming month, with trailers for everything and maybe a few snippets of fascinating information too! Another fairly quiet month, although Resident Evil 4 Remake is still keeping me more than happy regardless! Anyway, here’s what’s caught my eye…
First up this month, Tron Identity is an interactive visual novel developed by Mike Bithell, of Thomas Was Alone fame, for PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch. It’s slated for an April 11th release and will combine puzzles, decision making and forging alliances as you “plot your own course in a world without a creator.” And what a stylish world to do so in! There’s nothing more eighties than Tron and while it’s not been the same for a while, I like one of these visual novel things from time to time and I’m rather looking forward to this one!
Next we’ve got an update of an iconic, vertically-scrolling shoot ‘em up making its way to Nintendo Switch on April 13th when we’re getting Castle of Shikigami 2. This first appeared in the arcades in 2003, although I know it best from its later appearance under its Castle Shikigami 2: War of the Worlds moniker on PlayStation 2, where it builds on the original Shikigami No Shiro’s bullet-grazing mechanics but replaces the occult serial killing storyline with an equally bonkers tale of crooked castles in the sky over Tokyo! Whatever, it’s a fantastic shooter with loads of unique characters and an all-new Entry Mode, and I will be buying this one, assuming it’s getting a Western release.
Not sure about Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection though, or at least not straight away because these things are constantly on sale! It’s coming to PC, PlayStation and Switch on the 14th and features all ten mainline series games that started out on the Game Boy Advance in 2001, mixing deck building and card battling with action RPG-ing. The presentation looks top-notch, with all the mod-cons plus loads of bonus content like music players and galleries, and there’s online play too so if you’re into this stuff there’s an insane amount here to keep you busy!
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp finally comes to Nintendo Switch on the 21st after being delayed at the outset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Not sure what’s changed on that front but apparently now’s the time, and I’m also not sure if anything that was a bit too close to the bone has been updated in the interim. I’m also not sure if I really want this or not – the original was fun enough but it’s not really my genre and I never stuck with it. However, if you’re already sold, then you’re getting the original turn-based strategy war games not only bundled but also reimagined and rebuilt, and I’m sure they’ll be superb!
I’m really hoping that Star Wars: Jedi Survivor is equally superb when it comes to PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on April 28th! My head tells me above average is more likely though, just like its 2019 predecessor. Like that, it’s a third-person, narrative-driven action-adventure that continues the journey of now fully-fledged Jedi Cal Kestis as he fights to protect the galaxy against its latest descent into darkness. It does look pretty epic, with loads of new planets and familiar frontiers to explore, and new fighting styles and force abilities that enhance the cinematic combat system of the original. Very cool!
I actually thought R-Type Final 3 Evolved for PS5 was coming this month too but according to its own website just now it’s already out, so I missed that one last time. Sorry! Not the only thing I ever miss though – I’d have thrown Dredge into the mix last month too had I played the demo before then, so the least I can do is give you a trailer for that too before we close! Loads to come next time though, with Redfall and the new Zelda game in May, so I hope you enjoyed what I came up with this time and I’ll see you then!
Retro Arcadia 