Mighty Switch Force Game by Wayforward Technologies Reviewed by Philip "Pocket Squirrel" Wesley Size: 1619 Blocks Save: battery 1 Slot Released: 2011 Works with: Nintendo 3DS. ESRB Rated: E10 Rating Descriptions: Mild Cartoon Violence, Suggestive Themes Quick Opinion: Own!!!! **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: Wayforward has returned to their Mighty series of games, but this time they have done so on the Nintendo 3DS. The previous titles in this series each had a neat little "quirk" to them. Mighty flip Champs had you "flipping" levels to find friends and bring them to a possibly deviant Fishman. Mighty Milky Way had a depressed Green Alien destroying planets and using gravity to get to a terrifying Black Hole at the end of the level while being chased by a socially awkward Cyborg Dinosaur. What will Mighty Switch Force do? Before we get into the review, I want to make a comment about the icon on the 3DS channels menu. When I first selected the icon, it says the name of the game in an enthusiastic voice that I was not paying much attention to. In fact, it sounded like it said "Miley Switch Force" instead of "Mighty Switch Force." For reasons that I do not understand, that moment was hilarious to me. I suppose you would have just had to have been there. Onward we ride toward the review! **************************************************************************** Gameplay Description: The "quirk" for Mighty Switch Force is that Patricia Wagon has a helmet that allows her to move some blocks in the foreground to the background and vice versa. She can jump on the blocks, use the blocks to kill enemies, or use special blocks to propel herself through the air. There are also blocks that you can stand on to prevent them from going into the foreground. She also has a gun that breaks through rocks and defeats some of the plentiful streams of enemies. Officer Patty Wagon is on a quest to recapture the Space Hooligan Sisters that have escaped and unleashed some sort of biological monster onto the fair city that brave officer Patty Wagon defends! You use the radar on the bottom screen to hop, skip, and shoot your way to finding the hidden fugitives in each level. Once you catch all of the Hooligan Sisters in a level, you robot buddy appears in the level and you have to find him to leave the level. The game also times you and encourages you to go for a PAR by beating certain times. There are 16 levels and a boss fight that make up the bulk of this game. The last level has the blocks switching in and out on their own for a nice challenge. To break it down further, each level has a set amount of Hooligan Sisters to track down. You use the radar on the bottom screen to find them. Once you find them all, you have to find the robot who will warp you out of the stage. If you do this by a set time limit (PAR) than you get a star next to the level. Get all the dots and something happens which I will not divulge. This is the most action packed game in the Mighty series yet and it has a bit of a Mega Man X feel to the shooting in it. Once you beat the game, you unlock The mighty Shot. This allows you to shoot a more powerful weapon which can help you get some of those Par times. In each of the levels you have a few hearts that you lose if you get hit by enemies or spikes and you can run into Very Ugly Cats that are serve as respawn checkpoints. Lose all your hearts and you get kicked back to the level select. Collect Heart Cards by defeating enemies to prevent that from happening. The game is a lot of fun and really action packed, especially in levels where you need to switch between launch blocks in rapid succession. Liked: Expertly paced, interesting game with excellent shooting and really good platforming. Getting the PAR time is really satisfying. Hated: There are only 16 levels! **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: I compared it a little to Mega Man X because this has the same "ruined industrial city" look as the first level of the old Super Nintendo game. The foreground and background elements are really nicely done and the 3D works to complement the game. There is no frame rate drop between 2D and 3D. Everything animates buttery smooth and all of the Space Hooligan Sisters have a distinct look to them. The "reward" pictures that randomly show up after you complete a level look nice and everything is wonderfully polished. The 3D adds scrolling layers to the game and also makes it much more fun to push enemies into the screen in some levels. The character designs for this game all make sense, the robot that teleports Patricia out of each level is cool looking, and I really like the feel of world this game is set in. If there were a direct sequel in any of the Mighty series titles, I would prefer a Mighty Switch Force 2 over any of the other Mighty games because this is the game which I feel has the best style to it. I do want to touch on something in the animation that I really liked. I like how Patricia runs holding her gun at a "ready" position with two hands. Unless you are firing your gun, she holds it downwards. Which is what you are supposed to do with a handgun. She never fires it one handed and there is also considerable kick back once you get the Mighty Shot option. After you fire the weapon, if you hold still for a moment, she returns the gun to the ready position. That shows an attention to proper gun technique and I appreciate that in this game, even if it is a silly detail to notice. Liked: Great animation, detailed settings, and interesting character designs. Hated: Although there is a bit of a "sexy" push to this game as well. If that bugs you, that could be a negative. **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: You know when I was comparing the graphics and shooting to Mega Man X? The music is arguably a step above that game. There are some really great compositions in here as well as Police Siren enhanced remixes of previous tunes from the Mighty series. Lots of Drum and Bass, Techno, and even some -actually good- "dubstep style" drops. It has a wonderful Euro/Club feel to it. This is high adrenaline, high octane music with excellent hooks to it. I would say that this is music to wave glowing sticks to, while gyrating promiscuously under the influence of ecstasy. The sound effects and voice samples also work well in this title. Patricia's cries of "Justice Served!" or "Checkpoint" are appropriate. None of the voices become annoying and it just serves to strengthen the setting of the game. Liked: Everything goes right on the musical front in this game. Hated: NOTHING. **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: You can use the Direction Pad or Slide Pad to move Patricia left or right. Patricia can not aim upwards or duck in this game. The buttons L, R, and A all activate the Switch Helmet, Y shoots your gun, holding X allows you to scan around your immediate area, and the B button jumps. SELECT or START pauses the game. Everything in this game is streamlined and polished. The game is the shortest game in the Mighty series with only 16 levels, but the amount of levels does not really detract from the game if the levels are well designed. The levels in Mighty Switch Force are fun to play through and provide a good challenge when it comes time to hit the PAR times for them. The game mechanic is not physics based or puzzle based like the previous Mighty series titles. Instead, the "switching" mechanic emphasizes quick reflexes, and action over complex puzzles. The launch blocks would have to be my favorite part of the game. There is a level where -in order to get to a certain part of the stage- you have to launch Patricia and a Bomb enemy through a series of launch blocks with good timing that reminds me a bit of Donkey Kong Country where you could launch yourself from consecutive barrels in rapid succession. I LOVE it when a game demands that from me and I get a real thrill out of rapid platforming like that. Liked: Easy to control, fairly forgiving, and distinctly challenging! Hated: Not as much emphasis on puzzles this time around. Although that may not be a negative for some people. **************************************************************************** Improve: Add more levels! RIYL: The visual aesthetic of Mega Man X and the platforming of Solomon's Key with the search and destroy aspect of Metroid 2. **************************************************************************** Final Words: This is my favorite game in the Mighty series so far. Every aspect of the game just seems to work well and -out of the three games in the series so far- this is the one I would recommend the most to players. Mighty Switch Force is guilty of being a great game. **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: **** Graphics: **** Sound/Music: ***** Play Control/Game Design: ***** Value: **** Star Total: 66% Personal Opinion Merit: 22% Add the Star Score and Merit Score together for the final % score. Final Score: 88% Letter Grade: A ****************************************************************************