Cyber Citizen Shockman Switch Review

Cyber Citizen Shockman, a classic from the PC Engine era, has made its way to the Nintendo Switch, inviting fans to relive the 8-bit magic. This port offers a mixed bag of delights and disappointments, showcasing its crisp pixel graphics and chiptune soundtrack while stumbling in the areas of control, input lag, and hitbox precision.

One of the standout features of Cyber Citizen Shockman on the Nintendo Switch is its faithful recreation of the game's iconic pixel graphics. The developers have done an excellent job of preserving the retro charm, ensuring that every character and environment maintains its original charm. The vibrant color palette pops on the Switch's OLED screen in particular, adding an extra layer of nostalgia to the experience. Accompanying the eye-catching visuals is a classic chiptune soundtrack that effectively transports players back to the era of classic gaming. The memorable melodies and catchy tunes perfectly capture the essence of Cyber Citizen Shockman, heightening the overall immersion.

Unfortunately, Cyber Citizen Shockman's transition to the Nintendo Switch falls short in terms of controls. The loose and imprecise controls that plagued the original PCE version mar the experience, making it challenging to execute precise movements and maneuvers. Whether it's the lack of responsiveness or a general inconsistency in input detection, the controls leave a lot to be desired. Unfortunately the controls are also plagued by additional input lag through the emulation layer, making the issue even worse.

Cyber Citizen Shockman on the Nintendo Switch provides a bittersweet trip down memory lane, with its beautifully preserved pixel graphics and nostalgic chiptune soundtrack fully intact. While the visual and audio aspects evoke a sense of nostalgia, the loose controls, noticeable input lag, and sloppy hitboxes tarnish the overall experience. Despite its flaws, fans of the original PC Engine title may find some enjoyment in this port, but it leaves room for improvement to truly capture the essence of the classic.

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox PS4 Review

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox PS5

Developed By: Nihon Falcom

Published By: NIS America

Date of Release: May 9, 2023

Price: $59.99

Nihon Falcom's Ys series of JRPGs has a long and storied history. Though it had it's start in Japan on the NEC PC-8801, most people remember it's real breakout version released for the NEC PC Engine CD/TurboGrafx 16 CD. My first experience with with the Turbo DUO pack-in version of Ys Books I and II (where I was absolutely floored by Ryo Yonemitsu's arrangements on the soundtrack, that amazing boss track in particular!), and I have been a hardcore fan of the series ever since, and i've played them all from Ys Origins all the way through Ys VIII. With the previous release, Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana NIS America took over the localization of the series, and it had quite a rough start with a half-assed translation as well as countless gameplay-breaking bugs. Thankfully that got all ironed out over the course of several substantial patches, and since then Ys VIII has become quite a masterpiece.

Thankfully with the release of Ys IX: Monstrum Nox things have gone quite smoothly, with NISA clearly learning from it's past efforts. The game runs flawlessly on the PS5, and looks quite stunning on my 4K television, and I haven't seen any sort of slowdown or frame drops. Clearly a lot of love has been put into the localization and porting this time around, as I've not run into any bugs, translation errors or the like in my time playing. The game assets look absolutely stunning on the PS5, with a general clarity that the PS4 version lacked. Load times are massively improved as well thanks to the PS5's speedy storage. There's no discernible input lag either, and the controls are tight and intuitive as ever. I do wish however that it had made more use of the DualSense controller's more advanced features such as the adaptive triggers and haptics. It's a shame that so many third party games are getting ported with nary a thought to the system's more advanced features.

 The gameplay is your usual Ys action-RPG fare, but this time with an added twist in the form of large scale tower defense battles. Now I've never been one to enjoy tower defense games, however Ys IX manages to present them in a way that makes them intuitive and fun in fashion that I've never seen in the genre. Though I may prefer the typical hack and slash action that the series is known for, the Tower Defense sections do provide a welcome distraction. As for the story, it is as always engaging and entertaining, living up to the pedigree that previous entries have set as the standard. All in all, Ys IX is a perfect example of what a JRPG can be, and I'd wholeheartedly recommend it for all series veterans and newcomers to the series and genre alike.