Five reasons I would've paid full price for the Switch version of Dandy Dungeon if Onion Games had forced me to do so

I downloaded and started playing Onion Games' Dandy Dungeon the second it hit the Apple App Store in early 2017. (OK, so maybe it wasn't the exact second. I certainly bought it that same day, though.)

Why? Because Yoshiro Kimura--of Chulip, Little King's Story, and Moon: Remix RPG Adventure fame--not only had a hand in designing it, but served as its director, too.

Also, Kazuyuki Kurashima acted as Dandy Dungeon's art director, and Keiichi Sugiyama handled its music and sound design.

If those names don't mean anything to you, Kurashima previously crafted the character designs for games like Freshly-Pickled Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland and UFO: A Day in the Life, while Sugiyama worked on such classics as Daytona USA 2001 and Rez.



Sadly, although I adored most of the handful of hours I put into the mobile version of this roguelike puzzler, some of its "free to play" elements eventually got on my nerves.

Fast forward to a few months ago when word started spreading that Dandy Dungeon was Switch-bound. Despite my mixed reaction to the original release, I couldn't help but get excited about the prospect of giving it a second chance on what's currently my go-to game system.

Thankfully, those murmurings proved to be true for a change, and Dandy Dungeon is now due to hit the Nintendo Switch eShop on June 27. (Heads up: if you pre-purchase it before that date, you'll only pay $17.50, or 30 percent less than the usual price of $24.99.)

As you've hopefully gathered from this post's headline, I won't be paying anything for it. That's because the folks at Onion Games kindly gave me a free copy.

That's awesome, of course, but even so I'm here to say I would've paid full price for this Dandy Dungeon Switch port if the company had snubbed my request. Why? Here are five reasons:



It's deliciously simple--Dandy Dungeon's gameplay basically consists of being sent into dungeons made up of five-square-by-five-square rooms and then drawing a single line that takes the digital representation of the game's protagonist, Yamada-kun, from their entrances to their exits. There's a bit more to it than that, but only a bit. Such straightforward simplicity may sound boring, but it's not. Helping matters immensely: each room of each dungeon is randomly generated--or at least they seem to be randomly generated. Also, you can finish one in seconds at best or minutes at most.

It's crammed full of content--I can't tell you how much, sadly. That said, I've put just over 20 hours into this iteration of Dandy Dungeon so far, and I have a feeling I've got at least that much more to go before I hit its end credits. (Assuming it has a credit roll, of course.) Granted, some--maybe even a good chunk--of that time has been spent grinding, but I'd argue that grinding in Dandy Dungeon rarely, if ever, feels annoying. On the contrary, it's often surprisingly gratifying, as every trip through a particular dungeon leaves you a tad wiser about its (and your) strengths and weaknesses.

It's cute as a button--Kurashima-san sure knows how to make sprites adorable, doesn't he? That was true in Super Mario RPG, it was true in LIVE A LIVE, and it's true in Dandy Dungeon as well. And the sprites here aren't just statically cute, either--they bounce and lunge and wiggle in ways that'll put a stupid, sappy grin on your face, too.



It's completely bonkers--If you've ever played any of Kimura's other joints, like one of my favorite games of 2018, Black Bird, you know they tend to be bizarre. Dandy Dungeon is no exception. You may have already heard the game's story, which focuses on a 36-year-old guy who hates his job, loves his much younger neighbor, and turns to both for inspiration as he makes his own RPG. At home. In his underwear. That's just the start of Dandy Dungeon's journey to Weirdo Land, however. Its enemies, bosses, even its armor and weapons regularly qualify as eyebrow-raising--though rarely in a scandalous way.

Its soundtrack is subtly incredible--Those of you who played and loved Black Bird might approach Dandy Dungeon expecting a similarly "out there" soundtrack. That's not exactly what you'll get, but don't let that stop you from looking forward to it anyway. What's so subtle about this game's music, you ask? Mainly, it's that most of Dandy Dungeon's tunes are wink-wink-nudge-nudge riffs on classic Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy tracks. They're great and all, but they're unlikely to blow you away. As for what will: the handful of fully original compositions, like the Middle Eastern-esque one that plays whenever a rare monster appears on a stage.

See also: 'Onion Games' Black Bird is the dark Fantasy Zone clone I didn't know I wanted or needed'

The Great Gaymathon Review #76: Golf Story (Switch)

Game: Golf Story

Genre: Sports/RPG

Developer: Sidebar Games

Publisher: Sidebar Games

System: Switch

Release date: 2017

Is Golf Story really the second coming of Nintendo's Mario Golf series? Or does it really blend Scotland's national sport with the kooky, quirky, cult classic, EarthBound? My answer to both of those questions is a fairly resounding "no."

That's not to suggest Sidebar Games' maiden release never delights. It does. I wouldn't go so far as to say it delights as much as either of the aforementioned efforts, though--in large part because it lacks the kind of polish associated with most games made by Nintendo and its development partners.

Nowhere is this more clear than when a bug or glitch pops up and interrupts play. Thankfully, most of these are simply aggravating, but a few are game-breaking. Regardless, you won't find either variety in the games that supposedly inspired this one.

There are other aspects of Golf Story that keep it from reaching the heady heights of EarthBound and the Mario Golf GameBoy Color and Advance titles, too. One is its lack of direction or clarity--as in, the game frequently fails to be clear about what you're supposed to do or where you're supposed to go next. Another is its soundtrack, which is far from terrible but also isn't what I'd call enjoyable.



Still, despite these shortcomings, and despite the fact that I don't consider it to exist in the same space as the best Mario Golf titles and EarthBound, Golf Story is an entrancing game.

Its story and protagonist aren't anything special, to tell you the truth. At the starter, you're plopped into the shoes of an "average Joe" kind of guy (you can't choose a gal instead, unfortunately) and then tasked with helping him live out his childhood dream of becoming a pro.

Thankfully, once you get the ball rolling on that journey, the clichés that support it tend to fade into the background. That's a testament to its accessible and appealingly breezy gameplay, which does, in fact, recall Nintendo's first two portable Mario Golf titles--to a point. Granted, most arcade-y golf games control similarly these days; you know, hit a button to get a cursor moving along a linear gauge, hit it again when the cursor nears the gauge's peak (this determines the power of your swing), and then hit it one last time as the cursor approaches its starting point (this determines your timing).

Beyond that basic gameplay element, though, Golf Story feels pretty unique among casual golf titles. You're occasionally asked to play nine holes against another of the game's characters (once per course, to be more specific), but that cornerstone of the sport often takes a backseat to the less traditional--not to mention less time consuming--challenges nearby NPCs offer up as you stroll around each locale.



Some are merely intriguing--like, "I'll bet you can't hit the green from the bunker five times"--while others are downright silly. (A couple of noteworthy examples: using your clubs to feed hungry fish and to hit eyeballs into skeleton skulls.)

On top of all that, Golf Story also allows you to "tee up anywhere." As in, you can drop a ball and take a crack at a hole whenever and wherever you'd like. Or you can simply smack balls in random directions, if that's what you prefer. Regardless, I personally think that press release bullet point is more interesting in theory than in practice.

So, what about the rest of this indie darling? It certainly looks the part, with graphics that evoke the better (cartoonish) sports games of the late 1980s or early 1990s. As for its story, it may not be as brilliant or as "out there" as EarthBound's, but it's well crafted and stuffed with text that elicits a chuckle. In other words, it's deserving of the attention and praise that've been heaped upon it to date.

The same can be said of Golf Story as a whole. Sure, it's not quite the blend of EarthBound and Mario Golf many claim it to be, but it's still charming and addictive and an overall joy to play--even with its bugs, glitches, and other rough edges.



See also: previous Golf Story impressions and previous 'Great Gaymathon' reviews

A few thoughts on the Nintendo Switch now that I've spent a couple of weeks with one

It's been about two weeks since I got a Switch, so I figure now is as good a time as any to share my thoughts on Nintendo's latest piece of gaming hardware.

Something I need to note before I continue: I've only used my Switch in handheld mode so far. In fact, I haven't even taken its dock, which lets you to play games on a TV, out of the box. I'll probably free it from its (beautifully decorated) cardboard prison around the time I get my hands on Super Mario Odyssey, but even then I can't see myself using it all that often. That's how much I prefer playing games "on the go" (which in my case usually means while sitting on the couch or lying in bed) to staring at a TV screen these days.

Anyway, I've spent a good amount of time with the rest of the Switch hardware since it arrived on my doorstep late last month, so here are my impressions of the main unit, Joy-Cons, user interface, eShop and more.



It's smaller than I imagined--For whatever reason, before I bought my Switch I was under the impression it was pretty bulky in its portable form. So, imagine my surprise when it turned out to be the opposite of huge. No one is going to call the thing "tiny," of course, but it's plenty small for the occasional car and plane trip. Would my tune be different if I commuted with my Switch? Perhaps, but the fact is I've only ever played my original 3DS on the bus. I've never once taken either of my 3DS XL systems or my pink-and-white Vita to work, and I'm pretty sure the same will be true of my Switch by the time its hold on me, or the portion of my life that's spent using public transportation, comes to a close.

The huge screen is a huge plus--Truth be told, I've never been a size queen. In fact, even now I'd rather play games on my original "flame red" 3DS system than on my pink-and-white 3DS XL. Still, I'd be lying if I said I wished the Switch's screen were smaller. It's nice to not have to squint while reading text, for example. Granted, I don't think the increased screen size--and improved screen resolution--will really hit me until I play a game like Super Mario Odyssey or The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on it. Assuming I react to that experience like I think I will, I may never hook up my thus-far-ignored Switch dock.



I like how solid it feels--This is the aspect of the Switch that surprises me the most, to be perfectly honest. Before I held the system in my hands, I thought the Joy-Cons might seem a bit loose or wobbly. Thankfully, they don't. In fact, I often forget the controllers are detachable--that's how snug everything feels when Switch is in its handheld form. I know some folks will say, "of course the Switch is solid--Nintendo made it!" Well, Nintendo also made the original 3DS hardware that features a floppy hinge and a scratch-prone upper screen, so one should be forgiven for worrying the Switch, with its far more complicated design, may follow in its footsteps.

The UI is sleek and snappy, but still leaves something to be desired--Although I'm a big fan of the user interfaces Nintendo's designers created for the 3DS, Wii and Wii U, I appreciate that they went with something a little sexier and a little less kiddie or cutesy this time around. Plus, the Switch's user interface (UI) isn't just sleek; it's also noticeably faster than the Wii and 3DS UIs. (I can't speak to the speed of the Wii U user interface, as I've sadly never experienced it.) Unfortunately, a game system's UI needs to be more than elegant and brisk. It also needs to be functional, and that's not how I would describe the Switch UI at the moment. Why can't I move my game and demo icons? Why can't I display them in various ways (other than in a straight line), or make folders to contain them? And why can't I change the background of the system's home menu like I can on my 3DS? I have a feeling  an upcoming update will allow all of this--and hopefully more--but, boy, it sure would've been nice if it had allowed it right out of the box.



I hope the eShop gets an overhaul (and soon)--Much like the Switch UI, the system's eShop is sleek and snappy--and not entirely satisfying. I'm sure some people think the 3DS eShop is a jumbled mess, but I'm not one of them. I like that it offers visitors plenty of opportunities to find and discover games and demos. You don't have to know exactly what you're looking for when you make your way to the 3DS eShop. With the Switch eShop, though, you've got a tab for recent releases, a tab for best sellers and that's about it. If you want anything else, you have to search for it. Again, I'm pretty confident this will change in the future and the Switch eShop will become quite a bit more dynamic, but the question is: when? Here's hoping Nintendo gives us a more user-friendly, and publisher-friendly, digital store soon.

Now that I've shared my thoughts and feelings on the Switch, what are yours? Those of you who've spent at least a little time with the system: do you agree with what I've said here, or do you disagree? Regardless, let me know your opinions on the matter in the comments section of this post.

See also: 'A few thoughts on Golf Story for Switch now that I've put about eight hours into it'