Weekend Gaming Playlist

The first week of March brought most of the country some schizophrenic weather, but we also got a brand new Pokémon-centric Nintendo Direct. Pokémon Sword and Shield were announced and the 3 starters were revealed (Sobble FTW). At this point I have played Let’s Go Pikachu into the ground, but the Direct managed to spark even more Pokémon cravings. With that in mind, we’re going to jump back into one of the recent Pokémon spinoffs to scratch the itch. Here is what I’ll be playing this weekend.

Pokémon Quest

Nintendo added this cutesy block style, tactical-ish cooking simulator to the Eshop on the same day that Pokémon Let’s Go was announced. It features a different concept of gathering Pokémon for your team to battle. You’ll take your Pokémon on quests in order to gather more ingredients and recipes to cook, using them to attract more coveted Pokémon.

Battles happen on their own with very little player control. Preparation is key however, as you are tasked with making sure you are bringing the correct type of Pokémon into battle that will exploit the opposing monster’s weaknesses. As you level up and progress, your ingredients and recipes will attract Pokémon to join you on their own as opposed to the old tradition of catching them. Pokémon Quest is a free download, and the kids love it.

Final Fantasy IX

This Switch port of one of the greatest JRPGs to have ever been released has been out for almost a month, and I still can’t put it down. I’ve ran into a few small bugs in this Switch version but this is one that all RPG lovers should be glad finally made it to the Switch. Check back with us next week to catch our review of Final Fantasy IX HD for the Switch!

Bonds of the Skies

KEMCO’s adventure RPG started out on Android devices before making its way to the 3DS Eshop and – finally – over to the Switch. On the surface, it looks like Bonds of the Skies would’ve fit right in with the golden days of SNES RPGs, so I’m interested to see whether the story gives me that same level of satisfaction. I’d also be lying if I didn’t admit that I was attracted to this game from the moment I saw the word “Skies” in the title and realized it was a JRPG. I couldn’t help but think of Skies of Arcadia Legends – the best RPG to grace the GameCube. These 2 games may very well have nothing in common in the end, but I still dream of a sequel or HD remaster of Skies.

That’s all for me! Thanks for reading and visiting SWITCHRPG! What will you be playing this weekend?