SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble’, Plus Today’s Other Releases, News, and Sales

Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for June 25th, 2024. Today I was incredibly busy and thus only started writing this article late in the day. That means I didn’t have time for any reviews, but we do have a few really good new releases to look at, a bit of news, and of course the usual lists of new and expiring sales to go over. I really need to catch up on these reviews soon. I’m being a naughty fellow, taking time for family and such. Well, let’s get to the good stuff!

News
‘Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration’ Expands Later This Year

Regular readers will know that I loved Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration to pieces. It has so much to offer compared to most retro game collections, mostly thanks to the focus on telling the story around the games first and foremost. The game got some games added via a free update a little while back, and at that time Atari said more would be coming. Well, we now know what they meant: Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Expanded Edition will be launching later this year on October 25th. It adds two more timelines full of information and over a dozen new videos, plus a whopping thirty-nine games.

This includes Berzerk and a selection of M Network games. No word yet on the full list of titles, but the two new topics expand more on Atari’s influence and the first console war between Atari 2600 and the Intellivision. This Expanded Edition will be available in physical form, but owners of the existing Atari 50 will be able to buy the added content as DLCs if they wish. The physical sets are priced at $39.99 for the Standard Edition and $49.99 for the fancy Steelbook version. No price mentioned thus far for the DLCs, but we’ll let you know when we know.

‘Tetris 99’ Has Ninety-Nine Events, and ‘F-Zero 99’ Is One of Them

Okay, it’s more like forty-one events. But I wanted to use that headline, so here we are. The latest Maximus Cup event for Tetris 99 has been announced, and it’s getting a bit meta in here because the theme this time is F-Zero 99. The event kicks off on June 28th and runs through the end of the weekend on July 1st. The rules are the usual. Play the game and get points based on how you place. If you get one hundred event points before the end, you get to keep the special theme permanently. I’ll probably remind you later when the time comes.

Select New Releases
Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble ($49.99)

I feel like Super Monkey Ball wasn’t intentionally a great party game; it just kind of happened. Every Monkey Ball game since has tried to some degree or another to recreate the magic, and I don’t know that they’ve found much success in that. Well, here’s a new one that really leans into that end of things, with support for four players locally and sixteen players online. There’s a huge multiplayer focus this time, and I’ll let you know how that pans out when I post my review.

Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition ($19.99)

Wow, this came out faster than I was expecting. Anyway, Ubisoft is reminding everyone that it hasn’t completely forgotten Beyond Good & Evil. Sequel? What? It can’t hear you. But here is the original game, spiffed up and with some new quality of life features to bring it more in line with modern tastes. You know, things like auto-saving. If you haven’t played this game before, it’s kind of similar to a Zelda-style affair, but there’s a bit more to it than that. Just be warned that its story was very much written with a sequel in mind, and we haven’t seen much happening there for a long while. The game itself is worth a romp, no doubt.

Frogun Encore ($12.99)

Renata and Jake return in this follow-up to the low-poly platformer from a couple years back. This standalone adventure supports couch co-op for up to two players, and features a bunch of new stages to play through and plenty of challenge. There’s a particular flavor to Frogun, and I know some folks couldn’t get into it. I don’t know that this game will change their minds, but the people who did like the first will surely appreciate this one.

Sales
(North American eShop, US Prices)

A small but steady list today, it seems. Nothing in there I feel particularly strong about, so I’ll let you do your thing. The outbox is similar, with some good games in there that will probably be on sale again soon. Check out both lists carefully and see if anything in there is singing your tune, but do keep in mind that the week is young.

Select New Sales

Orten Was The Case ($11.24 from $14.99 until 7/1)

PlateUp! ($13.39 from $19.99 until 7/2)

Krimson ($7.99 from $9.99 until 7/4)

SUPERBEAT: XONIC ($14.99 from $29.99 until 7/4)

Terror of Hemasaurus ($8.20 from $14.99 until 7/8)

Super Blood Hockey ($3.69 from $14.99 until 7/8)

Cryptrio ($2.99 from $4.99 until 7/9)

Dungeons of Dreadrock ($1.99 from $10.00 until 7/15)

Move or Die: Unleashed ($3.74 from $14.99 until 7/15)

Ankora: Lost Days ($5.99 from $14.99 until 7/15)

Summer in Mara ($7.99 from $19.99 until 7/15)

Koa & the Five Pirates of Mara ($11.99 from $19.99 until 7/15)

LIMBO ($1.99 from $9.99 until 7/15)

INSIDE ($1.99 from $19.99 until 7/15)

Mortal Kombat 1 Premium Edition ($43.99 from $109.99 until 7/15)

Mortal Kombat 11 ($9.99 from $49.99 until 7/15)

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 ($5.99 from $29.99 until 7/15)

LEGO DC Super-Villains ($8.99 from $59.99 until 7/15)

Moonlighter ($3.74 from $24.99 until 7/15)

Children of Morta ($5.49 from $21.99 until 7/15)

Sales Ending Tomorrow, June 26th

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX ($2.99 from $19.99 until 6/26)

Aragami 2 ($9.99 from $39.99 until 6/26)

Close to the Sun ($4.99 from $24.99 until 6/26)

Dungeon of the Endless ($3.99 from $19.99 until 6/26)

Forest Golf Planner ($6.00 from $12.00 until 6/26)

Fresh Start ($7.99 from $19.99 until 6/26)

Monster Harvest ($2.99 from $19.99 until 6/26)

Morbid: The Seven Acolytes ($2.49 from $24.99 until 6/26)

Ponpu ($2.24 from $14.99 until 6/26)

Slaycation Paradise ($2.99 from $19.99 until 6/26)

Sparklite ($3.74 from $24.99 until 6/26)

Spells & Secrets ($14.99 from $29.99 until 6/26)

Spirit of the North ($3.74 from $24.99 until 6/26)

Stranded Sails EotCI ($3.74 from $24.99 until 6/26)

The Last Worker ($7.99 from $19.99 until 6/26)

The Sushi Spinnery ($4.62 from $14.00 until 6/26)

Tiny Troopers Joint Ops XL ($2.07 from $12.99 until 6/26)

Vaporum ($3.74 from $24.99 until 6/26)

Whisker Waters ($14.99 from $24.99 until 6/26)

That’s all for today, friends. We’ll be back tomorrow with more new releases, sales, and perhaps some news. I’ll also try to have at least one review for you, and I think our pal Mikhail has some things cooking as well. It was a family member’s birthday today, and it was nice to have something to celebrate for once. It’s been a rough year and I suspect it isn’t going to get better soon. Eat that cake when you can, chums. I hope you all have a terrific Tuesday, and as always, thanks for reading!