Switch it up!


First came Mighty Flip Champs, then came Mighty Milky Way, now it’s time for Mighty Switch Force, while all of these games are part of the mighty series, they all have nothing in common, except for being great and original puzzle games with strict time limits, starring very attractive female leads and non- human characters (which I think are all male). But unlike the other two, this entry in the series was developed on the 3DS instead of the DS, meaning this is the biggest Mighty game yet (and this game takes 1,800 blocks, so it’s a very big download for those using smaller GB SD cards).

Story:
The game begins showing a police car crashing, with Officer Patricia Wagon on the scene, but then, the Hooligan Sister suddenly all escape from the police car, with one of them breaking a testtube with some chemical that makes monsters appear from it, now Patricia must chase after the Hooligans Sisters and bring them to justice. All of this is explained once you press start from the first time, but it only shows you this once, you can’t replay it ever again, unless you delete your save file.

Gameplay:
Mighty Switch Force is a blend of an action platfromer with some puzzle elements in it. The goal of the game is to find and track down all five of the Hooligan sisters in each level; the sisters all go run and hide somewhere, and on the touch screen, it shows you how much of the sisters you caught and also where the closest one from your location is, but once Patricia comes close to them, they don’t seem to run away for some reason, this is what they were trying to do in the cut scene, but don’t do it now for some reason. But while the sisters are doing nothing to defend themselves, the monsters that came out of the chemicals are the things Patricia should be looking out for, but luckily, Patricia came equipped with her gun, which you use to blast away at the enemies, but only if they are in front of you, since Patricia can’t shoot upwards or diagonally. Once Patricia collects all of the sisters, then she’ll have to run to Corporal Gendarmor and the stage will then be completed. Now the main you’ll be doing in this game is switching many types of blocks, there’s the basic blocks that you can switch from the foreground to the background, which can help you reach places and defeat enemies, then there’s the red and blue lock blocks, if you are standing on one of these blocks, it’ll stay in the foreground rather than switching to the background. Lastly, there’s the warp blocks, which will send you flying into the air, and if you switch while passing through a warp block, then you’ll go in the direction of that block, indicated by a yellow arrow.

Controls:
The controls in the game are very responsive and work very well, especially if you are switching and jumping, while shooting at the enemies. You can control Patricia with the circle pad or the d-pad; it’s nice to have both control schemes for those who prefer one over the other. The B button makes Patricia jump; she jumps the same height, no matter if you hold in the button in or not that long. When you press and hold the X button, you can scout the area around you, not around the whole stage, but near Patricia’s location. Most of the other buttons can be used to switch the blocks, that’s also good for those who prefer one button over the other. There’s no way to change the controls, but the layout is already perfect, so there’s really no need to.

Levels:
When the game was first released, there were only 16 levels (or in this case, incidents is what they are called), with the first 15 being normal levels, level 16, you cannot control the switching, as it happens automatically, then at the end of the stage, there’s a boss you have you have to fight, after that, it’s the credits. While this may seem short, paring the levels might be a challenge. Months later, 5 bonus levels where added in, totaling the level count to 21.

Graphics:
Wayforward have always shown to have great talent when making sprite based games, and this game is another great example of that. Patricia herself animates smoothly, especially when she’s just running, also the Hooligan Sisters and enemies animate pretty well. The backgrounds are all detailed and look great, even when the 3D is turned on, it makes everything look even better, and it adds a great depth to the game.

Sound:
The music in this game is amazing and upbeat, it’s mostly all techno, which goes well with the games setting, even the title screen uses the same music from the previous Mighty games title screens, reminding you that this game is still a part of a series, despite being completely original and different from the others. Patricia is the only one who speaks in the game, saying a bunch of things when she starts the stage or respawns after falling in spikes or crushing herself in a block.

Difficulty:
The game doesn't have a difficulty setting anywhere, but some of the stages can be tricky to complete, especially if you are trying to par all the times, but later on, you’ll unlock the mighty buster, which will easily break through blocks that normally only the bomb enemies can break, or that spiked enemy which can only be defeated by crushing, this enemy also unlocks doors, this gun will make the game much easier than using the standard gun.

Replayability:
The game can be completed in less than an hour, but the real reason you’ll replay the levels is to par the times on each stage, but once you unlock the mighty gun, it’ll make everything easier, so you will eventually par those times. While this game may seem short, it’s still a lot of fun and you’ll be playing the same levels over once in a while, to try and beat your times, even though you pared all the times already.

Overall:
Mighty Switch Force is another mighty addition to the Mighty series, while it may be shorter than the other Mighty games, it’s still fun, with its impressive soundtrack, great visuals and spot on controls, you’ll return to catch the Hooligan Sisters when they escape from jail
8/10