Game review: RIKI 8Bit Game Collection (Switch)
Video games nowadays have a variety of different prices depending on the amount of content and quality that has been put behind them. For example, a game like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth deserves its $130 NZD price tag because it's a AAA experience offering over 100 hours of gameplay.
Other times, there are shorter experiences, and gamers are still forced to pay full price for a game. Concord, for example, felt like a rip-off because it was an online-only multiplayer game that cost $70 NZD. Concord wasn't worth the money since its competitors, like Overwatch 2 and Marvel Rivals, are free-to-play.
The only reason I'm talking about price is because I'm reviewing a game called RIKI 8Bit Game Collection for the Nintendo Switch. Normally when you get a game collection, you expect to have a wide variety of titles to play. Well, this collection only has two real games and three music albums instead for the price of $33 NZD.
The price seems a bit expensive because one of the games I played was really short and could be completed in a couple of minutes. The first game in the collection is called Kira Kira Star Night, where you play as a little pink-haired girl, and you have to guide her in collecting stars.
In the first level you only have to collect 80 stars, but this increases to 220 stars when you get to level nine. The challenge of the game is that you have to collect all of the required number of stars before the time runs out. The only command you can give the little girl is for her to jump.
To make the game a bit more interesting, the little girl can jump on the edges of the screen to catch any lingering stars that want to evade her. There's not much else to say about the game, though, because it's pretty easy and very straightforward.
The other game in the collection is a little more engaging, and it's called Astro Ninja Man DX. Here in this game, you are some sort of space ninja that has to shoot and kill lots of alien projectiles that are loitering all over the screen. You can only move side to side, but the ninja automatically shoots, so it's not tiring on your fingers.
The ninja man has a special move called a Ninja Sword that he can shoot out to kill the alien projectiles more effectively. The cooldown meter replenishes the sword very fast so you can use it as many times as you want.
If you shoot and collect the floating astronauts that appear on the screen, clones of the ninja man help him shoot more bullets and give the player more lives. Up to four clones can be collected to better the ninja man's chances of survival. If any of the clones get hit, they will die, and your group's numbers will dwindle if you are not careful.
Astro Ninja Man DX is fast and furious because you need to make sure not to get hit by any projectiles too often, or else it is game over. Not to mention, each level ends in a challenging boss battle, and these can be tough to overcome as well.
To make the game slightly easier, players do have the option to quick save at any time they want. To save players from starting the game all over again, they can to quick save just before a boss fight. When I died, I loaded the game again to try the boss again and alter my strategy.
The other three "games" in this collection are just 8-bit musical albums. The albums are called 8bit Music Power, 8bit Music Power Final, and 8bit Music Power Encore. Many of the songs in this collection have been composed by artists working on games such as Streets of Rage, Mega Man, Ape Escape, and many more!
Even though I enjoyed some of the songs in the album, I would have liked it if the game added more than just two proper games. This collection would have been better, in my opinion, if there were at least five games and three albums included instead.
While the RIKI 8Bit Game Collection isn't bad by any means, this collection would have been a bigger improvement if more games were included. If you have any interest in this game, it might be worth waiting for a sale before you decide to pick it up.
Verdict: 7.0/10
