Welcome to our review of Mighty Switch Force Collection, a collection of puzzle platformers that might impress you!
Four great puzzle-platformers in the same place, at the same time…for the first time ever!
Switch up the fun with four games in one! As cybernetic peacekeeper Officer Patricia Wagon, you’ll use your platforming skills, puzzle-solving abilities, and special level-altering Siren Helmet to protect the people of Planet Land and smash enemies into the screen!
In Mighty Switch Force! and its HD remake, Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition, you’ll zap foes while “switching” blocks from the foreground to the background (and vice versa) as you track down the delinquent Hooligan Sisters in each stage. Then, in Mighty Switch Force! 2, Officer Wagon trades in her Pellet Gun for a fire hose as she extinguishes a dangerous blaze and rescues would-be victims.
Finally, in Mighty Switch Force! Academy, you’ll put the trainees through their paces in expansive HD stages with co-op and versus modes for up to four players. The future of lighthearted law enforcement is here!
As Mighty Switch Force is a collection, it is important to look at its origin and its current-day appeal. I will admit straight from the start that I enjoyed this game very much as it magically combines two of my favorite genres, platforming, and puzzle games and it does so very well.
Originally a 3DS game, the original Mighty Switch Force game was first released in 2011 and was quite well received with a more than decent 8 score on Metacritic. It is a game where you are basically fighting crime and monsters alike and the platforming element takes center stage with some mild puzzle action intertwined into its gameplay. The game is presented in a typical 3DS graphics and it actually looks quite nice too.
Its sequel had its main focus on mostly puzzle platforming and it provided some more than fun yet harder puzzle aspects where timing meant everything. Also, the use of the water hose took me a little while to get used to. I often either shot too far or not far enough, but just often enough missing the sweet spot in between. Wanting to keep my distance from certain enemies, this provided some initial irritations but nothing that lasted or even bothered me too much.
In the second game of Mighty Switch Force, it became very clear that the puzzle aspect took more of a center stage approach and quite frankly, it was damn awesome. I will give an example from the second level here. Just a tiny little preview.
The main idea behind Mighty Switch Force is that you flip parts of the screen, activating blocks and disabling them. This is the main premise behind the platforming aspect and yes, timing is everything here. Now imagine that you got cannons that are activated like this too. Sounds fun right? But now add the fireball enemy that explodes when it hits a wall or ceiling.
To get it from one side of the screen to the other, you first need to extinguish its flame, shoot it up to the next floor, wait for its flame to reactivate over time, extinguish it again so you can make it go up one floor. Please do reread the last part if it sounded confusing, because I know it sounds exactly that. In itself, it is actually quite easy, but the timing behind it all does take some getting used to. I hit this combo in my seventh attempt. I was actually very proud that it only took me a handful of attempts to do this.
In the next part of the level, I had to time the cannons one after the other after yet another. I will not say how many times I messed this up as I do not want to lose any credibility I may have as a reviewer. It was all about timing and when I finally hit it, it felt so damn nice. Not once did it feel impossible, just felt hard. Mighty Switch Force does a great job here in the overall feeling that you just feel the need to finish the level.
Mighty Switch Force Collection only costs 20 euros for 4 well made games. If you love the tougher kind of platforming action, this might actually be a great fit for you. Not that it is punishingly hard, not at all. I compare platformers to the royalty of platforming, namely Mario, and it is slightly harder.
In conclusion, the sole downside to Mighty Switch Force Collection is actually that some games are rather short and despite some challenging parts, most games can be finished rather easily when you persevere. You are looking at just a few hours per title really. I think I finished the first one within 4 hours and the second within 3. But at the same time, the fun I had and the low price point make this a collection that should be owned or at least considered for purchase. The score might seem high, but trust me, it is loads of fun!
