Mighty Switch Force! Collection (NSW) Review

A mighty fine collection.

 The Mighty Switch Force! series has been sort of a hidden gem offerings from developer Wayforward, best known for their work on the Shantae series and other licensed games. Originally released back in 2011 for the 3DS, Mighty Switch Force! was a puzzle-platformer where you play as a cyborg cop as she tracks down a bunch of escaped convicts. The game was a modest success and spawned a few sequels years later on 3DS and Wii U, garnering little attention. Now, Wayforward brings us all MSF! games packed together in one single collection for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and Steam. Is this collection a great way to experience the overlooked series that almost nobody talks about and are they any fun? Let's find out. 

The collection includes four games: Mighty Switch Force!, Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition, Mighty Switch Force! 2, and Mighty Switch Force! Academy. 

 In the first game, you play as cyborg police officer Patricia Wagon as she tracks down escaped convicts known as the Hooligan Sisters and brings peace to Planet Land. In the game's 16 missions or "incidents", your goal is to catch the sisters while blasting enemies with your Pellet gun and solving platforming-related puzzles. The main mechanic of the game is that your Siren Helmet lets you alter each level's layout by "switching up" platforms and unlock new passage ways. It's a simple enough mechanic that's easy to understand but gets progressively tricky the more you progress through the game's levels. Aside from that, you can also aim for the fastest time by beating each level's par time, thus offering some replay value. Other than that, there's not much else here.

The games are simple and fun, while also
packing a challenge.

 Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition is basically the first game remade in HD. All of the original's mechanics and levels are unchanged. The new visuals are pretty neat with the game adding five new bonus stages-- It's definitely my favorite game in the series.

Switch stuff up!

 The sequel, Mighty Switch Force! 2 has Patty working as a firefighter this time around as she rescues the citizens of Tangent Land from fires with the surprising help of the Hooligan Sisters. Keeping with the main mechanic of the series, you'll be using the Siren Helmet again to manipulate the level's layouts to extinguish flames and rescue citizens in each incident. The game's quite possibly the more challenging one in the series with the last couple of levels being especially tricky. The game features a total of 16 levels with the extra goal of beating the par time.

Put out fires and rescue victims in the series'
more tricky entry.

 Mighty Switch Force! Academy is a multi-player spin-off game where you and three other players are either playing through the levels together or battling it out in versus mode. It reuses aspects from previous game while introducing new, giant levels that accompanies up to four players so expect things getting hectic. I didn't enjoy Academy as it was a mess as a single player experience with the entire layouts being mind boggling and confusing. The real fun lies in multiplayer, as it should offer some enjoyment if you're inviting friends over. It's my least favorite of the bunch.

Four times the chaos.

 The presentation is top-notch across all four games. The sprite-based visuals of the first two games hold up well but the new redrawn models in Hyper Drive and Academy look much more in line with the art-style in my opinion. Speaking of that, the games are pretty charming mainly due to their cartoony visuals with character designs of Corporal Gendarmor and Ugly Twitching Dog (yeah, that's the official name) being unique and fitting with the games' serious but silly tone. 

 There's even some fan-service moments for those who are into that too. The backgrounds are detailed and the enemy design are decent as well. The voice acting is good, with Patty's iconic lines being memorable. I enjoyed soundtrack by Shovel Knight composer Jake Kaufman is also a highlight as the games are packed with some upbeat and catchy tracks. My favorites are from the first game with tracks like the level select theme, "Caught Red Handed", "Love You Love You Love", and the second game's ending theme.

The presentation is just plain fantastic.

 All in all, Mighty Switch Force! Collection is a must-play if you're into puzzle-platformers with an added charm to them. It's also a great way for those who missed out on the series to jump in and play all games on current systems. The games hold up well with the simple but fun gameplay and the presentation being awesome. It's a little bare-bones when it comes to extra content, but considering the $20 price point for four games, it's a solid deal for a short but fun time.