As a seasoned gamer with years of experience under my belt, I must say the announcement of Utawarerumono Trilogy coming to Nintendo Switch was nothing short of unexpected but delightful. Having played this series on various platforms in the past, from Vita to PC, I can’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia mixed with anticipation for these upcoming ports.
One intriguing revelation at Tokyo Game Show was Aquaplus disclosing their intention to adapt the entire Utawarerumono Trilogy for Nintendo Switch. This news took on an air of mystery when the games, scheduled for release in Japan on January 30, 2025, were playable at the booth shared by Happinet on the very same day they were announced. Among the cosplayers present – Saraana, Uruuru, and Munechika – we got an early hands-on with what Japanese gamers, and potentially Western fans, will encounter in a matter of months.
Initially, I wasn’t overly optimistic about these ports. When we tried out Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen on a Nintendo Switch that was connected, all the problems I pointed out with previous versions of the trilogy’s ports persisted. The frame rate is capped at 30 FPS, and it appears to run at a resolution similar to 720p, just like the issues I criticized in the PC version years ago.
In a nutshell, these game versions are primarily designed for handheld use. Since the PC ports of the trilogy can run on various types of hardware, they were already suitable suggestions for the Steam Deck. However, showcasing these ports while docked might not have been the optimal choice; even though they’re not significantly different from the PlayStation 4 and PC releases, this is without the use of mods.
In essence, if I were to play the series now, I would likely take these versions into account as I did initially play the trilogy on Vita, which had a resolution similar to 240p outside of VN scenes; and although I adore my Steam Deck, I usually prefer reading Visual Novels in bed, making a Nintendo Switch Lite more suitable.
To put it simply, there isn’t much more to add. The ports are well-executed and live up to expectations as best they could. Admittedly, I would like Aquaplus to enhance the resolution slightly for the docked mode, but it seems unlikely at this stage. However, even with this technical compromise, it appears less noticeable on the Nintendo Switch, especially if the resolution remains sharp in handheld mode. And while we only reviewed Prelude to the Fallen, given that all three games share the same technical specifications across platforms, we don’t anticipate significant differences among them.
I don’t have any information about when western gamers might get a chance to play these games. It seems that NIS America learned about these potential releases during a meeting we had outside the show last week, but it remains unclear if they will work on localizing them. If they do, it’s likely we won’t find out until closer to the release dates of the games in Japan, as negotiations and other processes will undoubtedly take time.
Regardless of the situation – it’s good to see Aquaplus porting their games to Nintendo hardware, even if it might feel like this has been a long time coming. Hopefully this can only mean good tidings for Aquaplus, and Utawarerumono, in the near future. Of course, we’ll have to wait to find out; Utawarerumono Trilogy launches on January 30, 2025 in Japan. Digital and separate retail releases of each individual game will release later on March 27, 2025.
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2024-09-30 11:25