Squareboy Vs. Bullies: Arena Edition Review

Squareboy Vs. Bullies: Arena Edition

Release: December 7, 2017
Publisher: Ratalaika Games
Developer: Ratalaika Games
Genre: Action, Nintendo 3DS Reviews, Other
PEGI: E
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I reviewed Squareboy Vs. Bullies: Arena Edition on the Nintendo Switch. I thought the game was good but not a great game. Last week, Squareboy was brought to the Nintendo 3DS. Is the game better on the 3DS, not as good, or should you avoid the game altogether on this system?

Squareboy Vs. Bullies is not a horrible beat ’em up, but if you have a Nintendo Switch and a 3DS, you should buy this game on the Switch. The 3DS version is just not as good as its console counterpart.

The basic sidescrolling beat ’em up mode from the Switch is in the 3DS version. That experiance is basically the same. However, the multiplayer from the Switch version is gone and the Arena part of the game feels tacked on here.

Squareboy VS Bullies does use both the top and bottom screen of the 3DS, though the bottom screen is mostly useless. Your score and stye points are shown on the bottom. There is also touch screen controls for the menus. All of the game’s action takes place on the top screen and thats where your focus will be. Its a shame that Squareboy wasn’t given any better 3DS specific features.

Thankfully, Squareboy’s beat ’em up controls are just as good as they were on the Nintendo Switch. I have no complaints there. However, if you have to get this game and you have a Switch, you should get the game there. That said, the graphics on the 3DS version are pretty similar to what is on the Nintendo Switch version.

Squareboy VS. Bullies looks about the same as it did on the Nintendo Switch. The graphics, especially the backgrounds, are pretty detailed. The main character and all the enemies remain just as generic as they did on the Switch. I suppose its impressive that the game still looks this good on the 3DS, but just as I said with the Nintendo Switch version, I feel like this game could’ve looked better.

The soundtrack of this game is exactly what was on the Switch. Its not great but its not horrible either. Unfortunately, the audio does take a bit of a hit on the 3DS. Dialogue boxes have a strange and annoying static sound to them. The sound effects on this version don’t sound as good as they did on the Switch either.

Squareboy Vs. Bullies for the 3DS is not a bad game, but there are ton of other options for beat ’em ups out on this system. It makes it hard to recommend Squareboy for the 3DS.

If you have a Nintendo Switch, you can buy Squareboy Vs Bullies on that system and have a good time. On the 3DS, Squareboy is not a horrible game and if you are just dying for a new beat ’em up game, you could do worse. Of course, with with the 3DS’s huge library of games, you can also do a lot better than Squareboy Vs. Bullies too.y

Thanks to Ratalakia Games for providing a review copy of the game. Squareboy Vs. Bullies is currently available on the 3DS eShop!

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