Review: Shujinkou (Switch) – Words Whup Sticks & Stones In This Innovative Dungeon Crawler

School is in session.

In all the world, few things are as powerful as language. We use it to communicate all our hopes and fears and inner thoughts to each other. Words have a power all their own, which is why Shujinkou struck me as such an interesting concept; a JRPG that aims to teach players the fundamentals of Japanese. While I applaud the ambition behind that lofty goal, the Switch port of Rice’s dungeon-crawling-focused RPG held some technical missteps that keep it from truly shining.

Like many JRPG fans who don’t speak Japanese, I’ve always had an ambition to learn. After two years of lessons, I could count myself as conversational; I was able to make my way around Japan on multiple trips without embarrassing myself, but couldn’t call myself anywhere near fluent. Shujinkou doesn’t seem like it is going to help anyone reach fluency — the lack of voice acting so you can hear the words and symbols you are learning prevents that — but the aim here is to hammer home the basics, and that is something the game does remarkably well.

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Switch 2 Bundles Get A Surprise Price Drop At Select French Retailers

Well that’s… unexpected.

Yes, you read that headline correctly, rather than pushing the prices up to match what we’ve seen everywhere else in the industry of late, select EU retailers appear to be cutting the cost of Switch 2 consoles and bundles (thanks for the heads up, My Nintendo News).

Amazon France was the first retailer brought to our attention to be implementing such a cut, with the Mario Kart World Switch 2 bundle and pre-orders for the Pokémon Legends: Z-A option now down to €469 (a 6% drop from the previous €499,99). Standard Switch 2 purchases are currently sold out on the online storefront, but French outlet Nintendo Town reports that it has seen the same discount and is now listed at €419.

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Trails In The Sky 1st Chapter Update Adding “Image Quality / Performance Settings” On Switch 2

A first-person perspective, too.

Following last month’s release, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is now getting updated to Version 1.05 on the Switch and Switch 2.

Perhaps, most notably, the Switch 2 update will add “image quality and performance settings”. Additionally, there is also a first-person perspective mode. Here’s the translation from the official Falcom website (via Gematsu):

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Switch 2 Launch Title Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster Updated (Version 1.0.2), Here Are The Patch Notes

Improvements, adjustments, bug fixes and more.

The Switch 2 had all sorts of third-party support at launch, and one of these titles happened to be the Square Enix role-playing game Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster.

This remaster comes loaded with not only the main adventure but also brand new minigames utilising the Joy-Con 2 mouse mode. Now, Square Enix has released the Version 1.0.2 update.

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Devolver’s Awesome New Skating Game Lands On Switch 2 This December

Seriously, this one looks cool.

Devolver Digital has confirmed that Skate Story will launch on the Switch 2 on 8th December 2025, and the latest trailer is looking seriously cool.

Created by solo dev Sam Eng, Skate Story is a psychedelic adventure in which you take on the form of a demon made of “glass and pain”. It’s your job to hone your skills and skate through nine layers of the Underworld to become a serious hardened skater.

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Japanese Charts: Sucker Punch Stops Mario Galaxy Soaring Too High

Fruit of the Luma.

The latest Japanese charts are in, courtesy of Famitsu, and it has been another big week for new releases.

Switch newbie Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 has got off to a reasonable start, shifting 48,265 copies in its first week and landing itself in second place. It’s quite the hop, skip and a jump away from Sucker Punch Productions’ latest, mind you, with Ghost of Yotei comfortably taking the top spot with 120,196 units under its debut belt.

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Bloober Team Is Revisiting ‘Layers Of Fear’ Again On The Switch 2

Final Masterpiece Edition is coming this year.

Bloober Team has announced that it is releasing a new version of Layers of Fear on the Nintendo Switch 2 later this year.

Dubbed Layers of Fear: Final Masterpiece Edition, the game was announced as part of the company’s latest financial report, in which it describes the release as “a complete edition of the iconic Layers of Fear series”.

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Random: The Super Mario Galaxy Games Are Full Of Secrets, And This One Is “Horribly Inefficient”

Full credit to whoever discovered it.

Yes, as we all know, Nintendo does like to hide fun little secrets and easter eggs within its adventures, especially when it comes to stuff like the Mario Galaxy games.

You know, things like the part of Buoy Base Galaxy that looks like a Poké Ball, or Captain Olimar’s S.S. Dolphin floating about in the Space Junk Galaxy. Yes, we love some clever little nods and winks.

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PSA: Pokémon Legends: Z-A eShop Preloads Go Live Ahead Of Launch

A patch has also supposedly been released.

Pokémon Legends: Z-A for Switch and Switch 2 launches next week on 16th October 2025, and ahead of this highly anticipated release, there’s been a few developments…

Firstly, if you’ve purchased a digital copy of the title from the eShop, the preload should now (or at least soon) be showing up on your system’s HOME Menu. As a reminder, the Switch version of this game can also be redeemed with a game voucher in select regions. And Nintendo will be offering a paid Switch 2 upgrade for the original release as well.

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