Sonic Mania Plus

ESRB: E
Price: $19.99
Get it on: Amazon (physical), eShop (digital)

A return to Sonic and friends' '90s form, Sonic Mania Plus goes above and beyond to recapture the wonder of the series' classic 2D roots. Sonic Mania, and by extension its further enhanced Plus version, is the best Sonic title to come out in decades and should be on any "best of" list. 

The game features both new stages and remixed stages from the classics, with the Plus version offering brand new characters and a further remixed Encore mode. Read more about it in our review, in which it got a perfect store. 

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Katamari Damacy REROLL

ESRB Rating: E
Price: $19.99 - $29.99
Get it on: Amazon (physical), eShop (digital)

This one, and the next slide, are bonuses that really should be in any library because they're that good. (We didn't include well-regarded staples in these bonus slides like Breath of the Wild because, well, we all know they're fantastic.)

Released in 2018, Katamari Damacy REROLL is a remaster of one of gaming's strangest legacies. It's notoriously bizarre and relaxing in equal measure, and it just so happens to make good use of the Switch's Joy-Cons. It's hard to even think of anything bad to say about this game.

Roll your way to victory, and into the King of All Cosmos' palm, to some seriously infectious music. 

FUSER

ESRB: T
Price: $59.99
Get it on: Nintendo eShop

If neither Melody of Memory nor NSR suit your fancy, perhaps a more "traditional" rhythm party game will. Enter FUSER from music-game legends Harmonix. 

Play as a DJ either playing popular songs or remixing them into your own special brew. The catalog includes 100 songs at launch from artists like A Tribe Called Quest, Billie Eilish, The Weeknd, Panic! At The Disco, Childish Gambino, and many more. 

Check out our review of FUSER to find out more, and why we said it's a "necessary" game in 2020 because of its unique multiplayer, co op play. 

No Straight Roads

ESRB Rating: E
Price: $39.99
Get it on: Amazon (physical), eShop (digital)

An action game with music in its veins, No Straight Roads sets you on a journey to topple EDM from the top of the charts and bring rock roaring back. Though that's not such an easy task with the denizens of Vinyl City after you.

Our review notes that No Straight Roads is endearing and rhythmically satisfying, with the game's stages built to fit its soundtrack. If Melody of Memory isn't quite your cup of tea, No Straight Roads is well worth checking out. 

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory

ESRB Rating: E
Price: $59.99
Get it on: Amazon (physical), eShop (digital)

The Kingdom Hearts series has plenty of fantastic music, so why not make make a rhythm game out of it?

With that question in mind, that's exactly what Square Enix did with Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, an absolute treat for fans of the Disney-Final Fantasy hybrid. Featuring 143 songs, "almost every entry in the franchise" is covered here. 

We gave Melody of Memory a solid 8 for its "celebration of the wider series, solid rhythm mechanics, and excellent soundtrack." All said, Melody of Memory is well worth the price of admission, especially for fans of both the series and the genre.

Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions

ESRB Rating: E
Price: $59.99
Get it on: Amazon (physical), eShop (digital)

Soccer doesn't always have to be realistic, as proven in the Captain Tsubasa manga and games series. It just so happens that Rise of New Champions has two in-depth story modes and affords players the ability to create their own characters. It's more arcade-style than, say, FIFA 20, and a whole lot flashier.

Learn more about Rise of New Champions in our review, where we said it "is legitimately the best arcade sports title to come out since Rocket League."

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

ESRB: T
Price: $59.99
Buy it on: Amazon (physical), eShop (digital)

Sometimes a little hack n' slack musou action goes a long way, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity has plenty of it. A prequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, this game explores Hyrule 100 years before that game. 

Featuring 18 playable characters and plenty of main and side-mission content, Age of Calamity makes the most of its world, setting, and combat systems. 

We praised the game in our review, saying it is an "expansive take on Breath of the Wild's Hyrule and its people," and that is has "engaging combat [with] lots of character and playstyle variety." It's worth checking out. 

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin

ESRB Rating: T
Price: $39.99
Get it on: Amazon (physical), eShop (digital)

An action-platformer, farming hybrid, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is surprisingly robust for something that appears so simple. Despite that, Sakuna is a deceptively deep game with realistic farming mechanics, so much so that a guide to growing real rice on the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery website is applicable to the game!

You can read more about Sakuna and its intricacies in our review, in which it netted a perfect 10 for a "solid plot, with touching character stories, unexpected twists, and a fun riff on mythology," as well as an "incredibly detailed and rewarding farm system."

Paper Mario: The Origami King

ESRB: E
Price: $59.99
Get it on: Amazon (physical), eShop (digital)

Paper Mario: The Origami King is the latest entry in the popular Paper Mario series, and it may be one of the best. Featuring a fantastic world and fun mechanics, this is a game that Switch owners can't afford to miss out on, even if it's a bit light on more traditional RPG systems. 

In our review, we said that "despite a combat system that gets old quickly, Paper Mario: The Origami King's writing, puzzles, and worldbuilding make it the best entry since The Thousand-Year Door.

Super Mario 3D All-Stars

ESRB Rating: E
Price: $59.99
Get it on: Amazon (physical), eShop (digital)

Three of Mario's most iconic 3D adventures are bundled in this one release. Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64), Super Mario Sunshine (Gamecube), and Super Mario Galaxy (Wii). With their powers combined, they are one of the best buys on the Nintendo Switch.

But it's only available until March 31, 2021! Nintendo will be pulling the limited-time release from shelves and storefronts then.

None of these games have changed much from their original versions in this release; some of the more persnickety issues exist, but they also come alongside the same charm that's made these games timeless. Read more about them in our review. 

Hades

ESRB Rating: T
Price: $24.99
Get it on: Nintendo eShop

One of the biggest action roguelikes to hit PC in years, Hades offers fans of the genre an endlessly perilous journey, as well as a wealth of modifiers and game modes for dedicated players to tinker and struggle with. Now, it's on the Nintendo Switch.

If you or someone you know enjoys the roguelike genre, Hades is essentially a must-play. It didn't win Indie Game of the Year at this year's Golden Joystick Awards for nothing. 

Read more about this visually stunning and engrossing roguelite in our review, which granted Hades a perfect 10 for "top-quality story, gameplay, music, and art direction; hours and hours of excitement and adrenaline; and plenty of humor and snark to keep you laughing."

Ys Origin

ESRB Rating: T
Price: $19.99
Get it on: Amazon (physical), eShop (digital)

A story-driven action RPG, Ys Origin offers a narrative split between three characters and a whole lot of adventure. Fighting your way through the Darm Tower, and solving puzzles along the way, makes for one of the best experiences on the Nintendo Switch to date, even if it is a re-release of a 2006 title that's found its way to the PC, PS4, Vita, and Xbox One over the years.

You can read more about this fluid action RPG in our review.

Disgaea 4 Complete+

ESRB: T
Price: $49.99
Get it on: Amazon (physical), eShop (digital)

One of the most robust entries in the long-running strategy game series yet, Disgaea 4 Complete+ adds additional scenarios, higher-level spells, new features taken from Disgaea 5, and even a map editor to Disgaea 4. Of course, this all comes on top of hundreds of hours of gameplay if you get into the sweet grinding groove.

You can read more about this strategy gaming feast in our review, where we said "Disgaea 4 Complete+ is the definitive version of the game, with upgrades galore, tons of content to get lost in, and one of the strongest casts in the series."

Pikmin 3 Deluxe

ESRB Rating: E
Price: $59.99
Get it on: Amazon (physical), eShop (digital)

As part of one of the cutest real-time strategy series around, Pikmin 3 Deluxe has players grow, assemble, and order hordes of cute little Pikmin across a strange world, all in an effort to get back to your ship and make your way home. It takes some creative thinking to push your little Pikmin to victory, but it's immensely rewarding when you do so.

Pikmin 3 Deluxe offers both single-player and multiplayer co-op for its campaign and other modes, making it the perfect addition to your library if you're looking for something cute, fun, quirky, and playable with friends. 

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

ESRB: E
Price: $59.99
Get it on: Amazon (physical), eShop (digital)

No list of essential Nintendo Switch games would be complete without one of 2020's most-defining and culturally-important games. Of course, we're talking about Animal Crossing: New Horizons. When friends and family couldn't meet in person because of a global pandemic, AC:NH was there to bring us all together.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has an addicting, seemingly endless to-do list that keeps players coming back day after day, month after month. Exploration, crafting, decorating your little island house — there's so much to do. The game has even steadily added unique content and events since its release in March. 

Read our review for more on Animal Crossing: New Horizons, where we said "New Horizons is bursting with personality and charm, with opportunities to create something new and completely you."

The Nintendo Switch library just keeps growing and giving, with each year bringing more stellar games to the handheld-console hybrid. Years past have given fans the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Maker 2, Pokemon Sword and Shield, and other fantastic third-party titles such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

2020 has kept up that trend. 

Some of the best games on the console yet have released this year, from platformers and action titles to JRPGs and roguelites. In this list, we've included some of the most essential games and best buys in the 2020 Nintendo switch library, all in the spirit of keeping you warm and toasty this holiday season. 

The Puppy Paw Stick is one of Disgaea 4’s more elusive items. Obtaining the special axe means doing some serious party leveling and digging deep into the Item World. Even then, parts of the process are completely random.

Involved as it may be, the PPS is worth getting because it boosts an axe-proficient character’s chance of stealing items by up to 20%. 

Disgaea 4: How to Get the Puppy Paw Stick — The Nekomata Path

There are two potential ways to obtain the Puppy Paw Stick, but both are lengthy processes in their own way.

The most common way is capturing a Nekomata, “disciplining” it until it coughs up a new treasure location, and hoping the RNG gods favor you with a Puppy Paw Stick.

This method has several steps, though.

Finding Nekomata in Disgaea 4

The Nekomata you capture has to be at least level 1,000, and you need that tier of Felynn unlocked in your character creation. 

Nekomata appear on two stages. The first is 5-2, where there’s more than one. They’re not going to be anywhere near level 1,000 on their own, though.

You’ll need to get the Senate to pass Stronger Enemy Bills to boost their levels. If you’re struggling with that, remember you can throw enemies into each other, and the one you throw at gets their level raised.

Or you can use the Cheat Shop to set enemy levels higher (four stars) the fast way.

The other stage you can find a Nekomata in is the first stage in the X-Dimension: X-1.

Accessing the X-Dimension is something of a process in itself. You’ll need to buy an X-Dimension Promotionhell Ticket from the Scalper in the Item World’s Mystery Gates. These have more chances of appearing on Item World floors ending in 1, so you can save and re-load if one doesn’t appear.

However, the Scalper, a wolf monster/Cu Saith, appears randomly. Some players report success by choosing the Item Boost path, a few with the Treasure Boost, and still more with the Innocent Boost path.

The takeaway here is that there’s probably no way to influence the Scalper’s appearance, but Item Boost is as good a path as any.

Capturing Nekomata in Disgaea 4

Valvatorez should be the same level as the Nekomata, and you’ll need a few other high-level characters to pull off the capture as well.

If you haven’t unlocked it already, get the Discipline Room for the Cam-Pain HQ by throwing three enemies and getting the Senate to pass the bill for the room. Then, pick your strong squad to place on the Evil Symbol where the Discipline Room is.

Once everything’s in place, encounter your Nekomata of choice, and throw it into the base panel. If your Evil Symbol team is strong enough, you’ll capture the Nekomata. If not, it destroys your base panel on that stage.

"Disciplining" The Nekomata

Once that’s done, finish the stage and save. Then head to the Discipline Room, and start working on the Nekomata.

Choose discipline actions until the option to ask about treasure comes up. Valvatorez has the best luck with the massage chair method, and it shouldn’t take more than one or two tries.

Force the location of secret treasure out of the Nekomata and then head to that go and find it. Whether it’ll be the Puppy Paw Stick is random, but you can approach it two ways.

If you want to keep re-rolling, save before interrogating the Nekomata. If you’re fine just snagging loot, keep on repeating this process until you get what you want. The items don’t duplicate, so you’ll get the PPS eventually.

Disgaea 4: How to Get the Puppy Paw Stick — The Level Sphere Path

The less involved, but still lengthy, way to get a Puppy Paw Stick is by collecting Level Spheres. If you’ve collected at least 150 level spheres, you can trade with the Sphere Collector in the Item World for a Puppy Paw Stick. 

Gathering that many Level Spheres means a lot of time spent in various Item Worlds, where you must grab the spheres and take them through to the next stage before enemies destroy them.

But there is a bright side. Apart from leveling up your gear through the Item World grinding, the Puppy Paw Stick the Sphere Collector gives you is Legendary, so its stats are higher than the usual one.

It's also worth noting the Puppy Paw Sticks you'll find by getting secret treasure locations off Nekomata are much less likely to be Legendary, though it could still happen.

That's all you need to know about how to get the Puppy Paw Stick in Disgaea 4. Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Disgaea 4 guides in the coming days, and be sure to check out our review of Disgaea 4 Complete+ for PC if you haven't already.

Disgaea 4 Complete+ brought the vampire lord Valvatorez's Netherworld uprising to consoles in 2019 with a slew of modern upgrades. Now it’s available on Steam, Windows 10, and Game Pass for PC, bringing the same package stuffed with content to a broader audience. 

While there aren’t many differences between the console and PC versions — it’s more of the same Disgaea at the end of the day — Disgaea 4 Complete+ is one of the best entries in the series. Add the value of Game Pass to it, and you’ve got a must-have tactical RPG.

Disgaea 4 Complete+ PC Review: My Kingdom for a Sardine

Serious games abound, and spending time with the delusional Valvatorez on his way to take over the Netherworld is a refreshing change of pace.

Disgaea 4 starts in the Netherworld, like always. But this time, you’re in the lowest section of all: Hades. Part Nether prison with wardens watching the inmates' (mostly Prinnies) every move, part training school for newly acclimated Prinnies, this is where the protagonist Valvatorez finds himself. 

Valvatorez (voiced by Troy Baker) used to be a mighty tyrant, a vampire feared by all for his malice and cruelty. Now he teaches Prinnies how to say “dood” as chief Prinny Instructor, and he gave up blood in favor of sardines.

He’s happy about it, or at least he tells himself he is, prompting his pseudo-loyal servant Fenrich to take matters into his own werewolf hands.

Things quickly take a turn for the worse as the Netherworld’s Corrupternment Prinny-naps Valvatorez’s charges and sets the tamed vampire on a quest to fulfill his promise to grant them a snack of sardines while running for government at the same time. 

There’s more to the story than that, including some unexpectedly poignant commentary about how people treat each other. But it’s the gist of Disgaea 4 and sets the stage for what to expect as Valvatorez’s story unfolds. 

While the dramatic points from the opening video make an appearance, Disgaea 4 is more concerned with being lighthearted and increasingly zany, with one of the stronger casts in the series.

Serious games abound, and spending time with the delusional Valvatorez on his way to take over the Netherworld is a refreshing change of pace. It helps that Disgaea 4 does a better job than its numerical neighbors in terms of humor. There’s more of it here than in Disgaea 5, and it doesn’t try to be too satirical like Disgaea 3.

Most of your time is spent on the battlefield, though. If you’ve played any Disgaea game, you’ll know the basics of how this works and how fast you fall can down the rabbit hole.

If you’re ready to level up further, you can reincarnate your party members, rerolling for better skills while resetting their level to 1 to balance the challenge. 

Teams of up to 10 characters take the field and face enemies. The battlefield in Disgaea is more of a puzzle. Unit placement holds more significance than in most tactics games thanks to team attacks and damage combo bonuses, and foes take advantage of the same features without hesitation.

Geo panels add another level of strategy to the mix. These blocks affect segments of the battlefield matching their color — offering a defense bonus or extra experience, for example. Destroying them might lose the benefit for your team, but it boosts the bonus gauge and means better rewards at the end of a mission. 

It’s par for the course for Disgaea, but D4’s map design seems more challenging from the start, which pushes you to make better use of the game’s many supporting systems.

These all revolve around the Cam-Pain headquarters. Aside from the usual shops and such, there’s the Item World, a series of random stages suitable for level grinding and boosting equipment power. You can also spend mana points earned in battle to augment character abilities, learn new skills, or pressure the Senate into giving you what you want. 

If you’re ready to level up further, you can reincarnate your party members, rerolling for better skills while resetting their level to 1 to balance the challenge. 

Disgaea 4 adds even more to the usual formula by tweaking Disgaea 3’s classroom system. Valvatorez conquers new land areas on the map as the game progresses. You can choose which party members to manage each territory to create a network of positive effects in battle and divide them into “Evil Symbols” to access even more stat and Evility (ability) bonuses.

The last big difference between D4 and others in the series is the Pirate Editor. Once you’ve encountered pirates in the Item World, you can create your own pirate ship using parts earned through defeating pirates or found as Treasure. Then you can plunder the Item World for higher-level gear and Innocents (the things that live inside your items). The better your ship, the better quality gear you’ll find.

You can also invade other players’ games with your pirate ship, though online features aren’t live at the time of writing.

Even better is that Disgaea 4 Complete+ includes the additional plot scenarios that were once DLC-only.

That’s just one of the many improvements packed in under the “Complete+” part of the title. It boasts enhanced resolutions, tweaks that make the battle system easier to work with, and features from Disgaea 5 like the Cheat Shop, autosave, and more options for bribing senators.

Unlike Disgaea 5 Complete, the range of DLC included in this package is a bit smaller. Extra bonuses like item packs and HL rewards are still available but as paid DLC. It’s not a huge deal, but it’s also not 100% complete in that regard.

Disgaea 4 Complete+ is more for the fan who hasn’t played the series in a while or started with the complete version of the original.

There’s so much else to do outside the main story, you could easily spend dozens of hours not even touching the main campaign. Or you could completely ignore the other features, keep up with gear, grind a bit, and still enjoy the game. That flexibility is one of the things that makes Disgaea unique, and Disgaea 4 Complete+’s additions only make it better.

As for PC version differences, D4 Complete comes with a few extra whistles. There are a few graphics options, though it’s not the kind of game that needs them. You can adjust the resolution and rebind the keys if you aren’t playing with a controller, and keyboard or mouse controls work just as well as a traditional controller.

If you’ve recently played Disgaea 5, all this might not be enough to warrant a Disgaea 4 Complete+ playthrough. The extra content and quality of life changes are welcome. But at its core, D4 Complete is more Disgaea. The tweaks and improvements bring it up to par with D5, and even though there’s more variety in activities and more challenging maps, it’s easy to get burned out with the series.

Disgaea 4 Complete+ is more for the fan who hasn’t played the series in a while or started with the complete version of the original. It’s a big step forward from that one in gameplay variety.

That said, if you’re a Game Pass subscriber, D4 Complete+ is a no-brainer: at least 40 hours of top-notch strategy gaming at no extra cost.

Disgaea 4 Complete+ PC Review — The Bottom Line

Pros

• Heaps of deep strategy gameplay
  
• Strongest (and quirkiest) cast in the series
• So many systems to get lost in
• All the extras and improvements from previous Disgaea 4 releases

Cons

• Ultimately more of the same Disgaea formula
• Not 100% complete since some smaller add-ons still need to be purchased

Disgaea 4 Complete+ is one of the stronger entries in the series, with its outlandish cast and relevant, if loose, story. Plus, the Complete package includes so many extra positive tweaks, making Disgaea 4 the most up-to-date and accessible it's ever been.

It might be the same Disgaea at its core, but criticizing its "more of the same" approach is problematic when that approach works so well, to begin with, dood.

[Note: NIS America provided the copy of Disgaea 4 Complete+ for PC used for this review.]

Disgaea 4 Complete+ is heading to PC in fall 2020, and NIS America spoke a bit about what to expect from Valvatorez's expanded adventure during a recent press event.

Disgaea 4 Complete+ takes everything from the original Disgaea 4, including all DLC and extra characters, and bundles it into a single package.

The "+" part is for additional gameplay refinements and some brand-new features.

Chief among these new features is a social option, where players can hop aboard a flying pirate ship and bust into their friends' maps on a whim. D4 Complete+ throws some additional story campaigns in for good measure as well.

The rest of the package is pure Disgaea 4. It follows former vampire-turned-Prinny Instructor Valvatorez on his quest to restore the Netherworld's balance and unseat the corrupt Netherworld government.

He's accompanied by a party full of characters cast in the usual zany Disgaea mold, ranging from angels to werewolves, and everything in between.

Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten originally released on the PlayStation 3 back in 2011, followed by a complete version with all the DLC on PlayStation Vita in 2011. D4 Complete+ also released on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in 2019.

Disgaea 4 Complete+ for PC doesn't have a firm release date yet, but stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Disgaea news as it develops. 

Nippon Ichi Software America (NISA) kicked E3 off with a bang today by announcing another Disgaea remake, this time of Disgaea 4 in the form of Disgaea 4 Complete+.

The game will include all existing content from the base Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten and its DLC packages, plus several new features as well (hence the + in the title). That DLC includes more than 30 unlockable characters, extra story campaigns, and some additional modern touches to smooth out the experience. One new feature is a social sharing option, though what it entails hasn't been revealed yet.

The game is currently set for a Fall 2019 release date on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, with no word on whether it'll come to PC.

Disgaea 4 Complete+ will come in two different versions: the "Promise of Sardines" Day One Edition and the special "HL-Raising" Limited Edition.

The Promise of Sardines edition comes with the game for PS4 or Switch with reversible cover, the "shiny motivational bookmark for Prinnies in Training" in the form of — what else? — a large sardine, and the special Valvatorez Cam-Pain poster.

Disgaea 4 Complete+'s HL-Raising edition includes all of that along with a special collector's box, official hardcover art book, and "The Unforgotten Melodies" soundtrack.

Currently, only the HL-Raising edition is up for pre-order on the NISA online store, for $64.99 both on Switch and PS4; the Promise of Sardines edition is "coming soon."

Disgaea 4 follows former vampire tyrant Valvatorez's attempts to overthrow the Corrupternment government and restore what he views as order to the Netherworld. The game features one of the series' zaniest casts as well, from werewolves to robots, failed bosses, and everything in between, not to mention the characteristically chaotic tactical combat and, of course, the option to level up all the way to 9,999.

Those who are interested can get a first look at the game in action this evening at 8 pm EST/5pm PST when NISA streams it live on its Twitch channel.