Astro Aqua Kitty: Pawsome Collection

Genre: Compilation / Shmup

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local, Online)

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Review:

Astro Aqua Kitty: Pawsome Collection, released on Nintendo Switch in 2022, is a physical-only Compilation containing a pair of Shmups.

I have previously reviewed these games. Here is what I thought of both of the games in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
Aqua Kitty UDX	Shmup	1-2 Co-Op (Local, Online)	B
tl;dr Aqua Kitty UDX is a Shmup with three game modes – two being similar to the classic game Defender, and one like the classic game Uridium. The presentation here is very good, and the core gameplay is solid, with good co-op, but a number of frustrating design choices cause the game to be overly difficult and frustrating. It’s still worth a look for genre fans and those looking for a more challenging experience, though.
Astro Aqua Kitty	Shmup	1	B+
tl;dr Astro Aqua Kitty is a Shmup with free-roaming movement and RPG-style upgrade mechanics. There are a few elements that could do with some tweaking here, but overall this is an excellent entry in the genre, well worth playing.

As you can see, I thought both of these were solid Shmups, with Astro Aqua Kitty even taking the franchise to newer heights (depths?) with exploration elements. The result is two games that have similarities, but play differently enough to be worthwhile in their own right.

As for the value, this is one of those cases of “you’re paying to get this on cartridge. Separately, these two games cost about $24, but this bundle generally sells for $35. So if you’re just looking to get a deal on two good games, you’re better off buying them separately. But if you prefer cartridges, you need to ask yourself if you’re willing to spend $11 more to get one.

In the end, that’s what Astro Aqua Kitty: Pawsome Collection really comes down to. Both of the games here are solid Shmups that each offer a different take on the genre, but whether you get this bundle will really depend on whether you want to spend more to get a physical copy. If so, this is a decent package, but if you’d rather save money, just get the digital versions of the game off the eShop instead.

tl;dr – Astro Aqua Kitty: Pawsome Collection is a physical-only Compilation of two Shmups – Aqua Kitty UDX and Astro Aqua Kitty. These games are both quite good, and offer different kinds of experiences, but the price of this bundle is significantly more than the cost of the individual games. Unless you require a physical copy of these games, you’ll save money just getting the digital versions of the games separately.

Grade: B-

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