G-Mode on Why It’s Rereleasing Feature Phone Games on Switch

Last week, developer G-Mode announced that they would be bringing their old Japanese feature phone game archive to Nintendo Switch as the G-Mode Archives, and G-Mode director Koichi Takeshita has discussed on Twitter why they’re being brought over, and more.

According to Takeshita, the reason why the G-Mode Archives project was put into motion to bring these games to Nintendo Switch is because they feel that there are ‘new experiences’ that can be gained from the games’ new platform, to the point where Takeshita felt moved.

Firstly, due to the dedicated directional and face buttons present, the games have been made much more comfortable to play, compared to needing to fiddle with feature phone keypads. He feels that this will be especially moving for those who have played the feature phone versions of the games back then. The other reason is that the Switch is able to switch between TV and handheld modes, which provides a new experience for players. Takeshita was moved when he was able to play Flyhight Cloudia on the TV screen for the first time.

Currently, the first G-Mode Archives release, Flyhight Cloudia, will release on April 16, 2020 on the Nintendo eShop for 500 yen. However, the other three titles part of the first wave of games are likely to delayed due to the suspension of CERO ratings. If the games do well in sales, G-Mode Archives will continue releasing on Nintendo Switch, and possibly other platforms. G-Mode is also open to partnering with other companies to bring their feature phone games to the Switch.