The Battle Cats Unite Entertains (When You Have Energy)

It’s always a little odd when a game takes a long time to be localized, but it’s a welcome addition when it finally hits the world. Here’s the situation. Cats fight together face to face, like Switch game Launched in Japan in 2018 and Asia in 2021 first Global launch 2024. It’s a shame it took so long, because the RTS is as engaging as ever. The only downside is that it still keeps some free elements like the stamina system.

The goal in each case is for you to command heroic fighting cats as they attempt to travel across the world, through time, or across the stars to battle enemies. There are a large number of stages, as you have the Empire of Cats, Into the Future, and Cats of the Cosmos campaigns, as well as a number of special stages. Mini-game access can also be unlocked.

No matter what campaign you are going through, Cats fight together play the same on Switch. Your goal in each level is to destroy the enemy base while defending your own. You can equip up to 10 different types of cats to deploy. Each type has its own monetary cost, with a cooldown time attached to them after purchasing one. You can spend money to increase production levels and the speed at which you earn more money. Additionally, an energy cannon gradually builds up power, allowing you to unleash it when full. Units, work production speed, the amount of money you can have, and related stats for the base and cannon can all be upgraded with XP, as can the cats. Those cats can also evolve, sometimes more than once, depending on whether you reach the maximum level or have certain items. Each level also only lasts a few minutes, making it an instant RTS event.

There are several components in the Switch version of Cats fight together It feels designed to tone down the obvious leftovers from the free-to-play mobile version of the game. Cat Food is given out sparingly, and you’ll need it to get more gacha units or if you want the option to buy XP or other rewards. The energy system remains the same, so you can only get through a certain number of battles before you need to stop playing or pay with Cat Food to continue. As you can imagine, the further you get in the campaign, the more energy each stage costs to complete. It’s frustrating!

Especially since most of the funniest and flashiest characters are locked behind gold gacha machines, which require you to earn either Gold Tickets or Cat Food to spin. (Completing in-game missions is usually the best way to earn both.) That means you also have to hope that luck is on your side for some of the game’s most ridiculous units. However, the cost to deploy them is also often extremely high, so chances are you won’t be able to deploy them until the very end of the game.

I will say that there are some elements that could be designed to reduce the need for stamina to continue fighting and other issues. You will have the opportunity to play through mini-games at random. These can give you stamina, power-ups for stages, or gacha tickets, so those are always appreciated. The co-op and VS elements also feel like ways to address the need for energy, since a multiplayer session will likely be shorter than a solo session.

That said, the multiplayer is perfectly fine and useful here. I prefer the co-op option over VS. Specifically because it helps progress the campaign further and also works towards those goals. However, I do note that playing with another person almost makes the levels too easy, so I probably won’t do it outside of rare situations. While each person is limited to five unit types, I don’t find it overly restrictive. The multiplayer is fine and fun, and I appreciate that the mini-games also take into account having a second person there to allow others to assist in co-op.

Cats fight together It’s a lot of fun and the tower defense RTS formula is still strong, but the remaining mobile roots become annoying. The absurdity of the multiple cats (or in some cases “cats”) you deploy is as fun as ever. Even the cooperative and mind games are fun. I just wish more was done to remove the annoying free-to-play elements like energy restrictions or limited Cat Food currency. If you don’t mind grinding and time, this is a fun diversion to keep on your system.

Cats fight together To be available on Nintendo Switch worldwide.

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