The Year in Review: "I Have Too Much to Play Dammit!"

This was an incredible year. It's rare that we get a year that has so many good games that only the most egregious of bad will stand out. Otherwise, there are many pickings. From the beginning of the year in January to the end of the year in December, we almost had an amazing game every month. And even if you're the pickiest of gamers, there was something there for everyone.

This thread is going to be looking back at key examples of specific games that i, personally, took a shine to, was surprised by, or just... well... wasn't what I had expected. I won't be doing a top ten format, as while I have actually played about that many games this year, I still haven't played certain games that I feel could have easily been added. As it stands, I have my own metrics for how I'm going to go about doing this. I'm going to try and create creative ways of categorizing specific games that did things well, or were more than I expected.

In attempt to be fair, I will only be putting games from this year here. However, I did play through most of a series, and will be making a mention of it as it's own category.

With these details out of the way, let's get started.


Wait, I'm dreaming right?


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Despite Nintendo's latest console releasing earlier in the year, the 3DS still got some attention. And in what better way than with the remake of Samus's 2nd adventure in the Metroid series. Hell, the fact that we actually got a new Metroid game is in and of itself insane. Yes, it's a remake, but it's still technically a new game, and as a fan of the franchise, it felt good to return.

In terms of what it is, I have actually played the original version of it. Well, sort of; I played the 3DS Virtual Console version of it. So, I had a rough idea of what sort of game I was getting myself into. I knew it wasn't going to be the standard Metroid fare. That being said, I was okay with it. When you haven't played a 2D style Metroid game in years, you tend to not be that picky.

As for what it does good it does a lot good. Samus Returns improves on a lot of the standard mechanics while also keeping things similar in feel. While the combat feels very familiar, movement has been improved with several additions from free-aim, to the Aeion abilities, to touch screen commands. Everything just feels good. And that's important.

Basically, if you're a fan of Metroid, you should play this.

Not the Greatest Early Impression, But Still Very Fun


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Out of all the games I played this year, I was surprisingly excited about this entry. However, it didn't leave the best early impression of things. With a weird roster focusing primarily on the newer Fire Emblem games like Fates and Awakening, it was getting some flack from fans who wanted something more... "classic". And while the roster alone seemed to draw the most ire... I was still pretty confident about it. Turns out, I was right.

Fire Emblem Warriors is a neat game of the 'Warriors' style gameplay using characters from the Fire Emblem series. Just by character, the roster is okay, but gameplay wise... this sucker does quite well. My last experience with this type of game was with Hyrule Warriors which featured characters from the Zelda franchise. When the 'Legends' version was introduced, it added a brand new mechanic that actually made the game much easier to manage. With Fire Emblem Warriors, that mechanic is actually retained, and instead incorporated into it's map to "order" units around, much like how it works in the series proper. The actual combat is mostly just button mashing for the right combos, and acquiring the right bases, but it's still fun enough to do, and with the right characters, is immensely enjoyable.

There are some issues I have, but they're not intrusive enough for me to really have a serious problem with. Instead, it's either weird choices to difficulty, or just how all the Bow characters have the exact same moveset barring some minor differences. But, for the most part, those aren't enough to detract from the overall experience.

I'd like to see a continuation to this, to hopefully add a more diverse roster, at least to get more unique movesets more than anything.

A Weird New Trend I am Okay With


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It's a weird to say that Mario feels "generic" despite his series being well received and quirky as hell at times, but that's always been my perception of the series. I don't really have any issues with his games, nor do I dislike them. The overall look of it just isn't appealing to me. It feels... "basic", I guess. Maybe that's why I gravitated more towards Sunshine and Galaxy (heh, gravitated).

But then... Nintendo created something called "Super Mario Odyssey". A game full of charm, quirk and a disposition about itself I have rarely seen from this series. It was different, yet familiar. Gave a lot of neat movement controls, while being simple. And actually does a good job of being a solid collectathon for those that also love that sort of thing. Oh, and most importantly, FINALLY DITCHED LIVES! I think it was that one little addition that really made me anxious to check out this game. It's Mario, I'd prefer playing Sonic or Rayman, but here we are in a day and age where I actually managed to finish a Mario game. I don't get it.

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On another note, Mario wasn't the only Nintendo character to get a game with a long overdo make-over. The Zelda series also got itself an amazing game that, while I still haven't actually gotten back it at the time of me typing this, still makes me really want to play it. And while it's not necessarily the game all people will like, it's definitely the style of game I enjoy. Maybe I'm actually really bad at certain games and still haven't realized it all these years. Maybe I'm just that slow on the uptake for solving puzzles. Whatever the case, Breath of the Wild is one of those games I could just wander around for hours and not feel like I wasted time doing anything. And I still haven't actually finished it yet. I think I will though... once I've gotten other games out of the way first.

Overall, I really appreciate Nintendo trying to change their biggest brands up in some ways.

This is Such a Weird Game... I Love It!



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I'm not really familiar with Yoko Taro's games, like the original NieR or the Drakengard games. That being said, I was very curious about this game. Mainly because of Platinum Games' involvement, it was the one game I was most curious about. It also had a very unusual premise, had a very strange tone and feeling, and the music is both strange and amazing. And in fact, the more I looked into it, the more intrigued I became.

And then I finally played it. And it was one of the, if not the most memorable experience I've had with a game this year. And yes, I did in fact play both Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey (I just listed those earlier). So... what did this do? It subverted traditional expectation. It made me question every usual convention I'm aware of in gaming. If I decided to take one path, and thought it was maybe not the right path... well... let's just say the other options had their own twists. This is a game where decisions are never wrong or right. They just are.

For a game with multiple parts to it, the final act really takes it to a whole different level. When I say this was the most memorable experience I've had this year, I mean it. I've never felt compelled to go all the way down the rabbit hole just out of sheer curiosity to see what the game was going to do next. When I thought it made sense, it told me that it's not supposed to... at least not right away. It was strange, bizarre, dark, and moody. And yet, I couldn't help but be further intrigued by it.

If you haven't noticed yet, I'm trying really hard to not spoil anything, because I really could. I most definitely could. I know some people wouldn't care, especially if they felt nothing about it, but I generally value people's reaction to these sorts of things. So if you haven't played this yet, i'd highly recommend it.

This is, without a doubt, my game of the year.

...I still haven't "beaten" the DLC. One day, we'll see.

I Had a Plan, I Executed it Poorly


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I attempted something this year. I attempted to marathon through a series before the latest iteration of that series was released. It didn't work. Or, rather, things took some wildly amusing turns for the worse, and well... now it's in limbo. I have no real reason as to why I haven't returned just yet, but I do intend on doing so soon.

Let me introduce you to a game series that has been around since the late 80s... Ys. Yep, just 2 letters, and pronounced "ease", Ys is anything but it's pronunciation. A game series set as some weird mix between Zelda and a traditional JRPG, Ys is notorious for it's crazy bosses and somewhat tricky difficulty. And my discovery of this series led to this attempt at working through most of the series.

Ys 1 and 2 are both available on PSP and Steam as "Chronicles". Sold as 1 game, there's sort of a reason for that as both games are quite short and you could technically complete both in a day. If so inclined. There's still a good amount of side stuff available if you know where and how do things (I sure as hell didn't), but overall, they're relatively short games.

Origin, a prequel game set about 500 years to the events of the original games, has a more modern gameplay style reminiscent of the 3D PC period, available on PS4 and Vita. Along with Oath in Felghana, and Ark of Napishtim, they form a slightly longer set of games, with a bunch of nice new additions to work with, with both familiar and new mechanics. Oath in Felghana is a remake of Ys 3 (which was actually split into 2 games), while Ark of Napishtim is the 6th entry of the series. Oath in Felghana can be obtained on PC and PSP, while Ark of Napishtim is solely on PC... for now.

Finally, Memories of Celceta, Seven and 8 are the latter set of games with a mixture of mechanics that incorporate the most JRPG aspects of any of the series, and the inclusion of multiple playable characters besides Adol himself. Seven, on PSP and now PC, is the entry that I got into, and helped give me an impression on the series itself. I haven't finished it yet, but it's easily one of the longer entries so far, and actually feels somewhat like modern Zelda games in that respect (or, at least, the 3D ones). Memories of Celceta is a remake of the 4th entry, while 8 seems to be it's own thing. Seven also takes place almost immediately after the events of 6. Celceta is only on Vita, while 8 is currently (as of this) on Vita, and PS4, and will soon be on PC... once they get that re-localization patch finalized.

Overall, a great series of games that I greatly enjoyed going through. While some do show their age, and some were possibly trickier than I would have liked, I eventually got through them and finished most of them to date. I'll hopefully finish Seven, jump to Celceta and finally get to play 8. As soon as the localization patch hits.

Haven't Finished, But Still Good


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You know a year is insane when you keep getting more games that you like that you still haven't gotten around to finishing for many reasons... and then when you want to play it, another game comes out that takes your attention for a while. The only thing keeping me from Gravity Rush 2 was that I hadn't finished the first game on PS4. I fixed that about a month or so again, and finally bothered to start it up. Horizon: Zero Dawn had the misfortune of coming out days before Zelda, which in itself came out days before Nier: Automata. And the fact that it took me at least a month to finally finish that game should say enough. It's been a crazy year, and then it had to end with arguably the biggest JRPG I've ever set foot into. And despite having yet to finish Xenoblade X, or even actually put any hours into the original game, I very much find myself enjoying the game that I've played so far with Xenoblade 2.

Each game presents something different for what is very much the same massive worlds. Horizon is basically a massive hunting ground with a neat story tied to it. Gravity Rush 2 is a massive floating world you can essentially fly through. And Xenoblade 2 features chunks of large worlds that contain all sorts of activities and storylines for you to take part in.

They also have some interesting sidequests to take part in. I know this might not be a big thing for some people, but oftentimes, I prefer doing sidequests just to have something else to do. And sometimes, they offer some neat insights into the world I'm in. Horizon and Xenoblade 2 do this quite well, and in fact, all of Horizon's questlines are voiced.

Individually, Horizon: Zero Dawn has an intriguing storyline that keeps me wanting to know more. Complete with some crazy lore, a native style setting with high technology, and some neat open world mechanics, it has a lot going for it. I think the problem I had was that the difficulty spike hit a bit sooner than I would have liked, preventing me from continuing. Of what I have played though, I really did enjoy, and will likely return at a later time.

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Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a game I'm currently playing as I type this. I got it late, but tried hard to not spoil myself on it too much. Between the games mentioned above, I like it the most. Despite some quirks that aren't properly explained, it's taken me less time to fully understand the game compared to the previous iterations, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Xenoblade X. Both great games, but the learning curve is far steeper, and nothing in the game properly explains to you things. A good example, the game never mentioned that the probes you position can be repositioned. I spent many hours in that game, but after a while, I just didn't know how I wanted to continue or finish it. Maybe one day.

Overall though, I enjoy the combat a lot; it's explained enough that it only takes a few little details to fully comprehend. The storyline is engaging enough for me to actually want to progress just to learn more about the world and the characters. There's a lot of stuff to do, and that's generally what I like from my RPGs. I want to do stuff, and do a lot of them. I always want something to do, and this game provides it to me. Sure, I do have to advance the storyline to access more sidequests and such, but generally I'll get more options afterwards, and likely access to more locations.

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Sadly, I can't say too much regarding Gravity Rush 2. Not that I didn't play it.. I just haven't played enough of it. Sony decided to close the servers in January, which prevents people from obtaining a currency called Dusty Tokens. These tokens allow you to acquire certain special outfits, and a few other minor trinkets. The problem being, is the process to obtain them. Luckily, the process isn't too bad. There should be a PSN community still going for this. At least until the servers close.

What I have played of the game though, is great. Lots of nice improvements, and enhancements to your gravity gauge and such appear to be through Talismans which do stuff from increasing overall health, to adjusting your shifting powers. Environments are larger, with more event based stuff going on. Controls feel better, and a few minor tweaks make it easier to control Kat than before. The game also feels bigger and not nearly as constrained as the original game, which makes sense given it was developed originally on the PlayStation Vita.

I do intend on revisiting this game once I finish Xenoblade Chronicles 2. How long that could take though, that's the problem.

One Kind of Bad Game, Several Better Ones


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Last year, we had a game that wound up actually being pretty terrible. A game that was kickstarted as a way to hopefully revive a style of game that - at the time - was dead. And that game, was Mighty No. 9. What's the deal? Well, when Mighty No. 9 was first delayed, a smaller company called Inti Creates, best known for the MegaMan Zero games, gave us a MegaMan styled game called Azure Striker Gunvolt. It felt like MegaMan, had similar aspects, and was released on the 3DS eshop. Pretty good game. When it released, we also got MIghty Gunvolt, which was an 8 bit styled game featuring both Beck from Mighty No 9 and Gunvolt from... Azure Striker Gunvolt.

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Little did we know, they had a bunch of stuff in store for us in 2017. Starting with Blaster Master Zero on both 3DS and Switch, they started to showcase some nice retro styled games with a remake of Mighty Gunvolt on Switch and a re-release of the Gunvolt games also on Switch. Basically, lots of love to Nintendo's new platform. And not only was Blaster Master Zero a great game, they also put free updates to it for early adopters, and continued support for it. And it's a decently priced game too. Arguably one of my favorite games on the Switch.

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Mighty Gunvolt Burst is an interesting game which in itself amusing. It's an "enhanced" remake of Mighty Gunvolt, with 6 additional DLC characters, all from either Gunvolt, Mighty No 9, or even Gal Gun. In fact, Ekoro is featured in both Gunvolt Burst and Blaster Master Zero. The most amusing aspect of Mighty Gunvolt Burst is the fact that you're basically playing a retro style version of Mighty No 9... but it actually plays better and feels like a proper game. Ironic, all things considered.

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Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack for the Nintendo Switch is not just having both games in on pack, but also features a ton of extra features, and basically has all additional content, and running at 60 frames per second, and higher resolution artwork. It's literally the HD definitive version. And it's a great game to boot!

...And they have a game on their way next year too!

Good... and the Ugly


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You know this was an interesting year when I got to play through 2 Sonic games, and had polar opposite reactions to both from initial reveal to release, yet had polar opposite impressions on both post release and play. Sonic has always been in this weird place where they keep trying to make a good game... despite having done so in the past, but always seem to screw something up. It's like figured it out, tried to add something, or change something, and then somehow forgot why it originally worked in the past. Or they've just done really bad design decisions and thought it would work. I don't know. What I do know, is that proper development and knowledge of how things should work go a long way.

I grew up with the Genesis. I played a lot of Sonic 2, and Knuckles... but never did own Sonic 3. So my best memories of the series are with Sonic 2, and trying to make it as far as I could through the game. And somehow having a very rough time with the boss from Oil Ocean (which, amusingly, is also in this game). Also, I played some of Sonic & Knuckles as well. Could never beat Flying Battery Zone. Sonic Mania is the perfect distillation of what makes Sonic actually good, and goes headlong into it. Essentially an official fan-game, Mania does what SEGA can't seem to figure out. And they did it incredibly well. Having to relearn Sonic is something I never thought I would ever say in years. Having rewire my "collect everything" brain to a more simple thought process was weird. But I did, and I actually managed to beat it. With a few nice inclusions and adjustments.

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...Which pains me to say that I had hopes for Sonic Forces, and was the most frustratingly disheartening experience I've had of 2017. I started with faith... and as I progressed, it felt like the game did everything it could to make me like it less. Right when I was actually kind of enjoying it, it stopped the level. Right when I thought I had a sort of grasp on a couple of mechanics, it changes it up. This game does not want you to adapt. And I don't know why. Everything about it felt off. I was deliberately fighting the game, and I didn't want to. And the one thing that it wants to make the central focus also controls the weirdest. Thankfully, one of the attacks you can get is so gleefully broken, it actually makes playing the avatar tolerable. I began to be happy whenever I'd get a Modern Sonic stage simply because it was one of the few aspects of the game that felt somewhat fun to play. Unfortunately, that's about less than a third of the game.

If there was any saving grace to Forces... it was the removal of lives. They showed some mercy on us. It is the one thing that probably saved me from possibly heavily regretting that purchase. I did trade it in, and got something back, but I don't plan on revisiting it. It likely wasn't Mighty No 9 bad, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it.

This is perfect. This is what I've always wanted!



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I wouldn't usually add hardware to these lists, but I think I'm allowed to make an exception here. Especially this device.

I've always had an affinity towards portable devices. I don't know why, or where it originally started, but I love the nature of it. There's something nice about the way it works, the convenience and just overall the usage behind it. I know it's not for everyone, and I know some people are all about the visuals, but I've often preferred playing games on the go.

When rumours for the Switch first started, I wasn't sure what to make of it, nor what they were going to do with it. The initial mobile docked patent had me thinking one thing, specifically due to the nature of the Wii U. Then, the reveal trailer. It wasn't just a console, it's also a handheld. A really nice handheld. A portable device that runs games that would have been on Wii U, PS3 or 360. And it's the sort of thing I've only ever dreamed about.

With a sizeable roster of games, and one of the most comfortable gaming controllers I've ever used (the Pro Controller), the Switch is an amazing device that has allowed me to enjoy games in a format I've always seemingly preferred. Lately, I find myself wanting to play most of my games on the Switch simply for being able to just pause it, or to have this option to take it anywhere. It's now the console of choice when I'm going somewhere for trips and such.

I find myself wanting many games to be released for it solely because of what it is. The portability, the conversion, the fact that I can play a game on it, and then later do some extra things for chunks at a time make it a very versatile and dynamic console. While I still love the other console offerings, the Switch's format is much more appealing to me.

I can't wait to see what else winds up on the Switch.

Biggest Announcements for 2018 and beyond

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As with every year, new titles get announced, with bigger and bigger surprises. This year had many such surprises. Of mention, we started with the reveal of Metroid Prime 4; a game from a franchise that hadn't had a new game in years. On top of that was the reveal of Metroid: Samus Returns, which would come out in September of this year. Before that, was the reveal of Monster Hunter World. While I would have liked another portable Monster Hunter, I am glad we are getting a new and possibly amazing entry in the long running franchise.

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But the next few were the ones I never expected to happen. At EVOlution 2017, the reveal of BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle; a BlazBlue cross over games featuring BlazBlue, Persona 4 Arena, and UnderNight Inbirth characters... and special guest characters from the Rooster Teeth web series RWBY. It was easily one of the bigger announcements of this year, for me. In October, God Eater 3 was finally confirmed. We don't have an actual date for that game yet, but at least we know it's coming. And finally, Bayonetta 3 was revealed at The Game Awards.

Of other mention, Soul Calibur 6 was revealed, and while I'm not someone with investment in the series, I am still curious enough to be excited in it for a possible good entry. On that same note, Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is also coming out next year, and while I'm not big on the series, I've steadily been enjoying it more and more with the right characters. As well, MechWarrior 5 is also coming... though we still don't know if it's next year or not.

There are other games I could list here, but without an actual knowledge of when they're coming, it's difficult to get excited. Once I get closer, maybe. But until then, I'll wait.