Man. 2020 sure has existed, eh? It’s been a really strange year in basically every realm, and video games were not immune to this. Despite the oddness, I’m here to deliver my supplementary awards and my game of the year awards for 2020, and this time we’re back to seven. Here is the link to the SAC OVA podcast where Jared and I break all of this down too, and be sure to check his list out here. Without further ado, let’s do this thing. There will be spoilers behind the cut!
First, let’s get some awards going.
Best rerelease: Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore
Yeah, y’all had to have known this would show up somewhere. This game still rules. I was stoked to be able to easily play it again on the Switch, and the addition of new songs like “She Is…” and swapped songs with Kira and Tsubasa’s are a really fun touch for this rerelease. This was a really solid way to start off a hot garbage year, so thanks for the positivity, TMS!
Best old game/s: Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky FC/SC/The Third
I couldn’t just pick one this time. Because I was curious about some of the older games in the Trails series, I played through Trails in the Sky FC/SC/The Third. Since those games really can’t be separated out very well, I am going bundle them together. These games really are a masterclass in storytelling, and the characters are all just so fascinating. It makes me appreciate the appearances of these characters in Cold Steel even more, as well as the foreshadowing of the events of CS. I also really hope we get to see Kevin again eventually. FYI, “Cry for me, cry for you” rules.
Best Moment: Rean and Towa’s “short” love confession
So this is a later moment in Trails of Cold Steel IV, and I have always super duper loved Rean and Towa together, especially after their moment at the end of Cold Steel II. They seem to get and respect each other, which I really think is what we should all hope for in a relationship. Which brings me to THIS. You can get a romance scene with the gal you liked during an event in Cold Steel IV, and Towa’s is by far my favorite. 1 Rean confesses with a slew of short jokes (as you do), and Towa responds as you would hope she would. It’s honestly perfect, and it’s really the best I could ask for in my ultimate ship for Cold Steel.
Biggest disappointment: Doom Eternal
Man, I was READY for this game. I needed it! I was hype to rip and tear. I was hype for insane music. Instead, I got mediocre gameplay and a shit ton of roadblocks that killed the flow of the game. I didn’t even finish it. It really was a massive disappointment for me. 🙁 How the hell do you mess up a game like this??
Best Anime of the Year: My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
My friend Hannah (thank you!) at one point earlier this year was like, “Hey AL, there is an anime coming out based on the idea of being in an otome. I wanted to let you know.” I was super ready just on hearing the premise, but this anime really defied expectations for me. It’s a really fun adventure with a clueless girl who got transported into the world of an otome game. I love all the characters, and it’s nice to see her have a positive influence on people even if she has no idea she is doing it. I am very much looking forward to the next season + game. 2 Also, Shouta Aoi. YES!
Best surprise: Death Come True
Not only did this game have a stealth release, but it was also surprisingly good. I’ll talk about it a little bit more further down, but this is genuinely an enjoyable experience.
Best game that I didn’t play but still deserves recognition as a good game: Yakuza: Like a Dragon
I have never played a Yakuza game in my entire life. I still haven’t. That said, I watched Jared play part of Yakuza: Like a Dragon. I can easily say that if I had played that, it probably would’ve made my list. It genuinely had good characters, some great writing, and was a lot of fun to watch. I really got attached the the characters, and I was invested in the story, which is not something I ever thought I could say about a Yakuza game.
AL’s Games of the Year
7.) Death Come True
So, this game was unexpected as heck. It had a stealth launch, and it’s Kazutaka Kodaka’s most recent release. Who would have expected a FMV visual novel game in 2020?? But this game is seriously super fun. The story is great, the acting is purposefully campy, it has branching plotlines lines, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. It also has some fun ethical questions that make this a really great experience overall. Plus, who doesn’t want to go and chat with the famous hotel concierge?
6.) Paper Mario: The Origami King
Paper Mario was announced quite soon before it released, and I was pretty cautiously excited. I have previously been a big fan of the series, but I was not the biggest fan of the last game. While I fully admit I don’t love the battle system in Origami King, the writing is where this game shines. It’s a genuinely fun game with some funny writing, emotional moments, and it felt more like a Paper Mario game than most of the recent releases. I honestly had a great time playing this despite its flaws. It also shows that Luigi is easily one of the best and most relatable characters in the Mario universe. 3
5.) Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
This game was SCREAMING that it was going to be for me–a Hyrule Warriors (musou) sequel, Zelda, and more specifically, more back story for Breath of the Wild, which has been living rent free in my head since release. I was excited to see more of what happened 100 years ago and to get to be with these characters a bit more. The game definitely has enough good moments and gameplay to land on my list this year, but it also had some faults that make it land lower than one would expect. With some story shenanigans, a lack of musou gameplay, and a lackluster soundtrack, Age of Calamity could have been so much better than it is. That said, I still had a great time playing it, and I hope that the BotW sequel lives up to the hype a bit more than this did. Thus absolutely was Nintendo’s stopgap since BotW2 isn’t ready. 4
4.) Love Live! School Idol Festival All Stars
I bought a new phone for this. That tells you a bit about my hype going into this game’s release. Fully animated Love Live performances with an overarching story with cross group interactions?? Sign me the heck up!! This game is really where the Nijigasaki girls get to spread their wings, and getting to see all of the current Love Live groups interact is a blast. The one knock against this game is the really difficult team building mechanic. It makes it incredibly hard and frustrating to pass some of the more recent songs. However, the art for the cards is fantastic, it’s a lot of fun to play, and I really enjoy interacting with these characters everyday.
3.) Piofiore: Fated Memories
So, when I heard this was an otome where you date mafia dudes in 1920s Italy, I was excited but not completely on board with the premise. Mafia and crime aren’t really my style. However, when I got into Dante’s route5, that entirely changed. While I absolutely did the best route first accidentally, you really cannot beat the ridiculousness of the story here. It goes full otome, and that’s exactly what I was hoping for. The fact that you and Dante have to go to the bone zone to unlock the hidden body of Jesus Christ that Dante’s family has been tasked with protecting to keep up the illusion that Jesus was divine is just absolutely incredible. There are some crazy routes in this game, it genuinely made me laugh a lot, and you honestly cannot beat Dante’s route in the other new otome games I played this year. It’s also wild how many strange throw away history references you get in this.
2.) Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition
What?? AL put another Xenoblade game on a game of the year list?? What is this MADNESS. /s Yeah, of course this game made it. While it could technically count as a rerelease, this game was entirely rebuilt from the ground up, has a lot of added quality of life changes, plus an entirely new epilogue. I think it counts as a new game with that information. This game still rules. I regularly put Xenoblade Chronicles as one of my top tier JRPGs, and Definitive just made it overall an even better experience. I was also really pleased with the Future Connected epilogue, the continuation of Melia’s story, and surprise Riki character development through his delightful playable kiddos, Nene and Kino. I love the new art style, the changes to questing, and this story is still fantastic. This honestly is a perfect version of Xenoblade Chronicles.
1.) Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV
This was the biggest thing that I was looking forward to in 2020. This year has sucked, but Trails of Cold Steel IV does not. After how Cold Steel III left us, I have been dying to know what happened next! This is an overall incredibly satisfying end to the Erebonia/Class VII arc, and while there was some flaws, it was definitely my favorite game of the year. Between the story, the characters, the music, and the return of many fantastic characters, Cold Steel IV delivered everything I was hoping for and more. It also let the new Class VII spread their wings in a really satisfying way, and we got to see some great growth from our kids. There are definitely flaws with the game, but it’s still absolutely fantastic. It sets up a lot for future stories, and I really cannot wait to see where this series goes from here.
So that’s a wrap on 2020 and my GOTY list! It’s been a weird ass year, and it took me a while to figure out which games made this list. Hopefully I’ll be happy with my decisions! Here is to hoping that 2021 is overall a better year for us all. Stay safe, wash your hands a lot, and stay healthy.