This year was a very good year for RPGs and the types of games that I generally enjoy playing. I got to have a lot of fun playing these, was floored by the story in many of them, got to date some men from Hell, and rode multiple Segways. I’ll try to be vague in some of the story bits, but of course there is potential for spoilers in my write up.
With all of that said, let’s get to the games!
Best Moment: Fighting the ‘Jimas in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
This fight was SO COOL. While it was pretty sad to see what had happened with the ‘Jimas since Yakuza 7 and the dissolution of the Tojo, this fight was an incredible scene that demonstrated the change in perspective that Kiryu has had since hanging around with Ichiban and crew. Not only that, but there are moments after you’ve depleted their health during the turn-based sections where Kiryu breaks out into his old fighting style with scenes from previous games flashing in the background. This was a fight of perspectives, and it was such a cool way to get Kiryu to convince the ‘Jimas to eventually help out the gang.
You can check out the fight here.
Best Surprise: Emio: The Smiling Man (Famicom Detective Club)
When we were shown this trailer in the summer, nobody knew what to expect. What we got is a brand new title in the Famicom Detective Club series, which is WILD. I was a big fan of the rereleases of the first two titles, so I was excited to get a new game in this series. It was also a first party mature-rated Nintendo game. What we got is absolutely incredible, and I never expected to get a story as great as this.
Jared and AL co-op(ish): Power Wash Simulator DLC
This is KINDA cheating, but these are my awards, and I don’t care. One of my favorite things is getting to power wash with my best bud. The DLC packs have been free and actually really good this year! It’s just such a chill time to hang out and clean some nasty places.
Best Old Game: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
I played this game when it originally came out on the Gamecube, so I was jazzed when they announced the remake this year, especially since the Super Mario RPG remake was great. The story is still fun, the game plays really great with some awesome quality of life improvements, and it’s as charming as ever. It demonstrated what a good turn-based RPG Mario game looks like, as opposed to another Mario release this year.
Biggest Disappointment: Mario & Luigi: Brothership
This game sucked ass. That’s really all there is to it. It didn’t respect my time, which was extremely frustrating. There was so much backtracking that felt like it was just padding to make the game longer, so many quests that felt extremely pointless, and a story that felt so surface level with a strangely put together message of togetherness. I think if this game had been like 15-20 hours, I would not have disliked it so much. Since I ended up clocking 80 hours in – and that’s WITHOUT finishing all the sidequests – by the time I finished, I was thrilled to just be rid of this awful game. I was so excited about a new Mario & Luigi game since I really liked the old ones, but this was just NOT it.
Biggest WTF: Love Live! SIF2 release date and EOS announcement
It is RIDICULOUS how this went down. I still can’t believe it happened. The fact that they announced the release date AND the end-of-service date in the same tweet is so absurd. I feel so bad for whoever their social media manager was because not only did this feel like a joke, it was ridiculed even outside of the Love Live! fanbase. It sucks that two really great games had to die for this nonsense.
Best fishing in a video game: Infinity Nikki
I had heard this game had fishing, and I just grabbed it on a whim to stream because it was free. Turns out, the fishing mechanic is actually really good??? It’s an engaging minigame, you can catch some weird looking fish, and THEN you can turn those weird looking fish into outfits. Rad.
10.) Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
After playing through Final Fantasy VII: Remake, I was super hype to check this one out. The game went completely bonkers at the end of Remake, and I was hoping to see more of that in Rebirth. While it didn’t live up to my expectations or Remake’s precedent, I did enjoy parts of Rebirth! A lot of the sidequests have really fun character writing and interactions, as well as some lore drops. Costa de Sol was the absolute peak of this game, and I never knew I needed Cloud on a Segway until I got it. We got to play, we got to fight, we got to date, we got to decorate a decrepit hotel.
I think what prevents this game from being higher on my list is that 1.) they didn’t commit to the bonkers stuff from Remake. A lot of this just felt the same as OG FF7, which is fine because that game is good, but it’s not what I was expecting or wanting. Especially since everybody was anticipating that scene, but what we got was messy nonsense. I wish they had committed to what they had started and 2.) this game is so bogged down with minigames, terrible field exploration, and some strange additions to the story that demonstrate some really messy writing due to the infamous love triangle of FF7. That being said, my girl Cissnei is back and cuter than ever!! She single handedly redeemed the Gongaga segment.
So I guess what I am trying to say is that I have a complicated “like” toward Rebirth since there’s some really great stuff here, but it isn’t higher on the list because it feels wishy washy and bloated in the back third of the game.
9.) Infinity Nikki
I know this game just came out. So you might ask, how in the world did this end up on your Game of the Year list? The answer is simple – I’m having an absolute blast playing this dang game. It’s adorable, it’s a fun game to play, the exploration doesn’t feel like a chore, and you can do fun little activities like fishing and animal grooming. The gacha (thus far) hasn’t been egregious, so I don’t feel like I have to pay to win. The story so far has also been fine! I’ve played everything available in the main story so far, and it’s been super fun. I don’t expect anything groundbreaking here, but it is fun to see how they weave (haha get it?) together the idea of styling clothes for plot purposes.
I’ve also really enjoyed putting together new outfits, including really bizarre ones for the style battles. I am not a fashionista by any means, but trying to make Nikki look super cute in “my” style is a good time. This one is a super late contender since it dropped just a couple weeks ago, but the fun that I’ve had playing it definitely made me feel like it deserved a spot on my list.
8.) Tengoku Struggle -Strayside-
This year in otome was GOOD, thankfully, especially compared to last year. Tengoku Struggle -Strayside- stood out as the best this year. This game had everything I could want from an otome – good looking dudes, beautiful art, found family tropes, wtf storylines, great romance, a fun protagonist, and no super creepy routes either. Who knew that being the daughter of the King of Hell would have the perks of getting to date hot guys from Hell (who are actually sweethearts and the game has to explain why they ended up in Hell to begin with).
Goemon might be one of the most top tier datables I’ve encountered in an otome. He has the soulmate trope, he is supportive on every single route, despite being in love with you since the time he was alive, he is extremely caring and attentive, and his communication skills are great. Top tier otome datable.
I loved how all of the guys interacted with each other, helped each other, and genuinely cared about the protagonist, even if you’re not on their route. They’re all fun guys, the plot lines all go in wild directions, and it’s overall just a really great time.
7.) Persona 3: Reload
So, anybody who knows me should have expected that this would show up on my list. Persona 3 is one of my favorite games of all time. Reload is Persona 3, but much better. It’s a full remake, with new art, new cutscenes, new music, new voice acting (shoutout to Zeno Robinson for NAILING the Junpei attitude), and new scenes altogether. It’s a nice combo of OG and FES + adding in some characterization with the male SEES members that we got more of from Persona 3 Portable. The game is super fun to play, still has the same emotional impact, and the new quality of life changes are incredible. Shoutout to the music for the new tracks! “It’s Going Down Now,” “Color Your Night,” and “Full Moon, Full Life” are all incredible additions.
I think some of the scenes have great emotional impact now because of the change in presentation, and it made one of my favorite games even better. The only negative really is the lack of FeMC, and that is a huge bummer. The other good part is that The Answer is no longer an entirely miserable slog experience, which rules. I love this remake, and I am so happy to see it happen. It would have been higher on the list, but I feel like it is fair to put it lower to give new games a chance.
6.) Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
WE GOT TO PLAY AS ZELDA IN A TOP DOWN ZELDA GAME LFG!!!!!!!! This game is so charming and fun, and I had a great time playing it. Zelda’s abilities to create echoes to solve puzzles was an incredibly creative mechanic, and it led to some of the funniest solutions to problems in the same way as the Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom puzzles. Having Zelda use a completely different way of rescuing Hyrule (and Link!) was a fantastic idea.
I also enjoyed small mechanics like costume changes for Zelda. Most of these outfits had small gameplay benefits, like being able to talk to cats or regaining more health when you sleep on a bed. All of the new characters were really fun, and I enjoyed seeing their interactions like the River Zora and Sea Zora leaders figuring out how to put aside their differences or the new Goron leader learning how to step out of his father’s shadow and successfully lead his people. These little stories were great, and it made Hyrule feel a lot more alive.
Also, as a huge Link to the Past fan, the little nods and references to it made me feel so happy and nostalgic.
5.) Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak
We have a new arc in the Trails series! We get to hang out with Van Arkride as a spriggan who takes on jobs that are sometimes morally grey. We get a cast of new characters, new gameplay styles, new side activities, and we finally get to see a bit more of Calvard, which is a location we have heard a ton about throughout the entire series but have never visited.
While the main story is fine, it isn’t as strong as some of the other Trails games. The strength of Daybreak is absolutely the cast. Van is a fun protagonist, and he has a great dynamic with a lot of the folks who work at Arkride Solutions, his AI companion, Bracers, his childhood friends, and even some dubious characters who are either new or from previous games. The interactions between these characters is where Daybreak shines. Whether it’s taking your pals out to the movies and getting their perspective on the films, doing bonding events, or getting roasted by Aaron left and right, the most fun I had when I was playing this game was when the characters were just talking with each other. My favorite, to the surprise of no one, is Aaron. He is a goblin of a character, he fits my love of sleazy characters with a heart of gold. (Although Aaron’s heart might be silver instead of gold, but that’s okay.)
This game also made some really welcome changes, such as making missables a lot easier to find compared to previous games, better LGBTQ+ representation, and a split style of combat where you can easily fight enemies on the field with the choice to then switch to turn-based with advantages.
I’m excited to see where this arc goes in February since I am really attached to the characters now!
4.) Emio: The Smiling Man (Famicom Detective Club)
This game was incredible. I should have expected it after The Girl Who Stands Behind, but this one goes to 11. It was rad to see a new Famicom Detective Club game (as I mentioned earlier), and the story of this one pulled zero punches. The gameplay is essentially the same, but with fewer “bang your head against the wall trying to figure out the specific order to ask things” type moments.
It’s an incredible whodunnit, and I don’t want to spoil the answer to that because getting TO that point is what makes this game so good. The epilogue is also intense, and I am honestly surprised to see a Nintendo property go quite that far. It is one of the only Nintendo games to ever make me really have to look away from the game because of violence. There is enough humor thrown in to make the game a little less horrific, but it also doesn’t change the tone enough to decrease the impact that the overall story has. I cannot recommend this game enough.
3.) Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
After I finally played Yakuza 7 then watched Jared play through all of the non-turn based RPG Yakuza games, I got so invested in this series. This was my first one that I personally got to play at launch, and I was ready.
The gameplay and job system are still incredible, but they made some small quality of life changes that made it a blast to play. I love the interactions we got between the characters, and there are some really unexpected friendships and dynamics that show up in this game. Dondoko Island was also fun. Ichiban got to do Animal Crossing and Pokemon. Man is living his best life.
While there were a few missteps in the narrative (that honestly seemed to be because Gaiden’s development and IW’s development were not in line with each other), the overall story was extremely good. I loved the dual nature of the game, and I cried more than I am proud of when I was playing this. I love how Kiryu was incorporated into Ichiban’s gameplay style, and the power of friendship is the winner in this game. I can’t wait to see what comes next with this series (including Pirate Yakuza), and Ichiban is honestly one of my favorite RPG protagonists. Plus more Segways!!
2.) Astro Bot
This game has so much charm!! I am a big fan of adventure platformer games, and this felt like a beautiful and fun love letter to video games (not just Sony!) All the collectibles, secret world exits, and themed worlds really just made for a joyful experience. I was always thrilled to go back to the landing site and see what interactions I could have with the characters I unlocked. It also really had some creative uses of the PS5 controller, especially the parts when you’re working on the parts to rebuild the PS5 ship. All of the mechanics in the game just worked, which should not be surprising but it really is.
Sometimes it’s nice to just have a cute game that is fun to play, and this is that. The creativity and love are off the charts for this game, and I was genuinely so happy every time I booted it up to play.
1.) Metaphor: ReFantazio
I fully admit I was cautiously optimistic about this game, and that’s entirely because of how I felt about Persona 5 and the guy in charge. All that being said, Metaphor blew away all of those worries, exceeded expectations, and it was an incredible game to play.
This game and its narrative came at a time where it felt needed for me. It’s heavy on politics, the nature of people, and the fear of the unknown. It’s got an incredible cast of characters, and every single one of the playable characters felt fleshed out and fantastic. The villain was also incredible. He wasn’t comically evil, and a lot of his dialogue was rough to listen to because it was incredible hurtful toward a lot of people in the game. We see how his actions impacted the lives of others, and we see how people choose to react to that.
For the record, this was nearly my moment of the year because of how incredible this scene is. Kudos to Strohl’s VA Stewart Clarke for absolutely crushing this scene. It’s a great example of one of our playable characters fighting back against the tyranny and despair driven by the main villain.
I did not expect this team to put together a really great…metaphor…for things like racism in our world, but they did it convincingly. They also included some incredible quality of life improvements from games like Persona, had great art direction and music (MONK), and each of the supporter stories was meaningful for the protagonist and the greater narrative. It’s a meaningful game, and I really needed it in 2024.
And that’s a wrap! Next year should be interesting with the impending Switch 2 announcement that I assume will be soon, as well as some great games already announced and ready to go. I’m also hoping the game industry starts to recover and be less lay-off happy in 2025. I’m hoping for a less stressful 2025 (please???), and I’m sure there will be some great games to help out with that.
Here is the link if you’d like ton read Jared’s write up for his GOTY list.
Here is the podcast link to hear us chat about it and induct our newest SAC OVA Hall of Fame game.