 | Happy New Ys! |
I didn't write up any summaries for the games I played or finished in 2023. I probably didn't finish many, truth be told. I remember a 120 hour block of Trails into Reverie dominating the middle of the year. This year, I felt like I was back on track - the trade off that I watch a lot less TV and use that time to play games instead.
Doki Doki Literature Club Plus (Switch)
I think some of the effectiveness of this was lost on me because by the time I got around to playing it for myself, I'd heard about the game's psychological tricks and the ways it tries to creep you out. I think if I had played the original version of PC back before it got too popular, it would've been a lot more impactful. As it is, though, I did enjoy this VN as a meta commentary on this style of visual novel. Went through it enough times to get all the various endings and most of the bonus content.
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (PS5)
This current gen really got off to a slow start thanks to a lack of supply. So many of this gen's games felt like they were being held back by also having previous gen versions. As such, FF7 Rebirth felt like the first true current gen game I played. It was big, and beautiful, and it was the only game I played for at least two months as I explored and enjoyed everything it had to offer. It makes FF7 Remake look like a prologue. There's just so much going on here. I loved how much more we get to explore this world, and know these characters. Even weaker characters like Yuffie and Cait Sith get such a glow up here. I love this group of characters, and I hope part 3 isn't too many years away - I expect since the original Disc 2/3 of FF7 is kinda a retread of Disc 1, they've got most of the assets they need anyway.
Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak (PS5)
I love getting a new Trails game each year. Daybreak is the start of a new arc. Van is a great protagonist, different to the leads of the previous arcs, but it still captures that same familiar feel that we've had since the first Trails in the Sky game - incredible depth in characterisation and worldbuilding, with a gripping main story supplemented by sidequests that add a lot of texture to the main narrative. Daybreak II is out in February next year, I can't wait.
Muv Luv: Alternative (Vita)
I've been slowly chipping away at this since... I think 2022? I know this is hailed as being a really great VN, but oh my god is this overwritten to hell and back. Maybe there's a realism to character development that is so slow and sometimes a step forward and two steps back. I think I like the overall story (across this and the previous two titles which are necessary build up). The character work is great, but the absurdly detailed discussion of tactics felt unnecessary since this is a visual novel with no actual gameplay to speak of, apart from making a few choices here and there. Just when the pacing was finally picking up, in chapter 8 (of 10), there was this sequence that has the protagonist and his commanding officer going over all the different enemy types and tactics. I think this took a few hours in game time, but it took me MONTHS to get through in real time. It'd be a very different thing if the VN segments were cut between actual tactical gameplay like 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim or something, but nope, the last few chapters are just still images and awkward static VN animations of combat. And every time they flash back to something that only just happened, it's a full copy and paste insert with all the original internal monologues repeated, not a summary as if it was a memory. If I were to edit this into something more easily digestible, I could probably cut 40% of this easily. Since finishing this, I have been reluctant to pick up another VN. I'm burnt out, man.
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (Switch)
Nice remake. I still own the original on GameCube, but my GameCube no longer works. I was due for a replay since it had been, what, 20 years? This game holds up and it looks very good. Nintendo doesn't make Paper Mario games like this anymore, and that's a damn shame.
Persona 3 Reload (X Series)
I call myself a Persona fan, but up until recently, that had been on the strength of Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5. I've attempted and bounced off both Persona 3 FES, and Persona 3 Portable, for various reasons. For the PS2 versions, I think only being able to control one party member in a turn based RPG is one of the stupidest decisions ever, and that lack of control is what turns me off a lot of party-based action RPGs, even though it is usually more understandable there. Persona 3 Portable just felt way too barebones and stripped down. Persona 3 Reload feels like the definitive version, with a modern coat of paint and QOL enhancements to bring it closer to Persona 5. I was absolutely hooked on it this time around, with all the annoyances of the previous versions dealt with, I could finally enjoy this story and all the social links. What an absolute blast. I got to revisit the game a little later with Episode Aigis, which was a great expansion and coda to the main story.
Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim (Steam)
I just looked at my blog post for January 1st, 2023 where I list this game as "in progress". Hah, yeah, it's one I've come back to on and off, but I finally wrapped it up. The stupid dash jump is an annoying mechanic, but they wisely didn't make it essential - it's only essential if you want to collect everything and get all the achievements and stuff. I did enjoy this, and felt a great sense of relief and accomplishment when I actually finished the damn thing. Some of the bosses definitely halted my progress for a while.
Ys IX: Monstrum Nox (PS5)
With Ys X on the horizon, I decided to ditch my story order and prioritise this game. Once I inserted the disc into my PS5, the disc did not come out until I finished the game some 40ish hours later. I loved how it felt similar to Ys VIII in terms of combat, but the colourful tropical island is replaced by a dark, imposing city. Initially very restrictive, once you open up more of the city and gain your monstrum abilities, you're able to explore the city like you're a superhero - easily able to reach rooftops of even high up towers and soar across the city. The cast of characters were very likeable and the story was gripping from start to finish.
Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Switch)
I liked this more than Tears of the Kingdom. Fight me. Yeah, okay, the UI is very clumsy, especially once you have around 300 echoes, but I did like this novel approach to a top-down classic Zelda where you've got the freedom to play around with the physics like the newer Zelda games. Great fun.
Super Mario RPG (Switch)
Bounced off the old SNES version a few times (first as a rom, then on the Wii Virtual Console, then on the mini SNES). I think giving it a new coat of paint helped. I was surprised how short it was, clocking in at 13 or so hours. Like Paper Mario 2, it feels scandalous now to have this much story in a Mario game. I like that Bowser is just a prologue antagonist, and the real threat is something we haven't seen before (or will again). Mario, Peach, and Bowser in the same party is a rare treat, and Geno and Mallow are great additions to the Mario lore.
Ys SEVEN (Steam)
Immediately after finishing Ys IX, I started up Ys 7... knowing I had about 3 weeks before Ys X came out. I didn't manage to finish it in time, and was playing both concurrently for a short while, but the control schemes were too different. I paused the newer game to finish this. It's kinda weird that this is the first of the Ys games with a party of characters (rather than just Adol) to be produced, but it ended up being the last one I played. It felt weird to lose all the refinements of Ys 8 and 9 here. Interesting story, with some twists and turns even my genre-savvy self didn't see coming. As a PSP game ported to Steam, it felt a bit unpolished and definitely the weakest entry between this, Memories of Celceta, VIII and IX.
Ys X: Nordics (PS5)
Loved this one from start to finish. The new combat system took a little getting used to after the previous party-based Ys games, but this is an interesting new direction. You control Adol and viking girl Karja, you can switch between either of them instantly, or hold a button to use their combined skills. I think the balance may have been a bit off, since the first few hours of this game were the hardest. But then the game lets you really start building your stats, giving you new and better skills, letting you carry plenty of potions and meals... yeah, I'd say the first few bosses gave me more trouble than anything in the end game did, because by the end game, my duo was a two-person army that absolutely destroyed anything that got in its way. I loved the exploration in the game, you get a ship and you can visit various islands to defeat enemies, find treasures, learn more secrets to the viking inspired lore. Karja is a great lead, definitely up there with Dana in terms of best Ys girl. The supporting cast are also quite likeable. I am concerned about Falcom dropping the news about Ys X Proud Nordics, which seems to be an enhanced and expanded version of the game, within a year of the original and on the same platforms. Come on Falcom, don't be like Atlus. You're better than this.
Games in the pipeline
- Metaphor: ReFantazio - loving it, making steady progress. I feel like I've still got some ways to go, but didn't manage to finish it in 2024, though I hope to be done with it soon.
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga - I've finished the main story mode, but have spent a good 100 hours just exploring all the planets and doing missions, puzzles, challenges, etc. Good fun for when I don't want anything too challenging.
- Dragon Quest III 2D-HD - progressing along with this. I really like RPG stories and characters, though I do like the simplicity of this style every once in a while. It's a fast game with absolutely no fluff.
- Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails - I need to get back to this, I'm in the end game but put it aside for Ys and haven't come back to it yet.
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EmP - January 01, 2025 (10:47 AM) Play Xanadu Next, you coward! I got on Doki around the time release, but not early enough to have been pre-warned. The most interesting thing about it was the pseudo-ARG clues dotted around the game files hinting at at grander purpose that came to absolutely nothing. I'd also previously played YOU and ME and HER, which I still consider a better meta experiment. |
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jerec - January 01, 2025 (12:22 PM) I do have Xanadu Next in my Steam library, I need to get to that (and give Tokyo Xanadu a proper go). Got the two Zwei games, as well. I'm all in on Falcom and I'll keep playing them until I run out of english releases - even stuck the PSP rom of Brandish onto my hacked Vita. I tried that one but it felt a bit clunky. YOU and ME and HER is on my Steam wishlist. Someone recommended it to me, but it hasn't become cheap enough yet for me to take a risk on it, and I need to rebuild my tolerance for visual novels again. I was getting heavily into VNs a few years back when I was tired all the time from a very stressful day job, so pressing a button to progress text was often all I had energy for. |
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honestgamer - January 01, 2025 (05:33 PM) This post was a reminder we seem to have very similar taste, outside the Falcom stuff... which I know I will enjoy if I ever get around to it. I own a few of the games you mentioned and have Ys X on my wish list, so maybe someday. I've managed to avoid playing Doki Doki Literature Club AND reading much of anything about it, except that it's really depressing. I'm not really in the mood for depressing, so I'll continue to steer clear of it for now, I think! |
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jerec - January 01, 2025 (06:08 PM) As much as I loved Ys X, I'd hesitate to recommend it right now until we find out what this enhanced version is. I don't know if Doki Doki Literature Club is depressing as such. Disturbing, yes. |
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overdrive - January 12, 2025 (11:38 AM) Do have to play Ys IX at some point. I was surprised with how much I loved VIII, as the old 8-bit and 16-bit ones were just in that "kind of good; nothing great" level (or worse, ie: Ys III on the SNES). Wasn't expecting a truly awesome game with only a tiny handful of things that felt a bit tiresome to do. |
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