Podcast Episode 43 - Game of the Year Categories

This year Matt and I decided to amp up the Game of the Year stuff and start doing categories as well. This will be in addition to our regular Game of the Year podcast that goes up in a few days. For this one we keep the regular format, but then transition into talking about ten categories and giving our top three games in each. We do our best to warn about spoilers.

We talk about a TON of games for the categories, so there will be no timestamps for those.

News - 00:55 to 20:10
What We Played - 20:11 to 42:27
GOTY Categories - 43:20 to 3:25:37

Specific Game Time Stamps
Detroit: Become Human - 20:23 to 30:25
Celeste - 30:26 to 34:53
NHL 19 - 34:54 to 42:27
 

Podcast Episode 42 - So Many World Exclusives

This week we split the podcast into three parts to talk about the two important events that happened. The Kinda Funny Games Showcase and The Game Awards. Before we get into all the cool announcements from those we talk about the 1700 games Matt played in a rapid fire style. We also chat about the Persona rhythm games and Smash Ultimate.

News - 00:26 to 17:28
What we played - 17:29 to 45:19
Kinda Funny Games Showcase - 45:20 to 59:45
The Game Awards - 59:46 to 2:30:08

Specific game time stamps
Dead Cells - 18:08 to 19:23
COD: Black Ops 4 - 19:24 to 20:49
Spyro: Reignited Trilogy - 20:50 to 22:19
Moonlighter - 22:20 to 22:36
Mutant Year Zero - 22:37 to 23:57
Strange Brigade - 23: 58 to 24:27
Grid - 24:28 to 24:50
Battle Royale Tycoon - 24:51 to 27:10
Persona Endless Night Collection - 27:15 to 34:30
Super Smash Brothers Ultimate - 34:31 to 45:19
 

Podcast Episode 41 - Let's Go Smash Leaks

We finally hit the sweet spot of just around 2 hours I've been hoping for. It has been a relatively slow couple of weeks as far as news goes. However, we both played a bunch of stuff. For the second half we talk about our experiences with Pokemon Let's Go Eevee!/Pikachu!

News - 00:56 to 32:46
What we played - 32:47 to 1:28:02
Pokemon Let's Go - 1:28:03 to 2:08:01

Specific game time stamps
Overcooked 2 -33 to 37:32
Firewatch - 37:33 to 43:26
Red Dead Redemption 2 - 43:27 to 57:59
CrossCode -58:00 to 1:03:46
Moonlighter - 1:03:47 to 1:14:03
Yakuza 6 - 1:14:04 to 1:28:02
Pokemon Let's Go! - 1:28:03 to 2:08:01
 

Project Top 10 - Episode 5

After some time away I have returned with another episode of Project Top 10. This time I speak with my friend Gary who had some interesting choices for his top 10 games of all time. I did a poor job of guessing as usual, because I probably could have guessed at least one of them!

Join us as we count down his games from 10 to 1!
 

Podcast Episode 40 - Cowboys and Comic Books

This episode got away from us a little and comes in at just under three hours. I am shooting for these to be 1-2 hours long, but we seem to keep going longer and longer. I promise the next one will be shorter. In our defense there was a ton of news and we got caught up in The Game Awards nominations for a bit.

For part 2 we talk about Marvel comics and its effect on everything.

Section Time Stamps
News - 0:56 to 1:21:15
What we played - 1:21:23 to 2:08:50
Marvel - 2:08:54 to 2:45:30

Specific game time stamps
Assassin's Creed Odyssey -1:21:43 to 1:24:50
Overcooked 2 - 1:24:51 to 1:28:09
Yakuza 6 - 1:28:10 to 1:32:18
Pokemon Let's Go - 1:32:19 to 1:45:05
Red Dead Redemption 2 - 1:45:06 to 2:08:48
 

Game Time - October 2018

Game: Super Mario Party
Developer: Nintendo
Platform: Switch

I don't really like Mario Party and I never have. However, there's something special about getting together with friends and talking as much shit as possible. It ends up being fun for a few hours, but I never really want to go back and play more of it. I feel exactly the same about Super Mario Party.

The last few games diverged from the classic board game formula where each player rolls a die, moves some spaces, and collects coins to buy a star. They got rid of all that for everyone to move at the same time and collect star bits. Thankfully this game is a return to the classic Mario Party everyone used to love. The stages tend to be a bit smaller than in the past, but at least you get to see all of the board events in a single sitting. The mini-games are generally pretty strong. Some of them work as excellent showpieces for the HD rumble the Switch Joycons are known for.

For the most part it's another Mario Party game. The main difference is that each character can either roll a regular die, or a character specific die. These die have pros and cons, but they make choosing a specific character actually mean something outside of aesthetic pleasure. It's a cool addition that shakes things up a bit, but it's not quite enough to move the excitement needle for me. It's a solid Mario Party game, but that doesn't really mean a lot coming from me. It's fun to play with friends for a few hours, but beyond that it's not great.


Game: The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories
Developer: White Owls
Platform: Switch (and everything else)

I first became aware of Swery 65 when I stumbled upon a video series about his game Deadly Premonition. The gameplay was abysmal, but the quirky characters and story pulled me in. He followed it up with the Xbox one launch game D4 where he attempted to make an episodic adventure game using the Kinect. Sadly Microsoft cancelled it after two episodes, which left him floundering for a bit. Recently he found his footing and started his own studio called White Owls. They Kickstarted a game called the Good Life about a town where everyone turns into cats at night. While that was coming together and being funded the studio was working on their first game called The Missing.

The concept of the game is certainly strange. You play as J.J. Macfield, a girl who is on a camping trip with her friend Emily. During a stormy night Emily wanders away from camp and J.J. desperately tries to find her. Very quickly J.J. realizes that she can get hurt and regenerate her body. This is the central mechanic of the game. J.J's body will get mutilated in various ways to solve puzzles. You'll need to weigh down platforms with limbs, catch on fire, get concussions, and roll through tight corridors as just a head. If it sounds a bit disturbing it's because it really is. The whole vibe of the game is a bit creepy and it's trying to convey something through its mechanics.

My biggest issue with the game is that I couldn't stand the actual gameplay. J.J. moves too slow, and every animation goes on for way too long. The overall performance was pretty rough on Switch, and I heard from someone who played it on PS4 that it wasn't much better there. I pushed through my low level of enthusiasm, because I know that Swery can tell a great story. In the end the game definitely delivered. I think it is an important story, but I can't really say what it's about without completely spoiling it. If any of this sounded interesting to you I suggest you check it out.


Game: Forza Horizon 4
Developer: Turn 10
Platform: PC (also Xbox One)

I haven't played a racing game in a long time, so I decided to see if Forza Horizon 4 would run on my PC. It's starting to get outdated, but I didn't want to have to bust out my Xbox One. Luckily the free trial of Xbox Game Pass allowed me to test it out for free. I'm glad I did, because it worked flawlessly. Much more importantly though I ended up loving the game.

Outside of kart racing games the last racing game I played for any extensive amount of time was Burnout Paradise and that was a long time ago. Most of the games on the market now are too much of a simulation for me. Thankfully Forza Horizon bridges the gap and sits somewhere between the insane acrade nature of Burnout, but isn't quite up to the hardcore simulation level of a traditional Forza game. This time you're attending the mystical Horizon festival in the countryside of England. In this fantastical world the Horizon car festival lasts all year long. This means that over the course of the game you get to experience all four seasons. I would have expected them to be purely cosmetic, but handling and weather actually change for each.

At the end of the day Horizon is a driving game. You pick one of the 8 billion cars you may have unlocked and choose a race to enter. There are tons of event types, so if you don't like something you don't have to do it. There are so many events that sometimes it's frankly overwhelming. It plays well and looks stunning. Even though I beat the "story" I have been going back in every so often to bang out a race or two.

Podcast Episode 39 - Pikachu Loves Greek Mythology

This week we're coming to you a bit late, but boy do we have a lot to talk about. We hit you with the news first and talk about the Playstation Classic, Blizzcon, and the final Smash Direct.

We then transition into what we've been playing like Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Season 2 of Telltale's Batman game, the Missing and Delta Rune.

For Part 2 we sort of just talk about Pokemon as a retrospective on the series as a whole. We've both been fans for as long as it's been around and with the upcoming Switch release we thought it would be fun.

Section time stamps
News - 1:20 to 55:12
What we played - 55:13 to 1:39:14
Pokemon Retrospective - 1:39:15 to 2:26:10

Specific game time stamps 
Season 2 of Telltale's Batman Game - 55:18 to 58:46
Assassin's Creed Odyssey - 58:47 to 1:15:08
The Missing - 1:15:17 to 1:25:17
Delta Rune - 1:25:18 to 1:36:50

 

Podcast Episode 38 - 100 Hour Work Weeks at the Horizon Festival

For this week's episode we didn't come up with a topic for the second half, so we go a little more in depth when talking about crunch in the video game industry and our time with Forza Horizon 4. Outside of that we ramble a bit about Obsidian, PSN messages, and Super Mario Party!

News: Start - 48:07
What we played: 48:08 - End

Rockstar 100 hour work week: 25:17 - 36:33
Forza Horizon 4 - !:03:49 - 1:44:02

 If people actually want it I will start to break down each individual topic. We'll see how it pans out!
 

Game Time - September 2018

Game: Dragon Quest XI

Developer: Square-Enix

Platform: PS4 (Also on Steam)

Dragon Quest XI is the JRPG I've been craving. It's odd, because there isn't really anything new to it. It's a very classic turn based RPG with all the elements you would expect from a game of this type. This is normally the sort of thing that would bum me out, but it knows exactly what it is. It takes the formula that you know and love, and just does everything well. It has tons of charm, a compelling story, and all the content you can handle. I am currently 75 hours in and I have at least a few more dungeons to go. Personally I have been engaged the whole time, but I can see how a game of this length would burn some players out. 

Most Dragon Quest games have a very predictable plot with a few over the top twists. Dragon Quest XI is no exception. It has some wild twists that were shockingly not revealed in any pre-release marketing or reviews. There are wide swaths of the game that I can't even talk about without spoiling some very interesting things. It's an impressive feat that I didn't know the main twist of a game that had been out in Japan for a year before its release here. That didn't stop a co-worker from spoiling the entire ending for me this past weekend! 

The western release improves upon the Japanese release in a few ways. First of all it the voice acting. Every character has a strong European accent to the point where it's comical at times. However, for the most part it's very well done. The original Japanese release does not have any voice acting, which I find to be an odd choice. At TGS they announced a Switch version, which will be adding Japanese voice acting. The other brilliant addition to the western release is the ability to dash. Previously you had to walk around at a relatively brisk pace, but with the addition of the dash you can blaze trails around any enemy. At first it seems a little too fast, because enemies definitely can't catch you. Later in the game you come to appreciate its greatness though, because sometimes you just don't want to fight. 

I'm a handful of hours away from the conclusion of my journey and I'll be sad when it's over. This is the kind of JRPG experience that doesn't come along very often in the modern era of games, so I'm trying to savor it. 

Game: Marvel's Spider-Man

Developer: Insomniac

Platform: PS4

As soon as I heard that Sony had contracted Insomniac to make a Spider-Man game I knew it was going to be awesome. I wasn't wrong. For years people have been lamenting the slew of mediocre to terrible Spider-Man games that couldn't seem to recreate the amazing web slinging mechanics of Spider-Man 2 on the Gamecube and PS2. After waiting patiently since 2004 our long nightmare is finally over. Insomniac made a great Spider-Man game!

Insomniac saw what people liked about the traversal in Spider-Man 2 and made their own top notch web swinging system. It always feels cliche to say things like this, but you really feel like Spider-Man. The second the game opens you take control of a swinging Spider-Man as you're shown how to quickly zip around the city. The system is very intuitive and takes hardly any time at all to get used to. It's simple and very fast. I think the thing that makes the system feel complete is that you never really get stuck anywhere. If you mess up and end up climbing a building it's possible to run right up the side and then continue swinging from there, or even sip straight from point to point if needed. It's an easy to execute system, but you can get super fancy if you're up for it.

Outside of the great web swinging the combat feels really good as well, but a bit familiar. If you played the Batman Arkham games the combat will be all too familiar. The dodge and counter system that those games popularized is alive and well here, but with some web shooting thrown in. You clobber enemies and use gadgets until Spidey-Sense lets you know it's time to dodge and then go right back to pummeling thugs. 

The plot is standard fare for an outing in the Spider-Man world. You fight a bunch of interesting villains and stop a plot to wreak havoc on the city. The story is fine, but the gameplay mechanics are really what carries the game through its 30 or so hours. The one downside I can really think of is that the side missions aren't too great. However, that didn't stop me from getting the platinum trophy. Insomniac did an excellent job with this game. Its already the fastest selling PS4 exclusive, which is a crazy thing since God of War just came out a few months ago. 

Podcast Episode 37 - Telltale and TGS

I originally wanted to keep the podcast around an hour, but it has become clear that Matt and I can't do that. So welcome to out 1 and a half to two hour podcast! To make it easier for people who don't have that kind of time I'll include time stamps for each section now. It'll be news, the games we played, and then whatever the topic of the episode is.

So yeah, episode 37 is here. The topic is the Tokyo Game Show and the things we found interesting, but we also talk quite a bit about the unfortunate closure of Telltale Games.

News - 0:00 - 29:50
Games we've been playing - 29:50 - 1:07:10
(Note: From 44:14 - 45:23 Matt spoils the ending of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, so watch out for that if you care!)
TGS stuff - 1:07:10 - 1:53:43

Project Top 10 - Episode 4

In this special episode of Project Top 10 the tables have turned. This time Matt interviews me about my top ten favorite games of all time!

Note: The audio is a bit low

Podcast Episode 36 - The Spider Man

Matt and I are back again to touch on topics like the newest Nintendo Direct, lethal League Blaze, and the PlayStation Classic.

For the second half we transition to talking about the hot new first party Sony title, Spider-Man! Watch out, because for the last half hour we talk openly about spoilers, but we warn ahead of time!

Podcast Episode 35

In this episode Matt and I once again discuss the news we cared about from the past two weeks. We then transition to talking about the Yakuza franchise as a whole for the second half!

Podcast Episode 34 - A brand new age

There is a new format for Game Time With Manny. My friend Landers and I decided that it would be more fun if we did a podcast together. This is the first one.

For the first half we will talk about interesting news and then for the second half we will have a specific topic. This time we chat about upcoming 2018 games we are excited about.

We're shooting for bi-weekly, which is a schedule we should be able to stick to. A solid schedule for this podcast? Who would have thought!
 

Project Top 10 - Episode 3

Episode 3 of Project Top 10 is ready for your keen listening ear. Enjoy the dulcet tones of Landers and I while we discuss his top ten favorite games of all time!

Game Time - July 2018

Game: Octopath Traveler

Developer: Square Enix and Acquire

Platform: Switch

I am always waiting for new JRPG releases to whisk me away to an interesting world where I lose hours of my life. Much to my dismay Octopath Traveler did not do that for me. Prior to its release I had seen a whole lot of Internet chatter about how the game feels disjointed due to the eight characters each having their own stories while never truly interacting. Once I got my hands on the final release, I felt the same. In theory a game telling eight separate stories could be awesome, but because you can't play straight through a single characters story without a ton of grinding for levels it requires you to sample many different stories, so a true flow never develops.

The battle system is quite enjoyable. It's like a mix between Shin Megami Tensei and Bravely Default. Each turn your four party members will gain a bonus point. Like Bravely Default you can use these bonus points to attack up to four times, or power up a skill four times. The SMT comes in when you attack enemy weaknesses. Certain weapon types and elemental damage will break enemies after they are attacked enough times, which makes them unable to attack while decreasing their defense. It's a fun system that requires you to figure out each enemies weakness and whether or not you want to take a fight slow, or unleash attacks in rapid succession to break enemies faster.

I really want to like Octopath Traveler, but nothing about it is particularly grabbing me. It seems as if a great deal of love and care went into the game and it's sold enough copies worldwide to back up that claim. I'm going to keep chipping away at it, but I find myself not wanting to play for more than a handful of minutes at a time. Perhaps once Dragon Quest XI hits my JRPG thirst will finally be quenched. 

Game: WarioWare: Gold

Developer: Intelligent Systems

Platform: 3DS

I have always loved the WarioWare franchise. In an era where Nintendo wasn't really trying to put out a bunch of new things WarioWare was a shining beacon of hope. It was supremely weird and introduced great characters like the pizza delivery girl Mona, and the haunted girl we all love, Ashley. It's the kind of unabashed strangeness that I really love from Japanese games. The concept is that Wario needs money, so he hires his "friends" to make 3- 5 second mini-games known as microgames in order to get rich quick. With little to no instruction the player goes through tons of microgames trying not to fail. It's fast paced and manic, while still managing to be fun.

The franchise hadn't seen a new entry in many years, so when I saw that a new one was coming out I was ecstatic. WarioWare: Gold acts as a greatest hits collection for the franchise. It offers tons of new microgames and even a few new characters, but it also grabs fan favorites from the original, WarioWare Touched, and WarioWare Twisted. They are separated into categories of mash, touch, and twist. At first they're kept separate, but in later challenges you're forced to switch between all three.

It took me a total of three hours to beat the "story," however I loved every minute of it. I've been going back and playing it a bunch because there is an achievement system and I feel like I need to do them all. It's cool to see Nintendo continuing to put out new games in the WarioWare franchise. Hopefully this was a test to see if they should continue producing it for the Switch. 

Game: Dead Cells

Developer: Motion Twin

Platform: PC (Also on Xbox One, PS4, and Switch)

Buzz about Dead Cells started when it first entered early access last year. I personally try to steer clear of early access games that seem interesting, because I usually tend to play them a ton and then get bored before all the content is added. I didn't do this with Dead Cells. I bought it pretty much right away and thought it was awesome. Then, news of the full release in early August happened and I started playing it all over again! Dead Cells rules and if you'tr not playing it then you're a criminal!

I feel like the phrase "smooth controls" is overused in the video games industry, but with Dead Cells it truly applies. Moving around the character is effortless and feels amazing. You play as a weird guy who seems to be dead, but also can't really die. It's a roguelike, so you run through some randomly generated stages, but when you die you have to start back at the beginning. Like many others of its ilk you collect a permanent currency (cells), which you use to purchase upgrades to make each subsequent run easier.  I've been playing it a ton and I don't see myself slowing down any time soon. There are so many intersting places to explore and secrets to uncover. Like, why are there so many doors all over each level that you can knock on? They have to be for something!

I don't really know what to say other than you should totally play Dead Cells. It's on PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Switch. The Switch version seems to be having some issues later in the game, but they seem to be working to fix that. It seems like it's doing very well, which is cool because I can't wait to see this developer make another game. Dead Cells is the best roguelike in ages, which is saying a lot, because we're basically drowning in them at this point.  

Project Top 10 - Episode 2

The second episode of Project Top 10 has arrived. This time I talk with my close friend Andrew Noukeo about his top ten favorite games of all time!
 

Project Top 10 - Episode 1

My new podcast idea has finally come to fruition and it's called Project Top 10. In this hot new podcast I sit down with a different person each episode and discuss their top ten favorite video games of all time! Since I use Soundcloud for my podcast RSS feed it will live alongside my regular podcast in the feed.

In this inaugural episode I sit down with my brother William. I had a pretty good idea of his favorites going in, but he definitely threw me some curve balls.

Game Time - June 2018

Game: Yoku's Island Express
Developer: Villa Gorilla
Platform: Switch (Also out on Xbox, PS4, and PC)

Around the time Yoku's Island Express was released I began to hear a bunch of positive buzz. It was being described as a Metroid style exploration game, but with the odd addition of pinball. At first I didn't really understand how that could actually work, but after the first few minutes of play it becomes very apparent. It not only works, but works well in order to add a fresh gameplay style to a well tread type of game.

You start off as the dung beetle Yoku. He answered a call to replace a mysterious island's mail man. Naturally the old mail man was a pterodactyl, and he's fed up with his post (pun fully intended). You bump into him as you arrive on the island and are give the post master bag and told to be on your way to HQ where you can learn more about the job. At first it feels weird, because you can only move left or right while rolling a ball of dung. The pinball comes in by way of orange and blue flippers throughout the world. Pushing L will operate one color, while R does the other. You essentially just roll around until you see flippers, or fall into oddly contained pinball tables.

I'm nearing the end of the game, but it's not particularly long. It's not particularly challenging either. That's okay because it definitely requires some precision pinball shots and I am unbelievably bad at pinball even when it's virtual. Yoku's Island is an interesting mashup of gameplay styles, that is well complimented by its charming characters, world, and music. It's a really unique little product, and I'm glad stuff like this is coming out.


Game: Hyrule Warriors Definitive Edition
Developer: Omega Force
Platform: Switch

There was a period of time where I tried to play it off like I ironically liked Dynasty Warriors games. I am willing to admit to you here, today, that I actually love Dynasty Warriors games with all my heart. I'm not ashamed anymore! Sometimes I just want to mash a button and cut down thousands of enemies with little to no effort as I zone out. There are the times where I want it to be Zelda themed. Initially I tried to hold off because I had already bought Hyrule Warriors on the Wii-U, but Fire Emblem Warriors was so disappointing that I just had to get something else to sate my desire for mindless action.

I didn't buy any of the DLC for the original release of the game, and then I refused to when they released a 3DS version with exclusive characters and content. Normally I wouldn't care that much except for the fact that the 3DS version ran like absolute garbage and I wasn't paying $40 for an inferior product. So now I'm over here with the Switch version and it has more content than I can possibly handle. The character roster has been increased exponentially and almost every character feels unique. The issue I had with Fire Emblem Warriors was that every character felt exactly the same. It was a man or woman with a sword, they just didn't do it for me. In this I can be all sorts of weird people. Tingle whacks people with a big bag of rupees and then smashes you with his butt. Skull kid poorly blows into the ocarina and flies around like a weirdo. They're all so unique, and I love it!

I'm going to be honest with you here though, there's never a whole lot to say. It's a Warriors game. You pick a character go into a battle, take over outposts, and collect loot. Most of this is done by mashing the light attack button while randomly throwing in strong attacks and supers. Hyrule Warriors doesn't really bring a whole lot of new gameplay to the table, it just has a ton of unique characters and an obscene amount of costumes, characters, and weapons to unlock. I would gladly recommend this to anyone with the caveat that it's just more Dynasty Warriors with a cool skin.


Game: Mario Tennis Aces
Developer: Camelot
Platform: Switch

I'm not the biggest sports fan, but something has always drawn me to the Mario sports games. I don't really consider go-karting to be a sport, so Mario Tennis on the N64 was the first one I remember playing. I never bought it, but I rented it a ton. It was simple enough to play, but difficult to master the elite level strategies. With each iteration they added more mechanics, and I ended up liking it less each time. So it's odd now that it's at it's most complex I'm more on board than I've ever been.

Aces adds a whole layer of complexity to Mario Tennis that I didn't even know I wanted. It's not just about returning the ball anymore. Now you have to worry about what type of shot you're using and what you're returning each shot with. There's actually a weapon triangle-like mechanic at play where certain shots beat certain shots and allow you to gain more meter. Yes, you heard correctly! This Mario Tennis game has meter just like a fighting game. With each hit you gain a bit of meter, and can use it to slow down time, hit powerful jump shots, or even use a super move. Slowing down time helps with returning difficult to reach shots, but also help you properly time the return of jump shots and super moves. Aces has added the possibility to win by KO. Shots that take meter to perform can cause damage to your racket, which will eventually make it shatter if you don't return them at the right time. When you run out of racket's it's game over for you!

Sounds like a lot to take in right? Well wait, there's more! The final addition that I cannot stand are trick shots. These are special long reach shots that you can perform by flicking the right stick in a direction towards a far away ball. If timed right your character will fly across the court and return almost anything. It makes volleys take forever. The issue I have is that there seems to be absolutely no risk to spamming trick shots like an idiot. You barely lose anything if you miss, and actually GAIN meter if you hit. Regardless, all of these mechanics have made it almost like a fighting game in terms of strategy. It's pretty cool, and I've been having a ton of fun playing with my friends. I have not really been having a ton of fun online though, because everyone trounces me. It's a bit of a bummer because once the short story mode is over the only thing you can really do is play people online. With that said though, I think that Aces is an excellent package that Nintendo seems like they will be supporting in a similar fashion as Splatoon 2. It's a ton of fun!

Podcast Episode 33 - E3 2018

The podcast returns and I talk about E3. I start off by giving my thoughts on the state of E3 and whether or not it's still necessary. I then turn my sights to the things I personally enjoyed.

Game Time - May 2018

Game: Yakuza 6
Developer: Sega
Platform: PS4

I finished Yakuza 6 a few days ago and can't stop thinking about the ending. The seven game saga of Kazuma Kiryu is finally over, and I don't really know how to feel. Personally the conclusion didn't really do it for me, but with a few small tweaks it would have. I don't want to talk in vagaries about an ending you may not have seen, so I won't. I'll just say that the ending was not as impactful as it could have been. However, the game as a whole was excellent. The journey was interesting, but a bit plodding. That tends to be par for the course with Yakuza.

My playthrough clocked in at right around 26 hours, which I cannot believe. I felt like I was playing for at least 50. So either the clock is just wrong, or the pacing really got to me. That's one thing that always bugs me in Yakuza games is that the pacing is all over the place. It meanders along to try and add dramatic effect. Sometimes it works, but other times it prolongs already obvious plot twists and story developments. I still don't really know if this is a cultural thing or just actual pacing issues.

I'm glad that the story of Kiryu is done now. Now Sega can focus on the upcoming remasters and then move onto a new protagonist. While I absolutely love Kiryu, I think it was his time to give up the spotlight. I can't wait to see where the franchise goes next. Over the course of 7 games they built up a lot of interesting characters and relationships so it will be interesting to see what they follow it up with.


Game: Pixel Junk Monsters 2
Developer: Q-Games
Platform: PS4 (Also out on Switch)

As sad as it is to say, I bought the original Pixel Junk Monsters because it was one of the first PS3 games with trophies in it. At first I was all about the trophies, but I ended up falling in love with the little tiki man and his quest to protect his home with towers. Now, I've never been a huge tower defense fan, but something about Pixel Junk Monsters still feels different to me. Perhaps it's the more active nature. Instead of just placing a tower and waiting for waves of monsters to attack you take part in the action directly. The little tiki man acts as your cursor. If he stands over a tower he will begin to dance and the tower will upgrade over time. On top of that when enemies die they drop coins and gems which you will need to build more towers, so you need to always be on the move.

Pixel Junk Monsters 2 works largely the same as the original. The tiki man is back again, and he still dances all over the towers. However, this time you don't get to see the whole map. Instead everything is zoomed in just enough to obscure parts of the path. At first it's annoying, but it encourages even more movement and action so I'm okay with it. In addition just moving around to collect currency and upgrade towers the little guy can throw bombs and do sweet body slams now.

My favorite part has to be the visuals. I am obsessed with stop motion animation, and that's what the game looks like. Everything has a clay look to it, and the animation is fairly stilted. The default camera is the same as it's always been, but you can now push R2 to zoom in behind the tiki mans back, but gives a fresh perspective on everything. That's when you can really check out the awesome new art style. I fully expected this to be an easy rehash of the original, but it brings new art, and concepts to an already robust product. I haven't played a whole lot yet, but I'm looking forward to checking out more of it.


Game: Valkyria Chronicles Remastered
Developer: Sega/ Media Vision
Platform: PS4

Back in 2008 when Valkyria Chronicles was released on the PS3 I got it as a Christmas gift. It's the kind of semi-real time strategy game I'd be way into, but back then I had a lot going on and just didn't find the time to play it much. By the time I got around to it, I just kept finding excuses to play new games instead. I let one of my friends borrow it, and they ended up beating it fairly quickly. They absolutely loved it and kept trying to get me into it. I have a very hard time going back to old games once their time in the sun has passed, and normally try to stick with new stuff. However, now with the looming release of Valkyria Chronicles 4 I found my gaming schedule free after beating Yakuza 6 and decided I should finally give the game a shot.

I stopped by Gamestop and picked up the remastered version for PS4, and I've been having a blast so far. I've always been a sucker for strategy games, so I feel right at home playing Valkyria Chronicles. It essentially functions like turn based strategy games like Advance Wars and Fire Emblem, except with a little more direct input from the player. In battle you are given a set amount of medals, which allow you to move a character for each one you have. When you pick a character you are then put in direct control of them. They have a stamina bar, and can move until it is depleted. Like I said it's not too far off from most turn based strategy games, but the direct control of the moving and aiming adds a lot.

I've only done the first few missions, but I'm already farther than I got initially. The game is introducing new unit types and mechanics at a decent clip and I'm really digging it. So far the plot is relatively interesting, but I don't know if I'm fully invested yet. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts as I take the rest of June to try and finish it up.

Game Time - April 2018

Game: Ni No Kuni 2
Developer: Level-5
Platform: PS4

Ni No Kuni 2 is one of the first games in a long time that has made me feel like I'm crazy. It reviewed super positively, and pretty much everyone was singing its praises. I did beat it, but I didn't enjoy it very much. The combat never got much more exciting and it certainly never got any deeper. I was hoping that by the end of the game any of the characters would get worthwhile or meaningful development. That didn't come to pass either. It's weird, because on the surface it is a great game. It starts strong, and introduces tons of systems that seem interesting. However, like I said last month it's a jack of all trades, master of none scenario. There is a lot going on, but no one thing is focused on and almost all of it fell flat for me.

This isn't to say I think it's a bad game, I just don't understand the effusive praise and everyone treating it like it's the best thing to happen to JRPGs in a decade. It's fine. One of the things that I couldn't get over was just how easy it was. I saw all kinds of things online about people suggesting to use weaker characters, don't level, and pretty much don't use the tools available to you and it'll be a much more "fun" experience. I'm going to come right out and say that if your game is so easy that I have to actively try to handicap myself and not interact with all of its systems then it was poorly balanced. 

In the end Ni No Kuni 2 just didn't grab me like the original. To me it was noticeable that Studio Ghibli was no longer involved. The game borrowed the Ghibli style, but when it came to voice acting and animation it just didn't feel right to me. The original game built an interesting world that felt like there was a lot of thought put into it. This game flies through everything and TWO of the continents don't even have anything on them aside from monsters. I don't like being that guy that dunks on the thing everyone is happy about, but I just don't get the praise. It's fine.

Game: Yakuza 6

Developer: Sega

Platform: PS4

At this point I have played every Yakuza game except for Yakuza 2, and the non-canon Yakuza Dead Souls. So I know a thing or two about Kazuma Kiryu and his crazy antics. It's wild that all he ever wants to do is leave the Yakuza, but somehow he just gets roped back in over and over. Lucky for Kiryu, Yakuza 6 will bring his saga to a close. I have greatly enjoyed my time with it so far. 

Last year the excellent Yakuza 0 came out, which got a lot of people on board in the West. In my opinion this caused a few problems, mainly with the character of Goro Majima. He's essentially a different person in 0, but at the end they give context to how he acts for literally every other game in the franchise. I also feel like 0 does a poor job of making people like Kiryu, which is a shame because he is the protagonist of every other Yakuza game. However, the roughest part is that people will most likely have played Yazkua 0, and the remake of 1 and then jump right to 6. This sucks, because so far there have been a ton of callbacks and characters from the rest of the series. Hell, even some of the main characters from Yakuza 4 and 5 wouldn't even be known.

Yakuza 6 may also leave a bad first impression, because it's running on a different engine than every game prior to it. It's vastly improved, but as with all things moving over to a brand new engine it loses some of the complexity it had built over time. While Yakuza 0 and Kiwami introduced multiple fighting styles and a myriad of moves, Yakuza 6 only has one style and it plays more like a standard beat-em-up. There are a few moves to learn, but you can get away with mashing like an idiot. I really like Yakuza 6 so far, but I have a feeling that it may fall flat for people who weren't there for the rest of the series.

Game: God of War

Developer: SIE Santa Monica Studio

Platform: PS4

I borrowed the first God of War from a friend around the time it came out, and got about halfway through before dropping it. The gratuitous violence felt unnecessary and I didn't find Kratos to be an interesting character. I tried again with God of War 2 and similarly dropped it. God of War just wasn't for me, but when Sony showed they were releasing a new God of War based around Norse mythology it piqued my interest. Something about Norse mythology has always interested me. 

I didn't really know what to expect of this game going in, but I ended up absolutely loving it. The combat was more fun to me, the violence was toned down a bit, and Kratos was actually an interesting character. It's been interesting to see video games grow up as a medium. A lot of the people who were there at the beginning have kids now and that's been showing up more and more in recent releases. The crux of the new plot is that Kratos moved far to the north after he killed the Greek pantheon and ended up having a child. The game opens shortly after his new wife's death where Kratos and his son Atreus are setting off to scatter her ashes from the tallest mountain in all the realms. It's a simple enough premise that quickly turns into a much more daunting task than it seems.

As is to be expected you're going to come into contact with all sorts of creatures and gods. This time around though the plot is less about murdering everything and more about Kratos and his son bonding. It becomes clear early on that Kratos wasn't around much and his son resents him for that. There is a lot of conversation and most of it is very well done. The combat is much more my speed too. It's a little more deliberate than the older games. Kratos now wields a magical ice ax that he can throw and recall at will. At first blush the combat seems simple, but as you learn more moves it gets quite a bit deeper. In the end I had dozens of moves, but only was using a handful I liked. It offers a lot of depth for those who are looking to use it, but you can get by with the basics if you need to. I absolutely loved this game, and am excited to see where the take the franchise next. 

Game Time - March 2018

Note: I have been struggling to think of a new format for the monthly edition of game time, but I have finally settled on something. I'm tired of regurgitating story and gameplay descriptions. With that said the format won't change too much, but the text will be a lot more personal. I'm also going to try and do away with the intros and outros because I never knew what to say anyways. 


Game: DJMax Respect
Developer: Neowiz MUCA
Platform: PS4

The DJMax franchise has been around for quite a while, but only a handful have been released in the U.S. DJMax Respect is the first one to be released here since 2012 if you exclude mobile releases. What's cool about Respect is that it pays homage to all of the previous games in the franchise. The opening to the game is a spectacular animated scene that depicts all the previous DJMax games as grave stones that are being revived. Then to enter the game you need to press X to pay respect. It shows a love for the previous games in a way that I would never have expected.

This franchise can be notoriously difficult. Much to my dismay they even marketed it as "the Dark Souls of rhythm games." While I don't think it's impossibly hard it definitely has been giving me a hard time. Each song can be played with 4, 5, 6, or 8 buttons. As you'd imagine the songs get harder with more buttons, but I'm finding it fun to learn. I can do pretty well with 4 buttons, but 6 buttons is kicking my butt. Normally the repeated failures would make me frustrated, but I've persevered and am actually getting better. This game has given me skills that I can take over to other rhythm games too. I never really understood why people cranked up the speed of the notes in game, but it actually helps to space them out so you can see what's coming next. It's incredibly helpful, so now I try to play everything at 2X speed. At first it's really jarring, but now I can actually tell what buttons to push in super fast paced sections. 

It's really cool to see a developer make a product that shows a love for all the previous games in a franchise. At first I thought that Respect was just another one of their random subtitles like fever or Technica, but it's actually all about paying respect to the franchise. I am having an absolute blast with this game and will probably keep trying to get better at it. It's going to help when four DLC packs come out next Friday.

Videos: DJMax Respect - The Lowest Level Play
              DJMax Respect - Let's Get Good


Game: Ni No Kuni 2
Developer: Level-5
Platform: PS4

I absolutely loved the original Ni No Kuni. It came out at a time in my life when I could properly enjoy it because I was fresh out of college and didn't have a job. It left a lasting impression on me, so when the sequel was announced I got super excited. I'm currently playing through it right now and I think it's fun, but it's not blowing my mind like the original was.

Instead of the semi turn based combat of the original the sequel employs a much more action oriented system. It's more engaging in theory, but it ends up being too easy. I've seen people recommending to not use all of the tools at your disposal to make it more challenging, which is a ridiculous notion to me. I like being powerful, but at a certain point I'm just massacring enemies with reckless abandon. The part I'm digging the most is the kingdom building portion. The main character Evan was overthrown in the beginning so the entire crux of the story is that he's building a new kingdom called Evermore. You go around the game and recruit citizens to come and live with you. They have special abilities that take effect depending on what buildings you put them in. It's a cool system that gets a little bogged down by real time counters. Luckily the longest counter I've seen so far is 50 minutes, which flies by because there is so much to do.

What gets me about it so far is that I come to RPGs looking for an engaging story and well developed characters and so far Ni No Kuni 2 is not delivering that at all. So far it's moving at a lighting pace and none of the characters are really receiving any development. I love level-5 as a developer, but they have a real jack of all trades, master of none thing going on. They build huge games with tons of content, but no one thing stands out above the rest. They make such colorful and and fun games so it bums me out that they try to cram so many things into each one. I'm all for more content in games, but if it takes away from the quality of other content is it really worth it? Who knows, maybe I'll get to the end of this and feel differently, but right now I'm just having mindless fun.


Game: A Way Out
Developer: Hazelight Studios
Platform: PS4

The first game from Hazelight was Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons, which received critical acclaim. I never ended up playing it, but heard nothing but positive things about it. It was trying to tell an emotional story, which isn't always the easiest thing to do in video games. I first became aware of the studio's second game A Way Out at EA's E3 press conference this past year. However, I think most people became aware of it  during the game awards when the director Josef Fares got a little rowdy and started yelling "fuck the Oscars." I just finished A Way Out a few hours ago and it definitely wouldn't have won any Oscars.

I am still trying to fully process my feelings on this game. It's ambitious as hell, but it just doesn't work as intended. The entire game has to be played in co-op, so the game takes place entirely spit-screen. During certain scenes the screen real estate will change depending on which player has the more important thing going on. It's a cool effect, but it makes the actions of the other player seem meaningless. In fact, most of the actions feel kind of lifeless and meaningless. It starts out as a simple adventure game with the most basic button prompts, but by the end it's a poorly controller third person shooter.

It was a fun experience, but a lot of the game seemed to miss the mark. You can't have a super emotional game that's supposed to leave a lasting impact on the player with the quality of voice acting in the game. A lot of the line deliveries fall flat, and it's a huge bummer. It also doesn't help that it has a lot of goofy video game stuff in it. Janky looking walk animations are enough to take you right out of an "emotional" scene. It was around a six hour experience that I enjoyed while sitting next to a friend. I don't really know that it left a lasting impression, but I think that the kind of cinematic approach it was taking is admirable. It's cool, but don't playing it expecting some kind of life changing story.

Game Time - February 2018 - Monster Hunter World End Game

Note:In my attempt to think of a new format for the monthly edition of Game Time I completely forgot to write one up for February. One idea I had was to write something more in depth about my thoughts on a game as opposed to regurgitating what it is. So I'm going to try that now. Today I will be talking about the end game content of Monster Hunter World.

I want to preface this entire thing by saying that I absolutely love Monster Hunter World. Last time I checked I had put in 114 hours. That's a long time and sadly I think I'm about done until there are a bunch more content added to the game. So far Capcom has been doing a good job of cycling in event quests to help out with farming materials and occasionally adding new pieces of gear to the game. This past week the first major update came out, which finally added the Deviljho. It's a cool addition, because the Deviljho is a fan favorite, but it's just a single monster. I would much prefer huge content dumps to the few events and updates we are getting now.

The issue I'm facing is that there is no more reason for me to grind out materials and weapons. I personally have the best weapon I can be using, and the armor set I have is good enough for my play style. There are no more new monsters for me to see, so the only thing left for me to do is grind tempered monsters until the end of time. There really isn't a reason to though, because as I said there's nothing left to fight. In theory I think tempered monsters are cool. They're basically just more challenging versions of all the monsters in the game that drop special stones. These various types of stones can be used to augment weapons with special abilities. These range from having more defense to regaining health based on your damage. For a while I was content to grind these stones, but with no more real weapon or armor progression I quickly got bored.

Monsters are the main thing that kept me interested in the previous games. There just aren't enough Monsters for me in World. For example World has 30 monsters (31 with the Deviljho), while the game that got me into the series Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate had 51. 20 more Monsters might not seem like a lot, but it makes for a lot more variety. Personally I feel that World is lacking in monster variety in general. Recent games have added a ton of unique monsters, while a bunch of the monsters in World feel to similar for my taste. 

It's quite possible that I have been spoiled by the ultimate versions of these games in the past. I got used to having G rank difficulty monsters, so it feels weird that this game doesn't have them. The ultimate versions of these games had tons of monsters and content in general, but to be fair to World they were more like expansions. It's entirely possible that World will get a paid content update, or even an ultimate version of its own. G rank would add a new level of armor for each monster and the weapons would get even more added to their trees. It would bring back a reasonable sense of progression as opposed to the incremental progress that can be made now. 

What really bums me out is that the quality of life and engine improvements in World made it almost impossible for me to go back to the older games. World is an amazing base for the series going forward, and allowed for the franchise to take hold on a global level. I know there will be more games like this going forward and even new updates to World. While all of these things about the end game and lack of monster variety are bumming me out I understand why there isn't a ton more content. This is the first time in a very long time that the series has been on a home console and not the 3DS. They're remaking everything from the ground up, so it's going to take a bit of time for it to get to where I personally want it. 

Podcast Episode 32 - Monster Hunter World

In this episode of the podcast I discuss what Monster Hunter World is all about and how I think it was able to succeed on a global scale.

Podcast Episode 31 - The One Year Anniversary of the Switch

The Nintendo Switch turns one year old today and I talk all about it in the newest episode of the podcast! Listen in as I talk about how I feel the Switch did in its first year and where it's going.
 

Plans for 2018

This blog is something that I have been consistently working on for years. I try my best to write a post at least once a month, but sometimes I just can't find the motivation. Video games are definitely something I'm passionate about, but to be honest when I come home from work I'd rather play them than sit here and write about them.

It's no secret that my dream job is to write about video games in some capacity and originally I was trying to use this as a repository of my work, but as of right now it's not where I'd like it to be. The kind of stuff that you'll find on websites that still focus on writing about video games is far above the work you'll find here. I don't think I'm the best writer, but I definitely think I can be doing better.

The only thing I've really been doing on here for a while is a monthly edition of Game Time. It started as a weekly post that I decided to pare down. Then in 2017 I decided to pare it down again, because I was writing about three games with five paragraphs of description for each. That was way too much. The worst part is that the text I was writing wasn't that good. Now that I've trimmed down to three paragraphs I still feel the same way. I just vomit up three paragraphs per game where I describe what they are and loosely give my opinion. It's just not what I want it to be.

My main goal for 2018 is to revamp Game Time yet again. Right now I just don't care about what I'm writing each month. I'm trying to fill some imaginary quota I imposed upon myself. I want to keep the Game Time posts as a way to talk about the various games I've played each month, but it might be better served in a more list-like form. Then I can have one or two long form articles about specific games each month. I don't know how I'm going to do it yet, but I have a few ideas I'll try out at the beginning of March.

The other thing I want to do is try and write more. I feel like I always tell myself this, but then as usual lose motivation. That's why I'm not making some type of personal promise or even saying I'll do that. I'm just putting it out there that I'd like to make more posts. Bringing back Memorable Melodies would be a good start. If I did that I'd probably write a bunch and have them go up as scheduled posts.

In general I just feel really weird about this blog. It should be a fun thing I do in my spare time, but in my mind I treat it like a job. I need to change my personal outlook and then maybe I can start to enjoy this thing again in the same way I used to. I just need to try out a bunch of new stuff and see where it leaves me. Thanks for taking this very weird journey with me as I try to find my place on the Internet.

Game Time - January 2018

I decided to take December off from writing and now I'm back to start 2018 with a bang! 2017 was a stellar year for Video games, and 2018 looks like it's going to be great as well. 

To start I'll talk about Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which is the last game I started playing in 2017, but the first game I beat in 2018. It's the first new expansive RPG for the Switch and it delivered in all the ways I wanted it to. 

As for some hot new 2018 releases I've got Dragon Ball FighterZ and Monster Hunter: World. Sadly I have only played a bit of DBZ, but it seems like it's actually a good fighting game. Monster Hunter on the other hand has pretty much consumed my life since its release. Boy do I love me some Monster Hunter. 

It's game time!

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

I played the original Xenoblade Chronicles for over 100 hours before getting burned out. I forced myself to do everything I saw, until I just couldn't do it anymore. I came back to it a few months later and finished it. For my initial 100 hours of play I loved that game. The MMO like combat pulled me in deeper than I ever would have expected. The real draw for me was the interesting story though. That's why I bounced off Xenoblade Chronicles X. There was barely any narrative whatsoever, but Chronicles 2 brings it back.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 returns to the originals narrative heavy roots.

I don't even really know where to start with this game. The combat system is a more simplified version of the original with a ton of complex and slightly convoluted systems are layered on top of it. To start the original game had you using a fairly large pool of skills that once used would go into a cooldown state. Depending on your style of play you could swap out skills when you needed. Chronicles 2 cuts down drastically on the skills known as artes and each character only has three they can use in battle at a time. Each character auto attacks like an MMO and then you use skills to do more damage and inflict status effects. At first it sounds more simple until you get into the combo system.

The world of Chronicles 2 revolves around beings called blades. They are essentially sentient weapons. The characters you control are called drivers, who bond with crystals to make the blades appear. Once summoned they are bound to the driver and you can use them in battle. They each have different elements, which leads us back to the combo system. Each driver can have three blades equipped. In addition to their three skills they have a special attack that can level up from 1 to 4 by using skills. Once you use a special a combo meter will start and a branching path will appear on screen. You then need to find the next element in the chain in order to continue the combo. Once you complete a full tree which takes three special attacks an orb will begin floating around the enemy with the color of the last element you used in the chain. You can then "burst" by filling another meter. Once you do that you get a chance to break the orbs you have on an enemy in order to do massive damage.

The UI is just as overwhelming as the battle system!

Confused? I certainly was for the first few hours of the game, because the tutorials are not super great and you can't really review them. The entire system revolves around working to built these combo chains, which takes a long time. Due to that even battles with weak enemies can take upwards of ten minutes because your meant to do a ton of damage with your burst. At first it seemed tedious but once I got the hang of it every battle seemed like a puzzle. The battle system is the core of the game. Overall the game is fun, but man does it have some huge flaws. The map is atrocious, and getting blades revolves around random chance, but the entire experience as a whole was something I greatly enjoyed. It's the first real AAA rpg for the switch and it's at least worth a look.

Dragon Ball Fighterz

I'm going to be real here, I've played this game three times. Twice during betas, and once to get trounced by my brother and a few friends because I focused all my time on Monster Hunter instead. What I have played of the game is very fun though. I kind of knew what to expect from a DBZ fighting game made by ARKSYS, but I have been pleasantly surprised by it. Just like Xrd the game looks beautiful in motion and in stills it looks just like the anime. In terms of gameplay it was a lot of intricacies you'd expect from.an ARKSYS game, while remaining assecible for the average player. If you just want to have some fun with DBZ characters you can mash one of three attack buttons to do cool looking auto combos. On the other hand if you want to go wild with super long combos you make yourself it's got you there too.

Like Guilty Gear Xrd before it FighterZ is a beautiful game. 

I'm excited to really dive in and see what the story is all about. It introduces a new Android character (21) and she seems pretty cool. You have to beat the story to unlock her as a playable character so I haven't seen much of her on streams. So far people seem to really like the game and I hope it succeeds in a huge way for ARKSYS.

Monster Hunter World

Monster Hunter World came out last Friday. I have played 80 hours since then. I have killed monsters for approximately two full work weeks now and I don't regret a single moment of it. As some of you may know I fell down the Monster Hunter rabbit hole for the first time with Tri Ultimate on the Wii-U. The thrill of the hunt caught me and since then I have put over 1,000 hours into the franchise as a whole. What's a bummer is that most of the time people are dismissive about the franchise because it doesn't do a good job of explaining a lot of it's systems and it can get overwhelming fairly quickly. Now we have Monster Hunter World, which does a lot to try and make the series appeal to a wider audience, and for the most part I think it succeeds.

I could list the quality of life changes World makes, but that's not going to mean anything to a lot of people. What I can tell you is that there has never been a time to start playing the series. For once it has a tutorial that is serviceable enough to get you into the swing of things. It is by no means perfect and misses a few things, but at least it does enough to get prospective players started.

The scale of the monsters and the world are much larger than ever before.

Just in case you don't know what Monster Hunter is, the title says it all. You hunt large monsters and use their parts to craft weapons and armor. This is all done in service of hunting more monsters! There are 14 weapon types which are all very different, and I equate them to different characters in a fighting game. At first glance their movesets seem very limited, but under the surface they are all very nuanced. Finding the true potential of a weapon is a large part of the fun I find in the game.

In previous iterations you would travel around various maps and travel through loading zones to attack monster. In World each map is one contiguous zone, and there is an emphasis on everything being more like actual nature. Everything is lush, and the monsters interact both with the environment and each other. Capcom took a calculated risk by moving Monster Hunter from handhelds to home consoles, but after selling 5 million copies worldwide in just three days I think their gamble paid off. The franchise is seeing success on a global scale like never before and I can't wait to see what kinds of updates this new formula receives. It just might be the best Monster Hunter yet.

2018 is Going to Be a Banger

Every time a new Monster Hunter comes out I get sucked in for a long time. In my extreme hype for World, i decided to import Monster Hunter XX for the Switch. Going to back to a game without all of the improvements and quality of life changes that World made has been rough so far. Despite that I've been sticking with it and continue to play two Monster Hunter games at the same time...

When I get completely burned out of Monster Hunter I'm going to transition back to playing the new Digimon game. I have a lot of thoughts about it... As a turn based RPG I like it a lot, but as a story based game I can't stand it. It's the equivalent of playing a filler episode from an Anime.

Most of the new releases on the horizon that I care about are in March. So it's entirely possible that I'll just continue to play a whole lot of Monster Hunter.

Top Ten Games of 2017

I can say without any hesitation that 2017 was one of the best years of all time in terms of video game releases. What makes it even better is that the real world events of 2017 were depressing to say the least, so it was nice to look to my hobby for new levels of happiness and quality. Video games rule, and I'm glad.

As usual I will be listing my top ten games of the year in descending order. Please keep in mind that these are my opinions based on games I personally completed in 2017.


10. Digimon World: Next Order

The original Digimon World was ahead of its time, and was truly a one of a kind game. Raising Digimon in an open world didn't happen again until now.

Next Order brings back the city building and Digimon raising that I love, but this time you raise TWO at the same time. I lost countless hours of sleep to this game, and I hope they continue using this formula.





9. Gravity Rush 2

Gravity Rush got its start on the Vita, which means it was pretty much DOA. Despite a rough start the game garnered enough of a following to garner a sequel that improves upon the original in almost every way.

Once again you control Kat, the Gravity Queen as you fly through the air using your magical Gravity powers. The world is larger, and the mechanics work a lot better than before. Sadly the story is wrapped up, so we might not get to see another.




8. Hollow Knight

Metroidvania games have been wearing out their welcome for me recently, but Hollow Knight pulled me right back in. Team Cherry has manages to create a beautifully bleak world that's surprisingly fun to explore.

You play a little bug knight with a nail as you explore a long abandoned kingdom. The combat initially seems a bit mashy, but I eventually got into a rhythm and enjoyed it a lot.




7. Nier: Automata

I feel like I'm one of the few people who played the original Nier, and am one of the even fewer people who actually liked it. Due to that fact I put off playing Automata for a lot longer than I should have, because I was worried that the hype would fall flat for me. It didn't.

While the combat wasn't the best, it was serviceable. What drew me in was the crazy existentialist story of a few androids. The themes and questions that Automata bring up are absolutely crazy.




6. Yakuza 0

I fell into the Yakuza franchise during its third entry and I have loved it ever since. What's crazy to me is that this is the entry when the series finally blew up in the West. The story goes back to the 1980's when the Japanese real-estate market was blowing up, and a young Kazuma Kiryu is just starting his Yakuza career.

You get to see characters you've known for years in a brand new context. On top of that it introduces many new combat styles to keep it feeling fresh.




5. Pyre

What I like about SuperGiant games is that each one of their games have been different. Bastion was an action game, Transistor was turn based strategy, and now Pyre is a visual novel mixed with a weird fantasy sport.

I thoroughly enjoyed dunking my way across the Downside in an attempt to rescue my fellow teammates from their banishment. I'd give more context, but it would ruin the experience for you. Just know that it's a well developed world, and the part where you play a sport is fun.



4. Super Mario Odyssey

Mario is the first video game I ever owned, which is why I think Odyssey is so special. To me it feels like the culmination of everything Nintendo has been working towards with Mario since its inception. It manages to be an excellent new adventure while paying homage to the days of old. I teared up a few times.

It feels like you want a Mario game to feel, and it's so awesome that you can possess enemies with your magical hat. Odyssey rules.




3. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Breath of the Wild is a reinvention of the classic Zelda formula that still manages to hold onto what makes people consider something to be a Zelda game. The open world is immense and filled with a lot to see.

What's amazing is that it made exploring an open world fun for me again. It's not overly concerned in funneling you towards all the coolest content, and lets you discover the secrets the world has to offer on your own. Even more importantly is that it proves Nintendo can renew their old formulas.



2. Persona 5

Persona 5 is exactly the JRPG I wanted it to be. Even though people seemed to turn on it relatively quickly I still think it's great. I like the characters, world, and story. Don't even get me started on how amazing the music is.

Yes, it should have come out in Winter of 2014. However, the game we got was well worth the wait.




1. Night in the Woods

I found out about this game from a random ad on the PS4 store and I'm so glad I did. It's an adventure game about a cat named Mae who has dropped out of college and returned to her home town. She realizes that everything is both simultaneously the same and very different. Something strange is going on and it's up to you to figure it out. All I can say is that you should probably play this game.