Game(s) of the Year 2010
Jan. 5th, 2011 11:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
slimequestIt's not really fair to me (or really possible) to pick just one, since I played so many good games last year. But here's a list of games that may or may not qualify to be on such a list, except that I just so happened to play them during 2010!
#1: GoTY 2010 that I actually began in very late 2009 and was originally released in 2007: Blue Dragon
It's a very retro-feeling JRPG on the Xbox 360 of all things. It looks like Dragon Quest, sounds like Final Fantasy, and is the impossible lovechild of 16- and 32-bit RPGs in HD. If any of those things sound appealing to you, you'd probably like Blue Dragon. For me, it was the first time in a while that I've had that feeling of being completely impressed and immersed in an RPG. Instead of trying to be gritty or angsty or reinvent the wheel or appeal to Westerners or anything like that, it was just a fun, colorful game that wasn't ashamed to be called "classic". It's the RPG I wish more RPGs were like.
#2: GoTY that actually came out in 1994 but was never released in English but I played the fan translation in 2010: Live A Live
This pretty much sums up my feelings about this game. Simply put, it's a must-play for anyone who even pretends to be interested in RPGs. 17 years later, it's still doing things that modern RPGs are afraid to do, and I doubt any remake of this game would do it justice. These tiny-assed sprites will break your mind and rock your world.
#3: GoTY that actually came out in 2010 which I actually haven't even beaten yet: Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
A ridiculously cute-looking classic-styled RPG? With job classes? Yes, please! Again, an unabashedly oldschool game captures my heart. When it's not going out of its way to make you melt with cuteness, it's providing a solid RPG experience with crazy things like world maps and challenge added in. That being said, instead of four nameless palette swaps, the characters have personality which brings life to the traditional-style storyline. It really doesn't matter what the end of the game is like, this game has already done enough to win me over. (Besides, if reviewers don't have to play the whole game to critique a game, neither do I. But you'd have to use force to stop me from beating it)
#4: Okay, okay, GoTY that came out in 2010 that I have actually beaten (the main story, anyway): Dragon Quest IX
Obligatory? Probably. But really, DQIX is good. It's basically the most popular game in the series (III) with bells and whistles and somehow multiplayer thrown in for good measure. There's also a gigantic amount of postgame content that gets continuously updated via Wi-Fi, so it's the gift that keeps on giving. This also deserves a spot for the sheer amount of press this game got and the (hopefully) legions of new DQ fans it spawned. Seriously, there are even DQ9 commercials aimed at young girls. Traditional demographics be damned!
Honorable mentions (because I want to fit as many games into this post as possible):
- Retro Game Challenge: As a child of the 80s, this took me back. Look up hints in gaming magazines! Listen to your friend say stupid stuff while you play! Experience (fake) NES games!
- Valkyria Chronicles: No, seriously, this game was really really good and probably deserved a spot up there, even if it wasn't released in 2010. I mean, c'mon, a PS3 SRPG! With Aika and Vyse in it! And you get to crawl around in grass and drive tanks and... this game does everything right, basically.
- Resonance of Fate: The "real" plot taking a backseat to the wacky adventures of the main trio amused me to the very end. Actually, I would've been fine with them never explaining anything and just doing the boob dance during the end credits. Also, Motoi Sakuraba.
- Star Ocean 4 International: A good game with gratuitous Star Ocean 1 fanservice of all things, coupled with a more "Yeah, I'm going to land on your underdeveloped little planet, so what?" ST:TOS-style attitude. As usual, a fun battle system makes everything better... and guess what else does? Motoi Sakuraba.
I probably forgot about a bunch of other fun games I played, but I think I covered the essentials... looking back, 2010 wasn't so bad, gaming-wise. I keep thinking video games are doomed or something, but then I realize how many genuinely great games come out each year. And we always have those classics we never played to fall back on, right?
#1: GoTY 2010 that I actually began in very late 2009 and was originally released in 2007: Blue Dragon
It's a very retro-feeling JRPG on the Xbox 360 of all things. It looks like Dragon Quest, sounds like Final Fantasy, and is the impossible lovechild of 16- and 32-bit RPGs in HD. If any of those things sound appealing to you, you'd probably like Blue Dragon. For me, it was the first time in a while that I've had that feeling of being completely impressed and immersed in an RPG. Instead of trying to be gritty or angsty or reinvent the wheel or appeal to Westerners or anything like that, it was just a fun, colorful game that wasn't ashamed to be called "classic". It's the RPG I wish more RPGs were like.
#2: GoTY that actually came out in 1994 but was never released in English but I played the fan translation in 2010: Live A Live
This pretty much sums up my feelings about this game. Simply put, it's a must-play for anyone who even pretends to be interested in RPGs. 17 years later, it's still doing things that modern RPGs are afraid to do, and I doubt any remake of this game would do it justice. These tiny-assed sprites will break your mind and rock your world.
#3: GoTY that actually came out in 2010 which I actually haven't even beaten yet: Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light
A ridiculously cute-looking classic-styled RPG? With job classes? Yes, please! Again, an unabashedly oldschool game captures my heart. When it's not going out of its way to make you melt with cuteness, it's providing a solid RPG experience with crazy things like world maps and challenge added in. That being said, instead of four nameless palette swaps, the characters have personality which brings life to the traditional-style storyline. It really doesn't matter what the end of the game is like, this game has already done enough to win me over. (Besides, if reviewers don't have to play the whole game to critique a game, neither do I. But you'd have to use force to stop me from beating it)
#4: Okay, okay, GoTY that came out in 2010 that I have actually beaten (the main story, anyway): Dragon Quest IX
Obligatory? Probably. But really, DQIX is good. It's basically the most popular game in the series (III) with bells and whistles and somehow multiplayer thrown in for good measure. There's also a gigantic amount of postgame content that gets continuously updated via Wi-Fi, so it's the gift that keeps on giving. This also deserves a spot for the sheer amount of press this game got and the (hopefully) legions of new DQ fans it spawned. Seriously, there are even DQ9 commercials aimed at young girls. Traditional demographics be damned!
Honorable mentions (because I want to fit as many games into this post as possible):
- Retro Game Challenge: As a child of the 80s, this took me back. Look up hints in gaming magazines! Listen to your friend say stupid stuff while you play! Experience (fake) NES games!
- Valkyria Chronicles: No, seriously, this game was really really good and probably deserved a spot up there, even if it wasn't released in 2010. I mean, c'mon, a PS3 SRPG! With Aika and Vyse in it! And you get to crawl around in grass and drive tanks and... this game does everything right, basically.
- Resonance of Fate: The "real" plot taking a backseat to the wacky adventures of the main trio amused me to the very end. Actually, I would've been fine with them never explaining anything and just doing the boob dance during the end credits. Also, Motoi Sakuraba.
- Star Ocean 4 International: A good game with gratuitous Star Ocean 1 fanservice of all things, coupled with a more "Yeah, I'm going to land on your underdeveloped little planet, so what?" ST:TOS-style attitude. As usual, a fun battle system makes everything better... and guess what else does? Motoi Sakuraba.
I probably forgot about a bunch of other fun games I played, but I think I covered the essentials... looking back, 2010 wasn't so bad, gaming-wise. I keep thinking video games are doomed or something, but then I realize how many genuinely great games come out each year. And we always have those classics we never played to fall back on, right?
