#also I felt like the music in automata was way worse than the first game

[the-hype-dragon]

ugh admitted to some of my gamer friends last night I found automata boring and of course got told "oh but it's so good" sir. ma'am. nothing will ever justify route b lmao the rest of the game could be the best content ever coded but damn what a slog for absolutely no payoff

[dumbfinntales]

I'm finally done with Stellar Blade. It says I played it for about 25 hours, but honestly felt much longer. There's a lot of side content in this game. But it was a pretty fun experience and a great test for my reflexes. Maybe a bit too great. I dunno if my reflexes are getting worse, but damn this game was difficult. More below, with some spoilers!

Stellar Blade is a somewhat linear action game with slight RPG mechanics. The game is obviously inspired by Nier Automata and you can see it from the themes, the sexy protagonist and the music style. Honestly even though it was aping Nier I still enjoyed the music a lot. Especially in the first area and in the Plaza, something about the music felt atmospheric and otherworldly. I say the game is somewhat linear, because there are small open world segments where you can explore freely for cosmetics, sidequests and loot.

The combat was definitely the best part of the game. It combines a fast paced action game and something like a dark souls game to create an interesting hybrid. The game relies a lot on the parry, but the dodge as well. You can also unlock a lot of cool combat abilities and some of the later challenges really got me to use everything in my arsenal. The parry timing though was brutal. Even with an upgrade and an item that improves parry timing I still miss the parry, and what's annoying is that if you mess up one parry you get stunlocked with rest of the combo and that never felt nice.

The parrying honestly felt a lot more difficult than even Lies of P. There were a ton of moments when I felt like I should have reacted in time, but it wasn't enough. My jaw would drop on the floor and I'd utter out: "What do you mean that reaction wasn't fast enough?!" honestly I might just be getting old. I'm nearly 30 now after all.

The side content was nice, but I wasn't a big fan of it. By the Great Desert I was getting tired of the boring side quests and uninteresting locations. Some side quests were fun enough, like the one with Enya or the girl over at sisters junk. But most of it was like go see me friend, oh no friend is dead, fight monsters, report back death. Or go to a location and find an object. It doesn't help that the two open world areas look so similar. Wasteland and the Great Desert are pretty much the same. The Desert is just a big boring area that I got sick of real quick. The more linear story related areas were much better. I liked the Levoire areas where you're forced to use your gun only for combat, a fun change of pace.

But if there's one thing this game absolutely excels at it is the boss fights. They feel hectic, visceral and so good. Plus they're pretty difficult. Especially towards the end there are so many super difficult fights back to back. The final boss that I got in my story was so tough that it'd two to three shot me, and once more that parry timing was tough. Raven also nearly made me lose my sanity, her ridiculous combo chains would fuck you up if you'd miss even one parry. But the bosses feel and look great and offer a great challenge. Seriously the monster designs in this game are rad!

As for the story it was interesting, but I figured out the big "twist" right away. It was so damn obvious from the get go, but it was fun to watch play out. It was made obvious that you weren't a biological human, but some kind of a robot hybrid from the start, so I knew the Naytibas were the real humans. They kinda reveal that early on in the story and all the main characters just go "NUH UH! We can't know if this is real anyway haha, lets kill humanity :-) ". The only thing that caught me by surprise was Orcal being an alpha Naytiba who mended their ways. Interesting that some Naytiba can become more human and not become beasts.

So overall it was a damn tough, but fun experience. These developers are extremely talented. I don't see myself playing this game again any time soon, but maybe one day. Honestly I kinda wish this game didn't have as much "fluff" side content and was more of a linear action game. Or at least some areas that aren't just desert. We know earth is fucked, but the first linear level is set in an abandoned city so we know not everything is desolate.

[asleepinawell]

Been having a lot of Thoughts about the nier series recently and the larger themes of both games and wanted to jot them down and toss them into the void of the internet.

Massive spoilers for nier automata follow, including for ending e. Do not read this if you ever intend to play nier automata. There are spoilers for nier replicant as well, though not for ending e.

One of the biggest themes both nier games tackle is the tragedy of an uncaring universe. Bad things happen to good people, people who think they're good and doing the right thing find out they were actually committing atrocities, the very idea that there's 'good' and 'bad' people is dissected and rejected. At the end of the day, the universe doesn't give a shit about any of us and none of it matters. Enjoy your existential despair!

In nier replicant, the main character starts off as an optimistic young boy who wants to save, not only his sister, but the entire world. After the time skip, nier is a young man whose optimism has (partially) been tarnished and whose goal has narrowed down to just saving his sister. As you move through each route you understand more and more how tragic the world is and how, despite your best intentions, you are only adding to the tragedy of the world. The original 4 endings of nier replicant are all tragic in some way. Ending D has a glimmer of hope in it in the form of nier being able to save kainé at the cost of his own existence, but it's a bittersweet ending and the world is ultimately doomed anyway.

Which brings us to nier automata. Even more so than replicant, automata hammers home the meaningless of everything, the uncaring universe, tragedy both avoidable and unavoidable. The main characters are locked in an endless loop of violence and despair. The worst that could happen, does, again and again. It thrives off the type of tragedy porn I usually hate.

Except....

Except it doesn't. If endings a and b are the opening statement, endings c and d are the facts and body of the essay, but then there's ending e, the concluding paragraph which takes everything we've been told and gives you the chance to draw your own conclusion from it.

Route e starts after you've gotten both ending c and d and is no longer about the characters in the game at all. Route e is about you, the player, and what you believe. It says "we've given you a story of complete despair, we've shown you the universe is unfair and doesn't give a fuck about you, we've shown you things that end in tragedy. despite all of this, do you still believe it's worth fighting for the hope of something better?"

And then it asks you to prove it.

Route e is the ending every fan has asked for when they've said "I'll fight the creators to give my favs a happy ending." Today is your lucky day!

Route e is the ending credits of the game, except that the ending credits have turned into a bullet hell mini game. In fighting the actual credits themselves, you are fighting the game devs. You are saying fuck you I don't believe that everything is pointless. Fighting for better is always worth it. The meaning that we imbue in life is important to us and that matters.

The bullet hell of the end credits starts out fairly simple and gets harder and harder as you go, lasting something like 15 minutes total, which is a brutally long time to be playing something that requires split second timing and 100% of your focus. It's meant to feel insurmountable, just like the challenges the characters in the game faced (the larger plot challenges, not the combat). You will likely die a lot and check points are few and far between.

But there's more to it than that. The first time you die, a prompt comes up:

And then when you die again:

Except now, there’s a message on the screen. A message that appears to be from another player, somewhere in the world.

And again:

(this one really fucked me up, but that’s for a different post).

And then finally:

(thank you user MR-YE-1996)

When you accept the rescue offer, you go back to the bullet hell again, but now you have a wall of other players around your weak little avatar, shielding you from harm. The music, which has been a single vocal track up until now, gains an entire chorus of voices to represent the army of actual players who’ve shown up to save you (and there’s a lot I could say about the use of the (exquisitely good) music in the nier games, and especially about the difference in lyrical themes between ashes of dreams and weight of the world). Every time a bullet hits one of the players surrounding you, there’s a message saying that user’s data has been lost. Users from all over the world are sacrificing themselves to help you. It’s a very nice, heart-warming moment that you still don’t understand the full impact of quite yet.

After you beat the credits, you’re rewarded by a final cutscene. The android protagonists have been reconstructed and will receive a second chance at life. The narration at this point talks about how life exists within the spiral of life and death we are all trapped in. One of the two pods talking points out that even though the androids are being given a second chance at life, there’s a possibility that things will go just as poorly once again. And the other pod agrees, but adds: “However, the possibility of a different future also exists.”

And then the scene ends with this quote: “A future is not given to you. It is something you must take for yourself.”

And this is really the final conclusion of the game. There is no inherent meaning in the universe, so the meaning we give our lives is the most meaningful thing. (And the ‘you’ here isn’t necessarily an individual either. It can be, or it can be humanity as a whole, or even one group). And you, the player, thought that it was worth fighting to give these characters a second chance, and other players out there in the world thought it was worth helping you to do so.

It’s such a wonderfully beautiful piece of meta interpretation posing as a game ending, and also a departure from the final conclusion of previous Yoko Taro games. It feels like a much more mature and nuanced interpretation of the world than the ending of replicant was (I won’t comment on the new ending e of replicant just yet since it didn’t come out that long ago). (Also, for the record, I love nier replicant and the characters in it with my entire heart. This post is not bashing it).

But the game has one more surprise in store for you. After the cutscene ends, you’re given one last choice. The game asks if you have any interest in helping other players the way you were helped. And if you say yes, you’re told that the only way you can do this is to sacrifice all your save data.

I think that sacrifice hits differently for different people. Some people genuinely won’t mind that at all. As someone who probably still has save data from games I played 20 years ago, it felt like a gut punch. To me, save data represents all the time and emotion and energy I’ve put into a game. Games are so deeply important to me in so many ways and have been since my childhood when they were one of the few ways I could escape from a lot of terrible shit going on in my life. (There’s a reason my blog title is what it is). I could talk a lot more about that point, but I’ll leave it by saying that when I saw what the game was asking of me it felt like someone had knocked my legs out from under me.

For more practical players, it also is locking you out of chapter select, the best way to go back and get all the things you missed and grab the achievements/trophies you still need.

The game will point out that you’ll get nothing in return for this (not a lie, there’s no secret reward), that you will likely never know if or who you helped, that you won’t be thanked, that the person you help could be someone you intensely dislike, etc. And with all of this comes the realization that all those people who came to help you in the credits had already done this. Those people whose data was sacrificed to help you get to the final cutscene had already sacrificed their save data to help you.

We’ve now gone from a world where everything is meaningless, to a world where other real actual human beings out there have sacrificed something that represented hours of their time and a varying amount of emotional investment without any hope of reward to help a stranger see a message of hope.

When I was younger, I was more drawn to dark, hopeless stories. Stories about how dark and meaningless the world was. The world was a terrible place then too. 9/11 happened when I was in highschool (an incident that influenced yoko taro’s creation of nier replicant and had a huge impact on me at the time), the pointless wars that happened after and the recession and a million other things seemed to infuse everything with hopelessness. In that world, stories about everything being meaningless and hopeless felt correct. They felt validating. Yes, everything really does suck that much!

That sort of story lost its appeal for me later on. Pointless and horrible things continued to happen, and still continue to happen. The world events of the last few years have been an unnerving reliving of those earlier years, except even worse. The cycles of tragedy are still there with no end in sight. I’m exhausted from all of it. It really does feel hopeless a lot.

But stories that stop at that point no longer appeal to me. Stories like nier automata--stories that say yes, things are terrible, but there’s always hope, you can create your own meaning, it is always worth it to fight for better even if you fail, your life is worthwhile simply for existing--those stories are the ones I think we all need more than anything.

[notajinn]

Ranking Video Games Played in 2018 But Less Detailed Because of Procrastination

Starting this in the evening on the 31st, so let' see if I even get this done in time. Normally I start more ahead of time, and provide seperate detailed post for each game in my list. Initially I wasn't planning on making a list at all this year since I played very few 2018 releases. But then I realized not only that I played more than I thought, but that the non-2018 games I played for the first time this year deserve some love as well.

I conveniently played ten games this year, so here is the ranking of my top ten games:

10. Marvel Puzzle Quest (Mobile)

This game is garbage, and I play it every day. It's a Match-3 puzzle game, which I somehow never played until this year. And it's on mobile and with a Marvel flair to give it an edge, plus a Gacha mechanic for longevity and scum.

Pros

The actual puzzle gameplay is fine. I have no other Match-3 to compare it to besides Puzzles and Dragons, which I tried out around the same time solely due to Persona 5 characters being in it. And I enjoyed Marvel more. You can only move each gem one space rather than across a line or column, or straight up anywhere like in Puzzles and Dragons. But there is no time limit, which I really appreciate.

I like a lot of Marvel characters, so I don't mind them as the rewards. Each one also has different Abilities which make a bigger difference in the gameplay than I initially expected. I unfortunately do not have Ms Marvel, Gwenpool, or Silk yet, but I do have Spider-Man.

Speaking of, the free characters they give you are pretty decent. Within the first few missions, you will come out with Spider-Man, Iron Man, Storm, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Thor. You can also get Juggernaut and Venom with only slightly more effort.

The game has thus far been very generous with the gacha resource, but I can't comment on the actual pull rates (which may be where they really make their money).

Cons

You may get a lot of chances to pull, but you have a limited barrack you can recruit characters into. And the resource to increase slots is VERY slow. Which means you could potentially pull a great character, but either wait a few weeks to earn enough coins to buy a new barrack spot, remove one of your existing characters, or give them money. And if you wait more than a few weeks, your un-recruited character will be automatically "sold" for resources. I've lost one or two characters to this already. At this point the smart thing seems to be to never pull unless you have open slots, since your recruitment resource does not expire (that I'm aware of).

The difficulty is all over the place. Even the so-called "Prologue" has unusual difficulty spikes in terms of enemy levels.

The leveling system is also garbage in general. You need duplicates of characters to level up, but higher rank characters start at higher levels. Which means even though I pulled and merged like 6 Iron Man, the single 3-star Dr Octopus is significantly stronger with no effort.

Final Thoughts

This game is garbage, and I will continue to play it.

9. Fire Emblem Heroes (Mobile)

Not long ago, Fire Emblem Heroes was one of my favourite games. But the game fell so far in 2018, perhaps outlining the heightened speed of a gacha game's life-cycle.

Pros

They started adding alts of characters that were not from Awakening or Fates. It's not exactly good that we're getting so many alts, but at least they're not all Camilla or Xander.

The new Aether Raids mode is legitimately good. It allows you to create your own mini-maps with different structures and traps, and play against other players. You win a new resource called Heroic Grails, which you can use to summon otherwise limited-time free characters like those from Grand Hero Battles, or the Tempest Trials. I should specify this lets you select characters, not go into a random gacha system. You want more of Joshua? No problem, just select him from the list and hand of the Grails, and you've got him. A lot of characters I like fall into this category, so I especially appreciate it. The actual mode of fighting in user-created maps is also fun.

Book 2 of the story had some good moments early on, and I liked some of the new characters. Said new characters were also added into the summon pool, and not as limited-time units either.

A lot of older characters got new weapon refinements to help them keep up with the cast slightly. Some of these are only okay, but some have been amazing. Still waiting for my man Matthew to get one.

Also this one is kind of cheating since it didn't happen yet, but we are confirmed to finally be getting Laguz (the beast units from the Tellius games) in 2019, which I am very excited for.

Cons

After a decent start, Book 2's story fell into disarray. A comically bland villain was the worst offender, feeling like an OC a child came up with that kept getting sudden new powers for no reason.

Said main villain is also the focal point of the powercreep in the game this year. The absurdity of how good 2018 units are compared to before is frustrating, and I say that as someone who doesn't particularly care about ranking. A lot of these new units and skill sets are just plain not fun to fight against.

Outside of Aether Raids, the game felt pretty stale in terms of having things to do, and I simply found myself far less interested.

Final Thoughts

Laguz will keep my interest for at least some of 2019, but I see myself playing this far less next year. And with a new real Fire Emblem game coming out, I may leave this game entirely.

8. Final Fantasy Record Keeper (Mobile)

This is an unusual one because I didn't play this game much this year. For a few months, I didn't even bother logging in. And 90% of the time I do log in, I just grab the daily rewards and leave. So how did this beat Marvel Puzzle Quest and Fire Emblem Heroes?

Pros

This game is absurdly generous with resources. Keeping in mind this is a gacha game way past it's prime, and being cannibalized by its own parent company through other newer Final Fantasy mobile games, Record Keeper has been trying very hard to keep people playing. Even as someone who barely plays, I am flush with good resources. Enough so that, if I get interested enough, I could probably catch up to the meta-game.

The game has also continued its policy of "characters are free, the gacha is for equipment" that I love. I have no trouble getting characters I want (new ones I liked added this year include Marche from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, and Sora and Riku of Kingdom Hearts).

The gacha itself is also generous, with multiple event banners that guarantee at least one 5-star for every 11-pull. I wish other gacha games were this generous.

It also keeps the great aesthetic and soundtrack that got me into the game.

Cons

I've played it so much over the years that it's not super fun, but I appreciate it's there for me and doesn't feel like scum.

Final Thoughts

Thank you for doing a gacha game well, Square-Enix.

7. Mighty Switch Force (3DS)

Though I got this years ago in a Humble Bundle, it wasn't until one bored weekend this summer that I actually tried it out Wayforward's other first-party game. The Mighty Switch Force DLC trailer for Shantae: Half Genie Hero also helped.

This is an interesting little arcade action/puzzle hybrid that's a little unusual. It puts you into different areas where you have to use the main gimmick of moving things into and out of the foreground along with other puzzle mechanics to find and arrest some escaped criminals.

Pros

The main mechanic of moving objects forward and backward is pretty fun, and while it's been occasionally seen in other games it's worked more effectively here than I've ever seen. I also appreciate that most levels will add a new mechanic you have to learn.

The levels are short and easy to digest on the 3DS.

It's got the classic Wayforward cartoon aesthetic.

Cons

This is mostly personal preference, but I don't play puzzle games a lot; they don't hold my interest too long. So this was a one weekend game. I didn't beat it, but I got my fill in those two days.

The lack of story really drives home the "arcade" aspect of the game, which is frustrating because I like the often silly pacing of the Shantae series. I'm also someone who invests in characters heavily, so having very little to go off but designs really hurt my long-term interest here.

Final Thoughts

This is a fun little puzzle game I recommend to try out considering it's often on sale and under $10. It's far from the best game, but you'll probably have fun with it.

6. Bayonetta (PS3)

For better or for worse, my first introduction to Bayonetta was when she was added as a DLC character to Super Smash Brothers 4. Suffice to say I was bummed a character I had no interest in won the people's choice, and that definitely negatively tainted the series for me for a while. But after getting itnerested in character-action games by playing Nier Automata and Platinum's Legend of Korra, I ended up picking up Bayonetta on sale on the PS3.

Pros

Oh my god, the combat is so strong. I knew this from Platinum's other games, but it has a different feel. Korra was ultimately a budget game, and Nier Automata was an RPG first, but Bayonetta was a character-action game through and through. The combat is not easy to learn, but when you figure out and see the radical moves you're pulling off, there's a certain unmatched joy to the gameplay.

The plot is campy and silly in the vein of Devil May Cry, and has a good handful of characters I like (particularly Jeanne and Luca). It ramps up to hilarious scales.

The music is so good, and I wish more of it made it into Super Smash Brothers.

I love that you have a space to practice combos without any repercussions by turning off the timer in the loading screen transitions. This helped me so much early on to get a hang of which combos I could both pull off effectively, find a use for, and actually enjoy.

Checkpoints are fairly generous, and so long as you don't care about your score you can continue to try again with no repercussions until you win.

Cons

There are certain sections of the game where you are pulled into on-rails vehicles. These sections are not fun, and last FAR too long. To make matters worse, the best boss fight in the game is in the second half of a level where the first half is one of these terrible vehicle sections. Which means I'll never fight that boss again since I don't want to go through that initial part.

Through a combination of the initial negative reaction and the fact there are more interesting characters around her, I didn't end up attached to Bayonetta herself, which is disappointing considering how much I like Dante and the Nier Automata cast.

The first few levels are also far harder than the rest of the game. This happens because you're learning a new combat system, have less moves purchased, and most importantly do not have the Bat Within ability that increases your dodge invincibility. This move probably saved me so much, and you can get it pretty early, but not until you get past some hard parts. In particular, the first major boss has you contend with the above issues and, for no particular reason, is the only major boss without any checkpoints. This boss almost made me give up on the game, and heavily slowed down my progress and general enjoyment.

Probably the biggest issue is that this is a PS3 era game, which means you can expect tons of QTEs that cause instant death if you fail them. These even happen during bosses. It's such a product of its time.

Final Thoughts

If you can struggle through those initial hard (but not un-fun) levels and that first frustrating boss, you have a great game ahead of you. With some truly awful vehicle sections thrown in, but mostly great. At the very least, grab the soundtrack.

5. Dragalia Lost (Mobile)

Oh you thought the mobile games were all at the bottom? Then you forgot about Nintendo's newest IP, Dragalia Lost. Which would be fair, because this game is available officially in very few countries, and it's kind of crazy.

With the success of other mobile games, Nintendo decided to try out a new IP in a mobile game with the help of the experienced developers CyGames. What we got was a mobile MMO with a heavy anime aesthetic and a lot of love.

Pros

The character designs vary, as they do in any mobile, but one major strength of Dragalia Lost (and the reason I started the game) is the large percentage of dark-skinned characters. It may seem silly, but as a South Asian it's so rare to see dark-skinned characters in this aesthetic. You'll get your token characters here and there, but Dragalia Lost alone probably has more than I've seen in a few other series combined. I'm pretty sure they have more than Fire Emblem Heroes, or at least an equal amount.

The developers have been very generous with resources, and so far have given you a free 10-pull whenever there's a new event.

We've also already had a lot of improvements due to developer feedback, which is a great sign for the game's future.

The strangest thing perhaps is...the gameplay is really fun for a mobile game. It's a top-down action RPG with heavy MMO elements in terms of leveling and co-op play. While your party setup means a lot, your skill in-game means even more if you're skilled at dodging, effectively moving around the map, and knowing when to throw out which ability. As you have such a heavy level of interaction with the characters, you also feel more attached to them, which is great for longevity in a gacha game. Each weapon type plays very differently, and with different elements and abilities you get a lot of variety. You also have different dragons you can transform into as essential limit breaks.

I really love how seamlessly co-op is integrated. You can play any mission with or without co-op, and it takes very little effort to group up with people.

Cons

It's still a gacha game, so a certain level of garbage is expected. The rates of pulling a 5-star seem far worse than Fire Emblem Heroes and Final Fantasy Record Keeper. To make matters worse, you can potentially pull a 5-Star Wyrmprint (a type of equipment) instead of a character or dragon, thus resetting your pity rate.

In co-op, if a host quits the entire battle is considered a fail. Which makes logical sense, but it's frustrating when the host quits while you're winning.

Bows are also significantly worse than the other weapon types, but my favourite character is an archer. This presents a problem.

It’s only available in a small number of countries, with still not announced plans for others.

Final Thoughts

It's the best mobile game I've played this year, but it's still a mobile game. Unless you're looking for a mobile game, I recommend just appreciating the art from afar. If you ARE looking for a mobile game, however, I highly recommend this. And if you care about Nintendo, maybe keep an eye on this; I could see this IP eventually coming out of mobile.

4. Deltarune (PC)

It's tough to write these all at once. Okay, Deltarune. The surprise game from Undertale's creator. I still don't want to get into too much detail in case you haven't played this free and relatively short game, but it's been a while. There will be sort of spoilers below, so if you want to go in blind, skip down to number 3.

Pros

From the graphical style to the writing to the soundtrack, it's got the same great charm of Undertale in a smaller package.

The battle system is more involved and honestly a lot more fun. You're also not forced to go Pacifist to get the good ending, so you can actually enjoy it like a normal RPG. Even if you do go Pacifist like I did, the inclusion of different abilities gives you a lot more to do than just dodge enemy attacks.

The progression of Susie and Lancer as characters is fun to watch unfold, and the game does a great job making you invested in these characters within such a short time frame.

The final section of the game, without mentioning any spoilers, is also a nice little reward.

Cons

Simply because of playing Undertale, you may assume you have to play Pacifist and thus miss the main combat. This is untrue, but hard to know since you also want to go in blind on your first run. This is entirely a self-made issue, but it is nonetheless a common issue I can see.

..I don't really have any other negatives offhand except that it's short?

Final Thoughts

If you played Undertale, play this. If you didn't play Undertale, probably play that first and you'll enjoy this more. But you'd probably enjoy this regardless. And hell, it's free and under 5 hours, and runs on probably any modern PC.

3. Dragonball FigherZ (PS4)

There have been so many Dragonball Z games, but the quality never hit this level. Remember when we considered the Budokai games to be amazing because of the competition? Now we have a DBZ fighter that's not only the best of the series, but also a legitimately great fighting game when compared to the other big fighting series. No weird 3D mechanics, no attempt to heavily integrate fighting. This is just a solid 2D fighter with some unique elements and a DBZ flavouring.

Pros

Made by Arcsys, the gameplay is unsurprisingly amazing. It's fluid, has a lot of ease-of-use for beginner players, and a lot of more complex mechanics to make high-end gameplay fun to watch. I was able to teach some friends in a short amount of time how to play this decently, which is very important with a multiplayer game.

And despite most of the characters fighting extremely similarly in DBZ, each character feels unique here. They're all just throwing punches, kicks, and energy blasts, but they all have their own distinct feel. Even the various orange-gi-black-hair characters all stand out with different silhouettes and colour tinting.

The new OC that Arcsys seems obligated to add may be strange as an Android/Buu hybrid, but adding a new female character to such a male dominated series is much appreciated.

The online lobby is easy to find the types of fights you're looking for, and provides a good deal of variety.

Cons

The DLC lineup is awful. Two versions of Goku, two versions of Vegeta. Really? Do we really need that? Then we got Goku's dad Bardock, who visually looks like another Goku. And then we got Fused Zamasu, who is basically an alternate version of base game charater Goku Black. The only characters unique in both design and gameplay are Broly (who I generally hate), Android 17 (who's great), and Cooler (who's not quite as cool as his brother). There's so many good choices for DLC, but short of a second season, this is what we got stuck with. And honestly, good DLC characters can make or break my interest in a fighting game long-term. This was what broke it.

Final Thoughts

It's a great fighting game, and hands-down the best Dragonball Z game. But there's only one fighting game series that is able to hold my interest long-term.

2. Super Smash Brothers Ultimate (Switch)

It's still wild this was announced and came out in the same year. After being used to a long pre-release for Super Smash Brothers games, Ultimate really bucked the trend. It's also not like the other games in other ways as well, opting to include as much old content as possible instead of taking the usual "add a lot but cut a lot" approach.

Pros

One of my long-time top wished characters finally made it in: K. Rool! And he's so well-animated and sporting so many references! They really put a lot of love into him.

I'm vicariously excited for all the Ridley fans who finally got their big space dragon into Smash. They were always steadfast beside us K. Rool fans, and really deserve this win.

No one has to worry about their main being cut, because everyone is here. For those few people that legitimately liked Pichu, that must be a great feeling.

The core gameplay also received a nice boost in speed so it's not overly-fast like Melee, but still a lot more fluid than the other games. Bringing back moving air dodges, and clamping down on over-dodging have helped make the gameplay feel much smoother.

After the disappointingly poor single-player of Smash 4, I love all the single-player modes here. Classic has been redesigned to give each character a tuned and unique experience. We have a big single-player mode in the World of Light, and the smaller but more long-term Spirit Board.

Spirits in general are just a great way of reusing Stickers from previous games in a way that makes everybody excited. Seriously, they are just your typical gacha JPGS, but throwing effects and levels onto them really makes them feel more involved than trophier or stickers in past games.

My main, Zelda, got significantly buffed. This is really specific to me, but it makes a big difference.

Mii Fighters also feel far more viable this time around.

The range of music and stages in the game is just amazing.

Cons

For a game that promotes itself as having everything, it's bizarre and frustrating that the Stage Builder was completely removed. I really enjoyed playing around in there, and being able to use tracks I like from stages I don't like.

We also lost modes like Target Smash and the Home Run Contest for almost no reason. Short of these being added in future updates, I find this odd.

I could make a lot of complaints about character choice, but I'll keep it short and mention that I'm one of the few people not happy about the Piranha Plant, and I would really have had almost any non-3DS FE character instead of Chrom.

World of Light is also really long, and unlike the Subspace Emissary lacks cinema scenes. The opening scene everyone has seen is great, and then...that's it so far. I am expecting one more at the end (I'm maybe halfway through), and maybe one in the middle, but it's not going to live up to the SSE.

I also can't believe the huge backwards step taken in the online mode. Rather than having a separate Casual and Competitive mode like every other fighter (including the last Smash Brothers), there is only one queue, and you can easily get thrown into the opposite type of style you want. I actually cancelled my plans to buy the online service after I heard how bad this system is.

Final Thoughts

It's a Super Smash Brothers game, so I will enjoy it for a long time. The Spirits add a lot of longevity, but unless the online is heavily fixed I can see myself dropping out of this game within the next year.

1. Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4)

This game had such bad timing. Released alongside the similar but more anticipated Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on a competitor system, and the different but same-system Persona 5, I think a lot of people completely missed this game. Or as many as can miss a big AAA game. If this came out just a few months earlier or later, I'm sure I'd see a lot more talk about it. But as things stand, it seemed to disappear from everyone's minds very quickly.

If you're one of the ones that forgot, Horizon Zero Dawn is an open-world action-adventure about a post-apocalyptic world where humans are left to deal with the increasingly dangerous machine robots built by pre-apocalypse humans, and is just as much about dealing with different tribes and cultures that emerge in this new world.

Pros

Alloy is one of my favourite new main characters in a long time. Not just in video games, but in general. While having some of that player-character "choose their personality" feelings here and there, she is mostly a defined and often interesting character with distinct strengths and weaknesses.

Voice acting from Alloy as well as the entire cast is superb, and really sells the world.

The gameplay is heavily archery focused with a lot of traps and different ammunition to help you bring down the machines that heavily outmatch you in a straight fight. The game is built to allow you to play with stealth or as an action game depending on how you select your skills. It's also got a good level of difficulty where you will definitely die a few times, but never get overly frustrated.

The story hits on many different points, and most of it has something interesting to offer. Don't expect story quality on the level of something like Nier Automata, but for a new IP it's pretty impressive.

One thing I love about fast travel is that, early on, you have to use consumable items to do so. This means you're initially encouraged to manually explore, and in doing so will learn a lot more about what the game can offer. Once you get a little further, you can unlock the ability to fast-travel with ease so you can backtrack and do quests without an issue. It's a good way to try to balance having people skip over environments.

Also it's a big AAA game with NO MICROTRANSACTIONS AT ALL!

Cons

The subtitles are pretty small based on my TV size and the distance I sit at. If you sit closer to your TV, it's probably fine.

For a game with such good quality everywhere else, the soundtrack is honestly pretty average outside of the main theme.

The open world is nowhere near as fun to explore as in Breath of the Wild, and holds far less secrets.

Final Thoughts

This feels strange to say for a AAA game made by first-party Sony, but please don't sleep on this game. It's really good, and it's been insanely cheap for the latter part of this year.

That's it. That's all the games. This took a lot more time than I expected, and I don't feel like proofreading since now it's already almost midnight.  2018 may not have had that many good new releases, but I found fun with video games.

Looking forward to playing Fire Emblem Three Houses and Kingdom Hearts III next year, and talking about them next December. Hopefully not on the 31st again.

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

what're your thoughts on Nier/Nier Automata? i figured you'd love that game since...well... everybody loves that game

you ever played Nier? I hear it has better writing then P5. 

@tehsharkster why didn’t you want Nier to win anything? I thought you liked it o3o;; (At least liked it more than P5) 

Sorry I wanted to wait on answering these questions after I had played the PS3!Nier and after I had finished my finals (still have one more to go but hey procrastination is my middle name, and it’s 4 am so it’s time to make bad decisions I’m gonna regret as soon as I wake up haha 8U). Anyway since I broke one rule for myself might as well break the other, since I haven’t played the PS3!Nier yet (our copy got sold before I could get it ;w;). Haha.... (also sorry Tehsharkster I’ve been meaning to reply, again wanted to wait to play OG!Nier I just didn’t think it’d take this long to get a copy).

So as for PS3!Nier (which I’ll just call Nier from now on, and Automata for Nier Automata)......I want to play it. I didn’t even realize Automata was even coming out when I finally came across Nier (for a Laura Bailey video). In all honesty if I didn’t see Laura Bailey cursing up a storm I probs wouldn’t have even cared to want to try it tbh. So yeah....I plan on playing this. 

As for Automata....haha.....oh.......yeah no I hated it. Go ahead, burn me at the stake....... Trust me I “got it” but I didn’t like what I got (well more like I didn’t like how it was handled). No it’s not too zany for me (I loooooooove Suda51 and I like Metal Gear Solid, or at least of the games I’ve played so far....slowly making my way through that series ;w;). The reason why I wanted to wait to say this is cause......I’m judging the game as a standalone game. Like if when I first played P4 back in 2009 before playing the other games.....because everyone kept saying “Oh you don’t need to play the original Nier to understand Automata, some of the cameos might go over your head but that’s ok!” And no.....no it’s not.....it’s not ok. The reason why Persona fans can say “oh yeah if it’s a mainline game you can jump in anywhere. Tho I recommend playing P1 before P2 and P2IS before P2EP but you know it’s not like it won’t kill you if you don’t.” it’s because it’s true. Automata? For me it felt like I was missing a lot of key information that I possibly could’ve gotten from Nier....and from what I’ve spoiled for myself that seems to be the case..... It also doesn’t help that apparently this is a sequel to a play we never got so whatever I guess. >.>

As for Automata vs P5.............I dunno.....I think I dislike P5 more, but it doesn’t mean that I like Automata. P5 had a really good first arc with Kamoshida.....and Automata’s route A was a good opening......but it’s what follows after those two that it just......does a nose dive. I think Automata.......tried more (they seem to be more consistent with their philosophy....even tho they shoved it down your throat every 5 seconds iirc).....They just didn’t do enough.....it felt vacant of content..... P5 it felt like they just didn’t care and were just going to go with whatever they wanted regardless of structure or consistency.....but it feels more fuller than Automata did (which is kinda bad since I think P5 is pretty vacant for a Persona game)..... It’s just they have different pros and cons. With both games....cons outweighed any and all pros I guess...... 

I will say this. I liked Ending E a lot. Do I think the game deserves it? No. It’s like how I feel with the DR3 anime ending. Good ending, bad journey. The journey didn’t deserve the ending. (tho for DR3 Chiaki should’ve totally been alive and the actual mastermind and the DR2 kids should’ve been more mutilated you know add some dark stuff to that happy ending but all in all even with that it’s still happy but whatever DR3 was a mess so I dunno what I was expecting anyway that’s besides the point. 8V actually if someone has a good fanfic of the DR3 anime where they fix all the issues with both sides I’d be happy to read it). Also the ending music is leaps and bounds better than P5′s ending song, the rest of the soundtrack was “yeah that’s pretty” but there were only a few songs I liked. I’d rather have given Cuphead Best Soundtrack of the Year (cause I just didn’t want either Automata or P5 getting any awards), but Automata def deserves it more than P5′s soundtrack so I’m chill with Automata winning it. (also I didn’t hate it right off the bat, I was fine with it till route B and was livid by route C......so....yeah.....)

So yeah......Also another reason I want to play Nier is cause I heard from some people who didn’t like Automata (I KNOW! I was surprised too *insert M&Ms commercial “They do exist” gif), they said that Nier had a better story....worse gameplay tho of course (but hey if it’s serviceable, which is what I’ve heard, I’m not too picky)....so.....*shrugs*

Also, question, I can’t for the life of me figure out why on earth 2B has Kaine’s(? Laura Bailey’s character?) costume for the DLC....... Isn’t A2 based off Kaine?????? I thought she had Kaine’s memories implanted into her (unless the wiki is lying to me). I mean yeah A2 is the prototype model for 2B iirc.....but.......A2 has Kaine’s memories I thought............WHY???? WHY IS IT LIKE THIS???? ;W; (I’d also complain about why A2 doesn’t have Kaine’s VA in either English or Japanese, but I mean Labrys doesn’t have Rei’s voice in either English or Japanese.......but that’s cause Labrys was based off Rei when she was a little girl and Rei we see in PQ is grown up and has lost the accent so I get it..... And I could buy the same for A2 if she was based of little!Kaine but.........that’s only if Little!Kaine isn’t voiced by Laura Bailey too in Nier and kalsfda;nfdkal I guess I’ll just find out but it’s been ticking me off...... ;w;)

Sorry if this is a messy ramble......I don’t want to go too in depth cause I want to judge it as a sequel which means waiting till I get Nier (and also cause it’s 4 am)...but.....sigh....Didn’t even have any hopes up and yet still came out disappointed.......On the bright side I didn’t have to pay (or really I got a refund since I finished it in 7 days) and I got a plat so it all works out I suppose.....