So it looks like it's time for yet another GOTBP end of year review. I know I say it every year, but I can't believe I'm still doing this going on seven years. I have to say I've been a little disappointed in myself this year, I absolutely slacked on the number of reviews I put out. I felt myself slowing down in a lot of ways and I want to make it a point next year to try and get back to putting out more consistent reviews. I guess it's sort of my resolution this year. Hey, everything is coming full circle, this whole thing started as a resolution.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - 9.5/10
Garou: Mark of the Wolves - 9.5/10
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon - 9.25/10
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain - 9.25/10
Jumping Flash! - 9.25/10
Disco Elysium - 8.5/10
Blazing Lazers - 8.5/10
Alex Kidd in Miracle World - 8.25/10
Mega Man 11 - 8/10
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island - 7.75/10
Mega Man V - 7.5/10
Valkyrie Profile - 7/10
Kizuna Encounter: Tag Battle - 7/10
Metal Max Returns - 6.75/10
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers - 6.5/10
Infinite Undiscovery - 5.25/10
Football Frenzy - 4/10
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends - 4/10
So now, it's on to the awards. And we will start with the big one. Going by scores, it's a tie at the top between a game I'm sure most thought we would be there and one that might have been a little surprising. It's not like I'm in any way official, but a win here would be GOTY award number 8,702 for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. While I don't think I was quite as high on it as many others, I still liked it quite a lot, like, a real lot. E33 told a truly exceptional and emotional tale that I think will resonate with gamers for a long time. While it may not be the title that proved turn-based games still have a fanbase, it is certainly the one that reminded the powers that be that said games can lead to tons of critical and financial success.
On the other hand, we have Garou: Mark of the Wolves, an outstanding fighting game that showed just how masterful SNK was with the genre. This was one of the best examples of the genre I have ever played, with a great cast of unique characters, subtle yet interesting mechanics and plenty of replayability. MOTW had all the little things that separate the great fighting games from the merely good ones. It would have been a great way for the Fatal Fury/Garou series to go out, though 2025 did see it finally receive a sequel some 26 years later.
So, where does that leave us? On one hand, E33 is likely going to be the more culturally relevant game when it's all said and done. As a story driven epic it just inherently offers more, especially when said story was its strongest point. On the other, MOTW probably had fewer flaws and is the game I will probably revisit more as I continue to play. Comparing apples to oranges like this is hard, but dare I say, MOTW may be a better fighting game than E33 is an RPG? And plus, it's actually a retro game. I typically don't play new stuff, though with all these RPGs that are hitting the scene now (and all the E33 copycats that are going to start coming out) that might have to change.
And it's with that in mind I think I have to give this award to E33. I think its cultural relevance and ambitious storytelling are going to be the tiebreaker here, this was a much tougher decision than I think you all think it should have been. And giving this award to E33 is going to officially signal a shift in the kinds of games I review. I've always focused more on retro games, or at the very least games that were retro related/inspired. But I think I am going to have to push towards a more even split with modern games, especially when it at least when it comes to RPGs. I want to keep working with my core values in mind, but I do have to open up and try knew things as well. Don't get me wrong, we are still going to be keeping it mostly retro, but it's going to be less of a 90/10 divide and more like 70/30.
Worst game was also a tie this year, with Football Frenzy for the Neo Geo and Rocky and Bullwinkle for the SNES/Genesis both tied at the bottom of the heap. I hate to hang this on one of these games, because neither of them are really all that bad. That said, they aren't good and in a year where I played a low quantity of high quality games, they stood out as weaker than the rest. Football Frenzy was a frustrating mess that felt like it was designed by people who had never seen American Football before, but I think I just had a better time with it than with the Squirrell and Moose. Rocky and Bullwinkle for the 4th gen consoles was better than the NES version, but that isn't saying much. Getting hit by a car is better than getting hit by a train, but you don't really want either to happen to you. As such, Rocky and Bullwinkle "win" yet another worst game award (the NES version was the very first one I ever gave out). Despite some level of improvement, it's still a fairly generic platformer on two consoles that have a ton of better options.
Most Surprising was actually pretty clear cut this time. I expected Castlevania: Circle of the Moon to be good, but I didn't expect it to be quite that good. The depth, breadth and scope was exceptional for a handheld title and I think it even improved over its big brother Symphony of the Night in some way. This was an outstanding Metroidvania title that's still worth playing today.
Most disappointing was a three horse race for me, though I think all three potential options were kind of at their own tier of disappointing. For our "place" game, we have Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind an okay but unspectacular beat 'em up for modern consoles. I was so hyped for this after having played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, which it looked and sounded just like. I mean, they gave us an awesome new Turtles Game, so can't they just do the same with Power Rangers. It may still look good, but Rita's Rewind was bland and lacked the execution of its TMNT counterpart. For "show," we have Valkyrie Profile, a PS1 RPG that has always been hyped up as yet another excellent entry for the console. But while it was a good, solid title, I never felt it hit the level of the Final Fantasys or Legend of Legaias or Suikodens that it was mentioned in the same breath as. It's confusing progression and sometimes unfair systems keep it out of that tier, at least for me, and I would consider it to be good rather than great.
But the "win" here goes to Infinite Undiscovery, a game I spent a long time, like, decades long time, trying to track down in the wild. From the flat characters to the nonsense story to the boring gameplay, there was no other title that disappointed my quite this much. This may be the most disappointed I've ever been in a game, an awesome looking title published by Square and developed by Tri Ace should have been a home run. But instead, this game struck out, flailing like a fish out of water while trying to hit a knuckleball after ripping shots of vodka before the game.
Most deserving of a modern remake/update was another easy one, the modern gaming landscape is just begging for a return to the land of Nosgoth. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain was an exceptional top down adventure game that combined a bleak and depressing setting with challenging gameplay to create an incredibly unique package. I would love to see this world explored in a modern adaptation and now is as good a time as any. Hey, maybe this can make up for Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 failing to deliver.
So that's it for this year, I already can't wait to see where I will go next. I have been slacking a little bit on my 10s games, but let's see where we are with my list now:
Borderlands 2
Breath of Fire 2
Civilization 2
Deus Ex
Doom
Earthbound
Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 8
Goldeneye: 007
Half Life 2
Heroes of Might and Magic 3
The Last of Us
Legend of Legia
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Lunar II: Eternal Blue
Madden 04, 08, 09
Mega Man 3
Mega Man X
Metal Gear Solid
Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven
Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow
Resident Evil (REmake)
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil: Code: Veronica
Soul Caliber
Star Ocean: The Second Story
Street Fighter II Turbo/Champion Edition
Super Mario 64
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the 7 Stars
Super Mario World
Twisted Metal 2
Valkyria Chronicles
WCW Vs. NWO: World Tour
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Suikoden II
Aaaaaand I only played through one of them this year. I can't say I'm surprised, as much as I love these games my backlog of new stuff just keeps growing and growing. Either way, the project marches on. Hope everyone has a great new year.
As we continue with said circle, it's time to look at this year's scores. Remember, I give awards for Game of the Year, worst game, most surprising, most disappointing and best candidate for a modern update/remake. 10s games aren't eligible for any of these awards. A reminder of the scores:
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - 9.5/10
Garou: Mark of the Wolves - 9.5/10
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon - 9.25/10
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain - 9.25/10
Jumping Flash! - 9.25/10
Disco Elysium - 8.5/10
Blazing Lazers - 8.5/10
Alex Kidd in Miracle World - 8.25/10
Mega Man 11 - 8/10
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island - 7.75/10
Mega Man V - 7.5/10
Valkyrie Profile - 7/10
Kizuna Encounter: Tag Battle - 7/10
Metal Max Returns - 6.75/10
Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers - 6.5/10
Infinite Undiscovery - 5.25/10
Football Frenzy - 4/10
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends - 4/10
So now, it's on to the awards. And we will start with the big one. Going by scores, it's a tie at the top between a game I'm sure most thought we would be there and one that might have been a little surprising. It's not like I'm in any way official, but a win here would be GOTY award number 8,702 for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. While I don't think I was quite as high on it as many others, I still liked it quite a lot, like, a real lot. E33 told a truly exceptional and emotional tale that I think will resonate with gamers for a long time. While it may not be the title that proved turn-based games still have a fanbase, it is certainly the one that reminded the powers that be that said games can lead to tons of critical and financial success.
On the other hand, we have Garou: Mark of the Wolves, an outstanding fighting game that showed just how masterful SNK was with the genre. This was one of the best examples of the genre I have ever played, with a great cast of unique characters, subtle yet interesting mechanics and plenty of replayability. MOTW had all the little things that separate the great fighting games from the merely good ones. It would have been a great way for the Fatal Fury/Garou series to go out, though 2025 did see it finally receive a sequel some 26 years later.
So, where does that leave us? On one hand, E33 is likely going to be the more culturally relevant game when it's all said and done. As a story driven epic it just inherently offers more, especially when said story was its strongest point. On the other, MOTW probably had fewer flaws and is the game I will probably revisit more as I continue to play. Comparing apples to oranges like this is hard, but dare I say, MOTW may be a better fighting game than E33 is an RPG? And plus, it's actually a retro game. I typically don't play new stuff, though with all these RPGs that are hitting the scene now (and all the E33 copycats that are going to start coming out) that might have to change.
And it's with that in mind I think I have to give this award to E33. I think its cultural relevance and ambitious storytelling are going to be the tiebreaker here, this was a much tougher decision than I think you all think it should have been. And giving this award to E33 is going to officially signal a shift in the kinds of games I review. I've always focused more on retro games, or at the very least games that were retro related/inspired. But I think I am going to have to push towards a more even split with modern games, especially when it at least when it comes to RPGs. I want to keep working with my core values in mind, but I do have to open up and try knew things as well. Don't get me wrong, we are still going to be keeping it mostly retro, but it's going to be less of a 90/10 divide and more like 70/30.
Worst game was also a tie this year, with Football Frenzy for the Neo Geo and Rocky and Bullwinkle for the SNES/Genesis both tied at the bottom of the heap. I hate to hang this on one of these games, because neither of them are really all that bad. That said, they aren't good and in a year where I played a low quantity of high quality games, they stood out as weaker than the rest. Football Frenzy was a frustrating mess that felt like it was designed by people who had never seen American Football before, but I think I just had a better time with it than with the Squirrell and Moose. Rocky and Bullwinkle for the 4th gen consoles was better than the NES version, but that isn't saying much. Getting hit by a car is better than getting hit by a train, but you don't really want either to happen to you. As such, Rocky and Bullwinkle "win" yet another worst game award (the NES version was the very first one I ever gave out). Despite some level of improvement, it's still a fairly generic platformer on two consoles that have a ton of better options.
Most Surprising was actually pretty clear cut this time. I expected Castlevania: Circle of the Moon to be good, but I didn't expect it to be quite that good. The depth, breadth and scope was exceptional for a handheld title and I think it even improved over its big brother Symphony of the Night in some way. This was an outstanding Metroidvania title that's still worth playing today.
Most disappointing was a three horse race for me, though I think all three potential options were kind of at their own tier of disappointing. For our "place" game, we have Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind an okay but unspectacular beat 'em up for modern consoles. I was so hyped for this after having played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, which it looked and sounded just like. I mean, they gave us an awesome new Turtles Game, so can't they just do the same with Power Rangers. It may still look good, but Rita's Rewind was bland and lacked the execution of its TMNT counterpart. For "show," we have Valkyrie Profile, a PS1 RPG that has always been hyped up as yet another excellent entry for the console. But while it was a good, solid title, I never felt it hit the level of the Final Fantasys or Legend of Legaias or Suikodens that it was mentioned in the same breath as. It's confusing progression and sometimes unfair systems keep it out of that tier, at least for me, and I would consider it to be good rather than great.
But the "win" here goes to Infinite Undiscovery, a game I spent a long time, like, decades long time, trying to track down in the wild. From the flat characters to the nonsense story to the boring gameplay, there was no other title that disappointed my quite this much. This may be the most disappointed I've ever been in a game, an awesome looking title published by Square and developed by Tri Ace should have been a home run. But instead, this game struck out, flailing like a fish out of water while trying to hit a knuckleball after ripping shots of vodka before the game.
Most deserving of a modern remake/update was another easy one, the modern gaming landscape is just begging for a return to the land of Nosgoth. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain was an exceptional top down adventure game that combined a bleak and depressing setting with challenging gameplay to create an incredibly unique package. I would love to see this world explored in a modern adaptation and now is as good a time as any. Hey, maybe this can make up for Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 failing to deliver.
So that's it for this year, I already can't wait to see where I will go next. I have been slacking a little bit on my 10s games, but let's see where we are with my list now:
Borderlands 2
Breath of Fire 2
Civilization 2
Deus Ex
Earthbound
Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy 8
Goldeneye: 007
Half Life 2
Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Legend of Legia
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Madden 04, 08, 09
Mega Man 3
Mega Man X
Metal Gear Solid
Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow
Resident Evil (REmake)
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil: Code: Veronica
Soul Caliber
Street Fighter II Turbo/Champion Edition
Super Mario 64
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the 7 Stars
Super Mario World
Twisted Metal 2
Valkyria Chronicles
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Suikoden II
Aaaaaand I only played through one of them this year. I can't say I'm surprised, as much as I love these games my backlog of new stuff just keeps growing and growing. Either way, the project marches on. Hope everyone has a great new year.
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