(Sorry this is a tad late. I couldn’t finish in time, partly because the editor got locked into “Autosaving”…)
With nothing better to blog this month, which honestly has been happening a whole lot lately, I’m doing a thing that I’ve seen from ProZD on Twitter (which I refuse to call its new moniker that could only come from the naming sense of a child) with the topsters.org link. This also comes with brief explanations of all 25 games from left to right and top to bottom.
- Truly, Beat Saber has become my new favorite game, even with nothing more than the mere 45 songs it has without DLC or modding. Such a fun way to move around and get sweaty, I spent so much of the first week of the month (on paid leave) playing it, I’ve actually started feeling enough discomfort in my eyes to start using the Noir color profile with no visual effects. That said, I have so much room for improvement in the game: 6 more Expert FCs, about two-thirds to FC on Expert+, one more One-Saber map (the obvious one), one more circular map (Pop/Stars), and a whole lot of speed-ups.
- I can’t not mention Phoenotopia, considering how much I have blogged about it and how I used to speedrun the Flash game (which isn’t available in Topsters) out of surprise that it wasn’t on speedrun.com. I have also considered doing a run of All Badges in Awakening, but I have been hardcore procrastinating on that front because of other hobbies and the difficulty in having 10 hours to spare.
- Breath of the Wild was already crazy good, and Tears of the Kingdom somehow managed to improve upon it. With all the equipment upgrades, Koroks, and wells that I still have yet to find, it remains one of my top time sinks of nowadays.
- Legends Arceus was a revolutionary addition to the Pokémon series, of which I have been an avid consumer since Blue on the Game Boy.
- Despite Arise, Berseria remains my favorite Tales game because of its characters and gameplay. The series has been influential to me since Symphonia on the GameCube.
- Since having built a Windows PC in late 2016, I have been a sucker for the Neptunia series. VII was my favorite installment at first, but VIIR improved upon it primarily with better graphics outside VR and exclusive Player Room cutscenes where Blanc is enticingly less clothed than usual.
- One Step from Eden is the game I have played the most on Steam Deck, primarily because I was raised with MegaMan Battle Network 3-5. There isn’t much of a story to it, but the arcade style is fun in its own right.
- I have been a fan of Super Smash Bros. since the first game, although my competitive spirit is not what it was 10-15 years ago. Ultimate is the latest release and has some wild DLC characters alongside a decent amount of single-player content. (World of Light, Classic Mode, etc.)
- If you ask me, Warriors of Rock is the magnum opus of the Guitar Hero series from when it remained officially…well, not dead. It is also the first thing I have uploaded to YouTube, not to mention part of the reason for my username.
- Although I didn’t get into the Xenoblade series until Definitive Edition came out, it is certainly one of the coolest JRPG series. I have been considering getting the XC3 epilogue DLC, what with how much I enjoyed Torna as a sort of refresher before the base game.
- Three Houses is one of the two main-series Fire Emblem games on the Switch and honestly the better one, being a step up from the 3DS installments while Engage is a rather lackluster follow-up overall.
- Kirby 64 might seem out of place here, but I have much nostalgia for it, primarily because of its type combining mechanic.
- Of all the VR games I have played, Vanishing Realms is definitely the second-most fun in terms of pure VR. I have elaborated further upon it way back when, and the DLC I got for cheap since then was certainly a worthwhile follow-up.
- Mini golf in VR has been one of my few multiplayer video game experiences as of late, albeit not so much anymore due to undisclosed reasons. Golf It used to be the go-to until the transition to Walkabout, which in brief is less scuffed.
- Final Fantasy Tactics A2 is the first game I have decided to play in French (for my second or third playthrough), and I think I have put roughly 1000 hours into it overall. That said, I can’t guarantee that I would be able to enjoy it anywhere near as much today as I did 10-ish years ago.
- A Hat in Time is the pinnacle of indie 3D platforming. It’s similar to Super Mario Sunshine, which I quite enjoyed at a single-digit age, and I find it funny how Xander Mobus (as the Conductor) says “murder.”
- Escape Simulator is another common multiplayer activity. While I am familiar with the Zero Escape series, it is a bit out of my comfort zone overall, whereas ordinary escape rooms are bereft of the murder mystery vibe.
- I was raised on Homestar Runner in the early 2000s, and SBCG4AP for WiiWare was one heck of a comical point-and-click addition to the series. In terms of individual episodes, 5 > 3 > 1 > 2 > 4.
- Sonic Heroes is another nostalgic kind of series entry. The three character types, twelve different protagonists, and four different stories were rather interesting, not to mention how they are all connected from start to finish. It also had some of the best music, particularly “What I’m Made Of” and the Team Chaotix theme.
(Don’t mind if I rush for the last six here.) - Amazing Island: Creating wacky stuff to participate in wacky minigames.
- SM64 Last Impact: The ROM hack I have played. Also has some innovative gimmicks.
- Super Mario 3D All-Stars: Three games for the price of one; all I have played before, but nice to play again.
- Bravely Default II: 8/10 JRPG with 10/10 music.
- Radiant Historia (DS): Simple but fun JRPG. Somewhat reminiscent of Battle Network.
- Dokapon Kingdom (Wii): Source of the EchecCritiqueMisc avatar, as well as more of my earlier YouTube content. I have purchased Connect on Steam, so I have been tempted to reboot the AI’d series as “Re-AI’d”, but further contemplating tells me that it would be better to do the PHO-A All Badges run first.
Honorable mentions to Team Fortress 2, Metroid Prime Hunters, and Halo 3, the three few multiplayer first-person shooters that I remember fondly.
À la prochaine! (Until next time!)
Vouiv-review 