Pokemon Violet: This just barely missed being my last beaten game of 2022; I ended up finishing it on New Year's Day. While Scarlet and Violet have received a lot of criticism and I do agree with some of that criticism, this was still a really fun game that I enjoyed a lot. I wasn't crazy about the open world aspect at first, but I got used to it and even though I wish there was a bit more to do than just ride around in wide empty spaces, I still had fun. The characters were great and lovable (if there's one thing modern day Pokemon games haven't been missing, it's great characters) - Arven in particular stole my heart, but I also really loved Nemona, the gym leaders and teachers, and Carmine if we're counting the DLC. idk I just always love Pokemon games no matter what, and even though I'm pretty sure I'll never love another Pokemon game as much as I loved Black and White, I still continue to enjoy the newer games and Violet was no exception.Persona 4 Golden: After playing Persona 5 Royal for the first time last year and absolutely adoring it, I was excited to play both this and Persona 3 Portable when they landed on the Switch. While this wound up being my personal least favorite of the three - I think it had the weakest story and characters, honestly - I still enjoyed it quite a bit. I really liked the small town setting - it was less exciting than Persona 5's city setting, for sure, but it was cozier. Although I didn't get super attached to 4's characters like I did with 5 and 3's, they were all still very likable all the same. And it just felt very old-school JRPG in such a fun way (I know Persona 4 isn't a super old game but you know what I mean). Good stuff.
Persona 3 Portable: Oh my god, Persona 3. What have you done to me. This was...phenomenal. What a beautiful, heartbreaking, touching story. What fantastic characters. Purists will insist you don't get the "full experience" by playing Portable over FES since outside of Tartarus the game is presented in point-and-click mode instead of like a traditional RPG and because it doesn't include The Answer, but honestly none of that bothers me. I really loved the inclusion of the female protagonist in Portable - she wound up having a lot more personality than I expected her to have, and her social links were so good; I don't think I would have enjoyed the male protag's social links nearly as much. Akihiko, Shinjiro and Junpei are already amazing to begin with, but their social links with FeMC just made them stand out even more, something that would be missing without playing her route. But yeah I just loved this one so much. I can't wait for more people to experience this story for the first time when Reload comes out even though I'm still sad FeMC won't be there.
Fire Emblem Engage: Guuuuhhhh I'm a big Fire Emblem fan and this one was just. Not for me. The game itself was fun and I enjoyed playing it, because I just enjoy Fire Emblem's gameplay in general. But outside of that, oh my god what a drag. Such a nothing plot with such bland characters - even the best characters in the game barely registered for me. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come because I can't play another game like this one again.
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code: This was a simultaneously fun and emotional little adventure. I love Danganronpa so I knew I had to play this game too, and while I still prefer Danganronpa overall I had a blast with Rain Code. It felt very Persona 5 mixed with Danganronpa and the combination made for a really fun experience. The characters grew on me more than I was expecting them to and I did unashamedly cry over several of them because they messed with my emotions so much lol. But yeah this was just a fun game and definitely one that I'd recommend to Danganronpa fans.
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games: For those who don't know, The Nonary Games is a bundle containing the first two games of the Zero Escape trilogy: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and Virtue's Last Reward; 999 has been remastered in this bundle and VLR is a straight port. But yeah. I watched several playthroughs of both of these games on YouTube these past couple of years and loved them, and finally decided I wanted to play them for myself so I bought them on Steam and played them this August. 999 is my favorite; I just love the cast of characters so much and the story was such an emotional gut punch with amazing twists and an incredible ending. I like VLR's story and characters slightly less but they're still really great. The puzzles are fun but really it's the story and characters that drew me into this series and I'm glad I finally played it.
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective: You guuuuys why did I not play this game when it originally released. What is wrong with me. This game was so damn good. In true Shu Takumi fashion it was incredibly funny and charming and addictive, and my god does it tug at the heartstrings in the best way possible. The ending had me crying out of sheer joy at how wonderful this game was and how much I loved the characters (I get very attached to fictional characters, as is probably pretty obvious by this post). It's also just really damn fun to play, so if you're an Ace Attorney fan, especially the Phoenix Wright games? Play Ghost Trick.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder: I can't believe it, but they finally did it. They finally made me love 2D Mario again. WOW. What can be said about this game that hasn't been said already? Any game with the "New Super Mario Bros" title attached to it is one that I'll ignore. The ones I did play were not enjoyable to me and I thought I'd never play a 2D Mario game again. Then Wonder was unveiled back in June and my interest was piqued. It actually looked fun, and with cautious optimism I started playing the game the day after it released. I was floored - this game completely exceeded my expectations. Pun absolutely not intended, but this truly was such a wonderful ride - I loved absolutely every second of it. I don't think I've ever smiled so much while playing a video game. Just...pure joy. I'm so glad this game exists.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim: And here we arrive at the most recent game I've completed this year, the one I would consider my personal game of the year. 13 Sentinels is an absolute masterpiece in storytelling, weaving together 13 different (but connected) plotlines of 13 protagonists and ending up with one incredible and extremely satisfying narrative. The RTS battles are also fun and very addictive, but it's the narrative and characters that really make up the meat of this game and what has cemented it as an instant favorite. I had my doubts that any game could seamlessly juggle 13 protagonists and their own storylines without sacrificing any development or screentime for any of them, but this was unfounded - every single protagonist is more or less equally important to the overall plot and are all excellently written; I absolutely adore literally all 13 of them. That's not even getting into the art and music, both of which are absolutely stellar and some of the best I've ever seen and heard in a video game. I truly cannot say enough good things about this game. It is so, so unbelievably good. It took me two weeks to complete and it hasn't been far from my thoughts ever since. What an absolutely underrated gem.
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