Best and Worst of 2010

I made it one of my New Years Resolutions to make a blog about my reviews and thoughts on Video Games. As far as the title, I let my friends name this, haha.

Anyways, 2010 was not as impressive as previous years and even 2009's best game is still better than the game I chose for this year. However despite this, there were still some good games released this year that made my list a little hard to come up with at first.

BEST RHYTHM GAME

Dante's Inferno (PS3, Xbox360)

Lol, I kid Holy Gitaroo Man wannabe.

God of Harp Hero III (PS3)

Now I’m just acting silly.

Lolz aside, below is my serious list:

BIGGEST LETDOWN

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3: Portable (PSP)

When this game was announced, I was extremely excited. I mean, it is a portable version of one of my Top 10 games of ALL TIME. I was a little discouraged from the game when small bits of information were released mentioning that some of the gameplay was changed around, but I told myself that as long as the playability was not changed too much, then I would still be willing to play it. Now, before anyone gets me wrong, I was not expecting a perfect port (despite how amazing Gitaroo Man’s PS2 to PSP shift went) because I knew that there was too much information in the original version of Persona 3 that fitting all of it would be nearly impossible… even moreso after it was announced that there would be a female path as well. 

Upon actually playing the game, I turned it off within 20 minutes, and have not touched it since. I was amazed to see that the game had removed the animated cut scenes in favor of the static talking heads (which were similar to Trauma Center). For a JRPG that was known for it’s anime cut scenes, to remove them was a big knock against the game. Furthermore, for the female path, they could have done a better job of altering the story to fit. I could not help but laugh (in a disappointing manner) when they kept the same dialogue from the male path/original story of Mitsuru and Yukari questioning if the main character was allowed to stay in the dorm with the girls for the female path. Another thing is that everyone praised the new battle system that was added (which allowed you to control all characters in battle) but what most of these fans probably don’t realize is what made the original battle system (only being able to control the MC) so good for Persona 3 is that one of the themes of the game was how you could not fully trust other people; so letting the other characters do wacky stuff in battle further implemented the questionable trust.

Overall, I have always mentioned how Persona 3 was ATLUS’ answer to SquareEnix’s Final Fantasy VII and the fact that they released Persona 3 Portable further proved it… even moreso since people are saying that it is so much better than the original now.

THE WORST GAMES OF 2010

#5. Metroid: Other M (Wii)

I’m not a gigantic Metroid fan, but there is one thing I despise in video games… which makes it much worse when it happens to a really well known series. What I am talking about is the “Damsel in Distress”, or when there is a fully capable female character who is reduced down to being portrayed as a wimpy do-nothing-on-their-own type of character. The over used theme of how Samus was an obvious female, so thus she spends the game talking about motherly referenced things (like following a Baby’s Cry), was only the tip of the iceberg of my annoyance though. What made me want to break the game was all of the narrations. Don’t get me wrong, I did not fully despise Samus’ chosen voice. However, when this game had more narration than Alan Wake (which had an author for a main character), then something is wrong.

I was hoping gameplay could save this game, but even I wasn’t amused by the gameplay. Motion controls are one thing, but why did they make Samus run around like she was a hyperactive little child. I got too frustrated with actually trying to properly control the character more than fighting things that I gave up. At least you have the redeeming feature of good graphics, but that’s not saying much since even crap can be made pretty, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is going to amuse me.

#4. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (NDS)

2010 can be summed up by saying it destroyed some of my favorite series. Dragon Warrior, as I recall it, was the very first RPG series I ever played. Specifically speaking, Dragon Warrior 1 on the NES was the first RPG I played. Now about two decades later for me, I’m depressed to see the wannabe MMO style role that Dragon Quest IX has taken. However, it is at least a playable game, just not enjoyable. I wonder if the creators forgot that most RPG fans like playing games by themselves; as in, with no one else, single-player only.

#3. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Xbox360)

Despite being a huge fan of JRPG games, I went into this one expecting it to be bad; even though I had a ton of people telling me otherwise. Now, I’m not going to complain about it’s straight path, because every JRPG is pretty much a cleverly hidden straight path. I will complain about people telling me that I just needed to wait till about 20 hours into the game. With any type of media, you have a short amount of time to grasp the attention of the audience. 20 hours is not a short amount of time. If it takes a game that long to explain itself before letting you roam on your own, then the developers either think you can not handle being out on your own, or they are doing something wrong. 

I remember during the time that I was playing that the female cloud wannabe, Lightning, apologized to a door. Yeah, I know this had symbolic reference in the story, but if executed properly I would not be bothered. However, Barret wannabe, Chocofro, makes such a deal about how the door was not open, then an apology and bam, magical door opening time. It was just laughable, in my opinion. Also, I still want to know how the wimpiest character in the party is the strongest character in the game. Though, I’m glad to see that SquareEnix knows it’s target audience with their weird kissing scene. And if anyone is wondering, I only played about 4 hours of the game.

“Oh, just give it another 16 hours, I promise it gets good!”

And yeah, let me guess… The final boss is a door and Lightning has to cut herself for it to open; in a symbolic way of showing she is sorry for any crimes she committed… No thanks.

#2. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3: Portable (PSP) 

To say what has not already been said, I would rather shoot myself in the head than play this. Oh wait.

#1. Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love (PS2, Wii)

For a game that has the phrase “A new way to SRPG” plastered all over it’s box, it does a very bad job of conveying that it is a RPG of any kind. This game is more akin to a very awkward Visual Novel. Now, I love visual novels, so I figured I would give it the benefit of the doubt. I tried playing it for 2 hours, and could not play anymore. Not even the vague story or uninteresting characters could save this game. I tried to give it a bigger benefit for being the first game in it’s series to be released outside of Japan, but I still could not convince myself to play more of the game.

There are some “RPG” games that are so bad that they are good, like Arc Rise Fantasia, but then again that’s not a compliment in the first place. However, Congratulations Sakura Wars… you are so bad that you are just bad. I gave you more benefits than I normally do, and you crushed them.

HONORABLE MENTION

Costume Quest (XBLA, PSN)

It is sad to see one of the biggest artistic developers of the video game industry reduced down to selling downloadable games due to their console released games not really selling, and thus the developer not able to be funded for projects. This game was in the spotlight for a month and then dropped out due to the fact that this game is based on Halloween, and before we are even done with All Hallow’s Eve people are already preparing for Christmas (even though I swore there is a holiday between those two).

The reason this game is listed under my Honorable Mention and not on my Top 10 is because I was only able to play the demo of the game before the end of the year. Based on the demo alone, I was completely amused and satisfied. The game is a Halloween RPG where getting new costumes gives you new skills in battle and abilities outside of combat. You go around trick-or-treating to get more candy, and you have to get a certain amount of candy to advance the story. Sometimes you will come across a goblin, who you will have to fight, instead of normal adults at the houses. From what I gathered from the demo, the plot of the game is about trying to save your sibling (based on the gender you choose to play) from the goblins who are in your neighborhood stealing candy; to which they kidnapped them because they thought your sibling was a candy corn based on their outfit. If you love RPGs as much as me, then I would highly recommend purchasing this game… as long as you have internet access.

RUNNER UP

#11. Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP)

There is only one reason as to why this game did not make my Top 10 list. It was an OK entry in a good series while the game I have listed for number 10 was an OK entry in a recently bad series. An OK game in a good series denotes a fall from the greatness of a previous title; while an OK game in a bad series shows that the company who makes the game is actually improving the quality of their game and working on making it better. I will give you props for being a hard game, but then again I could probably kick myself and remind myself that trying to beat a JRPG at level 25 was not exactly a smart idea. The branching storylines were a cool idea, but even with the in-game timeline I was giving myself a headache for trying to sort out all of the events. Also, I was not amused with Kingdom Party or Kingdom Karts, but thank goodness that those were not required events and I got to choose to ignore them, but then again, I shouldn't want to chose to ignore something in the game.

THE BEST GAMES OF 2010

#10. Sonic Colors (Wii) (The DS version is different, and thus this is based solely on the Wii version)

Well, this is a surprise. Where have you been for the last couple of years Sonic? That’s right, killing my childhood. However, I am not here to complain about Sonic’s past games, but to commend his recent adventure. Despite what some people would believe, I have actually bought all of the blue blur’s games over the last decade within the week, or sometimes month, of their release. So don’t think I have not been supportive of the Blue Hedgehog during his relapse.

I’m not going to say that Sonic Colors is the most AMAZING THANG EVAR… but for being a good entry in a series that has felt like it has been slowly dying over the last few years it deserves some credit. I was originally taken back in disgust of the new Voice Actor for Sonic since I could not get the fact out of my head that Ezio de Auditore de Firenze a la Pasta from Assassin’s Creed II/AC: Brotherhood was now voicing Sonic the Hedgehog. Though, my disgust slowly turned to actually liking the new voices by the end of the game; which came very abruptly by the way. The music was good as well (especially the BGMs from Planet Wisp). Another thing is that the writing and humor was better than some of the recent Sonic games too. The gameplay is decent too; following the old formula of platforming but combining the speed of the Daytime levels from Sonic Unleashed along with the new addition of Wisp abilities that allowed you to explore the levels differently depending on which Wisp you had obtained.

Like I said, I am not saying this game is exhilaratingly awesome, but it is a step in the right direction for Sonic Team. I’m just hoping they keep up this trend for whatever their next planned game might become.

#9. Squishy Tank (NDS)

Many of the people who read this are probably looking at this one and asking themselves, “What in the world is Squishy Tank?!” Well, it is simply an adorable puzzle game released by Natsume (of Harvest Moon fame) for the Nintendo DS. It came out at $19.99 retail value new, but when I got my hands on it the game had dropped to $10 new, and I am wholly satisfied with the purchase. The puzzling gameplay in itself is akin to a mix between Tetris Attack and Puchi Puchi Virus. Even though I played the game on easy (for the sake of having time to finish a lot of games this year) the game proved to be difficult towards the end. Though the gameplay alone is not what has Squishy Tank on my Top 10 for this year. What helped bump it up was also the adorable cut scenes and amusing humor (complete with a Metal Gear Solid reference too).

Overall this game only took me about 5 hours to finish, but this is one of those games that proves that as long as you get the gameplay (and sometimes story) correct when making a game, then the length of the actual game should not matter. Thus you have the replayability factor.

#8. Nier (Xbox360, PS3)

You know a game is probably going to be entertaining if even before you get to the Main Menu the game is already cussing at you. No joke. Even more, this entertainment is fueled when you find out that the character’s voice who had been yelling at you is actually a girl who goes around fighting things in her lingerie.

All sex fantasy jokes aside, I really wish I could place this game higher on my list, but I can’t for my own reasons of not beating the game yet due to a promise I made to my boyfriend of letting him finish first… no pun intended. Despite only playing about 4 hours of this game, I can honestly say that this game defies the laws of JRPGs; which is incredibly intriguing considering it is made by Square nix (aka the home of everything that is cliché in JRPGs). Instead of being a prepubescent boy who is a complete moron, Nier (Gestalt) lets you play as a loving father who is trying to cure his daughter from a mysterious illness. If you do not like change in your Japanese Role Playing Games, then buy a plane ticket, fly yourself over to Japan, and buy a copy of Nier RepliCant (PS3)… or just import the typical cliché version.

Nier Gestalt, as it was called in Japan, is the version of the game that was made before RepliCant, and is the version released in America. The graphics of Nier are absolutely amazing; which graphic quality is something I have come to expect from SquareEnix. Along with good graphics, the gameplay is really fun and well done as well. Another thing is that it has great voice acting too. However, over all of these good factors for it, the biggest thing I love most from it so far is the amazing soundtrack… for BOTH Nier, and Nier RepliCant. Both of these game’s OST have quite possibly become my number 1 Video Game Soundtrack of all time.

#7. Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)

This game was a major surprise when I heard it announced this year, and let alone, when I found out that it was coming out this year too! I grew up with the SNES and am a huge endorser of 2D games. The Donkey Kong Country series is a big series I used to play when I was younger. Yet again, I have not beaten this game yet, but that is because it actually poses a challenge. Now when I say challenge, I am not talking about how the game is hard… I’m saying it poses a challenge because of cheap kills and the stupid lives system still being in effect. However, I’m too stubborn to let the Super Guide beat the levels for me, because in my mind, that’s cheating.

Despite the challenging aspects, this game is really good. It has the right amount of nostalgia mixed with updated graphics and a new story line. I still despise the motion controls, but that’s a beef I have with most games on the Wii so I can’t fault Donkey Kong in particular. Still, it’s hard to believe that DK was originally just a monkey throwing barrels at a plumber.

#6. 3D Dot Game Heroes (PS3)

Another game I never got to finish this year, but that’s because this one is actually hard. To be honest, I’m halfway through the final dungeon, but I just can’t beat it. However, I must be sadistic because I love an actual challenge… or maybe it is just my love of the Legend of Zelda series that is telling me that I can not give up on this homage.

This really did feel like a 3D version of a 2D Legend of Zelda game, complete with the fact that I played around in the editor and made my “hero” as the villain from The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap. As far as this game’s difficulty goes, I should have expected it considering it is from the same group that made Demon’s Souls. Though I loved all of the side quests in this game, and the comedic style in the dialogue of the characters; along with good gameplay and a nice customization feature as well. Out of all the games out there that claim to be an homage to something, this one is probably one of the best ones, if not the best one, you will find on the market now-a-days.

#5. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (NDS)

I’m still saddened that they changed the name of this from Perfect Prosecutor to Ace Attorney Investigations… consider that Edgeworth is a Prosector and not a Defense Attorney, but I can understand Capcom’s US branch wanting to stick with the same series name.

I originally thought this game was going to be awful considering it was a game about everyone’s favorite Prosecutor, and the gameplay was completely different from all of the previous Ace Attorney games. Normally series with a pre-established formula for awesome that then turn and release a new game with completely different mechanics do awful; even moreso if they are based off of the most beloved character in the franchise, because then it just sounds like it is spiraling down into being a bad fan fiction. However, I was wholesomely surprised that all of my preconceptions of this game were completely unfounded, and that I should never really judge a game before I try it.

Chronologically this game had Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep syndrome where every case felt the need to jump around instead of going in a straight path of order, but at least it made more sense when I pinned this story together. This game still had the waist-up detailed sprites of characters, as well as full body small sprites for walking around and investigating. Also, as with all of the Ace Attorney games as of recent, this game included a new gimmick as well; Edgeworth’s Eureka ability of supreme thinking. Overall, it is not the best in the Ace Attorney line, but it still included all of the charm and humor that made the original such a success.

#4. Trauma Team (Wii)

The 5th game in the Trauma series, the 3rd Wii title release, and the first one to not be called “Trauma CENTER”. Unlike any of the other games in the franchise, Trauma Team allows you to play as 6 different doctors in [mostly] different fields (Surgery, First Response, Orthopedics, Endoscopy, Diagnostics, and Forensics). The only gameplay mode that irritated the hell out of me was Endoscopy. Everything else was well done, even if Forensics felt like a rip-off of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney at times. Another thing that made this entry different than the other games is that instead of the talking static heads used during the cut scenes of previous entries, Trauma Team uses an animated comic style in it’s cut scenes; which in my opinion was a lot more interesting than the flat character faces.

Although this game was quickly on it’s way to my list of  “Most Disappointing Games” with just offering the singular missions for each of the characters, and the only things saving it from that list were some of the ridiculous plot devices that were so crazy that they made me bust out laughing, and the extremely sentimental moments in the characters’ stories. However, my entire fear of this game falling to my disappointment did a full 180 degree turn when I finished all of the character’s stories and found out that there was a seventh chapter, and oh my God, that chapter was amazing and was exactly what I was expecting from the game the entire time I was playing it. This game is a prime example of how the ending to a game can completely change an opinion of a game as a whole.

#3. Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (NDS)

This reminds me of a puzzle… Why don’t video game series that are already good stick to the same good formula when releasing sequels? Well, I don’t know, but thank goodness that Professor Layton has stuck to it’s proven formula of success over all these years.

As such with sticking with a working pattern, this game contains all of the stuff from the previous entries, but as with following the Diabolical Box pattern, this next entry in the Professor Layton series was a little bit more darker than the last… to the point of actually making me cry at one point. What makes this game better than Diabolical box is that I was actually expecting a crazed twist (and just all around craziness) this time, and it delivered in full force. Also, I have a slight intrigue of dystopian stories of the near future. This game does get knocked down a little for the puzzles being somewhat too easy this time, but then again that could be due to me 

Considering that this game is supposed to be the last one in the “Future” Arc of the Professor Layton games, and the next one starts off the “Past/Prequels” Arc, I’m only going to assume that the games are going to get darker from here on out, but as long they contain everything that made the series good in the first place then I say bring it on.

#2. Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)

There are certain games that scream artistic value, but then pointing out that video games can be art is fruitless when the game’s company did not even have enough funding to fully finish the game; as with Tri-Crescendo’s Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon abrupt ending. 

“Well, if it did not feel like the game was fully concluded, then why is it so high up on your list?” Someone might ask. The difference here is that this game had so many sub stories that were fully better than most typical video game stories as a whole. Fragile Dreams is all about how alone you are in world where almost all of humanity has died, and the only things remaining are ghosts and “artifacts” (that would contain memory stories) of a world long past. The motivation of the main character, Seto, is to find other remaining survivors (mainly a white haired girl) as he heads towards Tokyo Tower. I played the game in Japanese, but I can promise that the voicing was well done for that vocal track. Furthermore, it had well done graphics too (as well as the Wii can produce). I had issues with the inventory system at times due to it’s Resident Evil 4 approach, and the weapons tendency to randomly break versus the rare weapons that would actually be sturdy enough to last through most of the game. Also, the ridiculous prices for healing items combined with 3 really irritating enemy types made for quite a struggle at times, but then again, this game is all about survival; so the weapons, inventory and battles are a win for stay true to the game’s theme. The only thing I truly have against the game were the controls since I despise motion controls, but then again, I was able to cheat out of those simply by not pointing the Wii Remote at the screen and allowing myself to actually enjoy the game. However, the music in this game was well done as well; including beautiful opening and ending themes that fit perfectly with the theme of the story. I just wish that more artistic games would be given the funding that they deserve.

#1. Bayonetta (Xbox360, PS3)

One of the biggest factors for a game is the gameplay, which out of all the games I played in 2010, Bayonetta had the most fun gameplay. Surprising that one of the first games to be released in 2010 would actually be the best for that year for me. Although the gameplay is solid, I honestly have no idea what exactly happened in the story, but that’s the magic of video games; as long as the game play is well made, nothing else really matters. Despite what I have been saying, the gameplay is not the only thing that ended up being well done about the game. The art design, the dialogue, the graphics, and the music were all simply wonderful. Also, the voiceovers were well performed as an added bonus. The cut scenes were done differently from other 3D games in 2010, but even that did not distract from graphical quality.

I’m sad to see this game is mentioned more often for it’s sex appeal than for it’s game play (or even mentioned at all now), but if I were to recommend any one game this year, it would be Bayonetta, because I honestly have nothing bad to say about it.

Here is to hoping that 2011 will up the ante and give us some more good games... even moreso considering that it is supposedly "the last full year before the apocalypse occurs".