Frezno's Games Of The 2018 Thing!

Another one down, just about. I always get all poetic about the year ending at the beginning of these, and this is going to be no exception. 2018's setting, and we once again have an enigma of a year ahead. 2019. What a wild number it is, but then 2018 was just the same enigma when we were sitting here last year recounting the games of 2017. Now we're looking back at that and I'm going to tell you all about the best computer games I played this year. Who needs delays? Let's get right into it and decide what sort of gonzo "categories" I'm going to invent. Here they are, the Games Of The 2018 Thing.

HARDEST GAME OF 2018

Contra: Shattered Soldier (PS2)

Would you believe that I didn't play anything so dire that it deserves our usual opening category of Worst Game Of The Year? I honestly would be stretching the definition just to have the category this year, so we're going to exclude it. Instead we'll jump right to the hardest hard game experience of the year. Contra Shattered Soldier is something I've owned for years, but it took my pal Polly all but daring me to beat the shit to get me to finally pop it in and try it. It's a very good game, but one whose mechanics keep it one foot in the old school. It's very trial and error memorization-style, but short enough that you can replay it and get to whatever killed you last time and blast ahead a little more. It's the only hard game this year I had to grind at to get good with, but the grinding was the experience. Watching myself barely claw out a victory, then get S Rank clears in practice as I learned those stages flawlessly? I grit my teeth at calling hard games "rewarding", as it's more often than not a synonym for "oh thank god I don't have to play THAT PART any more", but Shattered Soldier had me feeling it in a good way. This was a real good one.

BEST GAME MADE BY PALS OF MINE IN 2018

Facets (PC)

I have to apologize to some other pals who made games this year, I feel. I beat your games and enjoyed them, and they'll be on the list a little later and I'll gush about them. John Thyer's Facets is a game I played exactly once, to help playtest, and I did not finish it. I tapped out after about four hours, beaten into oblivion by the final boss. Rather than be sore about that, I consider it to be the good ending. Facets takes cues from games like Final Fantasies 2 and 6, and the SaGa series, and injects it all with a bit of that meta-moral judgement that you get from games like Spec Ops The Line or Undertale's No Mercy route. Your party are absolutely the baddies, delving into the mind of a captured woman rebelling against the Empire you serve in order to defeat the facets of her personality that are keeping you from brainwashing her to serve the cause. It's an intensely hard game built entirely on a handful of ultra-hard battles and limited resource management, and the final battle is a beautiful affirmation of love and friendship and hope... used in all its capacity against you. This utterly destroyed me and made me tap out, and I wouldn't have it any other way. In some sense, I got the good ending to Facets. If that interests you, check it out. 

BEST ACCOMPLISHMENT OF 2018

Pokemon Alpha Sapphire (3DS)

Generation 3 of Pokemon is the one I have the least experience with. I wrote about this briefly a long time ago, but Pokemon Sapphire was the first GBA game I ever owned back in the winter of 2006 and I beat it exactly one, then never touched those games again. I found Alpha Sapphire here on the cheap this fall, and played it and had a lot of fun rediscovering Hoenn and blasting on through it. That's not why this is on the list. The postgame stuff was cute and fun as well, but that isn't why it's here either. No, I did something with this. I went on an odyssey and finally closed the book on Pokemon for me personally. I caught them all. A three week long quest of grinding, trading, and catching. It was busywork, but in the end I can say that I am a Pokemon master. Now we'll see if Generation 8 makes me cave and want to grab that in 2019...

BEST "NEW OLD" GAME OF 2018

Bloodstained: Curse Of The Moon (Switch)

Okay so this came out for basically everything, but I played it on the Switch so that will be the console in brackets. I posted a big review of this on the blue website, but it has to be said again. Holy hell. This came out of nowhere on my radar, but I'm so glad I got to play it. The NES Castlevania games are among the most beloved retro games ever made, but along comes Bloodstained and makes them better by imparting modern sensibilities and conveniences onto them. A game series made slow and deliberate by design and hardware limitations becomes something quick, breezy, and incredibly fun. It's not trying to replace the NES trilogy, and I'm not about to throw those games in the trash any time soon because they have merit, but it's just an impressive feat that Bloodstained manages to be both a loving tribute to them and this incredible streamlining of them into something different but wonderful. It may be the best pixel jump and slash game to come out since Shovel Knight. I'll go there. Hot goddamn. Now I wonder if the other Bloodstained, the one building from the Igavania foundation, will be any good. We'll see, but in the meantime we got this and that's a hell of a thing.

BEST MULTIPLAYER EXPERIENCE OF 2018

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (Switch)

Sorry, Smash. If you had another month of me playing the hell out of your online, maybe you'd get the billing here. It'll be on the list, though, because it's very good. Before I use this space to write about how much I liked Smash, let's talk Monster Hunter. As I understand it, Monster Hunter World came out this year and that's a neat streamlining of the Monster Hunter formula that a lot of people enjoyed. I don't own a PS4 or a PC good enough to run it, so this is my Monster Hunter experience. I dabbled a bit with 4 on the 3DS, but having dual analog for this thing is a dream come true. As fun as it was to do a quick hunt by myself, much of my enjoyment (and indeed, the reason I put down [80 Canadian dollars plus tax] for this thing) was from playing it online with pals who also had the game. They were all geared out with ultra-rad equipment on account of playing the shit out of it, but that was fine! I was more a supporter to them, using my skills to buff and heal them. It's my comfy niche in these sorts of games; I don't have to be good, I just have to help the people who already are good do better. Do better they did, thanks to my assistance. Either way, this was fun and I hope to come back to it someday. Smash did distract, after all. Now instead of supporting, I'm outright KICKING ALL MY PAL'S FACES IN HA HA HA HA HA. Um. On to the next entry? Oh. Oh, it's the big one. Hold on tight, everyone. That's right! It's...!

GAME OF THE YEAR 2018

The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky First Chapter (PC)

It's simple, really. I made the rules up for this stuff long ago. My Game Of The Year slot always goes to the game which made me feel the most emotions. Trails In The Sky excels at that, of course, but it's also just a finely crafted RPG which has me wanting more... and there's more in abundance. For literal years I've had pals praising the highs of this series, and I finally decided to give it the time of day and give things a shot. In the end, I can't say I was disappointed. There's a certain light and breezy quality to things, mixed with little spikes of optional difficulty along the way in the form of sidequests, difficult battles, or both. I can think of one late-game fight that's one of those "you're supposed to lose" fights that you actually do have to win for full completion, and by god did I manage to outsmart that fucker and kick their ass. As far as the emotional stakes go? MWAH. An expansive cast of characters you can fall in love with and enjoy the company of, plenty of side characters to meet and keep up with along the way, and a billion twists and turns in an immersive world. The ending's bittersweet, but it teases so much more and still sticks in my mind. Lucky me that there are like, six more full-length RPGs in this world for me to enjoy. I guess I'll end this praise with two words that convey the heart, soul, and humor of this world (and no doubt the series): Estelle Bright.

...AND THE REST

You may know the drill by now, but if not, this is where the rest of the good things I played this year go. Things that were beaten out of their category by games I enjoyed/resonated with more, stuff I couldn't think of making up a good category for, and then just "okay" experiences that still deserve a quick nod. Far from being a lesser place, if you made it on this list at all then you've done something right. Let's dig into it!

The Mummy Demastered (Switch)

A tie-in game to the Tom Cruise Mummy movie that was supposed to launch a monster movie cinematic universe but didn't. Wayforward is behind it though, so they give their goddamn all and come up with an actually pretty good exploratory platformer that's like a neat mix of Castlevania, Metroid, and Contra. It's not perfect, but it wasn't half bad. Worth a replay someday, and it's more notable than the movie it was made to promote. How wild is that?

Blaster Master Zero (Switch)

I bought a lot of stuff on Switch when I got the system late last year. This thing is a big expansion on NES B-list classic, Blaster Master, and it's got it where it counts. Haven't got much else to say about it. It was solid and I enjoyed playing it, all the way back in January. Time has obscured what I really loved about it, but it was fun.

Shantae Half-Genie Hero DLC (PC)

Shantae, Shantae, Shantae! Half-Genie Hero snuck in at the last minute to be an amazing game I played in 2016. Over 2017 it got some expansions and whatnot, and that got it on the list again then. Here we are in 2018, and the game's all done. I've got a Switch copy of the Ultimate Edition on my shelf, and it got three new DLC campaigns this year (that I got for free 'cause of the Kickstarter backing and all). They range from pretty good to just a little too hard for their own good, but they all had me go back to the game and play around with the new mechanics they added and have a blast. A fun diversion in one of my new favorite games, if nothing else.

Moon (PC)

Hi, Thom! You made a game and it was good and it's on my list now! Moon is a timed exploratory platformer that has you exploring the aftermath of a bad thing happening in space. It's got a great sense of mood to it, and wrapping your head around the labyrinth of the moonbase in the alloted time is a real challenge but quite a lot of fun to do. There's not much else to say, so check it out for yourselves!

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Switch)

I could have invented a category for this, but in the end I decided not to. This is still, however, a really solid game that brought me back to the old DKC mindsets that raised my hard game platforming skills. I cleared this game 100% and they definitely don't slack with the difficulty in places. Look up "Bopopolis" if you don't believe me. Well worth the money I spent on it, and co-op was kind of wild to do as well. Hell yeah.

Final Fantasy Adventure (Game Boy)

Ah, the first Mana game. It's an early Game Boy RPG, so it's got all that charm going for it. Light, simple, and breezy. A little tough in spots, but it has at least a few jaw-droppingly bleak moments for a cartoon game about fighting goblins with swords and stuff. Beautiful in its simplicity, but a shame what happened to the sequels. Yes, I'm still mad about Seiken Densetsu 3.

Wild Guns Reloaded (Switch)

An absolutely balls-to-the-wall high-octane action experience that, while not the hardest thing in the world, definitely challenged me enough on the higher difficulties. There really isn't much more to say on it. It's absolutely worth your time and it's hella great. Shame the co-op only gives you so many lives and no continues, they should have let you grind it out. Disable the leaderboard or something if you do, I don't care. Let me beat the game with someone who's not as good at it.

Polly Dungeon (PC)

Hi, Polly! Polly Dungeon is a roguelike, but a roguelike that's both simple to play and incredibly silly. Like, several of the jokes in this game made me laugh out loud. The writing in this game is on point and you can tell Polly is just having a blast in the dungeon of her own making. Definitely give it a try. You'll laugh. I bet you will.

Mega Man 11 (Switch)

Maybe I should have given this a category, but it's good bordering on great. Not quite great bordering on fantastic, but I like it better than Mega Man 10 or, god help me, Mighty No. 9. I kind of wish there was more meat on the bone here, as you've just got 8 stages and a Wily Castle again. The Gear mechanics add a level of wild challenge to this one that helps to freshen up things, and it's the hardest Mega Man game in a while because of it. Once you learn to use the hell out of the new mechanics, though, it feels great. It's a good game. Not exactly great, but good.

The Adventures Of Elena Temple (Switch)

I debated putting this on here, but when the hell am I ever going to talk about this again? Elena Temple is a throwback PC platformer where you explore a tomb and avoid deathtraps to get gold. It's short, with an emphasis on puzzle platforming and a little bit of masocore, but there's infinite lives and it's all screen by screen so it works. What's really inventive is the way you can choose to play it on a multitude of "platforms", all with this museum curation metanarrative about the developer always backing the wrong horse when porting his obscure platformer. That's cute enough to give it a nod here.

Super Hydorah (Switch)

A hella rad shmup that takes cues from Gradius and Darius and all those other-us games, making one hell of a shooter game that challenged me enough to want to go for the very best ending. It wasn't easy to do it, but I somehow pulled it off. Like Shattered Soldier, the experience made me feel good about it all. It's definitely worth a go, even if you don't go for the full clear like I did.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch)

I mean, come on. It's the ultimate Smash Bros. game. Everyone's back and you got cool newcomers (Inkling and K. Rool are the most fun to play) and a big new single player mode which I just cleared last night. World Of Light is pretty neat... until you get to the climax. Then it elevates to a level of pure joy that had me grinning for that last high-octane hour or so as I blasted through to the finale. All of a sudden this joyride of a game turned into a goddamned F1 race. Holy shit. For that alone it gets on here... and I didn't even buy it for that, I got it to play friends online in the only fighting game I'm good at!

THE UNFINISHED

A special new section here. I beat a lot of games this year. Many more remained unfinished, but some of them deserve a shoutout. There's enough that I feel fine creating this section. Let's praise the shit I have yet to clear.

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow Of Valentia (3DS)

I wrote an entire article about this in April and I still haven't beaten the game because the Switch has me in its grip. Nevertheless, I stand by everything I said in it. This is the greatest and most interesting Fire Emblem game for me personally, and I don't think they will ever make one like this again. What a shame. I can only cross my fingers and hope that Three Houses borrows liberally from this and adds its own twists, but we'll see.

VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action (PC)

I played this for my Frezmas marathon and it's a really cute and neat visual novel that delves into certain levels of... maturity. Regardless, it's one I want to find the time to revisit. It just has this cozy mix of chatting with interesting people and drinking alcoholic beverages that really appeals to me. Also Dorothy is the goddamned best.

Octopath Traveller (Switch)

This is one that I'm super excited to dig deeper into. Its graphical style appeals to me, as does the whole idea of a new old JRPG. It's done a little better than other forays into this I've dabbled into, like 4 Heroes Of Light or Bravely Default. The battle mechanics are a neat little puzzle akin to something like Shin Megami Tensei, with elemental weaknesses and building up multiple actions to exploit them and whatnot. Characters are great, with their own motivations I want to see through. It's real neat, and you may see it on the list in 2019.


And that will do it! That is a wrap for 2018 in video games, and for 2018 on the blog! Hasn't been a lot of activity here, I know, but I hope you enjoyed hearing about all the cool games I played this year. I'd love for you to try some of them yourselves! They all mean a lot to me, in varying degrees, and I'd love for you to share some of that joy. You all have a happy New Year celebration. I'll see you again in a few days for the blog wrap-up, and then we both venture into the unknown of 2019. Until then... see ya.