Slow Reviews Games: A NinSheetMusic Column

[SlowPokemon]

Favorites of Video Games 2020

Here are some of my favorite gaming experiences of the past year. It's bad when 2017, 2018, and 2019 were all on the same page, huh? There's nothing I can say about the year 2020 that would add to what anyone else has said about it, but I'm sure all of you agree that video games (and other entertainment) filled a particularly important role throughout. For my part, I have to admit that I didn't play very many games that were actually released this year. This means that these awards are probably going to be much less varied and more boring than usual. As is tradition, however, I'm including a section on games I played for the first time that were released prior to this year, so hopefully that will even out the score.

It's worth pointing out that with the official discontinuation of the PlayStation Vita and the Nintendo 3DS, this is the first year that is exclusively a Nintendo Switch favorites list because I don't own any other current-gen consoles. (Technically, last year's list was basically this, aside from an honorable mention of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey in the Best Remake category, but y'know.)

To get warmed up, here are three pre-2020 games I experienced for the first time.

1

Spirit Hunter: NG (2019) on PlayStation Vita (also on Nintendo Switch, PC, & PlayStation 4)

2018's Death Mark was a fantastic little adventure game released on Switch and Vita that achieved its scares through a dread-inducing atmosphere and liberal use of Japanese horror tropes. Horror aficionados know that Asian horror favors subtler, more insidious dread than the jump scares and chainsaws of its American counterpart, and this worked to Death Mark's advantage. Last year's sequel, the cryptically-titled NG, plays as a spin-off rather than a straight sequel as far as the story is concerned, but as far as I'm concerned actually does everything even better than its predecessor. Returning from the first game is the idea that to defeat the spirits, you don't necessarily have to destroy them, but can instead pay attention to their backstories and behavior to free them from their torment. This Undertale-esque "destroy or take mercy" approach gives the game an edge of tension and puzzle-solving that really sets it apart. The characters feel more fleshed-out than the first game's, and the plot feels largely more cohesive than the episodic structure of the first, both of which work in its favor. However, like the first game, it occasionally takes the "female horror victim viewed in a sexual pose" trope to an absurd level, distracting from the mood. Not everyone's cup of tea, then, but if you like Japanese horror, it's like the most aromatic, heavenly blend of Earl Grey you've ever tasted.

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2

Return of the Obra Dinn (2019)* on Nintendo Switch (also on Mac, PC, PlayStation 4, & Xbox One)

One of the most curious indie games I've ever experienced, Return of the Obra Dinn is basically without a genre. The art style is difficult to describe, but reminds me of 3D figures made of television static, and that never stopped being interesting for the entire five-ish hours the game lasted. The plot is also noteworthy in that you have to piece it together yourself. Literally, at several points the game will not progress until you personally deduce the titles and names of characters from watching various tangentially-related cutscenes and making estimates about the way they slot together. It's all a bit much, to be honest, and the game expects you to pay full attention to every tiny detail and maybe even take notes (believe me, you'll want a notepad nearby). I find it very difficult to believe that anyone but the most dedicated player could get each and every bit solved without outside help, but that's also what gives the game its unique charm. It's like being a detective, and unlike most detective-style games, you don't have a side character giving you hints and nudging you along the correct path. It's a fascinating piece of work and I look forward to more games from developer Lucas Pope.

*Note: Return of the Obra Dinn was originally released in 2018 for Mac and PC before releasing on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2019.

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3

Raging Loop (2019) on Nintendo Switch (also on PC & PlayStation 4)

Most of Raging Loop plays out like a typical visual novel: there are bad ends abound, most of which involve your character meeting an absurd and untimely demise; plenty of suspicious characters to talk to (and talk to, and talk to); and scenes of exposition that go on far too long for their own good. It's a good thing the game has so much originality going for it in other areas, then. The crux of the thing is that Raging Loop is based on the popular party game Werewolf (or Mafia, in some variations). The deathly feast in which our protagonist lands takes place in a closed-circle remote village and involves such roles as secret wolves who kill a human every night, a spider who can choose one to guard, and a snake who can ascertain whether a specific one is a human or a wolf. The setup and the way the story plays out gave me fond memories of playing The Werewolf Game here on NinSheetMusic as long as ten years ago (I know, I'm old). The catch to this is that your protagonist is actually aware that he's continually dying and resetting, and is able to transfer key memories every time he loops, meaning that the "bad ends" actually end up helping you and unlock wiser choices. This Uchikoshi-like spin on things, as well as quirky touches such as a tongue-in-cheek, voice-acted introductory tutorial warning you that the story is "obscenely lengthy," really makes Raging Loop an amusing time for fans of the genre. My personal favorite is the bizarre anthropomorphic cartoon sheep that berates you every time you reach an ending and advises you on what you should have done instead ("Chief, if you made a choice that dumb, you deserved to die" stands out as one of his most blunt zingers). Whether you find him helpful or patronizing, you have to admit he's hilarious.

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And now, my 2020 picks!

BEST SOUND DESIGN

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

To my mind, you'd have to be hard-pressed to find anything more perfectly designed than the "Animalese" that characters in the Animal Crossing franchise speak. It's quirky, bubbly, odd, and it gives us an excuse to listen to the garbled, heavily distorted tones of Kazumi Totaka every day. Obviously, this award is a collective thing, influenced by the sounds of everything: footsteps (which change based on the terrain and even the type of shoe you're wearing), maddeningly persistent chirps of cicadas and mole crickets, even the little menu pops and clicks that satisfy the ear just so. But honestly, the clincher for me is the revamped Animalese, somehow even quirkier than before, with a comically deep register for Cranky villagers and variations for Peppy and Jock villagers that somehow make it sound like they're shouting at you. Anyway, my point is that the sound design of this latest title in the franchise is meticulously creative and appropriate, and also that if you're annoyed by the Animalese speech, you're wrong.

HONORABLE MENTION: None

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BEST MUSIC

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Yasuaki Iwata, Yumi Takahashi, Shinobu Nagata, Sayako Doi, & Masato Ohashi)

I can maybe see how someone would be surprised by this choice. After all, most of the music in Animal Crossing is atmospheric: small, minimalist, repetitive, short pieces that feel inconsequential or just like background noise. However, the further into it you go, you start to appreciate the art of it all. For me, it calls to mind the "music-as-wallpaper" aspirations of French composer Erik Satie (whose famous "Gymnopédie No. 1" was referenced in the 1:00 PM music of Animal Crossing: New Leaf). This is music that functions on a synergistic level: everything you do in this game world is complemented in some way by the music. Notice how much empty space there is in the hourly tracks, how little in the way of thick textures and lyrical melodies. This is, in my opinion, the height of video game scoring: music that seems as natural and as obvious as the color of the sky.

HONORABLE MENTION: Paper Mario: The Origami King (Yoshito Sekigawa, Shoh Murakami, Yoshiaki Kimura, Hiroki Morishita, & Fumihiro Isobe), Paradise Killer (Barry Topping)

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BEST GRAPHICS

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BEST STORY

Paradise Killer

If you have any interest in games that ask you to write your own narrative, you should probably go buy Paradise Killer, developed by Kaizen Game Works for PC and Nintendo Switch, immediately. The improbable genre here is "open-world murder mystery," which on paper sounds like it would be either a mess or too small-scale to really live up to those labels. Neither of those things is true. A grisly murder has happened, and Lady Love Dies (actually one of the less preposterous monikers in the game) has been summoned from her exile to investigate. You're given free reign to search around for clues, anywhere you want and in any order you want, within a half hour of starting the game. Even more astonishingly, you're also immediately given the option to begin the trial, effectively ending the game. This is a story told at your own pace that only wraps up when you decide it does.

The island world you're given to explore here is huge, and seems overwhelming at first, but as you continue to play you start to appreciate the craft at work here. Imagine one of the large-ish provinces from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but replace all of the Korok seeds with evidence items and all of the enemy encounters with tense interrogations of suspects, and you'll get a pretty good idea of the gameplay rhythms of Paradise Killer. Whether you adopt a methodical approach and gather every last scrap of evidence before beginning the trial, or just sort of spontaneously pick a direction and begin the hunt, you're going to have an excellent time sorting through all the gory details. I also can't speak highly enough of the game's atmosphere and Danganronpa-influenced characters (just for a sample of this motley crew, I'd like to list a physician with robot arms named Doctor Doom Jazz and a big-breasted sex icon with the head of a goat named Crimson Acid, and that's genuinely not even scratching the surface).

HONORABLE MENTION: Death Come True, Paper Mario: The Origami King (yes, really)

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BEST GAMEPLAY

Super Mario 3D All-Stars

I know. It's absolutely ridiculous to give this award to a re-release of three games originally out in 1996, 2002, and 2007. But hear me out: they're still really good. Super Mario Sunshine notwithstanding. I played Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy to 100% completion, and it was the most pure fun I had all year. I would write more but I don't feel like defending my choice any further. Besides, I need to wrap this up so I can figure out how to play Super Mario Sunshine without wanting to destroy my Switch.

HONORABLE MENTION: Paradise Killer, Pikmin 3 Deluxe

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BEST REMAKE

Pikmin 3 Deluxe

Though it seems the majority of "gaming in 2020" is snubbing Pikmin 3 Deluxe in favor of recognizing the monstrous Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, I have the distinct advantage of not playing the latter, so I can talk about the delights of the former guilt-free. I loved Pikmin 3 Deluxe. I loved its characters. I loved its aesthetic. I loved its music. I loved its charming dialogue, incessant shrieking, quirky enemy designs, and especially its bafflingly bizarre gameplay, which tasks you with solving puzzles and defeating creatures by gathering a large squad of Pikmin and...literally just throwing them at things in a panicky real-time blur. It's a game that quite literally only Nintendo would release. Never having played a Pikmin game before, this was an excellent introduction. I found the gameplay to be quite challenging, but never so challenging that I wanted to give up completely. I also admired the successful marriage of the simplistic (if you look at a puzzle, you know what you need to do to solve it) with the complex (just what Rube Goldberg strategy are you going to have to employ to get 20 yellow Pikmin up to that cordoned-off electrical wire, anyway?) that represents the best of Nintendo. After experiencing the charms of Pikmin 3, HD remasters of the first two entries have shot to the top of my wish list. I know I'm late to the party here, but highly recommended.

HONORABLE MENTION: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX

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BEST eShop GAME

Murder by Numbers

If I'm being completely honest, Paradise Killer is probably my real pick for this category. However, after all of my writing about that game in the Best Story category, I felt like this space might be better used to talk about another surprising gem released earlier in the year.

Do you like crime fiction games like Ace Attorney? Do you like playing Picross? Do you just wish somehow that you could play those two, but like...together? Oh boy, do I have a treat for you. Murder by Numbers, developed by Mediatonic, is a series of murder cases that you solve as disgraced-actress-turned-fledgling-detective Honor Mizrahi, by...you guessed it...solving nonograms (also known as Picross or, as this title references, paint by numbers). It goes together way better than you might expect. Right as the endless dialogue and exposition of the adventure game genre would have me pausing the game for a break, this game throws a puzzle at you to get you more actively involved. Though the storyline doesn't quite cut the mustard, falling short in a couple key areas, the dialogue is snappy and funny, and the ending is a sequel hook promising more puzzly shenanigans to come. To top it all off with a cherry, the composer on hire is none other than Masakazu Sugimori of Ace Attorney and Ghost Trick fame, meaning you can expect a colorful, quirky soundtrack as you make your way through the adventure. Here's hoping Mediatonic expands on the premise and delivers a sequel soon.

HONORABLE MENTION: Paradise Killer

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BEST GAME OF 2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

I mean, what the fuck did you expect? I have over 620 hours on this game, and I'm still going strong. I know it might seem odd to give game of the year to a title that I didn't even consider for the best gameplay category, but that genuinely just speaks to what kind of beast Animal Crossing: New Horizons is. This game is the book you've read ten times before, but you keep rereading because it's just that good and just that comforting. It's the taste of your morning coffee, easing you into your day and making your morning a little bit happier. It's the moment you get an unexpected call from a friend you haven't seen in a year. It's the magic of kissing someone for the first time and it's also the mundanity of doing the dishes with them. It's the simple happiness of ordering a package and getting it in the mail a few days later. Animal Crossing, for all its fancy new Bells and whistles (heh), is still about the same brilliantly simple concept: plant some seeds, water them (sometimes literally), and patiently wait for them to grow. I've played it nearly every day since it came out, and it's the game I needed in my life--maybe not just in 2020.

HONORABLE MENTION: Paradise Killer, Super Mario 3D All-Stars

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BONUS CATEGORY: BEST GAME OF 2020 THAT I DIDN'T PLAY BUT WOULD REALLY LIKE TO

Hades

This game has been getting a ton of buzz lately, and I guess I should probably figure out why. Truthfully, it's already on my Switch. Maybe it'll end up on next year's "gaming in review," assuming I finish it (and assuming these forums don't die a tragic death of obsolescence by then).

HONORABLE MENTION: Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Robotics;Notes Elite, Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition

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What do you think? Are you appalled about what I haven't played? Are you irritated with any of my picks? Do you think I'm too into some of these? Are you sad about that one game that got multiple nominations but no wins? Do you have any recommendations, from 2020 or years past? Will someone please talk to me? I'm lonely. My villager Octavian is my best friend, and I don't even like him.

[Maelstrom]

some comments:

Obra Dinn - This game is actually solvable without outside help, I'm proof of that. You are supposed to abuse the confirmation for getting 3 correct. I beat it by combining 2 I was very sure about with one I could make an educated guess on and use that to guess and check. This lets you narrow down the list as you progress and as the list narrows down, you become more and more able to make educated guesses like knowing who someone is based purely on where they were in the ship and their accent or their uniform.

I may need to check out NG and Raging loop at some point, but I can currently count the number of games I finished this year on one hand. So no promises. If you want some more weird horror, check out Hello Charlotte at some point. It's a series of 3 RPGmaker games, all on steam (none on switch), and the free demo for ep 2 is the first part. I won't ramble on about it here, but I liked it so much that I wrote a recommendation on steam. They're really short so I recommend checking them out at some point.

Was there supposed to be a best graphics?

Paradise killer was an instant add-to-wishlist, seems incredibly like my kind of thing

I actually just got hades a few days ago and it is fantastic. First of all, it's a blast to play. The controls are tight and responsive, enemies clearly telegraph attacks (one of my issues with previous supergiant games), and it's all so gloriously fast. There's 7 weapons and all feel incredibly distinct and have their own advantages and disadvantages. The remarkable part is that everyone who plays the game seems to find one that's absolutely perfect for them. For me, it's the dual fists. It feels like I'm playing kid icarus uprising with a pair of claws again. The game's roguelike elements are also excellent. It's not as much a game about beating it in a run as it is about gradually getting stronger and unlocking more and more things as you progress. It's very good fun and I highly recommend it.

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I know this is an unusually slightly controversial opinion, but as someone who's spent thousands of hours on each of the previous entries in the series (except City Folk), I did not like ACNH at all...

overly long rant from some animal crossing nerd

I thought the hourly music was very weak compared to the energetic tunes of the GameCube original and especially the calming tracks of WW/CF. The villagers are not nearly as talkative or dynamic as the ones in GC and WW. Most special characters were absent. The game feels like its more about decorating and presenting your town to show off to other people than about being absorbed in the world of Animal Crossing. AC used to be a game about becoming a part of a community of animals in a shared town, but now it's a game about being in control of your town.

So things were inexplicably removed from NL and HHD in particular that it's just baffling to me:

overly long list of things removed in NH

- Tortimer Island, and all the minigames and extras that came with it
- HHA Showcase, and the HHA desk/building (aka no Lyle); can't ask questions about your house, etc.
- Copper, Booker, Katie, Kaitlyn, Brewster, Shrunk, Harriet, and Katrina all got cut for some reason... They could've had new roles unique to this game but instead they were just removed.
- Not nearly as many house exterior options as NL or HHD
- Ceiling furniture (like fans and lights), and the ability to walk through half-spaces (both from HHD)
- Museum store, custom exhibits, exhibit list
- Most of the old furniture series and sets
- Way less furniture than ACNL had (like hundreds less).
- When designing sleeves at Able Sisters, the canvas size no longer matches the actual sleeve on the shirt/dress, which means your designs will be stretched.
- Shirts can no longer be used for custom furniture designs, only custom designs. Ore can no longer be used for furniture because it doesn't exist.
- Fun little trinkets like music boxes, melody paper, fortune cookies, timers, shrubs, and toy hammers have all been removed.
- Nook's Cranny only has one upgrade instead of the usual 3 (or 4 in NL).
- Holidays are no longer included with the game itself, instead requiring you to connect to the Internet and download updates.
- Swimming was removed from the start and only added in an later update... Why? This was something that was included at launch in NL

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And that's not even mentioning the needlessly cumbersome crafting system, which adds almost nothing to the game and requires you craft things one at a time. Not even the gold tools are unbreakable.

This game came out 8 years after NL, the longest time between any two mainline Animal Crossing games, and it's felt so barebones to me compared to what NL had, not even counting the Welcome Amiibo update.

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I'm glad that people are enjoying the game anyway, Animal Crossing really is a special game. But I think I've just become so burnt out by playing the other ones for so long that this one just didn't do it for me.

[Latios212]

Are you sad about that one game that got multiple nominations but no wins?

Paper Mario: The Origami King although I get why it didn't win any of your categories here.

Music: Totally the opposite of ACNH (in the best way possible), the music is very much at the noticeable forefront of the game experience. There's so much exciting, colorful, and energizing music that fits the in-game world really well.

Story: The wit and absurdity that went into the writing of this game is so on point that I didn't even realize until after I finished the game that the actual overarching plot is rather forgettable (your usual "stop some angry guy who wants to destroy/control the world"). Playing through the game was a blast - it's so spontaneous and hilarious and there are so many random little jokes

[SlowPokemon]

Stuff

Hey, thanks for the comment! I want to go back to Obra Dinn at some point and really give it the time it deserves. I got frustrated a few hours in and ended up looking up the stuff I didn't have yet, so I'm probably not a great opinion there. But I did really enjoy it.

I don't recommend Raging Loop unless you're really itching for a horror VN, as the things that are common flaws about the genre are on full display here (notably, it's just not very tightly paced where it counts). NG is a quicker play and I think the more entertaining of the two. The big difference is that Raging Loop has a fantastic protagonist, very unusual and out there for this genre; while NG has a pretty lame protagonist without much personality.

It's sort of a tradition that I don't award Best Graphics. There might be a reason why, but there might not.

Paradise Killer is a great game, I think you would enjoy it because it's the kind of narrative that succeeds because of the gameplay rather than just because of the writing. To be honest, the opening gives you just the bare minimum of a LOT of lore and I'd recommend just going with it and doing random shit until you start to get the feel for it. It's in a strange dystopian universe and the rules/universe history are made clearer as you play, rather than getting a big info-dump up front, so the first hour or two can be extremely bewildering. But yeah, I really recommend it. Doing everything will get you about 12-15 hours.

Thank you for your thoughts about Hades! I'm excited to try it.

Things

Hey! Yeah, I understand where you're coming from. I mostly skipped City Folk, but played Wild World a lot and sunk about 300some hours into New Leaf, so I'm acutely aware of the absence of some characters and things.

I also prefer the minimalist stylings of the hourly music in New Leaf, but it began to feel more natural to me in this setting after a while. I would argue it serves mostly the same purpose and just gives you more of a "colonized" feel than the natural sounds in New Leaf (with a lot of bare piano, woodblock, marimba, etc.).

A lot of things about the experience with the villagers appear to be stripped back at first, but actually a lot of it is hiding behind a really dumb thing where the first time you talk to a villager every day will be streamlined and short, while talking to them a second time (and further) gets you the more personalized, unique dialogue. I still consider the animal villagers to be my favorite part of the game, honestly. I reached five stars, not on purpose, around October, and have since lost it. I don't really pay much attention to my island decor, I just do what I want and try to keep things mostly natural. But I understand how some players could feel pressured to play a certain way.

I agree that unfortunately a lot of the things you mentioned, such as diving, art expansion, lots of furniture and the amiibo characters, store upgrades past the first one, and animals such as Katrina and Copper/Booker, were removed to create a false "new feature" when they are eventually added in an update. I don't enjoy that fake longevity, and I understand the frustrations. Some of the other things, however: ore not being able to be used for furniture is replaced by customizing crafted items (and TBH, the ore system in New Leaf was so obnoxious and made you wait so long that I never bothered much with it); I actually like the crafting system; and holidays being added in updates is something I actually prefer, because I'm very much of the opinion that Animal Crossing should be enjoyed in real time, without cheating or skipping around, for any reason. No one has ever been able to point anything out that has swayed my opinion about this.

More than this, though: most of the things you mentioned are to me extremely minor parts of the experience. The underline of Animal Crossing is: enjoy your life the way you want to, and learn that you can make things happen with patience and hard work. That's unchanged and in fact is better than ever in this entry, in my opinion. That's why it got my game of the year. On the same token, I completely understand (and even agree/sympathize with) anyone who was disappointed by it. But personally, I went back to New Leaf to check things out recently and I couldn't believe how much better quality of life alone is in the new game.

Ideas

I know! I absolutely loved The Origami King, and I was really sad to realize it didn't come out on top in any category this year. The dialogue writing was so clever and funny, and it actually moved me to tears a couple times! This was my first Paper Mario game (I've always been a Mario & Luigi guy, but now that Alpha-Dream is defunct, I figured I should check out the competition) and I really enjoyed it from start to finish. I hate to be that guy, but I honestly even loved the puzzly combat system. It's rare that Nintendo game puzzles really challenge experienced players nowadays, so I found the difficulty spikes sort of delightful. The music was amazing too, definitely fitting for an RPG experience.

[Zeila]

What do you think? Are you appalled about what I haven't played? Are you irritated with any of my picks? Do you think I'm too into some of these? Are you sad about that one game that got multiple nominations but no wins? Do you have any recommendations, from 2020 or years past? Will someone please talk to me? I'm lonely. My villager Octavian is my best friend, and I don't even like him.

The only game I've played out of all of these is ACNH, but I still appreciate your commentary so thank you! And Paradise Killer does sound interesting, so maybe I'll give that a shot one day

[SlowPokemon]

That's great! Yeah, Animal Crossing has just dominated my life this year. It's been really odd.

Side bar: I read 24 books this year and I was thinking about making a "favorite books I read this year" post even though it's not really related to gaming. Would anyone be interested in that? I genuinely have no idea how many people here are readers.

[BlackDragonSlayer]

That's great! Yeah, Animal Crossing has just dominated my life this year. It's been really odd.

Side bar: I read 24 books this year and I was thinking about making a "favorite books I read this year" post even though it's not really related to gaming. Would anyone be interested in that? I genuinely have no idea how many people here are readers.

I love reading, even if I haven't done much of it (thx school for making me burned out). You can count me in on the "interested" category.

[SlowPokemon]

Oh yeah, reading during college semesters is impossible. But it gets easier after that

[SlowPokemon]

Favorites of Video Games 2021

2021 was quite a refreshing year of gaming for me. I had numerous experiences with my Nintendo Switch that surprised and delighted me. Last year was rather dominated by Animal Crossing, and even this year I racked up another 330 hours on the damn game, but it wasn't quite anything compared to what it was in 2020 (and, fingers crossed, I think I may have shaken that game for good by this point).

As an introduction, per tradition, here is an older game I played in 2021 and really enjoyed.

Retro Corner

Super Mario Sunshine (2002) on GameCube (played on Nintendo Switch in the Super Mario 3D All-Stars game)

I don't think I've ever had to eat my words as much as I'm about to. Last year, despite trying and failing to get into Super Mario Sunshine (for the second or third time in my life), I awarded "Best Gameplay" to Super Mario 3D All-Stars, purely on the virtues of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy. Early in 2021, before tackling Galaxy a second time as Luigi, I decided I really needed to get all the way through this Mario game so it could stop hanging over my head. It's always baffled me: a Mario game that seems designed to perplex and frustrate, with controls that don't appear in any other title, and a hover function, which seemingly negates the fundamental premise of Super Mario.

And you know what? All of that is still true. But as I undertook the task of 100% completing Sunshine, I was shocked to find myself enjoying the experience even more than I had enjoyed revisiting the other two titles. This is a strange game, one that offers you a more freewheeling, exuberant control over Mario than most others. (If I was uncharitable, I'd say he's rather slippery.) I was surprised to find that it had a few key things in common with 2017's brilliant Super Mario Odyssey. Namely, that the moveset is complicated, touchy, and takes several hours to fully master; and that the game world itself doesn't fully satisfy or open up until you take it upon yourself to explore every nook and cranny. Sure, collecting blue coins is frustrating when there's no way to track them in-game, but the process of hunting and collecting them is every bit as engaging and fun as the purple coins in Odyssey. You have a really great unifying theme in the tropical setting, and as opposed to what I expected, each location felt unique and fun despite the many beaches. (The haunted resort hotel and tricky Pianta Village hot springs were standout settings for me.)

Certain missteps absolutely can bring the player down. For instance, there's the absolutely infuriating fact that you can't obtain 100 coins in every level, meaning you might spend a long time collecting only to realize you're locked out of the 100-coin shine. Ricco Harbor is a death-defying platforming hell that will get your palms sweating and take years off your life, but the thrilling terror comes at the price of unfortunate repetition if you happen to fail at important points. The hardest level in the game, a lily pad trip down a toxic river, is locked behind a frustrating and tedious journey taking Yoshi on a boat, which the player is bound to fail numerous times because of the touchy controls and Yoshi's instant death upon touching water. I spent nearly an hour just getting to the island where Mario can access this level–and the unpleasant truth is that this is the level of the game which will rack up more deaths than anything else. And a game over means you'll have to start the Yoshi boat ride all over again. These and similarly idiotic design choices, as well as the lack of unique missions compared to 64, do keep Sunshine from perfection–but not from greatness. It's unfortunate that Nintendo couldn't polish the game to a sheen, or perhaps we'd have gotten a more experimental, less linear style for the Galaxy series that was to follow. But either way, shockingly, and completely contrary to my first impressions, this game holds up.

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That's all for this year's retro corner. Here are my 2021 picks!

BEST SOUND DESIGN

Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir & Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind

The Famicom Detective Club games on Nintendo Switch are remakes of older titles for the NES (hence the name) which are considered pioneers of the mystery adventure game. Nintendo has never quite forgotten these cult classics, with one of the protagonists apparently considered as a playable choice in Super Smash Bros. Melee. These versions of both The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind come with a fully voice-acted cast and the option to swap between a rearranged soundtrack and the original 8-bit music. The Girl Who Stands Behind was previously remade for SNES, so there's a 16-bit option there as well, which is just fantastic. However, the small, Nintendo-esque detail that really sells this award for me is that swapping to the original soundtracks will also change the sound effects that play for dialogue and menu options. It really lets you immerse yourself in the game however you want, as a new visual novel or a retro experience. These kinds of touches really make a game fun for me.

HONORABLE MENTION: World's End Club

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BEST MUSIC

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (Yasumasa Kitagawa, Hiromitsu Maeba, & Yoshiya Terayama)

There were some great soundtracks on Switch this year, but the long-awaited return of Capcom's legal franchise–this time a new set of character practicing law at the turn of the 20th century–presented a compelling case for a purely classical video game score during a time when many modern games are turning to more atmospheric scoring. Though the themes and styles remain in the style of classic video games, the instrumentation gives the impression of a small chamber orchestra accompanying the player along the entire ride. A prominence of accordion and an overall lack of electronic effects do a great job of immersing the player in the Victorian England setting, and the sheer number and variety of music pieces gives this an edge for me over some other excellent competitors this year. Definitely give these two albums a look if you get the chance–they're available legally to stream, in what's becoming a nice trend from Capcom.

HONORABLE MENTION: Bowser's Fury (Daisuke Matsuoka & James Phillipsen), DELTARUNE Chapter 2 (Toby Fox), New Pokémon Snap (Hiroki Hashimoto), Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl (Shota Kageyama & Jun'ichi Masuda)

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BEST GRAPHICS

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BEST STORY

The House in Fata Morgana: Dreams of the Revenants Edition

Let me start off this section by stating that this is one of the toughest years I've ever had of awarding a best storyline. And that's a good thing! I played so many interesting, fun story-based games this year, and it gives me hope that the visual novel and adventure game genres will continue to expand their horizons. But it was a really tough call. I'll have a slightly more extensive Honorable Mention section down below, but for now, let's talk about my pick: The House in Fata Morgana.

This is a straight visual novel, released in Japan in 2012 and in various different forms on PC and PlayStation worldwide the last couple years. The storyline is unlike anything I've seen in a video game before. Part horror, part tragedy, part romance, part historical drama, the only thing consistent about Fata Morgana is that it's dark as hell. A somewhat off-putting first act plays out like a Twilight Zone anthology, where different occupants of a haunted house engage in reprehensible behaviors and run into supernatural curses and entities. Then things get weird. By the time you hit the end of the game (about 30-35 hours, depending on how fast you read), you'll have a new understanding of everything you've seen so far, and a really deep appreciation for the entire cast of characters–something this genre doesn't always do effectively. This game got some notorious attention earlier in the year when a technicality briefly placed it as the number 1 game on Metacritic (it has since fallen). While it's certainly not the best game of all time, it's unquestionably one of the best visual novels of all time. The Dreams of the Revenants Edition available on Switch includes two extra games, a prequel and a sequel, both of which are interesting and add a lot of depth to the storyline. But it's that base game that really wows you and earns this spot. It's not going to change any minds on the visual novel genre, but for fans, it's an easy recommendation.

HONORABLE MENTION 1: Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir

Famicom Detective Club ended up being two of the most charming releases of the year for me, and somewhat surprisingly, a really engaging reminder of why I fell in love with the mystery adventure genre in the first place. As a tween, I was captivated by the Professor Layton series, and it was almost touching to experience a game that so clearly inspired it. I was intrigued by the storyline throughout, and the clear-cut chapter breaks made for a great hour or so of gameplay every day for a couple weeks. The Missing Heir gets slight preference over The Girl Who Stands Behind because of the more classic "murder mystery in a mansion" setting, as well as a really fun feature toward the end where the player has to type in actual words to solve the mystery–the latter seemed a bit more streamlined by comparison. Definitely check this out if you want a game equivalent of a Sherlock Holmes story.

HONORABLE MENTION 2: The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles

No surprise here: I've been an Ace Attorney fan for a long time, and this newest release bundles together two spin-off titles penned by series creator Shu Takumi himself. (For those not in the know, Takumi more or less departed the series following the trilogy, working on the Professor Layton crossover but not much else.) A Victorian setting, multiple simultaneous witnesses, and new jury system aside, there isn't much that's experimental about these entries; rather, Takumi interestingly doubles down on themes that were explored in the first couple Ace Attorney titles with Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth. This isn't a slight: this game feels completely focused on what it wants to do and say, and manages to weave in a really interesting cultural interplay narrative in between murders. The only downside is that the game really doesn't know when to shut up: At about 80-90 hours, these two games take longer to get through than the entire original trilogy, and there's simply too much filler text and repetition of points the player already knows. That's really the only thing holding this game back from greatness; hopefully the next entry can dial it down a bit.

OTHER HONORABLE MENTIONS: DELTARUNE Chapter 2, GNOSIA

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BEST GAMEPLAY

Metroid Dread

Let me start by saying that this is the first Metroid game I've ever played. As I've probably mentioned once or twice in the last few years, the Switch has been my platform for trying Nintendo franchises I've missed out on before, such as Fire Emblem, Pikmin, and Donkey Kong. Metroid is the latest in line, and I haven't been so hooked on a game in ages. The design is very classical, with intricate areas that require backtracking and liberal scouring of maps if you want to get absolutely everything like I did. But the thing that impressed me is just how good it feels to play. Whereas Mario is the gaming equivalent of joy and weightlessness, Samus Aran is all adrenaline. She's deadly fast, and the game is rather unforgiving in its expectations of how you use that speed. Boss fights are genuinely satisfying because they require so much precision and stamina from the player, and Samus's absurdly large move set means that you're unlocking new ways to fight and get around every half hour or so. Though the end game sections rely a little too much on repetitive miniboss fights, I had an absolute blast pretty much every second of this game. It's harsh and very difficult, but never unfair–and it's constantly teaching you in the way that Nintendo games do. Absolutely killer game.

HONORABLE MENTION: GNOSIA, New Pokémon Snap, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

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BEST REMAKE

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

At first glance, this appears to be a straight port of Super Mario 3D World, which, you know, would be standard operating procedure for Nintendo. But a closer look shows that they tweaked the mechanics, particularly when it comes to speed: all characters move significantly faster than their Wii U counterparts, which made this surprisingly feel like a brand-new game to me. I had a really great time revisiting this modern classic, and the inclusion of Bowser's Fury, a completely new mini-3D Mario game using 3D World's engine and moveset, only solidified this as an absolutely stellar package. I had high hopes for a certain other pair of remakes this year, but this came out as the clear winner.

HONORABLE MENTION: Danganronpa Decadence, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

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BEST eShop GAME

GNOSIA

As usual, although The House in Fata Morgana is probably my true pick this year, I'll take this opportunity to highlight something otherwise unmentioned. GNOSIA is a Werewolf-style game where one of your crew is actually a GNOSIA–an alien life-form disguised as a human. The catch is that there's an overall plot, which is reached by playing randomized games of Werewolf over and over, to reach different conclusions and character scenes. These take anywhere from 5-15 minutes depending on your settings, and can be quite fun in unique scenarios where you take the role of, for example, a lone GNOSIA, or a special psychic role. As a functioning Werewolf simulator, it's hours of fun, despite some repetition in dialogue. But adding a full sci-fi storyline to the background is really ambitious. With more variety in the soundtrack and better implementation of the narrative, I'd be really interested in a sequel.

HONORABLE MENTION: DELTARUNE Chapter 2, Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir, The House in Fata Morgana

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BEST GAME OF 2021

Metroid Dread

This was pretty surprising to me, in a year where I got a new Mario, Ace Attorney, and Pokémon (not to mention all the cool story-based games that dropped). But for the reasons I stated above, Metroid Dread really did it for me. I'm very interested to see if the series has another Switch release coming soon–I'll definitely be on board if it does.

HONORABLE MENTION: Danganronpa Decadence, Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir, The House in Fata Morgana, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury

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Do you have any 2021 recommendations for me that I missed out on? Do you have any questions or comments for me? I felt bad that I didn't end up directly calling attention to World's End Club or DELTARUNE Chapter 2, which were both absolutely charming and unique releases this year. Let me know if you've played any of my picks, and as always I really appreciate any discussion. I really enjoy doing these yearly write-ups.

[Static]

Solid list here, though I haven't actually played any of these yet (I've had Metroid Dread for awhile but I keep forgetting to play it... I need to soon.)

For me, the best remake was Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania. After over a decade of mediocre games, it was great to finally see the original team (now the Yakuza series studio) back together and actually deliver a competent remaster of Monkey Ball 1 and 2, including the levels from Deluxe.

I haven't played many other new releases this year except for Shin Megami Tensei V and Resident Evil Village, which I've enjoyed/am enjoying quite a bit. Seems like there were lots of good 2021 games, but I've mostly been playing (or replaying) older games.

[BlackDragonSlayer]

If you enjoy single player (vs. computer) card games, you should play Inscryption.

[SlowPokemon]

Static—thanks for the recommendation! I was never a Monkey Ball kid, so that one slipped by me.

BDS—thank you, I love single player card games. Will check it out.

I wrote this list kind of early and have since beaten another game (Celeste) but maybe I'll put it on my list next year.

[Maelstrom]

It's always fun to read your lists at the end of the year. I can confirm Fata Morgana is pretty great even if I never actually finished it..... (Talked to 1 or 2 if the 3 people in the finale)

As for games you missed, the only big one that comes to mind is Inscryption. It's one of those indie games that's better the less you know about it, but I can tell you it's by the same developer as Pony Island and The Hex and better than either of them by a large margin. Sadly,  it's PC only for significant reasons, but it'll run on pretty much anything.

[SlowPokemon]

Very nice. BDS recommended the same thing right before you did in this thread, so I'll have to check it out.