Archile's End of the Year Awards 2018 Part II

 The fight is finished.... AGAIN!

Worst Game of 2018:

 Oh boy, oh boy! This is one of the most fun categories to write about because I get to talk about games that probably weren't featured in part I, so I don't have to come up with different stuff to say about the selected few!

5) Die Hard Trilogy

 I wanted to like it, I swear to god I did. I've always adored Arcadey games, games that are easy to pick-up-and-play, not a lengthy time investment to have fun. But not a single one of the sub-games featured in Die Hard Trilogy work well. All of them are clunky, ugly and boring. And it sucks, because I keep seeing these games getting praise to this day!
 To be fair, I will admit that at times I did have a teeny tiny bit of fun with the third-person shooter segment... before it started to recycle stages. And the first-person shooter segments weren't too bad either. There's no redeeming qualities on the driving parts, though.

4) Deadly Arts

 The Nintendo 64 often gets a bad rep when it comes to Fighting games, but as a kid that grew up with the system and numerous, numerous fighting games I'd say that said reputation is greatly exaggerated. Deadly Arts, however, is a game that does its best to prove me wrong.
 I think that good character design is an integral part of any fighting game. And if you looked at the cover you might think that the game had it covered, but the rest of the characters are very uninspired, and the in-game graphics makes everyone look soulless. The gameplay is as bland as the character designs, with stiff movement and controls and janky mechanics, like the camera shifts.
 This used to be number 3rd, although once I started writing about it.... I remembered just how awful the next game was.

3) Digimon World 4

 Remember when Shadow the Hedgehog held a gun for the first time and the collective consciousness of the entire gamingdom went boom? Well, Digimon did it first. Digimon World 4 is a Diablo-clone in which Digimon pick up arms, instead of their own claws, fangs and abilities to mow down dozens of other Digimon that didn't bother to pick up weapons. Mock the concept all you like, TMNT and LOTR went the Diablo approach and it worked for them.
 Where did it go wrong? Endless load times coupled with poor level design that could've easily alleviated most of them. Required grinding, a very unfair difficulty curve and an unnecessary time sink. Was it really necessary to make players NEED to return to town in order to change their equipment? Digimon World 2 was bad, but this? This is a disgrace. There are absolutely no redeeming qualities in here, there's not a single element that works, it doesn't even get a pretty cover like Deadly Arts.

Runner-up) Nicktoons Unite!(Gameboy Advance)

 There's one word that perfectly encapsulates everything this game is about: Boredom. The gameplay is slow and boring, the level design is uneventful and boring and the game looks cheap, as if their budget didn't reach 3 zeroes.
 Cartoons are supposed to be fun. While I was only there for Spongebob's first season, I remember it being fun(At least for kids), and Jimmy Neutron was pretty dope, so why the hell is this game so boring? Couldn't they find better, more interesting uses for these four characters? This game is worse than any Flash game you could've found in Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon's webpages in the early 2000s. Pathetic.

Loser) Marvel Nemesis- Rise of the Imperfects(Nintendo DS)

 You mean you can make a game with an even smaller budget than Nicktoons Unite!? Marvel Nemesis proves that you can take lazy and cheap to a whole new level!
 Where to start with? How about EA thinking they could come up with evil counterparts to Marvel's classics? Their original fighters look like rejected designs for generic enemy NPCs from other games. Don't you hate Pokemon's ungodly amount of green shinies? Well, most alternate costumes here are booger-green versions of the playable characters. Fun.
 But ugliness isn't skindeep, the game doesn't work. Collision detection sucks, controls work like hot garbage and the game is filled to the brim with glitches. It boggles the mind how this game managed to get produced... but then again, it's EA.

Best Playstation Game of 2018:

 Sony's little machine that could! While it always underperformed on a technical level when compared with the Nintendo 64, there's no denying that its games have aged much, much better. While I might be running short on classics, this year I played a few platforming legends that proved that the Playstation was no slouch when competing against Nintendo's strengths.

5) Medievil

 Years ago I played Medievil for the first time, and I thought it was dumb. For whatever reason I didn't let that dissuade me from giving it the old college try with an open mind, and I was rewarded with a brilliant little game.
 It's a slippery but fast paced action-adventure game that's constantly rewarding you with new weapons to aid Sir Dan Fortesque on his quest. While a bit dated, controlling Dan is something you can get used to fairly quickly, and once you get into the groove of things.... it's hard to stop!
 The story is one aspect the game has held up pretty well, featuring a very original, and funny, story about a zombie skeleton that has to earn the honors he undeservedly received upon his death. It was very amusing getting to follow Dan's journey as he earned the respect of the dead!

4) The King of Fighters '99

 I could feign surprise at having this old fighting game up here, but I won't. The King of Fighters '99 marked a new direction for the franchise, stylistically and storywise and proved that KoF could reinvent itself while increasing the overall quality of its design.
 K' was a fantastic new hero, one of my favorite fighting game character designs EVER, and this new direction reinvisioned some older characters, like Kyo, Ralph and Clark and made them cool again. The Striker system was a fun new addition that made fights more dynamic and would later be expanded upon to add a bit of fanservice into the mix.
 While it may not have '98s massive roster, '99 was a bold step forwards for the franchise.

3) Klonoa - Door to Phantomile

 The game's so good that it almost justifies the high price it demands nowadays. Almost. It's awe-inspiring just how much mileage they got out of just two mundane abilities: Jumping and grabbing. But the stages are tightly designed with well thought-out puzzles and obstacles.
 Couple the fantastic gameplay with the impossibly cute visuals and the contrasting dark storyline, something that gives the game a very surreal feeling, and you have a true classic in your hands.
 The game's a bit too expensive, but if you've got the money to spare... there are worse things you could spend your money on.

Runner-up) Spyro the Dragon

 I always thought Spyro was lame. While I've always adored Dragons, I never cared much about Spyro. By the time I got a PS2 I was already outgrowing mascot platformers, Crash being among my few last tangos with the genre.
 And I hate myself for not trying the games earlier, because Spyro is amazing and I know I would've loved it back in day, even more than I did this year. While Spyro is a slippery bugger, you could say that this is Sonic to Crash's Mario, the platforming challenges are here, but speed is a huge factor in how you play.
 There's something very pure about Spyro's formula, it doesn't pretend to be anything it's not and, for their first stab at the genre, they had a very clear focus, which makes for a very clean and polished platform game.

Winner) Spyro 2 - Ripto's Rage

 Spyro 2 is more of the same, but Insomniac managed to make it feel completely fresh. I played Ripto's Rage directly after finishing Spyro 1, and I didn't feel any fatigue, despite the fact that both games play pretty much exactly the same.
 But the sequel changed in a few, but noticeable ways. The core gameplay was already there, so they just expanded on all the bells and whistles. It was not just a collecthaton this time around, there was context and objectives to every stage, there were different goals besides just collecting stuff. They tightened up the package and polished it to a sheen.
 The first three Spyro games are classics through and through, able to stand against Nintendo's mightiest even to this day.

Best Playstation 2 Game of 2018:

 It's no surprise by now that no other console gets as much love from me as the PS2. Sadly, my silver slim PS2 bit the dust this year, and now I'm using a fat PS2. Which is kinda better, since the slim has a few compatibility issues, and the fat PS2 reminds me of my very first fat PS2, and this blog is all about nostalgia.

5) The King of Fighters 00/01

 Say what you will about KoF 2001, it doesn't really matter, because this game also includes KoF '00, arguably one of the best entries in the franchise and that's a hill I'm willing to die on. Seriously, I'll fight you on this.
 The King of Fighters has always had tight and precise controls, but also demanded pixel-perfect precision from its players, and KoF '00 is no exception. But it also features one of the coolest character rosters in the series, with brilliant new characters like Vanessa and the continuation of the NESTs Saga.
 This compilation is a neat little package that includes a few neat extras, like exclusive Strikers, Missions and unlockables. It's a pretty good deal, even if KoF '00's got to pick up '01' slack!

4) Ape Escape 2

 Ape Escape is one of the most endearing and original platform games ever made! Every stage is brimming with life and color, while the nasty evil monkeys are always doing something silly or ridiculous.
 The twin-stick control setup is more than just a gimmick, as it really adds to the game's charm. Buttons would work just as well, but it wouldn't be quirky and the game is all about quirky, dumb fun. And that's exactly why this game is so memorable.
 Every stage is a pleasure to explore and hunting for monkeys never grows old because the monkeys are constantly surprising you, so unless you've played the game before you won't know what's coming. And, even if you do, the game is still a treat. This was my second playthrough, even if my first one was over 10 years ago, and the game hasn't lost its touch!

3) Klonoa 2 - Lunatea's Veil

 Klonoa 2 is the perfect follow up for the original game, expanding on everything that first game did. It's surprising, really, the game's still a stickler for its basic concepts, but developers found new challenges and puzzles for Klonoa to solve making both games very, very different.
 But as different as they are, both games are brilliant for exactly the same reasons: Tight gameplay and brilliant level design. The puzzles are fun to crack, and moving Klonoa around feels great.
 Something that earns bonus points from me is the new art direction, feeling even more surreal than the first game thanks to its bizarre locales and characters. I wish I could've spent more time in Klonoa's world, but if the games teach you something is that nothing lasts for long.

Runner-up) Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time

 Try as they might, Ubisoft could never manage to replicate what they achieved with The Sands of Time. This was not the Prince's first jump into 3-D, but it was his best.
 The game takes after an Arabian Nights motif, the entire game being narrated by the Prince while the level design and the characters that inhabit its world feel straight out of a fantasy tale. As gruff as the Prince looks on the cover, this is a tale of magic and adventure, and it's all the better for it.
 Great story and concept aside, it's the gameplay that earned the Prince's mark in history. It's a brilliant mix of acrobatic parkour platforming and free-form combat that hadn't been pulled off these well before. Combat had an unusual amount of depth for a game like this, even if it was its weakest element, but as soon as the enemies had fallen you had to make your way through vertical and horizontal routes as you dodged deadly traps. While every move the Prince performs is under your control, it has an undeniable cinematic feel that makes it exciting to look at. And if you mess up you can use the innovative Sands of Time to rewind time and make it right.

Winner) God Hand

 While it's no Devil May Cry, God Hand is one of the most fun action games I've ever played. It's not just the tight gameplay, which featured a dynamic difficulty setting that got tougher, and more rewarding, the better you played but would ease up if you got whacked too hard, as well as the simple but effective way you could customize Gene's moveset, but also its brilliant art direction.
 I love Hokuto no Ken, and God Hand is a living, playable tribute to its ridiculous manliness. It features the same type of grander-than-life villains and heroes, and the same kind of ridiculousness that's both played straight and for laughs. It also adds a whole lot of humor to the entire thing, which keeps it from being a straight ripoff.

Best Playstation 3 Game of 2018:

 Four games. I only played four games on the PS3 this year. Whoops. Well, I've always said that gaming has gone downhill since the PS3/X360 generation, so can't blame me for sticking with the oldies!

4) Rise of the Argonauts

 On a technical level, Rise of the Argonauts left a bit to be desired, but the game succeeded in other ways. It was a decent RPG-lite through the world of Ancient Greece that lacked in original ideas, but sold you on its setting.
 But what really made the game stand out and earn its place here, besides me not playing many PS3 games, was its sense of Adventure. Exploring new locales was exciting, and earning new weapons and armor for Jason, as opposed to simply buying them, gave me a satisfying feeling of progression few other games managed to, games like Half-Life 2 and Dungeon Siege.
 Yeah, it's not perfect, but it's worth a try.

3) Spec Ops - The Line

 Spec Ops was exactly what I was expecting. The plot was well written and worth analyzing and talking about, with enough twists and memorable setpieces that do an effective job at leaving their mark on the player.
 The gameplay was a bit by-the-numbers, but it was probably a conscious decision to make it resonate with its message. Which also means that this is not a game you'll play to 'unwind and relax' or for the fun of it, but rather, to experience its great, if a bit pompous, plot.

Runner-up) Prince of Persia(2008)

 I can't fault Ubisoft for rebooting the Prince, as the Sands of Time Trilogy had their story told and there was no need to expand upon it. This reboot changed everything, the Prince, the Setting and the Gameplay, and everything was exceptional.
 The game gets a bad rep for doing away with death, but, honestly, it's just a faster way of respawning and takes nothing away from the game's challenge. But, y'know, if gamers are consistent in something it's on their hate for change. The platforming was as exquisite as always, but they made the game take place on an interconnected world, akin to a Metroidvania, on which you'd slowly earn the abilities required to fully explore. Bosses and goals could be finished in pretty much any order, which was an interesting twist. Combat was great on paper, since battles now turned into duels, which added a cinematic flair to battling, but wound up being a bit repetitive by the end, luckily there wasn't much fighting altogether.
  I really enjoyed this take on the Prince of Persia, it's a shame that Ubisoft, blinded by AC sales, decided this was a direction not worth pursuing and decided to end the game on three cliffhangers(The one from the game, the one from the DLC and the one from the DS game).

Winner) Prince of Persia - The Forgotten Sands

 Fine, we didn't really need yet ANOTHER game set in this continuity, as this Prince's story was already told, but I'd lie if I said it wasn't a welcome entry into the series.
 The story is of no consequence, as we already know how the Prince's tale ends and begins, but the new characters, the Prince's brother and the Djinn, weren't bad additions... even if how the story played out was predictable to a tee.
 The Prince has always struggled with combat, but the Forgotten Sands finally got it right. The new unlockable abilities added some needed flavor into the mix, and the platforming was as tight as it has always been, props to the developers for managing to keep it interesting after so many games! While The Sands of Time is the all-time best game in the franchise, I'd advise everyone to skip Warrior Within, and maybe Two Thrones, and go straight to The Forgotten Sands, the sequel we deserved.

Best Playstation 4 Game of 2018:

 The newest addition into the Playstation Family, the Playstation 4 is a slight step above the PS3 in terms of power, so many of the games didn't wow me, as I expected, but, hey, it's got Persona 5!

5) The Order 1886

 The Order 1886 gets a bad rep, and I totally get why, but I really, really liked my time with the game. The Victorian era-esque costumes are just delightful, and getting to see all these classy gentlemen and ladies interacting with each other in these world? Beautiful.
 The game had a few brilliant setpieces, like invading the zeppelin or the battles through the catacombs. And I'll admit that looking back... I grew fond of the cinematic knife battles against the werewolves. They weren't the best or most interactive, but they looked great, dammit!
 It's a shame we'll probably never get to see a sequel, as the developers would've had time to develop a proper-length game since the foundations had already been set.

4) Gundam Versus

 I hate the fact that this game made it here, but despite what a disappointing product it was... it's still Gundam Versus, and it plays really, really well.
 It's the same great gameplay as always, albeit with a poor roster selection and the knowledge that we deserved much, much better.

3) inFamous - Second Son

 While part of me wishes inFamous 3 was this massive, game-changing new experience, I'm OK with what we got: Exactly what you'd expect out of a next-gen entry of an existing game franchise, a game that plays it safe, puts a few new twists into the existing mechanics and looks better than ever. It worked for Devil May Cry 4 and it worked for Second Son.
 It's the same exact great gameplay from inFamous 2, but with an expanded gallery of powers. Traversing the city with your super powers feels as fantastic as it did, and it's still one of its major selling points, the game just feels great to play around with.
 I also enjoyed the story, while it lacked a few of the punches inFamous 2 delivered, that game had a prequel to set-up its world, hey, inFamous 1 wasn't all that good. But I digress, the characters in Second Son were enjoyable, and it was fun seeing it all play out, even if it was slightly predictable.

Runner-up) Dissidia Final Fantasy NT

 You know you've screwed up when Final Fantasy, a series that has taken misstep after misstep since Final Fantasy XII, does what you're doing but better, but that's exactly what Dissidia did to Gundam Versus: Outclassed it.
 So the character roster is pretty much main characters and villains, but... that's what makes sense, y'know? It's their first entry, it makes sense to represent each franchise with its main character. Characters fall under different archetypes and even then, each one has their own flair to how they fight, major props for that!
 The gameplay is fast and frantic, made up of battles between teams of 3. It's a much faster and chaotic take on Gundam Versus, which might make it a bit less strategic, but it makes it more arcadey and fun, which is a good thing in my book.

Winner) Uncharted 4 - A Thief's End

 As far as gameplay goes, Naughtydog played it safe for the last entry, only adding a grappling hook into Nate's moveset, but it considering they've been tuning their craft since Uncharted 1... It's alright, they took what worked and made it even prettier. It worked for inFamous Second Son, and it worked for Uncharted 4.
 The narrative is very tight, I loved how the characters we've grown to love grew up and how they faced the new trials before them. The story was so captivating that I found myself playing 'just one more chapter before hitting the sack' more times than I could count, as it's a very engrossing and exciting tale that you just have to follow all the way to the end.
 While NaughtyDog didn't outdid themselves with Nathan's final adventure, they gave the series a fitting end. Hopefully they won't milk the franchise further and bring Nate out of retirement, he's earned it.

Best Switch Game of 2018:

 I thought about buying a Switch last year with Zelda's release, but eventually thought against it since I had such a huge backlog to complete. My backlog has only increased since then, but Smash got announced and I caved in, and now, here we are.

5) Fire Emblem Warriors

 Fire Emblem Warriors is one of the best Warriors games I've played in a while. Ken's Rage 2 was a mess, Samurai Warriors 4-II was fun but the new waifus were annoying and Hyrule Warriors was everything a Warriors game shouldn't be, and, yet, Fire Emblem Warriors got everything right. It's not perfect, and Dynasty Warriors 8 is still the best, but Fire Emblem Warriors earns its place among Musou's best.
 Let me let you in on a little secret: I've never played a Fire Emblem game. I know, I know... but that couldn't stop me from loving this game. I had a bit of a hard time finding a character design I liked, but I settled for Male Corrin and Chrom and proceeded to mow down endless amounts of enemies. Over and over and over and over and over again. And it felt so good.
 Fire Emblem Warriors is so good because of its simplicity. It won't boggle you down with unnecessary side objectives or having to explore stages for garbage in order to upgrade your characters: It's just you, the A button and thousands of enemies. This is art.

4) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

 While Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart DS were my favorite Mario Kart games, I was a bit worried since Mario Kart 7 was such a letdown. But Nintendo did their homework with 8. Bikes are back, the character roster is good again and they kept the best thing about 7, Kart customization.
 This game has the largest roster of characters, featuring guests like the Inklings and Link, as well as the largest roster of tracks, featuring tracks based on Zelda, F-Zero and Splatoon, in the Mario Kart series. And the best part about it? It's not a case of quantity over quality, as the game is a blast to play, controls are responsive, the tracks are fun and the blue shells aren't as bad as they used to be.
 It's true that the game becomes a bit unbalanced once one player gets ahead of the pack, as the players behind will be competing against each other since power ups that affect the player on the first position aren't as frequent, but I think it's not as big of a problem as people make it out to be, it is possible to climb your way to the top, it's just that the best player won't be penalized so hard for doing well.

3) The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild

 While I grew up with a NES(Or rather, it's Chinese equivalent, the 'family game') I never got around playing Zelda. Mario, Megaman and Bomberman, those were my jam. Milk and Nuts too. But I digress, I never got to play Zelda, so by the time I discovered the franchise and gave Zelda 1 a try... it was too late. The game was awful, unhelpful and unenjoyable without a guide or nostalgia.
 But this game did it. This game translates the wonder and freedom people talk about in Zelda 1, but with a modern edge, adding a vertical dimension into the equation. I don't think I've ever played a game that offered me this much freedom before, and it felt great, if a bit overwhelming. Exploring the world of Breath of the Wild is just pure joy, and the sense of excitement and wonder never truly goes away. It's also a massive undertaking, good luck 100%ing the game.
 The durability system is almost as bad as I thought, but most enemies are carrying weapons anyways, so you can replace whatever you break. I made it my first order of business to get the Master Sword, so that meant creative thinking in order to get the most out of my initial stamina and explore everything I needed to unlock more health upgrades. And the best thing about it? That was fun for me, and worked for me, but everyone will play the game in any way and order they see fit. Pure genius.

Runner-up) Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

 The reason I bought a Switch, the game didn't disappoint one bit. What's more, I hate, despise digital-only content and season passes... yet I've already purchased the Fighter Pass. And I don't even feel guilty about it, it's Smash. And if you've got a problem with it... SETTLE IT IN SMASH.
 Just as with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, this could've been an issue of quantity over quality, but it isn't. Every single character is back, alongside a few newcomers, and everything has been polished and tightened to perfection. Controls are precise, movement is quick and matches are frantic fun.
 The worst part about this game is that the next Smash is going to have to be a reboot, since it'd be unrealistic and a bit lame to bring everyone back, and it's going to need its mechanics reworked if it means to stand a chance at outshining Ultimate. 'More of the same' just won't cut it anymore after Ultimate unless they miraculously manage to match it in  quality, without making any cuts and only having additions to the roster..

Winner) Super Mario Odyssey

 I remember how tough it was, for me, grading Zelda a 9.5, 0.5 points below Mario Odyssey. Guilty because I enjoy games with human protagonists, and human proportions, doing badass things, like swinging swords, over platform games with furry mascots and fat plumbers. But Mario Odyssey is just TOO good.
 I bought into Mario Galaxy 2 hype, and while I enjoyed it, I found it to be a farcry from the 'best game everrrr' everyone called it. So I came into Mario Odyssey expecting another good, but overrated, adventure. It wasn't. Everything about the game screams quality, and there's a huge abundance of things to do and find. You won't run out of moons to find anytime soon!
 And, as it's with a ton of Nintendo's Switch games, it's not a quantity over quality issue, because Nintendo made the sharpest, tightest Mario game yet. Controlling Mario is a breezy, the worlds you visit are a real delight, between their fantastic designs and clever(And some not so clever!) objectives. Possessing enemies was more fun than it had any right to be, and it opened up so many possibilities for hidden secrets! Nintendo also kept a fine balance between casual and hardcore gamers, offering enough easy and hard Moons to keep both content and allow everyone to reach the game's end.

Best Nintendo 64 Game of 2018:

 It's great to see you again, old friend. My childhood was defined by the NES/Family, but all throughout elementary school I had the Nintendo 64 by my side. These games defined me, and selling them was my biggest regret. But I'm fixing that mistake, and slowly but surely, building up my collection to where it used to be. Sadly, the Nintendo 64 hasn't aged well, at all, and it's a bit sad seeing how the Playstation 1 aged so much better.... but, regardless, the music and visuals from these games don't cease to reawaken all sort of fuzzy feelings inside my black ol' heart.

5) Buck Bumble

 Not a game I used to own, but one I wanted to own for the longest, longest time. Every time we'd visit a game store, with the intent of buying a game, I'd ask for Buck Bumble. And every single time I'd get a negative answer. And here it is now, on my shelf. It's gorgeous.
 It's also a pretty good game that has aged relatively well, especially if you consider how ambitious it was. Because you play as a tiny bee inside a big world, and you're allowed to fly around relatively big environments, all things considered. A lock-on mechanic and strafing would've gone a long way into making this game ageless, but, trust me, you can deal just fine with what you've got.
 It's not a classic, but it's a quirky game that wouldn't get made today, so it gets a nice recomendation from me.

4) Flying Dragon

 The other Nintendo 64 game that always eluded me, the main difference being that I managed to rent this one once, that one time we tried renting games in a different place. Flying Dragon was great, and I'm sure I would've LOVED this game back in the day.
 Not only does the game feature two modes, with a slightly different character roster, but the gameplay feels very smooth, considering when it was released. The character roster is fairly interesting, and you can customize a few mechanics in the game, such as cancels and 2-D/3-D mechanics. It's surprisingly deep!
 I think the game could've become a bit of a cult classic had it released on the PS1, a console that had an audience more receptive of fighting games. As a matter of fact, the 'Virtual' Mode had a sequel/prequel thing released on the PS1, exclusively on the PS1. A game I happen to own and will be getting a review sometime...

3) Fighters Destiny

 Laugh all you want at the cover, the game contained within is no joke. Trust me when I say that there's no other fighting game quite like it, besides its sequel, a destiny it shares with Bushido Blade 1 and 2. A unique set of fighting games that play unlike any other and never saw any other sequels... Although Bushido Blade did get the Kengo spiritual sequels.
 But I digress! What makes Fighters Destiny so unique is that matches play like real sparring/kumite matches, with different takedowns offering different points. Whether you knock your enemy out of the ring, land a grab or knocking him or her down with a super move, everything earns you a different amount of points(Which you can customize) and whoever wins a certain amount of points first wins the match.
 It's unique, it's fun and it's only available on the Nintendo 64.

Runner-up) Jet Force Gemini

 People say that Conker was Rare's first mature game, but have they seen Jet Force Gemini? Enemies explode into bloody, gooey pieces and beheadings are a normal occurrence, you can even decapitate the innocent, cute teddybear-like creatures you are supposed to protect!
 The controls are a bit clunky, yes, but the game is one of the most satisfying third person shooters I've played in a long, looooooooooooooooong while. If an aging Nintendo 64 game does something better than you, then you're doing something wrong. I'll even go the extra step and say that the shooting feels better than even games like Uncharted 4. It's just that Uncharted 4 is the entire package.
 Regardless, this is just one example of Rare's brilliant run on the Nintendo 64...

Winner) Banjo-Kazooie

 ....but Banjo-Kazooie it THE shining example of a timeless classic. The controls haven't aged one day, being as responsive and tight as they've always been, and not a single move lacks a purpose, if Banjo can do it, it's there for a reason.
 The levels are masterfully crafted in a way that's easy to figure out what you've got to do without having to read hints or boring tutorials, and collecting every single McGuffin never gets old. I can't stress enough just how well designed the levels in this game are, barring a few oldschool design choices(Like losing every Musical Note collected upon death), everything is suited to the theme of the level and you're always doing something different. While I can praise Mario Odyssey for its overabundance of things to find, I can also respect how Banjo keeps it neat, no collectible feels purposeless or like it's just being gifted to you for no good reason.
 I adore Banjo-Kazooie, and it's the go-to game for anyone who's wishing to explore the platform-adventure games from yesteryear.

Best Variety Console Game of 2018:

 I struggled naming this category. It wasn't best handheld Nintendo game, because it had Wii games and it could've had PSP games. But these games deserve to be mentioned, even if I didn't get to play many games on their home consoles.

5) Avatar the Last Airbender(Gameboy Advance)

 A great example of how to do a licensed game right. Gameplay is simple: you play as a team of three characters that get to flex their abilities as you clear devious puzzles in order to progress. While I'm not familiar with the show, I can attest that the characters' abilities are a good reflection of what they can do in the show.
 Avatar games don't have a good reputation, and even the sequel on GBA reinforces that, but The Last Airbender(GBA) is pretty darn good. Its simple mechanics are but a facade to lure you into some very nasty(in a good way!) puzzles that will have your brain on its edge. It's like A Link to the Past-lite, with much less exploration, but a lot of puzzles. A lot of puzzles.

4) The Simpsons - Road Rage(Gameboy Advance)

 Road Rage is not a good representation of the show, far, faaaaar from it, but it's a great game. Leaving aside the technical wonder behind its pseudo-3-D, it's a great Crazy Taxi on the go.
 The game is as fast paced as you'd expect Crazy Taxi to be, and the controls are good enough for the game. All the fancy techniques are missing here, but you don't need them: This is a handheld game, meant for playing on the go, and it excels at that.

3) Klonoa - Empire of Dreams

 Every single Klonoa game I played this year made it into these awards, and into the third spot of their respective lists. And I promise it wasn't on purpose, it just... happened. Regardless, the fact that Klonoa is stealing all these awards should tell you something: Klonoa is pretty darn good.
 And Klonoa's GBA adventure is no exception. It follows the exact same school of thought as the other two games: Jump and Grab. That's all you're given, and that's all you have to do to clear the game. Empire of Dreams is a bit more focused on the puzzle part of the game, probably because the GBA wasn't as powerful as the PS1 and PS2, but it keeps the same great level of quality as the previous games.

Runner-up) Prince of Persia - The Forgotten Sands(Wii)

 Most of the time Ubisoft makes different versions of the same game we get one good version and various amounts of garbage, just look at their take on TMNT, only the GBA version was worth playing. But The Forgotten Sands was an exception to that rule.The PSP version was relatively good, and both the Wii and PS3 versions managed to catch the magic that had eluded them since The Sands of Time.
 The Forgotten Sands on the Wii is a more whimsical adventure, the combat isn't as good as its HD sibling, and the experience points system was streamlined so that you'd earn abilities through a lineal progression... but the platforming? Man, did they have fun with that. The Prince gets all sorts of funky powers in this version, which allows for multiple takes on how to deal with the platforming sections!

Winner) Metroid - Samus Returns

 While I've kept myself busy playing some pretty good(and a few not so good) Metroidvanias, ever since Konami stopped producing their Castlevania series I haven't had one as great as any of those. This 'great' Metroidvania game I've been aching for had to come from one of the unlikeliest of places: Metroid. I've never been to fond of how Metroid does the whole Metroidvania thing, but Samus Returns turned me into a believer. Metroid Omoroid indeed.
 One of the best things the game did was do away with most of the story, we don't need that garbage on our Metroidvanias, this game is about exploration through-and-through, and no silly script is going to get in the way of that. The game is massive, some might say a bit too large, but I like it that way, there was no shortage of stuff to find and come back for once I new weapons and tools.
 The game is well designed and offers a healthy challenge to anyone brave enough to brave Samus' hunt for the last Metroids.



Best Game of 2018:
 Well, without further ado...

5) Metroid - Samus Returns

 I just talked about this game. Like, a few paragraphs above! Oh well, one has to deal with the hand he's dealt.

 I don't have much left to say about Metroid Samus Returns. It's the best AAA Metroidvania released in the last few years, a genre that seems like it's been appropriated by the indie scene, so it feels great to finally get a big-budget release in the genre. Not that there's a problem with indie releases, but sometimes... sometimes I want something that was made with a proper budget.

 The vastness of Samus Return's world and the lack of story reminded me a lot of a tiny indie Metroidvania called Knytt Stories, or something like that, a very minimalist game that kept me busy for hours as I got ready before leaving for highschool when I was younger.

4) God Hand

 I'm SO glad I decided to disregard all the whining and crying about the game's difficulty, because God Hand is brilliant, and very, very possible to beat.

 I don't usually tend to enjoy games with give you too much freedom with customization, for instance, I prefer having a more reliable moveset set in stone, but I would lie if I said I didn't have fun coming up with Gene's moveset. I mean, somehow I came up with a set up that followed me all the way to the end of the game, and even got to try a few seemingly useless moves, and clearing a stage while refusing to reload my save with said useless moves felt great. Heck, eventually dying doesn't become your biggest concern, but rather, you start getting annoyed with yourself because you couldn't keep up with the new difficulty setting and got whacked into an easier difficulty!

 It's very unlikely that we'll ever get a new God Hand, and that may be for the best, as that means that there will never be anything just quite like it, such a pure, unbridled passion project that appealed to a few... but if you count yourself among the few you know just what everyone else is missing.

3) Uncharted 4 - A Thief's End

 Just as with Breaking Bad before it, don't be sad that it ended... be happy that it didn't end like Dexter. Nathan was this close to ending up a Lumberjack. Shivers.

 Not the most exciting of the Uncharted games, but definitely the one that'll make you feel the most emotions. It's exciting, it's a bit depressing, it's funny, it's tragic and it's a fitting conclusion to the franchise that made epic, cinematic setpieces a thing. Whether you like this shift in gaming or not, Uncharted's one of the biggest culprits and thus, one of the games that influenced how games would become, for good or bad. It's a franchise that deserved an epic, introspective and definitely conclusive ending, and it's the one we got.

Runner-up) Banjo-Kazooie

 Super Mario 64 did it first, but Banjo Kazooie did it better. The ultimate Collectathon, Banjo-Kazooie has just the right amount of collectibles, before it got ridiculous with games like Donkey Kong 64, and very creative and original world and characters. Banjo and Kazooie, Bottles the Mole and even Gruntilda the Witch, all of them classic characters that left their small, but firm, footprints in gaming.
 The thing that surprised me the most about Banjo-Kazooie is just how little is has aged, even when I enjoyed replaying old Nintendo 64 games, and discovering a few that eluded me, I just couldn't ignore how poorly these games had aged. But not Banjo-Kazooie. It has a timeless design that makes it stand the test of times with nary a dent to show for it.

Winner) Super Mario Odyssey

 Brilliant. Fantastic. Phenomenal. Outstanding. Super Mario Odyssey did for the Switch what Super Mario 64 did for the Nintendo 64, although it didn't change the landscape of gaming this time around. But next time....!

 I didn't think I could fall this hard for a Super Mario game again, but here I am. I don't have a single complaint to mention because everything the game wanted to do, it did with flying colors. I saw some people calling it 'bloated', but is it really? There's no point of collecting every single Moon in the game besides bragging rights, so if you get bored... just turn the game off, nobody is forcing you to go for a 100%.

 Odyssey is such a beautiful, welcoming game with nearly an endless amount of stuff to do and see, and it proves that Mario isn't getting old... and we are never too old for good ol' Mario.

....now then, when are we getting the next Wario Land?

Archile's End of the Year Awards 2018 Part I

 Whatever the heck I'm doing I'm doing for the fifth time.

 Boy oh boy! Despite being busier than other years I managed to tally a whopping 101 games finished, not counting games I started, but didn't finish, like Legend of Spyro 3 and Persona 5(Still not ready to replay what I lost.). Two new consoles joined the family, the PS4 and the Switch, both portfests, but one is actually rather fun. I also began my quest to reclaim every single N64 game I used to own, and I'm about halfway there!
 Anyways, here's the list!

==== Playstation ====
Fear Effect
Fear Effect 2 - Retro Helix
Samurai Shodown - Warriors Rage
Nightmare Creatures II
The King of Fighters '99
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider II
Spyro the Dragon
Spyro 2 - Ripto's Rage!
Spyro - Year of the Dragon
Die Hard Trilogy 2 - Viva Las Vegas
Kingsley's Adventure
Die Hard Trilogy
Klonoa - Door to Phantomile
Medievil

==== Playstation 2 ====
Shadow of Rome
God Hand
Musashi Samurai Legend
Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time
Prince of Persia - Warrior Within
True Crime - Streets of LA
Prince of Persia - The Two Thrones
Digimon Rumble Arena 2
Le Mans 24 Hours
Digimon World 4
Galactic Wrestling - Featuring Ultimate MUSCLE
Disaster Report
Grandia Xtreme
Samurai Shodown Anthology
Ape Escape 2
The King of Fighters Collection - The Orochi Saga
The King of Fighters '00/'01
The King of Fighters 02 - 03
Tomb Raider Anniversary
Tomb Raider Legend
Enter the Matrix
Pirates - Legend of the Black Buccaneer
Spyro - Enter the Dragonfly
Spyro - A Hero's Tail
The Legend of Spyro - A New Beginning
The Legend of Spyro - The Eternal Night
Klonoa 2 - Lunatea's Veil
RLH: Run Like Hell
Van Helsing
GhostHunter
Cold Fear

==== Playstation 3 ====
Rise of the Argonauts
Spec Ops - The Line
Prince of Persia - The Forgotten Sands(PS3)
Prince of Persia(2008)
Disney Infinity 2.0

==== Playstation 4 ====
Uncharted 4 - A Thief's End
Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 - Road to Boruto
InFamous - Second Son
Dissidia Final Fantasy NT
The Order 1886
Gundam Versus

==== PSP =====
Prince of Persia the Forgotten Sands(PSP)

==== Nintendo DS ====
Marvel Nemesis - Rise of the Imperfects(DS)
Prince of Persia - The Forgotten Sands(Nintendo DS)
Prince of Persia - The Fallen King
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam(Nintendo DS)
Thundercats
The Last Airbender(Nintendo DS)
Star Wars Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith(Nintendo DS)

==== Nintendo 3DS ====
Metroid - Samus Returns

==== Wii ====
Prince of Persia - The Forgotten Sands(Wii)
Nights - Journey of Dreams

==== Switch ====
Super Mario Odyssey
The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Puyo Puyo Tetris
Fire Emblem Warriors
Pokken Tournament DX
Ultra Street Fighter II - The Final Challengers
Super Bomberman R
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Death Road to Canada

==== Gameboy Advance ====
Digimon Battle Spirit
Digimon Battle Spirit 2
Digimon Racing
Avatar the Last Airbender(Gameboy Advance)
Avatar the Last Airbender - The Burning Earth(Gameboy Advance)
Nicktoons Unite!(Gameboy Advance)
The Simpsons - Road Rage(Gameboy Advance)
Klonoa - Empire of Dreams
X-men - Reign of Apocalypse
Samurai Jack - The Amulet of Time
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas - The Pumpkin King

==== Nintendo 64 ====
Chameleon Twist
Fighters Destiny
Deadly Arts
Jet Force Gemini
Dark Rift
Dual Heroes
Castlevania
Buck Bumble
Starshot - Space Circus Fever
ClayFighters 63 1/3
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
Banjo-Kazooie

Best Action game of 2018:

 This year I'm dividing Action games and Shooters into different categories since, unlike previous years, the RPG category didn't make it due to me focusing on more fast paced games. Regardless, something tells me I'll be devoting more time to RPGs on 2019...

5) Rise of the Argonauts

 Rise of the Argonauts was pretty dope, yo! The framerate left a bit to be desired, yes, the graphics were a bit ass too... but I'd lie if I said I didn't enjoy travelling around a mythological Greece, fighting legendary creatures and meeting characters of legends, such as Achilles.
 The game had some very light RPG elements that made progression feel tangible, Jason would regularly come across new suits of armors and weapons that would reflect on his character model, and it being a very linear game made every step feel like you were actually progressing on your quest... not that the game prevented you from backtracking if you wanted to finish any sidequest.
 If you can forgive it's numerous shortcomings, there's fun to be had with Jason and the Argonauts.

4) Shadow of Rome

 We go from Greece to Rome, arriving at Capcom's Shadow of Rome. The game looks great and plays just as well, featuring a very distinct art direction that mixes realistic graphics and textures with a very slight cell-shaded filter that makes everything pop. It helps that the character designs were chunky and badass, as if they were ripped straight out of Hokuto no Ken.
 Octavianus' stealth missions were a bit hit or miss, but Agrippa's levels were pretty darn fantastic, having to fight under strict rules and against badass, memorable Gladiators that weren't just about to let you go on your merry rampage.
 If you can stand a steep challenge, the game is a fantastic romp through a very overly dramatic and testosterone-filled take on ancient Rome. I loved it.

3) inFamous - Second Son

 In my eyes , Second Son had a LOT to live up to, while inFamous was nothing to write home about, inFamous 2 was one of the PS3's finest. And inFamous Second Son delivered, for the most part. Delsin was an interesting protagonist since he was pretty much the polar opposite from inFamous' Cole, and his interactions with his brother were some of the best parts about Second Son.

 ....but the best parts about it were all the new powers Delsin had access to! The first power, Smoke, is the one you'll use the most, since it's well rounded, but Neon's fast speed and Video's wings switch it up nicely.

 The game is a bit on the shorts side, the side-activities are a bit repetitive and the game does very little to set itself apart from inFamous 2... but when inFamous 2 was SO good, being so similar isn't a bad thing at all.

Runner-up) Fire Emblem Warriors

 I hated Hyrule Warriors, there is a reason I haven't reviewed it yet, much less finished it. But, let's go a few months time back to the past, there I was, browsing videogame forums, and happened upon a poor soul asking about which game to get: Fire Emblem Warriors or Hyrule Warriors. And I offered my sincere opinion of Hyrule Warriors: "As someone who adores the whole Musou thing, I despised Hyrule Warriors because X, Y and...". A few minutes later, someone quoted me "Well, Fire Emblem Warriors pretty much fixes everything you said". And I bought the game. And I was promptly reminded of why I loved the Musou series so much.

 Simple to a fault, it's you against thousands of enemy units. There aren't many playable characters, and a handful of them are clones, but the movesets are very satisfying, letting you play the role of an overpowered god laying waste upon the poor sods who thought it was a good idea to meet you in battle. Everything has been simplified so that you can get into the fray ASAP and get your sadistic kicks as soon as the stage loads.

 If you don't care about unnecessary fluff or needless mechanics, Fire Emblem Warriors is the way to go, offering a very pure Warriors/Musou experience that long-time fans will adore.

Winner) God Hand

 Despite being a H-U-G-E Hokuto no Ken nut, and God Hand being a giant love letter to everything it stands for, I avoided this game for the longest time because stories and complaints about its high difficulty level scared me away.

 Feeling blue for a GOOD beat'em up game, I decided it was time to give God Hand a whirl... and boy, was it worth it. The first thing EVERYONE needs to know about the game is that people love to exaggerate, the game is undoubtedly not as hard as everyone makes it out to be, in no small part because you'll be getting better at it the more you play. Will you have to redo a few stages? Yes, you will. Will you love every second of every attempt? Yes, you will.

 I'm a sucked for stories driven by grander than life characters with beefy and badass character designs, and that's exactly what this game offers. Stringing together combos with Super moves and cancels feels great, fighting memorable bosses is a treat and watching yourself getting better and better as you clear tougher and tougher challenges is THE best part about the game, there's absolutely no going wrong with God Hand.

Best Shooter game of 2018:

 It surprised me a bit just how many shooty-shooty bang-bang games I played this year, but it was for the better, as now I've got a category to replace RPGs with. Don't expect this to become the norm, though.

5) The Order 1886

 I've campaigned long and hard against games trying to be movies, but I know that I've grown fond of a few, such as Ashura's Wrath. The Order 1886 is another game that joins those ranks, despite being met with a very lukewarm reception from critics and gamers.
 What the game does right, and what instantly captured my heart, were the fantastic character designs. Everyone looks great and wears a highly detailed and ornate uniform, which makes the characters stand out and arrest your attention. The story may be nothing to write home about, but man if it isn't a treat to get to watch all these fantastic characters doing cool stuff while being all classy and snub.
 The gameplay is nothing special, but it does everything it's supposed to do very well and most of the cover-based shooting feels tight. Memorable for all the wrong reasons? Maybe, but I'm not ashamed to call it one of my 2018's guilty pleasures.

4) True Crime - Streets of LA

 I'll be the first to admit that the game hasn't aged the best, and a lot of the things I loved about it when I was younger now look downright silly. But, somehow, it manages to hold itself together, despite all its seams and cracks, relatively well.
 True Crime is one of the clearest cases of more than a sum of its parts. If you were to disassemble all its pieces: Driving, Shooting and Fighting, and analyze them in a vacuum you'll arrive to the conclusion that the game blows. Because it's true, everything is very janky, combat is tiff, shooting is messy and driving is clunky.
 Yet it works. The game is very fun to play despite all its flaws. I think a large part of its winning formula was its ambition: This is a game that wants to be THE game, it wanted to have its cake and eat it too. Well, it didn't, but at least it got the cake. We got the cake? Someone got the cake.

3) Spec Ops - The Line

 I love narrative twists, particularly when they arrive late in the story. There is a reason I'm such a huge Goosebumps dorks even in my late age. Spec Ops - The Line took a different approach to the bloated Military Shooter genre, making the Single Player its focus and with a story that tried to turn the genre on its head.
 A big misconception is that games like Call of Duty are only worth their multiplayer, as someone who played Black Ops I can tell you that they offered relatively engaging plots, even ones with interesting plot twists. That is NOT how Spec Ops innovated, but rather, on how it tries to deconstruct the genre. It tries to make you, the player, feel bad about what the game is forcing you to do. It wants make you see how Choices, in videogames, are irrelevant. It's a bit meta, and it's entirely fantastic.
 Just like The Order 1886, the gameplay is probably its weakest part, but that doesn't mean that it's bad, just that it's a means to an end, and one that works exactly like it should, but without any element to call its own.

Runner-up) Jet Force Gemini

 This is how an old game from one of the consoles that have aged the worst rose above modern-day entries of the same genre. Jet Force Gemini is old, ugly, repetitive and also one of the best examples of a third person shooter.
 What makes it so good? Well, how about its massive arsenal? There are tons of weapons, from silly 'Fish Food' joke weapons to a deadly Tri-Rocket Launcher thing that blows enemies to a pulp. How about the size of the game, featuring a ton of different planets to explore and find secrets: Weapons, health upgrades or even more planets? How about three different characters that have unique traits that allow them to reach parts the other can't? Although, to be fair, the last one is also a bit of a drawback, since you might have to retread old ground in order to find everything.
 Well, the best part about the game is none of the above, what makes it so darn good is how great shooting feels. It sounds silly, but few games care so much about making the basics feel so good. Landing shots feels crunchy, with satisfying gallons of blood popping out of enemies alongside squishy audio feedback that feels oh SO good. Jet Force Gemini is one of the best examples of why making the most basic gameplay mechanics feel rewarding matters, and it's something modern videogame developers could take a page from.

Winner) Uncharted 4 - A Thief's End

 Uncharted 4 is yet another shooter that puts its narrative first, but unlike Spec Ops, it's not about deconstructing plot devices, it's all about developing characters, about growth and when it's time to stop.
 Uncharted 4 may lack set pieces as epic as the ones that came before, but it put its characters on its forefront. As a matter of fact, lacking epic setpieces may actually aid the story that it wants to tell, as characters feel more real than they ever felt. These are characters that, if you've been playing the games before, you've grown with and now you get to see how their story concludes. And boy, is it 'hashtag(emotional!)'.
 This is a fitting end to a franchise that had such a rocky beginning(Uncharted 1 was awful, I'll fight you on it) but grew into one of Sony's staples. While they could have played it safe, they also tried a bunch of new things, such as semi-open environments with optional puzzles that, while unnecessary, add a bit of personality to the game. It's also a great showpiece of just how good this videogame generation can look when it isn't busy pumping out ports from the previous generation.

Best Fighting game of 2018:

 I've been growing a bit scared of having run out of fighting games to play by now, but a bit relieved since what once was one of my favorite genres isn't so anymore. The genre has grown a bit complacent, shying away from creating new IPs and rosters, favoring returning characters and brands. But I digress, onwards with the show...

5) The King of Fighters 02/03

 The King of Fighters 2002 is a huge letdown. It's supposed to celebrate the NESTs Saga, but it's missing some of the characters it introduced, like Ling, as well as NESTs key mechanic: Strikers. It's a bad addition to the series, but thankfully it marked the end of SNK-Playmore.
 On the other hand, The King of Fighters 2003 marks the start of the much reviled Ash Saga. I've always sat with the minority: I thought Ash's saga rocked, and that Ash was a fantastic new main character since he looked nothing like Kyo and K'. 2003 also brought a refreshing new change of pace: Strikers were gone, tagging-in-and-out the other combatants was in. It made fights faster and more exciting than ever before, something that made the game more fun, for me, at least.

 All in all, The King of Fighters 02/03 is an interesting mix of new and old: You get classic KoF mechanics and characters with 02, as well as new systems and faces with 03. A little bit of everything for everyone that loves King of Fighters.

4) The King of Fighters '99

 The King of Fighters '99 is a key piece of King of Fighters' history, this was the game that proved that SNK was willing to change how the games played as well as who the main characters were as long as it meant keeping KoF feeling new. Sure, Kyo and Iori are back, but it's not until the Ash Saga that they'll have any real relevance to the story again, and even then, it's Ash who steals the show.
 K' has always been my favorite King of Fighters character, and the NESTs saga my favorite, and boy, was KoF '99 a great introduction to both! By '98 KoF had changed very little, but with '99 we got fantastic new characters as well as the introduction to Strikers, characters who wouldn't join in on the fight but could be called to perform an attack and leave the screen.
 While the game has aged quite a bit, and the PS1 port has some horrible loading times, I just can't help but feel awe towards this game. It set the bar for just how great the graphics, animations and new characters would become. It somewhat feels like KoF '99 set a feel and tone, for mechanics and character designs that every subsequent game would try to match.

3) Dissidia - Final Fantasy NT

 I am aware of the poor reception this game got, and I think I can sorta understand where they are coming from, but you also gotta understand where I come from: I absolutely love Arcade games, and the Gundam Versus franchise is one of my favorites... Dissidia is both, coupled with characters from a franchise that I used to hold dear to my heart.... how could I not love this game?
 Fights are fast and frantic, featuring over a dozen pretty boys and a few OKish girls(No one's judging), as they fly about, hitting each other with all kinds of flashy attacks and spells. The game runs fairly smoothly for the most part, and looks beautiful to boot.
 I think Dissidia will only appeal to a very small niche, but I count myself lucky to be in it. For the game's future I hope that Square finds the way to appeal to a larger market.

Runner-up) The King of Fighters 00/01

 More of the same, yes, they are. But this is also the moment that SNK where at the top of their game.... and the moment they started to sink...
 The King of Fighters 2000 builds upon King of Fighter 99, introducing fantastic new characters(VANESSA!!! Seth, Lee!!!!) and adding a TON of fanservice in the way of unplayable Strikers. Callbacks to dozens upon dozens of classic SNK properties, if you love SNK and/or the Neo-Geo you will get a kick out of these. KoF2000 has a certain je ne se quois that makes it one of the most fun KoF games to play. I doesn't do anything better(or worse) than '99, and it lacks the feeling of newness that '99 had, but something about it feels very special.
 The King of Fighters 2001 was SNK's first KoF game after being purchased by Playmore and it kinda shows. The new characters are either forgettable or terrible, although Angel seems to have become a sort of ensemble black sheep, I blame the Otakus. They changed up how Strikers work, so that you can have as many strikers or playable characters as you want, but it feels very... vapid. It's still a great KoF game, but not as great as the two previous games that came before it.

Winner) Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

 It's only been a few weeks since I gushed about how GOOD Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is, and every single word I typed still holds true to this day. A massive character roster that makes no cuts or concessions, nobody feels rushed(Remember Wolf's detachable arm?) or developed as an afterthought(Ganondorf finally gets to use the sword he only ever used in a trailer!) and everything feels SO tight.
 And that's what makes the game rise above and beyond what the initial pitch we received: This is not just a 'compilation' of Smash Bros., but rather, Masahiro Sakurai and his team polished everything to a sheen. The gameplay is the tightest it's ever been, with everything feeling precise and under your control, while moving as fast, if not faster, than in Melee.
 You could say that Smash Bros Ultimate looks old... but it feels so new and so, SO good.

Best Adventure game of 2018:

 Just like with Action games, this year I was able to divide this category between proper Adventure games and Platform games. Rekindling my love for the N64 probably had a lot to do with it! I think this is the genre I played the most this year, and thankfully most of them were pretty good!

5) Prince of Persia - The Forgotten Sands(Playstation 3)

 A proper return to form, while Prince of Persia games hadn't been all that bad since Sands of Time, none could really capture what made it so good... and the Forgotten Sands didn't either, but it got very close!
 Firstly, this game features the best combat the series has ever had, which is saying a lot considering how they've always faltered at it in one way or another. There's a new experience gauge that adds a bit of variety and customization to the game that adds a bit of spice to the game. Manipulating water and broken debris adds new, interesting obstacles for the Prince. Truly, the series deserves praise for managing to keep coming up with obstacles for the Prince to clear with his acrobatics!
 Sadly, the game is a bit buggy, and some of the latter obstacle runs are a bit more of a hassle than fun, but on the whole it's one of the best modern PoP games.

4) Prince of Persia - The Forgotten Sands(Nintendo Wii)

 It's not often when a Wii version of a multiplatform game comes on top of its HD siblings, but The Forgotten Sands was an entirely different game that played to different strengths.
 The combat is a step up from previous games, albeit not just quite as good as the one in the PS3 version. On the other hand, platforming is much better and features a very different assortment of obstacles. In this game the prince can materialize hooks on the environments, gusts of wind on the floor and even encase himself inside a bubble to allow for a second jump. All these abilities add a degree of freedom on how you tackle the platforming challenges that wasn't present in ANY other PoP game, making for a very interesting game in the franchise.
 While it's not a buggy mess, it has a few little issues that may hamper how much you'll enjoy the game: Bosses are poorly designed, the game has way too many Sigil Doors(Doors that have you drawing a pattern with the wiimote) that add an unnecessary and out-of-place challenge to the game and, lastly, the Wii's analog stick isn't the best for these kinds of games. All that said, not only is this one of the best PoP games, it's also one of the Wii's best.

3) Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time

 I bet you've grown tired of me saying 'One of the best PoP games', well, here it is, the BEST Prince of Persia game out there, and also, the first one in the modern re imagining of one of the oldest classics in gaming.
 Prince of Persia - The Sands of Time brought fancy acrobatics into the world of platforming, with fancy wallrunning and climbing as you did all the parkour you needed to go through deadly traps and devices. Then there's also the innovative Sands of Time, by using one of your Sand Stocks you could rewind time, to prevent dying from a trap to prevent damage you didn't see coming. It's incredibly how such a simple mechanic added so much to the game.
 But it's not just innovation that made the game so memorable, it's also the tight controls and the fantastic level design that make the game stand out to this very day. A tiny little detail that I love is that the Prince's duds get shredded as the story advances, making for tangible evidence of how the Prince keep moving forward. Also, the ending will bring you to tears.

Runner-up) Metroid - Samus Returns

 I've always felt like the 3DS lacked a system seller. It's one of the reasons I've always preferred the DS, as that system was filled with classics, while the 3DS had to do with great games, but nothing outstanding... until Samus Returns hit the shelves.
 I've always preferred the Castlevania way of Metroidvanias, but Samus Returns made everything very polished and tight so as to make a naysayer, like me, learn to enjoy how Metroid does it. In this instance, they decided to have the story become an afterthought, this is 95% game through and through and I loved it. It's also a massive undertaking, I don't remember the last time I played a Metroidvania THIS large, and one that managed to stay fun all the way through.
 It's not perfect, most bosses are recycled and fought numerous times, but it makes sense in the context of the story. And, when it comes to fight the REAL final bosses you'll be treated with multi-phase bosses that require some creative thinking to get through. Not that the game is a walk in the park, but the real bosses will make you earn your bragging rights.

Winner) The Legend of Zelda - Breath of the Wild

 Yes, the durability system sucks. But, good news, every single other aspect of the game is phenomenal.
 It's been long since I played a game that offered this much freedom in how you do things, and it's this freedom that makes the game such a beauty, I guarantee that no two players will do things in the same order. You'll be making choices all the way through: Will you focus on growing sturdier or getting more Stamina? The former will make enemies surviving easier, but the latter will allow you to traverse more and more easily this beautiful version of Hyrule. Will you equip the armor that looks cool or will you equip what helps you survive? Will you recolor your armor or will you save up your ingredients to enhance said armor? Or, maybe you'd rather cook food and potions for temporary boosts that'll make the difference between life and death. There's also an unbelievable amount of thought that went into the tiniest of details, this is a game that always has something new to be found.
 Breath of the Wild is a gorgeous, massive undertaking that put freedom first and everything else second. You'll seldom find yourself out of things to do or explore. And, as annoying as the durability system is, the combat is pretty good and coming across weapons isn't so tough.

Best Platform game of 2018:

 Screw adventuring through grand locales, jumping on stuff and collecting junk is where it's at! These were my favorite platform games this year.

5) Ape Escape 2

 Making Ape Escape 2 number 5 almost hurt, but every single game in this category is pure awesome, Ape Escape 2 included.
 The gameplays is simple and fun, relying on the two analog sticks to get everything done: The left one moves your character, while the right one uses whatever gadget you've got equipped. Be it an energy baton or a net, to a magnet or a giant boxing glove. Every tool has its use, and boy, will the game keep you on your toes! Not so much because of its difficulty, which is relatively low, but because there's always something new for you to do in order to capture the more elusive monkeys!
 Hopefully you enjoy puns, because how monkeys look and how they are named are always some sort of joke, be it popular culture or lame puns, it's easy to go bananas with this one.

4) Spyro 2 - Ripto's Rage

 Spyro 2 added a bit more fat to the foundation that Spyro 1 built, and that may be a bit of a sour spot for people that enjoy simpler games, but I think all the added fluff didn't hurt the game one bit. Honestly, both Spyro 1 and 2 are just as good, but Spyro 1 has a stronger focus on platforming, and is a bit more pure, but Spyro 2 allows itself to have more fun.
 In Spyro 2 you won't find yourself wanting for stuff to collect, as there are loads upon loads of things that need to be done: Collect all the treasure, collect the talisman and collect all the orbs. Every stage has a main objective that you must clear, and it really helps the game feel more alive, as opposed to the simple collection of platforms and collectibles that Spyro 1 was.
 There's no going wrong with any of the three Spyro games on the PS1, but if I had to pick one it'd definitely be this one.

3) Klonoa 2 - Lunatea's Veil

 There are few things I enjoy more than a good Shakespearean tragedy, and while Klonoa 2 doesn't reach those levels... boy, is it melancholic! Depending on who you ask, the entire game might be Klonoa's way of accepting a certain event from the first game.
 However you decide to understand the game, Klonoa 2 is a beautiful 2-D platform game that revels in its simplicity: Jump and Grab, those are Klonoa's only abilities, and the game will put your brain to the test as it tasks you with using both abilities in very creative ways. The adventure never grows stale and you won't be clearing the same obstacles in the same way twice, always managing to sneak in one or two twists so that you have to flex that noggin of yours before proceeding.
 Gameplay aside, I also need to praise the brilliant art-direction, not only are the cellshaded graphics gorgeous, but the world of Lunatea as well as the environments are very surreal and dreamy, quite a treat for the eyes!

Runner-up) Banjo-Kazooie

 Rare managed to make their way into my favorite shooters of the year with their take on the third-person shooter genre, Jet Force Gemini, but if there was one genre in which they shined it was in Platform collectathons. Not only is Banjo-Kazooie one of their best, not only is it one of the best examples of the genre, it's also a timeless classic.
 Where to start with? How about the creativity that went into designing levels and characters? A creativity that extends to the protagonist duo, Banjo and Kazooie. It's so endearing to see how both characters work together through their simple but effective moveset. It's hard not to smile the first time you see Kazooie pop out her legs and head out of Banjo's backpack in order to carry him upon her back!
 Creative wizardry aside, the gameplay is every bit as good as it once was: Levels are large, filled with stuff to collect and different objectives to complete. Level design is SO good that the game doesn't need to tell you what to do, as 90% of your objectives can be understood from context alone. Banjo-Kazooie is, simply, a marvel of game design that brilliantly stands the test of time.

Winner) Super Mario Odyssey

 If you claim that you didn't roll your eyes the moment Mario Odyssey's main gameplay mechanic, possession, was revealed I'll call you a liar. And I'm sure you found Mario running around 'normal' human beings stupid, I know I did. And then I played the game and was forced to eat my words and my hat, because the game was amazing, everything made sense and everything played great.
 Possessing other characters, and sometimes objects, sounds like a gimmick, but it's so much more than that. Every thing you can posses has some sort of ability that makes finding collectibles a pleasure. Of course, you'll enjoy a few possessions more than others, I was quite fond of the water-spewing fish, but the game strikes a nice balance of using these beings for a fair amount of stuff but never overstaying their welcome. And, even if you happened to hate a certain possession, you'll probably be allowed to skip it since there's over 900 Moons(The thing you have to collect) in the entire game, there's no shortage of stuff to do and find, some you'll just come across by walking around, others requiring more involved interactions. It's a great way of hitting everyone's fancy: Casual gamers will cruise through, while more hardcore, Nintendo 64-grown collectathon addicts, like myself, will explore every nook and cranny until the 900th moon is found.
 Super Mario Odyssey is the best Super Mario game in a while, and that's saying something from a franchise that strikes gold on pretty much every outing.

Best Other game of 2018:

 Can't believe it's come to this, but one of my favorite genres, RPG, found itself in the dreaded Other category. The category where everything goes, games that are hard to put a label on to genres of which I didn't play many worthwhile games.

5) RLH - Run Like Hell

 I think I'll always be endeared to this game due to the way I came across it: I was searching for a Nintendo 64 game I correctly guessed was cancelled, and mistook it for this one. Thankfully, that fruitless goose-chase brought me to a very fun Survival horror romp.
 Calling it Survival Horror might be a stretch, since ammo is plentiful, if not infinite, and healing items come aplenty, but the tropes are all here. The game tried its hardest to be a playable action/horror movie, like Alien, and I think it succeeded quite well at that. Every plot twist you'll see from a mile away, but the enjoyment comes from knowing that you're playing a cheesy action horror movie than from a strong narrative.
 The gameplay follows any other modern-y survival horror game, with emphasis on shooting baddies and collecting passwords to open up doors and advance the story. It's decent, but unremarkable, which kinda works as it keeps in line with the whole action/horror movie vibe it went through. Considering the low prices it fetches nowadays, the game's easily worth a look. Or two.

4) Cold Fear

 This is not a Survival Horror category, but it's starting to look like one! Cold Fear was a Ubisoft's attempt at copying Resident Evil 4 and getting some of that sweet, delicious survival horror money it was raking it. While it didn't garner them all the money they wanted, the ensuing product was pretty darn good!
 There were no attempts at hiding their inspiration, but that's not to say that Cold Fear didn't try to do its own thing. You can move while aiming, which is a pretty darn novel idea(It wasn't until REvil 6/The Evil Within that this became a thing!), and the whole zombie infested-ship setting allowed for some interesting ideas, such as having to brave deadly waves of water and a moving, tumbling ship. It was more of a Metroidvania than a linear adventure too, which made the game feel very different from Resident Evil 4, despite borrowing pretty much as much as it could from that game.
 Anyone that loves horror games post-Resident Evil 4 will probably enjoy Cold Fear. The second act of the game isn't as strong as the Ship, but the drop in quality isn't so sharp, and the basic gameplay remains the same.

3) Puyo Puyo Tetris

 Another horror game... if only because of how scarily tough the AI opponents can be! Jokes aside, while not the biggest Tetris fan I'll always have a few minutes to spare for a few matches of Tetris. As for Puyo Puyo, I never cared for it. Well, now we can have both of them together, with Puyo Puyo Tetris!
 Puyo Puyo Tetris certainly is something. You can play either Tetris or Puyo Puyo by themselves, so there's something for you if you only like one of them, or play both of them at the same time. Or play both while switching boards after a set time. As I said, Puyo Puyo Tetris certainly is something, and it deserves praise for accommodating to whatever and however players want to play. You can even play Puyo Puyo against people playing Tetris.
 If you couldn't tell, I've never been much of a fan of any puzzle game, but Puyo Puyo Tetris' quality just can't be understated, and the numerous amount of extras, like different skins for Tetrominoes and Puyo Puyos, add a bit of replayability to the game.

Runner-up) Death Road to Canada

 Alright, alright, final Horror game, I promise! Death Road to Canada was a nice little treat I came across. It's a simple game that took me back to the times I used to spend hours on end playing edgy games on Newgrounds.com back when I was a wee little kid exploring the endless depth of the Internet.
 A simple survival horror game that has you making hilariously unfair choices that could determine your survival, Death Road to Canada is as silly as it is random(Kinda) which makes every playthrough a surprise. A fun surprise. It's this simplicity, randomness and silliness that makes it endlessly replayable and fun.
 Call me a heretic, but I'm willing to put my hand on fire for this game and call it THE best zombie survival game out there.

Winner) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

 Just like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, I think that this latest release of Mario Kart... is also the best Mario Kart that there's ever been.
 While it's not as cut-out and dry as with Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario Kart 8 has managed to contain a bit of the randomness from previous Mario Kart games, you'll notice that the blue shell is not as prevalent, while still keeping things interesting. Random and lucky/unlucky upsets will still happen, and that's OK, if you take Mario Kart seriously that's your loss.
 The cast of characters is great(I love the Koopalings, sue me), it has the most amount of tracks in a Mario Kart EVER(Most of them being real winners) and the driving is fairly tight. It brought back bikes, and Kart customization is a great way of letting players personalize their rides. I wish Nintendo good luck in topping this one with the next Mario Kart, they are gonna need it.

Best Licensed game of 2018:

 While there are less Licensed games out there than there has ever been, probably since most migrated to mobile phones as apps, retro-gamers like me are still condemned to play dozens of them. And yes, we HAVE to play them. Someone has to.

5) Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 - Road to Boruto

 While I've always preferred the Clash of the Ninja series of Naruto games, Ninja Storm managed to carve its way into fans' shelves thanks to their simplicity and their brilliant retelling of the story. Really, we played these games both because they were simple fun and because of the over-the-top stylish retelling of the fights from the manga and anime.
 And they blew it!!!! All those beautiful cutscenes? Still in here, but in less quantity since they preferred to use horrible anime stills, plenty of them with the characters looking off-model. Heck, the only reason they returned to their amazing cutscenes was because they got ahead of the anime and had run out of material to steal from! And then there's the character roster, featuring the lamest additions they could. Another Naruto, another Sasuke, another Kakashi, another Obito, another Madara... Where the **** are the goddamn Seven Swordsmen of the Mist? Give me goddamn Movie characters. Honestly, and what the hell is up with the Road to Boruto additions? Two Saradas? Three Borutos? WHY CAN'T I PLAY AS THE VILLAINS?
 Oh... this was supposed to be a 'best licensed games of the year' thingie... Erm, I guess it still plays like the previous games, so, in a way, it's good.

4) Avatar the Last Airbender(Gameboy Advance)

 I've never watched the Avatar TV series. That's a lie, I've actually watched a whopping two episodes of the series. And even despite that, Avatar the Last Airbender on Gameboy Advance managed to be a rather fun game.

 While they could've gone the easy way and made a simple action-beat'em up game, instead they opted to make a fun adventure-puzzle game like the Zeldas of old. You control a team of three characters, Aang, Katara and Sokka, each character having their own tools to clear puzzles, and it's up to you to figure out how to solve each puzzle. It's very fun!

 I'm not sure of just how much fun fans of the series will have, but as a game in a vacuum... it's pretty good!

3) The Simpsons - Road Rage(Gameboy Advance)

 Someone thought the could make a 3-D, Crazy Taxi ripoff on the GBA. Some people probably laughed at him.... and he proved them all wrong. Probably.
 Road Rage is a freak of nature, something that shouldn't exist, but does. And it's so much fun! The game did some freakish wizardry to create the illusion of 3-D environments, heck, you'll see the road ahead compress and uncompress as you move forwards, and it looks weird but also entrancing, in a way. It's got a very unique look, and I don't know if everyone will enjoy it, but I know I did and I know I'm not the only one!
 As for the game itself, it's an accurate translation of Crazy Taxi into the GBA, it works really well and it's fun to play. You couldn't ask for more on a handheld device.

Runner-up) Galactic Wrestling - Featuring Ultimate M.U.S.C.L.E

 Let's go back in time, to when the PS2 was still a shiny new thing and I was a little ole kid. I knew about Kinnikuman thanks to the Internet, and, somehow, got my hands on this game. It was in Japanese. Years later my PS2 would bite the dust and I would get a new one, this time vowing to get back every game I used to have, and this time they'd be original copies too. I thought this was a Japanese exclusive and that I would never get it back. That I'd have to settle for the Gamecube version, which lacked a ton of characters. BUT THIS YEAR I LEARNED THAT IT ACTUALLY HAD AN AMERICAN RELEASE, AND THIS YEAR I ACTUALLY GOT BACK THE GAME. AND IT'S AWESOME.

 IT'S AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! No, really, having read the manga I can tell you that the game is very accurate to the franchise, heck, some modes are even inspired after events from the manga! Gameplay is very simple and fun, and characters look great! The fact that the character designs are so distinct and diverse makes for a very colorful game that's exploding with weird, stylish and badass things happening all the time. It's even got super tag attacks! KINNIKU BUSTER! MUSCLE DOCKING!... sorry, I just love the series!

 Wrestling fans and Kinnikuman fans are in for a treat, a game that borrows its gameplay from the revered Smackdown series and the characters and grabs from the manga? It's a mix made in heaven!

Winner) Gundam Versus

 Just as with Gundam Extreme VS. Force before it, Gundam Versus was not the game we deserved, but it's still pretty good. This SHOULD've been Maxi Boost ON, but we have to do with the hand that we've been dealt, I guess.
 Think of Gundam Versus like a remix of Extreme VS. Full Boost, a 2-on-2 arena based fighting game featuring characters and mobile suits from Gundam. There are nearly 100 different mobile suits, each one with its own moveset, so there's got to be something that you'll have fun playing. The character roster leaves something to be desired when compared with previous games in the franchise, but in a way, I guess it's not half bad not to have the game filled with Gundams and only Gundams for a change.
 If you enjoy fast paced arcade games with a simple pick-up-and-play mentality... this is the game for you. Plus, this is the series first official american release since Z Gundam VS Gundam on PS2!... although, sadly, I think Namco might have killed the series overseas again. And, maybe, even in Japan itself. Namco, you had one job, you dolts!


Most Disappointing game of 2018:
 There weren't too many disappointing games in my 2018, but many of these few hit home and hit hard.

5) Fear Effect

 If you were a teenage kid with raging hormones in the late 90s you wanted to play Fear Effect, it promised blood, boobs and lesbians. You wanted to play it.
 About 20 years later, I finally got around to plying both games, and while the game surprised me in a few ways, mainly with the mature storylines and characters, it also disappointed everywhere else. The games just aren't much fun, with clunky gameplay and silly mechanics. They aren't much fun to play, which proves that some games just need to rely on blood and sex to sell.
 A modern remake, keeping the mature themes and characters but retooling the entire gameplay could be something very special.... except that 2018's revival, Sedna bombed hard! I guess Fear Effect is finally dead for good. A bit of a shame.

4) Prince of Persia - Warrior Within

 Ough, this one stings! Despite its bugs, Warrior Withing was one of my favorite early 2000s videogames when I was younger. Warrior Within was simply TOO good, fantastic platforming and fantastic combat! With tons of weapons and stuff to find, it MADE my early 2000s.
 And the platforming is still fantastic! It's a shame that the combat is SO bland, particularly because this game's focus was its combat. But it's very repetitive and bland, with enemies that block so much that require specific, and repetitive, actions to take down.
 While not an entirely bad game, it's the PoP game I look forwards the least to replay.

3) Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4

 One job, they had one job. I mean, I've already mentioned the lame new character additions, but that... that I could've lived with. I mean, the new Naruto, new Sasuke, new Kakashi, new Obito and new Madara were required to finish the story, and even though we didn't get the seven swordsmen of the mist or new villains from Boruto... I could've lived with that.
 But they ruined the BEST thing about the Ninja Storm games. They ruined the storytelling by having most of their cutscenes, what made these games so epic, replaced with ugly anime stills. If I wanted to watch the ugly anime I would.
 It sucks, man, the Storm games had such a good record, and having the series end on a such a whimper feels so bad.

Runner-up) Gundam Versus

 Japan and I share one thing in common... we love the Gundam Versus series. Heck, a lot of people outside of Japan love the series and wished for the longest time to have the games localized. And it'd be in Namco's best interest to localize the series and make it grow outside Japan, since it could be one of their biggest cash cows, like it's in Japan!
 Firstly, the botched it by creating Gundam Extreme Vs Force for the Vita, a game that even Japan disliked... and the first one they localized over seas. But that's alright, it bombed because it was a spin-off. It's been years since Full Boost's console release, and the Arcade game had received two revisions since. We were ready for Maxi Boost ON release. But nope, Namco wasn't just about to cannibalize their Arcade earnings. The smart idea would've been to release Maxi Boost ON on PS4 while they updated the Arcade Version further. The Arcade Version did get updated, but on console all we got was Gundam Versus. A remixed version of Full Boost with a worst character roster.
 This game right here is unacceptable, and this is how Namco themselves killed one of their best-selling franchises, even Japan hated it. Namco sucks.

Loser) Starshot - Space Circus Fever & Chameleon Twist

 Warrior Within stung, but these ones hurt, they hit me right in the nostalgia. I had a hard time picking between either, but since both represent the same disappointment... I picked both.
 Both games are platformers I used to LOVE when I was younger... and both are grave reminders that most games from the Nintendo 64 have aged horribly. The camera is terrible and the mechanics are almost an endurance test. These games that felt so fun, cheery and looked so bright.... are nothing more than reminders of just how far gaming has come.
 I think... I still have a soft spot for both games, but I'll never be able to enjoy them the same as I used to.


Most Surprising game of 2018:
 Enough with the sappy, depressing stuff, let's brighten up the mood with the games that surprised me the most.

5) Rise of the Argonauts

 Considering its mediocre reception and the fact that everyone seems to have forgotten it existed, my expectations were rather low. Booting up the game and being presented with its awful framerate made me feel fear for the worst.
 ...but it grew on me. The characters were endearing, the gameplay was decent and forging through Jason's quest felt very rewarding. I kept looking forwards to whichever new land I was about to explore, because it was so much fun and the environments were so appealing!
 Rise of the Argonauts is flawed, but it's also fairly entertaining.

4) True Crime Streets of LA

 I was scared. Because, as much as I enjoyed this game when I was younger, I knew that it hadn't aged the best. I had seen a bit of gameplay, and I knew that reviews at the time weren't all that special. The first few chapters also left a poor first impression.
 But the more I played the more I enjoyed it. Sure, it's flawed. VERY flawed, and yes, sometimes it can take you out of the experience. But for the most part? It's a super solid open-world game that, just like the protagonist himself, makes up for what its lacking in pure bravado.

3) The Simpsons Road Rage(Gameboy Advance)

 When you think 'The Simpsons', 'Crazy Taxi clone' is probably not one of the first things that come to mind. It probably never comes to mind. But someone at THQ decided that that was the first course of action with the franchise and, as far as the handheld port is concerned, they made a one brilliant success of what feels like an experiment.
 What surprises the most is how they managed to make the game look so good while also making it feel like it plays in 3-D. This game is a technical marvel and a fun game to boot, one that lends itself perfectly to the console it's on.

Runner-up) Metroid - Samus Returns

 As someone who's never been too big on Metroid, Samus Returns became one of the best surprises I played this year. Lo and behold, probably the best Metroidvania on the system. The game hit pretty much every right note with me, only missing equipment and melee weapons to be JUST what I want, and the strong focus on gameplay makes it a very fun handheld game.
 Still, what struck me the most is that I've probably finally found a game that I can call truly exceptional on the system. It was about time too.

Winner) Prince of Persia - The Forgotten Sands(Nintendo Wii)

 While some games are definitely better than others, the PoP franchise saw a very consistent quality throughout every major release. The Wii version of Forgotten Sands was probably the one I was looking forwards the least, in no small part because the DS releases were rather bland.
 The Forgotten Sands on the Wii matches the HD version in quality beat by beat, and its unique mechanics make it one of the most original entries in the series. It's also one of the best and most underrated games on the Wii.

Best new Character of 2018:
 Not gonna lie, there weren't many new characters that the blog was introduced to this year, which made this picks rather hard.

5) Sir Gallahad (The Order 1886)

 Look at that glorious mustache! And once you're done with that, look at those classy, classy clothes. Sir Gallahad was a slightly cliched, but still interesting new character that followed the 'Discover the evil within' story device to a tee, but at least looked great while doing so.

4) Ash Crimson(The King of Fighters)

 Ash is only so low because I'm slightly cheating a bit with him, since I've already played a few games with him on this blog. BUT, technically I played the games that introduced him AND his story arc this year, so he felt like a decent pick.
 What makes Ash so good is that he is very different from other KoF protagonists and other fighting game protagonists in general. For starters, he doesn't look badass like Kyo or K', instead being a very silly, effeminate freckled trickster, and, to make him stand-out even more... he is a charge character. This is not a shotoclone like every other single main character in a fighting game, he is a charge character!
 To wrap everything up, his whole story arc is pretty interesting, and somewhat sad by the end... although King of Fighters XIII might not be the last we see of him...

3) Gene(God Hand)

 Gene's an idiot, and that's why we love him. He doesn't look like a hero, or a protagonist, and that's alright, because he is not the hero we need, a badass no-nonsense manly man like Kenshiro, but rather, the hero we deserve, a silly goofball that's willing to beg for mercy if it means lowering the difficulty.
 But, hey, he's got some mean looking super moves!

Runner-up) Hana(Fear Effect)

 Hana is... complicated, which is why she's so high up this countdown. She's got more depth than many other characters in videogame history, specially for its era. What could've been a Lara Croft ripoff turned into an Asian mercenary that was born into prostitution before making a name for herself in blood. Not that her past defines her, she's sarcastic, tough and packing one liners as she faces demons from her past.
 As I said before, the best part about the Fear Effect games were its characters, and Hana was just one of many, but, being the main character, probably the one most developed.

Winner) Banjo-Kazooie

 Banjo and Kazooie are a fantastic duo because their entire design, how they look AND how they behave in the game is meant to work together. They are a team, and it shows, Kazooie is always there to aid Banjo, be it to jump higher, fly, run faster or even take care of aerial attacks. I just can't stress enough how well thought-out their entire moveset is, and how ingenious it looks.
 I think that this design doesn't get as much credit as it deserves.


Best Franchise of 2018:
 So maybe I've done a conscious effort to play more franchises every year so that I could have a section dedicated to them. I won't confirm or deny anything, though.

5) Samurai Shodown

 I've always had a somewhat complicated relationship with Samurai Shodown. On one hand, I've always enjoyed playing its games, and some of my favorite character designs come from this series: Kazuki, Enja, Charlotte and Nobuhiro Watsuki's Yoshitora, but I've never really been a hardcore fan. That hasn't changed, but I think I have a newfound appreciation for the series, having invested more time on each game than I did back when I played the Wii compilation, and finally having tried out the PS1 Warriors Rage game only helped in growing my respect for the franchise. It's pretty good... and pretty different from what you expect out of 2-D fighters.

4) The King of Fighters

 The King of Fighters, what a franchise, eh! One filled with highs, lows and everything in-between. But regardless of the entry's quality, the series has always had fantastic character designs that make it stand out from every other fighting game out there, truly, nobody designs them like SNK.
 This year had me revisiting the older KoF games, the ones before K' and... they were much, much better than I remembered them to be. And they only(mostly) got better afterwards(Albeit having to hit a few hard bumps along the way).

3) Prince of Persia

 Ubisoft struck gold with the Sands of Time, and while first couple of sequels stumbled a bit, the handheld offerings left a bit to be desired and they never managed to reach the level of The Sands of Time, they managed to keep the franchise going strong, it's a shame Assassin's Creed pretty much killed any interest in the Prince and his adventures.
 Few games have managed to mix acrobatics and combats as well as this series did, you could argue that Assassin's Creed is the evolution of the formula, but that doesn't work quite as well without a more linear approach to level design. The pace is lost entirely and the level design went in a completely different direction, it's not about platforming through deadly obstacles, but rather, jumping from pretty viewpoint to pretty viewpoint. Entirely different.
 Bring Prince of Persia back, goddammit!

Runner-up) Spyro the Dragon

 I deeply regret not having played Spyro's games back when I was younger and I discovered Crash the bandicoot, because boy, oh boy, did I find myself a fancy new PS1 classics this year! All the PS1 entries are fantastic, classics even, and a few of the PS2 games are pretty decent, it's a shame the lowest points in the franshise are so, SO low. Not even Crash sunk that low.

Winner) Klonoa

 The entire Klonoa series, at least the three games that I managed to play this year, are mighty impressive videogames. All three of them use only two buttons, one to jump and one to grab, and each one has its own unique set of obstacles and mechanics. Every game plays the same, yet, every game feels different from the next.
 It also has a very impressive track record, at least the games that made it overseas were all fantastic in their own right. Which is something not many other series can say(Cough, Spyro, cough).


Worst Cover of 2018:
 There were so many bad covers this year it isn't even funny. I was so close to making it a Top 10, but no one deserves to look at this much trash... wish I could've talked about how lame Smash Ultimate's cover was though!

5) Klonoa - Empire of Dreams

 Let's start with Klonoa. What is this cover? Seriously we've got a mostly white background, with three different Klonoas doing... stuff. It makes as much sense as the game's plot. It's not very appealing to lack at either.

4) Prince of Persia  - The Fallen King

 Prince of Persia for babies. Edgy babies. That's what the cover's telling me, and, sadly, that's pretty much what you're getting. The artstyle is as bland as it's unappealing, which kinda sucks since the background art ain't all that bad.

3) Marvel - Rise of the Imperfects(Nintendo DS)

 The cover looks as good as the game plays... but that's something for the second part of these awards. Is that supposed to be Jax from Mortal Kombat? What the hell is up with Iron-man? Why are Wolverine's claws so damn long? Why does everyone look so ugly and off-model? Even Spider-man isn't spared, look at those flimsy arms! Not Marvel's best moment!

Runner-up) Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 - Road to Boruto

 I'm sure the cover for the original release of UNS4 was alright, I mean, it's right there behind the characters! But this thing is hideous. I don't quite understand what it's supposed to imply, or what they were going for, but the end result is an ugly mess.
 They should've just drawn an entirely new cover. This is thing is about as good as the anime stills used in the game... which I guess is quite fitting, in a way.

Loser) Disney Infinity 2.0

 This is one of the most unappealing game covers I've EVER seen, it tells you pretty much nothing about what's inside of the box, and that's horrible art design. They just grabbed a generic stock photo and imposed Disney's logo on top of it and called it a day. This thing can't even be called a cover, no wonder the game flopped, nobody knew just what the hell they were getting!

Best Cover of 2018:
 There were almost as many good covers as there were bad ones this year, so once again, I was tempted with making it a top 10. But I had to keep things consistent!

5) Turok Dinosaur Hunter

 I'll never stop clamoring against ugly 3-D render covers... but Turok? Turok got it right. It's number 5 because it hasn't aged very well, but at the time of its release? This cover was EPIC. It's a cover that would get ANYONE to rent or buy the game, because it's so well done and eye-catching... even if it's not the most accurate representation of what the game is all about.

4) Avatar the Last Airbender - The Burning Earth

 Characters superimposed on a generic background isn't the best design they could've come up with, but... just look at how detailed the characters are! I want to draw attention to Aang's hands, the shadows on Zuko's arms as well as the kinetic and well drawn poses everyone is in. THIS is a good cover despite its laziness.

3) Deadly Arts

 The art is SO good and well drawn that it tricked younger me into desiring this game until I finally got it this year. It has intricate, if a bit too anime, character designs, but varied enough to pique your interest. If they spent time making such a well-drawn cover, surely they must've spent just as much time crafting a delightful fighting game, right? ...find out on Part II.

Runner-up) Samurai Shodown Anthology

 This cover looks SHARP. While I would've liked a few more characters alongside eternal rivals Haohmaru and Genjuro, the design is fantastic. The chaotic storm brewing behind them, the shadowy terrain the battle takes place in on top of both characters looking as if they just crossed swords while executing their finest attacks... the cover is brilliant.

Winner) Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

 It's definitely not the best drawn cover in this list, but it't the better designed one. The colors they picked are just fantastic and makes everything that needs to stand-out stand-out. I love the contrast of Anakin and Obi-Wan fighting front-and-center, while the background features both of them fighting nondescript enemies, showcasing the fact that both of them are playable characters, all the while Vader's helmet looming over everything.
 I love it, 10/10.