ArbitraryWater's Top 10 Games of 2014 that didn't actually come out in 2014

It's that time again, dear readers. The time for us all to reflect and think "What have I actually accomplished in my life?" In my case, the answer is "I played some video games and didn't do super great this semester". But because I'm not a slave, devoted to games that merely came out this year, I choose to recognize those games that didn't come out this year. What I've learned is that most of the games I played actually did come out this year, and here are 10 others. Games marked with an asterisk have additional commentary below the list.

	1. Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the TitanIf Etrian Odyssey III was the game that finally got me into the series, EO IV is the one that I can actually recommend to others. It's a classical dungeon crawler of superior construction, with a lot of ways to build a viable team and some surprisingly decent writing. *
	2. Valkyria Chronicles I might take issue with Valkyria Chronicles' occasionally discordant tone, but it's a turn-based strategy game that is a step or two away from being one of the all-time greats.*
	3. Gyakuten Kenji 2 I've played every single Ace Attorney game, and this might legitimately be one of my favorites. Certainly helps that it has a professional quality fan translation underlying what is likely some solid writing.
	4. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes BackCrash 2 is a platformer that comes from an era when it was okay to be just a platformer. I can appreciate that sort of purity and Crash 2 still holds up extremely well because of it.
	5. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance The Peanut Butter/Chocolate cross between Platinum and Kojima has many of the strengths of both companies without as many of their excesses. It's short and the combat is perhaps less deep than it appears, but it's a fun crazy ride while it lasts.
	6. Crash Team Racing No joke, might be the best Kart Racer of that era. Sonic and Sega All Stars Transformed is secret best Kart Racer of all time though.
	7. Demon's Souls Weirdly enough, I wasn't super keen on Demon's Souls. Not sure if Dark Souls 2 gave me my fill of sadism or I've just played a better version of this game elsewhere. *
	8. Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow "It's Castlevania yo". Just put that on the back of the box. It's a spacewhipper that does the spacewhipping thing well with few surprises but also few caveats.
	9. Tales of Maj'EyalA surprisingly accessible Roguelike that stole my attention for like a week straight before I remembered that I'm not patient enough to be good at these sorts of games.
	10. Final Fantasy XIII Huh. Well, maybe. I liked it more than I disliked it, and somehow there aren't very many other old games I'd put on this list. What the hell, why not? *

2014's 2013 Game of the Year: Etrian Odyssey IV

Do you like Dungeon Crawling? Sadism? Moe Anime Lolis? Well, I have fantastic news: Etrian Odyssey the Fourth is a game that has all of those things while being somewhat more approachable to normal people than its predecessors. Still, if you're one of those people who "Plays RPGs for the story", boy howdy is this the wrong game for you. It has a story, there's some decently written flavor text, but at no point does EOIV ever pretend that is anything other than icing to the murder cake. And as someone who will always be a mechanics first guy, that's alright by me. Part of my love for this game comes down to polish, it's prettier, better sounding and slightly more streamlined than its forebears (not to mention slightly easier), but it's also still a game that rewards caution and punishes excessive risk-taking. It's also quite flexible with its party building: other than maybe needing a healer and possibly a tank, I think you could get quite creative with how you want to approach your plucky band of anime heroes. (that being said, the classes aren't quite as crazy or unorthodox as the classes in Etrian Odyssey III, but I'll take that over screwing myself over right at the last floor). If you're one of those people who got Persona Q because it had the Persona in it, but still enjoy the tile moving and the monster fighting, may I recommend this as a second taste of Atlus' dungeon crawling expertise?

Best game trying to exhibit the horrors of war and then immediately following it up with the obligatory beach scene: Valkyria Chronicles

For once my old gamesmanship actually bothers to intersect with things that are sorta popular, namely the recent PC port of Valkyria Chronicles that I didn't buy because I already own it on PS3. My issues with its occasionally jarring tonal whiplash aside (and even then, it's not nearly as bad as the second game, but if Patrick Klepek plays more of this game he's going to say a thing or two about where the story goes), I think Valkyria Chronicles is a great strategy game bordering on excellence, with a few things here and there holding it back. I could get into talking about how Scouts are friggin' overpowered in a way they aren't in the second game, or how Welkin is as boring as he is inoffensive, but this is all about positivity so I can emphasize how much fun moving roving death squads of anime teenagers around fake anime World War II is a rewarding strategy experience that Sega should capitalize on more. They won't, but hey, that translation patch for VC 3 is apparently pretty good.

Runner up for Souls Game of the Year: Demon's Souls

I dunno guys. Something about Demon's Souls never clicked with me. Maybe it was the part where I've played two other games like it, maybe it was me playing as a magician and using my mighty spells and crescent falchion to bulldoze through tough enemies, maybe it's just the level-based structure of the thing, but something, something didn't work for me and thus I will resort to the default attitude of "You people who think this game is better than Dark Souls 1 are crazy". That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, or that it isn't well made. I recognize I'm the problem here. If I played it back in 2009, maybe things would be different, but as for now I think I liked Dark Souls 2 more.

A game that I played this year, that just so happened to worm its way onto one of these lists: Final Fantasy XIII.

I've made myself quite clear on Final Fantasy XIII. Namely, that I think it's alright. No more, no less. Sometimes a slog, sometimes a surprise, with an ensemble cast of characters who border between being likeable and being inoffensively bland, it's a game that earns its divisive nature. Still, I'm intrigued enough by the story and enjoyed the combat enough to want to continue the doomed saga of Lightning and friends, and given that I just so happen to have two weeks before school starts... Well, I'll just say that a blog on XIII-2 in the near future is not out of the question. But mostly because I want to play Lightning Returns.

A disappointment that I'm 6 years late for (and one of the reasons why FF XIII made it onto the list): Metal Gear Solid 4

Shit guys. How did Metal Gear Solid 4 almost win Giant Bomb's game of the year in 2008? Were we really so easily enamored by the fact that this so-called "conclusion" to the series wrapped everything up in a disgustingly convenient fashion that we missed the part where the story is a bunch of self-congratulatory wankery wrapped in fanservice? I like crazy Metal Gear. I like watching Drew Scanlon be boggled by the postmodern acid trip pretending to be a stealth game that is Metal Gear Solid 2. But MGS 4 is somehow the wrong kind of crazy and by the end of the 90 minute ending cutscene I sorta wanted to die. Here's hoping that The Phantom Pain is either more grounded or the right kind of crazy, so that we can go back in time and give Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts the game of the year award it so richly deserved.

Gyakuten Kenji 2 is so so good. More people should play it... C'mon Capcom.

MGS4 is amazing. IT'S GOT AN OLD MAN FIGHT ON TOP OF A BATTLESHIP. You are crazy.

Finally, someone else who sees MGS4 for the piece of shit it was.

I'm never gonna finish Final Fantasy XIII. I enjoyed what I played of it and hated every single one of the characters. I really liked the combat. (and the combat theme) In an alternate version of my life I'd have most definitely finished it.

Also, Metal Gear Solid 4 is incredible.

It is!

Other than the ending where Big Boss boils the entire MGS saga down to a pun about Zeroes and One's

You are wrong!

Nuts & Bolts is rad.

Spacewhippers gonna spacewhip. Next year feels like it's going to be a good one for that genre, what with Axiom Verge and a bunch of others I'm forgetting.

I'm trying to think what my top ten non-2014 games would be this year. I'll get back to you once my GOTY awards blog is done, since they may overlap a little.

The 2 Liquid fights were the only good part of MGS4.

That's a solid list..even if there's too much Crash. CTR is awesome though....

That translation patch is indeed solid..

I played Crash 2 again this year, too, and it's every bit as good as I remember. Builds on Crash 1, and before Crash 3 had half the levels become mediocore side things.

And your CTR discussion is dead on. Stop stealing my brain thoughts.

Demon's Souls is a good game it just became massively overrated after Dark Souls was released by die hards. I think it's somewhat better than Lords of the Fallen (which is still good); so it's no longer the worst Souls game or anything. You can't be a sane person while also enjoying the Valley of Defilement, it just isn't scientifically possible, whereas there are arguments for zones like Lost Izalith (even the unpatched version), Blighttown, and Tomb of the Giants that show they have some redeeming qualities.

Note: I think Shrine of Amana is a great zone and Dragon Shrine is ridiculously brutal but there's ways around that.

@grantheaslip: I heard about Hailinel and I'm pretty bummed that guy isn't going to be around any longer. Still, I think that you're right, Final Fantasy XIII achieves a level of competence that a lot of its detractors fail to mention. Characters have arcs, the story has a coherent beginning, middle and end, and the combat gets into the groove of interesting macro-management right around the mid-point. It might take too long for those things to develop, but that's where XIII-2's much better sense of pacing comes in handy.

All the scenes you mentioned for MGS 4 are scenes I enjoyed. There's just a certain absurdity to the excess at play. Know what would make the Microwave Hallway scene more impactful though? If the game didn't keep going for another 2 hours of cutscenes afterwards.

@jazz: I think the presence of two Crash games on this list is more a factor of me not playing a ton of older stuff this year than anything else.

@thunderslash: The old man fight is the best part of the game. AND YES MORE PEOPLE NEED TO PLAY GK2.

I mean, I'm hardly the only person who disliked MGS4. It seems like a lot of people have begun to retrospectively dump on that game or claim they've disliked it the entire time. Still, I will join you in the haters club no problem.

I'm in the same boat of Demon's Souls never clicking with me, and mostly attributing it to playing Dark Souls first. I was too well prepared for the challenges it presents you. I already knew what to expect from several of the bosses, the swamp area, the Bed of Chaos disguised as a dragon fight, and so on. Had I went into Demon's Souls completely blind, I'm sure it could be my favourite of the Souls games, simply for being my first experience with that type of game.

Also, MGS4 is the best Metal Gear game, all of you are crazy.

I'm not a fan of MGS4 myself, but the game is much easier to approach once you realize that it deconstructs the idea of a series' conclusion and continuity fanservice. Kojima deliberately wrote himself into a wall with MGS2 - following up on that game's plot and ending which he never wanted to resolve is literally impossible without handwaves, so I'd say it's still admirable that we got something with such a small number of retcons - so making 4's plot a sequence of dropping convenient nanomachines, old characters and coincidences onto everything was the only way to really wrap things up; the fanservice goes out of its way to be disappointing and say "just play old shit if you want to be nostalgic", with scenes like Naomi's check up on Snake showing in painful detail how embarassed Snake is and how disappointed Naomi is, or Otacon outright saying during the Shadow Moses trip that "there's nothing wrong with being old".

It's not perfect and it most certainly can be a mess - I get why the Beauties are the way they are, but it doesn't make them fun or good in the slightest, even if I slightly enjoyed how they parody the miniboss sob story - but it's also a game you can't divorce from the context of the series. And not even plot wise, since it's not THAT hard to follow, but the cultural and historical context of Kojima's longtime conflict with his audience. It's not as influential as the first one, not as revolutionary and smart as the second and not as plain good as the third one, but I guess it was kinda the point.

And I think TPP is safe - Kojima is in a different place now and is doing Big Boss, whose was also kinda brilliantly introduced as a protagonist so that he never ever has to return to Solid Snake or anything around MGS2.

I agree with the Etrian Odyssey pick. Those games scratch a particular itch in a really satisfying way. I can sort of understand why people aren't drawn to the series that much ( they are niche games built for a niche audience after all), but EO games are always fun for those who enjoy that gameplay style.

MGS4 is a really good game for the first 2 acts, then it's not so great. It's not a terrible game though, certainly better than MGS2. Almost nothing is better than MGS3.

@ghostiet: Yeah, I can see the meta-narrative parts of MGS 4 explaining a lot about that game, but it's still so self-indulgent and messy.

@fredchuckdave: I accept the arguments that Blighttown and Tomb of the Giants are supposed to be shitty, but Lost Izalith is just baaaaad. I should really try Lords of the Fallen though. My PC isn't good enough but I will likely get a PS4 right around the time Bloodborne comes out. Who says there isn't room for multiple games with heavy emphasis on animation priority?

I played MGS 3 and 4. I think three would be my favourite. Watching MG Scanlon, I'm not sure I would've been into MGS 1 and 2. They feel like games with some style, but incomplete at their core. Like they're still figuring out what they are. I guess I'm biased, but I'll say the formula came together in MGS 3. From a gameplay perspective, MGS 5 looks a lot more fun.

What's with this beach scene in Valkyria that keeps getting mentioned? I don't remember it. Is it a PC port thing?

Edit: Also I find it impressive that you've completed (or at least played most of?) more than 10 games from this year. I play so very little. I'm not sure there's been a year where I've finished 10 proper games regardless of their release date. *sigh* I keep looking at my huge backlog filled with J and strategy RPGs (I have other stuff as well, but these ones stare hauntingly at me from my "to-play" list), asking myself why oh why do all of these have to be so freaking long. Yes, it's great having a grande journey and all that, but that feeling of a big overarching plot and good character progression can be achieved in less than 30 hours. It allows the dolling out of different combat mechanics quicker and keeps things fresh. Radiant Historia was a good length for a JRPG, but most are like 15 to 30 hours longer than that.

Yeah EO games are great. I owned 2,3,4 and the various SMT ones as well (Persona Q being the best outta the SMT ones).

I am probably going to play EO Untold: The Millennium Girl, after I complete P:Q.

I love how the dungeons themselves are your biggest enemy, and solving their intricacies and puzzles are immensely satisfying.

@animateria:EO Untold is on my "To play" list for next year (I put a couple of hours into it before deciding to focus on IV), but I think Persona Q is going to take priority over that. And of course, that Etrian Odyssey 2 remake is coming out next year too... Dungeon Crawlers, am I right?

@aegon: I play as many games as I did this year because: A. I am irresponsible and B. I don't do a whole lot else with my free time. I can feel you on lengthy games though. I've been reminded that I don't quite have the time (and maybe attention span?) for long-ass games like I used to when I was in High School. I've "only" put about 20 hours into Dragon Age and need to play more before I can feel comfortable keeping it on my other GOTY list (the one about games that actually came out this year) and then of course there's still Wasteland 2 which I only completed half of in the 30 or so that I've put into it. I love long-ass RPGs, but there's something to be said for brevity.

The beach scene in Valkyria is an optional thing, one of those "special reports" you can buy from the reporter lady. You can unlock it right after you clear out a labor camp filled with the fake anime equivalent to the jews, which rubbed me the wrong way.

That's one hell of a list, mirrors my own experience over the years of finally buying a PS3 for VC1/Demon's Souls, my late foray into FFXIII, and getting deep into DS/PSP games. Though I played the Souls games in order and have a particular soft spot for Demon's, it was strange and utterly captivating at the time (I suppose much like everyone's first Souls game).

I think a big part of why EO is so good is the soundtrack. Yuzo Koshiro laying down those hot jams.

EO4 definitely went a long way in terms of accessibility.

Crash Bandicoot 2 & Warped are still brilliant platformers to this day! While I had already played them plenty back when I was a wee cherub, I had gone back to 2 again this year and 100%'d it again! CTR is also still a lot of fun, though the lack of animation with the racers--and not to mention the variety of karts--leaves the presentation with a little something to be desired. I do like how Polar Bear looks like a goddamned psycho, though.

Any reason why you never gave Warped a try?

I'm sad Twinsanity never got as sequel, as brilliant as the old games were, I feel that that new one was really underrated.

Really solid list. I played about an hour's worth of Etrian Odyssey IV and thought it was pretty rad. It was just one of those games I meant to return to and never did. Maybe I'll remedy that in 2015?

@arbitrarywater: @aegon: The beach scene was originally DLC for the Ps3 version so if you played it when it first came out there's a high chance you didn't see it

The writing and the humour in general was top notch, but the gameplay itself was pretty lacking I'd say. Had a really good soundtrack, though, as well.

@bocam: that makes a lot more sense!

@sparky_buzzsaw: It's a good game! A dungeony dungeon crawler of the highest degree!

@yummylee: I did play most of Warped, I just figured it would be a little weird having 3 Crash Bandicoot games on here. Also it's not as good as Cortex Strikes Back due to some more gimmicky vehicle levels that aren't so great.

Put that on the back of the box.

Wait, I just read the Hailinel leaving bit. What happened? First VGK now him? Are there some secret back-channels through which they explained their departure? Cause it just seems like they left without a word. Someone being less active isn't an alarming thing, but these two cases make it seem like something drove them away.

From what I remember, it had very simple controls, much like the previous games. It was just a bit short.

And speaking of soundtracks, the Mountain slide one will never get erased from my memory.

@aegon: VGK just went to rule his moon kingdom, Hailinel got banned.

@aegon: Don't know what happened to VGK, but Hailinel got into a bit of an argument with a mod or two and decided not to stay. I could fill you in through PM if you really want, as I don't want to hijack the thread for forum drama.

On Topic: MGS4, it's the ballad of a broken man who wanted so desperately to end his involvement with the Metal Gear franchise until Konami essentially said that they'd do it with or without Kojima at the helm, and after Portable Ops left a bad taste in his mouth he reluctantly threw himself back into the fray to wrap things up (again)...or so I hear. Problem being that MGS just keeps printing money for the company, so they keep making them.

Haven't beaten VC yet, but I have beaten VC2, and the great gameplay does give you some mood whiplash when the story parts pop up. The second one especially suffers this when you're literally in an Anime High School that happens to be fighting in a civil war and the main character plays such a small part you wonder why he's even there other than "The Story Says So." Yes, there is the thing with his brother that appears near the end, but it barely matters in the grand scheme of things.

@dochaus: I played VC 2 last year and think that the story of the first game is pretty much the complete works of Shakespeare by comparison. For whatever problems I may have with Valkyria Chronicle's misuse of tone, the second game is way worse in that regard. Also Avan is the worst. The WORST.

Given the quality of most video game stories, I consider that an accomplishment.