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Dixavd

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Game of The Year 2014 Users Choice

So here's my list for the Game of the year for 2014. 2014 has been filled with some of the worst memories of my life, so I'm glad that it's over. As such, the list of games I actually played this year is rather dismal extenuated by the fact that I only completed two games this year, and both were from 2013.

Nevertheless, I found a great comfort with these games that pulled me through the difficult times.

I'd like to also make note of a couple other games that meant a lot to me in 2014 (though not released in 2014), but didn’t make the cut for this list (in no particular order):

  • Fire Emblem: Awakening which I started in January of 2014, and am currently on Chapter 16. I’m not sure when I’ll go back as it will take me a couple tries to complete the chapter (which seems to be very difficult to do with no deaths for the characters that I currently have levelled up) but I do look forward seeing more of it soon. At the moment, my thoughts on the game are mixed and unrefined, so I’ll hold back on judging it until I have finished it.
  • Xenoblade Chronicles This has been in my back-catalogue since 2011 (and even appeared in my 2011 GOTY list; though I was only half-way at the time). I finally took the plunge back into the game this year in tandem with a Let's Play by Chuggaaconroy. It seems I am currently just before the end-game (I'm at the "point of no return" in terms of side-quest completion) and hopefully I will finish it in 2015. I’m pretty sure that this is my second most-played game in 2014. Some of my favourite memories of the year consist on my time with this game, and I consider it a gaming priority to see it to the end. I have so many things to say about Xenoblade, but I’ll wait until I have seen the ultimate fate of the characters (and finish my 100% play through) before trying to articulate them.
  • Pokémon X which I enjoyed a lot through to the end and some time spent in the after-game. I love the improvements made to the series, though I’m less enamoured with the storyline and setting of Kalos. I would have highlighted this on my GOTY list, however I think what enamoured me with X is more effectively represented by 2014’s Pokémon release (no, not the drawing game).

List items

  • Anyone who knows me could have predicted this: Final Fantasy X is my favourite game of all time; I adore it in a way that little else may ever be able to achieve.

    I used to play FFX at least once every year since its release, but I broke the streak in 2011 with the HD versions announcement (limiting myself to more greatly enjoy the rerelease). This meant that by the HD versions release (March 2014) I went in with doubts as to whether it could possibly meet my adoration of the original. These doubts were luckily proven false.

    I’m still as enthralled as ever by the game. Mechanically, the iterations of the old-style JRPG formula still impress (notable favourites being the Expert Sphere Grid design, and the wealth of uses for items) however it is in the story and world of Spira that makes my heart flutter in ecstasy. In this HD re-release, great care has clearly been taken in bringing areas to life. The sharpness of the resulting image and textures reveals details and writing I could not see before. Almost every room feels like there’s something new to discover, and from someone whose hours spent playing the PS2 game have clocked many hundreds of hours, that’s a wonderful treat.

    The other notable change is to the soundtrack of the game. While I still prefer many of the original pieces, the new arrangements have their charm and seem to have been re-recorded in the aim of slightly more nuanced emotions. I feel no animosity, as some others do, towards the score as I find they complement the original versions rather than detract from them. I never felt like something was amiss while playing the game, in fact, I believe the new arrangements, in general, fit the in-game uses better than the originals, even if I prefer listening to the originals on their own. For example, the original Besaid theme is my favourite song ever written, and yet the HD version’s eastern flavour seems to more accurately represent the setting of Besaid.

    I have yet to delve further into the game and achieve the Platinum Trophy (an excuse I’m using merely to force myself to finally complete the Sphere Grid and fight Penance) like I wanted to, but I have many years to come to do that.

    I also didn’t get around to playing the X-2 HD version which I also look forward to. While I hold X-2 to a significantly lower regard than X, I still greatly enjoy it. I’m certain that when I do delve into X-2 HD, I’ll find many new details awaiting me that I hadn’t noticed before.
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