Okay before anyone goes "These aren't 2017 games...", I know that, but all my GOTY lists are never for said year's released games anyway so suck it. The thing is I don't have the money to buy full-priced games on release and this time especially I've not had the privilege of my PC for a whole year because of reasons, so I was stuck with games I could emulate on my very basic laptop. Now that I think about it, how the fuck did this thing run Heavensward? Huh.

But anyway, because I've emulated a lot of old games, I ended up playing a loooot of RPG classics which makes ranking this list a really hard one. In fact the numbers probably aren’t really determinative of some of these games. And boy there have been some really good games over the past decade or three. Some of you might go "wow you haven't played this one?" Well, I didn't grow up with a lot of consoles or PCs. I know we, being my brother and I, had a NES at one point but back then I didn't even know what it was called and I think we only had like...Duck Hunt and Balloon Fight. Then at some point we got a PS1 but we always went for light games like tennis or fishing or Bomberman. Bla bla bla, long story short, I didn't get hooked onto RPGs until way later in my life (i.e. now).

So yes, list!

10. Stardew Valley

Technically I started playing this last year but I didn't really get into it until I decided to try it again this year. And damn was I hooked. Paying a lot of tribute to the classic Harvest Moon 64/Back to Nature (my favourite Harvest Moon games yay!) ConcernedApe still added more features to this that gives this game its own unique identity. Some of these characters have surprisingly emotional backstories which I didn’t find out until way later into the game when I’m already married, which could’ve affected my wooing decisions :P There are a lot of mods that can make your life easier but IMO it really doesn't need it (except fishing because fuck that mini-game).

9. Cook, Serve, Delicious

I usually don’t do super well with management sims but I don’t think this counts as one anyway. It’s more of a typing game isn’t it? In which case would explain why I liked this one so much. I’m pretty good at those games and enjoy them a bunch. This game certainly makes good use of both typing and memory skills with some elements of management which made this game overall very engaging. At some point however, if you’re like me and only stick to 4-5 same recipes that you swap out every day it can get pretty dull. I’d recommend buying a lot of recipe cards and swap them out often for a more challenging experience but I’m boring like that so whatever. I’ll definitely try out CSD 2 at some point when it’s on sale and we’ll see if it’s good enough to be on another GOTY list!

8. Portal 2

This game is long overdue to be played; seeing I’ve had this in my library for ages. I don’t know why I held it off for so long - I think Glados freaks me out. But anyhoo, I decided to finally boot it up and play the multiplayer version with Faust/Avex and I gotta say the physics of this game is 10/10. And the level designs and use of portal guns are so amazingly creative I’m just mad at myself for not playing this earlier. Like how do people think up of this stuff?? And make it into a game that actually applies the concept well?? Physics-based games are always fun times sometimes, but Portal is just on another level. Fuck Half-Life 3, give me Portal 3.

7. West of Loathing

The only 2017 game that made it to the list woo! I bought this not even a week ago and played through it in about 2 days. Not a long game; about 10 hours or so but it's a good one. Stick-figure RPG that's surprisingly elaborate with a silly execution, fourth-wall breakage and a deadpan sense of humour that's bound to make you giggle and chuckle.

6. Fire Emblem Awakening

I think the only other handheld SRPG I’ve played was FFT: War of the Lions and that’s a different series altogether so I didn’t know what to expect for this one. I’m not particularly good at this genre (and many other genres, spoilers) but my friends convinced me that FE: Awakening is a good start for SRPGs *and* the Fire Emblem franchise since it has easy mode so I was more than happy to try it out. Conclusion: Yes I did enjoy the game a lot. I would say the #1 thing that really catches my eye was the artstyle - damn FE has amazing art. Everyone looks really good in the series! And I have a husbando picked! The combat side isn’t lacking either; sure the trinity system was a bit tedious sometimes but that’s why it’s a strategy game I suppose. The relationship-battle system makes the game mindlessly easy - like at later fights my Chrom-Cerys(my MC) combo were countering 8-9 fights in a row and essentially wiping half the battlefield - so maybe I should opt for something more challenging next time. Augh dat art tho.

5. Chrono Trigger

I've always thought Toriyama has an adorable style to his art but unfortunately this one was...well just take a look at Crono or Marle's menu portrait and you'll see. I mean, I don't believe this game was popular for its art anyway. CT has a fantastic storyline with a fairly complex plot involving time travel which I usually groan about because it gets confusing for me :( But in this case it wasn’t so bad, I was definitely hooked and just wanted to keep on playing. The fact that you don't have to grind for levels was the icing on the cake for me; giving the game a nice flow and often felt like you're watching a movie instead. It also has plenty of memorable characters, each with their own backstory that you can explore and grow to adore (*cough* Frog).

4. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

And now we have a game during when Toriyama’s art is more tolerable and more resemblant to my memories of his work :P First off, I never thought I can play an 80-hour game and not realise the time. This game was soooo fun and charming with its characters (King Trode namba wan!), even the monsters were adorable augh. I love how the dialog plays out during battles when you use some of the playful, comical skills, which certainly was memorable. However the game does get very grindy, and painstaking grinding is the only way you can beat the game even when speedrunning so if you don’t have the patience you’d probably hate it. I know I’ve cursed the game many times because of this. But that small bump didn’t faze me from the other wonderful aspects of the game, and that’s why I will cherish all the moments.

3. Hexcells

Note: I said Hexcells but I’m referring to all three games in this series.

I’m a big Picross and Minesweeper fan, and this series is the lovechild of both of those. Seriously, this is one of the best puzzle games I’ve ever played. The simple concept but complex thought processes were intriguing enough to passerbys that my former housemate decided to download it and play it as well. And she was addicted to it like I was! There’s no rush to complete these puzzles, and I would actually advise you against rushing them because you’ll finish quicker then mope around wanting for more. The dev also has two other series of similar puzzles which tbh were good, but not as great as this one. Let’s not forget to talk about the zen-like music which adds to the whole relaxing playthrough. I would definitely recommend this to people who are looking for something simple to play.

2. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Well what can I say about this one? Everyone and their mums know about this game and it’s arguably the best Zelda game amongst the fans. I think. I’m glad I finally got to try this out this year, and finally trying out a Zelda game. I have to admit with the all the hype I had coming into it I originally felt obliged to like it, because “LttP is so gooood, you have to play that one”. In fact I was a bit nervous, and maybe a bit skeptical from the fact that I don’t have much experience from action-adventure RPGs. Dying repeatedly discourages me a lot and often leads to a lot of ragequitting, therefore I am quite thankful to be playing this on an emulator (save states yay). Haters gonna hate, but that’s how I’ll save myself from throwing my controller thanks. With that worry out of the way, I did genuinely enjoy the game throughout. The exploration is great, though in retrospect I didn’t think the level of detail would go down to having to check like every frigging rock or something. Oh well, the more you know! The music was fantastic and memorable for sure, and the dungeons and battles were super creative and well-thought out, albeit very challenging sometimes. It’s no wonder why many people have this as their one of their favourite games of all-time, and I’m definitely welcoming more games like this from now on.

1. Dragon Quest Builders

With all that rambling earlier about emulating games I bet you didn't expect this one did you?? Well not really, if you've heard me gushing about this game on Discord then you'd have a good guess. I've had the opportunity to go home for 3 months this year, and I played this game on my brother's PS4 and oh my god, I've never had more fun with a game than I do with this. Never a frustrated moment from me here. It's basically Minecraft with a questing system, which really scratches that itch of making progression in a sandbox building game. The music was great (taken from previous DQ games, and you can even craft an item that plays them in all their 8-bit glory) and if you're a fan of Dragon Quest in general I’d reckon you’ll love this as well. It’s so lighthearted, relaxing and entertaining that I’m sure it will stay as one of my favourite games ever.

Honorable Mentions (I played 21 games this year, that’s a lot for me :o)

1. Rhythm Heaven Megamix - I love me some rhythm games. This is probably one of the hardest.

2. Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening - I’m 95% complete but this counts right? :(

3. Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga - Oooh I liked this one too. Really wanted to put this one on the list but too bad.

4. Spaceplan - there are good clickers out there guys!