Game of the Year 2016 and Friends
I bought a lot of games this year. I put actual time in with far less than were purchased however. Therefore I'm going to keep this year's list to a top 5 plus honorable mentions. Let's start with the odd ones out.
Game of the Not This Year 2016:
Castlevania Symphony of the Night. I happened to get into speed running this game after attending SGDQ this July. That means I've been playing A LOT of SotN. It's been a blast gradually working my time at Alucard glitchless down from my humble beginnings in the 1 hour range to the 36 minutes I'm capable of today. I don't know how long I'll persist in this endeavor, but there's no question it's my Game of the Not This Year 2016. A run for the interested.
Runners Up and Re-releases:
Caladrius Blaze: Great shmup fun. Just ignore the clothing break system.
BlazBlue Central Fiction: A very solid entry in the long running fighting series. The best place to store your embryos.
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir: A terrific port of the original with a greatly enhanced combat system.
Valkyria Chronicles: Great on the PS3. Great on PC. Great on PS4.
Adventures of Mana: A surprisingly faithful Vita remake of Final Fantasy Adventure (Gameboy).
And now the top five. *drum roll*