SPOILER WARNING!! This blog contains spoilers for Pyre. I'd consider them minor, but they are definitely spoilers.

What do you do when your life isn’t turning out how you thought it would? Or more importantly, how you wanted it to? When you feel like you’ve been tossed out, like nobody cares about you, that you will never be successful, and have reached rock bottom? You know, when life gives you all those proverbial lemons, how do you go about making lemonade?

The characters of Pyre all face such a situation. Cast out from the “normal” society of the Commonwealth, they find themselves in a prison wasteland called the Downside. The name is not just to sound cool; it is “down,” or below what’s commonly seen as a successful life. The insinuation of course is that those who are exiled are lesser beings, and if they want any chance of having a good life again, they must win the rites and return to the Commonwealth. This outlines a very clear, direct measure of life’s success in the world of Pyre: you either succeed in the Commonwealth, or fail in the Downside. That’s just how life is.

Or is it? Is there really only a single measure of “success?” This is one of the big questions posed by Pyre, both mechanically and narratively. That may seem antithetical to normal video game logic, where there’s often a clearly defined victory state. But Pyre has no “game over” screen, and no designated failure state. It encourages us to embrace our journey, warts and all, and it can play out in different ways; the game continues ever onward, regardless of whether you “win” or “lose” any given rite. And there are plenty of cases where winning a rite isn’t even the ideal outcome for everyone on your team. One of my most profound moments in my playthrough was during a liberation rite against the Essence, aka the tribe of harps. Pamitha was on my team, her sister Tamitha a member of the Essence. Pamitha feels for her sister, who hates living in the downside much more than her. So she prefers to lose the rite so that Tamitha may be freed. It was the moment that made me realize “winning" in the traditional sense isn’t everything for everyone in this world.

That seemingly small realization blossomed as I continued playing, and it became apparent from then on that each and every character dealt with living in the downside drastically differently. Some, like Tamitha, wanted out no matter what. Others, like Pamitha, were more inclined to accept their life in the Downside and make the best of it. And what I found most interesting is that the characters who were obsessed with being “freed” from the Downside ended up being the more tragic, or even downright insufferable characters. Tamitha was always rude and demanding, and felt her life was worthless unless she could return to the Commonwealth. Oralech, who was once cheated out of his freedom by a team member who tried to steal it from him (she met a grizzly fate herself), clearly has no joy of life; his entire purpose seems to be regaining the freedom he feels he is owed.

And then, of course, there is Manley.

Manley, for lack of better words, is a pompous asshole. He thinks he's entitled to everything, and that it's a huge mistake he wound up in the Downside in the first place. He acts all proper and friendly on the surface, perhaps overly so. But the instant he’s denied what he wants, he gets real prickly, real fast, and reveals himself to be a lying, scheming jerk. Nobody likes Manley, the guy who pretends to be “the nice guy” only to stab you in the back to climb up the proverbial ladder and achieve a high status in society. He’s not fooling anyone, and comes off as an incredibly fake person as a result.

Manley is an extreme, however. There are others, like Dalbert, who simply feel a religious duty to complete the rites. Or a personal favorite, Barker, a rock and roll dog who simply likes to stir things up. He doesn’t give a damn about “freedom” or the “Commonwealth.” He just wants to kick your ass on the field because that's a good time. But for everyone who wants to win the rites, for whatever reason, there are just as many who find meaning and solace in life in the Downside beyond the rites. This includes many of your own team members, who are often bittersweet if you send them on following a successful liberation rite. After all, many of them were outcasts even while living in the Commonwealth. Life wasn’t so grand there, as they had to play by all sorts of rules they didn’t particularly care for. In the Downside, however, they can make their life into whatever they want it to be.

This is the emotional core of Pyre, and you see it play out in a number of ways. You see Sir Gilman show immense joy in the camaraderie he has with his teammates. Hedwyn and Jodarial similarly find friends in the Downside that they could never have found in the Commonwealth, and become sad when separated. The vagabond (I don’t care what anyone says, her name is Xae!) finds a lot of peace in her religion, which was not accepted up above. Bertrude finds purpose in her alchemy, which she can practice in peace, on her own terms, in the Downside. You get the impression that none of these characters would be happier in the Commonwealth. So why fight to get back there? Why is there such a premium on returning to a place that doesn’t allow you to be who you are?

Sandalwood straight up asks you at one point, “What does freedom mean to you?” It may be a little on the nose, but it also serves as a good gut check on what you’re really looking for. Is returning to the Commonwealth all freedom means to you? Or is freedom something at once more grand and more personal? What if everyone is allowed to define their own freedom, rather than follow the freedom defined by the powers that govern a narrow and strict society? Sandalwood obviously has an extreme bent to his motives, as he seeks revolution to dismantle the Commonwealth entirely. But I think his heart is in the right place. He wants everyone to live their life as they see fit, not by the rules set forth by a (possibly corrupt) governing body.

Which brings up back to our original question: What do you do when your life isn’t turning out how you thought it would? The characters of Pyre all found themselves in the Downside, and I would guess that’s not how most of them envisioned their life going. But once there, what do you do? Do you wallow in it, and wish it was different? Or do you embrace your position in life and make the best of it, possibly discovering that it's not that bad after all? As we see through the fates of each of its characters, Pyre clearly suggests the latter, and I think it’s a powerful and positive message. There are times where you may really want, or even feel you need something in your life, but you can’t have it for any number of reasons that may or may not be fully in your control. It’s understandable to get down in these situations, and I’ve certainly been there plenty of times. But Pyre poses the question: what if you find the ups instead? What if you stop wishing for a life you don’t have, but rather grab on to the one you do have and make the best of it?

In other words, don’t be a Manley. Nobody likes a Manley.

Like many of you, I came away from E3 2017 extremely excited about Super Mario Odyssey. It's easily one of the coolest games I saw at the show (its only possible rival in my book being Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus), and one of the things I really liked about the new Odyssey trailer was the song. Not only is it a super catchy and fun song, but I think that "swing" style works really well for Mario. If a lot of the soundtrack follows that mold, I'm pretty eager to hear it. It's good stuff.

Needless to say, I've listened to that song a good number of times since it debuted (I said it's catchy!), and once I paid attention to the lyrics... something struck me. It's possible that Nintendo may be more "meta" with this song than it first seems. In fact, this entire song almost feels like one big sales pitch for the game, the Nintendo Switch itself, and perhaps the company's outlook going forward. Of course I could be reading way more into it than anyone ever intended, but I still thought it might be a fun exercise to break down the lyrics and see what Nintendo is actually saying. First, here's the song, and I got the lyrics from the info on this same video. After listening closely, they seem accurate enough.

Catchy, right? Anyway, I'll dissect the lyrics in chunks. Away we go!

Here we go, off the rails,
Don't you know it's time to raise our sails?
It's freedom like you never knew!

Don't need bags, or a pass,
Say the word I'll be there in a flash!
You could say my hat is off to you!

Oh, we can zoom all the way to the moon,
From this great wide wacky world!
Jump with me, grab coins with me,
Oh yeah!

Right off the bat, in the very first line, we get the crux of Nintendo's entire pitch for Mario Odyssey: we're going "off the rails." They're billing the game as a "sandbox" 3D Mario game, similar to Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, and this line is saying as much. Nintendo's come under fire a number of times over the past few years (and not just for Mario) for making their games more linear and "hand-holdy." The entire pitch for Mario Odyssey feels like a reaction to that criticism, and a deliberate callback to earlier Mario games. Hey, it worked for Breath of the Wild, right? This has become the theme for Nintendo's year, and in some ways the entire Switch platform.

The rest of these first three stanzas continues to echo that promise of freedom and exploration. I mean, you can't get more blunt than that third line: "It's freedom like you never knew." You don't need a "pass" (ie, permission to do things), and you can go "all the way to the moon" (possibly a reference to Super Mario Galaxy, but more likely just continuing to express the level of freedom to expect). Overall, it's a "wacky world" that you're invited to explore how you wish. These three stanzas capture that in a nutshell.

Amusing aside: If you read "sails" as "sales," you could ponder about Nintendo trying to bounce back from the poor sales of the Wii U. But that reading may be a bit of a stretch ;)

It's time to jump up in the air!
Jump up, don't be scared!
Just jump up and your cares will soar away!

And if the dark clouds start to swirl,
Don't fear, don't shed a tear 'cuz,
I'll be your One-Up Girl!

So let's all jump up super high!
High up in the sky!
There's no power-up like dancing!

You know that you're my Super Star,
No one else can take me this far!
I'm flipping the switch,
Get ready for this,
Oh, let's do The Odyssey!

These next four stanzas comprise what I consider the "chorus," as we see this same basic set of lines again later. The first two stanzas here are basically asking us to jump in. This is where the song is at its most sales-pitchy, trying to extend a hand and say "come on, dive in, the water's great!" It's assuring us that things really are good this time: "don't be scared," "your cares will soar away," and "don't fear, don't shed a tear" are all trying to comfort us. The singer then identifies herself as "your One-Up Girl" (which I imagine is the name of the song?), simultaneously making a video game pun and saying "hey, I'm here to help you along!" It's peppy, it's encouraging, and it's really trying to get us to shake off any doubts we may have about giving Mario Odyssey a shot.

The next two stanzas follow that same basic premise, but turn slightly from the idea of comforting us, towards empowering us. These lines highlight the fun of jumping "high up in the sky," and make references to power-ups, most directly the Super Star. The Super Star line is not only letting us know that there will be fun power-ups in the game, but doubly calls us the "super stars." These stanzas are trying to convince us that we'll feel powerful and have a great time; we're the people who really matter in this whole thing. Nintendo has us at the forefront of their thoughts when it comes to Mario Odyssey.

The most curious lines to me are the next two: "No one else can take me this far! I'm flipping the switch." I feel like the word "switch" can't be coincidental in the chorus; they're really trying to pump up the Switch as being a fresh and bold new console that's a new leaf for Nintendo. The actual line "flipping the switch" even makes it sounds like they're making a change. At the same time, the previous line alludes to how far Nintendo has come. It's almost like they're trying to remind us how long they've been around, and how they've made tons of great games before. As much as the Switch is the "new" thing, games like Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey have plenty of clear, deliberate throwbacks to Nintendo's beloved past, and try to go back to what made us fall in love with them in the first place. It's all a smart concoction of taking the things we loved about the past (what's "taken us this far"), and promising a bright new future ("flipping the switch"). It's effective.

Odyssey, yes see (x7)
Odyssey, Odyssey!

Spin the wheel, take a chance,
Every journey starts a new romance,
A new world's calling out to you!

Take a turn, off the path,
Find a new addition to the cast,
You know that any captain needs a crew!

Take it in stride, as you move side-to-side,
They're just different points of view!
Jump with me, grab coins with me,
Oh yeah!

After perhaps too much chanting the word "Odyssey," the next three stanzas echo the sentiments of the first three again. It's once again making the pitch that Mario Odyssey is about getting out there, taking a chance, and exploring off the beaten path. They really want us to know that this is a "sandbox" game like some of the older Mario games, particularly Mario 64. The only individual lines that add much new to me are in the third stanza here. It talks about moving side-to-side as "just different points of view." The trailer showed a few instances where you'd basically become a 2D painting on the wall (similar to A Link Between Worlds' central mechanic), turning this predominantly 3D Mario game into a 2D one in spots. I personally think it's a potentially cool idea, as I like both 2D and 3D Mario games, and these lines appear to be trying to promise us that both styles are indeed great. They're just different points of view, and there's room for both. Part of me feels like it's borderline screaming "PLEASE DON'T WORRY THAT THIS THING IS NOT LIKE MARIO 64! YOU'LL STILL GIVE IT A TRY RIGHT!?"

Come on and jump up in the air!
Jump without a care!
Jump up 'cuz you know that I'll be there!

And if you find you're short on joy,
Don't fret, just don't forget that,
You're still our One-Up Boy!

So go on, straighten out your cap,
Let your toes begin to tap,
This rhythm is a Power Shroom!

Don't forget, you're the Super Star,
No one else could make it this far!
Put a comb through that 'stache,
Now you've got panache!
Oh, oh, let's do The Odyssey!

It's time to jump up in the air!
Jump up, don't be scared!
Just jump up and your cares will soar away!

And if the dark clouds start to swirl,
Don't fear, don't shed a tear 'cuz,
I'll be your One-Up Girl!

Now listen all you boys and girls,
All around the world,
Don't be afraid to get up and move!

You know that we're all Super Stars,
We're the ones who made it this far!
Put a smile on that face,
There's no time to waste,
Oh, let's do The Odyssey!

The last eight stanzas are basically that four stanza "chorus" I identified earlier, repeated two more times. There's a few minor tweaks to the lines each time, but many of the lines are the same, and the overall gist is very much the same. This is where the song tries to comfort and empower us, letting us know that Mario Odyssey is a safe and fun game to just jump right on into. I particularly like the lines about combing your "'stache," which will give you "panache" (ie, confidence). I'd like to think whoever wrote that line had the Mario & Luigi games in mind: RPGs where you actually have a 'stache stat to raise. Anyway, these stanzas once again tell us "don't be afraid" and that "we're all Super Stars." It's also got plenty of item references, and likes to remind that we've all "made it this far."

To wrap up, the entire song kind of came across like a big sales pitch once I really dug into the lyrics, though it's almost even more "meta" than that. Parts of it hint at how Nintendo got to this point from the Wii U to the Switch, and is indicative of how they're trying to win fans back over by calling back to games like the original Zelda and Mario 64, while also saying this is very much an exciting new start for the future. And so far it seems to be working; the Switch is selling great, Breath of the Wild was great, and now Mario Odyssey looks great. I for one am looking forward to playing it.

Thanks for reading. I really do like this song, and had a fun time digging into it (and listening to it a lot). I also fully recognize that I may be imagining all of this; this song could just as easily be about nothing more than dancing (which is directly mentioned multiple times, and "The Odyssey" is clearly some slick new dance). I'll stick with my version though ;)

First we ranked Super Mario. Then we ranked The Legend of Zelda. Now we're back, this time to rank the Final Fantasy games.

This was the trifecta of game series that we always wanted to rank, and ironically enough, Final Fantasy was the original inspiration. My brother set out on a personal quest a few years ago to play through all the main Final Fantasy games. I had completed that same quest a long time ago, so I said offhand that we should compare and rank all the Final Fantasy games once he was done. Once that idea gained some traction, we thought why not do some other franchises too? So we rounded up some like-minded friends, tackled Mario and Zelda while we waited, and when my brother capped off his run with Final Fantasy V earlier this year, we knew it was time. So this afternoon we came together and ranked all the main Final Fantasy games best to worst.

To cover some logistics, we only did the main, numbered, single player games. That is, Final Fantasies 1-15, minus the MMOs (so 13 games in all). Sure, we could have delved into the wild world of spinoffs and sequels and what have you, but that felt unnecessarily convoluted. Plus, not enough of us have played too many spinoffs, just the odd Tactics or Theatrhythm here and there. We decided to keep it pure and simple, which I think was for the best (for time purposes if nothing else). It's worth noting that there are story spoilers abound in this thing (not to mention some detailed gameplay talk). We got a lot deeper into some games than others (I'd say VI, VII, VIII, and X have the heaviest story spoilers), but pretty much every game has something we mentioned that could be considered at least a minor spoiler. While that's likely obvious when debating the Final Fantasy series, it's probably worth clarifying that yes, there be spoilers.

There were 5 of us on the panel, most of which were on our previous rankings: myself (they call me 'Flex' on the podcast... don't ask), my brother Nate, our host Paul, Ryan, and Stephanie (all longtime friends). The result was a roughly 4 hour melee to jockey in favor of the Final Fantasy games we did or did not like relative to the others. In all honestly, this one was relatively civil, despite some clear disagreements and the occasional heated moment. And more importantly, I think we all had fun with it :) I'll post the final ranking below, behind a spoiler tag. Listening to the arguments will make the list make a whole lot more sense, but I also don't begrudge anyone who doesn't have time to listen to a 4 hour podcast! It should also be said that, as with all of these lists, it often becomes a compromise. Nobody gets every game where they want it, but rather our opinions and preferences get melded into some sort of consensus list. As much as I try to fight for the "correct" ordering, it turns out people can be really stubborn about such things ;)

As for said podcast, you can listen to it in 2 ways, and as I explain these methods I also have our broader podcast to plug. Called 'ATACS' (which stands for 'Adults Talk About Cool Stuff'), these friends and I have been podcasting every other week for some months now (plus some other rotating cast members who didn't participate in the Final Fantasy discussion). Given that, we pulled our Ranking of Final Fantasies podcast into the ATACS fold, and it is listed with all the other episodes: regular episodes, our other rankings, and even a GOTY 2016 special we did. If you're interested, all of these (including this Final Fantasy discussion) can be found here:

1. Direct mp3 downloads here

2. YouTube playlist here

All future episodes and specials will go to those same locations as well, if you care to keep up in the future. Podcasting has been a lot of fun, both talking about video games and figuring out the technology to do it. I think we've gotten better at both over time- I think we're more natural talkers now, and I've worked a lot on our audio quality (occasional hiccups aside... we had one person with a poor connection at times in this FF discussion for example). We'll keep doing it too :)

Anyway, enough about that, I think that covers it. Thanks for reading/listening, and I hope you enjoy the list and/or podcast! Feel free to post your own Final Fantasy rankings thoughts, as I'm sure something on that list rubs you the wrong way :) Who knows if we'll do more rankings on the future; that's all we had planned... but I have other ideas I may try to convince people on. We'll see!

I’m climbing to the top of a mountain in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Why am I climbing this mountain, you ask? Did the story dictate I do so? Is there a quest marker pointing me there, or a collectible to help me fill out a checklist? Is it simply in my way, an obstacle to traverse, as I head towards another required objective? There are a lot of reasons I’m climbing this mountain, but none of those are among them. First, according to my map, it appears there is a lake and some ruins on top, and I want to see what those are. Second, as I climb I can look over my shoulder and soak in the gorgeous sunset from a great viewpoint. Third, climbing is fun. Fourth, mountains are tall, and you can see things from them. In the case of Breath of the Wild, you can see lots of things. Things that could be interesting and worth exploring: towers, shrines, villages, bridges, fields, lakes, ruins, and yes, even more mountains. And the more you see and explore, the more you’re able to prepare for your ultimate goal of defeating Ganon.

One of the seemingly small, yet brilliant things Breath of the Wild does is give your final, and only, objective right at the start. And then just as critically, it lets you go about tackling that objective in whatever way you see fit. You can try to approach Hyrule Castle from the jump, but that is a Herculean task at best without at least some amount of additional preparation. That’s where the open world comes in, which is littered with seemingly endless, entirely optional, and very interesting things to explore, most of which will help you prepare for your showdown with Ganon. Complete shrine puzzles to increase your health and stamina. Hunt and scavenge to prepare meals that restore health and provide status buffs. Scavenge for korok seeds, rupees, and monster parts to purchase and upgrade your equipment. Fight enemies to practice the combat. Learn about the world and its history to understand what you’re up against, and what may aid you in that fight. Everything you do ultimately feeds into your one goal down the road.

Additionally, everything in this open world is worth engaging with on its own merit. It’s important to emphasize the level of execution here, as exploring Hyrule wouldn’t be fun if the design of this world and its many interacting systems weren’t top-notch. Fortunately in Breath of the Wild, they are. Hyrule is meticulously detailed, unfailingly gorgeous, and full of an impressive variety of highly interesting things to engage with. I could spend thousands of words talking about those interesting things, but for now take my word for it. And more for our purposes, it’s the fact that Breath of the Wild simply lets you dive in and go for it that stands out to me. All of that careful design is engineered to promote our own exploration. Yes, Breath of the Wild gives you one goal to complete, and yes, you can ignore everything else. But that goal creates a purpose, and the rest is simultaneously fun and meaningful with regards to your goal. That’s a potent combination that makes me want to explore; this is neither a frivolous sandbox nor a rote checklist of activities. It’s a highly engaging, dynamic world full of interesting things, and it also makes sense thematically in that you’re preparing for a fight. You have a clear goal up front, but how you go about exploring this world and achieving that goal is entirely up to you. In other words, Breath of the Wild sets the table perfectly for you to play.

That may sounds silly to say out loud; after all, video games are inherently all about “play,” right? It’s what the entire medium is built upon, as “interactive entertainment,” right? In some ways, sure. On a weirdly definitional level, pretty much all video games involve “play.” But I would argue that plenty of video games don’t really let us play. To give some examples, if you’re clicking through dialogue, is that really “play?” What about a quick-time event? Following a waypoint marker? Selling otherwise useless loot? Managing the rest of your loot? Fighting the same encounter for the dozenth time, where the path to victory is the same as every previous time? Think about how many actions you regularly perform in video games that don’t require much thought on your part, and maybe don’t even require much from an input or execution standpoint either. I’m obviously speaking in broad generalizations, but video games have found plenty of ways over the years to circumvent the need for us to interact with them in any meaningful way. They can be easily digestible “rides” as much as anything, and I’ve often wondered what my role is in the games I’m ostensibly playing. Sometimes I can feel like a passive observer as much as anything, which is not what I’m usually looking for in my favorite pastime.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not necessarily trying to criticize such things in games. There can be all sorts of reasons to enjoy a video game, and more power to anyone who can, say, watch a twenty minute cutscene and come away satisfied. For me and my preferences, however, I come to video games to play. To actively and meaningfully participate, to make decisions I care about, to explore and engage in interesting mechanics, to discover wondrous things, to learn and hone a skill, and so on. Even better is experiencing new ways to play, even when they’re subtle. Given that, it can be a little tiresome when it feels like games do not push those boundaries, and instead chase more passive experiences. I feel like there was a period within the past decade or two, as we entered the 3D and then HD eras, as graphical technology grew flashier and more powerful, where a lot of games strive to be ever more cinematic, to create something exciting to see, but not always exciting to interact with. Of course there have always been (and likely always will be) games of all kinds, but there was a lot more noise for me to sift through. It was starting to get a little old.

An interesting shift has been happening in recent years, however. I feel like there’s been a resurgence of games that put play first. Going back to Breath of the Wild for a minute, you can more or less see this shift within The Legend of Zelda franchise itself. I would argue that over time, from the original Zelda through Skyward Sword, almost every Zelda game was more passive than the one before it. Skyward Sword came out in 2011, and in many ways represented the culmination of wider design trends from the preceding decade. Like a lot of games of that time, but unlike the early Zelda games, it was a very directed and cinematic experience. Again, that can be fine in ways (Skyward Sword’s other issues aside), but it didn’t leave much room to play. After Skyward Sword though, Nintendo experimented a little with A Link Between Worlds, which released in 2013. Not only did it hearken back to the days of A Link to the Past, which was substantially more active than Skyward Sword, but it also experimented around the periphery even further. It was the most interactive Zelda game in a long time, and set the stage for Breath of the Wild, which is so player-driven that the only Zelda game it bears any possible resemblance to is the 1986 original.

This trend is by no means exclusive to Zelda. Breath of the Wild is simply one of the bigger, more recent, and perhaps more illustrative examples worth elaborating on. But since Skyward Sword came out in 2011, I’ve seen signs of of more “active” games in all sorts of places. Indie games have really taken off over the past so many years, leading to tons of wonderful games that promote play in unique ways. Play-oriented things like rogue-likes and survival games have become almost ubiquitous now, and plenty of games have experimented with ways to incorporate online communities in clever fashion. And of course, there are a chunk of seemingly traditional “big budget” games that have found awesome new ways to promote play. For me, I can look back at my two favorite games from 2016 and see very clear signs that developers are once again embracing play. Just as Breath of the Wild reaches back to rediscover its play-oriented roots, Doom and The Witness hearken back to games from the 1990s that were also very centered around play. The new Doom (almost literally) punches droll exposition to the side whenever it threatens to detract from your play, and The Witness is so hands off it barely gives you direct goals or measures of progress. There's certainly a lot more that goes into both games' successful design, and they ultimately create fun, interesting, and interactive mechanics, scenarios, and spaces, all to say “Just dig in and play.”

Despite how much these particular games embrace the sensibilities of the past, none of them feel like they are meant to be nostalgic throwbacks either. I’m not someone who thinks that the old stuff was always better, and I’ll be the first to admit that games like Breath of the Wild, Doom, and The Witness employ a lot of worthwhile modern conventions. In fact, what’s perhaps most impressive about them is the way they take that spirit of play that seemed more prevalent in gaming’s earlier days, and have adapted them to modern design sensibilities to achieve the best of both worlds. Breath of the Wild’s generous checkpoints and climbing mechanics encourage you to follow your curiosity without great fear of losing progress. Doom’s clever collectibles and upgrades lend it a rewarding sense of progression and customization that its older versions lacked. The Witness, for all its proposed obtuseness, communicates much more clearly how you interact with the world than, say, Myst ever did. The difference is that they never let their modern concessions stand in the way of your own personal interaction. If anything, these concessions empower you to interact more; they all say “yes” way more than they say “no.” By being less punishing, offering more meaningful upgrade choices, or communicating more clearly, these games create more dynamic ways to play while avoiding additional barriers. The result is that when you are playing games like Breath of the Wild, Doom, or The Witness, you really are playing them every step of the way.

In my friend group, I’ve garnered somewhat of a reputation for being “the gameplay guy” (however you’d define that). They perhaps see me as the hard-nosed purist who puts “gameplay” above all else. I can understand how someone would think that, as I obviously value “play” when it comes to video games. But I’d also argue that the idea of “play” is such a broad and fundamental aspect of the medium that everything else is intrinsically tied to it. In other words, being a “gameplay guy” is akin to being an “everything guy.” Valuing “play” doesn’t mean that I don’t value things like thoughtful stories, smooth pacing, bombastic set pieces, or strong audiovisual presentations in games. I only get frustrated when other aspects impose themselves at the cost of play, which usually means they exist separately from the play experience itself in a sloppy way. For example, I’m the first to roll my eyes when told to play a game “for the story,” because that usually means the “story” and the “game” are separate entities, and that the latter is worse for it. And maybe I’m just an overly ambitious idealist, but I don’t believe these things need to be separate. I think you can have, say, a great story in a game that is also part of the play experience in a positive and meaningful way. Video games are an interactive medium, so I don’t think embracing play needs to rule out anything else. Rather, everything can be assimilated into a rich, multi-faceted, yet cohesive whole, bound together by the very thing that defines and separates video games from other media: play.

That’s why it’s been refreshing for me to see so many games lately rediscover how wonderful play can be. I’m over 40 hours into Breath of the Wild, and I’m just as excited to see more of this world as I was when I started. When I finished Doom, I immediately started the campaign over again, which I almost never feel like doing when I finish a game’s campaign. I didn’t put down The Witness until I had opened every laser box, completed the “final” challenge, and then spent more time still looking for even more puzzles. In each of these cases, the drive was never to complete a checklist or see a quest to its end just so I could move on. I simply enjoyed playing each game, and kept playing until I no longer had a strong desire to play. How that manifests may differ from game to game, but each of these examples embraces play to the fullest. I think this has been happening more and more over the past few years, and it’s been a real treat to see this medium I love rediscover the pure joy of play on which it was built. And just as important, see it realize that a focus on play is not a limitation, but a connective tissue that can empower a seemingly endless variety of interactive experiences.

So why am I climbing this mountain in Breath of the Wild again? The same reason I do everything else in Breath of the Wild: because I want to play.

The dust is settling on another year in games, one which I thought to be a pretty good one for our favorite pastime here on Giant Bomb. I, like many others, propped up my own list of my 10 favorite games of the year, which turned out to be a pretty tough exercise this go-around. I ultimately feel very good about that list though, and am confident those are the 10 games I got the most out of in 2016. However, it’s years like that that drive home the fact that there’s well more than 10 games that matter in any given 12 month span. There’s simply a lot of good games out there right now.

Given that fact, along with the fact that I didn’t really do much writing about the other games I played in 2016, I thought I’d have some fun and shake things up with a supplementary list: ranking every single game released in 2016 that I played during the year. I didn’t put quite as much thought into this as my top 10, so I consider it a “rough” ranking. I also touched a whole lot of games from 2016--seriously, way more than I ever expected--and there are still plenty of 2016 games I have yet to get to. So this turned out to be another tough exercise, but I did the best I can with this list as of the time of writing, which is January 5, 2017. I had fun doing it too :) Thanks for reading!

1-10: See my GOTY 2016 list

11. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse. Every year has the “tough” cut. You know, the one game I really want to showcase on my top 10 list, but just can’t fit in. In 2016 that game was SMT4 Apocalypse. This was my first dive into a non-Persona SMT game, and I now see why the series has the clout it does. It’s a very solid dungeon-crawler, my favorite part being the highly tactical (and often tough) battles that demand you consider all your options; this is a JRPG where you can’t blindly mash your way through any encounter, which I appreciate. I also still really like the demon-fusing system, which continues to allow for tons of great customization. The game falls down in two spots for me. First, it’s kind of dry, and the story never grabbed me. Second, it’s simply too long for my tastes, and became a real grind once I passed 40 or 50 hours. Otherwise, I really got into this one.

12. Firewatch. This was also a tough cut for me; Firewatch turned out to have my favorite narrative among every game I played in 2016. Its various themes resonated with me on a personal level substantially more than most games, and the strong writing and voice-work made Henry and Delilah two of my favorite characters of the year. The music is great stuff too. If only there was more to engage with as a game, this would have easily cracked the top 10.

13. Hitman. I’m projecting a little bit here, as I haven’t played but a few measly hours of Hitman so far. But I’m already struck by just how fun it makes engaging with these large, well-crafted clockwork levels. It’s also supremely silly in all the right ways. I’ve never been a fan of stealth games, but I appreciate the way Hitman encourages you to just experiment and play with coming up with your own crazy schemes for taking out your targets. And it also provides enough nudges to get you started if you feel lost. It strikes that smart balance of giving feedback while allowing for creativity, which is something that’s not only critical to a good stealth game, but a useful lesson for games at large. I'm looking forward to playing more.

14. Salt and Sanctuary. Dark Souls is one of my favorite series. It turns out I still like the formula when translated to 2D as well. That’s how Ska Studios described their own Salt and Sanctuary, and that’s more or less what the game is--a positive in my book. I don’t think the level design or combat are always on par with the games that inspired it, and I have my personal gripes with the skill tree and secondary currency. But for the most part, Salt and Sanctuary effectively scratches the same itch as one of my personal favorites, and I had a ton of fun with it.

15. Inside. What a supremely well-crafted game, and holy cow that final segment is one of the most insane things I’ve seen in a video game in a while. Inside is a game you kind of get sucked into, thanks to some truly amazing atmosphere and pacing. I just wished I liked the puzzles more. As someone who generally likes “puzzle platformers,” the ones in Inside turned out to be very straightforward, and rarely grabbed me. Play this one primarily for the presentation.

16. AM2R. This one may or may not technically “count,” but this is a really impressive fan remake of Metroid II. AM2R gets closer to matching the quality of a Nintendo-made 2D Metroid game than it reasonably should, and it doesn’t hurt that Metroid II is the Metroid game that most needed a remake. Nintendo also hasn’t made a proper Metroid game in a long, long time, meaning AM2R fills a big gap for me. There’s nothing particularly profound about it past being a fan project that turned out very well, but if you like 2D Metroid games, this one is worth it.

17. The Banner Saga 2. When it comes to sequels, it doesn’t get any more “sequel” than The Banner Saga 2. Picking up exactly where the first game left off, including carrying over all your choices, character levels, and items, this one keeps running with everything I liked about part one. Stunning art, effective music, a bleak atmosphere, and interesting tactical battles. There’s nothing new or novel here to speak of, but I’m still invested in this cast of characters, and their fight for survival in this oppressive world.

18. Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. After Uncharted 3 presumably sent the series off with a lackluster sense of closure, it was a real nice surprise for me to get a follow-up that did give us a wonderful ending to Nathan Drake’s story. Uncharted 4 is, in most ways, “another Uncharted game.” But it also told the best story the series has told yet, with an ending that stuck (mad props to the game’s writers and actors). That makes it probably the best Uncharted game? Even if the otherwise functional gameplay has kind of run its course.

19. Rhythm Heaven Megamix. You know what? Rhythm Heaven is rad. Even if half of Megamix’s minigames came from ones previously released in the US, I still had a blast seeing all the new ones I had never seen before. And playing the old ones again too. I like rhythm games a lot, and this series remains a super charming one I pretty much always enjoy.

20. Overwatch. I’ve never been a fan of class-based shooters, or really competitive shooters in general, but Overwatch surprised me with how easy it is to get into and just have a good time. Perhaps that’s no real surprise given Blizzard’s track record of taking existing genres and polishing the hell out of them. While I’m never going to actually play a ton of Overwatch or take it seriously, I had more fun that I thought I would messing with its diverse and entertaining cast of characters.

21. Thumper. Rhythm games don’t get much more violent than this, and I got pretty entranced by Thumper, all things considered. I think it could use a little more variety somewhere, be it in the mechanics, level design, or perhaps just music. Not entirely sure. I would also prefer the beats to match the actual rhythm of the “music” more often than they do. But it has an amazing audiovisual presentation, and there were a handful of times where it all clicked and I got into that “flow” that the best rhythm games are able to induce. I just wish it could have done it for me more consistently.

22. Picross 3D: Round 2. I mean… it’s more Picross. And Picross is awesome. What more do you want? Actually, 3D Round 2 gains bonus points for being only the second 3D game in the series, and adding a neat new wrinkle with a second color. But really, it’s more Picross done well!

23. Fru. What is this you ask? A good Xbox Kinect game in 2016!? Fru turned out to be one of the biggest surprises of the year for me, and I’m lucky to have a brother who owns a Kinect (because I sure don’t plan on buying one). This is just a really inventive platformer that makes perhaps the best use of Kinect to date, and was a total riot to play. And, uh, it’s a good Xbox Kinect game in 2016!

24. Gears of War 4. It's totally “more Gears.” Take or leave that statement as you will, but it turns out I like Gears enough in the grand scheme of things that I enjoyed this return plenty. The campaign is a fun co-op romp, and the horde mode has some interesting ideas with the different classes. If only it wasn’t so grindy, and full of cards, blind boxes, and microtransactions…

25. Severed. This was a nice little treat on my Vita in 2016. Severed may not be a particularly deep, or a particularly novel game. But it’s a fun dungeon-crawler (a genre I haven’t dabbled in much) that has some good style and interesting touchscreen combat. It kept me happy during some travels over the summer.

26. Owlboy. I didn’t fall in love with Owlboy as much as I had hoped, but this still proved to be a charming and effective tale, one that both looks and sounds great (easily one of my favorite soundtracks of the year). If only the combat and exploration hadn’t been as rote and/or clunky as it often was, this may have even been top 10 material.

27. Stephen's Sausage Roll. I generally consider myself a fan of puzzle games, and Stephen’s Sausage Roll has a lot of extremely well-designed puzzles. They’re also extremely difficult. It doesn’t offer much past its series of puzzles either, which meant I kind of burnt out slamming my head against the wall before I got too far in it. You’ll have to like difficult puzzles to make it in this one, but if you do, it’s a winner. Great name too.

28. Abzu. It may be reductive to call Abzu an “underwater Journey,” but… well, the description works. I enjoyed this melancholy exploration of the ocean, and there’s some wonderful audiovisual splendor on tap here. By following so closely in Journey’s footsteps, it doesn’t feel as impressive or novel as it could, but it's still a neat experience.

29. Overcooked. What a silly but entertaining co-op game. Overcooked was a frantic mess every time I played it, and that’s a big part of its charm. It can be a little too chaotic at times, and it end up being fairly one-note. But man, when the mayhem works, it’s some of the best mayhem you can experience with a friend.

30. Quadrilateral Cowboy. I didn’t like Thirty Flights of Loving at all, but I’m glad I still gave Quadrilateral Cowboy a shot. This is a much more engaging game, with some cool programming themed puzzle ideas. Tossing down your laptop wherever you want to hack into things is pretty rad, and the game puts it to decent use. It doesn’t always take it as far as it could, and the back half lost some steam for me, but I enjoyed it overall.

31. Pokemon Moon. I consider myself a Pokemon guy, but for whatever reason, generation 7 isn’t doing it for me so far. Granted, I’m still in the middle of Moon’s campaign, but it feels a bit… dull so far. Maybe I’ve just played too many Pokemon games at this point, or maybe it will pick up in the post-game. But this one feels like going through the motions more than most, and has left me feeling pretty indifferent.

32. Oxenfree. This one has some neat ideas; or rather, a neat idea. Its attempt at a fluid dialogue system is very interesting, even when it kind of broke for me at times. Otherwise this is an OK tale with some decent story beats, if a bit standard in most other ways. So, yeah, Oxenfree managed to be neat without really standing out much for me.

33. Total War: Warhammer. OK, bear with me on this one, as it’s very personal. Total War: Warhammer may be the best Total War game yet. But it’s also the one that made me realize that maybe I just don't like Total War that much. It’s the third one I’ve played (after Rome and Shogun 2), and where I burnt out on the previous ones before reaching the end of their lengthy campaigns, I thought this would be the one to tie it all together. I played Warhammer growing up after all, and consider myself a fan of strategy games. But after finishing a full campaign in this installment, I think I can safely say the series is not for me. The reasons why are probably too nuanced and complicated to try and dissect right now, but it left me feeling kind of bummed.

34. Final Fantasy XV. The jury’s still mostly out on this one. I’m about 10 hours into Final Fantasy XV at the moment, and so far I’m not sold on it. The world itself is very pretty, and there’s some decent (if generic) music in there, but the rest is a hodgepodge of rote fetch quests, a bare bones plot, and mashy combat that has yet to click with me. I hope it turns around, and of all the games on this list, this is the one where my opinion is most likely to change over the coming weeks/months. I’m just not convinced that it will change for the better...

35. Amplitude. I never played the original Amplitude (or Frequency for that matter), but this reboot seems alright. For whatever reason though, it just didn’t grab me. I think ultimately I may be starting to realize that Harmonix’s brand of rhythm game is not my favorite; I consider myself a fan of rhythm games, but none of theirs rank among my favorites (dissecting why would be a longer tangent). Amplitude joins that tradition.

36. Pocket Card Jockey. Simple, but goofy and kind of fun. You play a version of solitaire while managing your horse-racing career. And… that’s kind of all I have to say about it? Checks the box of a mostly mindless but inoffensive time-filler.

37. Devil Daggers. I’ve never been a “score-chasing” guy, so I didn’t really get into Devil Daggers. But I think it hits what it’s going for pretty well, for those into this sort of thing, and the price tag is on point.

38. That Dragon, Cancer. I really, really appreciate anyone who puts themselves out there, and is willing to share a story as sad and as personal as the one in That Dragon, Cancer. But if I’m being brutally honest, I don't think it's as well-executed as a lot of other story-driven games out there. And seeing as it’s a very short game with virtually nothing to interact with, those story beats need to be completely on point. I’m glad this game exists, but I think it could be much better.

39. Darkest Dungeon. This is easily the game that bummed me out the most in 2016, and that’s not due to its depressing tone and atmosphere; I liked that stuff a lot. It’s because I think there is truly an amazing game hiding in here, but it gets buried under dozens and dozens of hours of repetitive grind. I was initially way into Darkest Dungeon's interesting mechanics, from the cool character classes to the dungeon-crawling to the combat. But after trudging through the meat grinder for 20 hours, only to realize the game was simply going to repeat itself two more times? I couldn't do it. This is one of the best examples I've ever seen of a game wasting its potential through poor structure and pacing. Again, there's an amazing game hiding in here. I just wish it had been realized properly.

40. Furi. I won’t say Furi is a bad game. In fact, I don’t feel like I played a single “bad” game all year if I’m being honest (seriously, it was a strong year). But Furi was one of the very few games I played in 2016 that I did not like, and it was the worst of them. I like the idea of a challenging “boss rush” game as much as anyone, but I also think Furi has some sizable issues. I think the long walking segments in-between boss fights are too dull, and contain poor dialogue, writing, and story beats. I don’t like the structure of the boss fights, in that they require you to play the easy parts over and over when you die to keep trying the hard parts. And I think the control layout (mainly regarding dodging) is problematic. Don’t get me wrong: the soundtrack is great and I had fun with a few boss fights. But the cons far outweighed the pros for me.

Has it really been a full year already? It feels like just last week I was listening to 2015’s best in effort to assemble a list of my favorite video game music from last year. And yet here I am, doing the same for 2016. Fortunately for me, as a big fan of video game music, it’s a process I greatly enjoy; I don’t need much of an excuse to go re-listen to a lot of video game music. In some ways, I may enjoy making this list more than my actual GOTY list (still working on that one, which is very competitive this year). Not only do I enjoy listening to this music again, but it’s also a chance to highlight an aspect of games that doesn’t always receive proper recognition. Music is an incredibly important part of video games, and can contribute greatly to a game’s overall quality, tone, and impact. This list, then, is my own small way of giving props to some of the wonderful music in games each year.

As for 2016 in video game music, it’s made me realize more than ever how spoiled we’ve been in that department recently. When I first started pondering 2016’s selection of music, I thought it might be a step down compared to the past few years. But now I realize that’s in no way an indictment of 2016’s musical quality, as I first thought it might be. 2016 has seen tons of great video game music, covering an impressive variety of styles, and any step down would only be because the past few years have been truly incredible. We remain in a golden age of sorts for the medium; there’s never been a better time to listen to video game music.

So here are the 10 video game soundtracks that stood out to me most among the games I played in 2016 (keeping in mind that I can’t play everything; Final Fantasy XV is probably the biggest omission in that respect). I picked a representative song from each game, and they are ordered by original US release date, not by preference. Thanks for listening, and share any favorites of yours I overlooked!

Oxenfree

Featured Track: Beacon Beach (by scntfc)

Firewatch

Featured Track: Prologue (by Chris Remo)

Hyper Light Drifter

Featured Track: Panacea (by Disasterpiece)

Dark Souls III

Featured Track: Soul of Cinder (by Yuka Kitamura)

The Banner Saga 2

Featured Track: Our Steps, To the Night (by Austin Wintory)

Doom

Featured Track: BFG Division (by Mick Gordon)

Furi

Featured Track: Make This Right (by The Toxic Avenger)

Abzu

Featured Track: Delphinus Delphis (by Austin Wintory)

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse

Featured Track: Main Theme (by Ryota Kozuka)

Owlboy

Featured Track: Tropos (Day) (by Jonathan Geer)

Despite playing Persona 4 Golden over three years ago, I’ve found myself thinking about it a lot over the course of 2016. This has proven to be a introspective year for me in general; after a handful of ups and downs, and big life shake-ups, I’m at noticeably more stable place in life. That stability provides me with time to reflect and consider where I want my life to go next, what kind of person I want to be, and who I want to share it all with. Not simple stuff mind you, but worth tackling nonetheless.

So what does my personal soul-searching have to do with Persona 4? In a lot of ways, Persona 4 manages to be more “human” and “real” than most JRPGs, if not most video games in general. By couching its setting and narrative in familiar, real world terms, its themes of being true to yourself and of being a good friend, come across more naturally. Sure, there are fantastical elements: the bizarre nature of the TV world, the mystical powers you inherit while inside, and the outlandish creatures you battle there. But in its most important moments, Persona 4 is about going to school. It’s about studying and doing your homework. It’s about the friends you meet along the way, and nurturing those friendships through various ups and downs. It’s about learning who you are, and how you fit into this thing called life. Given that, perhaps it’s no wonder my mind has gone back to Persona 4 during these introspective times. And since my mind has been going there anyway, I thought it would be worth taking a deeper look at just how Persona 4 manages to be so relevant to my current position.

It begins with the game’s very human characters. Every single character in Persona 4’s large, varied cast has some issue or insecurity they deal with. Yosuke has a need to be liked by a lot of people, and feels limited by living in a small, country town. Rise feels like she’s always forced to wear a “mask” due to her fame, and doesn’t know what her “true” self even is. Kanji struggles with his sexuality throughout the entire game. One of the most interesting dynamics to me is the one between Chie and Yukiko. These two best friends have known each other forever, and yet they are both jealous of what the other one has. Chie is the easy-going tomboy who works out a lot to stay strong, while Yukiko comes from a wealthy, respected family, and is so attractive she can’t keep the boys away. In spending so much time together, Chie feels like she is unattractive and destined to go nowhere, and secretly wants some of Yukiko’s classic good looks and family ties. At the same time, Yukiko feels a lot of pressure, as if her entire life is already laid out before her, and she secretly wishes she could be as carefree and as strong as Chie.

There’s a reason I spent a paragraph quickly describing the insecurities of a small fraction of the game’s characters: these are real issues. How many of us have either had issues comparable to these ourselves, or know someone who does? This isn’t “end of the world” stuff, per the traditional JRPG, but instead speaks very clearly to things we struggle with every single day. These characters struggle with them too, and seeing them all unfold throughout the course of the game is one of Persona 4’s biggest strengths. You see these characters face their fears, admit what scares the crap out of them, and grow closer as they come to understand each other better. For example, as Chie and Yukiko reveal their jealousies of each other, they both realize that they actually do have some things going for them, and their friendship becomes even stronger as a result. Opening up and being honest reveals that they both have great traits that also complement one another. They can stop wishing they had it all, and instead accept and make the most of what they do have, with the knowledge that they have a great friend who has their back the rest of the time.

Persona 4 is one of the most socially conscious games I’ve played, and these thematic elements are only the start. What’s even more important is how these social themes are woven into the very fabric of the game’s mechanics, and influence how you play. When I first played Persona 3, the most striking part of it was how you spend maybe half of your time dungeon-crawling, in the traditional JRPG sense, and the rest of your time on seemingly mundane tasks. You play as high school students, and that means you spend a lot of time in school, and all that entails. This forms the simulation side of the game: you have guide your character as he studies, goes to class, and takes tests. The simulation isn’t limited to academia though, even if that is a big part of the game’s grounded, “real world” appeal. The simulation focuses even more on the social side of school. You can join clubs and sports teams, make study buddies, go on dates, or even have lengthy chats after class with the old widow who hangs out by the river. As weird as it may sound, this is the rare video game franchise that puts a lot of focus on simply hanging out with people. And that same basic structure is perhaps even more effective in Persona 4, thanks to its more grounded writing, characters, and setting.

Sharpening this focus, Persona 4 uses its “social links” to heavily incentivize social interaction. You form different links with different characters or groups, and as you spend time with them and get to know them better, those links level up. Each link is tied to a set of “personas,” which are the entities you use in battle, and leveling up each social link then enhances the related personas. Therefore, by putting effort into things like studying and making friends, you are directly strengthening your dungeon-crawling prowess. It’s an extremely elegant way to weave the game’s excellent writing and characters into the very core of the play experience. Connecting with people in Persona 4 is, quite literally by the game's language, the way to be healthier and stronger. This is most true with respect to your party members, many of whom I mentioned above, and who become your best and closest friends throughout the game. You not only get to know them intimately as you maintain social links with them, but they simultaneously become more capable in battle, and you’ll learn to rely on them to have your back in those tough boss encounters late in the game. It’s all a way for Persona to highlight its narrative elements through raw gameplay mechanics; that's good video game design.

But there’s a big catch when it comes to managing your social links in Persona 4: you can’t do it all. (At least, not without advanced, manipulative knowledge of the game’s inner workings.) Persona 4 understands that time is a very limited thing in our lives, and that we can’t always be perfect friends to everyone. Put another way, contrary to generally accepted video game tropes, you can’t simply grind your way to a perfect social life. Persona operates on a literal calendar, and every day is broken up into a handful of time chunks such as morning, afternoon, and evening. When not in a dungeon (meaning, when you’re in the simulation side of things), you can do precisely one activity per time chunk. So when Yosuke, Rise, the basketball team, and that weird girl who always wants you to skip classes with her all ask you to hang out at the exact same time? You have to choose one, and say “no” to everyone else. It’s a sobering and real manifestation of time management, and goes a long way towards highlighting just how hard it can be to manage all those relationships. It makes you work for those social links, and by doing so, it makes you think about what’s most important to you. I certainly struggle with trying to do everything I want to do in my life, and Persona 4 simulates this surprisingly well through its core gameplay structure. In fact, it’s so good at it, that it makes me realize how much better of a friend I could be in my own day-to-day.

Last but not least, there’s Persona 4’s central dungeon itself. “The TV world,” or perhaps more appropriately, “the shadow world,” is where all of your traditional turn-based JRPG dungeon-crawling happens. The enemies you fight within the TV are called "shadows," and these shadows are, to quote a Persona wiki, “born from humans, and carry with them human emotions, which are mostly negative.” Put another way, shadows represent all the fears, insecurities, and other baggage we all carry around, and in this universe they manifest into grotesque monsters. The more negative and more damaging those emotions are, the bigger and more fearsome these shadows become. You’re not fighting to save the world in Persona 4; you’re fighting to defeat your own personal demons. In fact, the game’s pinnacle boss fights are the shadows of your various party members. As you face down the shadows stemming from Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, and the rest of the gang, they constantly berate and ridicule the person they come from. These shadows say some pretty mean things, and know how to push the right buttons to really cripple each and every member of your party, based solely on the negative emotions they have. But these shadows are also part of that person, which means they can’t just be ignored. Everyone has to face their shadows directly, and while this plays out in the form of boss fights in Persona 4, the message is clear: you have to acknowledge the presence of your shadows before you can overcome them. It will almost certainly be messy, but there’s no shortcuts here. Only once you accept who you are, warts and all, can you get to work on solving your issues, and ultimately become the best “you” you can be.

That’s a profound message, and it’s uncommon to see a video game adhere to it in every aspect of its construction. It’s also precisely why I keep thinking about Persona 4 in 2016. As I’ve been more introspective, looking within myself to try and figure out the truth of who I really am and what I want my life to be, I’ve become more and more aware of the shadows that lurk there. I’m not perfect, and I’m starting to understand just how much work lies ahead of me. But as the gang in Persona 4 shows, those shadows can be defeated. And perhaps most importantly, strong, close friends who know both you and your shadows can provide the love and support that's instrumental in that effort; everyone needs help. That’s one of the first lessons I’m learning on my introspective journey, and as a staunchly independent and introverted person, it may be one of the tougher ones for me to overcome. We often try to hide our shadows from both ourselves and the rest of the world, but you can’t get help with something nobody else sees. Persona 4 understands this, and as I've attempted to examine and dissect in this essay, it's the core on which the entire game is built. The shadow world is a rough place, and we all inevitably have to face it. But maybe with a little bit of truth and love, we can come out of it as stronger, better versions of ourselves.

Editor’s note 1: Believe it or not, my friends and I had plans to do this, with this exact title, well before there was a Giant Bombcast of the same name. The timing of that Bombcast was pure irony for us ;) Anyway, just throwing it out there that this is not a response to the Bombcast (and our first ranking, titled Ranking of Marios, occurred before then).

Speaking of, after ranking all the Super Mario games a few months ago, we have now moved on to The Legend of Zelda! Our panel was the same as last time, plus one: Justin (aka me, @majormitch), Nathan (@wess), Ryan (@turgar), Paul (@paulusvictor), and Garrison (not a Giant Bomb user, for shame). We assembled a list of what we considered the “core” Zelda games (15 in all), and “ranked” them from best to worst. Or more accurately, we argued and came up with some rough consensus ordering of favorite to least favorite. We read off the 15 games in contention at the beginning of our discussion, and also touched on why we did not include some other potential candidates.

We recorded the whole thing in a podcast that ended up being just over 4 hours long. If you’re crazy enough to want to listen to that monstrosity, you can download the mp3 from my Dropbox by clicking here (download in the top right of the page). Let me know if there are any technical issues. Also, I'm sure I didn't do the best job, but I tried my hand at some very light editing this time by slipping in 20-30 second music clips at various points (intro/outro and breaks). All music comes from various Zelda OC Remix songs, and I’d be remiss to not give them their due:

Intro: “A Link to Zelda” by T1lTED (source: Overworld, A Link to the Past)

Restroom breaks: “Hawaii Shoppi’n” by NoppZ (source: Shop, Ocarina of Time)

Lunch Break: “Cluck, Old Cucco!” by worldsbestgrandpa (source: Kakariko Village, A Link to the Past)

Outro: “Full Mast” by Jake Kaufman, Preenus, SnappleMan (source: multiple Wind Waker tracks)

Editor's note 2: In our discussion, I mistakenly attributed the terrible pan flute to Phantom Hourglass. I have since learned that that unfortunate item occurred in Spirit Tracks, not Phantom Hourglass (the two games somewhat run together for me...). Apologies for the error, especially to Phantom Hourglass. Regardless, the rest of the arguments still hold, and I would have still pushed for the position it got.

If you (understandably) do not want to listen to our 4+ hours of arguing, here is the final ordered list behind a spoiler tag. However, the list will of course make a lot more sense if you listen to all the arguments. Many of these games proved to be very divisive, with impassioned attackers and defenders all around. If one thing became clear while ranking Zelda games in comparison to Mario games, it’s that we all felt much more strongly about Zelda. This created some noticeable points of contention, and it was impossible to create a list that fully pleased everyone. But that’s part of the fun, which we all had. At any rate, the list!

I think that covers it! We had a lot of fun with this once again, even when it got heated, and I think there was some good discussion in there. And we may be doing more rankings in the future too (after a break)! Thanks for reading/listening, and maybe someone else will get a kick out of it :)

This is an experiment I’ve wanted to try for a while now. Like many of us, I have an overwhelming backlog of games that I want to play, but will likely never find time for. I manage my backlog via a spreadsheet off-site, and over the past few years the number of games on it has hovered around 200. While it’s good that it hasn’t drastically grown over that time (and I periodically cull some games from it without playing them), it hasn’t gone down either. That doesn’t bother me in the grand scheme of things, but I have always wondered if there would be a good way to survey a bunch of these games (many of which I already own) in a timely fashion.

Hence, the idea for “Backlog Weekends” was born. The idea is simple: take a chunk of games from my backlog that I already own but have never played, and survey as many as I can in a weekend. The goal is to play an hour or so of a game, just enough to get a good feel for it, and then move on to the next game. I’ll get to as many as I can, and after the weekend is over I’ll take stock of what I played, what I did and didn’t like, and what I may want to play more of in the future. The real impetus here is to quickly sift through the noise to find the good stuff buried in this giant pile of games. Most of the games on my backlog are curiosities as much as anything; games that seem potentially neat, but I won’t know for sure until I try them. If a game doesn’t grab me up front, I’ll drop it entirely. If it does, I’ll make a point to come back to it later. That’s the process here, plain and simple.

I doubt these weekends will happen too often, but when I squeeze one in I’ll record the results in a quick-fire blog like this one. This is the first time I’ve done this, and I’m finding my footing a bit, but I’d say it was a successful first attempt. I tried out nine games over two days, and was able to quickly rule out most of them. And I found at least one hidden gem that I may not have tried without doing something like this. That’s the ideal payoff of this experiment, and I was lucky that my first run bore some delicious fruit; I'm already looking forward to the next one. But first, this weekend's results (games are listed in the order I played them):

Battlefield 4

What I played: PC version on Origin, acquired in a sale. Had most DLC installed as well. Played two and a half full games of conquest, which took almost two hours.

What I thought: I’ve always enjoyed a good Battlefield game here and there, and seeing as EA has basically been giving this one away lately (the main game has been on sale for $5 multiple times, and a lot of the DLC has been free too), Battlefield 4 seemed worth grabbing. I decided to start my weekend off with it, and I had a good time. I was low level, and didn’t have a posse to roll with, but the Battlefield charm/mayhem still functions as advertised. I captured points, blew up tanks, crashed a helicopter, had helicopters crash in front of me, and got shot a lot by people I didn’t see. If you want your multiplayer FPS to be big, loud, and chaotic, this is still where it’s at. Also, it looks fantastic.

The verdict: Battlefield remains fun at large, yet I remain unlikely to ever dedicate too much time on it. Doubtful I’ll play more.

Wipeout 2048

What I played: PlayStation Plus freebie that I (obviously) played on the Vita. I played half a dozen races in the campaign. Took somewhere in the 30-60 minute range.

What I thought: I’ve never played a Wipeout game before (hence why I wanted to try it), but it didn’t take me long to realize this was not my jam. I have no idea if that’s indicative of Wipeout 2048 specifically, or the franchise as a whole, but I just found it boring. The races/tracks were bland, the control and sense of speed weren’t impressive, and the arcadey weapons and power-ups were so light they might as well not be there. If I’m going to play a racing game, nothing here suggested this is the one for me.

The verdict: A big nope. Already uninstalled and off my plate.

Echochrome

What I played: PlayStation Portable version, on my Vita. Can’t remember if it was a PS+ game or if it came from a sale. Played a handful of puzzles for roughly half an hour.

What I thought: File Echochrome under the “like in theory, not in execution” pile of games for me. Generally speaking, I like a good puzzle game as much as anyone, and this one certainly has some good ideas. But the act of playing Echochrome was way more cumbersome than I felt it should have been. Once I figured out the solution to a puzzle, the process of slowly rotating things around, trying to line it all up pixel-perfect was maddening. And if you missed it by even the smallest margin, it could take a surprisingly long time to re-engineer the entire thing. Puzzle games are at their worst when implementing the solution you’ve already figured out is a hassle. That’s Echochrome. The music was nice though.

The verdict: It’s a small puzzle game on a portable system, so never say never. But allow me to say I’m 99% sure I’m done with this one.

The Unfinished Swan

What I played: The PlayStation 4 version, acquired via PS+ or a sale (can’t remember). Played through most of the game in an hour or two.

What I thought: The Unfinished Swan is a really neat game, though one that starts off at its best before dragging down the stretch. The initial idea of using paint to splat the walls and floors of an all-white world to color a path forward was intriguing. But it’s also thin (and plodding), and as the game tried to branch out and do other things it began to wilt. Especially rote was lengthy the vine segment. Regardless, I’m glad games like this exist, as it takes some worthwhile liberations creating different kinds of games, and different ideas for conveying narrative.

The verdict: Neat little game, but I’ve gotten what I want out of it.

Hohokum

What I played: The Vita version courtesy of PS+. I spent maybe 20 minutes wandering aimlessly.

What I thought: Hohokum is also a game I’m glad exists… but that’s about the only thing I’m glad for here. This is certainly a different game that marches to the beat of its own drum, and provides a carefree and unstructured “playground” to just mess around in. I can respect that, but this particular case is one that didn’t do anything for me personally. I need more structure, or at least interesting mechanics and/or story to stay hooked. I’ve simply never been someone to enjoy games this “open”. Take that for what you will.

The verdict: Already uninstalled, so long Hohokum!

DuckTales: Remastered

What I played: The PlayStation 3 version, also courtesy of PS+. Played through about half of the levels, which took an hour or two.

What I thought: I have never played the original NES DuckTales, but this Remastered version seemed alright. It’s of course a bit simple and straightforward by modern standards, but as far as old school 2D platformers go you could do much worse. I had an OK time with what I played, but I also don’t have an urge to go back… and that’s about all I got on this one. It felt very middle-of-the-road. Though the dialogue was terrible (and slow), and the music was pretty good. The moon theme still rocks.

The verdict: Not a bad game, but not good enough to spend more time on either.

The Order: 1886

What I played: Picked up for real cheap in a sale, obviously played on PS4. Played the first three chapters (past the prologue) in about two hours or so.

What I thought: Whew, The Order: 1886 is a piece of work. It boasts production values that are through the roof, an interesting premise, and shooting/controls that are plenty solid. And then it embeds it all in one of the least interactive games I’ve played. People pejoratively call things like Gone Home a “walking simulator”, but you have way more agency there than you do in The Order. On the rare occasion when you’re not slowly plodding down a tight corridor or performing a quick-time event, you engage in small-scale shootouts that might as well be quick-time events. This game wears its cinematic aspirations on its sleeve, and is perhaps one of the best examples why chasing movies is not the best way for games to go. I would rather watch The Order than play it, which means I don’t have much respect for it as a game. And I didn’t have much fun with it either.

The verdict: There are good things in here, and part of me wants to see some of the spectacle I’m sure it has later on. But the act of “playing” it is too dull and plodding for me to continue.

Volgarr the Viking

What I played: PC version on Steam, acquired in a sale. Beat the first level and poked my head into the second. Spent maybe an hour on it.

What I thought: Volgarr the Viking is very much chasing the punishing action games of yore, and seems to replicate it very successfully. It has a few modern concessions as well, but the bottom line is that it’s a game that requires persistence and dedication to make it through. It also requires a lot of memorization, which is generally not my favorite kind of challenge, and why I’ve rarely liked these kinds of “hard” games before. Still, for what it’s going for I think Volgarr pulls it off, and I’ve probably liked it as much as any comparable game. It’s got some good style too.

The verdict: It’s not inherently my kind of game, but certainly not bad. I may even try and beat another level or two before moving on.

Flywrench

What I played: PC version on Steam, acquired in a sale. My initial play session was about an hour. I couldn’t resist and got in another hour on Monday, and at this point have played through most of the planets.

What I thought: Here we are, the payoff. The last game I tried this weekend was also my favorite, and by a good margin. It probably took me all of 10 seconds to realize how smooth Flywrench's controls are, and I only became more and more impressed with it as it slowly increased the complexity of the levels. There’s a real craft to the curve here, and it’s all supported by sound mechanics that are smart in their simplicity. The best games often get a lot of mileage out of simple ideas. That’s exactly what Flywrench does, and it controls like a dream every step of the way. It’s a short and challenging game, which means it won’t be for everyone. But if you appreciate this kind of arcade style action game, it comes with a big recommendation. Also, the soundtrack is amazing.

The verdict: This is the kind of hidden gem this entire experiment was made for. I may not have given Flywrench the time of day otherwise, but once I tried it I was hooked. I already returned to it yesterday, and will definitely play more. How far I get depends on how hard it gets, but I’m eager to find out.

A few friends and I recently got in our heads that it would be fun to get together and rank our favorite (and least favorite) video games within a single franchise. And by rank I mean argue and jockey and ultimately "agree" upon some rough consensus ordering of said video games. Our first franchise to rank? Super Mario.

Thus we compiled a list of Super Mario platformers to rank, found a time to get together, and proceeded to hash it out for nearly 3 hours. To top it off, we recorded the whole thing. I don't know that anyone has it in them to listen to an almost 3 hour podcast of random people debating Super Mario games, but just in case, I thought it would be fun to post the results here :)

Some logistics: We compiled the list of games beforehand, and I read them off at the beginning of the podcast. It's 17 games in total, and it's virtually every platformer with "Super Mario" in the title (and no remakes). The only notable exclusions are Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and Super Mario Maker. The first 2 of those feel like spinoffs that became their own series, and Mario Maker is a very different thing by virtue of being primarily a level creator. That was our reasoning at least. We maintained this list via a shared Google doc that we edited as we went, so if you hear us referencing a list during the podcast, we're probably messing with that.

Our panel includes 4 people: Justin (that's me, @majormitch), Nathan (my brother and @wess on the site), Ryan (@turgar on the site), and Paul (@paulusvictor on the site).

Anyway, click here for the mp3 that I have saved in my Dropbox. As far as I know, anyone with that link can view and download it (top right of the page). Let me know if there are any technical difficulties, and it's worth noting that's the raw recording. I'm lazy and did no editing. I'll also go ahead and paste our final list here as well, under a spoiler tag. Completely understandable to not want to listen to a podcast that long (in fact, it's probably crazier if you do), though the list might make more sense after listening to the arguments :)

I think that about covers it! We had a lot of fun with this, and even when things get "heated" it was all lighthearted and in good fun. Maybe someone else will find this entertaining, and someday we'll be ranking other things too. For science!