GOTY 2018

Everyone is talking about how 2018 sucked.

2018 ruled. Asuka is the champion. Time for video games.

Honorable Mentions

• Soulcalibur VI - If this game came with a Fatal Cutie hat it would've easily been the fighting game on my list
• SNK 40th Anniversary Collection - I hate these fucking emulation package deals but this one's fucking incredible. It would've been like 5th on my list but they didn't make vertical mode usable in docked mode so I only gave it an honorable mention to spite them.
• Dragon's Crown (Pro) -

10. SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy

Is SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy a good game?

No.

Did SNK move over to the worst localization company starting with this game?

Yes.

But it comes with a Fatal Cutie hat.

9. Yakuza 6: The Song of Life

Yakuza 6 is one of the weakest games in the Yakuza series. But it's in the Yakuza series. Also I got it for free.

8. Valkyria Chronicles 4

People really hate Valkyria Chronicles II. Those people are wrong. SEGA didn't bring over Senjo no Valkyria 3. That sucks, cause it's the best game in the series. Valkyria Chronicles 4 is an undeniable step back from 3 in pretty much every way but graphics, but it's still Valkyria Chronicles, and Valkyria Chronicles is fucking awesome.

Play the fan translation of 3 though, seriously.

7. Monster Hunter: World

6. Senran Kagura Reflexions

HD Rumble boobs.

5. Yakuza Kiwami 2

Yakuza 2 is probably the best game in the series (4 is the other arguable contender), so a remake of that is a can't miss. The remake isn't without its issues, with a few notable removals, and questionable additions (I get why you would make a followup to Majima's story in 0, but the way it ended in that game was really how it should have ended). But I also get the Be my Baby substory at the graphical fidelity of Yakuza 6. It may be kinkshaming me, but at least it's representation!

4. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

3. Earth Defense Forces 5

2. Tetris Effect

1. 428: Shibuya Scramble

It's really hard to put into words how incredible 428 is. It is, by far, the game that has brought out the most emotion in me ever. Probably the media that has brought out the most emotion in me. Despair, joy, sadness, depression, anxiety, relief, fear, all came out in me. It made me laugh my fucking ass off more times than I can count, it made me cry my eyes out more times than I can count. Aside from this range of emotion it brought out in me, the other really notable achievement of 428 is its execution of multiple playable characters. A good amount of VN's have tried to pull this off, but almost all of them feel weaker because of it. Not 428. Every character you play as in 428 gives a totally unique perspective on the world, both in terms of their role in the plot and the message of their story. From Osawa's struggles with the meaning of his life and guilt of his actions, to Kano's struggles with responsibility and social pressure, each character's story feels totally unique, while still coming together cohesively despite all odds (Seriously, when you first meet most of the characters it's almost impossible to believe they're in the same game). This is where the "gameplay" of 428 comes in: the player must modify the actions of each character in order to create paths in which the others can proceed (or, for completionists like me, to create paths in which the others fail in order to get all of the bad ends). This system is where a lot of the humor of 428 comes into play: The amount of ludicrous, hilarious bad ends is insane (including one complete nonsequiter that I really want to spoil here but am going to force myself not to). Finally, as with pretty much every good VN, the element that really ties 428 together is the soundtrack. This soundtrack is AMAZING.

Like

just listen to this

Every FUCKING time this song came up in the game I just got so fucking happy.

Seriously, please, play 428. I'm begging you. At the very least play it to experience Yanagishita.