My output for 2018 was disappointing, as there was a real lack of focus and gaming time at a couple points over the year. Still, I did manage to finish a handful of games, listed here in the same order they were beaten:
* Ys: Memories of Celceta (Vita) -- The recent Ys games have all been very enjoyable, and this is no different. Combat is often kind of mindless as you push through hordes of weak enemies, but requires some finesse when up against bosses or more powerful enemies where you need to be smart about mixing in special attacks, switching between party members, and dodging incoming strikes.
* Risk of Rain (Vita) -- A simple action game with some rogue-like elements thrown in, Risk of Rain was really enjoyable. Randomization wasn't quite as varied as I hoped for, but the different characters you can play with are really well balanced and require wildly different approaches if you want to be successful.
* Star Tropics 2: Zoda's Revenge (NES) -- Going in, I had expected stronger RPG/story elements, and so coming to terms that this game was mostly pure action instead took a little while. But the action was pretty good and I'm glad to have finally played through this old NES release.
* Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U) -- Utterly charming, but with low enough difficulty that most of the game felt like I was just putting my time in. Mixed feelings about this one, but don't regret playing it.
* Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (GBC) -- This is a very solid GB-era Zelda game, and was well worth playing. Lots of puzzles and secrets to uncover, and very enjoyable.
* Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (GBC) -- Sadly, didn't rise to the high standard of Oracle of Seasons. People say this game is more combat-focused, and Seasons is more puzzle-based. I think that's a generous way to suggest the actual game design here isn't as tight... Playing these back-to-back really highlighted how much more Seasons appealed to my taste in games.
* Shantae: Risky's Revenge (DSiW) -- I rather enjoy this series, and found that Risky's Revenge made big strides from the GBC original (although isn't as good as Pirate's Curse).
* Freedom Planet (Wii U) -- I know there is at least one booster for this game here at NWR, and I finally understand why. The story is the kind of nonsense that some will love and others will just shake their head at, but the gameplay is really good and more nuanced than you might expect going in. Very enjoyable!
* Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan (3DS) -- Great entry in a great series. Overworld exploration folds nicely into the established gameplay, dungeons will feel familiar but still introduce a few new (to me) twists. Bosses are challenging as usual. Top notch dungeon crawling, as expected.
* Little Inferno (Wii U) -- Kind of cheating, because I played this once a long time ago on a different platform... but listing it anyway. It's a time waster by design, but offers some great narrative. Kind of a shame that Tomorrow Corporation games never found the same balance between narrative/gameplay that World of Goo offered, but their games are all still worth playing.
* Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) -- Great game. I slightly prefer 3D World, as there were a few frustrating points where it was hard to track where Mario is actually going to land (maybe using a 3DS instead of a 2DS would help?)... but very few flaws outside of that minor niggle.
* Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime (DS) -- Very low difficulty, but absolutely charming. Tank battles did get a bit repetitive over time, but were still a lot of fun to play and humorous enough to keep you invested.
* Severed (3DS) -- Another victim of expectations, where the first third of the game was disappointing because it just wasn't what I had hoped for. But after adjusting my preconceptions it was solid, and reminded me of Killer7 (another unusual on-rails game with interesting art style).
* Pokemon Rumble World (3DS) - Eh, it's a pretty mundane time-killer but played a lot with my kids during our trip to China and ended up finishing things off later in the year. I'm a few Pokemon away from collecting them all, and there is still at least one post-game challenge to beat... but I've dumped more than enough time into this abyss.
So some quick awards:
Best Game of the Year
Super Mario 3D Land - High quality across the board; pure and simple fun.
Most Likely to Get Played Again
Risk of Rain - Although levels aren't as varied as I hoped for, the many different playable characters and quick-paced action make this easy to come back to again and again.
Biggest Disappointment (ie: Game That I Should Have Finished)
Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - This has been on my backlog forever. I really do enjoy the game, but always end up getting bogged down at some point and moving on to something else. Maybe 2019 will finally be the year I see the end of this game!