Top Fifteen of the 15 in '15

Yeah, this is super-late because I wanted to finish my 2015 reviews before posting it, and then I ended up never getting close to finishing them.  But I didn't want this almost-done piece sitting in my drafts list for another year, so without further ado, my list of games I played in 2015, ranked in various ways: 

I don't know why I waited so long to publish this.  I've had it in a near-finished state since mid-2016, but had difficulty putting a few of my final thoughts into words and was very distracted by a TON of bullshit over the past three years.  Well, whatever.  I'm gonna try and keep up with one of my blog traditions and rank my targeted games of designated years.  Even if comes several years late. 

Sollosi's Top Fifteen of the 15 in '15

Unplayed, Embarrassingly:

BioShock Infinite
Digial Devil Saga 2
Heavenly Sword
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Tales of Xillia
We <3 Katamari
Paper Mario

Wow, I botched on seven in 2015.  Not as bad as 2013, where I also failed to play seven (Majora's Mask was also on that list...), but definitely one of my worse efforts since I started doing this. 

***2019 Note: By my count, 2011 and 2012 were successes, 2014 was a fair effort, and every other year was a disappointment.  Yikes. 

Vita Additions:

Persona 4 Golden
Ys: Memories of Celceta
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

I ended up buying seven or eight Vita games in 2015 (plus some PSP stuff), but the above games are the ones that I actually finished.  Persona 4 Golden, in particular, got some HARD time put into it. That Vita is reason #1 for why I only finished 60% of my targets on the year.  But hey, all five of those games were really good, and I don't regret my time spent into them.  Each of them has an upcoming sequel that I'm definitely hyped to play (Persona 5, Danganronpa V3, Zero Time Dilemma, and Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana). 

***2019 Note: I wrote that final sentence in early 2016, and it ended up being extremely accurate and 75% satisfying!

Blizzard Addictions:

Diablo III: Reaper of Souls
Heroes of the Storm

Reason #2 why I was distracted from my ongoing backlog quest was my HUGE time investment into the above two Blizzard games.  I have over 1,000 games played into Heroes of the Storm, and four characters at level 70 in Diablo III.  Both are absolutely stellar multiplayer experiences.  Hell, I'm going to jump into Season 5 of Diablo III the minute it launches. 

***2019 Note: My HOTS obsession lasted from spring 2015 to summer 2018 and I had a lot of good times with that multiplayer.  It ended up replacing Diablo III as my go-to Blizzard grind. 

Favorite Game I Played in 2015 Actually Made in 2015:

Undertale

I barely played any 2015 games in 2015, but I'm glad I at least played this one.  Undertale is special.  The story begins with a relatively simple premise (monsters and humans are segregated, monsters live underground, and you're a human that entered the monster world by accident) and goes to weird, subversive, emotional places.  The first half of the game is amusing, then the middle chapter starts to raise the curtain on Undertale's secrets a bit, then when you arrive at the endgame HOLY SHIT.  The gameplay is also interesting, combining elements of a shmup with traditional RPG designs and the option to negotiate with or spare enemies instead of kill them.  Those mechanics affect the story in really cool ways as well. 

***2019 Note: 2015 was Undertale's year and that game is dope.

So that's a thing.  You may have read about all those games on this blog already, but I needed to make *some* excuses for why my 2015 gaming goals failed so miserably.  Whatever.  Now is when I rank the eight target games I actually managed to complete in 2015:

8.  Ys: The Ark of Napishtim

I've been EXTREMELY high on the Ys series recently, putting hard time into six Ys games in late 2013 and early 2014.  Napishtim is where it comes down to earth a little.  The visuals are distractingly weak (mixing 2D sprite work with a 3D-rendered Adol, awkwardly) and there's a ton of annoying backtracking with limited fast travel.  The combat feels like a clunkier version of the whip-smart fighting in Ys: The Oath in Felghana or Ys: Origin, with boss battles exploitable by a few specific skills.  The story stuff is cool, but the good parts are heavily weighted towards the endgame.  The PC version of Napishtim fixes a few of my issues with it, but alas I played it on PS2.  As it stands, Napishtim is a below-average Ys game.  If I had to rank the eight Ys game I've played, Napishtim would come in sixth or seventh.  And on this list it's ninth. 

***2019 Note: I agree with myself from 3 years ago.

7.  Gone Home

This was the most confusing game to rank for this list, because it's by far the least conventional game on it.  Gone Home is a very interesting 2-hour game that tells a cool little story indirectly, via the protagonist finding the journal entries of her sister and assorted writings of others while exploring her family's new home in Oregon, which is mysteriously vacant.  I enjoyed Gone Home, but I wasn't engrossed enough to play it in a single sitting.  I'm glad that Gone Home exists, but I can't say I enjoyed it quite as much as the more, uh, traditional gaming experiences elsewhere on this list. 

***2019 Note: Gone Home is cool and unusual.  Upon reflection, I should have ranked this higher.  I still think it's a little incomplete as a 2-hour experience, but it's better than 2016 me is implying here. 

6.   The Last Story

Probably the most uneven entry on this list, as I *ADORED* parts of The Last Story but ultimately felt let down.  The Last Story is stylistically beautiful and has a terrific soundtrack; its story and characters are appealing, and have a few interesting surprises to boot; its combat, which incorporates action and stealth and the surrounding environment, is interesting and mostly works.  But the game balance is a mess, the plot pace is poor, and the game feels confined to corridors, making it seem smaller than it actually is.  I'm also a little bitter that the final boss took me a great many tries to complete.  The Last Story is a pretty good, very interesting RPG, but I didn't love it and I hesitate to recommend it. 

***2019 Note: I played TLS for the Retro Encounter podcast, but ended up frustrated and annoyed by it at the end.  2016 me is being a little charitable about my feelings here. 

5. Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask

This was a very good Layton game that was hamstrung by being a too similar to every other Layton game ever made, and for its uneven story.  I enjoyed the ultimate plot payoffs and what the game did for the Professor's character (we meet his parents and his school friends!) , but it was so predictable that I wasn't close to being surprised by its endgame revelations.  Also, there isn't anything here that the DS Layton games didn't do better, except for the top-down action segments (I guess?). Still, Miracle Mask sets up a pretty cool situation for the next Layton game, and is far from a bad adventure-puzzler; Miracle Mask is better than The Last Specter and definitely worth it for Layton fans or fans of puzzle games in general. 

***2019 Note: Here's where the games in my 2015 list start getting fun.  Miracle Mask is a solid Layton game, but maybe average in the scope of the series overall. 

4. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time

Honestly, I added Sly Cooper to my 2015 goals as filler.  I figured I ought to play at least one traditional platformer and I bought Thieves in Time in 2013, so the timing and genre were right.  Thieves in Time turned out to be quite a fun romp, probably my second-favorite game in the series after Sly 2, and it played great on the Vita.  I wouldn't say no to a fifth game in the Sly series in the future, as Thieves in Time was always competent and funny, and occasionally quite excellent. 

***2019 Note: I really liked this one, and would 100% welcome Sly making a comeback in the 2020s. It's a really good 3D platforming series! 

3. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies

Really solid Ace Attorney entry, adding new types of gameplay to the series' general formula and simplifying (if not totally removing) the most annoying / frustrating parts of the investigation phases.  Story-wise, it's an excellent Phoenix Wright game, enriching the characters of Phoenix and Apollo while going to some dark, fascinating places during its last two cases.  And visually it's miles ahead of its predecessors.  Dual Destinies isn't as engrossing as most of the DS entries, but it's an excellent visual novel in general and a must-play for fans of the series. 

***2019 Note: Phoenix Wright 5 ended up being quite great, but I think the sequel, Spirit of Justice, was even better. Still mad the West is probably never officially getting those 1900s Ace Attorney games. 

2. Far Cry 3

I've played only a handful of western-made, AAA-budget, open-world action games, but in 2015 Far Cry 3 intrigued me with its premise and reputation.  And wow, it blew me away.  The shooting felt superb, the setting was fun to explore and rich with secrets and collectibles, the repetitive elements of the game were interesting enough for me to do most of them (this does not always happen), the narrative was simple-but-enjoyable, there were several AWESOME set pieces, and the game ended right before I started to get bored.  That's about as good as these get.  Far Cry 3 is my favorite Ubisoft game since Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Strong words. 

***2019 Note: Far Cry 3 is one of my favorite shooters ever.  I loved this thing.  I'm still torn on whether I should've made it #1 or not, but I'll stick to the decisions I made three years ago. 

1. Fire Emblem: Awakening

Fire Emblem: Awakening, the 13th game in the storied RPG series, is both a fair entry point for series newcomers and hugely rewarding for longtime fans.  A huge narrative in two parts with incredible moments, dozens of recruitable characters and optional quests, and some of the craziest time travel shenanigans this side of Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward.  Awakening represents the best of Fire Emblem character designs, map designs, and endgame and post-game content, with its only weaknesses being some weak Supports dialog (there are just too goddamn many) and being extremely breakable and exploitable.  And hey that second one isn't always a negative.  Fire Emblem: Awakening is excellent and one of the absolute best games for the Nintendo 3DS. 

***2019 Note: FE:Awakening is excellent.  I was extremely high on it when I wrote this, and I still remember it fondly.  Nothing much else to say here. 

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I am sorry it took me this long to finish writing this.  It's been sitting in my drafts tab for literally years, so long ago that it was before I was adding images to blog posts!  My original plan was to wait until I had reviewed more games I played in 2015 before posting this, but that endeavor failed miserably, in large part because of Blizzard games, Vita games, listening to podcasts, RECORDING podcasts, and my addiction to Japanese superhero shows.  But here it is anyway, in July of 2019.  More blogging entries forthcoming this summer.  Hopefully.