Well. This year didn't go quite as planned. But I'm going to move forward and do better. But first, let's talk about video games.
2023 was rough for me. I had multiple health scares, bouts of depression, and personal disappointments all slowing down my video game-enjoying. I even took a long break from podcasting, and I'm struggling with my return. But I have renewed energy and enthusiasm for 2024, so even if I fell well short last year, I'm not going to change the scope or format that I've stuck to for a few years now. My 2024 gaming goals are equal to my 2023 goals in quantity.
I'm also not really changing my methods for choosing these games. I brainstormed upcoming games I *definitely* plan to play in 2024, picked an arbitrary number of them, then devoted the rest of the list to my backlog, focusing slightly more on recent backlog vs. older backlog. I'm also prioritizing console releases over PC releases, because honestly that's where my heart is. I eventually settled on: three 2024 releases, five games in my PlayStation backlog, and five games in my Nintendo backlog.
The list is mostly (overwhelmingly) RPGs, but I deliberately threw a few action titles in the mix to mitigate long-ass-game burnout, and in one case to deliberately step outside my comfort zone. However, I can't welch on any of these goals unless there's something outside my control, like a delayed release or a disc not working. Thus, games absent from the list below CANNOT count towards my official gaming goals unless there are extenuating circumstances.
I only finished 4 games from last year's list and 30 games overall in 2023, which is a far cry from my much better 2022 (10 out of 13, and 48 overall). But I still believe in myself as a video games enthusiast who wants to broaden his horizons and to finish the games he buys, so I'm going to press on. Below is the 2024 list of 13, in alphabetical order. Just like every year since 2019, a passing grade is officially 11 games beaten out of 13.
2024 Gamers' Dozen
I'm continuing my trepidatious wading into the SoulsBorneRing pool this year with Dark Souls, one of the sub-series highlights and an extremely influential RPG of the 2010s. I loved Demon's Souls and Bloodborne, so I anticipate that I'll approach this one similarly, combining over-researching and calculated struggling to make it through the game. I haven't fully researched weapons or spells yet, but I'm thinking... Claymore? That's one weapon I never tried in Demon's Souls but heard is good in DS1. Might be the ticket.
Eiyuden Chronicle, originally scheduled for autumn of 2022, got another delay last year, but didn't diminish my interest one iota, so on the list it goes again. Several former Konami creators (including Suikoden creator Yoshitaka Murayama and longtime Castlevania producer Koji Igarashi) are involved in this spiritual successor to Suikoden, and I also really enjoyed the prequel action game Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, which I played last summer. An RPG this much in line with my tastes with a setting and characters that charming will surely be a great time.
I really enjoyed FF VII Remake back in 2020, and I'm excited at the possibilities presented by its follow-up. How much of the core story will they change? How will the Gold Saucer and Corel segments go? What about the Cosmo Canyon theme music??? (I might need to play the InterMission DLC for Remake before playing this.) I'm a big fan of FF7 (but maybe not an obsessive one), and Rebirth is one of the 2024 games I'm looking forward to the most. But it's not the only Final Fantasy game I'm planning to check out...
Other than FF XI (which I'm probably never playing), Final Fantasy XV is the only Final Fantasy game in the main series that I've yet to finish. That changes this year. I've had FF XV in some form or another for four years now, and I'm super curious about its open-world road movie approach to Final Fantasy, from its car maintenance to its character designs to its flashy action combat. I loved FF XVI last summer and thought FF XIII was better than advertised when I played it in 2022; I gotta find out how XV stacks up.
I adore the first two inFamous games on the PS3 (inFamous: Second Son for the PS4 is... fine.), so naturally I'm interested in the open-world samurai action game made by the same studio. I don't know a ton about Ghost of Tsushima, except that it's a sometimes-stealthy sometimes-dueling samurai game with a lot of hidden knick-knacks to find. But hey, I love samurai stuff, and this is a samurai game with real acclaim and pedigree! I'm excited to get around to it.
I bought Trails from Zero in 2022 (and its sequel, Trails to Azure, in 2023) fully intending to play it soon after. I've already beaten games 1,2,3 6, and 7 in the larger Trails series; Zero and Azure are games 4 and 5, which took their sweet time getting a worldwide release. Well... I obviously failed that most recent goal, but I am interested in making headway through this series, so on the 2023 list it goes, again. fantasy cops discovering secrets underneath their city and stopping a political coup? Sounds good to me! Maybe I'll get to Zero AND Azure this year! (Narrator: this optimism is unfounded.)
Majora's Mask is by far my most-procrastinated game in the history of this blog, appearing on my lists a frankly irresponsible SEVEN times between 2013 and 2022 (especially since I finally finished Demon's Souls, the last unplayed game from my original 2012 list, in 2022). Majora's Mask is regarded as a subversive, groundbreaking Zelda game by many, and several of my friends regard it highly. I own it both as part of the GameCube Zelda Collection and in its 3DS remake, but I'll be playing it on 3DS. Maybe 2024 is Majora's year?
With me uncertain about the true release dates of Hades II and Dragon Quest XII, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth (called Ryu Ga Gotoku 8 in Japan) is my most-anticipated video game of the year. I played twelve (TWELVE!) Like A Dragon or Yakuza-adjacent games from 2020 to 2023, and I now call myself a series fanboy. But Infinite Wealth, promising to bring back the turn-based gameplay of RGG7/YLAD and bringing together Kasuga and Kiryu as co-protagonists? I preordered the FUCK out of this game.
I have a confession to make: I am not into horror. The list of horror films, books, TV shows, and games that I enjoy is short indeed, and I almost never seek out horror experiences, let alone the Resident Evil series. I have a disturbing memory of the zombie dogs from the original Resident Evil, viewed at a sleepover decades ago, that made me the opposite of interested in trying out others. This is me trying to step out of my comfort zone. The recent remake of Resident Evil 2 is hugely acclaimed and was on sale for only $10 at one point in 2023. In 2024, I'll give perhaps the most iconic series of horror video games a fair chance, for the first time.
Suikoden V is "the last good Suikoden game" according to many fans, and as a lover of Suikodens I through III I'm very interested in playing it. I found it at my local used game store in 2022, and I've put it off long enough. But this is a long, involved PS2 RPG that will probably test my patience and stamina, so I admit I'm a little worried. I don't have a great recent track record of going back and finishing PS1 or PS2 games on original hardware. But Suikoden V is excellent by all accounts, so I want to make a sincere attempt.
I love me some Mario platformers and knocked out five of my unplayed Mario games in 2022 and 2023. Thus, when a WILD trailer for a new Mario manifested itself over the summer, I knew I wanted to play it. I picked up Wonder on a slight discount (I think 15% or so) in November, and I'm ready to experience this weirdness sometime this year, right when I'm starting to feel burned out by RPGs. But seriously, did you see that trailer? Elephant Mario? Twisting pipes? Mario Wonder is going to be a blast.
I adore most of the work of Team Asano (mostly the Bravely and Octopath series) and Triangle Strategy, their strategy RPG heavily inspired by Tactics Ogre, seems right up my alley. A melodramatic story full of politics and intrigue; a strategy RPG with a ton of characters and a job system; and a Team Asano game that balances nostalgic aesthetics and gameplay with modern concepts and conveniences. Really, it's more surprising that I didn't even attempt this game when it showed up on my 2022 list.
I tried (and failed) to get into Xenoblade Chronicles II multiple times over the last few years, so I'm putting that game on hold. Its sequel, though, is another matter entirely. Xenoblade III is one of 2022's most acclaimed RPGs, and I received it as a gift around the holidays that year. I was intending to play XB2 before getting to XB3, but I've decided to skip the line so I can hear its dope version of "You Will Know Our Names" in proper context instead of just on YouTube.
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So that's the list! Naturally, these thirteen won't be the only games I attempt to play this year. So here are some additional notes and possibilities:
Sign of the Cross
Contingency Plan: In case one of the three 2024 games above (Like A Dragon, Eiyuden Chronicle, and especially FF VII Rebirth) ends up getting delayed to next year or if my Suikoden V disc stops working, then it's officially replaced in the list above by CrossCode, an indie action RPG that I've owned for around 2 years and have been very intrigued by for far longer. I very nearly included it in the list as a Switch game and may play it this year just as a matter of course.
Final Fantasy XIV: There is widespread (and justified) excitement for FF XIV: Dawntrail, and I own a copy of Endwalker, so there is a real danger I relapse into FF XIV, which I binged super hard in multiple stints between 2016 and 2021. If I do so, then it will consume (at least) a full month of my time, and my gaming goals (and personal life) will be affected heavily. There's also a chance I get deep into the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster games and blow 50+ hours on those. We'll see.
2024 Releases: There are a great many games scheduled for 2024 or released in late 2023 that I may buy around launch (or later on discount), but do not currently own. Thus, they don't count as backlog and were ousted from consideration on the list above by a few other 2024 games. Here are some possible distraction games I'm interested in, either released in late 2023 or scheduled for 2024: Marvel's Spider-Man II, Lies of P, Silent Hope, Persona 5 Tactica, Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, Persona 3 Reload, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Phantom Blade Zero, Metaphor ReFantazio, Dragon Quest III HD-2D, Dragon Quest X Offline, Hades II, Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak, Ys X: Nordics, and Visions of Mana.
Whew. Hopefully my games budget stays under control this year. (Narrator: this optimism is, once again, unfounded.)
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Whew. That's a lot of video games. 2023 was personally a disappointing year for several reasons (mostly related to my mental and physical health), but I'm going to do my best to make 2024 better. I have wonderful friends and family (including my amazing girlfriend), a stable job and home, and lots and lots of video games. That's pretty good. Here's to an improved New Year!
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