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Yes, I'm still alive! Even though it's already mid-February, I'm finally getting around to posting my look back at 2018. I've been super busy with work the past six months, so I haven't been able to keep up my previous one-game-a-week pace, or even blog that often. Things will gradually settle down (hopefully), but in any case I had a little bit of a breather so I thought I'd take a stab at catching up on things a bit.
Looking over the games I played in 2018 I'm pretty pleased that I finally got through games I've been trying to bring myself to finish for ages, such as SimCity (SNES), Heroes of Ruin (3DS), Pokemon Dash (DS), Minecraft (Wii U), and F-Zero X (N64), amongst others.
There was only one game that made it to my "greatest games of all time" list, and that was Shantae: Risky's Revenge (PC). I was feeling a bit generous in adding it to my list, but the game was such a big step above the original GBC game and so polished and fun that I didn't mind giving it that seal of approval. The other game I have to mention as a big highlight of my year was Fire Emblem Heroes. The game just hit its two-year anniversary, but despite all odds it continues to be my most-played game. Although accomplishing all the game's missions can be a grind at times, the steady rollout of new characters, features and modes, and Fire Emblem fanservice has kept me engaged the whole year. I'm not sure how things will progress through year three. The new storyline that started recently (book 3) takes the series in a unique direction in terms of aesthetic and tone, so I'm looking forward to seeing where that goes.
Here's the summary of what my 2018 looked like gaming-wise (games listed in approximate descending order) with links to each game’s corresponding blog review:
HIGH
- Shantae: Risky's Revenge (PC)
MEDIUM
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch)
- Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii)
- Yo-Kai Watch (3DS)
- Bonza (Android)
- Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. (3DS)
- F-Zero X (N64)
- Bit.Trip Beat (WiiWare)
- Minecraft: Wii U Edition (Wii U)
- Ketzal's Corridors (3DSWare)
- Bravely Default (3DS)
- Contra Rebirth (WiiWare)
- Stretchmo (3DSWare)
- Yoshi's Woolly World (Wii U)
- Dance Dance Revolution X (PS2)
- Newer Super Mario Bros. (Wii)
- Just Dance 3 (Wii)
- Pac-Man 256 (Android)
- 1-2 Switch (Switch)
- Mario Bros. (NES)
- Wario World (GameCube)
- Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (DS)
- Tetris 2 (NES)
- Karaoke Revolution (PS2)
- Dragalia Lost (Android)
- Lightbot (Android)
- Pokemon Dash (DS)
- Zen Pinball 3D (3DSWare)
- Belladonna (PC)
- Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure (3DSWare)
- Astro Bears Party (Switch eShop)
- Final Fantasy Adventure (GB)
- Heroes of Ruin (3DS)
LOW
- Human Resource Machine (PC)
- Galaxian (Arcade)
- Bit.Trip Presents... Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien (Steam)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES)
- Fortnite (Switch)
- SimCity (SNES)
NOT RATED
- Crossy Bird (Android)
This past year I had two non-game-review posts, one on the enjoyable Power Pros Podcast, and the other on the first volume of the Splatoon manga.
In terms of stats, I played quite a bit on 3DS (full games and downloadable), but otherwise I did a pretty good job of dividing my time between different genres and old and new games. Looking to this year, I'm definitely looking forward to the release of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the first console Fire Emblem game since 2007's Radiant Dawn, and the recent Nintendo Direct has reassured me that there's plenty more to look forward to in 2019 as well.
That's it for another year in review. As always, thanks as always to anyone who’s stumbled across my little patch of cyberspace and found it even mildly diverting, and welcome to another full year of video games at the Intergalactic Video Game Academy! ;)