1. Sin and Punishment 2 ; Awesome setpieces, great boss encounters, and some of the tightest controls ever. Treasure outdoes themselves again. Plus you get to beat up on DOLPHINS!
2. Resonance of Fate ; One of the freshest and most innovative RPGs in years. I'd dare say it's the best console RPG of the gen. The game has an extremely steep learning curve, but it rewards patience and once you learn to exploit it, has you progressing rapidly through the game. The setting is intriguing, voice work is top-notch, and it has a sense of humor about itself.
3. Ys VII ; Game is radically different from most of the Ys series, but the changes (like the party system and skills system) fit the Ys template to a tee. More dialogue/story than usual, but at least the story had a few surprising twists. I love the zippy pace of the game, the boss fights, and the awesome music.
4. Ys Oath in Felghana ; Would be even higher had I not already played the PC version. Ys at its best, with one of the most legendary soundtracks in gaming.
5. Bayonetta ; The 'stylish-action' genre was something that I never really got much into, apart from the early DMC games. But this game had me come back in a big way. The pacing in the game is perfect, and it has such a nice amount of switching up in the action that it never became boring, unlike many of its genre peers. I'll admit that the music pissed me off though, as did the occasional "QTE or die!" out of nowhere
6. Kirby Epic Yarn ; It was extremely easy but the game had charm in droves. I loved the art style and the music... the lack of challenge made this the perfect 'wind-down' game after work. Except for that one car racing level which was frustrating as hell to get a Gold in. Managed to 100% it, something I rarely do nowadays.
7. Mass Effect 2 ; So, Bioware finally makes a game I like. Much better gameplay than the first game, even if the story and atmosphere wasn't as interesting.
8. Donkey Kong Country Returns ; Some fantastic level design, with challenge in spades. Beautiful graphics too. Would have probably gotten higher from me if it didn't have those shitty rocket barrel stages.
9. Dragon Quest 9 ; Faaaar from my favorite game in the series, but it was packed to the brim with content, and definitely had its moments. Shame about the game having more grinding than usual and a soundtrack/scenario that doesn't quite live up to series standards.
10. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX ; Fantastic downloadable, great update and twist on the original Pac-Man games. It's a cliche at this point, but taking classic games, adding a psychedelic coat of paint and an EDM soundtrack gets me every time.
2. Resonance of Fate ; One of the freshest and most innovative RPGs in years. I'd dare say it's the best console RPG of the gen. The game has an extremely steep learning curve, but it rewards patience and once you learn to exploit it, has you progressing rapidly through the game. The setting is intriguing, voice work is top-notch, and it has a sense of humor about itself.
3. Ys VII ; Game is radically different from most of the Ys series, but the changes (like the party system and skills system) fit the Ys template to a tee. More dialogue/story than usual, but at least the story had a few surprising twists. I love the zippy pace of the game, the boss fights, and the awesome music.
4. Ys Oath in Felghana ; Would be even higher had I not already played the PC version. Ys at its best, with one of the most legendary soundtracks in gaming.
5. Bayonetta ; The 'stylish-action' genre was something that I never really got much into, apart from the early DMC games. But this game had me come back in a big way. The pacing in the game is perfect, and it has such a nice amount of switching up in the action that it never became boring, unlike many of its genre peers. I'll admit that the music pissed me off though, as did the occasional "QTE or die!" out of nowhere
6. Kirby Epic Yarn ; It was extremely easy but the game had charm in droves. I loved the art style and the music... the lack of challenge made this the perfect 'wind-down' game after work. Except for that one car racing level which was frustrating as hell to get a Gold in. Managed to 100% it, something I rarely do nowadays.
7. Mass Effect 2 ; So, Bioware finally makes a game I like. Much better gameplay than the first game, even if the story and atmosphere wasn't as interesting.
8. Donkey Kong Country Returns ; Some fantastic level design, with challenge in spades. Beautiful graphics too. Would have probably gotten higher from me if it didn't have those shitty rocket barrel stages.
9. Dragon Quest 9 ; Faaaar from my favorite game in the series, but it was packed to the brim with content, and definitely had its moments. Shame about the game having more grinding than usual and a soundtrack/scenario that doesn't quite live up to series standards.
10. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX ; Fantastic downloadable, great update and twist on the original Pac-Man games. It's a cliche at this point, but taking classic games, adding a psychedelic coat of paint and an EDM soundtrack gets me every time.