Enter 2019

2018 is now in the record books. We'll be spending the next few days, or weeks, erasing "2018" whenever we make a mistake writing the year date.

How do people feel now that another year has flown by? Sullen and melancholic due to the constant reminders that they are aging closer to death? Excited for 2019's new releases? Or perhaps contemplative while reflecting back on 2018's ups and downs.

I gain new, precious gaming memories every year, and 2018 was no different. Each year I set aside time to complete games and remove them from my bucket list, only to add new titles as I succumb to the temptations of buying games whenever they're on sale. In fact, http://dailygamedeals.com/ is the first website I visit every single day.

As far as 2018 game releases go, in truth I haven't played as many as I would have liked. Critically acclaimed masterpieces like Celeste, Monster Hunter World, and Red Dead Redemption 2 will remain on my bucket list for the foreseeable future. I spent much of 2018 completing games that, honestly, I should have finished long ago.

It's common for websites to create "Top Ten" lists of their favorite, and what they consider to be the best, games at the end of the year. If I count the number of 2018 releases that I actually played through completely, coincidentally I arrive at ten.

1. Smash Ultimate
Love, joy, and everything nice. Even then, these words are merely euphemisms (yes, the word love is not powerful enough) to sum up my feelings for this game and the franchise in general. As with any fighting game, the character balancing could still use some work. Also, I would have liked a better selection of stages. But all in all, Smash Ultimate is my favorite game of 2018. I originally assumed that Nintendo would simply re-release a port of Smash 4 with all of the DLC included (a common trend), and maybe a few new characters, but instead we received a completely new game. As the tagline states, everyone is here! Every character from previous Smash games, a bunch of new characters bringing the total roster to 74, and more DLC characters on the way. Wow. Sure, a lot of things stayed the same, but I find Smash Ultimate to be one of the most polished games in the series. After playing Smash ten hours straight the night it was released and then nonstop for two weeks, I'm currently taking a break. On a final note, websites that understand little to nothing about the game need to stop making erroneous tier lists that fail to reflect the actual thoughts of competitive players and tournament results.

2. God of War
Video games are art. Such was said by Cory Barlog, director of God of War. This game not only reinvigorated a stagnated franchise, but it brought the series to previously unimagined heights. I've completed every God of War game, and as much as I love them, there were times when I was turned off by the gratuitous violence and mediocre plots. Nonetheless, the God of War games had such refined gameplay mechanics that laid the foundations for later 3D action adventure games. After murdering the entire Greek pantheon for the sake of vengeance, Kratos now found himself in the universe of Norse mythology. I thoroughly enjoyed this evolution of the God of War formula, and I'll always remember the well-told story and breathtaking set pieces. I look forward to playing through New Game+ in the future, as well as the inevitable sequels.

3. Shadow of the Colossus for PS4
This is a remake of the PS2 classic, which I fondly remember playing in the form of the PS3 HD remaster. Though the game is essentially the same, the colossi are still amazing to behold, especially with the updated graphics. The slightly improved controls are also much appreciated. Shadow of the Colossus is another brilliant game that attests to the fact that video games are art.

4. Octopath Traveler
I've already sung this game's praises and shared my impressions in a previous article. Gorgeous art, a beautiful soundtrack, and a perfect blend of nostalgic JRPG goodness. Also, I can never get tired of listening the Battle II theme.

5. Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
When I played this game back in June, it helped me remember everything that I loved about Castlevania. At its core, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon is a homage to Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, one of the best Castlevania games ever made. With Bloodstained's release and Simon and Richter's additions to the Smash roster, I've found myself going back and playing older Castlevania games, even the obscure ones on the Gameboy that don't play very well. This game is a prelude to what we're really waiting for: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. With all of its delays, I hope that Ritual of the Night will live up to our expectations and not be another Mighty No. 9 situation.

6. Mega Man 11
At least Mega Man 11 was a decent game. Lovely visuals, solid controls, and challenging difficulty, just like the good old days. More levels would have been nice. Where the hell was Proto Man?

7. Mega Man X Collection (1+2)
This is not necessarily a new game, but a collection of older games. I always found myself liking the X series a bit more than the original because of the movement mechanics (dashing and wall-climbing) and more interesting characters. Surprisingly, I never played Mega Man X8, so this collection finally gave me the opportunity to do so.

8. Kirby Star Allies
This is when we arrive at games on the list that I don't necessarily consider stellar quality. But this isn't a "Top Ten" list of what I consider the best games - just the ones I played that were released in 2018. This Kirby game isn't that bad, honestly; it's just uninspired. The free updates and character editions helped give this game a better sense of completion. However, the updates make the original version feel like an unfinished product. At least the updates were free and not paid DLC, though. The level designs are generic and bland, and this game doesn't feel as fun as Return to Dream Land or the 3DS games. Kirby is still adorable, though. The Kirby games are another series for which I make efforts to play through every title. Star Allies managed to keep me occupied for a couple days after finishing Pokemon and waiting for Smash.

9. Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee
For a Pokemon game, this one, in my opinion, really isn't all that great. It's beautiful and enjoyable at times, but it can also be frustrating when one's Pokeballs keep missing the target or when a Pokemon flees after repeatedly breaking out of Pokeballs. We can't put Pokemon to sleep or weaken them to increase our chances of catching them. Outside of catching Pokemon, Nintendo made an already easy game even easier. Without the nostalgia factor, this game simply isn't as good as the others in the series. The mechanics for raising stats through candy is unbalanced, tedious, poorly thought-out, and plain stupid compared to the EV system. Little was done to evolve the gameplay, but there were substantial efforts to devolve it. Battles often give paltry experience. Forcing Meltan and Melmetal into the game by way of Pokemon Go connectivity is anachronistic and awkward. Ultimately, Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee wears out its novelty quickly with its watered down gameplay, despite its beautiful graphics. Maybe I'm just finally too old for Pokemon? At least the game is pretty. Being able to ride Pokemon and have them follow the player is really cool. Despite all my criticisms, I still had fun, and that's what counts.

10. Dissidia Final Fantasy NT
This game is not good. But, as a longtime Final Fantasy fan, I couldn't help but enjoy it. I could play as Terra, Cloud, Sephiroth, Jecht, Ramza... all my favorite characters from the Final Fantasy games. I completed the previous Dissidia games on the PSP, which were decent, so I was saddened to see the lack of effort put into this game. Of course, this Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is a port of an arcade game, and I remember feeling so sad when I thought the game would never leave Japan. I appreciated the fan service and (again) the beautiful graphics and animations. The progression system is terrible, and the story is pathetically bad, but I've gotten used to terrible stories in Final Fantasy games (XIII and XV specifically) from the modern day Square Enix. It's really important to remember how amazing the first ten Final Fantasy games were. Seeing these characters brought to life brought me joy, even if this was the worst Dissidia game and one of the worst games with the Final Fantasy label ever made. 

And that's my list of the 2018 releases that I played. Time to go back and play more games.