Chris Kohler is the Editorial Director at Digital Eclipse (TMNT: Cowabunga Collection, Atari 50, The Making of Karateka, etc.).
Okay, let's see, how do you do this "write about video games" thing again? I did it for a long time but now I'm rusty.
I don't want you to think this is supposed to be any kind of definitive ranking of the 10 best games of 2023. I added up all the games that released in 2023 that I actually played for any significant length of time and it totaled up to 11. I'm literally two games away from not even being able to write a top 10 list.
This is a combination of a) playing new video games no longer being my job and b) children. Both of these things make me very happy. Here are ten games I was happy to play this year.
10. Final Fantasy III (Pixel Remaster)
Hey, have you played Final Fantasy III yet? You really should. I'm talking about the one for the Famicom, originally released in 1990. Amazingly, despite the popularity of the series, Final Fantasy III was never officially released outside Japan for THIRTY-ONE ENTIRE YEARS. That streak only ended when the Pixel Remasters hit in 2021 for PC and phones. And then it took almost another two years for it to come to consoles!
Final Fantasy III was a very complex game by Famicom standards, and so now that it's been given a 16-bit style visual upgrade (and a killer soundtrack) for the Pixel Remaster series, playing it today feels like playing the long-lost cousin of Final Fantasies IV, V, and VI.
9. Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Any new Mario platformer is of course going to grab my attention on day one, and I appreciate the commitment to the bit on this one — Mario games should surprise you! Unexpected things should happen a lot! I feel like the only thing holding Super Mario Bros. Wonder back a little bit is the four-player nature of it; I think if this were a single-player Mario game, things could get significantly wackier. As it is, the fact that four players always have to be able to play comfortably in the same space likely put some limits on how outré the scenarios can reasonably get.
8. Super Mario RPG
Two Marios in two months?! Super Mario RPG is a brilliant fusion of Final Fantasy and Mario gameplay created by a partnership between Squaresoft and Nintendo, and that gives it a totally different feel than the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series that succeeded it. The degree of accuracy and love with which this remake has been crafted cannot be overstated; it's a painstakingly detailed conversion with just enough new content to keep things fresh while not disturbing the core of the original.
7. Final Fantasy XVI
This Final Fantasy might be considered to be a little light on the RPG elements and heavy on story, and I do agree that it can be a bit jarring when its plot, which initially seems to be Game of Thrones-y political intrigue, becomes about a weird interdimensional rando. But ultimately, the stories of the characters' relationships at its core, plus an ass-kicking soundtrack, hold it all together.
6. Final Fantasy IV (Pixel Remaster)
This Final Fantasy might be considered to be a little light on the RPG elements and heavy on story, and I do agree that it can be a bit jarring when its plot, which initially seems to be Game of Thrones-y political intrigue, becomes about a weird interdimensional rando. But ultimately, the stories of the characters' relationships at its core, plus an ass-kicking soundtrack, hold it all together.
5. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
I put 30 hours into this freaking game and finished one (1) dungeon.
4. The Case of the Golden Idol: The Spider of Lanka and The Lemurian Empire
Pure brilliance. Yes I'm nominating a series of DLCs. If they asked me to do a Top 10 in 2022, I'd have written about the main game, but they didn't. Throughout the three-part saga, a fascinating mystery story is slowly unveiled over a series of puzzles in which you have to use all your deductive skills to piece together what the heck happened in every bizarre scene. The DLCs proved that this marvelous game's creators are in no way out of original ideas. And now a sequel's coming next year? I'm there day one.
3. Final Fantasy V (Pixel Remaster)
I go back and forth over whether this or Final Fantasy VI is the best Final Fantasy. Obviously, VI has the edge in the graphics and story departments. But, Final Fantasy V's job system, in which you can change any character to any class at any time and then mix and match abilities, means that every playthrough can feel totally different. I'm actually in the midst of my playthrough of the Pixel Remaster now, and I used the Boost function to master many more job classes with my characters than would be feasible through standard gameplay, and it's hilarious what happens when you have one character that can catch physical attacks like a Samurai while also dual-wielding like a Ninja and covers weakened allies like a Knight and…
2. Final Fantasy VI (Pixel Remaster)
They gave the Pixel Remaster of Final Fantasy VI the most love, building out a 3D set for the famous opera scene and a bunch of other little upgrades that the other games didn't get. Maybe that gave it the advantage in my mind.
1. Metroid Prime Remastered
What a timeless masterpiece. If you weren't there at the time, you don't know the trepidation we all felt about the news that a brand new studio from Texas was going to turn Metroid into an FPS. And then the sheer elation at the fact that not only was it not a spectacular disaster but one of the best things Nintendo ever put out on the GameCube. And now it's on Switch looking better than ever and showing again that the best games still hold up 20 years later. I loved every second of this except for the Meta Ridley fight, but in the spirit of the holidays I am willing to let this go.
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