TheWildCard

Not surprising after how well Ys VIII did for them, embarrassing bumps and all.

Fans are going to very focused on who these series vets that are returning are. Good to see Chiplock mention the voice director is returning, that's definitely something I was afraid of. If they can get most of the english voice cast to return and get someone like Brittany editing, well, there's reason to be cautiously optimistic.

Entertaining read dude. I "love" that Aliens song. :D

Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry 5, and Monster Hunter World Expansion. Year of Capcom baby!

Also maybe the mainline Pokemon title, which might be the thing that gets me to buy a Switch (and depending on the hardware refresh).

Nice to see some board game love!

Haven't specifically played Kiwami 2, but DQ is really good starting point for someone new to the series.

Geez, a GOTY list already? Guess I need to get started on mine...

Nice list. I also played Yakuza 0 and Kiwami this year, and the former was definitely one of the best things I touched this year.

Just Dragon Quest XI. I've been driving hard on it this week. Luckily it's picked up a lot of steam and definitely been able to sustain long sessions. It'll end up high in my GOTY list. Doesn't look like I'll finish Valkyria Chronicles 4 this year, but I've played enough of it to be "eligible" imo.

Also picked up Celeste from a recent sale. Probably not going to finish it though, not really my cup of tea.

Valkyrie Profile is such an interesting gem of a game, but man the scope of the Trails games is so cool. They are the kind of games that inspire a lot of passion if you're into what those games are about (heavy on the world building with more nuance and detail than typical for the genre).

Haven't played enough of Last Story or Symphonia to render judgement beyond the fact what I did play in the early goings didn't grab me. Never got that far into Thousand Year Door either despite playing all of the N64 original. Never played Arcadia unfortunately.

Persona 2 is...interesting, but very much a crusty old-ass rpg. Not something I'd recommend unless you have a high tolerance for that sort of thing.

Nin No Kuni II couldn't keep my attention unfortunately, but what I've played of DQ delivers (and it sounds like it just gets stronger farther in). Haven't played Octopath but the story and structure doesn't sound great, so I'd easily push you toward DQ.

Funny, I don't have any nostalgic feelings toward the series, I just think they are rock solid examples of that style of game. It's really gosh darn cozy so far though!