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Games of My Year 2021

by electricviking

There's an entire blog entry about this list here, so I won't be going into much detail. Suffice to say that blog also contains some minor awards as well as the inverse of this list, the ten most disappointing and/or most baddest of the games I played in 2021.

Ignore numbers, this list runs in ascending order.

Showing 1-10 of 10 items

Popeye

1. Popeye

Just a very well done port of an arcade game with a competent, challenging antagonist. Bluto feels like the smartest video game foe the Famicom had for the first years of its life.

Simple 1500 Series Vol. 56: The Sniper

2. Simple 1500 Series Vol. 56: The Sniper

Not actually good, perhaps, but stylish as hell and dripping in mysterious import jogo goodness.

Metroid Fusion

3. Metroid Fusion

The game I played to keep myself from buying Metroid Dread, and I'm glad I did.

RalliSport Challenge 2

4. RalliSport Challenge 2

This spot is officially shared with Links 2004 as a joint "pour one out for XBN" slot on the list. RalliSport Challenge 2 still looks incredible, and has soundtrack support so you can play it with Sega Rally Championship music if you're a child of god.

Jumping Flash!

5. Jumping Flash!

An adventurous early PS1 platformer that made me appreciate just how experimental the PlayStation could get, as well as Sony's nearly dead now no for real PSOne Classics line.

Picross S: Genesis & Master System Edition

6. Picross S: Genesis & Master System Edition

You can make a Gilius Thunderhead nonogram ten out of ten.

Psychonauts 2

7. Psychonauts 2

Even if I've slightly cooled on the game since making this list, I'll still leave it here for posterity. Taking a rider on this one on the advice of a friend was a good idea. Terrible, terrible maps though.

Grandia II

8. Grandia II

The only game from the first year of the Off the Deep End show to make the list, but the best one as well. Joyous late 90's/early aughts anime RPG romp which put my modded Dreamcast to great use. Some truly delicious belly laughs to be had, both on its own merits and at its expense.

WarioWare Gold

9. WarioWare Gold

As I post this list I've been spending a lot of time with my 3DS, cherishing its last few months as a "whole" system with a functional store. WarioWare Gold was a fine farewell to the system, and a damn sight better than the WarioWare game we actually got in 2021.

Shenmue II

10. Shenmue II

An incredible hybrid of genuine masterpiece and sneer quotes "masterpiece". Walks such a fine line of being very good, being blissfully unaware of how bad it is, and sometimes looking right at the camera and winking at you when The Bad Things happen. It's great!