[Question] The Gamingforce Game of the Year 2014: All aboard the hype train - voting edition

Even though I beat 40 games in 2014, most of them were not actually 2014 releases; I played a ton of 2013 releases on catchup like Fire Emblem Awakening, Link Between Worlds, SMT4, etc. Also since there were a number of games that we haven't played yet since we're waiting for a PS4/X1 to play them, so no Shadows of Mordor, Far Cry 4, Dragon Age, etc. In addition I should mention that Persona Q, Fantasy Life and Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix all would have had likely spots on this list but I didn't get to those in time either. With all of that said:



Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call - 25 Points

This game may be my GOAT. Absolutely nothing gives me warm fuzzy feelings like this game, and the nostalgia and feels it invokes; playing the Final Fantasy Medley EMS almost gets me teary-eyed. They got rid of practically all of the bullshit weird systems and roadblocks the original game had, and added a bunch of ton of new stuff, systems, music, and more. And now they are not only continuing to actively support the game with more content, they're even branching out into crazy awesome town with stuff like Chrono Trigger, SaGa Frontier, Xenogears, etc. The only tiny nitpick I can even think of with the game is some of the menus and loading are kind of slow, but I'm reaching a bit to even come up with that.

GET GOOD DLC

Bayonetta 2 - 15 points

Arguably the best character action game of all time. While the game doesn't quite reach the peak insanity of the end of the first game, overall it delivers a much consistent and crazier experience than the first game. Playing this immediately after the Wii U re-release of the first game really highlights a lot of the positive changes I had totally forgotten about, like all of the horrible instafail QTEs from the first game which are completely absent in the 2nd. Platinum continues to be on point mechanics-wise, the colorful nature of the sequel suits it very well, and the soundtrack continues to deliver. My only real issue with the game is it feels like more of a boss rush then the first game, it doesn't feel like you have as many regular enemies that you're fighting which I personally enjoyed since it gave you more opportunities to feel like a complete badass. In 2 it feels like you spend more time transversing environments to get to the next boss which isn't necessarily bad, but something I didn't enjoy as much.

Diablo III Reaper of Souls - 15 points

This expansion returns Diablo 3 to the king of all loot games. They addressed almost all of the huge issues that the original release had, making it an incredibly rewarding and replayable experience with an actual endgame. It only doesn't place even higher for me because there are certain walls/issues that come up at the very very endgame grind, and how they have handled Seasons has been extremely disappointing to say the least. However that's after having spent around 1200 hours on the game...so yeah.

Mario Kart 8 - 15 points

[ANGRY SKILLS SOUNDS INTENSIFIES]

Hyrule Warriors - 10 points

Yup, it's a Zelda Dynasty Warriors game. Very pleasantly surprised though at Adventure mode content, even with just the one base map the game comes with it adds several times the amount of content and gametime that the base story mode does. The sheer amount of crap to do and get is pretty ridiculous, we're probably at around 150 hours and haven't even touched either of the DLC packs...and there's 2 more on the way.

Also you have to appreciate them giving no fucks. For example, please observe Exhibit A above, which is the Skull Kid throwing the moon at Fierce Deity Link who gives no fucks and is about to cut it in half. Yeah.


Super Smash Bros. For Wii U - 10 points

As the first Smash game I've ever played for more than like 2 hours I'm actually really enjoying this, mostly due to it having generally acceptable online play. It would place higher on my list if it didn't have hilariously bad Nintendo online options; trying to get into the same lobby as Tails is ridiculous. Why wouldn't you let two people go into matchmaking together if it's for Doubles PLEASE UNDERSTAND


Bravely Default - 5 points

This is a bit of an odd one; this is the game I had hoped to finish before the deadline but didn't. The game has been a slow burn since I got it at launch, where I've gone back to it here and there. The game has the infamous twist or whatever you want to call it starting in Chapter 5, which I (and I'd imagine most people) saw coming from a million miles away. The problem is that I haven't actually beaten the game proper yet so I'm not sure how I'll feel about it at the end. Honestly in these games I care mostly about the mechanics over the story, and the gameplay and job system in this are fantastic, and as far as I've gotten past the twist it hasn't bothered me at all. So I think I'll wind up on the side of the fence where the repetitiveness doesn't bother me really, but I can't say for 100% sure yet. I do also find it a bit weird that everyone who complains about the latter part of the game seems to ignore that you can just turn encounters off, and ignore almost all of the content in the 2nd half of the game as it's purely optional and beat the entire 2nd part in 2-3 hours tops. Not that it excuses the design choice, but people seem to grossly exaggerate the amount of time it takes to actually clear the latter part of the game if you want to.

I am curious to see the ending though, since even the camp of people that shit on the 2nd half of the game seem to still agree that the ending is apparently amazing. Also I think we can all agree that the soundtrack for this game is absolutely fucking incredible, best JRPG soundtrack I can think of in recent memory by far.


Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker - 5 points

TOILET ADVENTURE

Also while I really enjoyed the game, I do feel like people give it a bit too much of a free pass because it's so cute/hilarious. It's fun, but it gets repetitive, the camera has issues, and grinding out the time trials and the last maze level (which to be fair are both optional) are kind of ridiculous. Still a great game I'd recommend, but expectations should be kept in check.

Jam it back in, in the dark.