This was pretty much what I wanted it to be, plus more. As a Suikoden fan, I've been waiting for a long time for another Suikoden game, and I had pretty much accepted that it likely would never happen. With Eiyuden Chronicle, I got the next best thing. In all honesty, my expectations for this game were somewhat low, and maybe that's why I was so impressed, but I absolutely enjoyed every second of the 100-plus hours that I played. This isn't for everyone, but if you like old JRPGs from the PS1 and PS2 era, then you'll likely find something to enjoy here.

I think Silent Hill 2 may be the best remake that I've ever played...it manages to stay true to the original, so most fans of that game will be happy, but it also adds enough "modern" touches to make it more accessible to new players. I really, really enjoyed wandering the streets of Silent Hill and just exploring...and I found dumb enjoyment in breaking any and all glass that I could find - store windows, car windows, television screens....all broken. My only real complaint, which is minor, is that I felt that this game was stretched out a bit too long. I know that games these days "need" to have gameplay hours in the double digits, but I feel like this could have been shortened a tad and been a little more effective...y'know, kinda like how the original was. Anyway, I'm a big fan....but as much as I love this remake, I'd really just rather have a brand new game and story in the Silent Hill franchise.

I'm a Shin Megami Tensei fanatic....I love SMT so much, that I made sure that I got myself a job in the SMT industry.....okay, that's not why I got a job in that industry (SMT = surface mount technology when applied to the electronics workforce, by the way) but it sounded good, so I went with it. Anyway, even for games that I look forward to (and especially for games that I look forward to) I try my best to avoid hearing any information about upcoming releases. I like to be surprised. So, when I saw Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance was coming out, I thought it was going to be a sequel like Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse was. Instead, Vengeance is the original SMTV game with an updated/alternate reality version of the game bundled in. I liked the original so much that going through the same game with a different story didn't bother me...it had enough new stuff in it that as soon as I thought I knew where the story was going, it swerved me and headed in a new direction. Like the original SMTV, I'm sure I'll be playing this one on and off for the next few years. I've already started playing it on PC on and off to compare it to the PS5 version that I played through earlier this year. Between the PS5 and PC versions, I'm guessing that I've put more hours into this game than any other this year.

Echoes of Wisdom took the visual style of the Link's Awakening remake and put Zelda in as the main character role for the first time in an official Nintendo game...the result, as one can usually expect from Nintendo, was excellent. Not having an ability to attack on her own, Zelda instead is able to summon "echoes." The echoes may be stationary items like beds or jars, or more often, they'll be various enemies that you defeat, essentially turning most confrontations into a strategic fight where you summon creatures to battle other creatures. You CAN transform into a fighting version of Zelda, channeling the skills of Link, but your ability to use that skill is limited, so it's best saved for boss fights or when you're in a pickle. This limited use of fighting mixed with the strategy of using echoes really helps make thisa unique experience and another very good Legend of Zelda game.

I love finding poor, b-movie-style horror games....and when I found Egg Fried Rice, I asumed it would be a very poor game that fit that description. When I booted it up and started to play, I was instantly impressed with it. For a game that is only available over at itch.io, this game is very good...a lot of games published there are incomplete or very, very basic. Egg Fried Rice, while not exactly complicated, does a good job of changing the gameplay up enough where its simplicity feels acceptable...and the little things, like a few radio stations to listen to, just add to the experience and help give the illusion that it's a deeper experience than it is. It's short - maybe 15 minutes a game. But it also has four endings to unlock (though depending on your actions, you'll get "alternate" versions of some of those endings) and bonus features that may appear upon completion. The game itself is free, but you can donate to the developer if you like it. I wound up giving the developer 6 times their asking price of $2 just because I liked what they did here so much. Egg Fried Rice isn't the greatest game ever made by any stretch of the imagination, but if this is a sample of what Grainwood Games can do, I would love to see what they come up with for something with a little more meat to it. I really, really enjoyed the hour or two I spent with this game - the hidden gem of my Halloween game fest this year. I highly recommend giving it a try.

I have always loved Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, so I naturally wanted to play the game that came before it. After years of waiting, I finally played it this year, and I think I love this game even more than Eternal Punishment. I like the story more, at the very least. Eternal Punishment makes some gameplay tweaks, but I can't help but prefer Innocent Sin to it....maybe because a Maya with dialogue feels like a better character than the mute Maya in Eternal Punishment....likewise, Tatsuya works just fine as a mute in this game, especially since he wasn't exactly Mr. Talkative in Eternal Punishment. Anyway, besides the fact that I really, really enjoy this game, getting the back story to Eternal Punishment made me appreciate that game quite a bit more, too. If it wasn't for my self-imposed rule of putting new games in the front of this list, Innocent Sin would likely top my list this year. It's a game that I feel like I'll be returning to on a regular basis in the coming years.

Better late than never, eh? I've always wanted to play ICO...but it took me 23 years before I finally decided to pull the trigger on it. I'm kicking myself that I hadn't played it sooner. I labeled the game as an adventure game in the GamePro picture there, but I almost think of it more like an action-based puzzle game. ICO isn't for everyone, but you can toss me into the group of folks that fell in love with it....even if I'm very, very late to the party.

I have always loved Suikoden III. I'd argue that it may be my favorite game in the franchise, honestly. I like the art direction of the 3D models, I like the characters that the story tends to focus on, and I just really, really like the concept of this game. I didn't always feel this way....the first time I played it, I wasn't a fan of the combat system and the fact that I couldn't wander a world map, but over time I grew to really appreciate everything in this game for what it was. I'm glad I had a chance to play through it again this year.

Ever since I first played this game in 2001, I've never stuck with Dragon Warrior III to the end...until this year. However, now that I have, it's very easy to see why this game is such a favorite amongst Dragon Quest fans. I feel like it takes a little bit to get rolling, but once it does, it's fantastic. The last portion of the game is also a nice little bonus for fans of the original Dragon Warrior...I won't spoil it in case anyone wants to discover it for themselves. Anyway, if you don't mind the grind-heavy and exploration-heavy nature of early RPGs, then Dragon Warrior III is absolutely fantastic.

When I sat down to play Kero Kero King again earlier this year, I had only planned to play a few holes of frolf (frog golf) and write up a mini review...and before I knew it, I had put over a dozen hours into this game. The characters that you encounter are some of my favorites that I've encountered in a video game....I am always drawn to the bizarre, and playing a game of golf, where balls are replaced by frogs, while competing against a murderous can of tomato juice....well, let's just say I was sucked right in. Kero Kero King isn't the best game I've played by any stretch, but if I can raise any awareness to it by tossing it on this list, then I'll gladly do so. And, yes, if you're wondering, Ribbit King on PS2 and Gamecube was the sequel to this game, and the only game in the franchise released outside of Japan.