PaigeFTW: The Year in Games
2016 was a good year for games. There’s just no other way to put it. Sequels lived up to their predecessors. Original titles were refreshing and fun. The Last Guardian and Final Fantasy XV were both real things that really happened. And 2017 is looking even better.
So, in brief, here are some of the titles that stood out most for me this year. Here’s to another year of great games!
- Fire Emblem Fates — An ambitious attempt to expand on Awakening’s revival of the storied strategy series occasionally fell prey to favoring quantity over quality. But as any FE addict can tell you, more is sometimes just as good as better. My pick of the trilogy is Conquest, for the most challenging battles.
- Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE — The long-awaited Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei collaboration was a joyous tribute to the Japanese entertainment industry, with a killer soundtrack I’m still listening to, six months later. Also, it’s a last gasp of air for the Wii U.
- Pokemon Sun and Moon — I sometimes disbelieve in Nintendo, but they gave me a Pokemon game that felt fresh and new like it hasn’t in, well, about 10 years or more for me. How people are still talking about Pokemon Go and not this is mindboggling.
- Civilization VI —Though it had a shaky start, the latest entry adds needed adjustments and refinements of the formula. And it remains as devastatingly addictive as ever.
- Final Fantasy XV — Oh, come on. You know I had to include it.
Paige, you might be squawking, what about all the other games that came out in 2016? And don’t you play anything other than Nintendo games?
Well, that’s the beauty of it, you know. There was just so much good stuff out this year, I couldn’t possibly play it all. And despite all the articles of late about its imminent doom, Nintendo is chugging along.
