12. Valkyria Chronicles (2008)
This is the 10th of a dozen new entries to my list (so many games played in two years, old and new alike). There's so much to love in this game. The hand drawn art style that is present not only in cutscenes but in gameplay is spectacular. What originally drew me to the game were the concepts of the battle system. Using the SRPG concept of having multiple characters move across the battle field but then stripping away the grid is pure genious and creates a slightly more realistic method of troop advancement on the battlefield. The story parallels World War II in a fantasy setting and does a good job of creating connections. I cried at one point during this game (you can probably guess) which also included one of the more poignant musical pieces in the game. The character leveling really lets you focus more of your time on actual tactics during battle instead of micromanaging your troops, which I like a lot.
Primarily an RPG player but have interest in any game that will make me think.
