Soooo many games that I've waited forever for have finally come out. Even things I didn't know I wanted. Let's review...
Breath of the Wild: Ever since 1998's Ocarina of Time I always felt Zelda has stayed the same. It just didn't move forward. In a lot of ways OoT was better and more ambitous than the Zeldas to come after it. Now we finally get a new Zelda that innovates for the series and it looks like it will never go back to what it once was (at least not for console Zelda games that is).
Nioh: I loved 2004's Ninja Gaiden. The sad thing is that aside from a so-so sequel Team Ninja just came out with flop after flop after flop. It's just been so frustrating to see so many of their other projects flounder. Ninja Gaiden seemed to be a flash in the pan project. Then outta nowhere comes Nioh, proving that Team Ninja still has what it takes to make fantastic games. Nioh is the real Ninja Gaiden II IMO. I've been pining for a good hack n' slash by these guys for years.
Sonic Mania: A good, no wait! An excellent Sonic game in 2017? This is the best Sonic game since Sonic 2, or Sonic CD. Sonic sucked aside from a few handheld outings for decades! And even those handheld games don't stack up to this masterpiece.
Horizon Zero Dawn: One of the best games this year, and just as much deserving of high praise as BotW. Guerilla games proved they were good at making games with Killzone 2, but a shooter and an open world RPG are two different things entirely. They knocked this one out of the park. It has elements from Skyrim, Monster Hunter, Uncharted, and many other games all perfectly rolled into one.
Persona 5: Nearly a ten year wait for this. Worth it!
Metroid Samus Returns: Another game that just took for freakin ever. There hasn't been a good Metroid title since 2007's Metroid Prime 3.
Yakuza Zero: This game comes out with the perfect engine and assets ushering in quick, but good remakes of Yakuza 1 and 2.
Resident Evil 7: Arguably the first genuinely good VR game.
Etrian Odyssey V: I know this isn't very much looked forward to by that many people. Etrian Odyssey has always been a niche series. But I've been waiting for Atlus to stop making remakes of the earlier games and finally do a true sequel. What I love about Etrian Odyssey is that it takes combat in a turn based RPG to a whole new level. Bosses in this series don't wait for you to find them, they hunt your ass down and kill you. The Bosses in this game can be effected by status effects like any other creature, without ridiculous resistences. This adds a strategic layer that is just missing from a lot of other turn based RPGs. Games are always more fun when they challenge you, and Etrian Odyssey is always a challenge.
Super Mario Odyssey: Yeah. A full blown Mario platformer in the vien of Galaxy/64/Sunshine. Sorry folks, but 3D World doesn't count. That game could have and should have been a 3DS game. Not much else to say on this one. Epic game will be epic.
Splatoon 2: I loved the original, but this one is nearly perfect now that a massive balance patch has been implemented. The Tri-Slosher was nerfed. Ink Armor was nerfed. Sting Ray got a huge buff. Ink Jet got a small nerf. Other subs like Sprinkler and Point Sensor have been made more useful as well. I feel like I can play as my stealth build without having to worry about Tri-Sloshers killing me on accident. Splatling is much more playable with Sting Ray firing a twice as big jet of ink, and with Sprinkler no longer taking up all your Ink reserves.
Nier Automata deserves praise as well.
And to top it all off, to make all this even better, Nintendo releases a successful console that actually sells! It's not selling on gimmicks this time. It's selling because it has good games, and good features. I've started to buy Indies for the system, and I think everyone here knows how I feel about paying full price for digital goods. The portability factor for Indie games is too good to pass up. Surely Iwata is smiling from somewhere right now.
Full list for 2017...
Breath of the Wild Persona 5 Nioh Yakuza 0 Yakuza Kiwami Final Fantasy XII Remake Uncharted Lost Legacy Nier: Automata Horizon Gravity Rush 2 Tales of Bersia YS VIII Puyo Puyo Tetris Sonic Mania Splatoon 2 Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Hopefully) Super Mario Odyssey Metroid II: Return of Samus Etrian Odyssey V Mario x Rabbids Resident Evil 7 Injustice 2 Destiny 2 (A huge surpise that this wasn't terrible) Prey Hollow Knight The Sexy Brutale Tekken 7 Hellblade Disgaea 5 Complete Crash Trilogy Fire Emblem Echoes
