#21

Change YoY: =    My Rating: 9.4 / 10

And now we come to the best game in the Trails of Cold Steel series, though still not quite the best The Legend of Heroes game. Trails of Cold Steel II is one of the very few games I've ever rushed to buy the moment I finished the previous game in a series. I remember quite vividly watching the end credits to the first game, and immediately afterwards ordering the second game online. Can't say I regret that decision. This was the perfect follow-up to the first game, with a exceptional sense of escalation in the story, raising the stakes and eventually wrapping up many of the main plot threads from the first game while also setting up the next two games in the series.

I like the increased variety in the gameplay, especially when it comes to the battles as in addition to the normal combat, the game properly introduces mech combat as a significant element going forward, something the later games would further expand on. The characters are given more depth as their backstories are explored further, the world feels vast and varied, and the music is excellent. Anyway, I've already talked about five different entries in this series during this event, and I still have two more to go, so maybe I'll something for later. To put it simply, I'm a huge fan of this series, I've played eight different games in it and none of them have disappointed me yet.

Guessed by @UnderwaterFunktown

The game that brought me back into the Pokémon franchise for a brief stint before it lost me for good a few years later. Black & White were the peak of this series' storytelling, arguably the only good games with a decent story to begin with - I got invested in a couple characters and the overarching plotline of this, and I can't help but wish the franchise had stayed on this path instead of... whatever happened after. Either way, I'll always cherish these.

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#25 - the composer of this game wrote several of the musical tracks in a 2023 RPG heavily inspired by the game
#24 - this isn't the first game in the series, but it is the first in the the fictional timeline; maybe that's why it's getting the remake treatment
#23 - the main character in this cerebral action-adventure game has the same name as an infamous Russian imperial mystic
#22 - this game was bundled with its more popular spiritual sequel in a PS3 HD remaster collection
#21 - the main character transforms into a mural in this game; it's not quite as cool as turning into a wolf

Chrono Trigger & Ico?

OT - Also for this:

#17. The number 37 is strongly related to it.

Think of... a moment...

24: I guess this could be Final Fantasy VII

23: Psychonauts

A Link Between Worlds?

Correct!

Psychonauts is right! #24 is a prequel, set in the 1960s.

Bingo!

Guessed by @S.Peelman

This had been too low in recent years. It makes sense, to be fair - Star Fox as a franchise had been fading from the realm of things I care or think about regularly. That's changed this year, though, I've really rediscovered my love for these wacky space animals.

I'm not entirely sure why, but at some point halfway through 2023 my brain decided it was time to revive the old idea I had about my dream Star Fox game, and instead of just developing an idea with no end goal (cause I'm obviously not gonna get to make that game!), I went as far as to start writing down the story as if it was a book. I didn't get too far into it, to be honest, but it was really nice to daydream about it. In truth, what really gave me a lot of motivation to work on it was watching the second episode of A Fox in Space, a fanfic cartoon made mostly by one dude. The first episode came out all the way back in 2016 and I didn't care much for it, but this new one, it absolutely blew me away.

This franchise just means so much to me, I can't help but daydream about everything it could be. It's saddening that the only great game it's produced is a rather short arcade blast - I want to see this series grow and evolve into something grander, with a real story, these characters have such colourful personalities and they could carry a much more interesting narrative than what they've been given so far (and probably ever will be).

Anyway, at least we'll always have Star Fox 64. Small, short, yes, but so rich in character, every line a classic, every stage rich in detail, and it packs a punch with some genuine heartfelt moments that somehow hit harder than most games Nintendo's ever made. I don't know if I'll ever finish my story about them, hell I don't even know when I'm gonna feel better and more motivated to get anything done, but James McCloud would tell me to never give up and to trust my instincts. And he'd be right.

That this little game you beat in an hour instigates so much imagination says it all.

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Might as well nab the last one: MGS3

That’s the one!