In previous years, I would create a crazy wish list of games that have zero chances of being released. This year, I wanted to look at things on a more realistic level and talk about games that I want to finish this year, games I’m looking forward to this year, and a few wishes that I would like to see happen (grounded in reality). It is my hope that the games I declare that I am going to finish in this post will actually get done this year. I am going to focus more on my older games in my collection since it is high time I start knocking those off my list.
Games That I Am Going To Finish This Year
Unfinished Tales of Games (Destiny/Eternia/Graces F/Xillia 2)
A friend and I decided that we would take this year to finish all the Tales of games that we have not finished. My list only consists of Destiny, Eternia, Graces F (never finished the additional story), and Xillia 2. Eventually I will find a way to play Destiny 2, Rebirth, and Innocence, but for now I will stick to the ones that were released here in North America. If I have the time, I may even finish Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology if I’m feeling up to it.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV
This is a long ass game. I am close to done with it at the moment, but I can only play this game in chunks at the moment (I wouldn’t be able to do anything else). The sad thing about finishing this game is not reaching the conclusion of this storyline, but the fact that I can now focus on the first three games in the whole series and then the Crossbell duology when they start coming out this year. I enjoy this series but it is a commitment.
Suikoden
Kat has owned the entire mainline Suikoden games ever since we’ve been together. I always had an interest in playing the games, but never felt motivation to start them. Now seems to be a good time with the spiritual successor to the series, Eiyuden Chronicles, coming out (hopefully) next year. This will give me time to play through at least the second game in the series and cross that game off my gaming bucket list.
Pandora’s Tower
Pandora’s Tower escaped me when Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story came out on the Wii. At first it didn’t really interest me like Monolith’s blockbuster hit or Sakaguchi’s legacy. I was able to get the game for Christmas last year, so I think it is now time to get the last of the trio done.
Final Fantasy V
Along with the Tales of games, I need to continue my playthrough of every mainline Final Fantasy game. There are only a few left on my list, so I decided to start with the oldest game on my list. After I finish V I will only have VII, VIII, XI (I guess), XII, XIII, and XV left.
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wing and the Lost Ocean
This is a series that I’ve been looking forward to playing. I’ve had this game since 2018, but I’ve never felt the urge to jump into the game immediately. Going to change that this year and figure out why I didn’t dive into this series earlier.
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence/Curse of Darkness
Every year for the month of October, I like to play through Castlevania games to get into the festive mood. I’ve had Lament of Innocence for the longest time and it is the one that started this idea. Unless another surprise collection comes out (N64 or DS games), then this will be the year I finally run the steak through this game’s heart.
Persona 4 Arena/Ultimax
I guess since Ultimax is being rereleased, now is the time to finish the original versions on PS3. I started the first Arena game, but the structure of long dialogue and then one round of fighting really put me off this game. I will strap in and push through it just to cross these games off my list.
Monster Hunter
While everyone is enjoying the PC release of Monster Hunter Rise, I am going to travel back in time and play the first game on PS2. Let’s see how an unknown game at the time became this global phenomenon that it is today. Hopefully I won’t have to relearn the claw-hand method in order to play it.
Dark Souls 2
Since I finished the first game, the second game should be the next logical step. I am already halfway through with the game, but I’m currently stuck in the catacombs. Once I’m done with the game I would like to ask why this is the black sheep of the series. Minus being easier than the first game, I have been enjoying my time with it.
Fifteen games sounds like a good start. These represent the games that I am committed to finishing this year. There will be others that I will play, but for the most part these are the ones that I am responsible for.
Now let’s talk about some games that are coming out this year. There will most likely be surprises that are announced later this year, but these are the current games I have my eyes on.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
I’m still not sold on the presentation, but I’m going to look past that and judge the game for what it is. Game Freak has a lot of confidence that this game will live up to their expectations, but we all know an angry mob is ready to go the minute this game is released. Other than that, I’m looking forward to seeing what the game offers and if this is a new experience to Pokémon that I’ve been looking for.
Dynasty Warriors 9: Empires
I’ve only seen a preview of this game, and from what I saw it looked interesting. Despite me liking musou games, I haven’t really played much of the original Dynasty Warriors games. It definitely looks like they are adding more strategy with the game with infiltrating forts in order to mow down your enemies in a hack and slash manner. Keeping this game on my radar for now.
Elden Ring
It’s your most anticipated game of the year. It’s also one of my most anticipated games of the year. This game looks amazing. That’s all I can really say.
Triangle Strategy
Stupid name from stupid Square Enix looks really good. I don’t have a big attachment to games like Final Fantasy Tactics or Ogre Battle, but what I have seen so far has piqued my interest. Hopefully the story keeps me engaged unlike Octopath Traveler.
Chocobo GP
While you all speculate about Mario Kart 9, I will be playing the best racing game for the year. Chocobo GP might not have the status of Mario Kart, but racing with Final Fantasy characters and themes is enough for me. I just hope it is good.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
This game looks stupid. The premise is stupid. Everything about this game feels stupid. That is why I am so looking forward to this game! I needed a new game to match the edginess of Shadow the Hedgehog to be a guilty pleasure for years to come.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
I’ve dabbled in the Borderland series here and there. I wasn’t thrilled about the performance issues I had with Borderlands 3, but Borderlands 2 was fun with friends and solo. Painting the series with a fantasy coat of paint but retaining gun and loot gameplay of Borderlands sounds like a fun time.
Finally, let’s talk about some games that I would like to see come out this year.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: All-Star Carnival
I had the opportunity to play the arcade version of this game. It is intense and a big upgrade from Curtain Call on the 3DS. I thought the controls would make it hard to transition this to consoles, but after playing it, I believe it could work perfectly. After playing Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memories, the control scheme that they used in that would work the same. Service for the arcade version is ending this year, so now would be a good time to port all of the content to consoles. I will keep my expectations of this happening on the lowest scale since this game would be fun, but Square does not care about that anymore. If they could port that crappy Dissidia game, I know they could easily do this.
A Fire Emblem Remake
I don’t know which one they would do next, but it is in the realm of possibility. I would love a remake of the Tellius duology, but any of the Gameboy Advance titles or the Genealogy games would be cool as well. We haven’t heard anything since Three Houses, so it will be interesting if Nintendo would want to compete with Triangle Strategy coming out as well.
Hollow Knight: Silksong
This is for all Hollow Knight fans. I haven’t had the chance to play Hollow Knight yet (despite owning it), but I know how excited you all are for this. I know this, because every time an indie event comes up, it always trends like no one’s business. I’m just ready for this game to come out so people can shut up about it. Please give Team Cherry the time they need to make this game good.
And finally…
Some Remake or Re-Release That I Wasn’t Expecting Or Don’t Need, But I End Up Getting It Anyway
Last year it was the Castlevania Advance Collection. The year before that was that awful Crystal Chronicles remastered. There is something every year that escapes previous hardware and is available to a newer audience. I could try and guess what it might be this year, but I’ll let the surprise announcement try and surprise me.
So what are your plans for the year?
Tales From The Backlog 