2013 Games Recap

Okay, let's get back to business. My last post may be boring, but it was necessary. 2012 never really got explored, and I had to at least make note of what happened. Having entered 2014, 2013 needs to be on the books - let's recap.

*As usual, a note must be made about my "rules", which unsurprisingly have not changed: all games listed were played during 2013 (though does not necessarily mean started during 2013); all games were played for at least one hour; games in bold are those finished; those without endings are still listed; finished does not mean 100%, but those that meet such requirements will be noted with a * (being met within the game parameters or having all Xbox 360 achievements); finally, any games finished in a year prior - therefore not my first playthrough - are noted with a ^.

Nintendo DS: Played 4 - Beaten 0
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
Crosswords DS
Final Fantasy III
Picross DS^

Nintendo 3DS: Played 7 - Beaten 1
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy^
Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan
Heroes of Ruin
Pushmo
Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance]
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Pokemon X

GameBoy Advance: Played 1 - Beaten 0
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

Wii: Played 1 - Beaten 0
Rhythm Heaven Fever

PlayStation Portable: Played 3 - Beaten 1
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable

PC: Played 1 - Beaten 0
Stacking

Xbox 360: Played 22 - Beaten 11
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim^ (DLC)
Mass Effect^
Saints Row: The Third
Fez
Mass Effect 2
American McGee's Alice
Alice: Madness Returns
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Shadow Complex^
Left 4 Dead 2^
Batman: Arkham City
Terraria
Earth Defense Force 2017
Bioshock Infinite
Borderlands
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Grand Theft Auto V
The Walking Dead
Dust: An Elysian Tale
Tomb Raider
Trials HD
Spelunky

Total: Played 39 - Beaten 13

Well, my original theory that I may be finishing up more of my unfinished backlog before beginning new games turned out to be incorrect. On a good note, my ratio of played to beaten games is no worse than my 2011 year - about one game finished for every three played. Unfortunately, while not shown anywhere on my blog, my backlog bought ratio is probably along the lines of four games purchased for every one game finished, if that. The only good news is that looking at my list of "would like to own" games, there really aren't that many more games out there that I would like to own for playthrough purposes (games for collection purposes, while a very small list, is a different entity).

What I can take away from this list is that I preferred my Xbox 360 during 2013. This could possibly be due to not having to wear headphones anymore to play console games, thanks to having my own apartment again. I also see that my handheld systems are primarily used for RPGs, which is no surprise. Besides those, action and adventure games seem to be another genre I favored through the year. Overall, it's a pretty diverse list, which I'm happy to see.

I'd like to note a couple games and series on this list, as I'll likely post more in depth about them later. For example: I have two unfinished Castlevania games on this list (Dawn of Sorrow and Circle of the Moon). These are fantastic games, which I likely did not finish due to being pulled away for another great game. I will definitely be finishing both of these, and am still trying to find Portrait of Ruin and Order of Ecclesia for decent prices.

Grand Theft Auto V was a great game, and will likely see a post including it in the future. My plan is a very long post on the open-world genre of games, basically breaking down the pros and cons of different titles. These include but are not limited to: Grand Theft Auto V, Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Saints Row: The Third, and Just Cause 2. These types of games are growing both in number and in vastness in-game, yet no one has perfected it. If I can get all my thoughts into a document, and arrange them into a worthy rant, this post will happen.

Most of the other unfinished games seen here are on my "to finish in 2014" list, most notably SMT: Persona 3 Portable. Letting this go unfinished into 2015 is not a good option at this point.

Finally I must touch upon the Final Fantasy series. I beat Final Fantasy (PSP anniversary version) in 2012. At the very beginning of 2013 (missed 2012 by a few days) I beat Final Fantasy II (PSP anniversary version). Yet Final Fantasy III (DS version) has been my brick wall, so much so that I broke my own rule and started Final Fantasy IV (Complete Collection version for PSP). I didn't get very far in IV before telling myself that I would not go any further, and that I really do want to beat them all in order. As it stands, FF III has held me back from progressing with this series. This is both good and bad. I know what lies past FF III, and it's almost nothing but good games, which is frustrating because of how bad I think FF III is. On the other hand, seeing all those excellent games in the future is that much more reason to push through this one. The problem isn't the difficulty. Yes, it's brutal, especially the final dungeon I keep reading about. But being a typical JRPG, grinding can solve that problem. My frustration is the tedium with the grinding, and a variety of other poor choices made by the developers, for both the original NES version and the upgraded DS port. I won't go into it just yet, but when I finish that game, I will have a lengthy and very opinionated post.

Those are my thoughts at the moment, and of my 2013 recap. For 2014, look to see more sequels if I post, as well as some older titles from what is now "last-gen" (Xbox 360, etc.).