Peter's 2013 Gaming Awards

Well, it’s been a while since I put anything up on PG’s Game Room, but it seems to me like it’s that time of year again!

As per usual, this article only covers games I have played this year, not specifically brand-new games from this year. I will also throw up a mild Spoiler Warning for a couple games on this list. Enjoy!

Best Game Overall: Persona 4

Remember how last year I awarded this spot to the magnificent Persona 3, that game with a killer soundtrack, likeable characters, and a unique blend of traditional RPG mechanics and dungeon crawling with high school student life? Well, all the praise I heaped on that game can also be awarded to its sequel, the magnificent Persona 4. The Shin Megami Tensei series as a whole is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite game series, and I can’t wait to see what Atlus has in store for us in the future.

Most Under-Appreciated: Nier

Shin Megami Tensei IV Review

Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei series of role-playing games have always strayed from the beaten path when it comes to RPG storytelling, featuring a unique and compelling blend of contemporary settings (usually with a dash of cyberpunk for good measure) and realistic, morally ambiguous plotlines that often demands difficult decisions from the protagonist, and in turn the player. The series’ main titles have often presented the player with multiple flawed yet compelling philosophies, and asked them to choose which path, if any, they would stand for. The latest entry in this series, Shin Megami Tensei IV for the 3DS, is no different in this regard, and ultimately tasks the player with charting a new course for the world.

The story of Shin Megami Tensei IV begins in the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado, a medieval society made up of a curious blend of European and Japanese culture, where children who come of age have a chance to become Samurai. Your character (named Flynn by default) is one of these chosen youths, along with the boisterous Walter, caring Jonathan, and standoffish Isabeau. Of course, this being a mainline SMT game, the group soon finds themselves in the post-apocalyptic ruins of Tokyo, which dwells beneath their kingdom. Tokyo has become a desolate place where humans dwell underground and demons roam the streets. Soon, the Samurai become embroiled in the politics of different factions across Tokyo, and discover horrifying revelations about the city and their own kingdom- revelations that will test their friendships and their loyalties, sending each one of them down a wildly different path.

Your companions will react differently to your decisions.

My Review- Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (PS2)

Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei series started out as an obscure series of dungeon-crawlers, and while they were popular in their native Japan, they didn’t initially catch on overseas, with only a couple of shoddily-translated spin-off titles making it over here. That all changed with the 2003 release of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, the third entry in the “main” SMT series. This is the game that, for lack of a better phrase, started it all, a high-quality RPG that would set the stage for Digital Devil Saga/Personas 3 and 4, and would establish Shin Megami Tensei as a shining beacon among its contemporaries. The question is, does it still hold up today?

STORY

Persona 3: First Impressions

So, I haven't been feeling the best lately. Aside from getting my wisdom teeth taken out (which went well and I am mostly recovered by now), I haven't been able to muster much enthusiasm for anything recently. What with Rogue Galaxy falling by the wayside and trying to muster up some excitement for college in the fall, I've been very apathetic as of late.

Wait... apathetic? Apathy syndrome?

...here we go.

My Review: Radiant Historia (DS)

One of the sad truths of the current generation of gaming is that there has been a noticeable lack of truly great traditional roleplaying games. That’s not to say there haven’t been good ones, but as good as Lost Odyssey, Dark Souls, and Tales of Vesperia are, this generation has been marked by disappointment. Final Fantasy XIII wasn’t what everyone hoped it would be, Eternal Sonata was kind of preachy, and Hyperdimension Neptunia is absolute shite and I’m sorry for anyone who spent money on that travesty (I kid, I kid). While the blame for this may or may not be placed on these games developers, or on shifting perceptions among the gaming community, and the situation actually seems to be looking up as of late with great titles such as Xenoblade Chronicles just around the corner, there just doesn’t seem to be many modern RPGs that live up to their predecessors. Enter Radiant Historia, a game released in 2011 by Atlus, which clearly draws inspiration from the classics of old, such as Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI. Does it succeed as a great RPG experience, or is Radiant Historia a doomed pretender? Well, let it be known here and now- Radiant Historia is one of the best games to be released in a long time.