2024 - I

  2024 was, for a variety of personal reasons, a very unpleasant year. Not wishing to dwell on those, let's instead focus on its cultural and person highlights. I'll also touch on some cultural lowlights but will skip the personal ones.

2024 was the year of RPGs. Spurred on by the discovery of the Eiyuden series heralded by the Suikoden creators, I dove headfirst into long series of other RPG, mostly JRPG and dungeon crawlers. 

First things first, I'd like to start with Dragon Quest XI, which was my favourite. Not being a huge fan of the series, I had enjoyed Dragon Quest VIII quite a bit on the PS2. After tons of side-series, as well as handheld (IX) and online (X) exclusives, XI was the fitting successor to DQVIII. That I finally began playing it 20 years after DQVIII is a funny coincidence. What's the merit of this series? Its fundamental relevance in the genre has made all tenets very well established. Certainly, it doesn't feel like a massive leap forward from the previous games yet there's a comforting familiarity in the never ending quest across a fantasy land. This helped visually by the works of the late Akira Toriyama and HD visuals - certainly it has never looked this good. The familiarity of the series also harkens back to simpler mechanics when the current context is more attuned to the action-JRPG. Here, while a certain degree of action is allowed, I tended to play strickly turn-based. The only innovation being a "pepped-up" state, both random or induced by potions that increases critical hits. Thus everything is as its always been, pleasant, linear and reassuring. These characteristics obviously can be pointed as downsides yet, I'd say if you're looking for innovation, look elsewhere as there are numerous other series that keep reinventing the wheel - we'll address some later on. The one downside I'd put forward is the artificial ending. I won't bother with reserving spoilers on a 7 year old game but the final battle spurs a travel back in time to replay the adventure - a sort of NG+ without being given the option. My option was to stop playing as over 40 hours of play was more than enough for what I was looking for.

In all, a great one from Enix, and I hope, being that these games are so well spaced apart, we can keep enjoying these once a decade like a warm cup of tea in a cold winter's night.

Moving on, I'd like to adress both Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising and Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, which are the crowdfunded successors of the Suikoden creators, who have indeed stepped away from Konami, as many other have. Rising has a natural charm due to its sparser presentation and odd design. Sideview action is played with a constant team of three, in a way that is satisfying but also stimulating to keep unlocking new areas, and improving your arsenal, while completing sidequests. Some of the sidequests are less than inspired. The saving grace happens to be that the game is not so long that it nauseates. Being tightly contained, its shortcomings are only briefly apparent. It's a nice diversion and quite a unique game in its right. Hundred Heroes, on the other hand, is a more classical 2D RPG. As per its Suikoden heritage there is an incredible amount of recruitable characters. More surprising is how unique they are, as well as how stimulating to use they are, particularly in combination. Combat is one of the highlights of the game, employing a timed turn-based with different terrain tiers. This mean that, along with the limit to the number of characters you can have in your party, there's a lot of play in deciding the best formation. Story is adequate but otherwise not entirely captivating. As a reimagining of a classical RPG it is, however, much more interesting and straightforward than most.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the current latest iteration of the famous series. Continuing the reinvention started in the previous episode, Infinite Wealth now also takes place in part in Hawaii. The foreign location opens new horizons for the series although not always in a 100% positive way. While the story is convoluted like few others, the fact that it packs a lot and with endearing protagonists makes it quite a ride. As usual, sidequests and minigames are plentiful, although after so many games in the series there's always the thought that perhaps previous episodes had a better, if smaller, selection. The crown of the gameplay has to go to the battle system which is, bar none, the most satisfying turn-based system I have found. This results especially from the positioning and combinations between characters, as well as the janken-type spell system, which enables building very enthusing combos, putting together strategy and reflexes at once. Despite everything, after playing it so much and for so long I have to admit I feel burned out on the series. One can only take so much!..

The rest: Nayuta Boundless Trails is an incredibly charming game that feels like a game from 20 years ago, in a good way. There is something about how it looks and plays that seems from another time, perhaps an heritage of being a PSP game, originally. Scarlet Nexus, on the other hand, looks very different. Not exactly very modern but there's a feel of being slightly offbeat. Critically, it reminded me of what if Digital Devil Saga was an action RPG? The Diofield Chronicle is, mechanically, a weird one indeed. You can sense a yearn to innovate. It's almost like set piece by set piece with a fresh battle system that sometimes tries so much to be different that it works against it. I still thought it was great to play but it's only for battle afficionados.

Finally, it was crucially the year of Dungeon Crawlers. This is a genre I had seldom gone into. I'm being broad in my definition as I'm including not only the hardcore first-person on a grid types, but also the 3rd person free roaming ones that take place in dungeons.

Perhaps to start, three that are tied thematically: Persona 4 Golden, SMT III: Nocturne and Soul Hackers 2. Three flavours of the same source. At a time when Atlus and Persona have seemingly surpassed Squenix and Final Fantasy as the most popular RPG company and series, I could see its appeal. Even though characters are chibi, the representation of Japan is endearing and the battle mechanics rock-solid - a must in these types of games. Unfortunately it lacks the depth and gloom of the core Shin Megami Tensei games. Nocturne was a game I didn't manage to get into on PS2 when it came out. It is still somewhat rough around the edges, at a time when the series were starting to branch out into quite distinct little things. To me, Digital Devil Saga still holds a special place. Soul Hackers 2, though, almost came through. To me, it has about as much as style as any other game of the series. The gameplay as well is incredibly fun. Unfortunately it becomes somewhat plodding, perhaps unaided by a cast that while competent, does not leave much of a mark.

Perhaps three more in succession, not as tied together but that somehow go well together: Operation Babel, Dark Rose Valkyrie, Undernauts Labyrinth of Yomi. Babel is perhaps the most forgettable of the three, while also the most traditional. Gameplay does not innovate much beyond what you would expect from a japanese dungeon crawler. The characters and story are just a disappointment, adding nothing that I can really go for these days. Battle mechanics are solid and that's enough, barely. Dark Rose Valkyrie I enjoyed a lot more. Battle mechanics are more traditional RPG but gameplay is, similar to SMT games, all about crawling dungeons. The story and characters were actually more interesting and with a lot more personality. It adds a bit of intrigue with adventure/sound novel type interactions in between the action. Finally, Undernauts is another old school offering. There's a lot of style and also a lot of unforgiving pain. While the preentation is undoubtedly very stylish, I would say it's the same problem as with Babel: too many characters and very outlandish. When everyone looks outlandish, no one looks outlandish. One for the hardcore battle experts I'd say.

Jumping on to the west, Vaporum and Star Crawlers. Vaporum is a wonderful game. Technically excellent, marrying hardcore battle gameplay with puzzle solving and an incredible sense of atmosphere. It's laudable that western developers are still putting out games like these. It fills a small niche but it fills it completely. I couldn't find a fault within. This is one to replay this year. Star Crawlers is also a good effort, slightly below in terms of my satisfaction. The science fiction setting is a bit more generic and the gameplay a bit looser. It's still an endearing play but one that, to me, made me struggle to keep motivated to keep at it.

Finally, I will highlight two independent gems. Dungeon Antiqua actually came out late in 2024. It's a 2D dungeon crawler, seen from a top down perspective and where battle gameplay is more akin to the early Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. What is lovely about it is not only how much of a love letter it is to the classics, but how tight everything is. It just works. It would take top marks were it not for Dragon Ruins! This one, while perhaps a much more modest game, was the one that completely captivated me. We all know how annoying trying to run an Apple II game on a modern computer is. Forget about playing the old classics like The Black Onyx or Temple of Apshai. So having the same basic experience, in a tight, simple package that is not a huge pain or commitment in this day and age (perhaps a bit like Demon Lord Reincarnation is, great and much deeper as it is) was a revelation. This is a throwback to a simpler time. Four go in, a maze, many monsters, a dragon at the end... but it doesn't end, it loops! Come back to the village to heal and upgrade and this is the condensed Dungeons & Dragons experience that has enthranced millions. Perhaps the XXIst century, martial equivalent to solitaire, it's the great time waster as your heroes become more powerful and the maze, its treasures and ist monster unveil themselves before you. Truly one my most enjoyed pieces of last year.

Until next time when I'll continue with the recap of 2024.