My favorite games of 2019 that weren't actually released in 2019

Although the number of old games I play often competes with the number of new games I play in any given year, I'm pretty sure the scales tipped in favor of the former in 2019.

As such, I thought I should write up a post about my favorite games of the last year that, you know, weren't actually released during the last year.

A Witch’s Tale (DS)--Truth be told, I bought this Nippon Ichi-made RPG simply because I liked how it looked. I'd heard the rest of it wasn't very good, though, so dragged my feet on playing it. Now that I've not only started but finished it, I'm here to say all the folks who suggested I'd hate A Witch's Tale were wrong. It's no Mother or Undertale or, um, Bravely Default, as you might expect, but I still found it both fun and unique. Regarding the latter, A Witch's Tale is completely touch-based--you don't use your system's directional pad or buttons for anything. Also, there's no overworld to explore here. Instead, you jump between a small hub town and six larger areas that sport curious themes. Oh, and you fill your party with an assortment of odd-looking dolls rather than with other humans, which I found to be a particularly interesting change of pace.

Cave Noire (GameBoy)--Although I've played this Japan-only GameBoy game before, none of those experiences lasted more than an hour at most. I'm not sure why that is, as I usually love roguelikes. At any rate, I stuck with it quite a while longer than that this year. My thoughts on the four or so hours I devoted to Cave Noire in 2019? I adored them. They allowed me to discover just how much it differs from your typical example of the genre. For starters, the dungeons you explore here are delightfully bite-sized and perfect for brief bouts of gaming. Also, conquering them requires you to meet various goals, like collecting a certain amount of money or saving a specific number of caged fairies. Speaking of which, I have yet to beat all of Cave Noire's challenges, but I hope to do so in 2020--with the game's exceptional soundtrack egging me on all the way.

Crimson Shroud (3DS)--If I were to tag a theme to my last year with video games, it'd be something like "playing games I stupidly ignored in the past." Actually, though, I haven't ignored Crimson Shroud. In fact, I bought it upon release--only to play it in fits and spurts until earlier this year. Once again, I'm not sure why I failed to stick with it up to now. Its dice-centric battles, inspired by tabletop RPGs like Dungeons & Dragons, are right up my alley. As are Crimson Shroud's gritty aesthetic and cinematic soundtrack. Some of its late-game tussles grated on my nerves, I have to admit, but they barely put a dent in my enjoyment of this novel adventure.

Ever Oasis (3DS)--Unless something drastic happens between now and midnight on Jan. 1, this GREZZO-developed RPG will end up second among my most-played games of 2019. That's pretty cool, and surprising, considering I bought Ever Oasis expecting it to disappoint me (at least a bit). Obviously it didn't. Although it wasn't as Secret of Mana-esque as I was told it would be, I thought its real-time battles were even better than those of Squaresoft's 16-bit classic. I also appreciated Ever Oasis' enormous selection of whimsical weapons--its humungous hammers shaped like cacti and pinecones and other odd objects, in particular. The main complaint I can aim at this 3DS cart: its town-building component wore out its welcome well in advance of the finish line.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS)--Despite the fact that I love the original Final Fantasy Tactics dearly, I've never played its portable spinoffs. Or I hadn't played them before I stubbornly set out to beat Final Fantasy Tactics A2 this summer. Over 65 hours later, I met that objective--and then promptly returned the cartridge to its blue-sleeved case. Did I do so happily, or grouchily? It's hard to say. Only one aspect of A2 made me grouchy, but it was a doozy: the final battle. I loved pretty much everything else about it, though--from the graphics, to the music, to the focus on quests over story. Speaking of that last point, I know a lot of people wish Final Fantasy Tactics A2 had a better story. I'm not one of them. Most RPG stories are bloated, boring messes, in my opinion, so I'm fine with the one in Final Fantasy Tactics A2 doing the bare minimum to move things along.

Ghost Trick (DS)--I feel like I've said this a lot over the last few weeks, but I have a bad habit of avoiding games that garner too much hype from the masses. Capcom's Ghost Trick is but one example of a title that's met this sad fate. My loss, right? I'd certainly say so after playing through it on a tear this autumn. I had no idea the core gameplay in Ghost Trick was so ... puzzle game-ish. That alone increased my interest in it tenfold, though I found its art style, animation, dialogue, and music more than a tad captivating, too. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that, while it took me a while to play Ghost Trick for the first time, it won't take me quite so long to play it a second or even third time.

Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (DS)--I loved Hotel Dusk: Room 215 when I played through it a number of years ago. I expected to play through this follow-up shortly after, but you know how it often goes with best-laid plans. Oh, well, all that matters is I finally tackled it. And that I enjoyed nearly every minute of my time with Last Window. I especially liked that the setting was so different from that of Hotel Dusk. I'm unable to say the same about the new cast of characters, but you can't have everything, right? At least Last Window's soundtrack lived up to my sky-high expectations after the brilliant Hotel Dusk OST knocked me off my feet.

See also: my favorite games of 2019 and, uh, my other favorite games of 2019, too

So long, 'Bye-Bye, Backlog,' hello, 'Baby Got Back(log)'

I know it may seem a little late in the game (pun intended) to change the title of this particular series from "Bye-Bye, Backlog" to "Baby Got Back(log)," but, really, it's only early May, so there are nearly eight months left in the year to make use of the new moniker.

I can't claim responsibility for "Baby Got Back(log)," by the way--that honor goes to reader Tony Sadowski, who recently suggested it via The Gay Gamer Facebook page.

I thought it was so spot-on perfect that I couldn't help but steal it--with Tony's permission, naturally--and put it it to use.



And who knows? Maybe I'll continue this little "project" of mine next year, too. Not just so I can type "Baby Got Back(log)" as often as possible, mind you--although I'd surely be lying if I said that wasn't at least a slight source of inspiration.

Anyway, aside from that, I probably should tell you a bit about the games I've played since the last "Bye-Bye, Backlog," er, "Baby Got Back(log)" post I published.

Sadly, I've only enjoyed two titles in that time, both of which were nabbed from the 3DS eShop: Crimson Shroud and Witch & Hero.

I'm absolutely loving the former game, by the way. I love its graphics, its soundtrack--even its quirky, table-top-RPG-esque gameplay. I can't say I understand everything that's going on at the moment, but I'm guessing I'll get up to speed eventually.



I'm also continuing to enjoy Witch & Hero, of course, although not as much as I was earlier in the week. That's mainly because I'm stuck on the final boss. Here's hoping I can topple him tomorrow, so I can type up a "somewhat gay review" about it.

In the meantime, are any of you playing either of these games--or have you in the recent past? If so, what do you (or did you) think of them?

And if you aren't playing (or haven't played) either of them, what games are you playing right now?

And May's 'Bye-Bye, Backlog' selections are ...

... Crimson Shroud, Fire Emblem: Awakening and maybe Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon. I'm also hoping to wrap up my EarthBound playthrough.

I know, none of the above-mentioned titles were included on the list I mentioned in this post, but all of them are fairly recent additions to my gaming backlog, so I'm going to do my best to tackle them this month (while I also continue to chip away at Super Mario Sunshine, of course).

Will I "beat" all of them? I highly doubt it, but I'll give it my best shot.

The main reason I'm attempting to play through so many of my backlogged games between now and the end of May, by the way: I'm fully expecting THE "DENPA" MEN 2: Beyond the Waves (releasing on May 30) and Animal Crossing: New Leaf (due out on June 9) to hog my attention throughout the month of June.

Anyway, have any of you fine folks played any of the three 3DS games mentioned at the top of this post? If so, what do you think of them?

See also: previous 'Bye-Bye, Backlog' posts

Half-Minute Hero + Protect Me Knight + Ys = Witch and Hero (3DS)

My first encounter with the recently released 3DS eShop title called Witch and Hero (or Witch & Hero, if you get off on ampersands)--which basically involved me stumbling across its fabulously retro logo and a small handful of screenshots--was so positive I was sure it was my cup of tea.

My second run-in with this Circle Entertainment-published game--a write-up that made it seem like little more than an overly simplistic tower-defense title, although in this case you're actually defending a petrified witch, rather a tower, from swarms of enemies--wasn't so favorable, unfortunately, and pretty much convinced me to give it a pass.

Unsurprisingly (given my history as a gaming flip-flopper), the third time I rubbed eyeballs with Witch and Hero--thanks to the second video below--I was pushed to consider it once again.



Even then, though, I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive about its asking price. I know $3.99 isn't much, especially in the world of video games, but considering I spent just $4.99 on Crimson Shroud last week, forking over a dollar less for a digital title that at the time appeared to have a lot less content didn't much appeal to me.

So, with that in mind, I contacted the folks at Circle Entertainment and asked if they'd be willing to give me a free (review) copy of the game. Shockingly, they were.

I've since spent about five hours protecting the titular witch (while in the shoes of the pixelated hero also seen in the video above), and let me tell you: I've enjoyed pretty much every second of those five hours. Sure, I've had my ass handed to me once or twice (maybe more) in that time, but that's never frustrated me--mainly because the game barely punishes you for dying.

That's not to suggest Witch and Hero, developed in tandem by Flyhigh Works and FK Digital, is a pushover. On the contrary, although the game sports just 20 stages, I've only made it to the 16th one so far. You see, you don't play this title as you do most others--play a stage, beat it on your first try, move on to the next, beat it on your first try, rinse and repeat. Instead, you may beat a particular stage, move on to the next, find you're overmatched, head back to the previous one, beat it a few more times, earn enough dough to improve your weaponry (or magic) and then return to the previously troublesome one to wreak havoc.



Sound boring and repetitive? Maybe so, but in practice it's anything but--or at least that's been the case for me so far.

It helps, of course, that the game's graphics--which bring to mind those of Half-Minute Hero or even What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord?--are as charming as can be, as is its Final Fantasy-esque soundtrack.

There's much more to Witch and Hero than what I've shared here, but I'll save my chatter about them for the "somewhat gay review" that I'm planning to publish next week. In the meantime, I'd highly recommend checking out the videos above if you're at all curious as to what this eShop gem has to offer.