My favorite games of 2020 that weren't actually released in 2020

Although I recently declared Moon, Paper Mario: The Origami King, and Void Terrarium to be my favorite games of 2020, the truth of the matter is I had an even better time with the trio of pre-2020 titles highlighted here.

Combined, I devoted nearly 170 hours to Raging Loop, SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions, and The World Ends With You. That alone should make it clear just how much I adored them. But why did I adore them? Keep reading to find out.

Raging Loop (PC, PS4, Switch)

Visual novels, VNs to those in the know, can be hard sells for folks who aren't fans of the genre. I know that all too well. It took me a long time to come around to these interactive books myself—and even now my experiences with them tend to be hit or miss.

What made the difference for me and Raging Loop? I'd say its horror-tinged story and rural-Japanese setting played key roles. So did its distinct and well-developed characters. Most important of all, though, was the tension this Kemco-made game introduced at the outset and then steadily built upon over time as its Werewolf-inspired mystery progressed toward its thrilling conclusion.

Will you enjoy Raging Loop if you tend to dislike VNs or scary stuff? I doubt it, to be brutally honest. That said, if it intrigues you at all, I'd highly recommend giving it a try—especially if you come across it during a sale. 

SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions (Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch)

Akitoshi Kawazu's SaGa games are known for taking the RPG genre to all sorts of weird and wonderful places, but Scarlet Grace: Ambitions takes the cake in that regard. For starters, although you and your intrepid party explore a world map just like you would if you were playing a standard RPG, that's all you explore in SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions. There are towns and dungeons here, but you don't enter them; instead, you peruse their "contents" (for lack of a better word) via a menu. In the former, that can mean chatting up a local or checking out a shop's wares, while in the latter, it typically means engaging in one or more battles.

Speaking of battles, they're both the focus and the highlight of SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions. As well they should. They're brilliantly strategic, not to mention addictive. The main hook is that your actions can alter a fight's timeline, and if you manage to defeat a baddie positioned between two (groups of) party members, you're compensated with what can be a tide-turning "United Attack." Your opponents play by the same rules, though, so there's a risk-reward element to this SaGa's turn-based fights that keeps you on your toes.

Beyond these tussles, SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions offers those who tackle it a magnificent OST (composed by Kenji Ito), a multitude of recruitable characters, and the kind of impressively—and sometimes befuddlingly—open-ended adventure that has been this series' calling card since day one.

The World Ends With You (DS)

The World Ends With You is the kind of game that makes you wonder what the Dragon Quest and, especially, Final Fantasy series could become if the suits at Square Enix let loose a bit. Almost everything about this action RPG makes you raise your eyebrows in appreciation: the stylized visuals, the modern setting, and the impressively eclectic soundtrack, especially. 

The frantic, dual-screened battles bedazzle, too—though they just as often bewilder. As exhilarating as controlling and otherwise keeping track of two characters can be, it can be exasperating as well. Still, once the fights in The World Ends With You click with you, they almost feel transcendent. When's the last time you said that about Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy—or any other JRPG, really?

Honorable mentions:

• Again (DS)
• Destiny Connect: Tick-Tock Travelers (PS4, Switch)
• Hey! Pikmin (3DS)
• Pokemon Shield (Switch)
• Yomawari: Night Alone (PC, Switch, Vita)

See also: my favorite games of 2019 that weren't released in 2019

My favorite games of 2020: Moon, The Origami King, and Void Terrarium

I've spent most of 2020 ping-ponging between feeling terrified and traumatized. One of the few areas of my life that has bucked that trend over the last 12 or so months has been the time I've devoted to video games.

In fact, I've both played and enjoyed more games in 2020 than I have in many years. The three games I'm highlighting here are my favorites of the 45 or so I put at least some time into this year. Or at least they're my favorites of the games that came out between Jan. 1 and now. (I'll publish a similar post about my favorite games of 2020 that weren't released in 2020 shortly.)

Moon (Switch)

Although I'm a lifelong fan of role-playing games, I'm far from a stickler for tradition. As much as I adore old-school, by-the-numbers JRPGs (think Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light), I also appreciate attempts to deviate from the norm. Onion Games' Moon--previously known as Moon: Remix RPG Adventure--is a perfect example of the second category. So much so I hesitate to call it an RPG. What is Moon then? An adventure game, I guess. But it also features a liberal dose of simulation and puzzle elements.

Regardless, it's wonderful, not to mention wonderfully chill. There's no rushing while playing Moon. Hell, you can't even run while playing Moon. You saunter. You slowly scour Moon's modest surface in an attempt to help both its earthly inhabitants and its apparitional ones. The latter are the souls of creatures slain by a video-game's unhinged hero, while you are a real-world boy sucked into that make-believe world and charged with righting said madman's wrongs through the power of love.

Moon tends toward the obtuse and melancholic, but that just adds to its peculiar charm--as do the game's eclectic background tunes, which--in another delightful twist--you can change at will.

Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch)

Although The Origami King is a more than fitting subtitle for this latest Paper Mario adventure, an even better one, in my humblest of opinions, would've been The Origami Odyssey. After all, this entry in Intelligent Systems' long-running RPG series feels like proper, globe-trotting trek. You zip from one eye-poppingly exotic locale to another while attempting to save Princess Peach (amongst other important--and far more interesting--tasks), sometimes via an appropriately recyclable vehicle.

The rest of The Origami King will seem a bit foreign to Paper Mario fans, too. In particular, this title's turn-based tussles are more like puzzles than the select-battle-options-from-a-menu affairs that are typical of the genre. I prefer the tried-and-true myself, though the new method introduced here grew on me by leaps and bounds once I became accustomed to it.

Even if you fall in love with these brainy fights from the word go, though, you're unlikely to consider them a highlight of the experience. Instead, you'll probably reserve that honor for The Origami King's witty text and wondrous soundtrack.

Void Terrarium (PS4, Switch)

Nippon Ichi Software's Void Terrarium does everything it can to turn off potential players. First there's its name, the full version of which is void tRrLM(); //Void Terrarium. Then there's its post-apocalyptic aesthetic, which seems more banal than breathtaking, especially early on. There's also its "human Tamagotchi" component, which is just... confounding--again, particularly at first.

And yet I found Void Terrarium utterly captivating. Sure, the desolate environments of this part-time dungeon-crawler can be samey, but if you're anything like me, you'll barely pay attention to them thanks to the game's heart-pounding soundtrack and surprisingly compelling story. Oh, and the robot-battling action on offer here is plenty exhilarating, too. Not bad for a title that started off looking like a real dud, eh?

Honorable mentions:

• Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories (PC, PS4, Switch)
• Mad Rat Dead (PS4, Switch)
• Part Time UFO (Mobile, Switch)
• A Short Hike (PC, Switch)

See also: my favorite games of 2020 that weren't released in 2020 as well as my favorite games of 2019 and my favorite games of 2018

A few thoughts on the three games I finished in April, May, and June 2020

Based on the headline of this post, some of you probably are thinking I played fewer games in April, May, and June than I did in January, February, and March.

After all, I only finished three games between April and June, while I finished six games between January and March.

The thing is, I devoted nearly as much time to the trio of titles I beat during the April-to-June quarter as I did to the sextet I conquered during the January-to-March one.

And then there's the fact that I also put more than 20 hours into the original Animal Crossing and about 95 hours into Animal Crossing: New Horizons while tackling the games discussed below.

Even if all of the above weren't true, though, I'd still be happy with my gaming accomplishments (if they can be described as such) of the last few months.

Why? Because I'm pretty sure the three titles I managed to complete between the beginning of April and the end of June will stick with me far beyond this challenging year--something I hope to make clear in the text that follows.  

Deadly Premonition Origins (Switch)

I don't think I've ever developed as strong a love-hate relationship with a game as I did during the nearly 30 hours I spent playing Deadly Premonition Origins recently.

On the one hand, I adored its characters, setting, soundtrack, and overarching story. On the other hand, I abhorred its nightmarish, claustrophobic "Other World" segments that forced me to fight never-ending hordes of groaning zombies. And I absolutely loathed the cumbersome, QTE-centric encounters with the game's Raincoat Killer that occasionally popped up during those same passages.

Although part of me thinks I would've enjoyed Deadly Premonition Origins a whole lot more if it had eschewed combat altogether, another part of me thinks it's an integral component of the game. Or at least I think it's integral to the game's off-kilter vibe. As in, I just can't fathom it being quite so breathtakingly bizarre without the aforementioned forays into its bleak and tension-filled alternate reality.

In the end, Deadly Premonition Origins' positive attributes outweighed its negative ones for me. I can't help but feel that won't be true for everybody, though--especially folks who fail to track down the game's more powerful weapons as early on as possible.

That's a real shame, as this janky, surreal jaunt to, through, and around the fictional--and fucked up, if you'll excuse my French--town of Greenvale, Washington, is surprisingly riveting if you can will yourself past its plethora of niggles and nuisances.

Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories (Switch)

Although I pre-ordered a physical copy of Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories the moment I was able to do so, I nearly canceled it a couple of times between then and when the game finally came out in early April. The reason? It quickly became clear to me (via online chatter) that the Switch port of this catastrophe-themed adventure was more than a bit rough in both the graphics and frame-rate departments.

I stuck to my guns, though, and now that I've played, finished (after putting about 17 hours into it), and thoroughly enjoyed Disaster Report 4, I'm patting myself on the back for my prescience.

Here's the thing: this Granzella-made, NIS America-published title is rough. There are times when its frame rate slows to a crawl--or worse. And its resolution veers wildly from acceptable to muddy to "did someone smear Vaseline on the screen when I wasn't looking?" and back again. Its localization is iffy, too--as in, it's not always easy to understand what the game's text is trying to convey. (Which is a problem when said text is your only hope--outside of a guide--of figuring out what to do or where to go next.)

So far, so terrible, right? Well, somehow Disaster Report 4 manages to compel, and even impress, despite its multitude of issues. I was especially wowed by how it was able to depict life during and after a disaster--an earthquake, in particular. Or maybe I should say I was wowed by how it seemed to depict life during and after a disaster? I (thankfully) have zero experience with such situations, after all.

Disaster Report 4 sure made me feel like I've experienced them, though. And not just in the obvious ways--like making me worry the ground could collapse beneath my feet or a building might crash down upon my head at any moment. It also regularly pushed me to consider what I would do if I encountered someone in peril, as well as how I might help them--or not--in such a situation. It forced me to deal with the ramifications of my decisions in those circumstances, too.

Another notable and sizable feather in the cap of this admittedly flawed release, as far as I'm concerned: I'm already itching to replay it. If that isn't a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is.

SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions (Switch)

SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions is my cup of tea in so many ways. And yet I dragged my feet in terms of both buying and playing it. Its aesthetic was a big part of the problem, I'm embarrassed to admit. Before I started through its adventure myself, I thought it looked rather hideous. Most of the rest of this title was of questionable appeal, too--like its lack of towns and dungeons.

Well, I'm here to tell you all of those misgivings vanished into the ether shortly after I began playing through SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions this past May.

In particular, the game's lack of explorable towns and dungeons proved to be such a positive component that I now wish other JRPGs would take the idea for a spin. It sounds strange--not to mention limiting and boring and just plain wrong--for this type of game, but SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions makes it clear that nixing these role-playing staples is not only an acceptable alternative to the norm, but a preferable one if implemented thoughtfully and with care.

SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions proves a few other points, too. Like RPGs don't need inns--or even healing items or spells--if they automatically heal party members between battles. Also, a bit of strategic tweaking can go a long way toward making turn-based combat intriguing instead of tedious.

The latter is especially important to SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions, or at least it was in my experience. Although battles are a key element of any role-playing game worth its salt, they're particularly vital to this one. Thankfully, the tussles you're tossed into here are deep and thrilling and tough (though not cheaply so), and I never tired of them--or any other aspect of this title, truth be told--during my 97-hour playthrough.

See also: 'A few thoughts on the Romancing SaGa 3 remake'

Manual Stimulation: Wanpaku Kokkun no Gourmet World (Famicom)

No joke, the English version of Taito's Wanpaku Kokkun no Gourmet World, called Panic Restaurant,  is one of my favorite side-scrolling platformers around.

Which isn't to suggest it's one of the best side-scrolling platformers around. It's not. It's probably not even one of the best platformers released for the Famicom or NES.



Still, I adore it. Why? For starters, I've never been shy about admitting I love games that feature food. Well, that's pretty much all you encounter while playing Wanpaku Kokkun no Gourmet World, which is set in and around a restaurant ("Eaten").



Food's about all you encounter while flipping through the Wanpaku Kokkun no Gourmet World instruction manual, too. Food and people who make food (like the cute chef showcased on the manual's cover and on pretty much every interior page), I mean.



Thankfully, the Wanpaku Kokkun no Gourmet World manual follows in the glorious footsteps of many other old Taito game manuals and depicts all of the above-mentioned food and food-making with the most brilliant of illustrations.

The illustration that serves as the backdrop of this booklet's "story" page (see above) is a perfect example.



None of the other drawings that fill the Wanpaku Kokkun no Gourmet World booklet are as massive as the one that sits behind its story text, but most are just as adorable.

Manual Stimulation: Don Doko Don 2 (Famicom)

At the end of my post about the Don Doko Don Famicom instruction manual, I mentioned that the manual you see here makes its predecessor "look like something that was pulled from the gutter."

Harsh, I know, but I stand by it. I mean, just look at the cover of the Don Doko Don 2 manual, below. It alone is more stupendous than anything you'll find in the first Don Doko Don manual.



Don't take any of this to mean I think the original Don Doko Don manual is a stinker. I think it's pretty snazzy, actually.

Maybe not as snazzy as, say, the manuals publisher Taito created for the Famicom Disk System version of Bubble Bobble, or the PC Engine ports of The New Zealand Story or Mizubaku Daibouken, but still worth the occasional ogle.



I say without hesitation, however, that the Don Doko Don 2 instruction manual is snazzier than all of the above-mentioned booklets--perhaps combined.

Every page of the Don Doko Don 2 booklet features something fabulous, usually in the form of a stunning drawing.



OK, so they're not all as jaw-dropping as the gigantic one that opens the Don Doko Don 2 manual. But, really, not every illustration can be of a huge, crying, king-turned-into-a-frog, right?

At any rate, the pages that follow shine a light on the game's story. Besides all of the art they produced, I also love how the designers who worked on this booklet used pops of red and pink to add drama and interest to the proceedings.



The spread above educates readers on how to play Don Doko Don 2. There's not much to tell them, however; as is the case in the original Don Doko Don, in part two, you dispatch enemies by smacking them with your mallet, picking up their squished bodies, and then tossing their corpses at oncoming clueless baddies.