2023 held some big moments for me. I fulfilled a lifelong dream by moving into a full-time position at my job as an instructor of vocal music at our local college. I fulfilled another lifelong dream by helping to run a summer music camp that we put on in June. And, I got to spend some time traveling - making a lot of great music along the way.
Yet, I still snuck in a few occasions to play some games! Per tradition, I've compiled the six titles that I managed to finish this year and given my thoughts on my experiences. What games did you finish in 2023? Tell me about them in the comments, and maybe I'll be inspired to play them in 2024!
Skyrim
(Nintendo Switch)
Finished the main quest on April 1st, 2023 at 5:37 pm.
Talos and I are both voice teachers.
All it took was a little hype from my friends and a sale on the eShop for me to dive into the ever expansive world of Skyrim. Originally released in 2011, I was familiar with most of the memes and knew the game had some laughable jankiness to it, but I had no idea the adventure that laid ahead of me.
This is normal.
In my 115 hours with my main Dragonborn, Elric (named after the iconic brothers from Fullmetal Alchemist), I joined a legion of werewolves, solved a ghastly mystery at a farm, defeated a crew of vampires at a dinner party, sailed to the country of Morrowind, lured a giant to an encampment of bad guys, recruited some animal friends, and cleansed the mind of a crazy person. Oh yeah, and I slayed a few dragons. Was it moral? Was it just? I loved having the freedom to do essentially whatever I chose.
I also somehow got my horse to stand on a castle, I witnessed this cow clip through a wall, and I adopted a daughter who then stood in the exact same location for the entire game, never leaving the city to join me at one of my many homes. There was even one time where one of my companions was seemingly stuck in a crouching position.
Doors? Where we're going, we don't need doors.
I'm so glad I picked up this game and finally got to experience it for myself. By now, it's a huge part of gaming culture, and many open world games have tried to copy the formula. I've especially enjoyed watching YouTube videos of people pretending to be the mindless NPCs from the game. I used to not know what Skyrim was like. Then I took an arrow in the knee!
My rating: 10/10
The Stanley Parable
(Nintendo Switch)
Purchased on April 29th, 2023 and earned a few of the game's "endings" shortly afterward.
And when everyone's super, no one will be.
Here's a game that always piqued my curiosity. I knew about The Stanley Parable from some old content creators that I followed who played it on livestream. I, however, avoided the videos because I heard there was some sort of twist to it that would ruin my experience if I ever wanted to try it.
Well, the "deluxe version" went on sale on the Nintendo Switch shop, so I decided to go for it. And... it was... okay. Having played other games that toy with the fourth wall or go against your expectations (Undertale, OneShot, Portal), I was fully prepared to ignore everything the narrator told me so I could do my own thing. Thus, I basically circumvented the entire point and never felt the full effect of the game's surprises. Essentially, I had ruined my own experience by consuming too much media!
I understand that there are dozens of endings. Unfortunately, I'm not compelled to see how far this rabbit hole goes.
My rating: 3/10
Final Fantasy 4 Pixel Remaster
(Nintendo Switch)
Completed on September 24th, 2023 at around 8:00 pm.
Cecil no longer plays for the Detroit hockey team.
Final Fantasy 4 is easily one of my favorite games of all time. It was likely my first introduction to RPGs and something that preoccupied my young mind so much that I'd use class time in elementary school to go to the computer lab so I could write a fanfic about it (starring all of my best friends as character types from the game!). I'd argue that it even helped solidify my connection to music with its incredible soundtrack.
Normalize spoony.
I was so happy to see the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster collection come to the Nintendo Switch. I bought all six games on day one, and I started in immediately with FF4. The upgrade was absolutely brilliant - wide-screen graphics, the option for characters to run, and new animations to enhance some of the more dramatic moments. Furthermore, a fully remastered music score accompanied every step of the journey.
I want this on a coffee mug.
I finished this game on the SNES. I finished its 3D remake on the Nintendo DS. And now, I am thrilled that I was able to experience it again on a contemporary console.
My rating: 10/10
Sonic Superstars
(Nintendo Switch)
Completed with Sonic on November 30th, 2023 at 9:27 pm.
Sonic gives this game six Sonic coins out of six!
The Sonic series has been a roller coaster of emotions for me. I was blown away by Sonic Mania when I finished it in January of 2022. But, I grew bored of Sonic Frontiers when I played through it in November of the same year. Sonic Superstars promised a return to the 2D platforming that we had all come to love, but the reviews were hit and miss. Not to mention, the game came out on the very same day as Super Mario Wonder which also harkened back to the traditional elements of its own series. Despite the raving reviews for Mario, I decided to go with Sonic and found myself generally enjoying my selection.
I can only name three characters in this picture.
It took a minute to get used to the feel of this game. In particular, Sonic needed a little time to build up momentum before he got moving which made it difficult to navigate certain segments of each levels. Before long, though, I had mastered all the new techniques and figured out ways to better command my movement. I also really liked the variety of bosses that were challenging enough to be a threat but followed patterns that I could quickly learn. My favorite aspect, though, was that the game's story required me to use different characters on certain stages which shook up the style of gameplay and made me want to try out those characters on future playthroughs.
Sonic Superstars had all the elements one would expect from a classic Sonic game, and I felt right at home playing it.
My rating: 7/10
The Legend of Zelda:
Tears of the Kingdom
(Nintendo Switch)
Finished the main quest on December 15th, 2023 at 11:14 pm.
Jazz musicians be like:
Here it is! Nintendo's grand sequel to one of its most beloved franchises! I played Breath of the Wild on the Wii U and was completely encapsulated by the open-world approach to Hyrule. So, when Tears of the Kingdom was announced, I needed it.
Most true Zelda sequels gave us something completely new to creatively explore the world in an unexpected way. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link introduced side-scrolling action, branching off from the top-down perspective of the original game. Majora's Mask followed up Ocarina of Time by including a repeating 3-day cycle a la Groundhog Day which forced Link to race against the clock while also learning the routines and patterns of the inhabitants of Termina. A Link Between Worlds expanded upon A Link to the Past by adding a mechanic in which Link could attach himself to walls like a painting, allowing for clever puzzles in a familiar setting.
I heard this in my head as an 80's metal song.
Tears of the Kingdom fitted Link with an ability to merge materials together allowing for the creation of new weapons or vehicles as he explored the added regions of the sky islands and the gloomy depths. However, despite these new features, it wasn't enough to excite me, and I felt like I was doing just "more of the same" with little to reward my efforts. Completing shrines, collecting Korok seeds, finding the four or five switches to activate in the four main temples - this is all stuff that I just did in Breath of the Wild.
Voice students, take note!
I may need to write a separate post to discuss my gripes with this game, but I desperately long for a return to the classic Zelda formula. One of my favorite aspects of Breath of the Wild, the shrines, was ruined by having too many bland puzzles or similar types of scenarios. By the end of TotK, I must have done at least 15 missions in a row where I had to transport a crystal to a shrine location.
What I miss most from the old games is the feeling of advancement and power every time I acquired a new item that allowed me to reach a previously unexplored area. Tears of the Kingdom was also littered with treasures that I simply never used - armors that called back to previous games, weapons that broke after fighting just one enemy, and companions that cluttered up my screen. If I spent time building a vehicle, it would disappear if I ventured too far from it. On the story side, I had to watch nearly the exact same cut scene (4 times!) about the "Imprisoning War" each time I beat a main dungeon.
I know a lot of people loved this game, but I will never go back to it.
My rating: 6/10
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
(Nintendo Switch)
100% on Adventure Mode on December 29th, 2023 at 2:37 pm.
I like to kick, stretch and KICK!
I'm pretty proud of this one. Super Smash Bros holds some deep nostalgic value for me as it's something my friends and I would play nearly every night for years. I spent a majority of my time with Brawl on the original Wii where I main'd a mean Diddy Kong (who even took me to 1st place at a Smash tournament held by my acquaintances!). We were hardcore. We had headbands with our top fighters depicted on them. We used a giant projector screen to play in the driveway. We stayed up til 1 am claiming that'd we do "just one more."
Despite all this time with the game, I never actually owned it until I purchased Smash 4 for the 3DS. I particularly liked this version because it connected to the Wii U version of the game (a system I didn't yet own), and I could even use my 3DS as a controller when I brought my gear to friend's houses. This meant that I could practice on the small screen at home and have the same experience when I played with others on a TV.
After all this time, Super Smash Bros Ultimate finally went on sale at my local Walmart, and I immediately made the 25 minute drive to secure my own copy. So began the journey of unlocking all the characters (minus the DLC which I still need to purchase). My friend Andrew suggested that I tackle the "World of Light" to unlock them the quickest. Realizing that I was within a mode that I could "beat," I made it a personal goal to obtain 100% before the end of the year. I had no idea what I was getting into.
The World of Light is MASSIVE! I'd wager that I spent roughly 30 hours navigating the various maps to obtain all 73 characters and jump kick my way through all 615 battles to earn my true ending. My only regret is that I didn't take any other screen shots besides the one where I unlocked Sonic (my main from my 3DS days). This particular playthrough was all about Kirby. Just under the wire, I poyo'd my way to victory. I think I'm finally ready for some online battles!
My rating: 9/10
There's a small handful of games that I played but did not finish. Namely, I started Final Fantasy V and got about 15 hours in before I started to focus on Zelda again. I've also been playing It Takes Two with my friend, Mandikat, who lives overseas. So, it has been a challenge to coordinate our schedules. Finally, my girlfriend and I occasionally bust out Nintendo Switch Sports which can't be "beaten" necessarily, but it's great to pull out when we're in the mood for bowling.
I've made my choice!
Did you play any of the games from my review? Do you agree with my assessments? Let me know your thoughts!
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Check out my previous Gaming Years in Review:
My Gaming Year in Review (2022)
My Gaming Year in Review (2021)
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