This is a series about the games that kept me busy this year. These are my favorites, not necessarily “the best.” Also, these posts will be in no particular order. We’ll do a podcast in the near future ranking our top games of 2020.
FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE
Though I think this one might have hit me a harder if I had the nostalgia of having played the original back in the day, I loved Final Fantasy 7 Remake. That’s despite not knowing where things are going and knowing good and well that there were elements throughout that I had no frame of reference for.
I get it. There are people who have issues with the ending. Some of the issues come from people who know the original and dislike how it changes things. Others simply take issue with how much is crammed into the finale – and a lot of it comes completely out of nowhere (if you haven’t played the original).
But to me it felt like getting to the end of a season finale of a TV show that’s trying to payoff some storylines setup earlier in the season while also leaving threads dangling for the next season. Obviously there’s more coming. So I’m not too worried about it for now.
Regardless of how you felt about the ending, FF7 Remake still stands out in my memory as one of the best pieces of media to come out this year.
The music is great, the graphics are great, the action-RPG combat is fun, yet challenging. I love the way the game lets you switch characters mid-combat (like Dragon Age Inquisition) so you can play as another character if you need a change of pace. Or better yet, you can swap characters to efficiently use abilities to deal damage quickly.
Few games have left such a mark on me this year. Even months later, I still think back fondly about the sights, sounds, set pieces and story. Even more than the big boss battles, I remember the way they brought locations like the sector 7 slums and Wall Market to life. And I still listen to the incredible soundtrack months later, and every time I do, my mind is flooded with memories of those characters and being in that world.
The endearing characters are some of the best most memorable I’ve met in a video game in some time. I may have never played a Final Fantasy game before this one, but now I’m anxiously anticipating any and all future releases in the franchise, especially the next part of Final Fantasy 7 Remake whenever that sees the light of day.
It’s not a perfect game, but it’s a great one, and it helped get me through a long tough year.
My other favorite games of 2020 (in no particular order):
Starside Cafe 