RULES FOR GAMES TO BE CONSIDERED FOR NOMINATION
(List of games eligible for this year’s awards)
– THE GAME MUST HAVE BEEN PLAYED FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR
– THE GAME DOES NOT HAVE TO HAVE BEEN ORIGINALLY RELEASED THIS YEAR
(DIS)HONORABLE MENTIONS
Blade Strangers (NS)
• Most Disappointing Game
Fast Striker (PS4)
• Worst Game
Breakers Collection is a collection of two relatively unknown fighting games for the Neo Geo, Breakers and Breakers Revenge. It’s still unknown what exactly the differences are between the two games besides Breakers Revenge’s one new character, Saizo, and the color palette of the stages. It has air-grabs, super attacks, dash cancels, rolls and hop-backs, and plenty of juggle opportunities: features that would underpin 2D fighting games through the late ’90s and beyond. The game’s arrival on modern platforms has been a long time coming and it gets everything right. The game features both crossplay and an online versus mode buoyed by all-important rollback netcode. It’s been a favorite fighting game of mine since I discovered it via emulation nearly 24 years ago.
A surprisingly simple shoot-’em-up with two shot types, one long range and more narrow and the other a short range spread. It has a great soundtrack that really sounds inspired by the Sega Genesis in all the best ways. Reminds me of the soundtrack from Blast Wind for Sega Saturn. A cool addition is the inclusion of two games from the Bandai Wonderswan, Judgement Silversword and Cardinal Sins.
I remember playing the shareware version of Heretic back in the mid 1990s and never thought much of it. While I still think it pales in comparison to Doom and Doom II, it is a nice medieval fantasy shooter with unique weapons. If you’re looking for something like Doom, but with a bit of a twist, this is something that I think is worth trying out.
The main two Klonoa games have long been favorites of mine and they’re easier to access and better than ever in this collection. Be sure to give ’em a try!
A welcome remake of one of the major Like A Dragon spinoffs that the west never received originally in 2014. A worthy entry that lets you take a break from the main games’ modern setting. Now we just need a remake of Yakuza: Dead Souls to at least improve that game’s framerate and shooting controls.
A short side story showing what Kazuma Kiryu was up to in between Yakuza 6 and Yakuza: Like A Dragon. The new agent fighting style adds numerous gadgets to your repertoire for an interesting dynamic in the brawling action.
A fantastic compilation of 12 Street Fighter games with select games that have online play.
I jumped into this collection and played through most of the included games. Some still held up well, Tournament Fighters (SNES), Turtles in Time (SNES), and The Arcade Game (NES). A few were surprisingly decent, Back From The Sewers (GB) and Turtles in Time (Arcade). Others faired poorly, such as, TMNT (Arcade) and Tournament Fighters (Genesis). A worthwhile collection for old-school Turtle-heads, but not particularly recommended to anyone else.
I actively avoided this game when I originally got my Nintendo Switch at the end of 2017. I thought it would be a bad version of 2008’s Super Street Fighter II HD Remix. I quickly realized it’s pretty fun. There are many balance changes from that 2008 game, such as Sagat losing his ability to juggle for up to 3 total hits with his tiger knee special move. It even adds an old favorite mode originally from the original Street Fighter Alpha: Dynamic Battle. This mode pits two fighters against a single opponent in a series of four matches. Not a necessary SFII, but a fun one nonetheless.
At first I saw much gameplay from people playing the game before I got to playing it myself. I didn’t think it would be as good as everyone said. As I learned the game by playing through it with the default roster, I found it had a lot of pick up and play fun with just enough depth to get better. What really pushed this game over the top and into being named my Game of the Year was the addition of the DLC, Dimension Shellshock. It adds Miyamoto Usagi and Karai as playable characters and a fun Survival Mode! The DLC takes this game from good to great and is quite possibly the best TMNT video game yet.
Domain of Usagi704 
Nice. Although none of the latest versions, I’ve played versions of Heretic, and Klonoa 1 & 2. All fun games for me of course. I just realized I didn’t do anything with my list this year.
Just to clarify, there’s no new version of Heretic. While I own the original version they give you on Steam, I installed a GZ Doom version that is capable of high resolutions, high framerates, and ultra wide aspect ratio. Definitely the best way to play it.