2024 was a wild year for me in both personal and non-personal ways. While it hasn’t been long since I joined the Final Weapon team, I still have a lot to say about the game releases of this year. And this was also a year where I yearned to try something new besides the tried and true JRPG. One could even say I yearned for innovations.
While they didn’t exactly make the list, a special shout-out must be made towards my first-ever foray into the SaGa series with Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven remake and the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection, which finally saw the release of the second Miles Edgeworth game officially localized.
10. Granblue Fantasy: Relink
Up until now, I’ve only logged into the browser version of Granblue Fantasy maybe once in a blue moon whenever they had a new event that gave out free gacha pulls. But when I learned that Cygames was going to take the IP to the next level with Granblue Fantasy: Relink, I was very excited to see these characters in 3D. Despite its many delays, I still had high expectations for when the game finally released at the beginning of 2024.
And the experience could not have been any better, with an active multiplayer community that continues even to this day. I’ll admit that while the story could’ve been a little bit longer, I still had plenty of fun with the game and its great graphics and battles, and I hope that Cygames expands the IP into new horizons in the next coming years.
9. 9 R.I.P.
Perhaps quite fittingly in ninth place is the Western release of Idea Factory’s 9 R.I.P otome game, which was published by Idea Factory International. What makes 9 R.I.P. unique among its ilk of visual novels is that its story is divided into four distinct groups: School Stories, Urban Legends, Spirit World and the Other Realm.
Normally, otome games that have way too many love interests end up falling apart in one way or another, which is giving such a vast cast an equal amount of screen time. But 9 R.I.P. masterfully addresses this problem by having each group written by a different writer, while still being supervised by Amon, the director. As such, they have their own distinct tones, which means each and every group is unique and varied, which makes this an interesting game to go through.
8. Persona 3 Reload
My first experience with Persona 3, in general, was when my family got me a secondhand PSP and a copy of both Crisis Core and Persona 3 Portable. Unfortunately, given my lack of knowledge of English at the time, I was unable to truly finish the game, and the Fatigue system was also a huge detriment because I constantly felt I wasn’t going anywhere.
Fast forward to this year, however, when we got Persona 3 Reload, which finally allowed me to experience the entire game’s story from beginning to end. Now, I am armed with a lot more knowledge than I had previously. I don’t regret spending a month of Game Pass to finally experience the game, and I urge anyone who is ever curious about trying out Persona 3 to do so with Reload. The quality of life improvements that Atlus did in this game make it a highlight of 2024.
7. Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling
And here we have yet another otome game on the list, this time with Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling, a sequel title (known in the otome sphere as a “fandisk”) that takes place after the events of the original Cupid Parasite. I already loved the quirky charm of Cupid Parasite, so I was curious to see how they would expand beyond the narrative, which is something that otome game fandisks sometimes fail to do.
Sweet and Spicy Darling knocks it out of the park, with various stories that take place after the romance ending of each of the love interests of the original, and even adds a brand-new character, Merenice Levin, with his own original story that is just as charming as the others. Due to the game relying on your knowledge of Cupid Parasite, I can’t recommend it if you’ve never played the original, but if you ever catch either games on sale, I totally recommend you play it. Just get ready to have your sides hurt from all the comedic skits you’ll encounter.
6. BAKERU
Good-Feel is a name that I honestly seldomly heard about until I heard outside of them doing a few games for the StreetPass Mii Plaza on the Nintendo 3DS and the recently released Princess Peach: Showtime! on the Nintendo Switch. However, I learned that Spike Chunsoft was publishing its latest title in the West, BAKERU. And from the posts I saw on social media, it looked like an interesting title, so I had to give it a try.
And oh my god, they really did not disappoint. Not only was it fun to travel around each of Japan’s prefectures, but the puzzles and platforming were all very well crafted, and I enjoyed collecting the many memorabilia and trivia facts from Japanese culture. According to what I’ve heard, it’s quite a miracle that we got this title in the West, so I’m glad that the publisher decided to take the plunge and yank it off the ever-growing pile of Japan-only titles we can only dream of seeing being localized.
5. Super Mario Party Jamboree
After years and years, it feels like NDCube has finally listened to us and brought us the Mario Party we’ve all been yearning for. While there was a bit of concern due to how the game was called Super Mario Party, seeing as its previous iteration on the Nintendo Switch still had some mixed results, they took on all of our feedback, and the result is what I can only describe as the best Mario Party experience.
Playing with Final Weapon staff member Saras involved hours of fun, and as he mentions in his review of the game, we went from just exchanging hellos to raging over stealing each other’s Stars and acting surprised when one of us landed on a Happening Space but didn’t truly know what was waiting for us. I haven’t felt this much fun in a Mario Party game in a very long time, and I hope that the development team has finally clicked on the fact that, yes, this is the kind of game we want for the series’ future.
4. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
The Paper Mario series has been going through quite a rough patch the last couple of years, with Color Splash and Origami King receiving mixed reviews. Many hardcore fans had always regarded Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door as this holy grail among the series. But Nintendo has yanked this absolute gem from the GameCube, and they didn’t skimp out on it.
Instead of just giving a 1:1 recreation of the original, this Nintendo Switch port takes a step further with dialogue revisions, quality of life improvements, and even an incentive to collect all of the game’s Star Pieces and Shine Sprites with the Art and Music Gallery. The arranged soundtracks also masterfully fit each chapter. And the trend of remastering titles seems to be continuing, even in 2025.
3. Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus
What can I say? Spike Chunsoft has earned its place yet again in my top list of experiences this year, especially with the definitive version of Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, and while I hate to sound like a broken record, it’s a game I still stand by in my impressions piece, that this is a must-play game for Dangaronpa and mystery games alike.
This game actually ended up being one of my platinums this year. I don’t normally attempt to go the extra effort to obtain a game’s Platinum Trophy, but for Rain Code, it was a title that I felt was worth the trouble. Even the final chapter had me on the edge of my seat as Yuma Kokohead and Shinigami solved the mystery of Kanai Ward. It’s earned its place in that weird category of how I wish I could erase my memory just to be able to experience the twists and turns its story has to offer.
2. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
It might (or might not really) surprise you that I practically never played the original Final Fantasy VII, with my only experience with the series being with Crisis Core on the PSP and the now ongoing trilogy that currently consists of Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. It is a series I feel hugely excited to see to the end, with Part 3 coming sometime in the next couple years.
Quite possibly, the one thing that Rebirth does so well is just how expansive it goes with its open world, and exploring every nook and cranny was really cool. And, of course, being a PlayStation 5 title, it had to take advantage of the console’s haptic feedback, which, to me, contributed a lot to the experience, especially with its interactive cutscenes. While I can’t say I had the time or capacity to get its Platinum like Noah did, I can definitely say that the plot is getting much “plottier,” if you mind the pun.
1. Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
Starting Final Fantasy XIV last year was perhaps one of my highlights of 2023. I can’t stress enough just how much this game hooked me, and to witness the release of a brand-new expansion is even more special, especially since Dawntrail is my first time witnessing a major expansion launch. By the time I started, we were already a few months into the “content lull” of the previous expansion, Endwalker.
While the story of Dawntrail can definitely be seen as divisive by many, I still thoroughly enjoyed my time in Tullioyal. Even as my playtime now nears the 2500-hour mark, would you believe me when I say I have a plethora of stories and juicy lore to go through? As we head into 2025, I will probably still be ever so eagerly looking as the story of the Warrior of Light continues to expand further and further, with new characters, cultures, and, of course, locations. Eorzea and its reflections still have a lot for us to explore, my friends!
