Your 2021 in Gaming

[Nester the Lark]

We haven't done one of these threads lately, but let's look back on the games we played in 2021. Just briefly talk about what you played and how you felt about it.

For me, these are obviously not all games released in 2021, just games I played for the first time this past year (with a couple of exceptions). This is also not a comprehensive list of every game I played, but a curated list of the more notable ones.

Overall, I feel that 2021 was not the most exciting year in games for me. Looking back, it was the year that I probably payed too much for individual games, usually paying far more for a physical copy than I would have if I bought a digital version on sale. (Actually, this goes back to 2020 when I bought a physical copy of Ys Origin.) There were also instances where I felt a game didn't quite live up to the cost.

I'll start with an alphabetical list, and then do a Top 5.

Arcade Archives: Orius/Xexex

I was hoping this game would come to the Arcade Archives lineup. At heart, it's a Konami shooter, but it borrows elements from Irem shooters like R-Type and X Multiply. However, it feels distinctly different from either of those games. Glad I got the chance to try it.

A Short Hike

Technically, I bought this at the very end of 2020, but playing it stretched into the beginning of 2021. I had my eye on it because it had a mini-Breath of the Wild vibe to it. Despite being extremely short, it did satisfy my appetite for that relaxing exploration that I enjoyed in Breath of the Wild. It also had a surprisingly sweet and emotional story. Loved this one.

Cruis'n Blast

I waited a long time for this to finally come to Switch, and I was not disappointed. While it's a short experience, it's never, ever boring. Raw Thrills still says that they plan to patch in online multiplayer at some point.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

I really enjoyed the “what if” scenario this game provided in terms of it getting an English NES release back in the day. Not sure I would have enjoyed it back then, but I definitely got a nostalgic vibe out of it now. It still had that NES charm.

Fire 'n Ice

This might, perhaps, be my biggest surprise of the year. I had heard of this game from Nintendo Power magazine back in the day, and I had enjoyed playing Solomon's Key on the Switch Online app, so I was thrilled when Fire 'n Ice was unexpectedly added to the library, especially considering how rare it is. I ended up getting completely hooked on it, and I managed to beat all 100 of the main stages, plus 48/50 of the bonus stages entirely on my own.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Expansion Pass

Again, technically, this is a 2020 game, but the DLC came out in 2021. While Age of Calamity is no match for the original Hyrule Warriors, I still enjoyed it enough to want an excuse to play it even more. The DLC isn't quite as substantial as I would've liked, but I enjoyed it nonetheless, and I'll take any excuse to revisit the world of Breath of the Wild.

Metroid Dread

I realize I'm in the vast minority, but Metroid Dread just didn't live up to the hype for me. It's not as inspired or polished as Super Metroid, nor as fresh and intense as Fusion, nor even as experimental and willing to take risks as Other M. The EMMI segments feel like shallow gimmicks that don't add any real depth to the gameplay, and the boss fights were tedious. It ends up being a dreadfully (haha) average, paint-by-numbers Metroid game.

I'm a little sore that Nintendo waited until a few weeks after release before providing a demo. I might have saved my money. That'll teach me, I guess.

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

I won this game as part of an Indie World prize package from earlier in the year. I only started playing it late in the year, and I've only been playing it off and on, but I've actually quite enjoyed it! I'm not generally attracted to this style of platforming (ie. Celeste), but in the context of a metroidvania, I think it appeals to me more. In fact, I like it better than Metroid Dread. If I manage to finish it, I may consider getting the original Ori and the Blind Forest.

It is a little weird seeing the Xbox Games Studios logo in a Switch game, though.

River City Girls

After more than two years, I finally got around to trying this game. It can be little repetitive (as can be expected from a beat-em-up), but the character progression and short length keep it interesting. It also includes a New Game+, unlockable characters, and other collectables that add replay value. I like the graphics and music a lot, too. I've enjoyed it enough that I'm looking forward to the sequel.

R-Type Final 2

What more can I say about R-Type Final 2? I was cautiously hyped for this game, but boy did it surpass my expectations. Granzella keeps adding more content to it, and just like one of the Bydo, it feels like a living, mutating thing. Definitely one of my favorite shmups of all time.

Streets of Rage 4

This game was the reason I entered that Indie World contest. Not that I expected to win, but hey, it ended up being one of the few games I didn't overpay for.

The game, itself, is good, but I didn't find myself replaying it as much as I thought I might.

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World

This is a pleasant remake of Monster World IV, made by some of the original devs. It's good, but despite being the first game in the series to have voice acting and 3D graphics, it doesn't quite “pop” the way other recent Monster World games have (ie. Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, The Dragon's Trap remake).

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox

As I've said before, I enjoyed Ys IX more or less on the same level as Ys VIII. Neither one is my favorite Ys game, but I still quite enjoyed them.

My Top 5:

5. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Expansion Pass
4. Fire 'n Ice
3. Cruis'n Blast
2. Ys IX: Monstrum Nox
1. R-Type Final 2

Honorable Mentions:

A Short Hike
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
River City Girls

[nocturnal YL]

My play history on Nintendo Switch can be found here: i.imgur.com/f1t6XkZ.png

You should have asked about 2018. That year was the crazy one.

2021 felt like a slow-ish year to me, although it's much better than the last year. Outside of playing games, I also went for a crazy shopping spree, and all that shopping me costed me… slightly more than my premium copy of Fire Emblem Echoes, back when I underestimated supply and paid an unfair price of about US$115.

It's hard to hate Amazon (JP) when they deliver games at a lower price when I otherwise have to spend time to go to a shop and pay more for a retail copy that may or may not exist. Forgive me.

DL versions would have costed me more, by the way.


In the order I've played them:

void tRrLM(); //Void Terrarium (short video review, as part of the overall review video)

A dungeon crawler in a world where humans are extinct. Robbie can bring resources to the terrarium and craft decorative furniture, and he can also get upgrades to make his outings easier.

This game feels difficult at first, but after enough upgrades it will become much easier. The pacing is a bit too slow, since Robbie has limited carriage capacity and can't bring back too many upgrades and recipes in a single trip. And the story is rather sad.

SPOILER: Click to show

CloudAI, the entity that remotely controls home robots, is attempting to revive humanity, but the plan involves using Toriko as a seed to make humans. Right before the final dungeon, CloudAI forced Robbie to destroy FactoryAI, claiming that she is in the way of the plan. The "0" ending has CloudAI's plan succeed and implies that the girl's family begged CloudAI to save her from the doomsday pollution. The "1" ending has Robbie destroy CloudAI and saving Toriko, although it still feels bittersweet. FactoryAI is shown to be still functional, although as she simply asked Robbie to feed Toriko, it's not known how "functional" she was at that point.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses — Ashen Wolves / Golden Deer

I finished Edelgard and Dimitri's routes before the DLC and updates were available, so I delayed my 3rd playthrough. The DLC chapters are very challenging, especially the 4th map. Stats can't help you when the limiting factor is movement range.

The Golden Deer path isn't as much of a revelation as I hoped for, and is not really a peace path in the same way Revelation in Fates is. The maps are good, though. Besides visiting Shambala, Verdant Wind is the only path where the Wind Caller is faced, and he's the toughest boss I've seen in the whole game and a top contender in the whole Fire Emblem series, with 4 health bars, high HP, speed and resistance, making my usual strategy of using mages useless. I wasn't properly prepared, and ended up using all of my gambits to barely take him down.

Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book DX(review)

Atelier Sophie is said to be a beginner-friendly game with no stress. I wouldn't wholly agree, since the boss battles are still quite tough. I expected a standard, no-frills game similar to Atelier Rorona. I was kind of correct, but it was still better than I expected. Both the game itself and my playthrough feel like preparations for the sequels.

Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey DX(review: see previous link)

Something of a mix between Atelier and an exploration-oriented RPG. It's also timed, although the time limit will go away after the main goal is reached, making the latter part like a free mode.

It's not as popular as the other two, but I ended up enjoying playing it despite all of the bugs and design flaws, mostly because of the refreshing travel theme.

Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings DX(review: see previous link)

One of my favourite games is back with enhancements, and it's now even better! Story is still a big reason to like this game, and even more so now that I have a better context in its references to the last two games. Besides that, having all DLC means I can now make powerful weapons and items and use extra moves on the bosses, who are also powered up. Think using Zan Partizanne to blast through the stages like they're no big deal, but in RPG form.

Oh, and a little advice to budget gamers: definitely do wait for re-releases if you want to try but don't mind playing games that aren't the newest. DLC from KOEI TECMO aren't cheap.

WarioWare: Get It Together!

What if WarioWare is actually difficult? Here we have a game where the intuitive control is taken away, and replaced with a figure-two-things-at-once challenge. Very often, I'd know what the solution to the microgame is, but can't figure how how to get there with my character. And I'd often panic and fail. The control isn't good in a conventional sense, but it feels like it's part of the challenge.

It doesn't have good extra contents, which is unfortunate after seeing what WarioWare Gold did. At least it doesn't have nigh-impossible boss games like WarioWare Gold did; even the sports climbing game isn't that bad.

Ys Origin (Yunica's route thoughts, overall impression)

This is closer to what I remember the series for, since I learned about Ys at the time when Ys VI was the newest entry. I went from doubting I'd be interested in multiple playthroughs to being eager to finish all 3 routes with no breaks, as the character-specific moves and story differences kept drawing me in.

It's also the bloodiest game I have on Switch right now, even when blood is turned off.

Ys IX -Monstrum NOX- (review)

In Ys IX, the player party and their main adversary compete in how much they can disregard security, with both sides having well-publicised secrets that they pretend to be safe.

I wanted more after Ys Origin, so I turned my attention to Ys IX. I originally planned to get to it later. This game has a nice mix between familiar and new parts, and I like the overall result of it. I didn't mention it in the review, but I do enjoy having maps that aren't made of long strips of paths that can't be fallen off from.

Also, Glessing Way! is in this game. The overall music may not be as impressive as the earlier games, but this one track is one of the best in the series.

Metroid Dread (review)

Metroid Dread is a supposedly short game that took me almost a month to beat. I do like certain parts of it, and it really isn't that difficult, but not knowing whether my next action will strip me of the time bonus or if the next challenge will finally be an insurmountable one make me anxious. I guess I'll be more at ease if I do play it a second time, but I'm done with it for now.


I already did a ranking, and I'll add that in terms of pleasant surprises, Ys Origin stands out. I kept thinking I should get to play it, and finally did it because Ys IX came out and I thought it'd be awkward if I started Ys IX while Origin is still on the back-burner. So I guess both games prompted me to play the other.

Jan 4, 2022 11:19:28 GMT -5 Nester the Lark said:

A Short Hike

I got confused and thought you took a long break and included that in your list.

Jan 4, 2022 11:19:28 GMT -5 Nester the Lark said:

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

The game as it looks is not actually feasible on an actual NES. An actual English version made in the 90s would have had blocky, fixed-width fonts and (obviously) enhancements specific to this version missing. Those are welcome changes, though.

Jan 4, 2022 11:19:28 GMT -5 Nester the Lark said:

R-Type Final 2

It's good to see them keep adding more contents. I think there are more than 100 ships now and they've already surpassed whatever stretch goals they said they'd consider in the crowdfunding stage?

[Nester the Lark]

Jan 5, 2022 12:00:59 GMT -5 nocturnal YL said:

Jan 4, 2022 11:19:28 GMT -5 Nester the Lark said:

R-Type Final 2

It's good to see them keep adding more contents. I think there are more than 100 ships now and they've already surpassed whatever stretch goals they said they'd consider in the crowdfunding stage?

I believe there are currently 82 ships available as of the latest update, and they'll probably add the remaining R-Type Final 1 ships in the next update, totaling 101. From what I understand, Granzella plans to add about 30 more ships on top of that, citing that R-Type Final 2 needs to surpass Final 1.

But yeah, they've already surpassed what stretch goals they met in the crowdfunding campaign. They never met their goals for all 101 ships or even all of the homage stages in the stage pack, but we're already on the second season of homage stages, and there will probably be a third. (A 'Z' stage pass to follow the 'X' and 'Y' stage passes.)

Other updates such as the online leaderboards, and whatever "R-Type Final 3" is, keep getting delayed, but I pretty much expect that from Granzella at this point.