pokerap
1996
Pokemon Red was my first video game and I love it dearly. The first gen of Pokemon is very rough compared to the others, but I still go back to visit these games sometimes because there's nothing quite like revisiting an old favorite.
I originally played this on the PS2 and loved it. I didn't remember very much of it outside of how much I loved the license board, so I jumped at grabbing it again on the Switch. I'll return to it at some point and properly finish it off, but it's a very fun game. This is easily my favorite main line Final Fantasy game.
1996
I played this after Crash Team Racing, so that probably says everything it needs to. Mario Kart 64 was great for its time, but it really doesn't hold up now.
2016
I have a hard time with this one, because Pokemon GO is a social game more than anything else as far as I'm concerned. I spent a lot of time playing this with my sister and because of that, it was fun. On my own, it just wasn't very enjoyable, and it strongly depends on where you live. I lived on a Pokestop in my last place and now I live without any anywhere nearby. I am very glad that Pokemon will be able to be transferred into Pokemon Sword and Shield though, seeing as how I have a ton of shinies in this game.
2018
Octopath Traveler is a lot of fun for the first three chapters. The biggest complaint I had up to that point was the lack of party interactions. I'm used to Tales of games, where there's a heavy emphasis on the party members interacting, so I was disappointed to see there wasn't much of that at all. With that said, once you hit chapter four, the difficulty spike was absolutely unbearable for me. I put the game down and only returned months later with a guide in hand. I liked figuring out my own strategies and party combinations, and the sudden spike in difficulty basically requiring certain job combinations was such a disappointment that I still feel the sting of it. I want to love this game so much more, but unfortunately I just can't get past that and I have no desire to replay it with that in mind.
2017
I wanted to like Sonic Forces. I really did. Unfortunately, the gameplay and story just don't hold up, even though Infinite's theme is fantastic. I could have put up with boring gameplay if the story was good, but unfortunately they missed the mark there.
Gen III's RSE were my favorite games, and Alpha Sapphire delivered. There are some things that I wish could have been done better, and honestly, I kind of wish they'd remade it during this gen instead of back in gen VI, but it's a solid game building on an already great original game. I miss the trumpets, though. 7.8/10 "too much water" my ass, I'll take surfing any day for Hoenn games.
Pokemon Crystal improved greatly on gen II's games and I was so happy to be able to play as a girl back when it came out! I have a lot of fond memories of this game, and even though the story was lackluster, I'll always treasure this game.
2016
Tales of Berseria is easily the most solid entry in the Tales series, and I look forward to seeing where they go in the future. There are certainly issues in the story and the gameplay isn't my favorite, but Berseria was a fantastic ride and I would gladly replay it if my sister didn't own the PS4.
Don't buy the dlc for this game, it's honestly not worth it. I was horrified to learn it totaled $45. With that said, Shadows of Valentia does a lot of things right and breathes a lot of new life in an older game. The things it didn't change are often dreadful, though, so if you're familiar with Awakening and Fates and looking at this game, you'd probably be better off skipping it. It can be an absolute slog to play, especially the later maps. The story can be fun, but only if you can handle the protags making frankly stupid decisions. Berkut is the best part of this game.
It is absolutely not worth it to spend this much money on this game. The story's a mess, the child units are shoehorned in awkwardly, and a lot of what made Awakening successful was completely missed in this game. With that said, Fates is a game that I love dearly, and Conquest is a huge part of that. The difficulty and unique challenges presented in several of the maps are very fun, but the characters are easily what won me over more than anything else. I love the Fates games far more than anyone should, and while I did buy all three, I feel like that money was absolutely well spent for me.
I have a hard time saying that Birthright is as good as Conquest, because it really isn't as far as I'm concerned. Conquest had the better characters and maps, while Birthright has the better story... but it still isn't a great story. Don't play the Fates games for the story. With that said, I've still had a ton of fun with these games, so Birthright still gets a really high ranking despite not deserving it.
2020
I loved Bastion, and Hades feels like the natural improvement over it. I love Greek mythology and seeing it presented in this way has been a lot of fun! I thought I might get annoyed at the more repetitive levels in the game, but I haven't yet and I've got 10+ successful escape attempts. I love this game, and I look forward to playing it for awhile longer.
Spyro the Dragon was my very first console game. Seeing it remastered literally brought me to tears. While there are some complaints about the remastered version, I can't think of them because I'm too busy crying at seeing these games looking so gorgeous. I really need to finish them up again, the reason why I haven't yet is because I've 100% completed all three of them so many times on the Playstation.
2019
It's simple, but absolutely adorable. I need to finish it someday.