You do a great job of giving spoiler-free explanations, and despite me not having played any of these games, it sounds like you’re highlighting all of their good qualities.
Devil Survivor was one of my absolute favorite games on DS, such a satisfying blend of story and time management, and a delightful mix of tactical movement and turn based combat
Ai is sooooo good , I recommend it to everyone ! Pleaseeee play the zero escape games too! I find Uchikoshi has such a way with interesting story telling through video games as a medium . His games are always a joy to experience! Also you’ve convinced me to start on trails zero 😊
I’d agree with all of this list. You should check out Chained echoes if you haven’t already. It’s a call back to retro RPGs like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, Xenogears and a few others. It’s got high reviews across the bird and was on,y developed by one person!
Great list! I also played through xenoblade 2, torna and 3 this year and have a completely different order for them which shows how varied these games can be
Oh interesting, haha. I know I don't necessarily have the most popular opinion when it comes to ranking order but I'm really glad to have played all those entries last year. They really cemented how much I adore the franchise.
Trails from Zero has been fantastic, haven't been able to finish it yet but I can see why it's your #1. After all these years of waiting I can honestly say Zero is one of my favorite trails titles. While we still don't have a western release date for the next trilogy, we are getting Trails from Azure and Trails into Reverie this year. 2023 is shaping up to be a great year for trails fans.
It really is!! I'm can't wait for the day until we'll finally be caught up with Japan lol. I'm hoping NISA is going to announce the Kuro no Kiseki localization soon & that they're planning for an early to mid 2024 release :)
You played some great games last year. I really want to try the Ryza series. Just not sure if it’s my type of game. Definitely have to do a bit more research on it. Torna The Golden Country is only 20-25 hours long? If that’s the case I’ll play it sooner rather than later. Lol Great video as always!!
I would say Ryza may mesh with you if you're looking for a relaxing JRPG experience! The first game is a bit slow & clunky at times (but still super charming) and they really refined just about everything in the sequel. And yup Torna is a short Xenoblade experience! I think I finished around 25 hours trying to do just about everything :)
Love how much 3DS you still play...what great memories of that system. Wish Switch had the clamshell design sometimes. Keep up the good work! Here's my Top 10 of 2022: 1 The Quarry 2 Horizon Forbidden West 3 Stray 4 Kirby and the Forgotten Land 5 A Plague Tale: Requiem 6 Shovel Knight Dig 7 Elden Ring 8 As Dusk Falls 9 Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon 10 Infernax
I like your unique taste in games. You seem to have a knack to find some real gems. I have a backlog too and it's filled with a lot of older triple A games that do include popular JRPGS. I don't play much in the portable genre but I've always kinda kept my ear to the ground and listened to what it has to offer and i hope someday I'll bite the bullet and go grab a switch at a goodwill or pawn shop. I recently got the elusive PS5 and have been exploring some of the offerings there. I'm looking forward to more Final Fantasy titles coming out this year including the follow up to FF7 Remake. Thanks for sharing your list! I did enjoy hearing about these games you've discovered! Cheers!
The Ryza games look great. I adored the Arland Saga, but found that you had to really make a choice to focus on either the alchemy or the combat in the limited time allotted. I'm glad to hear that has changed some. Great video, Emily!
Ah Jay I feel like you'll really enjoy the modern Atelier games! They're so full of charm and fun. I'm so glad they eliminated the time limits too, makes for a much more relaxing experience.
No specific order : 1 .Elden Ring 2. An Artful Escape 3. The Gunk 4. Triangle Strategy 5 LiveAlive 6. FFVII Intergrade(Yuffie DLC) 7. Stray (I need to get the platinum in this game) 8. TMNT Cowabunga Collection 9. TMNT Shredders Revenge 10. Crisis Core FFVII Reunion
Nice! I really need to pick up Live A Live sometime soon, it looks like such a cool experience. As well as a few more on your list! So many games, so little time 😅
Had a very pleasant experience with a short hike and I’m looking forward to tackling 13 Sentinels but later on in the year. As, it’s part of my backlog.
Absolutely love the diversity within your list but it's also not surprising anymore due to knowing you having great taste in games! It's also nice seeing indies being here as they really have become such a great genre with so many gems releasing yearly! Death's Door and a Short Hike were such great games :) and for your top 10 seeing Xenoblade up there is cool, only gotten to play the first one but heard amazing things about the second ones story, third alike! As for my top games of last year they were definitely Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok (this experience moved me and the entire experience really is generation defining in all aspects of characters, story, writing, ability to invoke such powerful emotions, definition of masterclass), Horizon Forbidden West, Stray was a really pleasant experience, Lake an indie game was a hidden gem for me, of course Trails from Zero as well, and The Quarry was such a nice return to horror games with it's classic 80's feel done right! All in all great year but this year is going to be insanity, not just for our backlogs / games to come but wallets alike, as always, keep up the stellar work Emily :)
I'm hoping to play more on my PS4 this year so I can finally play more of those heavy hitter titles. But when I'll fit them in idk 😅 But yes this year is going to be another great one for gaming!!
@@orbalology Only if time weren't so finite we'd be able to play all the games lol, i hope you're able to get to some PS4/5 exclusives, some of them really are so good, The Last of Us Part 1 being my favorite :)
Omg Overclocked as your first SMT game is too funny. That’s widely considered to be one of the best stories in SMT history, so I can’t imagine it being my first, bc after that you won’t find as many equally compelling stories beyond like SMT4 or Strange Journey since those are also more story oriented
@@orbalology record breaker is another great one, I just find most people don’t tend to rank it as highly as the first, but I adored it too. Have fun on your SMT adventures! It’s a toss up for me if SMT or Fire Emblem is my favorite series bc both are just so dang good lol
Im only about 15h into Ryza 2 but so far I cant help but massively agree! It just feels like they took Ryza 1, and just... made every aspect of it somehow even better haha. Crafting feels great, love the SP system, the combat is brilliant, feels way more fast paced and satisfying with combos and stuff, the way tools work is great, you can climb vines, swim, dive??? So good Most of your list are games that I REALLY want to play soon; Xenoblade Chronicles, Trails, AI Somnium, 13 Sentinels, SMT... this made me really excited to be back into gaming since last year haha so many good games to catch back on!
I think my top games that I played in 2022 , from best to good, would be Persona 5 Royal Ys VIII Atelier Ryza 1 Fire Emblem Three Houses Pokemon Legends Arceus Final Fantasy 1 Pixel Remaster Animal Crossing New Horizons Fire Emblem Warriors That's actually all I got around to playing lol but only been back to gaming since june-july so not too bad (also going much slower since I'm playing them in japanese thus looking up words) Bonus mention to Stray (which I loved but havent finished despite being short) and Chrono Trigger DS which I havent finished because I played it through emulation but decided to stop and get the game physically. Was absolutely amazing, just havent gotten around to restarting it on my console!
I would say you managed to fit in a lot of great games in half a year's time! I'm always feeling like I have a lot of games to catch up on myself. There are so many great ones but so little time to get around to them 😅
i think the biggest surprise for me this year was how amazing Digimon Survive was, couldn't believe how good the mix of a Tactics RPG and Visual Novel worked. great vid 👍 definitely gonna try that alliance alive game.
Oh I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Digimon Survive! I have that high on my VN list that I hoping to chip away at this year. And I hope you enjoy The Alliance Alive - it was such a delight :)
@@orbalology it completely subverts your expectations of what a digimon game can be... cause it's legitimately horrific at points. I will give it a go definitely gonna try those ai games you mentioned look right up my alley 😊. I'll have to sub you have some great recommendations
I enjoyed Disney Dreamlight Valley, Immortals Fenyx Rising and Forza Horizon 5. Couple indie games too: The Procession to Calvary, A Memoir Blue, Turnip Boy commits Tax Evasion, Gorogoa, Omno and Descenders.
Oh I have Immortals Fenyx Rising on my backlog! I feel like it doesn't get talked about enough though from those who have played keep saying it's great. And I'll have to look into those indies!
Great list of games there Emily, I finished 13 sentinels on PS4 and certainly would have preferred it on switch for portability…got a little lost in the finer details of the plot at times but awesome storyline
What a great list! While I doubt there were any real surprises for the regular viewers of your channel, it was still great to see your order and have a comprehensive summary! Looking forward to lots of great games in 2023!
Very nice list, finally one where the question isn't is it GoW or ER 😄 My Top 10 games played is 10. TMNT: Cowabunga Collection 9. King of Fighters XV 8. Gran Turismo 7 7. Vampire Survivors 6. Infernax 5. TMNT: Shredder's Revenge 4. Stray 3. Crisis Core Reunion 2. Trails of Cold Steel 1 1. Trials of Cold Steel 2 First time playing for the top 3. Started From Zero but didn't get around to finish it yet. I jump around games way too much sometimes and also spent a lot of time playing online with someone. Every time I see it in one of your videos I feel bad I still haven't played AI: Somnium Files 😅 I loved the demo so I don't know why it's still unplayed. Same with 13 Sentinels really. One day...
You'll hopefully get to them some day, they're not going anywhere 😆 There are quite a few on your list I'm hoping to get to eventually as well! Namely Stray & Crisis Core Reunion :)
My favorite game I played was Resident Evil 5. I know it is so late, but I played it for the first time with a good friend of mine and made the experience very memorable
Thanks for the video. I would say some publishers owe you a kickback. I, for one, just ordered 13 Sentinels because of your list (and I found it on sale).
Nice rundown, I tried getting into the first Atelier Ryza game but I found the gameplay to be a bit dull..... despite Ryza's design it wasn't enough to keep me invested. I think the last Atelier game I played was "Atelier Iris" on the PS2, loved that game. I think the only visual novel I have my heart set on this year is the upcoming game from the Danganronpa team, "Master Detective Archives: Rain Code".
Oh that's alright! I know the Atelier games can be quite niche and I never played the Iris games on the PS2 but I keep hearing how great they were. Maybe someday they'll get ported over to the Switch/PlayStation! I'm really excited for Rain Code too! I also have my eye on Process of Elimination from NIS as well - it looks like an interesting concept.
Thanks for the video. My top games of 2022 are; 1. God of War Ragnarok 2. Elden Ring 3. Pokémon Legends Arceus 4. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 5. Bayonetta 3 6. Tunic 7. Horizon Forbidden West 8. Mario & Rabbids Sparks of Hope 9. TMNT Shredder’s Revenge 10. Digimon Survive Honor mentions; 1. Pokémon Scarlet 2. A Plague Tale Requiem 3. Stray 4. Signalis
@@orbalology Thanks kindly. It really does take commitment, staying focused on the game at hand. Good time management and Xbox game pass sure helps save money. Lol
New subscriber, really enjoying your channel thus far. RPG’s/JRPG’s are my favorite genre. 2023 is looking extremely stacked, and for me it starts soon with Octopath Traveller II. RPG’s and the HD-2D aesthetic is just an absolutely perfect combination. Looking forward to more of your videos.
Thank you so much! I'm really interested in Octopath Traveler II as well. It sounds super promising that there's a more connected storyline this time around and I'm also curious how they'll be mixing in some steampunk elements too.
Very solid list, got a good of variety of games! Having Trails of Zero is a nice pick for number 1! I still can't decide if I like Trails in the sky or Trails of Zero more.
Trails in the Sky SC still has a bit of a chokehold on me (just wow what a game), but I think it's likely that I will officially switch over my allegiance to the Crossbell arc after Trails to Azure releases 😂
I haven't played Tokyo Xanadu but I have it on the PS4 - hoping to get to it sometime soonish, along with more Ys games. I've only played a few but been meaning to dive into more. Falcom really makes some awesome games :)
Nice list. Thanks for sharing. I tend to focus more on collecting than playing, too. I have a huge backlog of games that I'd like to play, but I'm paralyzed trying to decide where to spend my time.
My pleasure! And I totally feel you, it can often be overwhelming when you have so many choices! For me I think having a few highly anticipated new releases and a select few titles from the backlog to supplement the gaps has helped me complete more of my games. I'm going to try to push this method more this year and see if it helps while varying genres some more so I don't get too burned out 😅
great list, love all the JRPG and otome love. trails is my favorite JRPG series so i'm happy it's on the top of your list. i'm so excited that 2 more trails localizations are coming out this year
I'm really excited for all the Trails localizations, particularly the two mainline games but also the spinoff The Legend of Nayuta Boundless Trails that they have scheduled for later this year :)
Nice video, I never heard of some of these games. You should definitely play zero escape if you still haven’t it’s a cool visual novel. Have you ever played steins gate or code realize? If so what do you think? They’re some of my favorite VN’s.
Xenoblade has been on my backlog for a long time. I am going to try to play the first one this year and see if I like it. But your review of both 2 and 3 convinced me I am missing out. So many jrpg and not enough time 😢. Great video
I hope you give the first one a go sometime! The story is just so epic & the whole series really swept me off my feet 😂 But I totally feel you about the JRPG backlog dilemma 😭
Yup the first one is Xenoblade Chronicles, the Switch version was how I played & it has an extra story dlc on the main menu called Future Connected. I think it was a pretty solid remaster with some good quality of life improvements :)
Could not agree more with your take on Xenoblade Chronicles 2! Yes, 3 was fantastic, there's just something about 2 that makes me also love it more. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 had a more colorful atmosphere, and the characters and their interactions with each other felt so much more charming and authentic. It was akin to a light hearted, bubbly anime. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 tended to take itself much more seriously and it's setting was much more grounded compared to 2. And even though the combat in 2 was technically more complex, it was extremely satisfying to pull off the various elemental combos you could do. Three's combat certainly had it's spectacle, it never really seemed to hit quite as high as 2 did.
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Xenoblade Chronicles 2 as much as me! Both games are great but there's something about 2 that really hits just a bit harder 😊
We have such similar taste in games. But I've never gotten into the legends of games. Need to try some. Same with Atelier. Super jealous you get to play the zero escape games for the first time. 999 is one of my favorite games ever made.
I highly recommend trying Trails from Zero if you want to give the The Legend of Heroes games a try! imo it's a great entry point to give you a general idea of how the series is. Atelier is a bit more niche but it's so wholesome & charming. Perfect if you want a JRPG that's on the more relaxing side.
The one thing I appreciate about a list like yours, is that in the last few years, I don't play as many current releases. So every community I'm a part of, when they do a group top whatver list of games of the year, I usually wind up sitting out because I just dont play enough current releases. So its nice to see someone plays games a bit similar to myself. 2023 will be no different, the only current year title I know I will play this year is Tears Of The Kingdom. 2022 I had a goal of playing 50 games. I unfortunately didn't even get to half of that. But my top three were 1. Kirby Planet Robobot 2. Ace Attorney 3: Trials and Tribulations 3. Dragon Quest IV. This year I really want to get much closer to 50 and will almost exclusively be playing 3DS/DS games this year. I look forward to seeing what you play in 2023 ^^
I wish you luck on your goal! The 3/DS is really a great system for this sort of thing, as you know it's catalog is so extensive!! A really great way to immerse yourself in the console & I'm sure will provide lots of great content for that blog you've been working on :)
@@orbalology Indeed. I think it's going to be a good year for me and gaming. Also youtube never lets me know when you reply to one of my comments. I have to manually check despite having the bell on lol. UA-cam doing youtube things I guess 😂😂😂😂
@@Transientimage Oh strange! Do you have email notifications disabled maybe? For me YT doesn't always send me email notifications when people comment or reply on my videos but they've been pretty good at notifying me when I get responses to my comments on other videos.
@@orbalology I do but for other channels, my notifications will pop if somebody comments back. It's literally just your channel that won't notify me. Idk why. But hey at least I'm a loyal viewer who checks back 😂😂
Since you enjoyed A Short Hike on the Switch, i recommend LiL Gator Game. Another great indie game is Forgotten Anne, there's a demo available as well And last but not least ROKI
My pleasure and I hope you like The Alliance Alive! I found it just so charming and fun. A very refreshing break from all the more serious toned JRPGs that have been coming out lately :)
Love to see the Ai, Xenoblade, and Trails representation on the list. Best of luck to you in 2023 with all the amazing games releasing (and trying to get to older games as well)
I am interested in seeing if your #1 (Trails from Zero) ends up being one of my top choices for 2023 as I just started it. Trails in the Sky SC was my #1 pick for 2022.
A really nice variety of games! I'm glad you enjoyed A Short Hike. I've played through that game twice already and it's something I still go back to often just to wander the island. Such a cozy experience. You've definitely inspired me to try and tackle more JRPGs this year! I'm making my way through Final Fantasy XII now, but I also have plans to play Golden Sun and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 later this year as well. Great video, Emily!
I can see myself coming back to A Short Hike too someday! It was really a wholesome experience. Oh and it sounds like you have a lot of great games on your plate this year! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on FF XII and Xenoblade 2! Golden Sun was a series that alluded me in the early days and one I would like to play someday as well :)
I’ve never been able to get into any visual novel despite requiring solid storylines from any JRPG. I guess it’s down to a great battle system also being top of my list. My year was spent mostly with my backlog on Switch as well as Elden Ring, my game of the year.
That's fair! VN can be quite niche. One of these days I'll have to try out Elden Ring, it looks like a really cool experience that has garnered a lot of praise this past year.
Hi Emily! I hope you're having a great new year so far! Ryza 2 was one of my top favorite games of last year as well. I loved exploring the ruins and the big city. I can't wait to play Ryza 3 next month! 🥺
I think the tonal sweet spot for Xenoblade is between 2 and 3, close to X, but more toward 3. There were a lot of times 2 had me rolling my eyes with its juvenile, tropey gags, but I felt like 3 was too serious and could have benefited from more levity. I definitely liked the situational humor in 3 more, like Taion refusing to debase himself by fist bumping Lanz or the awkwardness of the flute exchange. Even Nia trying to act queenly and failing. It made the characters adorable and likable while releasing the tension and we needed more of that spread out.
I agree, 3 was missing more light hearted moments to add levity to the darker themes & storylines. I may have also felt a slight disconnect with how much emphasis was placed on the side content too. While I enjoyed how these fleshed out the characters and added a lot of nice scenes it felt a bit odd spending hours doing side missions while there was this impending doom & overarching short life span/time theme. I suppose this is common in a lot of JRPGs it just felt a bit jarring in XC3 in particular.
Nice list! I was surprised and happy to see Alliance Alive in the top 10. I really like the little touches to the production value in this video. like the names of the games at the bottom and you had a lot of nice edits of scenes from each of the games. I know those take a lot more work than it seems and you're channel is starting to grow so I'm glad to see it.
Nice. darn backlogs! I finished Trails in the sky a couple years ago and got about halfway through SC and gotta finish it.. was that Estelle I saw in your vid cap when you were showing gameplay from Zero?. Really enjoyed those games but it's like once you get out of the groove and don't play them for a bit it takes dedication to get back into them. Really want to start Zero.. but gonna refrain!
Zero has a few appearances & references from the sky games. The footage I used was from the official Zero trailers so I don't think it's super spoilery. However there are a few references from the previous games that do carry over, so it's best to finish those up to fully understand why Estelle is in Crossbell, etc. :)
I bet someone already recommended Final Fantasy 14. If not, it's being praised recently for amazing story. Although it is marked as MMORPG, the main story is mostly single player experience. A lot of JRPG fans never bother to try it because of the stigma surrounding MMO but it couldn't further from what it is.
Haha yeah with my extensive backlog I'll admit I'm a bit hesitant about getting into a MMORPG because I fear I'll like it too much and not make time for other hobbies/games (this seems to be the case for some of my friends 😅). But I've heard countless great things about FFXIV!
Great video!! Awesome picks!! You definitely got to some stuff in my backlog I’m really looking forward to like Trails From Zero and 13 Sentinels, so I’m glad to see you enjoyed them!
I don't know if you played these games cuz I'm not much into the heavy, with a capital J for JRPG, but lately bandai namco has been killing it with tales of arise and scarlet nexus. I'm more of a fan of the latter because it's more into actual gameplay but it went so good and people liked the story so much that they actually made an anime. It's pretty unique in the fact that you can play as 2 protagonists, a male and a female, in whatever order you want, and they have very different stories, pretty much 2 games in 1 (people suggest to play the male character first because he has less agency and so it's more of a mystery as he chases after answers, while the female character has answers thrown at her from pretty early on. Tales of arise is like a Xenoblade but more action, with snappier combat, more responsive and...fun for more hardcore gamers. After those, can't go wrong with nier automata and nier replicant. Both are again, more action but the story and music...chefs kiss. The creme de la creme of JRPGs. After those, can't go wrong with the classic final fantasy. Ff15 and ff7 remake. Ffs crisis core is worth it too buts it's literally a PSP game but it won't be a problem for you. Love ff15 for it's more serious tone on characters.
I picked up Scarlet Nexus last month actually during the Bandai Namco winter sale. I haven't picked up Tales of Arise just yet because I'm waiting to snag it a bit cheaper & I have a huge backlog of other Tales of games I've been meaning to get to. The Nier games and FF games are all on my backlog too 😅
I knew Xenoblade chronicles were going to rank high, even thought one of them were going to be #1, but since trails is your favorite game series, I shouldn’t be surprised😅 Here goes mine Honorable mention : súper Mario 3D land. 10) Yokai watch 9) Metroid samus returns 8) Majora’s Mask 7) Ocarina of time 6) Undertale 5) A link between worlds 4) God of War 2018 3) Metroid Dread 2) Dragón quest XI S 1) Pokemon Legends Arceus The first 5 games were really hard to rank, I enjoyed all of them, but PLAtakes it, as it made me feel really close as I did as a child. I really wanna get into VN this year. Let’s hope I can do it. I also had many jrpgs on my backlog. SMTV, bravely default, DQ8, XC2, P4G and P5R 😅 those games together are enough for a whole year 😂 I’m also looking to play more PlayStation games this year, since I abandoned this world for so long :c
Haha yup I figured Arceus would be your no. 1 :) And it's my goal to get through my VN this year as well! I've been building up quite the stack, along with PlayStation stuff 😅 Hopefully we'll both be able to reach our goals this year 💪
If you really like the AI:Somnia games, you are going to love the zero escape trilogy, I have only played the first AI game, but the zero escape is less silly than the AI games
Really nice list! I have a decent amount of gaming goals for 2023, chief among them being getting 3DS eShop games before the shop closes (mainly so I can get RPGs at a reasonable price lol). My big game I want to finish is Xenoblade Chronicles; I played it on Wii and got hard-stuck and my Wii broke so I switched to 3DS. I also intend to get my Switch finally fixed, mainly so I can play Xenoblade 3.
Thank you! I hope you're able to scoop up some of the 3DS eshop games & make some progress in Xenoblade this year. Sorry to hear about all the hardware problems you had to encounter!
I’m definitely looking forward to eventually playing some of these games. I’ve had a hard time trying to find a decently priced NA copy of Xenoblade 2 and Torna online ever since their addition to Smash Brothers though. I’m hoping I can find enough time to finally finish Persona 5 Royal this month.
Oh have you tried videogameplus for the Xenoblade 2 & Torna games? They have them at MSRP and ship world wide. Not too sure if you can find them less than MSRP anytime soon unless we see larger restocks come to retail.
@@orbalology Oh! I haven't tried them yet, thank you. I'm not sure why they slipped my mind since I've been catching up on your videos, and you've mentioned them in quite a few of them. I'll make sure to check them out.
SMT Devil Survivor Overclocked was also my first SMT game last year. Cool story and a few of the battles toward the end were surprisingly challenging lol
Thanks again with great list of RPG games with ranking and reflection! In the previous year 2022 I started to play RPG games like Yakuza like a dragon, Persona 5 Strikers and Cyberpunk 2077.
Ohhh Yakuza Like a Dragon is one I really need to play! I probably won't get to this year unless I stretch myself a bit thin with all the JRPGs, but it looks like such a fun game.
@@orbalology I just beat it. It was great. If you've never played a Yakuza game, you're in for a treat (though I do recommend playing those before if you can and can find a way to enjoy arcade style beat-em up action with amazing minigames). Just discovered your channel! Keep it up!
Now that’s a top 10 list! The top 3 alone is enough to make it a killer year, also happy to see Alliance Alive and Devil Survivor Overclocked on there as well! I really enjoy seeing non-2022 games in your list. I feel that’s how it goes for most people, so a list like this is more relevant to me than the professional reviewers who only have 2022 games. Also, glad you talked about Torna. Gating the main story behind “meh” side quests was a lame way to pad the game. I love the game but am glad you called out some of its flaws. X2 seems to get criticized too much while Torna gets a pass for some reason.
Haha yup I got to some really killer titles this past year! I never understood the inconsistent discussions regarding Torna and XC2 either 😅 They're both fun but yeah they certainly had their flaws, imo Torna more so but that may be in part due to it's length and how much they wanted to draw out the 25-30 hour experience.
If you haven’t checked out Steins;Gate (and then Steins;Gate 0) it’s a VN series that you may like! It’s also a really amazing anime. It’s part of a larger ScienceAdventure series with Chaos;Head, Robotics;Notes and some others. Edit: just watched one of your earlier pick up vids where you got Steins;Gate so nevermind you’re already keen to it lol
I really need to play more RPGs this year, the backlog is getting big. 2022 was mostly me conquering the entire Yakuza series and then played a bunch of Diablo II/III, and Star Ocean The Divine Force. Now that my repaired/replaced Switch is back from Nintendo, I’ll continue with DQ11, then finally hit some of the SE RPGs I’ve been sitting on.
Last year was full of so many RPGs!! And the trend seems to be continuing this year which is great but ah it's a little sad how many will have to go on the backlog for me. There's only so many games we can play 😅
Thanks! Devil Survivor was really so great, and I can see how it would be a great introduction to the SRPG genre as well. Or at least on easy mode lol.
Yeah, this is a really great list - I'm actually kind of jealous that you got to experience both A.I. games within the space of one year. By the time I played Nirvana, it had been quite some time since I'd finished the first. I honestly think you'll really enjoy Zero Escape. (I'm sure I'm far from the first who's told you that.) I actually had to grab some footage from one of them for a recent video, and it made me want to play through them again. Resisting the urge because, uh, there are a lot of, um, other games.
Haha I think experiencing both AI games in the same year unfortunately led to more comparisons, but I'm really happy to have played them! And I feel you about wanting to replay games even with the backlog weight on our shoulders haha. I was also thinking of playing Trails of Cold Steel 3 & 4 after Azure but I have no idea if I'll be able to finish those before Reverie comes out this summer. Now that Ryza 3 was delayed and we have TotK in May 💀
Trails From Zero is absolutely my number one. The Crossbell games are only behind Mother 3 as my all time favorites. Great list! Hope to hear your thoughts on more SMT games at some point
I'm a new JRPG player. I'm playing a bunch of at the same time, Suikoden 2, Chrono Cross, Grandia and FF8, but what i'm really in love with, because it's so comfy, is Lunar 2. Have you played it? I'm at the end of the game, and i don't want it to end ://. You played a lot of games i don't know much about.I tried the first Atelier, but i think wasn't the best introduction for the series. I'm attracted to the Xenosaga, but the PSX title.
I haven't played the Lunar games but I've actually been eyeing the one of the PSP recently. The Atelier games have really transformed with each iteration so I would recommend trying one of the more recent games to see if it clicks with you! And yup I really want to play the Xenosaga games too and hoping that the rumored ports or remasters turns out to be true! They are so expensive on the PS2 😅
Great video!!! I’m going to be doing a few similar videos soon!!! I can say that XC2 is in my top 10 as well for games played in 2022! Great list though - lots of good titles and so many JRPGs!!! Yay!
I didn't play as many games as I'd like last year, hoping to change this in 2023 : ) Would love a video with your Nintendo 3DS eshop recommendations before it closes in March.
I'm hoping to complete more games too! We got this!! And I can maybe look into it but I'm not sure if I would have any different picks from the videos that have already been circulating on YT. So far I've mostly just picked up DLC content and will probably pick up the two exclusive Ace Attorney games 😅
Very nice list! You've given me some good games to try that I missed before, particularly Trails from Zero and the AI games. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim was my #1 of the year. I adore that game so I was glad to see it on your list. :)
13 Sentinels was so good!! I really would love to see Vanillaware come back with a similar style game with some amazing storytelling. And I hope you give Trails from Zero & the AI games a try sometime :)
@@orbalology Emily, thank you for enlightening me. I knew nothing about the Trails games, but after your video, I investigated them. In looking at the play order, I started Trails in the Sky. I'm only a few hours in, but I'm already adoring the game and looking forward to working my way up through the series to Trails from Zero. Thank you!
My Top 10 Games of 2022 are 10. Live A Live 9. Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes 8. Bayonetta 3 7. Kirby and the Forgotten Land 6. TMNT The Cowabunga Collection and TMNT Shedder’s Revenge 5. A Plague Tale Requiem 4. Horizon Forbidden West 3. God of War Ragnarok 2. Triangle Strategy 1. XenoBlade Chronicles 3
They're great experiences, in very compact forms hehe. And definitely give 13 Sentinels a look, the gameplay is fun and the story is one that really sticks to you :)
Hmm 2022 for me was xeno 3, atelier dusk and mysterious tri, Witcher 3 and ghostwire. Agree xb 2 > 3, it was mostly the blade side stories I liked in 2, electra's quest had me rolling. Also love 13 sentinels, but played on ps4. For your list have the trails, looking to get alliance alive, I play a few vn but needs a good story, my favorite are steins gate and the danganronpas, but these are in backlog or yet to be completed aside from dangan1.
Ahhh I really need to play the Atelier games on those Switch trilogy packs sometime soon. Especially Sophie's first game so I can play last year's sequel. I think if you enjoyed the first Danganronpa game you'll enjoy AI The Somnium Files! I'm hoping to get to Steins Gate on the vita sometime too - I have a lot of VNs in the backlog I'm hoping to chip away this year.
Trails was the one game from last year I never really got around to. I was going to get it but then Crisis Core popped up for cheaper and I got that instead. It is a very silly game. It's high on my list of games to try out, but with how packed the first three months of this year are I have no idea when I'd get to it, Square are putting out a bonkers amount of stuff I want to play this year. I've DL the demo of that A.I game, I dunno if I'll like it, but I think the art is very cool. My favourite games of last year were - Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, Splatoon 3, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Triangle Strategy, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Elden Ring, Live A Live, The DioField Chronicle. I think Diofield and Live A Live were the two games I didn't expect to like as much as I did. But really I have to give a shout out to Monolith's greatest masterpiece Disaster: Day of Crisis. They should stop making Xenoblade games and give us a sequel!
I'm currently encountering similar issues with trying to fit in a few titles that came out last year. No idea when I'll be able to get around them with how stacked the first half of 2023 is 😅 And I'm glad to hear you liked Diofield and Live A Live! They're both on my radar but again no idea when I'll be getting to them after I pick them up. I'll have to look into Disaster: Day of Crisis, I confess this is the first time I've heard of that game 😅
@@orbalology lol, don't worry about it, it only came out on the Wii in Europe and Australia outside of Japan. It's just a big dumb 90's action movie filtered through a Japanese developer with all the cliches you'd expect. You just run around saving people with minigames, and then shooting terrorists in light gun sections. It's a really weird game that I dunno if I recommend, but I had a very enjoyable time with it. It's worth watching a video about it at the very least, even if that's just to see the main guy eat a hamburger.
With 13 sentinels being a visual novel in which you cobtorl movement of characters on an environement with puzzles I feel would just simply be a classic adventure game, those are typically the only "visual novels" I enjoy. the only straight up visual NOVEL I recently enjoyed was the house in fata morgana. Great video by the way, also did the fragrant story release turn out to be a scam?
I would say there aren't too many puzzle elements in 13 Sentinels, other than text combinations which I guess is why I like to refer to it more as a VN. But I feel like a lot of VNs can be interchangeable with point-and-click adventures too :) The Fragrant Story game never really sold itself as a long experience so I wouldn't really call it a scam personally. But there were promised updates and downloadable content that hasn't been delivered and with time running out it's not looking good either way.
@@orbalology yeah I've always considered VN as adventure game unless they're luteral visual novels like house in fata morgana I guess, also I had just seen one video on fragrant story so am not informed very well obt he game but that person was saying g its barely a game and felt scammed so dobt know much about it
My backlog is INSANE…. I have so many games to play and I just bought another 15 games for black Friday and the Christmas season…. Now I have these preorders for the next 3 months… my god lol 😮I’ll never finish… the trails games I am so behind. I haven’t played any and that kinda makes me sad but I just have too much to play 🤦🏽♂️ I do have the one trails preordered that they say is a standalone… but that’s it.. I have both Ryza’s and part 3 preordered… then hogwarts is preordered, fire emblem, and so many more on preorder for next month, March and April
Haha yeah we'll both be swimming in our backlogs for quite some time I fear. And they haven't even announced all the new games for the latter part of the year 😂
Great list, got a lot of variety in here! Glad to see some otome and indie rep :) defo need to check out the alliance alive and the Ryza games myself! another fab video ^^
I keep hearing great things about the Xenoblade series and I can’t wait to properly get into it. However, like you I have my own back log to get through and I’ve had definitive edition sitting for about a year and a half. Side note: I considered skipping the second game and just going to the third one (just picked up a used copy last week) because of what I hear about the combat. But, after hearing your thoughts on the game, I think I’ll have to give it a second look.
Oh no all the bad reviews on XC2, particularly regarding the combat system, always make me so sad. I would highly recommend giving it a go & if the combat doesn't click right away I found various YT tutorials super helpful with figuring out the best way to approach it. But I wish you luck on your Xenoblade journey! The first one is my favorite (the story is really amazing!) and the best place to start imo so that you don't get too comfortable with the 3rd game's quality of life improvements lol.
You do a great job of giving spoiler-free explanations, and despite me not having played any of these games, it sounds like you’re highlighting all of their good qualities.
Thanks! I'm glad to hear I hit that sweet spot :)
Devil Survivor was one of my absolute favorite games on DS, such a satisfying blend of story and time management, and a delightful mix of tactical movement and turn based combat
It was really such a cool game & executed so well!!
Ai is sooooo good , I recommend it to everyone ! Pleaseeee play the zero escape games too! I find Uchikoshi has such a way with interesting story telling through video games as a medium . His games are always a joy to experience! Also you’ve convinced me to start on trails zero 😊
I’d agree with all of this list. You should check out Chained echoes if you haven’t already. It’s a call back to retro RPGs like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 6, Xenogears and a few others. It’s got high reviews across the bird and was on,y developed by one person!
I really want to try Chained Echoes sometimes, I keep hearing fantastic things & been considering picking up the physical release :)
13 Sentinels checked so many boxes for me, has to be in my top 3! 😀 Also, nice to see your castle has a library wing. 📚
😂😂😂
Great list! I also played through xenoblade 2, torna and 3 this year and have a completely different order for them which shows how varied these games can be
Oh interesting, haha. I know I don't necessarily have the most popular opinion when it comes to ranking order but I'm really glad to have played all those entries last year. They really cemented how much I adore the franchise.
Trails from Zero has been fantastic, haven't been able to finish it yet but I can see why it's your #1. After all these years of waiting I can honestly say Zero is one of my favorite trails titles. While we still don't have a western release date for the next trilogy, we are getting Trails from Azure and Trails into Reverie this year. 2023 is shaping up to be a great year for trails fans.
It really is!! I'm can't wait for the day until we'll finally be caught up with Japan lol. I'm hoping NISA is going to announce the Kuro no Kiseki localization soon & that they're planning for an early to mid 2024 release :)
@@orbalology We can always dream!
You played some great games last year. I really want to try the Ryza series. Just not sure if it’s my type of game. Definitely have to do a bit more research on it.
Torna The Golden Country is only 20-25 hours long? If that’s the case I’ll play it sooner rather than later. Lol
Great video as always!!
I would say Ryza may mesh with you if you're looking for a relaxing JRPG experience! The first game is a bit slow & clunky at times (but still super charming) and they really refined just about everything in the sequel.
And yup Torna is a short Xenoblade experience! I think I finished around 25 hours trying to do just about everything :)
Love how much 3DS you still play...what great memories of that system. Wish Switch had the clamshell design sometimes. Keep up the good work!
Here's my Top 10 of 2022:
1 The Quarry
2 Horizon Forbidden West
3 Stray
4 Kirby and the Forgotten Land
5 A Plague Tale: Requiem
6 Shovel Knight Dig
7 Elden Ring
8 As Dusk Falls
9 Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon
10 Infernax
The clamshell is really a great handheld design, I miss it whenever I play on my Switch at times too 😅 And you have an awesome list yourself :)
I knew trails of zero would be your number 1, you were so eager to play it and you even bought it twice 😋 great list
Haha yup, I felt the list was pretty predictable. Though double dipping on a release is a good indicator 😂
I like your unique taste in games. You seem to have a knack to find some real gems. I have a backlog too and it's filled with a lot of older triple A games that do include popular JRPGS. I don't play much in the portable genre but I've always kinda kept my ear to the ground and listened to what it has to offer and i hope someday I'll bite the bullet and go grab a switch at a goodwill or pawn shop. I recently got the elusive PS5 and have been exploring some of the offerings there. I'm looking forward to more Final Fantasy titles coming out this year including the follow up to FF7 Remake.
Thanks for sharing your list! I did enjoy hearing about these games you've discovered! Cheers!
I'm glad you enjoyed the video! And nice, hope you enjoy your new PS5! I'm hoping to get one soon too :)
Deaths door looks so cool - played the first boss and immediately fell for the art style and movement
Love your unique and indie choices. Very refreshing. :)
Thank you! :)
You are one of the most chill gamer I have watched. You and also happyconsolegamer. :) Keep it up. ❤
Thank you! :)
Just picked up torna physically and trails from zero so I’m hoping I love them as much as you did!
Great list and great year for JRPGs
I hope you enjoy them as well!! Last year really was a great year for JRPGs, and this year looks like it'll be shaping up similarly :)
Pretty solid list of games I must say 😁 keen to play a bunch of these games when I have a chance too lol
Thanks! I hope you get around to playing at least a few of these some day :)
The Ryza games look great. I adored the Arland Saga, but found that you had to really make a choice to focus on either the alchemy or the combat in the limited time allotted. I'm glad to hear that has changed some. Great video, Emily!
Ah Jay I feel like you'll really enjoy the modern Atelier games! They're so full of charm and fun. I'm so glad they eliminated the time limits too, makes for a much more relaxing experience.
No specific order : 1 .Elden Ring 2. An Artful Escape 3. The Gunk 4. Triangle Strategy 5 LiveAlive 6. FFVII Intergrade(Yuffie DLC) 7. Stray (I need to get the platinum in this game) 8. TMNT Cowabunga Collection 9. TMNT Shredders Revenge 10. Crisis Core FFVII Reunion
Nice! I really need to pick up Live A Live sometime soon, it looks like such a cool experience. As well as a few more on your list! So many games, so little time 😅
Had a very pleasant experience with a short hike and I’m looking forward to tackling 13 Sentinels but later on in the year. As, it’s part of my backlog.
A Short Hike was a really lovely experience! I hope you enjoy 13 Sentinels - it's got a pretty memorable story & beautiful art :)
I also liked Xenoblade 2 better than three, but Torna was my favorite of the series so far. 13 Sentinels was also amazing.
Absolutely love the diversity within your list but it's also not surprising anymore due to knowing you having great taste in games! It's also nice seeing indies being here as they really have become such a great genre with so many gems releasing yearly! Death's Door and a Short Hike were such great games :) and for your top 10 seeing Xenoblade up there is cool, only gotten to play the first one but heard amazing things about the second ones story, third alike!
As for my top games of last year they were definitely Elden Ring, God of War Ragnarok (this experience moved me and the entire experience really is generation defining in all aspects of characters, story, writing, ability to invoke such powerful emotions, definition of masterclass), Horizon Forbidden West, Stray was a really pleasant experience, Lake an indie game was a hidden gem for me, of course Trails from Zero as well, and The Quarry was such a nice return to horror games with it's classic 80's feel done right!
All in all great year but this year is going to be insanity, not just for our backlogs / games to come but wallets alike, as always, keep up the stellar work Emily :)
I'm hoping to play more on my PS4 this year so I can finally play more of those heavy hitter titles. But when I'll fit them in idk 😅 But yes this year is going to be another great one for gaming!!
@@orbalology Only if time weren't so finite we'd be able to play all the games lol, i hope you're able to get to some PS4/5 exclusives, some of them really are so good, The Last of Us Part 1 being my favorite :)
Omg Overclocked as your first SMT game is too funny. That’s widely considered to be one of the best stories in SMT history, so I can’t imagine it being my first, bc after that you won’t find as many equally compelling stories beyond like SMT4 or Strange Journey since those are also more story oriented
Haha yeah it should be interesting, so far I've enjoyed SMTIV and Devil Survivor Record Breaker though I haven't completed them just yet.
@@orbalology record breaker is another great one, I just find most people don’t tend to rank it as highly as the first, but I adored it too. Have fun on your SMT adventures! It’s a toss up for me if SMT or Fire Emblem is my favorite series bc both are just so dang good lol
Im only about 15h into Ryza 2 but so far I cant help but massively agree! It just feels like they took Ryza 1, and just... made every aspect of it somehow even better haha. Crafting feels great, love the SP system, the combat is brilliant, feels way more fast paced and satisfying with combos and stuff, the way tools work is great, you can climb vines, swim, dive??? So good
Most of your list are games that I REALLY want to play soon; Xenoblade Chronicles, Trails, AI Somnium, 13 Sentinels, SMT... this made me really excited to be back into gaming since last year haha so many good games to catch back on!
I think my top games that I played in 2022 , from best to good, would be
Persona 5 Royal
Ys VIII
Atelier Ryza 1
Fire Emblem Three Houses
Pokemon Legends Arceus
Final Fantasy 1 Pixel Remaster
Animal Crossing New Horizons
Fire Emblem Warriors
That's actually all I got around to playing lol but only been back to gaming since june-july so not too bad (also going much slower since I'm playing them in japanese thus looking up words)
Bonus mention to Stray (which I loved but havent finished despite being short) and Chrono Trigger DS which I havent finished because I played it through emulation but decided to stop and get the game physically. Was absolutely amazing, just havent gotten around to restarting it on my console!
I would say you managed to fit in a lot of great games in half a year's time! I'm always feeling like I have a lot of games to catch up on myself. There are so many great ones but so little time to get around to them 😅
Nice list, imo Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is easily my #1 game for 2022. I’m still playing through it and the story is just fantastic.
Xenoblade 3 is really great! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it!!
i think the biggest surprise for me this year was how amazing Digimon Survive was, couldn't believe how good the mix of a Tactics RPG and Visual Novel worked. great vid 👍 definitely gonna try that alliance alive game.
Oh I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Digimon Survive! I have that high on my VN list that I hoping to chip away at this year. And I hope you enjoy The Alliance Alive - it was such a delight :)
@@orbalology it completely subverts your expectations of what a digimon game can be... cause it's legitimately horrific at points. I will give it a go definitely gonna try those ai games you mentioned look right up my alley 😊. I'll have to sub you have some great recommendations
Oh if you enjoy VNs with dark & horrific plotlines AI should definitely be right up your alley! And thanks :)
The buddy cop JRPG is #1! Well deserved!! You will be blown away by Trails to Azure. Can't wait to see more.
I'm so excited!! It's going to be such a great year as a Trails fan :)
the audio in recent videos is so much better, thank you! keep up the great work!
Thanks :)
I enjoyed Disney Dreamlight Valley, Immortals Fenyx Rising and Forza Horizon 5. Couple indie games too: The Procession to Calvary, A Memoir Blue, Turnip Boy commits Tax Evasion, Gorogoa, Omno and Descenders.
Oh I have Immortals Fenyx Rising on my backlog! I feel like it doesn't get talked about enough though from those who have played keep saying it's great. And I'll have to look into those indies!
Great list of games there Emily, I finished 13 sentinels on PS4 and certainly would have preferred it on switch for portability…got a little lost in the finer details of the plot at times but awesome storyline
Thanks! There were a few convoluted plot points in 13 Sentinels but agreed it really has an awesome story :)
What a great list! While I doubt there were any real surprises for the regular viewers of your channel, it was still great to see your order and have a comprehensive summary! Looking forward to lots of great games in 2023!
Thanks! I'm really looking forward to all the great gaming in 2023 as well!!
Very nice list, finally one where the question isn't is it GoW or ER 😄
My Top 10 games played is
10. TMNT: Cowabunga Collection
9. King of Fighters XV
8. Gran Turismo 7
7. Vampire Survivors
6. Infernax
5. TMNT: Shredder's Revenge
4. Stray
3. Crisis Core Reunion
2. Trails of Cold Steel 1
1. Trials of Cold Steel 2
First time playing for the top 3. Started From Zero but didn't get around to finish it yet. I jump around games way too much sometimes and also spent a lot of time playing online with someone. Every time I see it in one of your videos I feel bad I still haven't played AI: Somnium Files 😅 I loved the demo so I don't know why it's still unplayed. Same with 13 Sentinels really. One day...
You'll hopefully get to them some day, they're not going anywhere 😆 There are quite a few on your list I'm hoping to get to eventually as well! Namely Stray & Crisis Core Reunion :)
My favorite game I played was Resident Evil 5. I know it is so late, but I played it for the first time with a good friend of mine and made the experience very memorable
That's great! Making gaming memories with friends is really the best :)
Thanks for the video. I would say some publishers owe you a kickback. I, for one, just ordered 13 Sentinels because of your list (and I found it on sale).
I hope you enjoy 13 Sentinels! It's really such a cool game :)
Nice rundown, I tried getting into the first Atelier Ryza game but I found the gameplay to be a bit dull..... despite Ryza's design it wasn't enough to keep me invested. I think the last Atelier game I played was "Atelier Iris" on the PS2, loved that game.
I think the only visual novel I have my heart set on this year is the upcoming game from the Danganronpa team, "Master Detective Archives: Rain Code".
Oh that's alright! I know the Atelier games can be quite niche and I never played the Iris games on the PS2 but I keep hearing how great they were. Maybe someday they'll get ported over to the Switch/PlayStation!
I'm really excited for Rain Code too! I also have my eye on Process of Elimination from NIS as well - it looks like an interesting concept.
13 Sentinels and AI: The Somnium Files. Some of my favorites games ever created! Great list!
Thank you! They're really some of the best storytelling in modern gaming :)
Solid list. The zero escape series was what got me into the whole VN genre after I played 999 on the DS.
I'm really excited to finally get to them, after the trouble of hunting down those vita versions last year 😅
Very rare I play something day 1 as well. Forever living in my backlog! Haha. JRPGs are just great to go at your own pace and enjoy the journey!
I couldn't agree more!! :)
Love the new filming area. It’s well lit and makes you stand out more
Thanks! I was a bit worried because it was all gloomy & rainy while I was filming but thankfully it turned out alright :)
Thanks for the video.
My top games of 2022 are;
1. God of War Ragnarok
2. Elden Ring
3. Pokémon Legends Arceus
4. Xenoblade Chronicles 3
5. Bayonetta 3
6. Tunic
7. Horizon Forbidden West
8. Mario & Rabbids Sparks of Hope
9. TMNT Shredder’s Revenge
10. Digimon Survive
Honor mentions;
1. Pokémon Scarlet
2. A Plague Tale Requiem
3. Stray
4. Signalis
Very cool list, glad to see you were able to tackle a lot of 2022 releases!
@@orbalology Thanks kindly. It really does take commitment, staying focused on the game at hand. Good time management and Xbox game pass sure helps save money. Lol
New subscriber, really enjoying your channel thus far. RPG’s/JRPG’s are my favorite genre. 2023 is looking extremely stacked, and for me it starts soon with Octopath Traveller II. RPG’s and the HD-2D aesthetic is just an absolutely perfect combination. Looking forward to more of your videos.
Thank you so much! I'm really interested in Octopath Traveler II as well. It sounds super promising that there's a more connected storyline this time around and I'm also curious how they'll be mixing in some steampunk elements too.
Let's go Xeno2!! I like that the smart youtubers recognize its greatness. That will teach the haters one thing or three.
😂
Very solid list, got a good of variety of games! Having Trails of Zero is a nice pick for number 1! I still can't decide if I like Trails in the sky or Trails of Zero more.
Trails in the Sky SC still has a bit of a chokehold on me (just wow what a game), but I think it's likely that I will officially switch over my allegiance to the Crossbell arc after Trails to Azure releases 😂
Yessss it’s so awesome to see Trails from Zero at number 1! Have you played Tokyo Xanadu or the Ys games?
I haven't played Tokyo Xanadu but I have it on the PS4 - hoping to get to it sometime soonish, along with more Ys games. I've only played a few but been meaning to dive into more. Falcom really makes some awesome games :)
Trails on 1 proofes that you know what's good 🤪
😆
I'm playing Zero right now and it is definitely amazing! I'm really looking forward to playing Azure in a few months.
Zero is really fantastic! I'm happy to hear you're enjoying it :)
Nice list. Thanks for sharing. I tend to focus more on collecting than playing, too. I have a huge backlog of games that I'd like to play, but I'm paralyzed trying to decide where to spend my time.
My pleasure! And I totally feel you, it can often be overwhelming when you have so many choices! For me I think having a few highly anticipated new releases and a select few titles from the backlog to supplement the gaps has helped me complete more of my games. I'm going to try to push this method more this year and see if it helps while varying genres some more so I don't get too burned out 😅
Great video thanks!😍
Thanks for watching :)
great list, love all the JRPG and otome love. trails is my favorite JRPG series so i'm happy it's on the top of your list. i'm so excited that 2 more trails localizations are coming out this year
I'm really excited for all the Trails localizations, particularly the two mainline games but also the spinoff The Legend of Nayuta Boundless Trails that they have scheduled for later this year :)
Nice video, I never heard of some of these games. You should definitely play zero escape if you still haven’t it’s a cool visual novel. Have you ever played steins gate or code realize? If so what do you think? They’re some of my favorite VN’s.
I have both of those in my backlog! One of my goals this year is to complete more of my VN backlog and those are both high up on my list :)
Xenoblade has been on my backlog for a long time. I am going to try to play the first one this year and see if I like it. But your review of both 2 and 3 convinced me I am missing out. So many jrpg and not enough time 😢. Great video
I hope you give the first one a go sometime! The story is just so epic & the whole series really swept me off my feet 😂 But I totally feel you about the JRPG backlog dilemma 😭
@@orbalology the first one is xenoblade chronicles correct? Do you know if it is good on the switch?
Yup the first one is Xenoblade Chronicles, the Switch version was how I played & it has an extra story dlc on the main menu called Future Connected. I think it was a pretty solid remaster with some good quality of life improvements :)
@@orbalology thanks for responding to my comment. I am very interested. Idk why I have missed this one 🤦♀️
@@Mysticalodyssey007 It happens to the best of us! I always feel like I'm so behind in so many other games & franchises 😅
Could not agree more with your take on Xenoblade Chronicles 2! Yes, 3 was fantastic, there's just something about 2 that makes me also love it more. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 had a more colorful atmosphere, and the characters and their interactions with each other felt so much more charming and authentic. It was akin to a light hearted, bubbly anime. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 tended to take itself much more seriously and it's setting was much more grounded compared to 2. And even though the combat in 2 was technically more complex, it was extremely satisfying to pull off the various elemental combos you could do. Three's combat certainly had it's spectacle, it never really seemed to hit quite as high as 2 did.
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed Xenoblade Chronicles 2 as much as me! Both games are great but there's something about 2 that really hits just a bit harder 😊
We have such similar taste in games. But I've never gotten into the legends of games. Need to try some. Same with Atelier.
Super jealous you get to play the zero escape games for the first time. 999 is one of my favorite games ever made.
I highly recommend trying Trails from Zero if you want to give the The Legend of Heroes games a try! imo it's a great entry point to give you a general idea of how the series is. Atelier is a bit more niche but it's so wholesome & charming. Perfect if you want a JRPG that's on the more relaxing side.
The one thing I appreciate about a list like yours, is that in the last few years, I don't play as many current releases. So every community I'm a part of, when they do a group top whatver list of games of the year, I usually wind up sitting out because I just dont play enough current releases. So its nice to see someone plays games a bit similar to myself.
2023 will be no different, the only current year title I know I will play this year is Tears Of The Kingdom.
2022 I had a goal of playing 50 games. I unfortunately didn't even get to half of that. But my top three were 1. Kirby Planet Robobot 2. Ace Attorney 3: Trials and Tribulations 3. Dragon Quest IV.
This year I really want to get much closer to 50 and will almost exclusively be playing 3DS/DS games this year.
I look forward to seeing what you play in 2023 ^^
I wish you luck on your goal! The 3/DS is really a great system for this sort of thing, as you know it's catalog is so extensive!! A really great way to immerse yourself in the console & I'm sure will provide lots of great content for that blog you've been working on :)
@@orbalology Indeed. I think it's going to be a good year for me and gaming. Also youtube never lets me know when you reply to one of my comments. I have to manually check despite having the bell on lol. UA-cam doing youtube things I guess 😂😂😂😂
@@Transientimage Oh strange! Do you have email notifications disabled maybe? For me YT doesn't always send me email notifications when people comment or reply on my videos but they've been pretty good at notifying me when I get responses to my comments on other videos.
@@orbalology I do but for other channels, my notifications will pop if somebody comments back. It's literally just your channel that won't notify me. Idk why. But hey at least I'm a loyal viewer who checks back 😂😂
Since you enjoyed A Short Hike on the Switch, i recommend LiL Gator Game. Another great indie game is Forgotten Anne, there's a demo available as well And last but not least ROKI
Cool, I'll have to check those out. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing Emily. Great list. I'm gonna try out The Alliance Alive based on your list.
My pleasure and I hope you like The Alliance Alive! I found it just so charming and fun. A very refreshing break from all the more serious toned JRPGs that have been coming out lately :)
Love to see the Ai, Xenoblade, and Trails representation on the list. Best of luck to you in 2023 with all the amazing games releasing (and trying to get to older games as well)
Thanks! I hope you're 2023 gaming goes well too! :)
I am interested in seeing if your #1 (Trails from Zero) ends up being one of my top choices for 2023 as I just started it. Trails in the Sky SC was my #1 pick for 2022.
I hope you enjoy it! I really loved Sky SC too :)
Ursula's side quests were enough reason for me to put xeno 2 below 3
A really nice variety of games! I'm glad you enjoyed A Short Hike. I've played through that game twice already and it's something I still go back to often just to wander the island. Such a cozy experience.
You've definitely inspired me to try and tackle more JRPGs this year! I'm making my way through Final Fantasy XII now, but I also have plans to play Golden Sun and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 later this year as well. Great video, Emily!
I can see myself coming back to A Short Hike too someday! It was really a wholesome experience. Oh and it sounds like you have a lot of great games on your plate this year! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on FF XII and Xenoblade 2! Golden Sun was a series that alluded me in the early days and one I would like to play someday as well :)
I’ve never been able to get into any visual novel despite requiring solid storylines from any JRPG. I guess it’s down to a great battle system also being top of my list. My year was spent mostly with my backlog on Switch as well as Elden Ring, my game of the year.
That's fair! VN can be quite niche. One of these days I'll have to try out Elden Ring, it looks like a really cool experience that has garnered a lot of praise this past year.
Hi Emily! I hope you're having a great new year so far! Ryza 2 was one of my top favorite games of last year as well. I loved exploring the ruins and the big city. I can't wait to play Ryza 3 next month! 🥺
Ryza 3 is going to be sooooo gooood!! The previews have me so excited. I hope you're having an amazing new year so far as well Olivia!
I think the tonal sweet spot for Xenoblade is between 2 and 3, close to X, but more toward 3.
There were a lot of times 2 had me rolling my eyes with its juvenile, tropey gags, but I felt like 3 was too serious and could have benefited from more levity. I definitely liked the situational humor in 3 more, like Taion refusing to debase himself by fist bumping Lanz or the awkwardness of the flute exchange. Even Nia trying to act queenly and failing. It made the characters adorable and likable while releasing the tension and we needed more of that spread out.
I agree, 3 was missing more light hearted moments to add levity to the darker themes & storylines. I may have also felt a slight disconnect with how much emphasis was placed on the side content too. While I enjoyed how these fleshed out the characters and added a lot of nice scenes it felt a bit odd spending hours doing side missions while there was this impending doom & overarching short life span/time theme. I suppose this is common in a lot of JRPGs it just felt a bit jarring in XC3 in particular.
Nice list! I was surprised and happy to see Alliance Alive in the top 10.
I really like the little touches to the production value in this video. like the names of the games at the bottom and you had a lot of nice edits of scenes from each of the games. I know those take a lot more work than it seems and you're channel is starting to grow so I'm glad to see it.
Thank you! The Alliance Alive pleasantly surprised me too last year :)
Nice. darn backlogs! I finished Trails in the sky a couple years ago and got about halfway through SC and gotta finish it.. was that Estelle I saw in your vid cap when you were showing gameplay from Zero?. Really enjoyed those games but it's like once you get out of the groove and don't play them for a bit it takes dedication to get back into them. Really want to start Zero.. but gonna refrain!
Zero has a few appearances & references from the sky games. The footage I used was from the official Zero trailers so I don't think it's super spoilery. However there are a few references from the previous games that do carry over, so it's best to finish those up to fully understand why Estelle is in Crossbell, etc. :)
I bet someone already recommended Final Fantasy 14. If not, it's being praised recently for amazing story. Although it is marked as MMORPG, the main story is mostly single player experience. A lot of JRPG fans never bother to try it because of the stigma surrounding MMO but it couldn't further from what it is.
Haha yeah with my extensive backlog I'll admit I'm a bit hesitant about getting into a MMORPG because I fear I'll like it too much and not make time for other hobbies/games (this seems to be the case for some of my friends 😅). But I've heard countless great things about FFXIV!
great interesting list! Were all in for a treat in 2023 me thinks too. Keep up the great content! :)
Thanks! Yes 2023 is going to have so many great new releases, I can't wait!!
Great video!! Awesome picks!! You definitely got to some stuff in my backlog I’m really looking forward to like Trails From Zero and 13 Sentinels, so I’m glad to see you enjoyed them!
Thank you! And nice I hope you also enjoy those titles once you get around to them, they're pretty awesome :)
@@orbalology I’m a huge JRPG guy, so they all looked great to me, the only problem is trying to find to time to play them all lol
Haha, can definitely relate 😂
I don't know if you played these games cuz I'm not much into the heavy, with a capital J for JRPG, but lately bandai namco has been killing it with tales of arise and scarlet nexus.
I'm more of a fan of the latter because it's more into actual gameplay but it went so good and people liked the story so much that they actually made an anime.
It's pretty unique in the fact that you can play as 2 protagonists, a male and a female, in whatever order you want, and they have very different stories, pretty much 2 games in 1 (people suggest to play the male character first because he has less agency and so it's more of a mystery as he chases after answers, while the female character has answers thrown at her from pretty early on.
Tales of arise is like a Xenoblade but more action, with snappier combat, more responsive and...fun for more hardcore gamers.
After those, can't go wrong with nier automata and nier replicant.
Both are again, more action but the story and music...chefs kiss. The creme de la creme of JRPGs.
After those, can't go wrong with the classic final fantasy.
Ff15 and ff7 remake. Ffs crisis core is worth it too buts it's literally a PSP game but it won't be a problem for you.
Love ff15 for it's more serious tone on characters.
I picked up Scarlet Nexus last month actually during the Bandai Namco winter sale. I haven't picked up Tales of Arise just yet because I'm waiting to snag it a bit cheaper & I have a huge backlog of other Tales of games I've been meaning to get to. The Nier games and FF games are all on my backlog too 😅
I knew Xenoblade chronicles were going to rank high, even thought one of them were going to be #1, but since trails is your favorite game series, I shouldn’t be surprised😅
Here goes mine
Honorable mention : súper Mario 3D land.
10) Yokai watch
9) Metroid samus returns
8) Majora’s Mask
7) Ocarina of time
6) Undertale
5) A link between worlds
4) God of War 2018
3) Metroid Dread
2) Dragón quest XI S
1) Pokemon Legends Arceus
The first 5 games were really hard to rank, I enjoyed all of them, but PLAtakes it, as it made me feel really close as I did as a child.
I really wanna get into VN this year. Let’s hope I can do it. I also had many jrpgs on my backlog. SMTV, bravely default, DQ8, XC2, P4G and P5R 😅 those games together are enough for a whole year 😂
I’m also looking to play more PlayStation games this year, since I abandoned this world for so long :c
Haha yup I figured Arceus would be your no. 1 :)
And it's my goal to get through my VN this year as well! I've been building up quite the stack, along with PlayStation stuff 😅 Hopefully we'll both be able to reach our goals this year 💪
If you really like the AI:Somnia games, you are going to love the zero escape trilogy, I have only played the first AI game, but the zero escape is less silly than the AI games
Really nice list! I have a decent amount of gaming goals for 2023, chief among them being getting 3DS eShop games before the shop closes (mainly so I can get RPGs at a reasonable price lol). My big game I want to finish is Xenoblade Chronicles; I played it on Wii and got hard-stuck and my Wii broke so I switched to 3DS. I also intend to get my Switch finally fixed, mainly so I can play Xenoblade 3.
Thank you! I hope you're able to scoop up some of the 3DS eshop games & make some progress in Xenoblade this year. Sorry to hear about all the hardware problems you had to encounter!
Currently playing Ryza 2, got the digital copy during the recent sale.
Oh I hope you're enjoying it! I really loved all the improvements they made to the sequel :)
I’m definitely looking forward to eventually playing some of these games. I’ve had a hard time trying to find a decently priced NA copy of Xenoblade 2 and Torna online ever since their addition to Smash Brothers though. I’m hoping I can find enough time to finally finish Persona 5 Royal this month.
Oh have you tried videogameplus for the Xenoblade 2 & Torna games? They have them at MSRP and ship world wide. Not too sure if you can find them less than MSRP anytime soon unless we see larger restocks come to retail.
@@orbalology Oh! I haven't tried them yet, thank you. I'm not sure why they slipped my mind since I've been catching up on your videos, and you've mentioned them in quite a few of them. I'll make sure to check them out.
SMT Devil Survivor Overclocked was also my first SMT game last year. Cool story and a few of the battles toward the end were surprisingly challenging lol
Yeah towards the end some of the boss fights were quite difficult!
Thanks again with great list of RPG games with ranking and reflection! In the previous year 2022 I started to play RPG games like Yakuza like a dragon, Persona 5 Strikers and Cyberpunk 2077.
Ohhh Yakuza Like a Dragon is one I really need to play! I probably won't get to this year unless I stretch myself a bit thin with all the JRPGs, but it looks like such a fun game.
@@orbalology I just beat it. It was great. If you've never played a Yakuza game, you're in for a treat (though I do recommend playing those before if you can and can find a way to enjoy arcade style beat-em up action with amazing minigames). Just discovered your channel! Keep it up!
I had a feeling what #1 was going to be!
Now that’s a top 10 list! The top 3 alone is enough to make it a killer year, also happy to see Alliance Alive and Devil Survivor Overclocked on there as well!
I really enjoy seeing non-2022 games in your list. I feel that’s how it goes for most people, so a list like this is more relevant to me than the professional reviewers who only have 2022 games.
Also, glad you talked about Torna. Gating the main story behind “meh” side quests was a lame way to pad the game. I love the game but am glad you called out some of its flaws. X2 seems to get criticized too much while Torna gets a pass for some reason.
Haha yup I got to some really killer titles this past year!
I never understood the inconsistent discussions regarding Torna and XC2 either 😅 They're both fun but yeah they certainly had their flaws, imo Torna more so but that may be in part due to it's length and how much they wanted to draw out the 25-30 hour experience.
Your top 6 is extremely STRONG 🤩
Haha yup I got to play some heavy hitters last year!
If you haven’t checked out Steins;Gate (and then Steins;Gate 0) it’s a VN series that you may like! It’s also a really amazing anime.
It’s part of a larger ScienceAdventure series with Chaos;Head, Robotics;Notes and some others.
Edit: just watched one of your earlier pick up vids where you got Steins;Gate so nevermind you’re already keen to it lol
Haha no worries! I'm still looking for the Vita version of 0 so I think I may wait to get ahold of that before starting :)
I really need to play more RPGs this year, the backlog is getting big. 2022 was mostly me conquering the entire Yakuza series and then played a bunch of Diablo II/III, and Star Ocean The Divine Force.
Now that my repaired/replaced Switch is back from Nintendo, I’ll continue with DQ11, then finally hit some of the SE RPGs I’ve been sitting on.
Last year was full of so many RPGs!! And the trend seems to be continuing this year which is great but ah it's a little sad how many will have to go on the backlog for me. There's only so many games we can play 😅
Great list Emily. Devil Survivor is soo good. Is the perfect game I would recommend to get into the strategy jrpg genre.
Thanks! Devil Survivor was really so great, and I can see how it would be a great introduction to the SRPG genre as well. Or at least on easy mode lol.
Yeah, this is a really great list - I'm actually kind of jealous that you got to experience both A.I. games within the space of one year. By the time I played Nirvana, it had been quite some time since I'd finished the first. I honestly think you'll really enjoy Zero Escape. (I'm sure I'm far from the first who's told you that.) I actually had to grab some footage from one of them for a recent video, and it made me want to play through them again. Resisting the urge because, uh, there are a lot of, um, other games.
Haha I think experiencing both AI games in the same year unfortunately led to more comparisons, but I'm really happy to have played them! And I feel you about wanting to replay games even with the backlog weight on our shoulders haha. I was also thinking of playing Trails of Cold Steel 3 & 4 after Azure but I have no idea if I'll be able to finish those before Reverie comes out this summer. Now that Ryza 3 was delayed and we have TotK in May 💀
@@orbalology We're doomed. Buried under games. RIP.
new favourite youtuber
Thanks! 😁
Trails From Zero is absolutely my number one. The Crossbell games are only behind Mother 3 as my all time favorites. Great list! Hope to hear your thoughts on more SMT games at some point
Zero is just so great! And I'll be taking more about SMT IV soon :)
I love your content, it's very soothing!
Thank you! I'm glad to hear you enjoy it :)
I'm a new JRPG player. I'm playing a bunch of at the same time, Suikoden 2, Chrono Cross, Grandia and FF8, but what i'm really in love with, because it's so comfy, is Lunar 2. Have you played it? I'm at the end of the game, and i don't want it to end ://.
You played a lot of games i don't know much about.I tried the first Atelier, but i think wasn't the best introduction for the series. I'm attracted to the Xenosaga, but the PSX title.
I haven't played the Lunar games but I've actually been eyeing the one of the PSP recently. The Atelier games have really transformed with each iteration so I would recommend trying one of the more recent games to see if it clicks with you! And yup I really want to play the Xenosaga games too and hoping that the rumored ports or remasters turns out to be true! They are so expensive on the PS2 😅
I really liked 13 Sentinels, your list has given me more visual novels to check our, thanks!
Oh I hope you enjoy them! AI is really great : )
Great video!!! I’m going to be doing a few similar videos soon!!! I can say that XC2 is in my top 10 as well for games played in 2022! Great list though - lots of good titles and so many JRPGs!!! Yay!
I'm really looking forward to your list!! And yay I'm glad to hear XC2 made your top 10 too 😆
Follow both your channel's! Would love a collaboration video of some sort 😊
Paige & I will have to look into one someday :)
@@orbalology 100% down! If you have a topic in mind, let me know! :)
Solid list ! Most of the games on your list are one of my favorites as well great minds think alike Lol
Yessss!! 🤝😆
I didn't play as many games as I'd like last year, hoping to change this in 2023 : )
Would love a video with your Nintendo 3DS eshop recommendations before it closes in March.
I'm hoping to complete more games too! We got this!!
And I can maybe look into it but I'm not sure if I would have any different picks from the videos that have already been circulating on YT. So far I've mostly just picked up DLC content and will probably pick up the two exclusive Ace Attorney games 😅
I just purchased the digital only Ace Attorney games
13 sentinels was definitely a surprising game, definitely enjoyed it as well.
It's really a masterfully done game!!
Very nice list! You've given me some good games to try that I missed before, particularly Trails from Zero and the AI games. 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim was my #1 of the year. I adore that game so I was glad to see it on your list. :)
13 Sentinels was so good!! I really would love to see Vanillaware come back with a similar style game with some amazing storytelling. And I hope you give Trails from Zero & the AI games a try sometime :)
@@orbalology Emily, thank you for enlightening me. I knew nothing about the Trails games, but after your video, I investigated them. In looking at the play order, I started Trails in the Sky. I'm only a few hours in, but I'm already adoring the game and looking forward to working my way up through the series to Trails from Zero. Thank you!
@@thomasmoore5062 Oh I'm happy to hear you're enjoying Trails in the Sky!! Definitely take your time & soak in everything hehe :)
My Top 10 Games of 2022 are
10. Live A Live
9. Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes
8. Bayonetta 3
7. Kirby and the Forgotten Land
6. TMNT The Cowabunga Collection and
TMNT Shedder’s Revenge
5. A Plague Tale Requiem
4. Horizon Forbidden West
3. God of War Ragnarok
2. Triangle Strategy
1. XenoBlade Chronicles 3
Nice! Glad to see that Xenoblade love :)
A short hike was such a good game and Torna the golden country was amazing. I will check out 13 Sentinels Aegis rim thanks for the call out.
They're great experiences, in very compact forms hehe. And definitely give 13 Sentinels a look, the gameplay is fun and the story is one that really sticks to you :)
Hmm 2022 for me was xeno 3, atelier dusk and mysterious tri, Witcher 3 and ghostwire. Agree xb 2 > 3, it was mostly the blade side stories I liked in 2, electra's quest had me rolling. Also love 13 sentinels, but played on ps4. For your list have the trails, looking to get alliance alive, I play a few vn but needs a good story, my favorite are steins gate and the danganronpas, but these are in backlog or yet to be completed aside from dangan1.
Ahhh I really need to play the Atelier games on those Switch trilogy packs sometime soon. Especially Sophie's first game so I can play last year's sequel.
I think if you enjoyed the first Danganronpa game you'll enjoy AI The Somnium Files! I'm hoping to get to Steins Gate on the vita sometime too - I have a lot of VNs in the backlog I'm hoping to chip away this year.
Trails was the one game from last year I never really got around to. I was going to get it but then Crisis Core popped up for cheaper and I got that instead. It is a very silly game. It's high on my list of games to try out, but with how packed the first three months of this year are I have no idea when I'd get to it, Square are putting out a bonkers amount of stuff I want to play this year. I've DL the demo of that A.I game, I dunno if I'll like it, but I think the art is very cool.
My favourite games of last year were - Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, Splatoon 3, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Triangle Strategy, A Plague Tale: Requiem, Elden Ring, Live A Live, The DioField Chronicle. I think Diofield and Live A Live were the two games I didn't expect to like as much as I did. But really I have to give a shout out to Monolith's greatest masterpiece Disaster: Day of Crisis. They should stop making Xenoblade games and give us a sequel!
I'm currently encountering similar issues with trying to fit in a few titles that came out last year. No idea when I'll be able to get around them with how stacked the first half of 2023 is 😅
And I'm glad to hear you liked Diofield and Live A Live! They're both on my radar but again no idea when I'll be getting to them after I pick them up. I'll have to look into Disaster: Day of Crisis, I confess this is the first time I've heard of that game 😅
@@orbalology lol, don't worry about it, it only came out on the Wii in Europe and Australia outside of Japan. It's just a big dumb 90's action movie filtered through a Japanese developer with all the cliches you'd expect. You just run around saving people with minigames, and then shooting terrorists in light gun sections. It's a really weird game that I dunno if I recommend, but I had a very enjoyable time with it. It's worth watching a video about it at the very least, even if that's just to see the main guy eat a hamburger.
Ah I see lol. I may look up some footage in that case :)
With 13 sentinels being a visual novel in which you cobtorl movement of characters on an environement with puzzles I feel would just simply be a classic adventure game, those are typically the only "visual novels" I enjoy. the only straight up visual NOVEL I recently enjoyed was the house in fata morgana. Great video by the way, also did the fragrant story release turn out to be a scam?
I would say there aren't too many puzzle elements in 13 Sentinels, other than text combinations which I guess is why I like to refer to it more as a VN. But I feel like a lot of VNs can be interchangeable with point-and-click adventures too :)
The Fragrant Story game never really sold itself as a long experience so I wouldn't really call it a scam personally. But there were promised updates and downloadable content that hasn't been delivered and with time running out it's not looking good either way.
@@orbalology yeah I've always considered VN as adventure game unless they're luteral visual novels like house in fata morgana I guess, also I had just seen one video on fragrant story so am not informed very well obt he game but that person was saying g its barely a game and felt scammed so dobt know much about it
My backlog is INSANE…. I have so many games to play and I just bought another 15 games for black Friday and the Christmas season…. Now I have these preorders for the next 3 months… my god lol 😮I’ll never finish… the trails games I am so behind. I haven’t played any and that kinda makes me sad but I just have too much to play 🤦🏽♂️ I do have the one trails preordered that they say is a standalone… but that’s it.. I have both Ryza’s and part 3 preordered… then hogwarts is preordered, fire emblem, and so many more on preorder for next month, March and April
Haha yeah we'll both be swimming in our backlogs for quite some time I fear. And they haven't even announced all the new games for the latter part of the year 😂
Great list, got a lot of variety in here! Glad to see some otome and indie rep :) defo need to check out the alliance alive and the Ryza games myself! another fab video ^^
Thanks Milla! The Atelier games & Ryza in particular are just so charming, I have a feeling you'll enjoy them. Along with The Alliance Alive! 😁
I keep hearing great things about the Xenoblade series and I can’t wait to properly get into it. However, like you I have my own back log to get through and I’ve had definitive edition sitting for about a year and a half.
Side note: I considered skipping the second game and just going to the third one (just picked up a used copy last week) because of what I hear about the combat. But, after hearing your thoughts on the game, I think I’ll have to give it a second look.
Oh no all the bad reviews on XC2, particularly regarding the combat system, always make me so sad. I would highly recommend giving it a go & if the combat doesn't click right away I found various YT tutorials super helpful with figuring out the best way to approach it. But I wish you luck on your Xenoblade journey! The first one is my favorite (the story is really amazing!) and the best place to start imo so that you don't get too comfortable with the 3rd game's quality of life improvements lol.