Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge caters to a specific niche audience, but couldn’t have done a better job of it. The developers understood what made the arcade games great thirty plus years ago and build on it, creating a game that is rooted in the style of its predecessors with just enough modernization to feel contemporary. References to the classic games and cartoon are sprinkled throughout. Interactions with supporting characters like Vern and Irma are deliberately handled in a manner that would fit in during the 16-bit era. Shredder’s Revenge does rely on nostalgia for the golden age of arcade gaming for players to be completely enamored with it. Without the nostalgia goggles, it’s still a great retro beat ’em up based on its own gameplay merits, but for those who grew up with the classic Turtles, it feels like a fragment of childhood has been recreated.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is how a classic game should be remade. The new graphics style brings Dragon Quest III into the modern era while maintaining the original iconic designs. The quality-of-life improvements also make the 36-year-old game feel modern without sacrificing the core elements of the original experience. There are certain aspects that may not appeal to everyone, such as maintaining the original first-person battle perspective instead of changing it to the more animated one seen in more recent Dragon Quest games, or the omission of the Pachisi minigame. Even with these criticisms, however, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is among the best releases of 2024, reimagining the classic game in a contemporary form without sacrificing any of the original charm.

Infernax is a fantastic throwback to 8-bit gaming, and while it may not be fully faithful to the era thanks to its color palette, number of sprites on screen, and unbroken English, it gets the rest right where it counts. The grim-dark story of Alcedor’s fight against the invading darkness is broken up with moments of humor, several of which pay direct tribute to Castlevania in ways that Alcedor will immediately regret. Not to mention entering the Konami cheat code on the title screen starting up a new save in straight-up Contra mode. The story also comes with several choices along the way, allowing you to have Alcedor try to walk the righteous path or turn evil, and sometimes the law of unintended consequences makes what seems like the right choice lead to the bad outcome. It’s a dark, violent, bloody world that feels great to smash your way through, and while it might take some repetition to clear the harder areas Infernax is always worth the payoff.

Disgaea 7 is a remarkable SRPG with an unremarkable story that gives you little reason to move past Alliance of Vengeance.

Hogwarts Legacy isn’t perfect, but it’s successful in capturing the magic of the franchise and setting a solid foundation for any future games set in the Wizarding World. Hogwarts Legacy thankfully follows in the footsteps of Harry Potter, not Fantastic Beasts.

If someone is looking for one of the most entrancing, addictive RPGs on the 3DS, then they should not hesitate to run as quickly as they can to their nearest game store to purchase Legends of the Titan; it’s certainly worth every penny of its price tag, and then some.

Final Fantasy IX for PC is surprisingly well done for a sixteen year old port.

Nama Takahashi’s creation here is not the most extravagant nor is it the most lavish in detail, but that marriage of an easy-to-grasp gimmick and reliance on visual suggestion means ElecHead is not only striking, but joyous to play through too.

Nihon Falcom needn't have gone about overhauling things as radically as they have. But with a newfound energy and purpose to its real-time/turn-based hybrid of a premise, as well as a bountiful amount of new and returning mechanics to experiment with, Trails Through Daybreak is nothing less than another fantastic reinvention for what was already some of if not the best turn-based combat in any JRPG series. Aided on top by that familiar dedication to player customization, intriguing world-building and that ongoing desire to spend a bit longer in getting the most out of the systems on show. Countless entries later, Trails continues to prove itself as one of the most satisfying and engaging role-playing experiences available. It wasn't exactly begging for such reinvention, but with The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak, Nihon Falcom's opener to the Calvard arc is as close to perfect a new chapter, as you can possibly get.

When Capcom released Resident Evil 7, not only did it reinvent the Resident Evil series, but reinvented mainstream horror games as we know them. Boasting an incredible first half, Resident Evil Village is a fantastic and worthy follow-up, even though it regrettably drags on near the end.

That being said, DJ Hero is a quite fresh approach to the rhythm genre despite the areas where it obviously falters. It’s certainly an expensive game to grab, but its unique style of play and well-done mashups do a good job towards warranting it.

Even if FRU ends up being one of the last Kinect games made, it ensures that the peripheral will be going out with quite a huge bang indeed.

Its unflinching tendency to do things that were not part of its predecessor’s legacy will solidify it as not only its own game, but the best role-playing experience on Wii U.

Resogun is an incredibly fun game, but not much more than that.

Shift shows a lot of potential for the series and will go down as one of the best racing games of 2009.

Whether you’re a skater (like myself) or simply a gamer who likes to virtually tear it up, Skate 2 offers a fairly complex control scheme that rewards those who dig into the moves with one of the most bold, creative, and downright fun games, like evar.

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster is a good remaster that might not do much to freshen up the original experience, but it does make an already good game available to a new generation of RPG fans.

There’s a couple of fun new features implemented in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and it’s the definitive edition for newcomers, but overall there’s not enough to make it worth playing through again for veterans.

Do not dismiss Borderlands as “just another shooter.” Co-op play is all the rage in FPS games these days, and not only is it featured here, but it is encouraged.

Players with a half-decent computer and a controller will find themselves lost in a game that goes above and beyond what’s expected from the genre.

Whether you’re a new fan looking to get into the series, or a veteran player wanting to revisit a classic title, Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition is a must-play for any RTS fan.

Spiritfarer is an absolute triumph and easily goes down as the best game that Thunder Lotus has created. It’s no easy feat to juggle a cast of charming characters with captivating stories, a vibrant world that allows for a ton of fun platforming, enjoyable bits of resource management and crafting, and genuinely moving moments, but they have somehow pulled it off. It’s easily one of the year’s most unique games, an incredible hybrid of genres that almost feels like it has something for everyone. It may be a lengthy beast, clocking in at a meaty twenty or so hours, but it’s a rewarding one. Even long after the curtain falls on the tale of Stella and all the friends that they’ve made, you won’t be forgetting this charming take on the afterlife anytime soon.

Anomaly Agent is a riot from beginning to end. It challenges you gradually and features a tough, but fair approach to fast-paced action-platforming and combat. Having fluidity in movement allows the gameplay flow to be smooth from each kind of action the player engages in and no stages ever outstay their welcome. Having different kinds of combat and platforming on display from area to area helps keep things fresh too. Visually, it accomplishes its goal of evoking the '80s while still featuring lighting effects that weren't possible in the era while the soundtrack offers a satisfying blend of synth and rock to change the mood up whenever it's needed. Anyone seeking fast-paced thrills should check out Anomaly Agent.

I’m inclined to call F1 2019 the most complete version of Codemasters’ series to date. The Career Mode has some good ideas and the inclusion of the new classic cars and the F2 cars add a bit of variety to the series. If you pay for something, however, you shouldn’t need to wait to unlock it. The AI can be a killer and racing online will have you weeding through some jobbers until you gain some experience on the Super License. Running at a silky smooth frame rate and capturing the sound of the cars while not having an overly-difficult handling model makes the core game the best that it will be this generation. F1 2019 is embracing the legacy of the sport and stays true to providing a true replication of Formula One.

Life is Strange: True Colors may sadly dim towards the end, but it’s worth checking out alone just to experience Haven Springs, with its gorgeous scenery, terrific cast of characters both major and minor, and an intriguing mystery that requires quite a bit of fun gameplay.

Fallout 4 contains what should go down as the best open world in the history of this medium considering the sheer wealth of meaningful content packed into it.

Going from frustrating, to enlightening, to comical and back again to frustrating, all in such a short span of time. To incur — revel in even — all these emotions, yet still be so consistently intriguing and engaging an affair marks Baba Is You down as one of the year’s most thoughtful and entertaining releases thus far.

Let it be known that one needs to really play Sayonora Wild Hearts in order to truly experience it. Everything here describing the game honestly can’t do it justice. The graphics are a pure blast of neon joy and the soundtrack is absolutely stellar, but when combined with simple yet addictive gameplay that takes so many wonderful twists and turns, it creates this sort of trippy experience that you only see once in a blue moon. This is easily some of Simogo’s best work and should not be missed out on. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to play this album over and over again just for the tunes alone. “Wild hearts never die, wild hearts never die…”