Star Ocean The Second Story R (Switch)
As someone who did enjoy the original but wasn't my favorite thus game shocked me on how good it turned out. The HD-2D look is the perfect style for this Remake and everything looks amazing. Battles felt more fluid and I had fun with the added depth to the combat that they added. Music was fantastic. I did everything and I only played through Rena Route. The Post-Game is fantastic. You can break the game more easily now though. The added QOL was a great help and made my experience much better. I'm eventually gonna to go back and play through Claude Route. I hope if SquareEnix ever does a Chrono Trigger or Xenogears Remake, that they use the HD-2D Engine and refine the gameplay like they did with this one
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Future Redeemed (Switch)
As much as I love Xenoblade Chronicles 3, the second game I felt was way better in the story and character department. This game shocked me on how great the story and characters are. I explored and did basically everything. Took me around 40 hours. This game felt like a full experience, I just wish there was more story. I wonder if Monolithsoft will make another Xenoblade. I'm still hungry for more
Kuro No Kiseki I/II (Steam)
The best Trails Story Arc since Trails In The Sky. I loved The Crossbell and Erebeaen Arc but they just couldn't compare to the Libral Arc. There's a noticeable improvement in graphics but it's still not a looker when it comes to environments. Now Character models have improved. The game has some great WAIFUs. The cast are all great and memorable. The story is great too and actually goes to some dark places. I really liked the OST on this one too. They really changed the gameplay. I love the new turned based battle system they went with this time. Also the games aren't afraid to embrace the sexiness. Which is great thing in general
Valkyria Chronicles 4 (Steam)
I never played the first game. I was shocked by this game since the way it looks always turned me off. The gameplay is fun and has actual different scenarios and goals that are different from each battle stage. Just the variety was surprising. I was stuck on a couple of missions but I stuck to it. Really like the XCOM type of gameplay here. The story was actually great and the cast were all memorable. Great WAIFUs. I made sure to get all the Bikini Costumes too. Music is fantastic. The graphics are great but my only issue is the white borders that show up in the cinematic cutscenes. Kind of turned me off truthfully
Sea of Stars (Switch)
I'm usually not a fan of most Indie RPGs that take inspiration from JRPGs. This game surprised me. I enjoyed the charming story and the cast of characters. I love the battle system. I love the Minigame Wheels. I did everything the game had to offer. I
each landmass. I got the true ending. Graphically the game was extremely beautiful. The OST snuck up on me in regards to how I just humming the tunes in my head whenever I wasn't playing it. Overall a great experience
Runner Up
Star Ocean The Divine Force (Steam)
After the disappointing Star Ocean 5, I went into this game with lowered expectations. I ended up loving this game. I loved using my VATS in battle and exploring the environments. The graphics aren't that great but the gameplay is what matters to me. The characters looked great especially the Female characters. Had lots of good WAIFU characters. Music is the classic Star Ocean OST which is fine by me since I love that music. I'm going to be doing Post-Game when I'm able to get back to this game. Overall a great experience
