Hey guys, Justin here and welcome to the first Otaku Mind of 2021. If you’re like me, you were shocked to see Sephiroth as the next playable character for Smash Bros. during the Video Game Awards. And if you’re like me, you were pissed to see The Last of Us Part 2 pretty much win every award it was nominated for. I’ve known the Game Awards were rigged for years, but this was just a shameful embarrassment and shows just how scared people in the video game industry are of AAA companies. Well, you won’t be getting that here. Being forced to stay inside the house for days gave me time to play plenty of video games and I’m here to give my picks on which ones I thought were the best. Let’s get started, this is the unbiased Justin and these are the top 11 games of 2020.
#11. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
The second game in the Legend of Zelda spin-off series that crosses the storytelling from the original series with the fighting mechanics of Dynasty Warriors. Serving as a prequel (somewhat) to Breath of the Wild, Age of Calamity shows us what went down 100 years ago when Ganon attacked. We see how Link becomes the hero destined to vanquish Ganon, the gathering of the other heroes, and Zelda awakening to her powers all while traveling across Hyrule and defeating monsters along the way. Along with Link and Zelda, we also get the option to play as other characters such the 4 other heroes, new character Impa (who was my favorite), the fairies, that Sheikah shaman, the king, and other characters from Breath of the Wild. Once again, the game makes you feel like an absolute badass as you run across the field slashing away through hordes of monsters and beating them single-handedly. Each character has their own unique play style and special skill that makes them different meaning there’s incentive to try each character out once and see who fits your style of playing best. There’s a lot of side missions throughout the game for you to play as well to unlock power-ups, food enhancers, and shops to help you on your journey. Now the ending does mess up the timeline, but I still enjoyed the game for what it was and it did build up excitement for the sequel to Breath of the Wild.
#10. Paper Mario: The Origami King
The latest game in the Paper Mario franchise sees Mario attempting to save Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom from origami. While the game follows the trend of recent Paper Mario games and lacks the RPG elements we’ve loved in the first two games, I will admit this was my favorite Paper Mario game post Gamecube era. Once again the world is creative and beautiful to look at, the dialogue is funny, and the battle system is alright in my book once you get used to it. The origami villains do look cool and the boss battles were funny as well as each one has their personality and require a bit of strategy to take them down. An okay game overall that could have been better, but what we got was more passable than the previous outings.
#9. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time
Finally! A new Crash game after so many years. Following the success of N’sane Trilogy, Crash returns in an all new adventure which is a direct sequel to Warped. Crash, Coco, and Aku go on an adventure to stop Cortex and N. Trophy from destroying space and time. The new levels have a good balance of creativity, challenge and frustration in them but still remain fun to play. The game also adds a bunch of new features that only serve to make the game more enjoyable. We have new masks that control time and space, rail grinding inspired by Sonic, a wide variety of costumes for you to wear, challenging side quests to take on, an option where you can play with infinite lives and even getting the chance to play as Tawna, Dingodile, and Cortex who each have their own play style that’s different from each other. Also, the game has a lot of funny interactions between the characters and deaths. This truly was the Crash Bandicoot sequel I dreamt about seeing for years and finally getting the chance to play it really brings a smile to my face. With the way the game ended I think we haven’t seen the last of Crash and the gang, and I think we’ll be seeing them again down the road. It’s only. . .a matter of time.
#8. Monster Camp
One of the highlights for me in 2020 was my good friend Chris getting me into PC gaming. One of the games that got me hooked was Monster Prom, a dating SIM game where you go to a school of messed up and comedic monsters and try to court one of them to prom. It was crazy, messed up, had great comedic dialogue, and was fun to play. When the sequel, Monster Camp came out, I was excited to play it where once again I had a good time playing it with my friends. Once again the dialogue is just excellent comedic writing and well done (although I think they may have added in too many pasta jokes), the situations are crazy and messed up at the same time that you can’t help but laugh. They recently added in more playable characters but I was hoping they add in more monsters for us to date (I miss my Eldritch otaku deity). This is definitely a good game to play with your friends remotely and apparently there will be more games down the line for us to enjoy which I can’t wait to play with my friends. Thanks again, Chris.
#7. Streets of Rage 4
I love beat’em up games. They remind me of the days when me and my dad would hang out on weekends and go to the arcade. The Streets of Rage series has been my favorite from this genre, so when I found out a fourth game was coming I lost my mind. When the game finally came out I couldn’t have been happier. The amount of love and attention to detail in this game was phenomenal and surpassed all of my expectations. Taking place years after Streets of Rage 3, the children of Mr. X known as the Y Siblings have taken over the city and once again it’s up to our heroes to save the day. We get the return of fan favorites like Axel, Blaze and Adam along with newcomers Cherry and Floyd who are a welcomed addition to the series. The graphics were great, the music was awesome, we get a good mixture of old and new enemies, and the battle system was improved as it allows you to juggle your enemies for more combos and specials. The game even allows you to unlock and play as characters from previous Streets of Rage games including my man, Shiva, and even has a few easter eggs from Streets of Rage 2 (if you can find them). I have nothing but high praise for this series and God bless Sega and the developers for bringing this series back to life.
#6. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
The first game of any new console is always important. It sets the bar for what’s to come and serves as a showcase for what the system can do. A sequel to the hit Spider-Man game of 2019 that focuses on Miles serves as a perfect introduction to the PS5. While the sales may be down for the game I think the reason for that is because a lot of people are waiting to play it on the PS5 just like I did. When Pete leaves for a trip, he leaves the city in the hands of the young Miles the new Spider-Man who finds himself in the middle of a war that could threaten to destroy his new home, Harlem. The game does a good job at making you fall in love with Miles as we see his growth throughout the game from a kid living in the shadows of Pete to becoming his own Spider-Man. The combat is once again great here as Miles has a fighting style similar to Pete but also adds his own personal touch that reflects his personality that I love. I especially like his venom powers as well as the music of this game that matches the personality of Miles and the diversity with the characters. This may just be the first game I’ve ever seen a character use sign language to communicate with another character and I love it. While the game is shorter and smaller than the previous one, the game tries to make every minute count as we see Miles develop a connection with the people of Harlem, his family, his friends, and becoming his own hero. There are a few downsides to this game such as the villains could have had been better and have more variety, the side missions weren’t as fun as the first game, the story while good isn’t as great as the first game as well (but it does have a great ending), and the biggest issue I have is why is Spider-Cat only available after you beat the game. Despite a few hiccups, I still liked the game and would recommend it to anyone who liked the first game or has a PS4 or PS5. Although, I would wait for it to go on sale. The current price doesn’t feel right to me. Can’t wait to see what happens next in the Spider-Man games.
#5. Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon
The lead up to the seventh Yakuza game was one I had a lot of doubts going into because of the new gameplay. Thankfully, my doubts were pointless as the gameplay was great. In the game we focus on a new character named Ichiban Kasuga, a young yakuza who gets abandoned by his clan and his journey to figure out why this happened. Unlike the stoic Kiryu and the witty Yagami, Ichiban manages to win you over with his naïve and kind personality. He’s a good person with a kind heart who wants to help people even if that means going against the yakuza code. Ichiban is an underdog through and through. He’s not the strongest nor is he the smartest, but he’s the guy you can always count on to stand up for what’s right and have your back in a fight. The gameplay this time around plays out like an JRPG. At first I thought this was a bad move, but the gameplay was fun, inventive and never felt boring or repetitive. Each character has their strengths and weaknesses with some even having classes that feel like they belong in a JRPG and even the enemies will fit the theme of the gameplay by using trash cans as armor, shields and bats as swords. The storytelling is still great just like in the previous games as the game knows how to pull you into the story as well as get a good laugh out of you with over the top side missions and character interactions. Speaking of character interactions, that might just be my favorite part of this game. Seeing Ichiban interact with his team, getting to know them better, and developing a connection with them as well as recruiting them. Finally, Yokohama looks beautiful. The game mostly takes place in Yokohama where they made this city just look beautiful especially at nighttime when the place just lights up. This truly was a great game that surpassed my expectations and gave me a fun experience just like the previous games before it.
#4. Doom Eternal
Yeah, now we’re talking. I never got a chance to play the original Doom games as a child, so I didn’t really get all the hype when 2016 came out. However, after playing that game I totally get it, this game is such an intense rush in a good way. Doom Eternal is the sequel to 2016 which sees Doomguy return to Earth and kill every demonic creature foolish enough to cross his path. If you thought 2016 was intense, the intensity of Eternal makes 2016 look like a kid’s game. Now 2016 was a great game, but Eternal manages to take that game and improve everything. The gameplay has been improved with smarter AIs who are constantly attacking you and are relentless. There are more weapon mods to choose from and enhancements to go along with them. Bigger and tougher enemies have weaknesses you can exploit to make them easier to fight thus making each weapon you have valuable. The story and maps are way more immersive and done better this time around as each location feels different and the story more engaging as you try to prevent the destruction of Earth. Backing all this up is one of the most badass soundtracks I’ve ever heard in my life. While FPS games aren’t really my thing this is definitely one I can say I enjoyed and loved every minute of it.
#3. Final Fantasy VII Remake
The wait is finally over. The first installment in the FFVII Remake. Like I said before this game pushed the PS4 graphics to the limit making the game just look gorgeous from beginning to end. Adding in new content and scenarios that only made the game all the more fun and expanded on the story. You find yourself invested in the characters and the relationships they have with each other and want to see them all make it out alive. The real-time battles are some of the best battles the series has ever done and I want them to adopt this in all of their future games from here on out. This was an amazing experience and was well worth the wait.
#2. Persona 5 Royal
Persona 5 was already a 10/10 but Royal takes that 10 and turns it into an 11. The game added in new characters and events to the series which enhanced the game, managed to fix a confidant everyone wanted to explore more, gave us new locations to explore, new side activities and even expanded on the story with a third semester. Persona 5 Royal in my opinion was the best game on the PS4 that brought in new fans to the series and was a great addition to the series. Persona 6 really has a huge mountain to climb to top this game.
And number one. . .
#1. Ghost of Tsushima
Yeah I know I said Persona 5 Royal was the greatest game, but I wanted to be fair and give this game the recognition it deserved. It was that good. The swan song for the PS4 will go down as being one of most beautiful games to ever be seen. Taking place during the time of the first Mongol invasion of Japan, you play as a lone samurai named Jin who must fight to protect and reclaim his home. However, as the fight goes on we see that the samurai code won’t help us and in order to protect his home, Jin breaks his code dawning a new persona known as The Ghost to spread fear to the Mongols and inspire his people. Throughout the game we see Jin’s journey and the hard decisions he has to make in order to protect his home. You can’t help but feel sorry for Jin as in order to protect his home and people he has to turn his back on everything he was taught and get shunned for it by the person he loves and respects the most. Like I said before the game is just gorgeous to look at and the combat is satisfying as you can call out your opponents in standoffs giving you one of the coolest things you will ever see in a videogame or choosing to strike fear into your opponents and assassinate them in the shadows while imploring underhanded tactics not fit for a samurai. No matter how you decide to fight, each one is satisfactory. Along with great gameplay we have a great story to follow, side missions with their own interesting stories and characters, cool outfits, great music and did I mention this game is bloody gorgeous because it is. Ghost of Tsushima was a great game to bring an end to the PS4 era and with rumors flying around about a second game in the works I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens next in this series.
And that’s my list. What was your favorite game from 2020? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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