The Tremendous Ten: Unsung Marvels (6-10)

6. Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires (2015)

What is it?– A hack n’ slash interpretation of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms novels that critics fallaciously claim hasn’t evolved in about 20 years, and requires almost no thought to be good at. These critics are idiots. Jim Sterling has a solid video about what these games actually are and why they’re decent, however his arguments supporting the franchise are actually why the empires games – which he doesn’t talk about at all – are the best of the bunch. These games take everything that’s great about Dynasty Warriors and then provide you with a space to create your own personal characters and scenarios that extend beyond the battlefield, and make each playthrough of the game unique. Mind you, this particular iteration is severely underdeveloped, lacking many features which were present in previous Empires games. But, it does have one quality that is so well implemented that it elevates the entire game to a comparable level.

What is impressive about it?
– The Marriage/Baby Making System

Most empires games allow you to marry another officer for various minor gameplay advantages. This game however, let’s you also have a child with your spouse, whose appearance and abilities reflect those of their parents. Where this gets interesting is that the children actually do (or at least can (WARNING: NSFW)) look like their parents.

Father

Waifu Mother

The game has a moderately robust character creator that allows you to craft a wide variety of diverse characters. But that’s been true of every empires game since the PS2 games. What sets this one apart is its power to replicate most of the features of the game’s many MANY unique characters. That capability allows the game to not only splice unique characters together with your custom creations, but other unique characters as well. It’s in seeing a feature fully realized like this that I can’t help but scoff at the underwhelming child creation systems of games like Fire Emblem who cop-out by simply swapping hair color – if those systems are supposed to maintain player interest by letting them make “creator-approved slashfics,” a whoooole lot of games have severely dropped the ball. This game, fortunately, does not.

Surprisingly hot believable daughter

What should other games learn from it? 
– How to create an infinitely recursive narrative through gameplay systems

Upon completing a scenario, the game lets you save your child allowing them to be used by the game in new and predictable or unpredictable ways in future playthroughs. Because, these characters have their own unique meaning to you, where they appear and what they do throughout a scenario always means something unique to whichever scenario you’re playing. This effectively results in a game that infinitely builds on itself in order to create countless fresh experiences, without requiring a rogue-like’s procedural approach to level design. Now, DW8 doesn’t quite have enough depth in its strategic or combat scenario design to fully take advantage of its character creation or marriage systems. However, games with procedural worlds or character creation that impacts the story could learn from its shortcomings by establishing optional continuity across playthroughs via its characters.  

A rerelease done right

7. SMT Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker (2015)

What is it? – This is probably the hardest game I’ve ever had to describe. Half of this game is similar to a very specific subgenre of visual novels you’ve probably neverheard of, and the other half is a strategy RPG with unit-to-unit combat akin to that of a dungeon crawler. On the surface, it looks far more complex than a lot of games out there, but it’s really just a different adaptation of Shin Megami Tensei gameplay conventions and themes. If you’ve played a Persona game or any of the main SMT titles, you’ll immediately understand it. If not, then it’s still not too hard to grasp, but it’ll seem far more unique and inventive than it actually is. All that aside, “Record Breaker” is a 3DS re-release and sequel to the NDS game Devil Survivor 2.

What is impressive about it? –
The changes made to the first game, and the way the second game builds upon it without changing any core mechanics.

DS2: Record Breaker is a two for one package, including the original Devil Survivor 2 and the new story/campaign Record Breaker on a single cart. That alone would warrant some fanfare, but Bayonetta 2 (my GOTY for 2014) did the same damn thing, and I’m not looking to pass out awards for good consumer treatment. What sets Record Breaker above Bayonetta 2 is its advancements to the original NDS game. Devil Survivor 2, as excellent as it was, still proved difficult for a lot of critics to get into. It was a challenging game that used its difficulty to help communicate the desperation of the plot - the name Devil Survivor was extremely appropriate for all of its narratives. Unfortunately, despite its relevance, the difficulty still proved to be too much for a lot of people, so in Record Breaker Atlus added an easy mode that players could freely switch to at any point outside of battle. And unlike Fire Emblem Fates, players can also switch back to the normal difficulty, if they want more of a challenge.

Atlus also took the time to improve a few of the game’s smaller shortcomings, to create an all-around better experience. The already good in-game dialogue was tweaked to give each character even more distinctive speech patterns. All non-bonus scenes are fully voiced, adding much to presentation quality (and appealing to those who’d rather jump off a cliff than read for 5 minutes). More scenes, some humorous and others serious, were added to the story. And dozens of other small gameplay tweaks were thrown in to spice up the gameplay for returning players like myself. All of which makes for one of the strongest cases for buying a good game a second time. But wait, there's more! This remake was also bundled with a follow-up campaign*, that includes the absolute strongest case for playing it – there’s a digest version of the original campaign’s story. If you’ve already played the original game, don’t remember its story too well (it came out in 2011 FYI), but would rather not play through the 30+ hour campaign again, you can choose to watch the in-game summary of events – complete with colorful commentary – to catch right back up. I personally elected to go back and replay the entire game anyway, to both test out the new easy mode and see the various gameplay changes. But after doing so, I watched the digest anyway to see how Atlus framed events, and was pleasantly surprised to see that they had effectively summarized the plot as well as some of the emotional weight of the game’s events. Obviously, it’s nowhere near as detailed of an experience as playing the original game, but the fact that you have the option to play the original or not play it, and can still appreciate the second campaign regardless of your choice is marvelous.

*I frame the release of Record Breaker this way as opposed to “a sequel bundled with the original” for a handful of reasons: Atlus' similar handling of the first Devil Survivor’s 3DS remake (no new campaign, but large gameplay improvements), the story of the new campaign being more of a straight continuation rather than a full-fledged sequel, there not being any new gameplay mechanics exclusive to the second campaign, the new campaign being shorter than the previous one, and the fact that this game is still numbered Devil Survivor 2. Perhaps Trails in the Sky has colored my perception of numbering in games, but it felt more like Atlus revisited and expanded an existing game as opposed to making a wholly new one.

What should other games learn from it?
– How to “Package” a Remake

Off the top of my head, this is one of two RPGs I’ve played (the other being Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days) that was a rerelease containing a wholly new campaign in addition to new gameplay systems and various improvements. It is, however, the only game I’ve played to make that second campaign a genuine extension of the original. Record Breaker doesn’t simply contain more battles with the same objectives as the first game, but rather adds new scenarios, obstacles, and enemies, some of which specifically reference and build off of the ones from the first game. More maps with a new context (story) is good, but having entirely new and expansive scenarios is the ideal. In tandem with the previously mentioned improvements made to the game (as well as the inclusion of the soundtrack), Atlus effectively created a definitive, idealized version of their original game. I know that not every re-release can realistically contain as many enhancements and additions as this game, but this is an example of the gold standard all of them should strive towards. Do not simply sell the game twice. Look at the original, take advantage of new technology, and improve it in every relevant way.

Anime. As. Fuck.

8. Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance (2015)

What is it? – Disgaea 5 is a strategy RPG with wacky characters and a generic anime story, that’s built around grinding for absurdly high stats. If you’re familiar with this franchise, then you’re probably aware that this description applies to literally every numbered Disgaea game. But, 5 doesn’t really have any unique features separating it from the pack. Hell, Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten is a better game than Disgaea 5 (better characters and story, sharable characters online, mostly comparable gameplay). The only reason that 5 is on this list instead of its predecessor is because of the way it handles statistical character progression.

What is impressive about it?
– Unity of gameplay via “The Unlimited”

Disgaea, runs on the law of the jungle: power is everything. And in RPGs, power comes from numbers. Raising stats in RPGs is typically pretty straightforward – either level up or get better gear – but in Disgaea power acquisition is diffuse. You can still follow the RPG grind SOP, but here you can also train your equipment by exploring an endless space dungeon, bolster the effect of the equipment on characters (i.e. raise their Aptitudes) by playing LIFE (I'm barely exaggerating), kidnap stat boosters to stick into your weapons, and commit a whole bunch of other debauchery to make dat paypa get those numbers where you want them to be. But the real crazy part, is that you can spend dozens of hours grinding in any one of those areas for a SINGLE character or weapon and STILL not hit a stat cap. How is that even possible? What reason could there be to a grind that insane? Why would any sane human being subject themselves to THAT kind of mind numbing repetition???

Because it’s fun.

It would take a small essay to holistically explain how Disgaea games pull off that magic trick, so here are the cliff notes: Each of the tasks I outlined above for gaining power, are fun to play through, and have quick, permanent, and noticeable benefits to your characters/items. You have many methods to gain power that you can freely cycle between if one task gets stale. However, the tasks stay fresh for a long time due to randomized map layouts, enemy placement, events, and rewards. You can dramatically expedite your characters’ power progression through various in-game methods, creating a feeling of empowerment – it feels as though you’re cheating even when you aren’t (coincidentally, one of these in-game tools is literally called “the cheat shop”). There are also thousands of items to acquire, and you’ll keep finding new ones for hundreds of hours as your characters rise to power. And last but not least, there are enemies strong enough to justify you reaching the absurdly high stat caps, granting your efforts an external purpose (again, in contrast to FE Fates).

In sum, NIS presents you with an exceedingly long road to travel, but simultaneously grants you an equally absurd amount of control over the speed that you can move along it and the individuals who traverse it, thus making every playthrough personal, and all of the progress you make over those hundreds of hours personally rewarding. This is why Disgaea is the game NIS uses as the basis for 90% of their games – it contains the key to spinning long personal experiences out of nothing but numbers, algorithms, and goofy over-the-top anime. Where Disgaea 5 shines above the others is in its simplification and clarification of your progression through post-game.

Disgaea has historically struggled to make its post-game approachable. There was almost always a slow preliminary grind one had to slog through just to get strong enough to handle the much faster and more fruitful methods the games actually intended you to use. At the same time, the end of post-game – the Land of Carnage – was always barred behind an arduous luck-based process that, again, was not at all clear. Though the games have mostly contained ways to circumvent the preliminary grind (read: Statisticians) and rig the random chances in your favor, they never highlighted how to do this. Consequently, players unfamiliar with these games had to either grind blindly in the hopes that something would happen, look up how to make progress online, or put down the game in a disappointed stupor.

Disgaea 5, however, solves all of these problems and makes it look easy. Upon clearing the game, you get access to many new maps and tools, all of which are designed to help you level up. And the game wraps the entirety of post-game into a new story (building off of the campaign, of course) explicitly focused on the characters becoming more powerful to face off against a new, obscenely dangerous threat. You almost unfailingly will know what you need to get stronger for, and how to go about doing it. The only problem with its post-game is that it focuses a little too intensely on streamlining the level up process. It doesn’t remind you of the usefulness of the non-level-related means of strengthening your characters introduced throughout the game, and ironically, doesn’t emphasize the largest improvement it contains for acquiring power (the class mastery system). Faults aside, Disgaea 5’s handling of post-game still results in a more unified game than any of its already excellent predecessors, and that is something worth celebrating.

What should other games learn from it?
– How to properly commit to using The Unlimited

When it comes to the player’s narrative in video games – your perception of events – I like to categorize approaches as falling into one of two near diametrically opposed* tones: 1.) the sincere – in which the story, gameplay mechanics, aesthetics, and actions you can take all have serious weight attached to them – and 2.) the absurd – in which the story does not take itself seriously and the mechanics encourage silly occurrences and player behavior. Some games settle for one of those two, while others try to contain both. And for the sake of brevity, all I’ll say for games attempting to do the latter is STAHHHHP!! It NEVER works! Absurd games are usually absurd through and through, but a lot of Serious games will try to incorporate elements of the absurd to make them more fun, and inadvertently fuck up their story or not build any systems to synergize with the absurdity (this is basically why Spec Ops: The Line exists, and why the dev didn’t want to include any multi-player). If devs want to make fun games by utilizing the Absurd, then they should just make an Absurd game. Disgaea is the best franchise I have ever seen demonstrate the full power of embracing the insanity of video games. The aesthetics, mechanics, and narrative of these games all work together to push an absurd narrative, and that unity of focus is what makes the games engaging. If there is anything to take away from that series’ successes it’s that devs should choose one path, the serious or the absurd, and make the entire game commit to it. Do not attempt to straddle a line.

*I say “nearly diametrically opposed” because I can’t list a single example of both tones working together, but at the same time can’t think of a reason why they couldn’t.

The single best surprise I got in 2015

9. The Legend of Heroes VI: Trails in the Sky (2004)

What is it? – A classic RPG developed by Falcom for MS Windows in 2004. It is the first of three games in the Trails in the Sky series, so it’s referred to as FC (First Chapter). If you want more details, peruse the Trails in the Sky Journal linked at the top of the page.

What is impressive about it?
– The unity of its narratives

If you’ve thumbed through my (incomplete) Trails in the Sky journal you’ve probably figured out that I adore this game. I’ve only played through it once, but I can comfortably say that it is one of the greatest games I have ever played – easily in my top 3. It would take me weeks, possibly months, to fully explain just how much this game does right. But, gun to my head, if I had to name just ONE thing that impressed me the most about the game…I’d be dead, because two things stand out, and they aren’t that clearly related to each other.

The first is the way it pulls you into the shoes of Estelle Bright. TitS is almost exclusively told from her perspective, all minor dialogue decisions are written in her voice, and everything in her journal (your guide to the game), is written in her words. This unity, complemented by the fact that the story always dictates what the characters know and should be doing, and the gameplay (the combat, the sidequests, investigations, etc.) – what YOU do – always matches what the story establishes, coalesces into one of the only video games I have ever played, seen, or read about that maintains a unity of narratives across such a grand scale. Bluntly put, TitS is one of the only Role-Playing Games I’ve ever seen where the focus was actually on playing the role of a pre-determined character. That may sound trivial – it should be trivial – but the only other RPGs off the top of my head that possess this focus on a scale THIS large are The Witcher 3 (more on that in the next game) and, to a lesser extent, Suikoden 2. I know: “shouldn’t most games with a story do this?” Yes, but unfortunately they don’t, especially not RPGs and almost never with their NPCs, bringing us to the game’s second marvel.

The NPC dialogue updates every time the plot advances. Again, this might seem like it should be par for the course, but unfortunately, it is not and for a very good reason: it requires A LOT of writing. In TitS, the plot of the game can advance anywhere between 10 and 20 times at each city, and the local NPC population always hovers around 2-4 dozen. Multiply those numbers together and you get around 500 unique conversations per chapter all of which are specifically tailored to the NPCs’ personality, interests, and occupation. That’d be impressive enough as it is, but Falcom took the game a step further. Your characters often respond to the NPCs as if they’re having an actual conversation, texturing both the player characters and the otherwise faceless (but NOT nameless) NPCs.

What should other games learn from it?
– How to make a truly responsive world

The ultimate effect achieved by the frequent dialogue updates and commitment to presenting everything from Estelle’s perspective is the creation of a world that feels alive. Despite the fact that this game came out in 2004, its world feels more immersive than nearly every AAA game that’s come out over the last decade. Due to Sky’s age, it was undoubtedly less resource intensive for Falcom to implement a responsive world there, than it would be today. However, there is no reason for the principles governing its creation to be ignored. If a game gives players the freedom to interact with something, then it should also be prepared to fully explore the ramifications of that freedom within the game’s systems. 

Narratively, it's among the best sequels to any game I've ever played
or even theorized about existing. It is nothing short of a miracle that
this game even exists, let alone with such an exuberant localization.

10. Trails in the Sky SC (2015)

What is it? – The sequel to Trails in the Sky, of course. It picks up immediately where FC left off and concludes the main story of these games (NOTE: there is a third game that has yet to come out stateside, but it’s not that relevant to the prior two games – Estelle isn’t even the main character). The story is longer, grander, wraps up all plot points introduced in the first game, and successfully inspires a sense of catharsis in the narrative. If I had to choose a GOTY for 2015 if would probably be The Witcher 3 followed swiftly by this game. It’s great.

What is impressive about it?
– It’s the ideal RPG sequel

SC builds on FC in every way that matters. Aside from the story that I refuse to spoil – which delivers in every conceivable way – the core combat was rebalanced to make Crafts more viable and Arts less domineering [though Kloe is still a goddess]. New UI improvements clarify how your abilities affect the turn order, making it far easier to plan ahead. Party members who were lacking in some areas were specialized to be more observably useful. Enemies are more diverse than before. And the game now has a hard mode to silence all the asshats complaining that FC was too easy. The gameplay is all-around better than before…though that’s not why it’s on this list.

The grandest feat SC accomplishes is its acknowledgement of your actions from the previous game. The NPCs you met in the previous game, specifically those you did jobs for, all remember what you did for them, and converse with the party like old friends or acquaintances. Many of those that have new jobs will refer back to the previous ones, and the jobs that don’t make references may instead build off of other details of the world established from the previous game (I’m looking at you Acerbic Tomatoes). If that weren’t organic enough, the NPCs that you didn’t do a job for all continue living their lives, and if you remember them (by name, since most don’t have faces) you can actually understand the reasons behind their behavior in this game. Basically, the game rewards you for remembering details from the previous game, both tangibly and emotionally, without utilizing the story.

What should other games learn from it?
– How to establish narrative continuity without relying on the story

SC’s biggest accomplishment should not be praiseworthy; every RPG sequel should do the same thing as a matter of narrative protocol. But some- most of them don’t, primarily because they don’t have too many means outside of the story to communicate with the player. NPCs are almost exclusively used as a tool for guidance or exposition (or meaningless tat) in RPGs and nothing that would perform this function (sidequests, for instance) ever acts as a substitute. Having a sequential narrative is great, but in an RPG, the world matters. It is not enough to have continuity in one area; it has to be present on all fronts. If devs are unwilling to establish that continuity through the NPCs, then at the very least find something else to perform the job in their wake.