[I have never felt more connected with God, Jesus, Nature, Oceanus, Glaucus, the Halcyon birds, Mother Mary, Baby Jesus, the West Wind Zephyr, and the concepts of moistness, dampness, and good old fashioned wetness than I did during the WETRIX WEDNESDAY festivities. If you soak your cartrdige of Wetrix in a bowl of grimy water you will gain the powers of a hydromancer. Please note that Wetrix comes in many attractive forms, including Wetrix, Wetrix+, Wetrix GB, and a sequel experience known as Aqua Aqua. If you think you know Wet then simply think again.]

[The original incarnation of this game came out on the PSP. It's considered by some to be an "Ys lite." I found it to be a charming dungeon crawler with delightfully simple yet somewhat archaic level design.]

[Does any Game Boy game look as good as this?]

[Some games from the Siactro back catalog that I hadn't yet checked out. A huge blind spot that remains for me is the "Haunted PS1 Community"-adjacent Tasty Ramen.]

[I'm adding this one "posthumously" (as if I need to make this list longer) because I played through the first Spyro the Dragon in this remastered collection, and I was amazed by how great the movement felt. The level design can be a bit obtuse when embarking on a completionist playthrough, though. It's okay, I forgive that little purple cutie.]

[A unique, ethereal 3D puzzle game in which you guide a beach ball through cubiform stages. There's a modern day spiritual successor to this underutilized beach ball-type game called Puzzle Dimension, available on Steam for the modest price of a couple smackers. That game uses a marble though -- a new twist on an old classic. The Kororinpa series is, from my understanding, also a solid take on the genre, but these offer so much freedom of movement that Super Monkey Ball could be pointed to as the closer relative.]

[There is a distinctively derisive attitude online towards Yakuza 3. Key compaints often point to the extreme tendency of boss characters to block many of your attacks during combat (hence a popular nickname for the game: "Blockuza 3"). Yakuza and Yakuza 2 both have also been remade completely via the "Kiwami" editions of the game., while Yakuza 3, 4, and 5 have merely been remastered. Thus, when playing in "release order," the jump from the modern, polished Yakuza Kiwami 2 to the incredibly-PS3-feeling Yakuza 3 Remastered certainly is a challenge in its own right. I still enjoyed my time with the game, though, and much of that was due to the Okinawa setting. I also started playing Yakuza 4 Remastered and I believe I prefer it to its predecessor (not an unpopular opinion fromy my understanding), though the plot was a little less cohesive (and I couldn't even figure most of the main characters' motivations by the time I got to the end!)]

[Wow am I glad I finally checked these games out! I was beyond impressed by the sheer inventiveness and willingness of these games to wholeheartedly embrace burgeoning, largely untested genres (and combine them nonetheless!) Not only that, but they're still loads of fun today. First-person shooting and platforming, which cleverly and effectively assists players with control of the camera. I sincerely believe that if the camera did not forcibly shift to a downward-facing viewpoint upon initiating a second jump, the game would not work nearly as well. Being mindful of what is directly below you is crucial. Anyways wow! Again!]

2023 Games I Wish I Had Played

[Pronounced "ERROR: GAME RESET." A mobile game with creative help from Yoko Taro. Takes Sega game franchises (other companies too!) and personifies them as bewilderingly seductive anime girls. It reminds me of SEGAGAGA. And guess what -- it's already getting shut down!]

[You can buy some of the games in the collection piecemeal. I saw the original METAL GEAR SOLID was being sold individually for a whopping $15.99. Wow! That's only two dollars less than the going rate for METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN!]

[A PS5 exclusive as of this writing, and, despite being interested in the game, not nearly enough to convince me to purchase an entire console for it.]

[Winner of the Most Unwieldy Title Award.]

2023 Games

[An idle/clicker game that instantly had me hooked despite this not being a genre I engage with too much. It's unique in that it has an end. I sat down and played it for an hour and didn't stop until I reached it. This game completely hypnotized me.]

[This one definitely shouldn't be allowed!! But they put it out again and it's one of my favorite games!]

[So many strange and inconsequential systems in this game. You can get a character's fortune told. You can adopt pets. You get a weird, separate personal pet that follow you around and produces beautiful little pellets. There's a minigame where you fly a wyvern through rings. Also, this game has a feature designed specifically for perverts: you're able to retire your character to their bedchambers, and upon falling asleep, they'll be greeted by a party member barging into their room and monologuing over their sleeping body about how peaceful they look. When your character's eyes open you're greeted by the degenerate grin of said party member mere inches from your character's face. The game encourages you to wear headphones for this part. Winner of the Most Sensual Experience Award.]

2024 Most Anticerpated

[No need to finish the year off -- winner of the 2024 Most Unwieldy Title Award.]

[Winner of the Most Ludicrous Name Award.]

[Winner of the Most Acceptable Name Award.]

[Winner of the Most Triangular Award.]

ODDS & ENDS

Lots o good movie watching this year!!!! (* = rewatch)

[I'm adding this one "posthumously" too because I forgot to include it at the time, but damn, what a good movie...]

TV Shows too

Books