Kinda Ranking Games I Beat This Year (2021)

Complete with notes for some of them! The rankings are just estimates, meticulously ranking almost 50 games (some of them wildly different from another) is a little too tall of an order for even me.

NEO: The World Ends with You
NEO: The World Ends with You
14 years after the original game, they finally give us a sequel, and it's kino. What the fuck?

1

Labyrinth of Touhou 2
Labyrinth of Touhou 2
This game unironically has the greatest turn-based combat I've ever seen.

2

Rabi-Ribi
Rabi-Ribi
Never judge a book by its cover, because this shit came in out of nowhere and just MOGGED the entire metroidvania genre.

3

SaGa Frontier Remastered
SaGa Frontier Remastered
Western AAA studios would have you believe that the open-world genre is nothing but a hopeless den of wasted potential. This humble little remaster of a 24-year-old game reminds us that this isn't actually the case.

4

Metroid Dread
Metroid Dread
Metroid Fusion but awesome

5

Xanadu Next
Xanadu Next
I think it'd be cool if Falcom made more games like this instead of being the "Trails and Sometimes Ys" company

6

Darius Gaiden
Darius Gaiden
Great horizontal shmup that is further elevated by it's groovy soundtrack and it's phenomenal vibes.

7

Romancing SaGa 3
Romancing SaGa 3

8

Radio Zonde
Radio Zonde
It was really cool seeing where a lot of Hellsinker's mechanics, features, and general design originated.

9

Touhou Gouyoku Ibun: Sunken Fossil World
Touhou Gouyoku Ibun: Sunken Fossil World
I must once again reiterate that Minamitsu is fun as fuck to play, Kanako's 2nd spellcard notwithstanding.

10

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

11

Blaster Master Zero III
Blaster Master Zero III
Extra half-star for that finale

12

Mega Man Legends 2
Mega Man Legends 2
God I hate present-day Capcom.

13

Touhou Eiyashou: Imperishable Night
Touhou Eiyashou: Imperishable Night
That OST is the stuff of dreams, man.

14

Touhou Youyoumu: Perfect Cherry Blossom
Touhou Youyoumu: Perfect Cherry Blossom

15

Touhou Fuujinroku: Mountain of Faith
Touhou Fuujinroku: Mountain of Faith
I HATE DIVINE VIRTUES OF WIND GOD! I HATE DIVINE VIRTUES OF WIND GOD!
I HATE DIVINE VIRTUES OF WIND GOD!

16

Touhou Puppet Dance Performance
Touhou Puppet Dance Performance
Pokemon... if it was epic!

17

Touhou Kouryuudou: Unconnected Marketeers
Touhou Kouryuudou: Unconnected Marketeers

18

Touhou Koumakyou: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
Touhou Koumakyou: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil

19

Ys I & II Chronicles+
Ys I & II Chronicles+
This game is seriously in the running for "Greatest OST Ever Made".

20

Ys Origin
Ys Origin

21

Blaster Master Zero 2
Blaster Master Zero 2
Ayo, that watermelon chick kinda bad though...

22

Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume
Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume
Cool concepts, decent execution. God I hope we get more Valkyrie Profile games someday.

23

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky

24

Cyber Shadow
Cyber Shadow
Quite a fun action platformer, and I still don't understand why it got such middling reception.

25

Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers
Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers

26

Klonoa: Door to Phantomile
Klonoa: Door to Phantomile

27

Legend of Mana
Legend of Mana

28

Ridge Racer Type 4
Ridge Racer Type 4
Great arcade-style racer, even greater soundtrack.

29

Steel Assault
Steel Assault
Great arcade-style run-and-gun, and now I have the urge to play more of them.

30

Mega Man Legends
Mega Man Legends

31

Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger
If this is your favorite JRPG, you need to play more JRPGs.

32

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

33

Touhou Luna Nights
Touhou Luna Nights
I know it's Team Ladybug's MO, but man I wish this game was longer. The time-stop mechanic is so cooool.

34

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania

35

Udongein X
Udongein X
Nice game, looking forward to Youmu Konpaku Zero!

36

Blaster Master Zero
Blaster Master Zero

37

Power Strike II
Power Strike II

38

GG Aleste
GG Aleste

39

Touhou Kaeizuka: Phantasmagoria of Flower View
Touhou Kaeizuka: Phantasmagoria of Flower View

40

Mighty Gunvolt Burst
Mighty Gunvolt Burst

41

Mega Man X8
Mega Man X8
Peak "it's good, I guess..."-core

42

Kero Blaster
Kero Blaster

43

Super Contra
Super Contra

44

Contra
Contra

45

Shmups Skill Test
Shmups Skill Test

46

Hresvelgr
Hresvelgr
Great OST, comically bad game otherwise.

47

48

7 Comments


2 years ago

all mid

2 years ago

ohhh mah gaw
yea fusion is better l agree also thinking legends is better then chrono trigger is very evil

2 years ago

I hope you're aware that I lose a couple brain cells every time you post.

2 years ago

"If this is your favorite JRPG, you need to play more JRPGs."

what if it's in my top 3 and I've played hundreds?

2 years ago

then you're an exception

2 years ago

sicc
i really need to play the saga frontier games on that note, loved the RS and FFL/GB SaGa series


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