THE FAEA AWARDS TWENTY TWENTY THREE!!!!!! WOW! CLICK HERE RIGHT NOW
look idk what this other awards shit is all about but THIS is the only place u gotta be!!!!!!
10 Games
GAME THAT MADE ME CRY AWARD
(runner-up: EARTHBOUND)
Hard to talk about this one without curling into a ball and disintegrating but it's one of the most human stories I've ever witnessed and managed to make me (cold hard emotionless hardcore gamer) cry at multiple occasions. I played it before a couple years back but I STILL wasn't ready for just how much this game would touch me on a personal level
(runner-up: EARTHBOUND)
Hard to talk about this one without curling into a ball and disintegrating but it's one of the most human stories I've ever witnessed and managed to make me (cold hard emotionless hardcore gamer) cry at multiple occasions. I played it before a couple years back but I STILL wasn't ready for just how much this game would touch me on a personal level
SHATTERED MY EXPECTATIONS AWARD
(runner-up: MAJESTY: THE FANTASY KINGDOM SIM)
We are SO BACK!! Roguelikes are good again!!!! I was really ambivalent towards this despite my history with RoR1 because I've gotten a bit sick of roguelikes and how *everywhere* they are, but nah this one's still great. One of the few roguelikes I love because I feel like no matter how strong I am I have to think and play well or I can die, and that (at least on certain characters) if I play well enough I can carry just about any build to the end. It's also a roguelike with an incredibly strong atmosphere which feels exceedingly rare!
(runner-up: MAJESTY: THE FANTASY KINGDOM SIM)
We are SO BACK!! Roguelikes are good again!!!! I was really ambivalent towards this despite my history with RoR1 because I've gotten a bit sick of roguelikes and how *everywhere* they are, but nah this one's still great. One of the few roguelikes I love because I feel like no matter how strong I am I have to think and play well or I can die, and that (at least on certain characters) if I play well enough I can carry just about any build to the end. It's also a roguelike with an incredibly strong atmosphere which feels exceedingly rare!
SPECIAL INTEREST AWARD
Look, this game is NOT good. Because Base Set is terrible to play as an actual game - play either of the PTCG games for like ten minutes and you'll understand. But the format for these games is fantastic and GB2 builds on the original really well, deckbuilding is even more fun with all the new cards, and the already incredible art and music gets even better (seriously these games have irreversibly influenced my art style, like just look at my avatar??)
Look, this game is NOT good. Because Base Set is terrible to play as an actual game - play either of the PTCG games for like ten minutes and you'll understand. But the format for these games is fantastic and GB2 builds on the original really well, deckbuilding is even more fun with all the new cards, and the already incredible art and music gets even better (seriously these games have irreversibly influenced my art style, like just look at my avatar??)
MOST OUTSPOKEN ABOUT THIS ONE AWARD
(runner-up: POKEMON RED/BLUE)
I know this game has its batters on this site but in wider conversation I don't think I've heard anyone really talk positively about DeS. Except me!!! This game is awesome and I will annoy ANYONE by not shutting up about how good it is!!!! I love how much it embraces its RPG weirdness, I love how INTERESTING the bosses are (writing this as I desperately try to make ER bosses interesting by bruteforcing a greatshield build so I can at least PRETEND I'm not just learning roll timings), I think the *powerful* moments in this game peaked higher than anything From are gonna manage to reach again. It's so good!!
(runner-up: POKEMON RED/BLUE)
I know this game has its batters on this site but in wider conversation I don't think I've heard anyone really talk positively about DeS. Except me!!! This game is awesome and I will annoy ANYONE by not shutting up about how good it is!!!! I love how much it embraces its RPG weirdness, I love how INTERESTING the bosses are (writing this as I desperately try to make ER bosses interesting by bruteforcing a greatshield build so I can at least PRETEND I'm not just learning roll timings), I think the *powerful* moments in this game peaked higher than anything From are gonna manage to reach again. It's so good!!
GAME I LIKED FOR COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED REASONS AWARD
(runner-up: POKEMON PEARL)
Had absolutely no idea of this game's legacy when I put it on my list, just that it had wonky ass controls and the guy on the cover is unforgettable. Anyway I played Enhanced Edition so it controlled pretty straightforwardly but this game is just so *cool*!! Very immersive setting, a really cool dynamic with the antagonist and a disgusting retrofuturistic look that is absolutely to DIE for. This game's legacy does not surprise me at all, and to be honest I think games would be so much better if the lesson we learned is that having a suffocatingly giant UI taking up more space than the game itself is really cool actually
(runner-up: POKEMON PEARL)
Had absolutely no idea of this game's legacy when I put it on my list, just that it had wonky ass controls and the guy on the cover is unforgettable. Anyway I played Enhanced Edition so it controlled pretty straightforwardly but this game is just so *cool*!! Very immersive setting, a really cool dynamic with the antagonist and a disgusting retrofuturistic look that is absolutely to DIE for. This game's legacy does not surprise me at all, and to be honest I think games would be so much better if the lesson we learned is that having a suffocatingly giant UI taking up more space than the game itself is really cool actually
FASTEST NEW OBSESSION AWARD
Look if my love for the PTCG games says anything it's that I absolutely adore games focused around customisation. Yeah so combine that with a bunch of other cool mechanics and a really cool impersonal dystopian setting and yeah you've got me blitzing through like 9 games in a month. AC1 is the best one though!!
Look if my love for the PTCG games says anything it's that I absolutely adore games focused around customisation. Yeah so combine that with a bunch of other cool mechanics and a really cool impersonal dystopian setting and yeah you've got me blitzing through like 9 games in a month. AC1 is the best one though!!
FINALITY AWARD
Not gonna go on another rant on why I love this series so much, but 4U is the one I've had the most conflicted relationship with - I started it in 2020 after getting hard into World, I struggled a lot and bounced off at village Pink Rath. I lost my save so I came back a couple years later, stopped at village Black Gravios and got carried halfway through G Rank. This year I started a new save and FINALLY cleared village - and not only did I clear it, I absolutely BLITZED through it using a weapon I like way more than what I was using on the others (hammer). A 3-year story finally came to its conclusion
Not gonna go on another rant on why I love this series so much, but 4U is the one I've had the most conflicted relationship with - I started it in 2020 after getting hard into World, I struggled a lot and bounced off at village Pink Rath. I lost my save so I came back a couple years later, stopped at village Black Gravios and got carried halfway through G Rank. This year I started a new save and FINALLY cleared village - and not only did I clear it, I absolutely BLITZED through it using a weapon I like way more than what I was using on the others (hammer). A 3-year story finally came to its conclusion
BEST AUXILIARY MATERIAL AWARD
(alternatively: UNFAIRLY GASLIT INTO EXPECTING IT TO SUCK AWARD)
The game itself is cute enough, on its own merits I enjoyed it (encounter rate ISN'T too high you're just soft!!! Or maybe I've just lost it!!!!!!) and it's cute to see how similar-yet-extremely different Earthbound is in retrospect. But playing this alongside the official manual/guide (+ translation) AND the official album release?? pushed it into an incredibly strange and unforgettable experience. Having so much extra material to indulge myself in really takes me back to being a Pokemon kid in the mid 2000s
(alternatively: UNFAIRLY GASLIT INTO EXPECTING IT TO SUCK AWARD)
The game itself is cute enough, on its own merits I enjoyed it (encounter rate ISN'T too high you're just soft!!! Or maybe I've just lost it!!!!!!) and it's cute to see how similar-yet-extremely different Earthbound is in retrospect. But playing this alongside the official manual/guide (+ translation) AND the official album release?? pushed it into an incredibly strange and unforgettable experience. Having so much extra material to indulge myself in really takes me back to being a Pokemon kid in the mid 2000s
GAME THAT I THOUGHT ABOUT PLAYING A LOT WITHOUT DOING IT AWARD
Spent basically the whole year planning on playing it, finally actually booted it up early December and now I'm still taking my sweet time. Paying attention to lots of text takes a lot out of me and it's an incredibly dreary setting so it's gonna take a good while to push through but! It's also really good so I am going to!
Spent basically the whole year planning on playing it, finally actually booted it up early December and now I'm still taking my sweet time. Paying attention to lots of text takes a lot out of me and it's an incredibly dreary setting so it's gonna take a good while to push through but! It's also really good so I am going to!
curse
4 months ago