Zelda 1 Randomizer, Zelda 2 Randomizer, Pokemon Randomizer, Super Mario Bros 3 Randomizer, etc.
Realistically speaking, Zelda 1 Randomizer might well be my favorite gaming experience of the decade, or at least really close. The 10's have been the decade of the randomizer, starting with Pokemon Randomizer somewhere around 2011 I think? The whole concept of taking these old games and shuffling all of the data in them to generate new levels and to put every enemy and item in a brand new location has completely breathed new life into a ton of games that I have loved for years, turning each game into its own little roguelike of sorts - having to learn each seed as you go, exploring and experimenting, testing your abilities on the fly in brand new situations that never existed in the original game. I'm someone who doesn't really enjoy speedrunning games where it becomes about really rote memorization and super-precise optimization of every little thing, so randomizers have been big for me, as I specialize in general knowledge, on-the-fly planning, and figuring out what to do in new situations. Zelda 1 Randomizer has in particular really been an addiction for me though, as the levels lend themselves so well to being rearranged and feeling like a new experience every game, and I've made a little bit of a name for myself speedrunning it. I think the randomizer communities will only continue to grow as the randomizers themselves get more robust and awesome, and I look forward to playing them into the 2020's. I kept them off the list because, well, they aren't really entirely new games, and there's something depressing about listing Zelda 1 Randomizer as one of my favorite games of the decade when it's a thing that generates romhacks for a game from 1987. I have enough actually new games that I liked.
Yeah, thanks again for introducing me to rando, and by extension, speedrunning. Hopefully I'll be on stage at a GDQ before long.
Leonhart4 posted...
ZTD was great, but it didn't quite deliver on what VLR built it up to do.
Yeah, agreed. The ending was especially stupid, because it didn't even use the Schrodinger's Cat mechanics that the series had been using so frequently.
I didn't realize VVVVVV was this decade. I thought it was older!
Also, heck yeah, four birdfeeders here too.
Three Houses does not have any animal-people, but it's still probably the best Fire Emblem game to have been released outside of Japan (still no Genealogy of the Holy War, though).
Paratroopa1 posted...
Before I continue, I just wanted to give a few quick hits for all of the games that I had seriously considered on this list but eventually cut. It's not a completely exhaustive list - if I sat here talking about every game I played this decade that I liked we'd be here all day. These are just the most notable ones. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver
Nice, nice. I never played the original Devil Survivor, either. And HGSS was so good! FRLG was basically just RBY with the improved mechanics of Gen III and a little bit of bonus content in the postgame, but HGSS really improved upon GSC in the story department. Also, Voltorb Flip was my go-to time waster for years. Paratroopa1 posted...
Where do I even start with it. Do I talk about the annoying characters that are impossible to take seriously or care about, who frequently have no impact on the plot? Do I talk about the writing that is more frequently cringe-worthy than it is funny, with awful anime cliches galore? Do I talk about the completely nonsense plot where nothing anyone does makes sense and barely wraps up competently? Do I talk about the frustrating minigames that do more to break up the action in a bad way than they do to provide variety? Do I talk about how disappointing most of the murder plots are compared to Ace Attorney? Do I talk about how much I hate Monokuma?
Or... do I talk about the good? Do I talk about the great premise of people trapped in a place where they have to kill each other to escape, which hooked me immediately? Do I talk about the bright, almost psychadelic visuals and energetic soundtrack, which provide this game an undeniable sense of style? Do I talk about the wonderfully-delivered voice acting performances, which make said annoying characters tolerable and almost funny at times? Do I talk about the few times some of the characters really break through and make me interested in them, or the few times that the plot really had me hooked on finding out what the mystery was? Do I talk about how undeniably clever some of the murder plots are, occasionally even rivaling Ace Attorney in ingenuity? Do I talk about how, despite all of this game's bizarre flaws and frustrations, how I was hooked from beginning to end and wanted to see the story through no matter what, and how fun it is to play with a friend, laughing at all the game's funny shit and stupid shit alike, discussing the murder plots and coming up with crackpot theories for what's going to happen?
You don't talk about it at all, of course. Yes I'm still salty about being ostracized on this board for allegedly *giving* spoilers to a pair of games I've never played.