“Why Did It Take Me Until Now For This” Award: The Ace Attorney series
My sister has been telling me for years how great Ace Attorney is. When they were still in Carbondale and on the podcast, Ryan talked about how great Ace Attorney is. A group of my favorite YouTubers have all talked about how great Ace Attorney is. But for some reason, I never played it until 2024. I don’t regret that decision per se, as this proved to be an excellent year to be an Ace Attorney fan with the announcement and release of the Investigations collection, but man, I want to bonk my past self on the head for putting it off for so long. I’m someone who likes calling plot twists in media, and I’m not saying that I call every twist in these games, but I am constantly amazed in the best way by how it manages to drop enough hints for me to call certain things without dropping so many hints that I can predict everything hours before the characters do.
“I Knew I’d Love This, And I Was Right” Award: Pokémon TCG Pocket
I never learned how to actually play the Pokémon card game as a kid, despite owning two binders stuffed to brim with Pokémon cards. My sister and I tried once or twice, but we never got the hang of it. Now I haven’t gone a single day since October without playing at least one match against another real, live person. This game has consumed my life. Help. But I have gotten the elusive “Major Bob” (French version of Lt. Surge) card from a Wonder Pick, so also, my life is finally complete.
Comfortable Game Award: Princess Peach: Showtime
This is the kind of game that my child self would have pretended to have no interest in because enjoying something so girly would get her bullied, and my adult self is here to say look how much we’ve grown that this was one of my favorite games to play this year. It’s simple enough, with a bit more of a challenge in the boss levels (truth be told, I never did figure out how to beat one of the bosses – I accidentally clicked the button to pay coins to skip the fight after dying so many times), and that made it into my de-stress game as soon as I got it. And I continue to have the biggest smile on my face every time that Peach’s outfit changes with the dress transformation from Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.
Most Nostalgic Game Award: Super Mario Party Jamboree
I haven’t had a chance to play Jamboree with friends and turn them into former friends by the end of the board…yet. But even just playing through the story mode sparked a lot of joy for me. Mario Party 8 was a staple for my sister and me back in the day; I haven’t owned a Mario Party game since then, so it’s delightful to have one again and be ready to torment my friends by stealing their stars.
2024 Release of the Year: Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
Is the ending confusing as all get-out? Yes. Did I care when experiencing it for the first time? Not one bit, because the buildup to the final cutscene was incredible. There’s so much I could say about this game, but to not go on forever, I’ll just say that the worldbuilding and character developments are incredible. It’s not without problems—the version of Cid Highwind present in this game is not my Cid Highwind—but where it does well, oh man does it do well. Highlights include Rufus Shinra (of course), Cissnei, and the Gold Saucer dates. But honestly? I even really like Cait Sith—my most hated character in the original Final Fantasy VII—and I think that’s the truest testament to how incredible this game is.
[Editor’s Note: Authors were told to approach their game of the year lists however they wanted, including listing their favorite games they personally played this year regardless of release year.]
