I'm a little late to the party but wanted to share my thoughts about all the rpgs I played throughout 2018. I got to play quite a lot of games, at least for my usual standards. I didn't really play any new releases as it was mainly a year of going through my JRPG backlog and it ended up being heavily dominated by Falcom games. In roughly chronological order:
Persona 5 - I started the year with a bang. This game was absolutely phenomenal and got me glued to my TV for a few weeks straight. While it has some issues with writing and pacing, making the whole narrative unnecessarily stretched and hit some pretty bad lows, the highs more than made up for it. Thematically it's one of the strongest games I've experienced in the last few years and the striking visuals and music enhance it at every bit. The gameplay improved a lot from P4, especially in terms of dungeons which are now pretty fun to explore, though sometimes a bit too long. The game is very much a flawed masterpiece to me and easily beats P3 and 4, even though I loved those as well.
Trails in the Sky the 3rd - it's been a while since I finished Second Chapter but I enjoyed my time with the previous games a lot. Initially I wasn't too hot on the game as the early hours were giving me a strong "gaiden" vibe but once the story started for real, it became one unforgettable ride. The game does wonders building on the foundations of the previous games, while also setting up a lot for the future of the series. The main narrative is a very personal and emotional story beautifully fleshing out the protagonist who was only a supporting character in SC. The rest of the cast also get their moments to shine, especially in the side stories. The one thing I missed were the towns full of npcs with their own storylines that the series is famous for but their lack is also probably what helped the 3rd have the best paced story so far.
Trails of Cold Steel - after how amazing the 3rd was I needed more of the series and maybe that was a mistake since this is where things started getting rougher. Initally I was taken aback by all the lazy cliches and while it does get better, it never really comes into its own. The game's biggest strength is the worldbuilding and the npcs whose storylines were very entertaining to follow. The main cast on the other hand was just fairly dull, filled with derivative anime characters who never really manage to break out of their cliches. It tries to give them some depth but these attempts are still usually trite and formulaic, either tragic backstories or some contrived epiphanies, rarely feeling organically woven into the plot or even actually showing them in a different light. As much as I enjoy the social sim aspect of Persona, it was my least favourite part of this game as it just felt tacked on and filled with superfluous events making the end result a snoozefest. In general, the quality of characterization was my biggest disappointment after the Sky arc and while the story was mostly okay, it was so badly paced the ending was the only part really worth anything.
Trails of Cold Steel 2 - I wasn't too enamored with the first game but it managed to builld up a lot of goodwill and its ending created an exciting setup for the sequel. Unfortunately it was a major letdown on most fronts. The more open world and some gameplay improvements made it more fun to play and the npcs were as great as ever but it failed miserably at what to me matters the most in this series - the writing in the main story. The game's portrayal of war is genuinely among the worst I've ever seen in any media, both in terms of being tonally all over the place with non-existant stakes and poor politics of the local conflicts. The finale also left a pretty bad taste in my mouth as it tried too hard for my tastes to be shocking, resulting in feeling like a barrage of cheap plot twists. Similarly to the first game the ending was the only part that actually mattered and it still managed to create an interesting setup for the sequel but I'm not sure I care anymore. Couldn't get through the entire epilogue.
The Ys series - over the last year I also got into these games and played most of the series (all except VIII and Celceta). I had a lot of fun with the fast paced action but most games also had some issues that put them in the "good but not great" category for me. There were two games I found genuinely amazing though: Oath in Felghana and Origin. Both feel like a full package with the tightest combat, tough but very fun bosses, great dungeons and pretty good stories. Ys Origin especially resonated with me and ended up among my favourite action rpgs ever. The only issue I had with it was the three characters' routes were almost exactly the same, making it easy to feel burned out when playing them in succession.
Xanadu Next - now this is one of the more unique Falcom games which ended up being my dark horse of the last year. From the beginning I was sold on it thanks to the refreshing gothic aesthetic and soundtrack. I wasn't too thrilled with the combat and bosses but it also didn't get in the way of the main dish - the dungeons. The game has immaculate level design, with an interconnected world often looping back on itself in unexpected ways. The storytelling is more sparse than in other Falcom games but it's also surprisingly effective, especially in the presentation of its backstory.
Final Fantasy IV (PC) - it took me a while to get through this even though I consider myself a big FF fan. I have to say I mainly appreciated it in the historical context of how it defined the franchise and influenced the genre. I don't feel like it really stands on its own nowadays as it was surpassed in pretty much every way by later FFs. Especially the story and writing feel rough, though I can see how it could be enjoyable and even groundbreaking back when it came out.
Zwei: The Ilvard Insurection - this was the second game other than XN which surprised me with just how great it was. It was a charming adventure, very well written and well paced, never overstaying its welcome. From the beginning I enjoyed the two lead characters for their chemistry, the way they play off each other and consistently develop throughout the game. The often quirky supporting cast was also very memorable. The npcs were my favourite in all of Falcom games, likely helped by the game's pacing which made every time I talked to them feel like I learn something new about them. The gameplay also proved to be a lot of fun, even though it wasn't as tight as Ys, with okay dungeons which were short enough to not get tiring. The English localization was also excellent which was surprising for such a small niche game.
Tokyo Xanadu - the final game I beat last year (but barely, on the New Year's Eve). It pretty much became my "junk food" jrpg over the last month, generally mediocre to average across the board. Walking around the city talking to npcs and doing side quests was pretty fun but the main story was just boring and bland generic characters didn't help. Action combat was serviceable but not really up to Falcom's standards, same with dungeons. Overall it didn't really do anything very well but also nothing offensively bad. It was okay enough to play through it but I doubt I'm going to remember anything from it in a few months.
This turned out a little longer than I expected so to sum up 2018 for me had been a year of both positive surprises and disappointments but I'm glad I managed to play as many games as I did. I don't really have concrete gaming plans for 2019 but I'll probably continue to play mostly older games.
