Grazza

And look at what you've started!

Yes indeed. I'm hoping for Austin Powers and RollerCoaster Tycoon!

Stern is really great - smooth, realistic and less "busy" than Zen/FX3. Looking forward to seeing some more classic tables on it.

Just a heads-up for pinball fans. Both Pinball FX3 (Zen Pinball) and Stern Pinball arcade were released today. Each comes with one table pre-installed. However, with Pinball FX3, make sure you also download the Carnivals and Legends pack (two tables) ASAP, as it's free for now. That's four free tables between the two games. Pinball FX3 is business as usual if you're used to Zen Pinball (no bad thing - I have to say I'm waiting for some of the later tables though), whereas Stern Pinball Arcade seeks to replicate real pinball machines.

Oh wow! I'm such a purist, I'd probably get this just to have the real arcade games. Now we just need a Capcom brawlers collection!

I actually just wiped my Wii U and forfeited the games. Yeah, it's a waste of money, but I wanted to declutter. In the process, Nintendo demanded that I connect to the internet, which I thought was odd, but hopefully it's registered those games to my account and I can get them again one day. If not, so be it. For those who really want to keep the games, at the moment I'm afraid the only option is to not get rid of the Wii U.

Oh yes, I was quite impressed in some ways. Those enemy sprites are amazing - if only they were animated! It's hard to explain, but the tone of J-RPGs has become overly sincere and nostalgia-seeking. On the other end of the scale I find most Atlus RPGs overly futuristic (apart from Etrian Odyssey), so perhaps I'm just fussy! I prefer the fairytale style done in a human way.

Just a personal viewpoint, but I really feel RPGs have taken a turn for the bland in recent years. I think it started when the "AAA" J-RPGs, like Xenoblade Chronicles (although I suppose you could trace it back to Final Fantasy XII), started to mimic real-time Western RPGs, leaving the traditional RPGs to imitate the classic Final Fantasy style (I'm thinking Bravely Default onwards). They're not terrible, but can be a bit unremarkable. It's a bit of a shame as I'd prefer J-RPGs to go back to the Dragon Quest VIII style - big (but not too big), colourful and somewhat daring.

Breath of the Wild - It's by no means my favourite game, but it constantly staggered me. I thought the mountain atop the starting ridge was big, then I found the one at Lanaryu, then the Eldin one, then the one in the north-west, the one in the south-west etc. I had never played anything so impressive before. And as strange as it sounds, just relaxing in bed and playing arcade perfect Neo Geo games like Metal Slug. On a similar note, my third highlight is Nintendo simply feeling cooler this year. Just as the Neo Geo games give you so many options (Japanese/Western, blood/no blood etc), it feels like Nintendo has let its hair down. If there's a big indie release, we'll probably get it. If there is a game with a Japanese voice track, we'll probably have the option for that. For the first time in ages, I find myself not having any doubts whatsoever over the direction of the company.

That sounds like another three-phaser. Wow! Would be surprising if they keep the same actors for that long, although I suppose it's what everybody wants.

Ah, good, I've always quite wanted to play these.

Two reasons I didn't put myself forward for this one.

I'm not very technically-minded, so can't offer any suggestions, but I'm sorry to hear this, ArtMediocre.

Alchemic Dungeons 2 that lets you build up weapon/armour sets between levels. Dragon Quest XI in the West. Metroid Prime 4 released. A new Shantae that's more in the spirit of the 2nd and 3rd games. Animal Crossing Switch.

If EA are jumping on board, that'd be great - I'd like to play the BioWare RPGs. Hopefully Switch is too popular to ignore.

With Cathy & Roddy next week, apparently. I'm looking forward to that one.

Ah yes, Samus Returns! That's a genuine contender for GotY. I don't know why I forgot it (so many games, I suppose), but it really is that good.

I love the look of this one. Coming next year to Switch:

Infinity War will almost certainly end with their defeat, but I personally think Thanos will have all the stones by the end of the film. It's about 20 years since I read the book, and he will seem invincible for sure, but there must be an Achilles' heel even when he has all of them.

Yeah, I didn't like Iron Man 3 at all. As for Age of Ultron, I liked some of the individual scenes, but it does have this odd, strangely dull feel to the whole thing.

Assuming we're not going to do an official ranking, I'll just say a few words about the ones that have had the most impact on me. Zelda: Breath of the Wild - This game utterly blew me away. I appreciate it even more after playing the also-very-good Skyrim; how, in Zelda, you can just climb over any surface and go wherever you like in the huge overworld. It's an outstanding piece of software. Ultimately, however, it simply didn't deliver what I know a 3D Zelda can. My favourite parts by far were the four "traditional" dungeons and I hope the series goes back to the OOT/Wind Waker formula - perhaps a bit bigger if it serves the design, but not copying open world games so closely. Alchemic Dungeons - I know some may think this is a bad game, but nothing captured my mind this year more than this iOS port. It's frustrating, unfair and luck-based, but the combination of it being turn-based (untimed too) and the way it continually asks you to make crafting decisions made it utterly addictive to me. I've flipped open my 3DS to play this whilst I listen to the radio many a time. Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap - If quality matters over quantity, this is a contender. A retro classic perfectly refurbished. I admit there's not really enough substance for it to be GotY material, but this one really resonated with me. Etrian Odyssey V - I've only just finished this game but, quite possibly, I enjoyed it more than anything else. It's maybe not my game of the year, as it really just refines an existing idea to perfection, but it does so very, very well indeed. Super Mario Odyssey - My real GotY. This game ticked every box for me. It was impressive, as in taking advantage of the current gen, but also instantly recognisable (and playable) from its 3D Mario predecessors, particularly 64 and Sunshine. It's been described as "open world", but it didn't go too far in that regard and in my opinion really just has large levels. The main story was perfectly scripted and playable, with loads of extras in the post-game. For me this was pretty much perfect, and everything I want from a 3D Mario.

There are a few moments like that in every 3D Mario - cleaning the eel's teeth in Sunshine springs to mind! I don't know why we play them really!

I haven't played The Witcher 3, but if there's anything you'd like to know about Skyrim, gameplay-wise, I'd be happy to elaborate.

There's a lot of truth to the quotes @Ronnie posted. Nintendo has chosen not to compete in the exact same race since the Wii, but it hasn't always worked for me. This time, however, it really does. When we found out the specs of the Wii, there was a lot of talk about how "graphics don't matter". For me, that wasn't true then, but it is now. I play the Switch and genuinely don't know why it'd need more power. I know you can get better fine detail with the Xbox One and PS4, but it's got to the point where I don't think it massively improves your enjoyment of a game. No doubt it's very noticeable on a 4K TV (and, in future, VR), but I like playing on a handheld screen. The thing that would make Switch sheer perfection for me would be if developers got used to making a version of current gen games for Nintendo's machine. Wii versions seemed very different because of SD and motion control, but I think Switch versions really would be close enough.

Nice one for keeping us up to date, @ArtMediocre. I've only played Senran Kagura Burst on the 3DS, but I remember the characters were quite good (although I can't remember their names). I know I made a flippant comment above, but the truth is I do admire the idea behind this game. Hopefully it'll get released in the West and they'll send N-Europe a code!