Starting off the New Year Right
New year, new me!
Well, probably not, but I do acknowledge the importance of forming New Year’s resolutions each year, even if I rarely ever make good on such promises. Whether it’s spending more time at the gym, cutting back on soda consumption, spending less money on GrubHub orders, or finally dressing like an actual adult, each year I tell myself that it’s time for some changes in my life, and that there’s never going to be a better time than now.
But nobody reading this actually cares about whether I’ll succeed at removing sugar from my diet or budgeting more responsibly, so I figured I’d make a list of resolutions about my relationship with video games, and how I can commit to a new set of pledges to improve as a gamer, writer, and critic. There is no “right” way to be a gamer (or just a person who sometimes plays video games), but as I aim to expand my horizons and better understand the medium, it is essential for me to try new experiences (and avoid bad habits). Without further ado, here’s my list of New Year’s gaming resolutions:
BIG ONE: Finally play Chrono Trigger (and try again to like JRPGs)
I’ve played enough video games to generally know which genres I like and don’t like. While there’s no be-all, end-all rule I have against playing certain genres, there are some kinds of games that I’ve particularly struggled to enjoy or embrace in any way. For example, I’ve never played a real-time strategy game that truly resonated with me, and I continue to be very hesitant to sink more than a couple of hours into lifestyle sims like Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon. Still, I still find myself trying time and time again to break into certain genres, if only to finally understand what everyone likes about them (and what they’re willing to overlook).
JRPGs have long been especially challenging for me to fully grasp. So many of the most well-regarded games of my lifetime fit the genre, yet I’ve played so few JRPGs that I actually like (e.g. Pokémon generations 1 and 2, Paper Mario, Fire Emblem on GBA). Fans of these games will sing their praises to eternity, and I’m stuck here utterly confused as to why anyone would want to put 30-40 hours into a game with random encounters, tons of grinding, overwrought plotlines, and far too many cutscenes. JRPGs frequently present the player with incredibly rigid mechanics and systems, yet demand an exorbitant amount of time from the player to fully enjoy.
It’s not liked I haven’t tried! Whenever presented with the opportunity to try out a classic (or at least well-liked) JRPG, I often give it a shot. One of the first games I bought on my Nintendo 3DS was Bravely Default, which I played for about five hours before realizing I didn’t care about any of the characters. I carved out time this past year to finally play Final Fantasy VI, whose story is compelling but not enough to put up with the frustratingly high number of random encounters. I even tried my hand at Super Mario RPG recently, a game that holds up especially well but didn’t amaze me enough that I felt the need to finish it.
Despite my own qualms with the genre, I still want to give the classics a chance, if only so I can understand what I’m missing. This year, I plan to finally play Chrono Trigger, widely considered the best RPG on the Super Nintendo and one of the most universally beloved JRPGs ever made. Perhaps the story will grip me and the combat will be fun enough that some level of grinding won’t become tiresome. I don’t know if that will happen, but I’m willing to see it through. From what I understand, Chrono Trigger is a special and timeless experience, and I feel obligated to at least find out why others feel that way.
(If I still hate Chrono Trigger, though, my backup will probably be Secret of Mana. Or maybe Earthbound. Who knows.)
Try to avoid buying Switch ports of games I’ve already played
I was thrilled that Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze made its way to the Switch this year, as it was a criminally underrated game when it originally rolled out for the Wii U in 2014. Still, I have to be careful when buying Switch ports of games I’ve already played (and still have an opportunity to play on some platform). Sure, I’ll likely buy any Zelda game that gets another life on the nifty little console, but do I really need to play Wolfenstein II on the go? I loved Katamari Damacy when I first played it over a decade ago, but that doesn’t mean I have to buy it again now. I especially have to stop myself from buying New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, even if it will help scratch the Mario itch I constantly have (I didn’t even like the game all that much the first time I played it).
I love that the Switch has become home to everyone’s favorite games, and the idea of playing certain games on the go has led me to finally trying titles I ignored for years, such as Skyrim and Okami. I just can’t justify shelling out another $60 just so I can play Captain Toad on the toilet. Unless, of course, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle gets a port (not even joking).
Spend less time replaying old Nintendo games
It’s important, I believe, for every gamer to periodically revisit some of their favorite games from the past each year. For me, Donkey Kong Country, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Super Mario Galaxy get a replay at least once every two years, and each time I play these games I discover something new to love about them.
For 2019, however, it might be time to hold off on this tradition. I’m not getting bored of the classics, but it might be better for me to focus on trying new experiences this year. I’ve written previously about the difficulties of going through the backlog when you can always fall back on something you know you like, but sometimes it’s good to challenge yourself and step of your comfort zone for a while.
That said, though, I must reiterate that I’ll buy and replay any Zelda game that gets ported to the Switch (even Spirit Tracks).
Don’t download any free games unless I actually intend to play them
It’s become an annual tradition for me to go through my Xbox One games library and delete all the games I downloaded for free on Games With Gold that I didn’t open up to play even once. After 2017, Phantom Dust and Oxenfree were put out to pasture. This year, it’ll probably be For Honor and all the games I’ve downloaded on Game Pass that I keep saying I’ll play but probably won’t.
I need to stop doing this. I can’t keep stocking up on games I never intended to play in the first place. It’s one thing when I download Tacoma for free on PC (I just need one solid afternoon to get through that one) or Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (I gave it a real chance but dropped it after two hours), where I actually had interest in those games but just didn’t want to pay for them. It’s another thing when it’s Battle Chef Brigade or Earthlock, where I just picked them up because they were free. In 2019, I need to better respect my hard drives.
Refrain from only playing 2019 games so I can make a neat Top 10 list at the end of the year
Last April, I paid the full $60 price tag on Steam to buy Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom. I didn’t play the first one. The reviews for the game were good, but not excellent. As I mentioned earlier, JRPGs (particularly ones as saccharine as the Ni No Kuni series) don’t typically resonate with me. While I liked some aspects of the game (the combat is surprisingly engaging at times), I got bored of the toothless plot and one-dimensional characters after about six hours.
Why did I buy this game? Put simply, I felt as though I hadn’t played enough games from 2018 up to that point and wanted to make sure I could make a neat list of 10 games for my end of the year list (which, by the way, you can read here. And no, Ni No Kuni II didn’t make it). This is an absurd sentiment for obvious reasons, but it also deprived me of time I could have spent playing games I actually like, regardless of what year they released (it also would have saved me $60 that I can never get back).
So, this year I’ll be sure to check out any new game I find intriguing, but I won’t waste any time or money on something just to check a box. I barely have enough hours in the day as it stands, and my backlog is too damn deep for me to just arbitrarily reach for things because one or two critics I read thought it was good. The six hours Ni No Kuni II took from me could have easily been spent on more Sea of Thieves, which (spoiler alert) did make my end of the year list.
BONUS: Remember that it’s fine not to finish every game
One of my earlier posts at this very website was of games I thought were good (or very good) but will never finish (“finish,” in this context meaning completing the main story). For some of these games, it’s a matter of getting stuck at some point (Super Metroid), while for others it would require an enormous time sink (Mass Effect 2).
I struggle mentally with this, since I generally like seeing things through to the end. I believe in getting my money’s worth on everything (though I don’t fancy myself a completionist at all) and the idea of putting the controller down without at least reaching the game’s basic conclusion almost feels like failure.
No more of this I say! I’ve gotten in the habit over the last couple of years of better identifying the right time to walk away, and this year I want to make sure I never forget that. Sometimes, a 30-hour game is only worth 15 hours of my time. My unwillingness to play that last half doesn’t mean anything good or bad, just that I’ve had my fill. It’s okay to have your fill a little early.
However you decide to tell yourself to live a better life this year, remember that change doesn’t happen overnight and that you should never be too hard on yourself. Resolutions are about being optimistic about your future, so try to avoid setting yourself up to fail with sky-high expectations. Also, beware of Steam sales.
Happy New Year!
