Where does all the time go? Into videogames! Now that it’s 2025, let’s look at the fun parts of 2024.
Disappointment of the Year: Princess Peach Showtime!
Having had a few months to ruminate on my thoughts on Princess Peach: Showtime!, I will confirm that Princess Peach: Showtime! is not a bad game, it is just not what I wanted. I wanted a dedicated action game starring Princess Peach and her unique moveset (she floats) in something more akin to Super Mario Bros. 3 or Sonic the Hedgehog. What I got is a “setpiece platformer”, where Sword Peach is not a powerup that helps you eliminate goombas, but “the gimmick you have to use right now to beat this level”. And that’s fine! Those kinds of games are and can be fun! It is just not what I wanted from our first game starring Peach in over a decade. I wanted Super Princess Peach 2, but I got Peach’s Epic Yarn. And that was disappointing.
Heroine of the Year: Zelda
Not all princesses are created equal, though. The big news of 2024 is that we got an actual Zelda game starring the actual Zelda in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. But if you wanted a Zelda game starring a Zelda with a personality beyond narcolepsy, we also had Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore, a quasi-sequel to CD-i’s Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon. And that princess was basically a combination of Zelda from the 80’s animated series and Turanga Leela. And what more could you ask for from a heroine? Well, aside from both Zelda and Not-Zelda having games that are a blast to play? At least one Nintendo princess had a great time this year.
Remake of the Year: Sonic x Shadow Generations
I cannot say Sonic x Shadow Generations was the best videogame remake released this year. I cannot say Sonic x Shadow Generations was the best remake expanded to the length of an entire extra game released this year. Hell, I cannot even say Sonic x Shadow Generations is the best remake released this year that contains a character from a franchise featured in Sonic Forces (thanks, Persona 3!). But I can say Sonic x Shadow Generations does give Shadow the Hedgehog his due (but not a gun), and that is worth something. Poor hedgehog hasn’t had a spotlight since the Gamecube! And it makes for good Sonic the Hedgehog fun, too, so Sonic x Shadow Generations wins this slot… For the moment. I still haven’t gotten to play through the Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remake…
Compilation of the Year: Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics
I apologize to all the great compilations that were released this year that did not feature Cable tossing grenades at Tron Bonne. There were some contenders! But the Marvel vs. Capcom collection wins not only because I have been playing these games continuously since 1995, but… No, it is mostly just that reason. However! At least this compilation includes easy access to hidden/Japanese characters, so there is a distinct reason not to rely on emulation or that cabinet you stole from the local arcade in a daring heist. As the kids (old people) say, “It’s mah-vel, baby!”
Game I was most waiting for to arrive on consoles: Pizza Tower
Pizza Tower was released in 2023, and everyone was so excited to tell me that it is essentially Wario Land 4 in a world where Wario Land 4 never got a sequel (prove me wrong). Obviously, I was excited by such a prospect… but not excited enough to start gaming on my computer. It is the one place I don’t play videogames! Luckily, Pizza Tower quietly migrated over to the Nintendo Switch this year, and now I can run, slam, and find pizza toppings all over that crudely animated tower of power. Everything is coming up Goggle Bob! Now we just have to wait for UFO 50!
Title of the Year: Yeah! You Want “Those Games,” Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let’s See You Clear Them! 2
I am using this category as an excuse to remind you that the great Yeah! You Want “Those Games,” Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let’s See You Clear Them! had a sequel this year, Yeah! You Want “Those Games,” Right? So Here You Go! Now, Let’s See You Clear Them! 2. Personally, I do not think it is as fun as its predecessor, but that is likely just because the first game had all the games I really wanted to play, and the newbie has the games that I only kinda want to play. But they’re still fun! And well worth downloading to your Switch so you have something to play while you are waiting for your Playstation to download a 70 GB update. Now get to pulling those pins!
Sadness of the Year: Visions of Mana
The Mana games have always had a hard time of it. Final Fantasy Adventure was a game that had false advertising baked into its title. Secret of Mana was well received, but then its sequel never left Japan. Legend of Mana was weird. Dawn of Mana was terrible. The majority of the Mana wiki is dedicated to a cell phone game that no longer exists. But Visions of Mana is pretty great! It feels like the culmination of improvements made to the Trials of Mana remake, and it has fun characters and monsters to boot! So it would seem like this is a drastic reversal for the fortunes of the Mana franchise… If Ouka Studio, the developers of Visions of Mana, were not destroyed and shut down on the same day this game was released. So enjoy Visions of Mana, kiddies, and live with the unbridled misery that it is unlikely we’re seeing a game like that again for a long time.
Surprise of the Year: Astro Bot
Astro Bot was not even on my radar until fanboymaster suggested I pick it up for our Even Worse Streams 4 Year Anniversary Stream. And it was fun to play on stream! And, during a month where we continually played the latest releases, it was the game that I immediately went back to. And I beat it! I beat it all! Because I really liked the game! As far as I am concerned, it was the new Mario game for 2024, and it would have been my game of the year if not for some reasons already outlined ad nauseum. So congratulations, Astro Bot, you went from zero to hero for this gaming nerd!
System with Fighting Game Updates: Playstation 5
I used my Playstation 5 this year exclusively for the games featured in this article and a rotating list of continually updating fight games. Every week, I have to check in to see if we have new playable fighters in Mortal Kombat 1, Tekken 8, Guilty Gear -Strive-, or Street Fighter 6. I thankfully dodged Multiversus, but I am looking forward to adding King of Fighters 16 to the list next year. Though, come to think of it, Terry Bogard must be exhausted by now…
DLC of the Year: Vampire Survivors: Ode to Castlevania
This is the platonic ideal of DLC. Vampire Survivors was already a great game for being so simple yet intricate, and it was always the kind of media that could be enhanced by “more”. So now Konami granted the game that was always Castlevania with the serial numbers filed off the actual Castlevania license, and we not only got a new stage, but about 10,000 new playable characters. And they all fit! And the “new stage” is more of a rogue-like than Vampire Survivors has ever seen, so it is arguably a brand-new way to play the game! And it’s all good! And has got Galamoth! And the best finale for Vampire Survivors this old Castlevania-head could have ever hoped for! Maybe I should have just named Ode to Castlevania my game of the year, but we still have…
Game of the year: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth
I didn’t wanna do it, but I gotta.
If you review my previous Game of the Year winners, you will notice that I have a tendency to aim for expansive, Japanese adventures featuring protagonists with donkey brains. Kingdom Hearts 3, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and, yes, Final Fantasy 7 Remake have all made the list. And I want to pick something different! I want to make a bold choice, like, I don’t know, Dragon Age: The Veilguard or Lorelei and the Laser Eyes. Something cool and hip and hot and maybe involves elf sex. And, in reviewing previous entries, apparently I started out my congratulations speech to Final Fantasy 7 Remake exactly the same way. I know I am ashamed of my weebness!
But the sad (happy) truth is that it looks like once a year I get a game that consumes my every waking thought, and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was the game that did that this year. There was a reason this bad boy got three separate articles on the site: I couldn’t stop thinking about it! I had written at least one of those articles before I even finished the game, and then I had to write an entirely separate article about the final dungeon and ending! I could no more stop myself from analyzing the heck out of that finale than I could stop breathing! And, oh yeah, playing the game was pretty fun, too!
So I really do not think I need to elaborate on this choice any longer. I wrote about the game three times as much as any other game I played this year, and dedicating more words to it just seems like a waste of things I will get to say at the release of the combined Final Fantasy 7 Remake/Rebirth/Resurrection Trilogy. Then I can finally talk about that one Cait Sith dungeon in detail.
Games I’m sure are great, but I haven’t played: Metaphor: ReFantazio, Dragon’s Dogma 2, Silent Hill 2 (2024), Unicorn Overlord
At this point, I just use this list to remind myself to come back to games later. However, advance warning, I realized in looking at previous lists that I completely forgot Lies of P ever existed. So some of these games may never get played. Looking at you, Dragon’s Dogma 2!
Gogglebob.com Introspection 2024
Last year I predicted the FGC would return “in March or so”, and I was off by about three months. And, behind the scenes details, that is 100% because I had planned for needing a “release valve” of exclusively focusing on Smash Bros. characters (how else would I ever get to write about Toobin’?), but then good games featuring Smash Bros. characters kept coming! And now that I am back on the FGC beat, I have intermittently planned on getting back to Smash Times in the Fall of 2024, then February of 2025, and now it looks like SBC is back on the docket just in time for next April. There are a lot of games I want to talk about across the spectrum! Some of them involving werewolves! Please look forward to ‘em!
Speaking of ignoring the year past and looking forward, 2025 will be the ten-year anniversary of this site. Give or take a period when my life got way too busy in 2018 or so, this site has been updating continuously for a decade. And it’s been (mostly) all me, baby! So, with that in mind, I have taken stock recently of what exactly I want to do with this and other side projects, and you may be seeing the fruits of those labors soon. Or you won’t! Life is capricious like that! But point being that you may be seeing some cool Goggle Bob stuff coming soon, and it has absolutely nothing to do with a mid-life crisis or anything! I’m doing it for the fans!
After all, we are going to need something to keep us distracted from the inevitable state of the world in 2025…
Favorite random articles of the year that have not already been linked:
Hmph. I want to plainly state that I liked a lot of my output this year. Like, every other one as I go down the list. I am almost angry at myself for being so full of myself that I’m thinking “Just read all of ‘em. They’re all good for different reasons.” Remember that time I talked about Batman villains? Gah. Anyway, I guess these are the distinct winners of the pack.
FGC #678 Hebereke
FGC #672 Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds
FGC #668 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade Wrath of the Mutants
FGC #661 Final Fantasy 2
SBC #41 Piranha Plant & Mario Kart Arcade GP DX
SBC #38 Bowser & Mario Pinball Land
SBC #22 Ken Masters & Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight
Special Bonus Thank You to my Friends
I cannot say I am doing this alone! Even Worse Streams has been going strong this year, and there have even been special occasions where we huddled together for warmth playing Mario Bros. while the world came crashing down. It happened! It can’t unhappen! So I am drawing special attention to the handful of times my Even Worse Streams contributed to the site/general happiness of the universe.
FGC #675 Braid, Anniversary Edition
Bomb Rush Cyberfunk 2
Superman: Man of Games 14: DC’s Justice League: Cosmic Chaos
Superman: Man of Games 02 (16-Bit Era)
Metroids 7: Logs
And that’s that for 2024! Moving on to…
What’s next? Random ROB is still going strong, and has chosen… Ninja Gaiden for the Nintendo Entertainment System! Go ninja go ninja go! Please look forward to it!