Article The Game Clearing 2024 Awards

Another year gone by, another dang awards show to run, its time once more for the Game Clearing Awards!

Just like last year I managed to clear 60 games for the first time across 2024, some big, some small. Truthfully that was unexpected, as due to an influx of much longer games it took substantially longer to get to the normal goal of 50, but we made it work somehow

Before we begin, here are some honorable mentions that were not finished this year but may be on track for this year. If you have your own game clearing results or awards, share them after this!

Honorable Mentions:
- Liva A Live Remake (Keep intending to sit down and get to this one, but something about it I am not vibing with when I try it)
- Astro Bot (An excellent game that I only received at the very end of the year and did not want to rush for the sake of completion)
- Mario & Luigi Brothership (Received at the end of the year, not enough time to finish)
- Super Mario Party Jamboree (Received at the end of the year, only played one board so far)
- Sonic X Shadow: Generations (Did Not Play)
- Great Ace Attorney Duology (Did Not Play)
- L.A. Noire (Cole Phelps, THE PUSHER will have his day eventually)

Best Remake/Remaster: Persona 5 Royal (PS5)
Surprise, its not TTYD Remake! While TTYD getting a remake was completely out of nowhere and a very welcome surprise, I honestly enjoyed Persona 5 Royal overall much more, and yes this can be considered a remake or remaster as it adds extra content to the original Persona 5 while updating some facets of the original game. This was my first Persona, as it was for many people, and I thoroughly enjoyed the gameplay, be it the combat system, social linking with people, the numerous side activities you can do to kill time, and was very engaged with the story and how unfortunately it feels more and more like a callout of IRL problems. Even as someone thats normally not the biggest fan of super long RPGs, incredible game.

It's About Time You Finished This Award: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (Wii U)
TP HD has been sitting unfinished on my shelves for far too long as someone who got it the year it came out. I had finished up to finding the Master Sword but just never took the time to get back to it and complete the game. I am glad that I was finally able to cross the last 3D Zelda I hadn't finished for myself off the list, even if I had some strange issues with the final boss, the rest of the game was fun and had some memorable dungeons and puzzles.

The MindF*ck Award: Cassette Beasts (Steam)
Genuinely, I did not expect this game to get as strange as it does. Imagine 2d Pokémon mixed with Link's Awakening, and....Other, games I dare not mention to keep the surprise contained. Very fascinating game that throws quite a few curveballs at the player, I actually quite recommend for anyone that misses old school Pokémon titles.

Best Soundtrack Award: Octopath Traveler II (NS)
I love the original Octopath Travelers soundtrack, and II delivers around the same level of quality. All the tracks just flow so well and with a touch more modern energy to them, the high fantasy atmosphere still feels just right while adding in new technology to evolve this games world compared to the first Octopath

Worst Game Finished: Shinobi (3DS)
I understand now why this series went into hibernation for 13 years. This game blows, an unimpressive 2d action game that wants to be more than it is, telling a story without dialogue using comic book style paneling, but completely botching its gameplay with mediocre at best combat, instant death hazards and painful platforming abound, and boss fights that feel like a chore. Thank God Sega saw the writing on the wall and chose to restyle it in the future.

Most Surprising Game Award: Blaster Master Zero 3 (NS)
The Blaster Master Zero trilogy is a criminally overlooked trilogy of wonderfully done retro styled games, acting as a sort of soft reboot of the OG Blaster Master games. With each subsequent game the Zeros improve gameplay, visuals, music and more, and 3 is the apex of all of these, featuring exploration across the galaxy to save your navigator and closest friend from cracks in reality itself. The entire trilogy gets a big recommendation, as they are all actually chronologically linked.

Best Platformer: Super Mario Bros. Wonder (NS)
Penny's Big Breakaway was the only real competition for this category this year (Mega Man V was disqualified as I had finished it the year prior compared to the rest of the GB Megas) so Wonder had a clean win for itself. That isn't to say the game isn't, well, wonderful, with wildly varied stage design thanks to the wacky new Wonder Flower mechanics, beautiful visuals and solid music, alongside a plethora of characters to play with and new powerups to try, Wonder is well worth playing by yourself or with friends.

The Dave Award: Dave the Diver (Steam)
Dave is great. Play Dave. I couldn't think of another award that specifically Dave would win, but he deserved something anyway.

Most Disappointing Game Award: Bug Fables: The Ever Lasting Sapling (NS)
Do not take this the wrong way, I think this game is good. But I definitely heard way too many people preach this game to high heaven like it was the second coming, most likely because they were starved for an old school Paper Mario and latched onto it. Its not a bad game, but it has an exceptionally slow start and didn't really start to get interesting until about 3 chapters in, in my opinion. Once you can really start playing around with the badges and get access to more abilities the game starts to show its worth, but it needs time to cook to get there. If theres ever a sequel I could see that being a marked improvement across the board, including with its relatively tame visuals and music.

The Best Monkey Award: Baby (NS)
DK loses this time! Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble is wonderful and I can say that without any asterisks like I felt compelled to with the previous 2 installments. A wonderful new adventure that makes some excellent calls to improve gameplay and encourage players to take risks to go fast on the level design, alongside a stellar soundtrack, I have not been this happy about Monkey Ball in DECADES.

Most Random Game Award: Feel the Magic XY/XX (NDS)
This was...an game. Imagine Wario Ware, but its a guy attempting to woo a girl and win her heart. Its not bad, just....weird.

Best Art Direction: Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (NS)
I wasn't sure what to make of this game when it released, as most people were still fuming about Bayonetta 3's controversial plot/ending. Honestly though, its pretty good as a top down adventure game, and the art direction is truly stunning, making it feel straight out of a fairy tail book. If you are fine with slower paced adventures with more of an emphasis on puzzles, this is a good time.

Best Retro Game: Fire Emblem Blazing Sword (GBA NSO)
There was a decent number of retro titles this year on Game Clearing, but Blazing Sword had been on the backburner for a long time and was well worth it. A very well done SRPG with interesting characters, story, and map design that made things fairly challenging without feeling too unfair. It even has an alternate story route after finishing it once where Hector leads on instead of Eliwood, allowing for good replayability

Best RPG: NEO: The World Ends With You (NS)
Surprised? Yeah Persona 5 Royal doesn't get this one, it goes to NEO TWEWY. I played a LOT of RPGs this year, but this game was the most standout I feel. A sequel to a cult classic that...probably is also going to be a cult classic because it didn't perform the hottest. Oops. Regardless, an urban setting with a varied and enjoyable cast, and INCREDIBLY versatile gameplay loop that encourages a wide range of experimentation with your pins to dominate battles, and some pretty crazy curveballs the game throws that can keep players guessing on where the story will go next. Play TWEWY, and play NEO TWEWY.

The We Are So Back Award: Sega
(Honorable Mentions: Capcom, Mario RPGs, SNK)
Sega has been on an upward rise in the last 2 years or so, and its frankly beautiful to see. They went from being just reliant on the funny mob man and a speedy marsupial to finally pulling the trigger and going in HARD on bringing back their older popular IPs. We have no less than SIX IP revivals on the horizon, with Jet Set, Crazy Taxi, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Shinobi AND Virtua Fighter all having confirmed games in the works. Thats not to say the honorable mentions didn't try their hardest: Capcom is doing similarly but has been in a great position for the last 6 or so years, Mario RPGs have reasserted themselves as colorful, memorable joyrides (even if they're mostly remaking the best ones so far), and SNK is truly back with Garou 2 and Metal Slug Tactics. Sega just brings it home because they are going all in on trying to recapture the energy of some of their best years, and I couldn't be happier. They gave me a new, great Monkey Ball game that isn't a remake, it was a no contest.

The Best Game Finished in 2024: Persona 5 Royal (PS5)
(Honorable Mentions: Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble, Valkyria Chronicles 4, NEO The World Ends With You, Cassette Beasts, Octopath Traveler II)
This was hard to pin down. Many excellent games across the board this year, ranging from energetic, emotional, disturbing and exhilarating, but I think Persona 5 Royal kinda clinches it across the board. I was unable to finish this game my first time trying it years ago, but with someone along for the ride I was able to get through everything and almost completely max the social links and see everything. I adored the cast and the struggles they faced in overcoming the challenges in their day to day lives and wanted to help however I could, not just out of obligation like in many RPGs. This game was marvelous from start to finish, and Im glad I was able to see it through.