Cheerful Ghost: An Awesome Community For Gamers

Cheeful Ghostradamus 2018 Gaming Predictions!

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Jb47zFYC-Nw/maxresdefault.jpg

I expect that 2018 will be a great year in gaming but how great will it be? I reached out to people in the Cheerful Ghost community to look into the future to see what awesome stuff might be coming this year. At the end of the year we can come back to this and see how well we did and use creative readings to make us all look way smarter than we actually are!

If you have any other predictions drop them in the comments!

Nintendo Releases Virtual Console for Switch

Will Ball: One person can dream, right? Nintendo will finally release a virtual console for the Switch. It will cover the NES, SNES, all gameboys, N64 and GameCube. This will keep the Switch as the number one... Read All

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 01/10/2018 at 04:31am

I am missing out on those cup of noodles.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 01/10/2018 at 06:57am

There's nothin' else like 'em. They're easy to make whenever you've got a craving and their delicious to boot.

I'll never forget my first time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kKfjaT1ZQM&feature=youtu.be&t=10s

Travis Admin wrote on 01/10/2018 at 06:04pm

That's some intense product placement.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 01/10/2018 at 10:24pm

You can also download a cup noodles hat for the main character. :P

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 01/10/2018 at 10:36pm

Is the hat just a cup turned upside down?

Timogorgon Member wrote on 01/10/2018 at 11:26pm

The answer is actually somehow weirder: https://imgur.com/a/fk9Bf

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/11/2018 at 03:18am

That's so serious for something so silly. It doesn't seem like they are actually hamming it up but it's so bad...

Will_Ball Game Mod Super Member wrote on 01/11/2018 at 04:24am

Timogorgon: that is scary.

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Chrono Trigger. It's About Time.

jdodson gives this a solid "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

jdodson gives this a "Rad" on the Ghost Scale

This is fun, with very few issues, and is well worth your time.

When the Super Nintendo Classic released last year one game people thought was missing was Square's classic RPG Chrono Trigger. I agree with that thought but the SNES Classic's inclusion of Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy VI, Earthbound and Super Mario RPG really give the SNES Classic the best of breed RPG's of that generation. All that said, Chrono Trigger is one of those games I missed playing as it came out later in the Super Nintendo's lifecycle. I put it on my list of games to play in 2018 and recently started it and I'm going to write about how that's going from time to time until I beat it.

"A chance encounter amid the festivities of Guardia's Millennial Fair in... Read All When the Super Nintendo Classic released last year one game people thought was missing was Square's classic RPG Chrono Trigger. I agree with that thought but the SNES Classic's inclusion of Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy VI, Earthbound and Super Mario RPG really give the SNES Classic the best of breed RPG's of that generation. All that said, Chrono Trigger is one of those games I missed playing as it came out later in the Super Nintendo's lifecycle. I put it on my list of games to play in 2018 and recently started it and I'm going to write about how that's going from time to time until I beat it.

"A chance encounter amid the festivities of Guardia's Millennial Fair in Leene Square introduces our young hero, Crono, to a girl by the name of Marle.

Deciding to explore the fair together, the two soon find themselves at an exhibition of the Telepod, the latest invention by Crono's longtime friend Lucca."

After only a couple hours playing Chrono Trigger I understand why this game is one of the most beloved RPG games of the Super Nintendo Era. Released after Secret of Mana and Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger is a game made at the height of "Square in peak RPG creation mode." The game feels like it's a mashup of the best parts of Secret of Mana and the Final Fantasy series that goes an entirely new direction with a fresh world and characters. Chrono Trigger keeps the top down overworld of Final Fantasy VI but goes a bit of a different direction graphically as it's not in the Super Nintendo's mode 7. Chrono Trigger borrows some fighting elements from Secret of Mana but pulls it together in the same turn based battle system from Final Fantasy.

The music from Chrono Trigger was co-written by Nobuo Uematsu who worked on the music for Final Fantasy VI. Just like most other aspects of Chrono Trigger the music feels like a best of breed 16-bit square game but also goes it's own direction as to not be mimicry. In fact i'd say the music really tips the game into something very special and I can see why fans find it so compelling.

So far i've been taking my time moving through the game and talking to people in the world while exploring as much of it I can before moving on. I'm also spending a bit more time level and gold grinding for fun and to be prepared for boss and dungeon encounters. So far it feels like i'm in the intro to the game so nothing is terribly difficult but i'm feeling out the game systems, learning what tech combos to use and the general flow of the battle system.

One cool part about playing Chrono Trigger for the first time in 2018 is that i've never played it before so I am playing it entirely fresh, something I wish I could do with other games like Secret of Mana or Link to the Past. The game holds up very well and at no point during my playthrough so far did the game feel antiquated or boring. In fact, I really understand why people rank this game so high and i'm glad I decided to pick this up when I did. Since Super Nintendo carts of Chrono Trigger sell upwards of $150 I decided to pickup the DS version and i'm playing that on my 3DS. It's a good version that pulls in a newer translation than the SNES version with some extra content but keeps the graphics and music of the original SNES version.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/09/2018 at 06:34am

I got into Chrono Trigger around 2001 or so. I still have the Playstation copy. It's a good game, I enjoyed it. There are a variety of things to do and different endings, I believe.

Travis Admin wrote on 01/09/2018 at 04:22pm

I have that PS version as well. I barely played it at the time, I need to get back to it at some point. I find that I have problems keeping interest older JRPGs that I don’t have a nostalgic connection with, but there are some classics like this that I feel like I’m missing out on because of that.

Azurephile Super Member wrote on 01/09/2018 at 09:24pm

LOL @Travis Chrono Trigger reminds me of our time at RU. I remember playing the game while I was Jake's roommate in Tyler Hall.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/10/2018 at 04:02am

So far the game has been more fun than i'd have thought and the set pieces are really well done. I don't want to spoil anything but there isn't much downtime between really cool stuff that happens, interesting boss fights or story beats that keep you interested in the game. I've been playing it more since I wrote the article and it just keeps going and keeping the game interesting. It feels like a 90's era RPG but doesn't suffer from it at all.

Timogorgon Member wrote on 01/10/2018 at 10:44pm

I played Chrono Trigger back on the SNES when it was pretty brand new, as well as the PS1 re-release and the DS version. If the DS is your first experience with the game then that's actually a really great way to experience it for the first time. It's a great re-release and the added content is all optional/mostly end game stuff that does not affect the original experience. The only changes I can remember outside of the new content was an updated UI to accommodate the two screens on the DS and they added the animated cut scenes from the PS1 version.

Uematsu worked on a few tracks, but most of the music is by Yasunori Mitsuda, who is another phenomenal composer. He most recently contributed a song to Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ignis (one of the DLC).

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/11/2018 at 03:20am

> they added the animated cut scenes from the PS1 version.

Which aren't awesome and sort of break you out of the game in a bad way. So far that's my only complaint and it's something they added to the game when they really didn't need to.

THEY RUINED MY IMMERSION! http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/e8/e85ca29d88d3c26841f5752330123d3a4278828505527d747d80613c957bbb1f.jpg

I also read that they changed Frog's dialect to NOT be as thick which is a bummer because I do remember him having his dialog be a bit more silly than that. I played a handful of hours on the SNES version but I had to give it back to my friend and never spent more than a bit actually playing it.

Bina wrote on 03/12/2018 at 06:39pm

This game is ranked my number 1 favorite of all time. I'm glad you are enjoying it as well. It's got a lot of little bits at the end to keep you hunting.
What's your progress? At this stage in the game, who are you playing with?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/13/2018 at 03:46am

Chrono, Robo and Frog. I really like that combination a lot.

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Donate & Watch Awesome Games Done Quick 2018!

Games Done Quick is a twice yearly charity speedrun that started today and is running 24/7 all week raising money for The Prevent Cancer Foundation. You can watch the event stream linked above all day and night until January 14th!

I watch this event every year and donate because it's so much fun to watch and the charities are well worth supporting. I think we've all known someone with cancer and chipping in a couple bucks can help.

"The Prevent Cancer Foundation is one of the nation’s leading voluntary health organizations and the only U.S. nonprofit focused solely on cancer prevention and early detection. Founded in 1985, it has catapulted cancer prevention to... Read All

Is It Worth It To Update Your Nintendo 64 With HDMI For $400?

The illustrious Metal Jesus has a new video out where he shows off his Nintendo 64 hardware mod that adds HDMI. It's a pretty extensive mod that hacks into the graphic chip of the system and gives it a very clean HD output to modern televisions. Jesus does some side by sides with the composite video and the graphics output looks incredible. Much like many old system HDMI mods this seems to really crisp up those games but with a price tag of $400 I wonder if it's worth it the cost? If you love the Nintendo 64 and play yours a lot it's well worth considering but this price eclipses the cost of a modern console.

10 Cool Things I Experienced In 2017!

I don't typically write list posts but it's the new year and i've been thinking more about some of the better parts of 2017. One awesome part is talking to everyone on Cheerful Ghost and taking part in Cheerful Ghost Radio that launched this year! It's fun to be part of something that people enjoy even if our community is small. So let's wind up and get to my list which I wouldn't consider to be in any kind of actual order.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 The Return

I was beyond hyped that a new MST3K season was coming and happily Kickstarted it. I've talked about that process here and the results are for everyone to enjoy on Netflix. MST3K is a special show to me and was... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 01/04/2018 at 10:45pm

You mention that we talked about The Last Jedi in the recent episode of Cheerful Ghost Radio, and you're right, but you mentioned it here so I'm going to as well :D

I've seen it twice since we recorded that episode and it keeps getting better. You're right that the impact isn't the same, because you know what's coming, but it gels better. You know how things fit so the disjointed feeling some of it had is gone. I legitimately think it's in my top three films in the franchise. Maybe higher. Depends on the day.

Other than that, I dig your list. It's probably over half identical to mine. I'd add the Switch as a whole, what a great system, and Odyssey and Breath of the Wild are masterpieces (I'm far from finishing BotW so that may change but... doubt it).

For movies, I'd add The Big Sick (free on Amazon Prime streaming). Kumail Nanjiani is a master of his craft. He and his wife made a comedy about a woman in a coma and made it touching, tasteful, and hilarious. And it's all true (I mean I'm sure they embellished some).

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/05/2018 at 04:19am

I'm hoping The Last Jedi turns into a really great 2nd chapter of a fun trilogy. I don't know how much I'd like Empire if it weren't for Return of the Jedi. Empire is fantastic on it's own, but if it were the last Star Wars movie I saw, I think I'd probably feel the same way I feel about The Last Jedi. The humor was a bit too Marvel for me, but overall, I really enjoyed watching TLJ.

I don't know if I have a Top 10 list of cool things, but the theme of 2017 for me was probably Whiskey and Television. (Man, that kinda makes me sound lazy lol)

For Christmas last year, one gift I got was a mini oak barrel and a "whiskey making kit." It didn't really make whiskey, but it was similar. It started with vodka and some "whiskey essence" that you put in the barrel and then let it age for a couple months. It was really aged flavored vodka, but it got my interest piqued. I began reading all I could online and in books about the different kinds of whisky, what makes whiskey whiskey, and how it's made. I started watching a daily whiskey YouTube channel called The Whiskey Vault (here's a link to a video where I got a birthday shout out lol https://youtu.be/FX3vWHbJ_I4 ), and joined a couple whiskey groups on FB where we're constantly talking Whiskey (and have done a pretty good job of keeping away the snobs and trolls. The main motto of both groups is "The best whiskey is the whiskey you like to drink, however you like to drink it.")

I've been branching out and buying various whiskeys and have been trying my hand and blending them. It's been a lot of fun to experience and experiment. I currently have a 5L barrel on order and I'll be blending a bunch of whiskeys in it to then bottle and give out to friends and family as gifts.

In 2017, I watched a ton of television. I even began watching a lot of reaction Youtube videos after watching the shows, and joined in on conversations about the shows. Game of Thrones was probably the biggest of the year, but there were *so* many great shows in 2017! In no particular order, I loved and recommend from 2017:

The Punisher (Netflix)
The Defenders (Netflix)
Travelers (Netflix)
Ozark (Netflix)
Dark (Netflix, I'm actually only a couple episodes into this one, but it looks great so far)
GLOW (Netflix)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
American Gods (Stars)
Legion (FX)
The Walking Dead (AMC)
Rick and Morty (Adult Swim)
Flash (CW)
Supergirl (CW)
Survivor (CBS, this season was actually good!)
HarmonQuest (VRV)
RedLetterMedia (YouTube - Best of the Worst, Wheel of the Worst, Half in the Bag, Pre-Rec, re:View)

Well, this comment ended up being longer than I expected it to be lol. 2017 was a great year for many other reasons for me, but I'll not bore you any longer lol.

Happy New Year!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/05/2018 at 04:20am

(I would have put Stranger Things on my list, but technically I didn't start watching it until 2018. It's just one of those things that I always knew I'd get to, but was in no rush. Now I'm halfway through Season 1 and WOW, I get the hype around it!)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/05/2018 at 04:31am

> I legitimately think it's in my top three films in the franchise. Maybe higher. Depends on the day.

I rank it high but it's hard to beat the OT. As things settle I think it might push higher but it's a great Star Wars film and really happy it exists.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/05/2018 at 04:33am

Oh and Travis, The Big Sick was a great movie that my wife and I saw in the theater. It didn't quite hit my list but it would be in a honorable mentions list along with:

- Super Mario Maker 3DS
- Norm Macdonald: Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery
- Jim & Andy The Great Beyond
- War Machine
- Super Mario Land Gameboy finally completed it
- Old Blood
- Patton Oswalt Annihilation

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/05/2018 at 04:37am

> but the theme of 2017 for me was probably Whiskey and Television.

That sounds like an awesome year. That said I gave up drinking in 2017 so for me it would be something like Coffee and Nintendo

Lots of great Netflix shows on your list and I think this next year will see Netflix kick it into orbit with even more great stuff. For instance the upcoming The Irishman (the next Scorsese film) is going to come out on Netflix. Crazy times.

I'm thinking I want to watch Game of Thrones but will wait until they all come out and get them all on Bluray/Digital when that final set dips under a hundred bucks. Right now you can get seasons 1-7 Bluray/Digital for $130 and 1-6 Bluray/Digital for $90. So after the show wraps up and then the final collection comes out that holiday might be the time I finally head to Westeros.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/05/2018 at 04:41am

(Minor edit that no one really cares about: The link the the correct youtube video is: https://youtu.be/xFrOVMon1iI lol)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/05/2018 at 04:42am

> I'm hoping The Last Jedi turns into a really great 2nd chapter of a fun trilogy. I don't know how much I'd like Empire if it weren't for Return of the Jedi. Empire is fantastic on it's own, but if it were the last Star Wars movie I saw, I think I'd probably feel the same way I feel about The Last Jedi. The humor was a bit too Marvel for me, but overall, I really enjoyed watching TLJ.

I get that. I guess since I always considered them together I guess they would feel odd to be a part like that so I get what you're saying. I do think there is a crazy build up at the end of The Last Jedi and when Luke is like "The rebellion is born tonight and I'm not the Last Jedi" and i'm like YEAH MAN WHERE'S IT GOING and then it ends. It's one of the only times I wanted the movie to be 2 1/2 hours longer.

I think JJ's gonna do well by the next one but I do like that we finally really don't know what's going to happen in the next film and I think that's a great place to be as a fan. I personally don't like retreading the same themes and it's nice that we finally have some mystery in where Star Wars can go.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/05/2018 at 04:47am

I really liked The Force Awakens, and I enjoyed how much it paralleled A New Hope. I think one of the strengths of The Last Jedi was how many parallels it had to Empire, yet really created a new story. I am really looking forward to the conclusion of this story.

Travis Admin wrote on 01/05/2018 at 03:07pm

Adam your taste in TV is incredible!

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/05/2018 at 09:12pm

Thanks Travis!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/07/2018 at 03:09am

On the discussion of The Last Jedi Jenny Nicholson had an interesting video called "Top 10 Worst Reasons Why You Hated The Last Jedi." Spoiler alert, she makes jokes about things people can't stop raging about online in regard to the film. Many of her points i've been thinking about for a bit but the way she articulates them is better than i've done Plus it's funnier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpoUN_A12Eg&index=23&list=WL

Travis Admin wrote on 01/07/2018 at 07:08am

THANK YOU for reminding me of her channel. You posted something here a while back and then I forgot where I'd seen it.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 01/07/2018 at 07:14am

Jon, you snake

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/07/2018 at 02:08pm

#guiltyasasnake

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The Power, Control And Jumps In F-Zero Are Unexplainable Until You Experience Them!

jdodson gives this an astounding "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

jdodson gives this a "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

Or at least that's what that incredible ad from the 90's said as the kid playing F-Zero was so blown back by the game it literally flattened him and then he walked off looking like Gumby. For real, that actually happened in that ad I linked and these kinds of old ads are one of the reasons why I still love the 90's.

F-Zero was a launch title for the Super Nintendo that showcased the systems mode 7 graphics. Mode 7 was a pretty hyped SNES graphical mode that allowed games like F-Zero, Super Mario Kart, Secret of Mana & Final Fantasy VI to exist. Basically Mode 7 created a 3D like view that works really well for racing games and other titles that feature air travel... Read All Or at least that's what that incredible ad from the 90's said as the kid playing F-Zero was so blown back by the game it literally flattened him and then he walked off looking like Gumby. For real, that actually happened in that ad I linked and these kinds of old ads are one of the reasons why I still love the 90's.

F-Zero was a launch title for the Super Nintendo that showcased the systems mode 7 graphics. Mode 7 was a pretty hyped SNES graphical mode that allowed games like F-Zero, Super Mario Kart, Secret of Mana & Final Fantasy VI to exist. Basically Mode 7 created a 3D like view that works really well for racing games and other titles that feature air travel systems (like SoM and FFVI).

Whenever people talk about F-Zero they remember that it came with multiplayer but in reality it never had it. I think people confuse it with later games in the franchise or Super Mario Kart. I think multiplayer wasn't included because it was a launch title and Nintendo needed to get it ready OR maybe it wasn't widely known how to make split-screen multiplayer work at that time. Either way F-Zero still shines as a fun racer even in a world with much more modern games such as Need For Speed.

One aspect of F-Zero that makes it game that's still fun to play now is that it's really challenging. Each car selection comes with upsides and significant downsides enough to make the choice matter. Choose Dr. Stewarts yellow Golden Fox racer and you will blast ahead of that pack easily because it has the fastest acceleration but if you are bumped around on the track you are going to take damage faster as his car isn't very tough. F-Zero pro's seem to think that Samurai Goroh with his Fire Stingray is the best racer because while it has the absolute slowest acceleration, if you can make your way into the lead and hold it the tough armor coupled with the unmatched top speed is the best choice.

Typically when i've played F-Zero in the past i've played as Captain Falcon or Dr. Stewart but as Stewart I die... a lot. After reading what some F-Zero pro's suggest in going with Samurai Goroh it took some getting used to but for the first time I finally won all 5 races for Night League Easy.

I picked up a Super Nintendo Classic for Christmas and have been spending mostly all of my gaming time playing F-Zero and I plan to continue. The original SNES F-Zero cart came with a battery save so all your high scores on completing the zones is saved. The SNES Classic keeps this feature without the need to save your state and that's kind of a neat thing. If you need to step away you can save you state but I don't find for this game it's something I need to use a lot.

It's Gets Dark In Tristram... Again!

https://bnetcmsus-a.akamaihd.net/cms/blog_header/fq/FQX565RZA0OE1482365030994.jpg

Last year the developers of Diablo celebrated it's big anniversary by adding a mode to the game where you could play it with pixelated graphics and take on a dungeon that felt eerily like the original game. Seems like Blizzard is bringing the even back starting now and ending on January 31st.

"Your journey begins on the trail of a group of mysterious cultists causing trouble in Sanctuary. As you hunt them down in Adventure Mode, you’ll uncover clues leading to a portal into Tristram’s past, and the terrifying darkness that took hold of the town so many years ago. . . .

Follow the clues and you’ll soon find yourself in a realm of glorious RetroVision, where an... Read All

Digital Foundry Looks At The Best Video Cards & CPU's in 2017

I found the Digital Foundry YouTube channel this year and have been sharing many of their videos since. They did some end of year wrap up videos and two I wanted to highlight were the best CPU's of the year linked above and the PC Graphics Review below. The CPU video is pretty interesting as AMD and Intel have been locked in bitter competition making for a very wide and interesting selection but the GPU story isn't as compelling with the Nvidia 1080 leading the pack. It's a great card it's just that it's expensive and there aren't many great alternatives. Hopefully AMD or Intel can release something to give Nvidia a run for their chips but outside of that 2018 might... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 01/03/2018 at 04:24pm

As for that AMD and Intel bitter competition...
https://www.neowin.net/news/security-flaw-patch-for-intel-cpus-could-result-in-a-huge-performance-hit

For most desktop users it will be negligible but this may drive some change in the market

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/03/2018 at 11:55pm

I know when I read that I was really surprised. I wonder if this performance workload hit will effect gaming as much as it seems?

Travis Admin wrote on 01/04/2018 at 03:24am

It kinda depends on the game apparently. Depending on who you listen to, anyway. CPU intensive games that do a lot of asset swapping would be hit the hardest.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/04/2018 at 03:28am

Yikes. That's a lot of shooters if I understand how texture loading works. I'll talk to one of my game dev friends because I'm interested how much this might impact things.

Travis Admin wrote on 01/04/2018 at 03:32am

Here's something: http://www.pcgamer.com/serious-intel-cpu-design-flaw-may-require-a-windows-patch-but-probably-wont-affect-gaming-performance/

Travis Admin wrote on 01/04/2018 at 04:46am

Microsoft got the patch out for Windows 10 already, and here's some anecdotal evidence: GTAV with everything cranked, driving super fast in the rain and doing crazy stuff still stays at a steady 60fps and that one is pretty CPU intensive.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/04/2018 at 04:57am

Was the 60fps on your system? If so that's good news if that's what you got before the patch!

Travis Admin wrote on 01/04/2018 at 05:10am

And further anecdotal evidence, Wolf 2 is the same as ever.

Travis Admin wrote on 01/04/2018 at 05:11am

And yeah sorry I had this page open already and missed your question. Yes, it was my system. It's v-sync so I can't tell if there's a frame loss past that.

Travis Admin wrote on 01/04/2018 at 05:23am

No Man's Sky, which I know is CPU intensive, doesn't seem to suffer either.

This is all on a Skylake i5, and from what I've read Skylake and newer will probably see fewer issues.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 01/04/2018 at 05:26am

That’s awesome to hear.

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Cheerful Ghost Game of the Year Winners!

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for helping make the last year on Cheerful Ghost amazing. We're starting things off in 2018 with our 2017 Game of the Year Awards results. If there's a clear runner up, we'll share that as well.

Best AAA Game: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
This should come as no surprise. Breath of the Wild has been topping Game of the Year lists all over the place, and with good reason. New game mechanics and a sprawling, sometimes intimidating open world breathe new life into the Legend of Zelda series.

Runner Up: Super Mario Odyssey. Nintendo had something to prove with a new console launch, and have they ever! This one is my personal GotY... Read All Happy New Year everyone! Thanks for helping make the last year on Cheerful Ghost amazing. We're starting things off in 2018 with our 2017 Game of the Year Awards results. If there's a clear runner up, we'll share that as well.

Best AAA Game: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
This should come as no surprise. Breath of the Wild has been topping Game of the Year lists all over the place, and with good reason. New game mechanics and a sprawling, sometimes intimidating open world breathe new life into the Legend of Zelda series.

Runner Up: Super Mario Odyssey. Nintendo had something to prove with a new console launch, and have they ever! This one is my personal GotY (but I'm playing Breath of the Wild now, so that may change) because of how it effectively brings fresh ideas into the Mario series and left me immediately wanting a sequel.

Best Indie Games (tie): Cuphead and Thimbleweed Park
Cuphead's charming sights and sounds coupled with intense platforming and Nintendo-hard boss fights seem to be a winning formula. If you could imagine the direct opposite of that game, it might be Thimbleweed Park, a game that seems like the LucasArts adventure game team made a game based on Twin Peaks or the X-Files.

Best Update/DLC/Expansion: Hearthstone's Kobolds and Catacombs
With 135 new cards and a new single-player Dungeon Run mode, this expansion is getting a lot of love from Hearthstone fans and has a well deserved spot on our list.

Best Mobile Game: Metroid: Samus Returns
One of the reasons I really want a 3DS, Samus Returns takes the series back to its side-scrolling roots in a reimagining of Metroid II from the Gameboy era. It expands on that formula with new abilities and, of course, much better visuals and sounds.

Runner up: HQ Trivia. A new take on trivia games, in which half a million people play for a pool of money by testing their knowledge of trivia. Technical issues aside, this game is a lot of fun to play. Just hide the chat.

Thanks for voting in this years awards, and here's to a great 2018!

Super Mario Odyssey Made Me Love Gaming Again

Travis gives this an astounding "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

Travis gives this a "Must Play" on the Ghost Scale

This achieves something special, and it would be a shame to miss it.

This game is bonkers. In the best way possible. It's trying to edge out Super Mario World to be my favorite Mario game ever, and it's easily the best game I've played in years. It reignited my love for gaming. When I think of labels for myself, "gamer" is definitely one of them, but for the past year or so I haven't been prioritizing gaming like I once did. It wasn't because of a lack of time, but a lack of motivation. I'd get excited about a game and give it a few hours, and then just kinda drift. They were all super fun games, I just ... drifted. All that changed as soon as I finally got my hands on this game.

The premise is pretty simple. Princess Peach has been... Read All This game is bonkers. In the best way possible. It's trying to edge out Super Mario World to be my favorite Mario game ever, and it's easily the best game I've played in years. It reignited my love for gaming. When I think of labels for myself, "gamer" is definitely one of them, but for the past year or so I haven't been prioritizing gaming like I once did. It wasn't because of a lack of time, but a lack of motivation. I'd get excited about a game and give it a few hours, and then just kinda drift. They were all super fun games, I just ... drifted. All that changed as soon as I finally got my hands on this game.

The premise is pretty simple. Princess Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser (go figure, right?) and you have to save her. The game takes place in a world with many varied kingdoms, but you start off in the Hat Kingdom, a kingdom populated by sentient hats. Makes sense. There you meet your trusty companion for this game, Cappy, who can be thrown onto many enemies, NPCs, and some objects to take control of them, with their abilities. Everything from manhole covers to dinosaurs. This leads to some of the most inventive and unique gameplay I've ever seen.

To put some misconceptions aside, this isn't Mario in a modern, real-life setting except for one kingdom. Much of the pre-release coverage was from the Metro Kingdom, and with good reason. It's probably the best part of the game for me. But it appeared to many (myself included) that the game may take place in a more real-world setting, or at least have a real-world overworld with the ability to travel to others. That's not the case. It's just one of many unique areas you can visit. It's actually the home of Pauline, the damsel in distress from the early arcade Donkey Kong games, and she's come a long way since her being-captured-by-a-giant-ape roots. She's now the mayor! The story there culminates in one of the game's best set pieces with an homage to DK and Super Mario Bros.

Speaking of which, another game mechanic is 8-bit sections that fit in seamlessly with the 3D world. Hop into a pipe and you might be in an 8-bit Mario stage that plays out on a cliffside, allowing you to scale to higher places. I love seeing how Nintendo continues to reference their history while keeping things fresh.

Overall, the graphics are exactly what you'd expect from a Mario game, just with some more shininess and polish, but the music is the real MVP here. The soundtrack is full of songs that will get stuck in your head, especially Jump Up Superstar from the aforementioned Metro Kingdom. But look closer and you'll notice that little NPC animations are in time with the music. Listen as you dive underwater and you'll hear the song seamlessly transition to a version of the same song without the higher-pitched instruments and a softer EQ. And every song transitions to an 8-bit version when you enter those sections. Incidental sounds change key to match the music currently playing. The level of attention and detail here is astounding and very appreciated.

The mechanics keep a lot of the same platforming actions from previous 3D Mario games, and they still feel the same as ever. But some new hat-assisted techniques spice things up. You can take the long way around, or do some crazy hat parkour to take a shortcut. And each creature you take over with the hat gives new abilities that elevate the gameplay. Stack some goombas, throw some hammers with a hammer bro, jump into lava with a fireball, curve around corners with a caterpillar. Like I said in the first sentence of this review: bonkers. In the best way possible.

And if you're a couch co-op aficionado, this game improves on that from the Galaxy titles. I'd say about 95% of my playthrough, my wife was playing Cappy. If you remember Galaxy's co-op, player two controlled the star you kept in your hat and could influence the world a bit while also collecting star bits. Cappy has far more to do in this game, and it adds to the fun factor significantly. Cappy can take care of some enemies or hold others, and can allow player one to focus on other things.

One criticism the game has received is that it's too easy. It may be true that it's easy to get to the end credits, but as with all recent entries in the series, things really get going after you beat the game, and that's where the true challenge lies. There are a total of 836 moon instances in the game. Some of those, especially from boss fights, give you multi-moons, which drives that total up to 880. You can also buy moons for a boost, so you can rack up to a grand total of 999 moons with that. You only need 120 to beat the game, and yeah that's pretty easy to do. A secret area unlocks at 250 moons with some of the hardest platforming challenges I've ever experienced. Another unlocks at 500 that's basically a marathon of tricky but not punishing sections-- the trick here is that there are no checkpoints, so one mistake sends you back to the beginning. THEN after that there's a secret version of the final boss battle that's much harder. So yeah, if you're just playing for the credits, it may not be that challenging, but the challenge is there if you want it.

But it's not all rosy and peachy. A few minigames throughout the game are just not fun at all, and require kinda ludicrous scores to get a moon. Some moons out of those 836 are just uninspired. But the few bad things are a drop in the bucket, all told. The game is truly magical.

This is the game I needed to revitalize my gaming interest. After finishing it, I notice myself wanting to play other games in my backlog and games I have started but walked away from. It's pure, unbridled fun. All told, I racked up every single moon, every purple coin, every costume, and every collectible in around 75 hours. I wish I had 25 more. Or 50. I'm currently playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and that game is winning Game of the Year awards like crazy, and seems to be on track to winning ours as well. If something can unseat Super Mario Odyssey for the best game of 2017 then I'm very interested.

I normally hesitate to give scores for games, but this one needs no hesitation. Super Mario Odyssey is a perfect 10/10, easily. There are issues and annoyances, but those are very easy to look past when a game is this fun. It's an absolute must play.