Dragon Quest IX: My favorite DS game of 2010

Before I bought Dragon Quest IX earlier this year I had played just one other game in this vaunted series: The NES original, published (as Dragon Warrior) by Nintendo of America in latter part of 1989.

That's worth noting because I barely played Yuji Horii's first foray into the world of console RPGs. (I was much more captivated at the time by its contemporary, Hironobu Sakaguchi's Final Fantasy.)

"Barely played" isn't a phrase I'd use to describe my experience with Horii's ninth Dragon Quest title. Instead, I'd probably say that I played it so much that I was worried my husband would kick me to the curb. (OK, so I'm exaggerating a bit. You get the idea, though, right?)

If I had to list the features that prompted me to play Dragon Quest IX for well over 100 hours--and prompted me to call it my favorite DS game of 2010--I'd likely include its alchemy, character-customization and vocation systems, its dynamic battle scenes and its optional quests.

The highlight of such a list, however, would be the title's randomly generated treasure maps--which were pretty much solely responsible for pushing me past the 100-hour mark (and for putting my marriage in danger).

Honestly, I'd probably consider Dragon Quest IX my favorite DS game of 2010 even if it had consisted of nothing more than the above-mentioned maps. That is how much I've played and enjoyed that portion of this title.

That's not meant to suggest there was a dearth of worthwhile releases for Nintendo's dual-screened system in 2010. On the contrary, there were oodles--Etrian Odyssey III, Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey among them.

As great as each of the above were (and are), though, none of them topped Dragon Quest IX in my mind--which is why I consider Square Enix's latest RPG extravaganza to be my favorite DS game of 2010.

See also: 'Rhythm Heaven: My favorite DS game of 2009'

Kirby's Epic Yarn: My favorite Wii game of 2010

Surprise, surprise! My favorite Wii game of 2010 is the one I (likely) wrote about the most last year: Kirby's Epic Yarn.

I spent so much time blathering on about this game's sublime controls, graphics and music in previous posts (here's a number of them) that I won't bore you by going over it again in this one.

What I will say is that this charming platformer made me smile more than any other Wii game I played all year. Sure, a few of its contemporaries came close--Donkey Kong Country Returns and Super Mario Galaxy 2 come to mind, as does Ivy the Kiwi--but none were able to topple Kirby in terms of providing pure, unadulterated fun.

That's not to say Kirby's Epic Yarn is perfect--it's too easy by half, for instance, and it has a few, niggling control issues (namely while using the train transformation)--but it's perfect enough to be not only my favorite Wii game of 2010 but to be among my favorite games (regardless of genre) of this entire generation.

See also: 'New Super Mario Bros. Wii: One of my favorite Wii games of 2009'

I really like Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, but ...

I've played Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light for a few hours now (I have no idea how many hours exactly, as the game doesn't seem to keep track of such things), and thus far I've thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

I haven't even been bothered by two of the issues that other owners of this Matrix Software-developed game have complained about on line--one of which involves auto-aiming during battles (basically, you can't choose who your characters target with weapons, spells or items) and one of which involves item management (each of the game's eponymous heroes is limited to carrying 15 items--including spells--at any given time).

So, where does the "but" mentioned in the headline come into play? Well, it comes into play while dealing with the game's propensity to pull characters--and all of their weapons and armor--from your party without warning.



This first happened to me after defeating a boss. Once the battle was over, a key member of my party walked away without so much as an "adios"--and took a lot of my hard-earned loot with him.

Thankfully I had saved just before I confronted said baddie, so I restarted the game, stripped that party member of all noteworthy armor, weapons and spells and fought the boss again. In the end, it wasn't a big deal--but it was rather annoying. (The moral of this story: Save as often as possible while playing The 4 Heroes of Light.)

Don't let that (admittedly annoying) detail keep you from giving this game a go, though, as I think it'll be well worth your while if you're any kind of Final Fantasy fan.

Buy: Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light

'As recommended by The Gay Gamer'

Just about a week ago, in the comments section of this post, Zigfried over at unlimitedzigworks.com challenged me to come up with a "somewhat obscure" Famicom game that he could play and then review on his site shortly after the start of the year.

Being the indecisive chap that I am, I came up with not one but eight obscure-ish Famicom games for Zigfried to consider.

Among the games I suggested: (Sony) Epic's Flying Hero, a Breakout-like single-screener that replaces the latter title's ball and paddle with a trio of firemen (two of whom wield a trampoline, with the third using it to bounce around the screen and rescue stranded civilians).

Anyway, go here to read Zigfried's impressions of this archaic-but-charmingly-quirky (my words, not his) game. Oh, and go here to see the titular "flying heroes" in action.

Donkey Kong vs. Kirby

Now that I've spent a good bit of time with both Donkey Kong Country Returns and Kirby's Epic Yarn (I've played the former for just over seven hours and the latter for more than 15), I've decided to sit down and compare various aspects of these two games--which I consider to be two of the very best platformers of this generation (if not ever).

Story--Who plays platformers for their stories? Not me. That's good, because both of these games feature stories that could, at best, be described as "thin." ("Trivial" is another apt word that comes to mind.) If I had to choose one over the other, though, I'd go with the one that backs Kirby's Epic Yarn--since it involves a baddie named Yin-Yarn who sucks the titular Kirby into his magic sock.

Graphics--There's no question about it: Both of these games feature graphics that are among the best on the Wii. Stylistically, though, they're on opposite ends of the spectrum--with Donkey Kong Country Returns' graphics focusing on characters and worlds that have been sculpted out of polygons to give the game a beautiful, three-dimensional sheen and the graphics of Kirby's Epic Yarn focusing on hand-drawn characters and worlds that look as though they've been crafted out of fabric. Although I slightly prefer the latter to the former--especially since the graphics in Kirby are more varied--it's hard to find fault with either.

Music--This one's another toss up, and for a number of reasons. First, both games feature a slew of tracks pulled from previous releases--which makes the overall soundtrack a bit less exciting (in my mind) than it would be if it were made up of original music. Second, the majority of these remixed tunes are fairly subtle and often fade into the background. Still, a few of them manage to stand out--such as "Cranky's Theme" from Donkey Kong Country Returns and "Cozy Cabin" and "Snowy Fields" from Kirby's Epic Yarn. In the end, I once again prefer Kirby to Donkey Kong in this area, but only by a smidge.

Gameplay--It's rare for Nintendo to release a game, especially a platformer, that doesn't control like a dream, and neither Donkey Kong Country Returns nor Kirby's Epic Yarn are exceptions to that rule. That said, both games have a few, small issues that could be problematic for some players. The roll move in Donkey Kong has tripped up more than a few gamers (especially those, like me, who play the game with just the Wii remote), for instance, while the train transformation in Kirby can be a bit trying. Other than those niggles, though, both games control as smooth as butter. As such, I'll call this area a wash.

Miscellaneous--If you're looking for a stiff challenge, Donkey Kong Country Returns is the game for you. Honestly, I don't think I've ever died as many times as I've died thus far in the latest entry in the Donkey Kong series--and I'm still making my way through its sixth world. That could be seen as a negative to some, I'm sure, but to me it's a positive--especially considering how easy most platformers are these days. Speaking of easy platformers: You've probably heard that Kirby's Epic Yarn is, for the most part, a total pushover. It is--but that doesn't mean it's not fun. On the contrary, I'd say it's one of the funnest platformers I've played in a while. So, Donkey Kong is tops in terms of presenting a challenge and Kirby is king when it comes to fun.

Overall--After reading all of the above, it likely won't be much of a surprise to hear me say that, overall, I slightly prefer Kirby's Epic Yarn to Donkey Kong Country Returns. I've been completely blown away by both games thus far, though, and I honestly don't think you can go wrong with either title if you're any kind of platformer fan.

Now that I've had my say, what do those of you who have played both games think? Do you prefer one over the other? If so, why?