There was a decidedly old-fashioned gaming vibe this year when it came to Japanese game releases, and these are some of my favorites.
This is the ninth year I’ve made these ten most sensible for Japanese games. From 2016 to 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Naturally, those lists are only based on my personal tastes regarding the games I played during the year and are nothing more.
10. Assault Suits Leynos 2 Saturn Tribute
It was a fantastic Saturn Mecha game at the time and was only available in Japan. Fortunately, this one is already available and the remaining English versions will be released next year. As someone who worked on the release of Assault Suits Valken Declassified, I’m pleased that through it all, the Assault Suits games are getting more love.
9. The legend of the steel empire
The Imamio Thunder acts like a smart bomb attack.
I really enjoyed this shmup back on the Mega Drive, and this remaster was gloriously done. While I am a sucker for all things steampunk and alternate-timeline technology, this is still a solid console shmup and one that is worth a look if you haven’t done so already.
8. Front Mission 2: remake
The remake for ‘Front Mission 2’ was excellent.
Following the first Front Mission remake, the sequel was another game originally released only in Japan. It’s amazing that it’s now widely available, and it’s been updated brilliantly, too.
7. Tekken 8
“Tekken 8” now runs on Unreal Engine 5.
This turned out to be a lot better than I was expecting and I am glad that following Street Fighter’s resurgence, more of these fighting game series are coming back. The transition to Unreal Engine 5 has also worked out well for the game, as it both looks and runs very fluidly.
6. Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
“Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom” is a film with an adorable style.
Made with the same taste as the new version of Link’s Awakening, this time, despite everything, you play like Zelda but with some setbacks. The first is that the sword and shield builds available to Link are time-limited, yet to be determined. To counteract this restriction, you can copy and paste pieces discovered in Hyrule. It was a fun game, but I’d still love to see Zelda get the chance to wield her own sword and shield in a long-term installment.
5. Dragon Quest Builders
“Dragon Quest Builders” is still available for PC.
The long-awaited PC version of this already classic game is very clever. Although it has great quality-of-life improvements, I still prefer the PlayStation four and Switch versions. The Switch iteration is probably still my favorite. That said, the fact that this game is now on PC is definitely welcome and recommended.
4. Mr. Unicorn
“Unicorn Overlord” is one of Vanillaware’s most impressive games.
Despite all the controversy surrounding the English localization of the game, the game itself was still wonderful. Vanillaware didn’t disappoint from a visual standpoint, but it also played brilliantly and had a wonderful story. As someone who appreciates the tactical aspect of the role. When playing the game genre, it’s wonderful to play a new edition to run and it was a lot of fun.
3. Ace Combat 7: Deluxe Edition
The ‘Deluxe Edition’ of ‘Ace Combat 7’ runs very well on the Switch.
I never imagined that a game like Ace Combat 7 could work on Switch, but this new Deluxe Edition has proven me wrong. Having enjoyed the game on PlayStation 4 in 2019, I’m surprised and very grateful to now be able to play it on my Switch. Of course, the same can be said for the PC edition on the Steam Deck, but battery life is rarely very friendly when you’re on the go.
2. The Shadow of the Ninja Reborn
‘Shadow of the Ninja Reborn’ is one of the best-looking pixel art games of recent years.
It wasn’t in a position to be all that clever and was a flawless remake of an NES classic that was even more technical than the original. It also looked lovely and is one of the most productive pixel art games I’ve played in years.
1. Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake
‘Dragon Quest III’ has been updated in a truly wonderful way.
This was the return of the king in terms of role-playing games. Done in the tilt-shift HD-2D art style, with 3D backgrounds against 2D pixellated characters, this has brought one of the best games ever made out into the sunshine again on a global scale. It not only plays brilliantly, with all sorts of functional updates and changes over the original game, but it looks adorable too. I really cannot recommend this game enough.
You may be wondering why Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is rarely included on this list. The answer is that it is a DLC version. Also, Metaphor: ReFantazio also gets an honorable mention here, but that didn’t convince me.
Regardless, 2024 has seen some ports of recent games and remakes of old games. Hopefully next year there will be some newer releases to contend with.
Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I manage Mecha Damashii and lately I appear in the Giant Robots exhibition that is traveling around Japan lately.
A community. Many voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts.
Our network aims to connect others through open and thoughtful conversations. We need our readers to share their perspectives and exchange ideas and facts in one space.
To do so, please comply with the posting regulations in our site’s terms of use. We summarize some of those key regulations below. In short, civilians.
Your message will be rejected if we notice that it appears to contain:
User accounts will be blocked if we become aware or if users are concerned about:
So, how can you be a user?
Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site’s Terms of Service.