Thank You 2023
I was going to write this blog a bit sooner than this, but I decided to wait a little closer to the end.
I just want to start off by saying thank you to everyone who has followed me this year — to everyone who has liked my posts, kept up with me, met me in person, helped me out with anything, interacted with me, became my friend, and was generally just here with me throughout the entire year.
And what a year it was.
2023, without a doubt, was one of the best years in gaming we’ve had in a VERY long time, and that’s definitely saying something considering we got Elden Ring last year!
While this year came with its personal battles for me, it was still an all-around great year that I’m thankful for.
Let’s talk about some of the best times I had this year…
Heading directly into 2023, it started off really funny. It was rough.
I was expecting a bunch of goodies with my copy of One Piece Odyssey for PlayStation 5.
Despite this, GameStop had no idea what I was talking about when it came to their pre-order bonuses. Not only this, but they didn’t even have my game! They told me copies wouldn’t arrive day one.
That was ridiculous!
I ended up playing Shenmue II for my first game of 2023, and beating it in just 6 days.
I started Shenmue III recently. I’m hoping it’s good, and I can beat it in January 2024. As far as the second game goes, I thought it was really cool for its time period.
Why did the Dreamcast fail if it had Shenmue?
I guess the world just wasn’t ready for peak yet.
One Piece Odyssey released later that month and while I never got my pre-order bonuses for the game, I still pulled away with a physical copy of the game.
I only played it for a few days before putting it down and focusing on another game.
I plan to beat One Piece Odyssey once I catch up further in One Piece.
A very long term goal I’ve set for myself is to get fully caught up on the series before the treasure is revealed and spoiled on the internet. With everything leaking early these days, I’m massively scared for the series.
Don’t take me dropping the game for it being bad — it’s actually quite the opposite!
In February, my wife Abby and I officially moved out of her parent’s house and into our first rental. It was our first time ever being out on our own in our world together. We had each other to rely on.
With just the two of us, and no internet, we made the most of what we had for the month.
We started playing It Takes Two for the first time, which we still haven’t beaten yet. I’d like to get it finished with her once she feels like playing it again.
Since I didn’t have any internet, I kept everything but my PS5 out-of-box.
I decided to start tearing through Demon’s Souls. I’m a complete Souls noob with little-to-no-knowledge about the game series, but was still capable of taking down several bosses before losing interest and moving on to my next game…
The next game being the highly anticipated Like a Dragon: Ishin for PS5.
I remember going to my friend’s college and watching him play. His birthday is in February so he got the game day one. It seemed like a great Yakuza game, but I had to wait on it.
The house was still new and I didn’t have everything unpacked and set up yet, but it was still so nice having my friend and brother over for some old-fashioned retro gaming. We didn’t need the internet to have fun. We had Super Smash Bros. and The Legend of Zelda! Peak!
I eventually did end up getting Like A Dragon Ishin, which I played for a few days before moving on. I still need to finish it, but I’m going to wait on it until I finish the mainline Yakuza titles! My ultimate goal is to play the seventh title in the series, Yakuza: Like A Dragon — because I’m excited to play as the Dragon Quest-loving protagonist Ichiban Kasuga.
I know you’re probably thinking, “does this man ever finish his games”? Don’t worry. We’ll get there.
In March,
I celebrated my 27th birthday, and picked up a copy of Resident Evil 4 — a game I had been wanting for way too long.
I went over to my father’s house and spent a whole day playing it in basically a single sitting.
I ordered the most amazing Papa John’s pizza I had ever ordered, and added more herbs to it for a special “Resident Evil Green Herb” flare.
It couldn’t have been a more perfect release.
Spending time with my dad, playing a horror title, eating pizza, celebrating my birthday, it was all too special to me. It was one of the most impactful and memorable parts of 2023.
And it was only the third month…
I ended up playing and beating The Wolf Among Us, which I honestly only started because I was in a lowkey gaming withdrawal, funk after RE4 Remake. But it ended up being one of the best games I have ever played, and it caused me to get into the Choice Driven narrative genre immediately after. If you haven’t played this game yet you are incredibly missing out. Give me The Wolf Among Us 2 already!
I started playing the first Final Fantasy game on GameBoy Advance as well, and spent the remainder of the month grinding through it.
April was a great month.
I beat the first Final Fantasy game for the first time ever on April 2nd using a team built through and named after my siblings.
While I slowed down on my big game completions, I played a few more choice driven games such as The Quarry and Until Dawn.
It was some amazing quality time spent with my wife as she was completely interested in my decisions and what happens next. These types of games could be really great for people who don’t play video games that often. I’m hoping to play Medan titles next year if PlayStation ever fixes the digital downloads.
I took my grandma to see the Super Mario Bros. Movie and it was one of the best experiences ever. We loved it. The movie was incredible and the voice acting didn’t hinder my experience at all. It was a smart decision on Nintendo’s part because it was an early sign that Charles Martinet was ready to hand off the voice of Mario to someone new. If we could get used to Chris Pratt’s voice in the movie, then accepting the new voice actor for the games would become an easier thing to accept. Either way, Jack Black is still the KING!
My friends Davis and Lucid helped me finish Dragon’s Crown Pro on PS5 towards the end of April. If you know me, you know I absolutely have to play the swordfighter type. I had a blast getting carried by the homies while we slice everything up! It was a brilliant Vanillaware title with fantastic art. I highly recommend you play it with friends for the best experience overall!
At the end of April, I hosted a game session with a complete setup this time. We had fun playing Super Smash Bros, Soulcalibur II, and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2!
Finally, it was May, and the real show was about to begin.
As luck would have it, my local area was hosting a midnight launch for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
I am a lifelong, diehard Zelda fanatic.
I had to go to this. I mean, Vohris is literally half Link from Zelda and half Hero from Dragon Quest. If there’s one thing I need in my life it’s this moment in history.
I texted my best friend who is always available and down for anything at any given time, and we went last minute and had a really fun time.
I was able to secure the game on day one. I was really excited and happy.
I spent over 100 hours playing through the story of Tears of the Kingdom. I really enjoyed every minute of it. I was obsessed.
Being able to glitch the weapons, duplicate the Hylian Shield, duplicate the items, and wear the traditional hero tunic made the game special to me. Seeing all my friends online playing it together truly was the climax of the year. This moment in my life really will go down as one of the greatest.
I just don’t think I’ll ever play it again if I can’t glitch and dupe my shit. That’s just me being honest. Being able to play the game my way and enjoy it how I wanted to is what made it special. I think in the future when modders fix the game through emulation like they did with Breath of the Wild, is when I’ll play it once again.
But I’m still incredibly happy for this moment in my life.
At the end of the month, I celebrated Dragon Quest Day and continued grinding through my first playthrough of Dragon Quest V on DS. It’s a really special game with a crazy story. If you know, you know. If you don’t know, you REALLY need to go find out. Play it!
The month of June kicked off my annual “RPG Summer” marathon where I focus up on JRPGs throughout the next four months alongside my Twitter/Discord buddy Drakus. Together we see how many RPG games we can get through.
I managed to play through Final Fantasy XVI and Dragon Quest V in June. Both games were fantastic and I highly recommend them.
I will always prefer turn-based combat, but the way FFXVI played was so fun, even if I barely used any magic at all.
It was fun to block and parry with Titan’s arm and then counter. I’m a sword and shield type of guy, and when a game technically doesn’t let me use a shield, I find the next best option. This can be anything from the Titan ability in Final Fantasy XVI, the shield spell in The Witcher 3, using Goofy in Kingdom Hearts (or just letting Donald go first), or using leveling Luigi’s defense up in Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga. I find thoughtful and creative ways to stay on top of my game.
Don’t let anyone tell you Final Fantasy XVI was a bad game just because it wasn’t turn-based.
It’s still based.
July was a hot and busy month for me. I beat Borderlands 2 with Davis and played through the first Kirby game on Game Boy.
The biggest event was going to a video game convention where you can buy, sell, and trade games. Boogie2988 was there and I got his autograph!
I also met a friend from Twitter who was there, which was great! She loves Dragon Quest just like me!
I ended up spending way too much money and brought home so much stuff, but it was worth every minute.
I saw some co-workers, hung out with all my friends in one spot, played some arcade games, competed in a Super Smash Bros. 64 tournament which my friend won, and all-around had a fantastic time. I hope I can attend another con soon!
August was the slowest month.
I made a bet with my cousin that if he played Nier Automata and got the true ending of the game, I would play his childhood favorite game, Final Fantasy Tactics.
It was a steep learning curve for me, but I spent the entire month playing it.
I had a written guide and my cousin to help guide me through the game. Without that, I probably would’ve never finished it. It wasn’t an easy game for me, but I was determined to do it for him.
I remember I had a death in my family that shook my mom’s side. It was incredibly hard for all of us.
It was a slow month all-in-all.
In came September.
Are you still reading this? Okay, good! We’re down to the final 4 months!
September is when I picked up the pace and started slashing off some games.
The burnout and depression left my body and I decided to hop on the spooky season train early on.
My wife gets a power boost during the spooky season and when she’s happy and excited, I just can’t help myself. As she’s decorating the entire house, I’m preparing my Dante’s Inferno run. But just as I’m about to ascend the layers of Hell, my cousin introduces me to a different video game altogether…
Shadow Hearts.
He exclaimed to me that it was the perfect game for the spooky season.
Although he was definitely correct on that note, I unfortunately only made it to part 2 in the game before spooky season’s end. I’m hoping to finish it off next year!
Throughout September, I beat Final Fantasy Tactics, Luigi’s Mansion 3, Super Mario Bros., and my most anticipated game — Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai Infinity Strash, which turned out to be a much different game than I had initially hoped for. It wasn’t a terrible game like most people proclaimed, but it had no where near the depth everyone was hoping for. I accepted it for the super short and easy Dragon Quest game it was and moved on to the next game.
October arrived and spooky season was in full session.
I was determined to play something on my backlog that was horror-themed or I was intimidated to play.
With that said, I managed to FINALLY finish my first playthrough of Resident Evil Zero.
I had been stuck on that game for around two years, and I jumped for joy when I finally beat the boss I was hindered by for so long, realizing I could finally move on and finish this hard ass game.
It was a much needed victory for me.
For the remainder of October, I spent the entire month playing Persona 3 in leu of its remake coming next year. I still definitely need to finish it, but it’s a very long game.
I’m probably not going to play Reload before it regardless. I’ll be trying to avoid spoilers online for a while!
November was a really solid month for the year.
I celebrated my one-year wedding anniversary with my wife!
It’s funny to me because we’ve been in a relationship for basically half our lives now, but celebrating our marriage was something new. I love it so much.
I ended up starting games like Resident Evil and Chrono Cross, but couldn’t find the ability to stay focused on them for too long.
I picked up Star Ocean 2, which I still need to play First Departure R, and a copy of Super Mario Bros. Wonder — which I had fun playing a few levels with my friend Davis before he moved away to Florida.
I’ll definitely miss the amazing year we had together this year!
I took my wife to a midnight release of a book she had on pre-order. It was actually a lot of fun because the book store had a lot of group activities that she and I could do together as a couple while we waited for the book to launch. She ended up being the very first person to get the book in the store, and we took home a victory as she won the store scavenger hunt. If that wasn’t a core memory for her 2023, then I don’t know what is!
I went to a Thanksgiving house party a friend of mine was hosting where I ate fried turkey and drank some good beer I had never heard of before.
My friend gave me a 3D printed Master Sword which I thought was really cool.
I had a great time there and can’t wait to do it again in 2024.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, I spent mine on both sides of my family this year. I bought a Cracker Barrel meal for my mom and my grandma cooked for us over on my dad’s side.
It was a great Thanksgiving!
I finished November off by 100% The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the first time. I thought it was an excellent Zelda game, and it was great seeing where some of my favorite Zelda things originated. That game truly started so much of what I love about the games. It’s a must play for anyone who claims they are a Zelda fan.
Now it’s December.
The Game Awards have come and gone already.
It was so cool of Zwanguy to nominate me as best Swordsman. He’s a real homie for that.
Otherwise, I honestly didn’t watch The Game Awards, but I did keep up with the reveals, and let me just say I’m super excited for Metaphor Re:Fantazio, Visions Of Mana, and Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth.
This is going to be my final blog of 2023.
If you made it all the way to the end here, I just wanted to thank you for reading my journey.
I am so excited for 2024 because I have a lot in store for my backlog journey and have major plans to crack down on it.
While my games beaten this year were low in comparison to the hefty triumphs of the three years prior, I’ve also been much busier than usual this year between moving into my first home, learning how to be a married adult with bills and responsibilities, and having to handle loss in my family.
I have a plan in place next year, and I am just biding my time.
I’m ready for 2024!
I hope everyone enjoyed this blog and had a great year of life, love, and video games.
This is Vohris signing off for the rest of the year!
Have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!
See ya! 👋🏼
