-=CRPGs=-
Icewind Dale (PC)
My favorite game this year. Perfect atmosphere with beautiful pre-rendered backgrounds and a great soundtrack. Addictive combat and party building kept me playing hour after hour, and I loved every minute of it.
Diablo (PC)
The creepy atmosphere, rarity of magical equipment, and mobs of tough enemies make it feel like playing a survival horror game at times. Short but sweet, and it does what it does perfectly.
Geneforge (PC)
Nice writing, a large (mostly) open world to explore, multiple factions to join, and quests that can be solved in multiple ways. Unfortunately, the combat is too easy, and there's too much of it. Even so, an amazing RPG.
Baldur's Gate (PC)
I (mostly) enjoyed this massive game all the way through. I didn't care for some of the boss battles that seemed more like trial-and-error than anything. I also got annoyed with the inconsistent writing. Those are only small complaints, though, because it's a great game.
Grim Dawn (PC)
I made the mistake of not enabling "Veteran" mode, making the game ridiculously easy. With a proper difficulty level, this would be a a 4/5 game easily.
Operencia: The Stolen Sun (PC)
Extremely linear with 100% fixed encounters, so it feels like you are just being carried along through the story. The dialog was awful, easily some of the worst I've ever read in a game, and there is so much of it. Having said all that, there were some cool areas later in the game, and party/character development ended up being pretty satisfying.
Ember (PC)
At first glance, this seems like mere mobile trash. However, playing it a bit reveals that it's a decent game. It's got a somewhat large open world to explore with lots of optional stuff to do. Combat is all in real-time and sucks. An enjoyable lite-RPG.
Avadon: The Black Fortress (PC)
There's nothing interesting about the world or setting, combat is boring, and character development has you spending skill points on tiny skill trees. However, the various locations are designed quite well with expansive maps full of interesting stuff to find.
Eschalon: Book I (PC)
Surprisingly good for what it is. There's really only so much you can do with a single-character RPG with turn-based combat (that's not a roguelike). The world is large and fun to explore, and many quests actually have multiple solutions.
Shadowrun Returns (PC)
Extremely linear RPG with "tactical" combat, that I found to be short but sweet. Cool setting/atmosphere, and a great soundtrack.
Torchlight II (PC)
Quite an improvement over the first game, but still just okay. It's not very long, but feels too long for what it offers.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PC)
This was a bit of a pleasant suprise, actually. I played/completed it after completing Skyrim, and much preferred it over its sequel. Writing and quests are better (still dumb), some of the main quest dungeons are pleasantly mazelike, and I like how you end up not being the chosen one, but instead the guy that just helps the chosen one.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC)
It seems awesome for the first 5-10 hours, but then you realize you are just doing the same thing over and over. The poor dialog/writing, linear dungeons, and insulting use of the same two stupid puzzles multiple times throughout the main quest all bring down the whole experience.
Queen's Wish: The Conqueror (PC)
An ugly game that just wastes your time. The writing is bad, the setting is boring, and you just do the same thing over and over and over. It's playable and not broken, and that's the best thing I can say about it.
Ultima II: Revenge of the Enchantress (Apple II)
Horribly broken garbage. The quest itself is interesting, but 99% of the game is spent just sailing around killing monsters to build up enough gold to make progress in the game.
-=JRPGs=-
Final Fantasy VIII (PSX)
Annoying characters and juvenile writing/dialog ruin an otherwise decent story. However, the junction system is cool and the game has some of the best pre-rendered backgrounds on the system.
Mother 2 (SFC)
It's too wacky for its own good, and it's also really easy, but it's somehow enjoyable. I thought the rolling HP counter would be a gimmick, but it actually ended up being a cool mechanic. I liked the first game in the series much better.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)
It looks and sounds great, the setting is fantastic, and the characters and story are a lot of fun. Unfortunately, combat is the very definition of "trash" with enemies that never pose a threat (outside of a couple of bosses), but waste your time thanks to their lavish animations. A decent lite-RPG, but definitely a lot of style over substance here.
Star Ocean (SFC)
A broken mess of a game that is still somewhat endearing. It has an extensive skill system to customize your characters, but the game is so easy that it's all meaningless. Combat is in real-time, and it sucks; you can complete the game simply by mashing the attack button for pretty much every encounter including bosses. The world is also tiny and extremely linear, similar to the corridor world of FF13 in many ways.
-=Other=-
Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards (PC)
The game starts with a great hook ("get laid"), and is just a ton of fun all the way through. The parser is decent, and the game is good about providing you with all the information you need to complete it. Surprisingly fair for a Sierra adventure.
Space Quest: Chapter I - The Sarien Encounter (PC)
I was pleasantly surprised at how fair this one is, too (except for a couple of annoying parts). Fun, with some cool backgrounds and imaginative puzzles, but a bit generic.
Blaster Master Zero (PC)
A nice remake of the classic NES game, though it suffers slightly from way too much awful dialogue interrupting you. Short but sweet, and worth a play.
Lords of Thunder (Mega CD)
It looks and sounds great, but it's ridiculously easy; I was able to clear it on one life during my first attempt at the game.