Back in 2005, I happily pre-ordered and purchased Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King on PS2. I wasn't really a Dragon Quest fan at the time, so I didn't really "get" DQ back then. I found it grindy and tedious, and I ended up enjoying the Final Fantasy XII demo more instead. Thankfully the DS Dragon Quest games came along, and I found a new love for the series, especially Dragon Quest IV. I loved the story focus and unique skills each character brought to the table. Ever since then I've been longing to go back to Dragon Quest VIII and try it again, but it being on PS2 meant having to hook up an old system. With the 3DS version coming soon, it gives me all the reasons I need to dive back into the Journey of the Cursed King. Portability makes this one so much easier to play in chunks, so it will be nice to have the freedom to try this again. - Michael A. Cunningham

If I went back in time and told the people of the past that Guerrilla Games would be working on a colorful action adventure game set in the far future, I would probably be laughed at and chased with pitch forks back to my time machine. Yet, here we are, as Horizon: Zero Dawn prepares to let us explore a post-apocalyptic future where humanity has returned to a tribal state, and herds of animal-like machines roam the land. Combining deep crafting, exciting battles with machine monsters, and exploring a mysterious world, Horizon is an exciting unknown among a slate of titles dominated by established properties. We can only hope that the final product is as wild and imaginative as it looks. - Mike Apps

Despite what some thought about Mass Effect 3, I loved how everything came together throughout the entire third game. With some new blood on board for Mass Effect: Andromeda, I'm even more excited to see how things turn out. As much as I loved Shepard and her crew, I'm curious to see how Ryder and her new squadmates turn out. The changes in gameplay are also really interesting, as having an open world experience in Mass Effect is a new twist as the team explores the world in the Tempest. Thankfully, all of the aspects I loved from prior Mass Effect games are making a return, especially the staple dialogue options and romances. Mass Effect is a dating sim after all. - Michael A. Cunningham

When South Park: The Stick of Truth released in 2014, even people who were not really South Park fans like myself fell in love with the craziness of it. Obsidian did a masterful job blending a turn-based RPG into something that felt like an actual episode of South Park. All the humor of the series was there, and it worked fantastically throughout. With South Park: The Fractured but Whole coming next year, it will be exciting to see if Ubisoft can recreate the same magic without Obsidian. We're only a few months away, but with the South Park writers still on board, one can hope all the magic will still be there. - Michael A. Cunningham

I personally have a bit of a mixed opinion towards the Ni no Kuni franchise, because while I adored the DS game, I thought the PS3 version made some poor decisions in regards to story, flow, and combat that detracted from the original experience. Still, I have some wonderful memories of my time spent with the game and its amazing book, and that is enough to make me interested in what a game set in the same world would offer. I wouldn't be the only one, either. In the past year or so I've met several grade schoolers who discovered the DS game only recently, and were captivated by its charm and its book. A different time, I met a young mother who'd gotten the PS3 game to pass the time after her son's birth, and fell in love with it. She was amazed and delighted to hear there was a new game coming as well. It can be easy to point out the game's flaws, of which there were many, but it's just as easy to see the magic within it and understand why so many people enjoyed it. Let us hope that Revenant Kingdom keeps the magic flowing. - Michael Baker