2014 - The year 20 years after what I consider the greatest year of my life - is now coming to an end. It had some highs and lows, triumphs and tragedies, but it was an overall decent year.
I've met some awesome people in person - and got to know a few others starting late in the previous - for the first time, particularly during TFC. Adon (Shadow/Earlee), Blackmoon, HajinShinobi, Madian, BlackberryChaos, BlankOctober,MeaganMassacre, and Brightgamer, among a few. Though I had my insecurities, It was great hanging out with them. I like to give special thanks to JDE and Fred Campbell for making the trip to North Carolina and back entertaining, for I would've otherwise fell asleep on the wheel. And finally, I gotta give props to NuJin, who I finally got to meet locally after months of delay.
But while I met some awesome people for the first time, I've lost one a bit earlier this year... my landlord. I only knew him for a solid year, but in that time we've done so much even though he was going through dialysis treatment in order to walk again. Whether it was watching WWE, Ring of Honor, anime, heading out to visit his family, or even discussing future career or business movements, we were always there for each other, and he looked to me as the son he never had. Since his passing on late November, it's been less lively around the house. But thanks to the time I spent with him, it's strengthened me as a person in different ways. I'm not only working to strengthen the bond I have with my mother as I did this Christmas... I am also able to see options for my future I never bothered to look.
Gamergate controversy aside, 2014 in gaming overall seemed to progress a lot better later in the year, particularly with Nintendo. While Sony is content with giving us juiced-up ports from previous-gen to ther current-gen console, the PS4, Nintendo has been delivering with a steady stream of truly great games, such as Bravely Default, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Mario Kart 10, Bayonetta 2, and most notably, Super Smash Bros for WiiU/3DS.
Not to say that Sony wasn't totally about ports... some Vita titles worth mentioning were Toukiden, Child of Light, Neptunia Re:Birth, the Danganronpa series, and the Project Diva F series to name a few. And while their PS4 hasn't really garnered a major console-exclusive killer app at this time, perhaps the most exciting news of all is that a long-neglected sequel to an underrated RPG series from Konami is finally making an affordable digital debut on PSN. That game... was Suikoden 2.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has not been doing so hot, what with the DRM scare to consumers taking a serious blow to them. It was only until recently on Black Friday that they surprisingly managed to sell their Xbox Ones. But with few console exclusives, lacking third party support, and numerous multiplatform titles you could buy on a PC or even the PS4, the only thing that's really been keeping the console afloat to stay relevant are your run-of-the-mill AAA FPS games, and of course, the excellent 2.5D fighting game, Killer Instinct. And speaking of multiplatform titles, there have been some rather interesting ones. Shovel Knight, Dark Souls 2, and Strider were three particular titles that were excellent.
Movies this year were quite fascinating. The Marvel Cinematic Universe movies in particular seem to have nowhere to go but up in the quality department, even going so far as to take a huge risk in making a once-obscure franchise such as "Guardians of the Galaxy" to mainstream success. Days of Future Past - while not connected to the other Marvel movies - was also another surprise hit among dud after dud in previous iterations, now I'm looking forward to X-Men: Apocalypse. My favorite movies of the year, however, have to go to:
1) Edge of Tomorrow (Groundhog Day with sci-fi action, based on the manga "All You Need is Kill)
2) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (the excellent sequel to the surprise critically-acclaimed hit "Rise of the Planet of the Apes)
3) Get on Up (an autobiography on James Brown, with Chadwick Boseman taking on the role of the Godfather of Soul)
4) Big Hero 6 (another hit CGI movie by Disney that's based on the comic of the same name)
And above all...
5) Interstellar (An incredible sci-fi drama spanning time and space as a select group of astronauts search the known universe for a new planet for mankind, suffering in a decaying Earth)
Last but not least, there's the anime department. This is the first in a long time I've been compelled to get back into watching more than two anime series in full swing, and I owe much of the compelling factor to not only the resurgence of Sailor Moon and its more manga-accurate reboot which aired the summer of this year (with exceedingly massive hype, might I add), but the likes of excellent new titles such as Kill La Kill, Akame Ga Kill, Terraformars, Tokyo Ghoul, and above all, Gundam: Reconguista in G. Oh, and we can't forget about the Fate/Stay-Night remake... that wasn't half-bad either.
But yeah, 2014 was something else. I watched more anime than I thought I would, got past the worst of my financial woes, lost a good friend, but gained a few more valuable ones. Looking back on it helps me to look forward into the future. Here's hoping 2015 gets me to a better start.
Shoutouts to a lot of my favorite celebrities that passed away this year... James Avery, Robin Williams, Bob Hoskins, Casey Kasem, Christine Cavanaugh, Mickey Rooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Shirley Temple, the Ultimate-friggin'-Warrior, and the pioneer of video games himself, Ralph Baer.
And to close out, additional shoutouts to family and the friends I still have. You know who you are.
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