2025 in Review

I’m doing it backwards, since I already posted about looking ahead to 2026, but I thought it was worth looking back at the year that was, specifically in video gaming terms. This is from my own viewpoint, so the superlatives and notes here are more personal than industry or hobby-wide.

Favorite Compilation for Modern Consoles: Golden Tee Arcade Classics (Multiplatform)

This was a close race with the Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection, but the Golden Tee games and I have a closer historic connection– and, well, I’m better at them than Mortal Kombat. I used to play a ton of Golden Tee, in bowling alleys and bars especially, so I was very excited to see this compilation become a thing. While I would’ve liked to have seen more recent games in the series make the trip, I get why Atari and Digital Eclipse went with what we got. The earlier games were the building blocks for the series and remain very accessible. Moreover, the course designs were generally great examples of risk versus reward in that players often had options to shoot low scores… but there were challenges like shaping around trees or being lucky to have a tailwind for farther carry that could easily turn a potential eagle into a bogey or worse. This compilation can be had pretty cheaply in physical format, seen as low as $20. Most will likely go with the Mortal Kombat Kollection, and that’s a great choice, but Golden Tee Arcade Classics is definitely worth a look as well.

Most Surprising Game Pickup of 2025 (PlayStation): The Misadventures of Tron Bonne

I’m still shocked that I was able to buy this at all, let alone in 2025. It’s easily one of the most expensive games for the original PlayStation, and there aren’t too many collectors that have it. Yet there I was, in early July, walking out of Retro World Games with it. When I started putting effort into collecting for the original PlayStation in 2015, I never even considered this to be a pickup target… and the few times I’d even seen it in the wild, my finances and the asking price were in different universes. But things just kind of aligned this past summer, between landing a big bonus at work and getting a fair deal on the game from a trusted seller. Now all I need to do is play it. Yup… almost 6 months after buying it, I haven’t even tried it yet. Oops.

2025 “Old Reliable” Award: Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line (Switch)

There are Final Fantasy games that I really like (FFIV), I kind of like (FFVI, FFVII), hate (FFVIII, FFXII, FFXIII), and am indifferent about (FFI, FFIX). One thing that all of these games (and most of the series, for that matter) have in common is excellent music… and the Theatrhythm games celebrate that. I have the first two for my 3DS, and Curtain Call got over 100 hours of play easily. Final Bar Line is, perhaps, even better than Curtain Call and is that game I go back to over and over when I struggle with what to play next. There’s genuine strategy involved in the Series Quests mode, where players are tasked with accomplishing certain objectives for each track. It’s addictive, and the music is timeless. Although I own both the PS4 (by way of PS5) and Switch versions, it’s the Switch game that I go back to. I’m still trying to “100%” the game, but I’m in no hurry to do so. I’m just having fun playing it.

2025 Continuing Trend: Buying Sealed Games

I talked about why I buy sealed games in a Q&A post that you can check out here, and the trend of buying sealed games did continue for me in 2025. eBay was my go-to for this, as video game stores don’t often carry sealed games. I tended not to go too crazy with higher-priced ones, but more for games that would be upgrades to copies I owned already that were relatively decent deals (compared to PriceCharting standards). These were almost entirely original PlayStation games in 2025, unlike past years, when I was finding PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Wii games. I’m not sure how strongly this trend will continue in 2026, but I don’t see it stopping completely. I sometimes tell myself that I’m going to open these on camera, like I used to, but I’m pretty comfortable staying off-camera and opening these for myself than for views.

Most Surprising Game of 2025 (Modern Consoles): PBA Pro Bowling 2026

Farsight Studios has tried several times to get bowling right. Before now, the results ranged from mixed to negative. After securing the PBA license, Farsight fell into the microtransaction trap a couple of times, turning the experience into a grind without cash while presenting relatively low-budget games. I wanted to like them, as a former bowler, but just couldn’t do it. Then I got word on socials about this game, and took a chance on it. I’m glad I did. It’s still kind of low-budget, in terms of looks and sound, but Farsight overhauled the Career Mode and added both candlepin and duckpin bowling options– two types of bowling that, as a New Englander, I have always wanted. I’ve had a blast powering my way through the Career Mode, unlocking new balls, and checking out the fun variations the game has. There’s No-Tap here! (For the uninitiated, No-Tap means that getting nine or ten pins down on the first ball means a strike.) Strike Derby is cool. The Spare Challenges are neat. Full events with total pinfall and stepladder finals are a blast. It’s a bit pricey for a rather niche sports game at $40, but I genuinely recommend it if you can… errr… swing it. It’s surprisingly good.

Most Surprising Game Pickup of 2025 (Nintendo 64): Star Wars Episode I: Racer (New/Sealed)

Stumbling across this early in 2025 was a really cool thing, while visiting Legends: Video Games, Movies, and More in Granby, MA. (I really need to get back here in 2026.) Star Wars Episode I: Racer always gives FuncoLand vibes, as I was working as a store manager in the Springfield, MA store when this hit in the Spring of 1999. While sealed copies of original PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Wii games have been regular finds for me between eBay and some local game stores over the years, sealed N64 games have been harder to come by. Combine these two factors, and buying this was an absolute no-brainer… and the coolest N64 surprise find of 2025 for me. I did find and buy more expensive N64 games this past year, like Goemon’s Great Adventure, but this one also has personal significance and gets the nod here.

Favorite Throwback Game (Modern Consoles): Terminator 2D: NO FATE (Multiplatform)

NO FATE is absolutely a throwback to the 1990s. It’s an action game for the most part, with lots of shooting and explosions. It can be “beaten” in an afternoon, but it also gives players reasons to play it again and again. Oh, and its source material is one of the best movie sequels of all time. I could gush on and on about this game. I could talk about how I enjoyed the intro so much that I had to watch it a few times before playing. I could talk about the awesome soundtrack and great visuals. I could talk about the tight play controls. I could talk about the return of the importance of points and scores. There’s just so much to like about this game, and it’s easily one of my favorite releases of 2025. While I first played this on my XBox Series X, I’m double-dipping for Switch with the Collector’s Edition. It’s that good, in my view. I think my favorite part of the experience is that it’s not a massive time sink. It’s purposely made to be short and replayable, almost like an arcade game. I’m all in on offerings like that.

Biggest Collection Gainer of 2025: Original PlayStation

2025 was a big year for me when it came to expanding my original PlayStation game library. While I did buy games for other consoles, notably the Nintendo 64, Wii, and PlayStation 2… my focus was squarely on Sony’s freshman console, which turned 30 years old here in the US this year. The photos shown are just a few of the many games I picked up. I wound up getting so many, in fact, that I ran out of room on my shelves. My count of original PlayStation games soared past 1,150 with more than 90% of those being complete in case. I’m at the point where I don’t have much to seek out anymore that I didn’t get already. It’s not the end of the PlayStation journey, but it’s much closer to the end than to the beginning. And, after 10 years of collecting games for the console, it’s a good place to be in.

Before I wrap this up, thank you for visiting this website in 2025. I don’t have any expectations for traffic or subscriptions, so it’s pretty cool when people do visit and take some of their valuable time to check things out here. There will be more to come in 2026.