What games are you looking forward to playing in 2018. (Including non 2018 games)

[MerlinDrazziw]

Looking forward to playing some Doom and Yooka Laylee on Switch. Maybe try to pick up LoZ:BotW again and continue some other games I have for Switch. Also looking forward to playing some games on 3DS. As for 2018 games: I haven't kept up with what games will be released. Maybe I'll have to cut back on buying games I don't have time to play. We'll see.

[Kong Wen]

Xenoblade Chronicles 2—

Too bad it looks like complete ass. I'll probably refrain just to preserve the quality of the first game in my memory.

As in the gameplay or visually? The games been getting pretty good reviews.

A little of column A, a little of column B, and then a little more of "visually". The first game was lauded for its graphical ambition (even though it looked like a generation-old PS2 game when it came out, but hey, it was on the Wii after all), but this one looks like an April Fools prank. The game's also been getting its share of bad reviews from people whose opinions align pretty closely with mine on other stuff. Hard pass. I might try it out for $19.99 or less, but I don't have a lot of time to spare for a game that doesn't respect my time to begin with.

Which DQ would you recommend for a first time player?

Listen, DQ XI is probably going to be a great game for a first-time player. My frownie wasn't frowning at the idea of starting with XI, but moreso at the idea of someone having been deprived of excellent previous games in an excellent series.

So, if XI is your entry point, enjoy! If you're interested in hopping in and testing the waters:

The original (Dragon Warrior in the west) is almost as retro as retro RPGs can get. That said, it's also quite friendly, mostly because it's so basic compared to the complicated grandiose RPG stories and overlying gameplay systems we're used to these days. DQ 4, 5, and 6 are all on DS (and Android/iOS, I believe), and while they're a bit more traditionally complex and layered, about equivalent to other RPGs that originated on the SNES, they're also all very good and easy to get into. Finally, DQ VIII (Journey of the Cursed King) is readily available on 3DS (and mobile as well, I think!) and it's widely considered one of the best RPGs of all time. It was developed by Level-5 (the Professor Layton and Ni No Kuni people).

Any of the games I mentioned would be perfectly good starting points. You don't have to play every entry in order to understand them. The narratives do connect up a little bit at certain points, but it wouldn't be jarring like starting a TV series halfway through a season.

[Kiwi the Tortoise]

Listen, DQ XI is probably going to be a great game for a first-time player. My frownie wasn't frowning at the idea of starting with XI, but moreso at the idea of someone having been deprived of excellent previous games in an excellent series.

So, if XI is your entry point, enjoy! If you're interested in hopping in and testing the waters:

The original (Dragon Warrior in the west) is almost as retro as retro RPGs can get. That said, it's also quite friendly, mostly because it's so basic compared to the complicated grandiose RPG stories and overlying gameplay systems we're used to these days. DQ 4, 5, and 6 are all on DS (and Android/iOS, I believe), and while they're a bit more traditionally complex and layered, about equivalent to other RPGs that originated on the SNES, they're also all very good and easy to get into. Finally, DQ VIII (Journey of the Cursed King) is readily available on 3DS (and mobile as well, I think!) and it's widely considered one of the best RPGs of all time. It was developed by Level-5 (the Professor Layton and Ni No Kuni people).

Any of the games I mentioned would be perfectly good starting points. You don't have to play every entry in order to understand them. The narratives do connect up a little bit at certain points, but it wouldn't be jarring like starting a TV series halfway through a season.

I second this.
The best entry points for the series are 1, 4, 5 or 8.
They represent the series and what it is about pretty well. DQV (DS) is still my favorite btw.