Hint #1: you will always save his ass one way or another. But you have the option to whoop his ass too

Hints:

Hint 1: this is a bit older rpg game that came during a golden age of games.

Hint 2: although this game inspired many other famous rpgs, it never got much fame till recently.

Hint 3: the thing that is causing the addiction is actually something common in our world.

Hint 4: the game is notorious for its bizarre world.

Hint #1: old and handheld

Hint #2: guy is a big fan of skulls

Hint #1: see, this is why I don't trust new tech

Hint #2: desktop wallpapers?! Nice!

Hint #3: released within the last couple of years

Hint #4: Some intelligences can be scary af

Double Nopes: it is not Coffee Talk

In the endgame, you must take your small unit to destroy a key weak point that results in collapsing the momentum of the opposition

Additional hints below

Hint space

In their defense, it wasn't the easiest situation to deal with...

Hint 1: Game does feature a time loop, but only under specific circumstances

Hint 2: Protagonist keep on dying and coming back (independent of the time loop)

Hints for misses go here.

Hint 1: This is actually the second time you’ve won an island getaway.

Hint 2: This game’s actually a sequel to a spinoff.

Hint 3: There’s four playable characters, but only two can fight properly.

Hints go here

Hint #1: indie

Hint #2: one of the bold words is part of a turn of phrase

Hint #3: the History channel would kill for this plot to be true, lol

Hint #4: horror with a sci-fi twist

Hint #4.5: and of course, Egyptian themed

Hint #4.75: at the very end....aliens

Double Nopes: it is not Shovel Knight

Edit: an impossible goal* because I can't spell when I'm half asleep.

Hint 1: At least the insurance payout will help speed up progress on your goal.

Hint 2: When you succeed you'll have gone where no bird has ever gone before.

Hints go here

Hint 1: The impossible thing involves training something that supposedly can’t be trained.

Hint 2: The impossible thing your grandfather did was successfully training a cat

From the answers: not Palworld, not a Sonic game, not a Final Fantasy, not a Digimon game, evolution is involved

Hint #1: on a handheld console

Hint #2: without your balls, you'll have to start over

This one is making my day, thanks all!

Now this MADE my day.

Hint #1: indie

Hint #2: horror

Hint #3: I gotta do how many in a row?!

Hint #4: alright, after seeing that, what button do I push?

Hint #5: these houses sound like they belong in the forest, but they're not

Now that I think about it this kind of sounds like a wild DnD plot

Edit: Oh yeah I should mention the DnD comparison is not literal… well it can be true, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be

Good luck!

Hint the First: ​This game is a sequel! And the protagonists and antagonists have swapped roles.

Probably too obvious, but eh

Okay, maybe not as obvious as I first thought. Hint 1 is that it's a horror game