x. Tearaway ; This single-handedly justifies the Vita's existence. Innovation at its finest right here, folks. Bringing your fingers into the world of papercraft via the back touchpad is pretty satisfying and just plain fun.
x. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD ; It’s Wind Waker in HD. Anything I can say about the game has already been said a decade ago.
x. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies ; The Ace Attorney franchise returns with a 3D makeover! Continuing the saga started by Apollo Justice, we get another adventure of objections and hold its! The lawyering is as intense as ever and the likable cast of characters makes for an enjoyable ride from start to finish.
x. Pandora’s Tower ; The swan song of the Wii. Well okay, maybe that title belongs to Skyward Sword, but this isn't a bad post-successor release either. Unpolished as it may be, this is a solid ARPG with a cool chain mechanic and some fun combat. Just another hidden gem to add to the Wii pile.
x. Corpse Party: Book of Shadows ; Not a lot fazes me, but sometimes it's hard to not flinch when you're watching a fully conscious little girl get her entrails ripped out by angry ghosts. Of course, this series is not just gore porn, but a legitimately unsettling and disturbing experience thanks to some amazing atmosphere, an absolutely chilling soundtrack, and some of the most effective voice acting in the entire medium that accurately emulates the terrible things happening on-screen to a cringe-worthy degree. While I wouldn't pick the visual novel style over the first game's style of gameplay, I can't deny the crazy experience I had with this and how hyped I am for the final game in the Heavenly Host trilogy.
x. Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon ; After a decade, the well-received Gamecube launch title finally gets a sequel. A new haunted adventure for everyone's favorite overlooked brother was the perfect way to kick off the year of Luigi.
x. Tales of Xillia ; A standard Tales game. Not much more to say than that, but I will say there are a few scenes on Jude's path (those that played it know what I'm talking about) that elevate the story to higher heights than I had ever seen in a Tales game before. Super hyped for the sequel, which is apparently the best in the series both on the gameplay and story fronts.
10. Puppeteer ; This is the very definition of "2D action platformer". With great level design, a unique visual style, crazy presentation, and the scale and level of escalation more akin to an extreme combat game like Bayonetta than a 2D platformer, this is by far the most underrated game of the year. That this flew under the radar of so many people is a damn shame.
9. Animal Crossing: New Leaf ; Why the hell is this fun? I've clocked in over 120 hours and I still can't answer that question. Addictively mundane, there's just something charming about making your town better and paying off your debt to the local tanuki mafioso.
8. Pokémon X/Y ; After nearly 2 decades, Pokemon finally enters the 3D frontier, and boy is it glorious. The beloved formula remains mostly the same, but the additions make this the definitive Pokemon experience in many ways. The social aspects have undergone a mind-blowing improvement, the tradeoff being the unfortunately underwhelming post game. But hey, Pokemon is all about the multiplayer, and thanks to several additions, entering the competitive scene is easier than ever. Fairies are also nice.
7. The Wonderful 101 ; Holy shit, Kamiya did it again! In what may be the most varied action game of all time, Platinum brings together a whole lot of weapons and characters into a mishmash of playstyles that would intimidate even the greatest of DMC combo-ers. That and the presentation/story is absolutely balls to the wall crazy, but that's par for the course when it comes to Kamiya. He just decided to inject his own brand of insanity into a massive member sentai game, to fantastic results!
6. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch ; I've never been super interested in Studio Ghibli movies, but this definitely makes me want to marathon them. In what many consider to be the first quality console JRPG in a while (something I disagree with, but whatever), we're treated to a unique composite turn-based/real-time battle system alongside a simple yet charming story, a beautiful world complete with the seemingly lost genre function known as a "world map", likable characters, and a lot of fake accents! Level 5 had a hand in something special here that, while not perfect, proves that there's still life and a market for standard formula console JRPGs.
5. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds ; One of the most beloved Zelda titles finally gets a direct sequel, one that is every bit as worthy as its predecessor to stand as a testament to the quality of the series. Familiar yet fresh, A Link Between Worlds does everything right to make it appeal to both new and nostalgic fans. The dungeon design is great and none outstay their welcome, while the rental system give a welcome new twist on the standard formula that we've all come to love. Even lapsed Zelda fans are eating this up. It definitely deserves the praise.
4. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance ; You’d think with the fall of Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden along with the general indifference surrounding God of War, the stylish extreme combat character action genre would be dying. Nope, it’s alive and well thanks to Platinum! In the first awesome Metal Gear spin-off, we’re given control of the guy we all wanted to play in MGS4, Raiden! The fast combat, tight responsive controls, and crazy amounts of combos you can unleash on those poor cyborg people makes you feel like a badass, even moreso upon mastery. There’s nothing more satisfying than cutting people into a billion pieces all in the span of a fraction of a second. And that’s even before we get into the fantastic bosses and one of the most ridiculously awesome finales in gaming. I have nothing to worry about with Bayonetta 2 because every single person at Platinum is a master at this genre.
3. Pikmin 3 ; Miyamoto’s best game ever? Maybe not, but it’s certainly a charming continuation of the unique RTS-ish series. While it merely expands on the already established formula, there’s not much to complain about. As with most EAD games, it’s hard to deny the polish and love put into this colorful and strategic adventure. With new types of
slaves Pikmin to control and new well-designed areas that make use of your microscopic battalion, this is most definitely a worthwhile game and among the top reasons to buy a Wii U right now.
2. Super Mario 3D World ; The alternate reality version of Super Mario 64 if the formula stayed the same. Taking the 2D traits of Mario and converting it into 3D, Nintendo have created an incredibly polished and impressive entry that can easily stand alongside the 3D entries in the series. The Mario games have always been about adding subtle touches to expand the platforming possibilities, and this is no different thanks to the cat suit. While it is merely genre refining as opposed to Mario Galaxy’s genre redefining, this is a perfect game to close out this long saga of instant classic Mario games before the geniuses over at EAD come up with the next big innovation for the portly plumber.
1. Fire Emblem: Awakening ; I can’t remember who, but one of the creator’s of the game said that the future of the series was in jeopardy while the game was in development, prompting them to work on the game as if it was the last Fire Emblem they would make. This is entirely believable after seeing the ridiculous amounts of content and features packed into that tiny-ass 3DS cart. This is the ultimate Fire Emblem experience. Streamlined but not easy, incredibly deep combat, an insane amount of variety, numerous likable characters, and waifus! This will very likely be looked back on not just as testament to the quality of the Fire Emblem series, but also one of the best SRPGs of all time.
GOTY I wasn’t allowed to give GOTY to
Danganronpa: I had already started writing this before I knew it wouldn’t count, so that’s why it’s here even if I’m probably disqualifying myself from voting for it when it actually gets released in English.
As much as I loved Fire Emblem, THIS is my game of the year. I’m a relatively recent fan of the visual novel genre (well, it has been half a decade since I first played Phoenix Wright), but no game had ever stood up there with the greats from my favorite genres like Action and JRPG. Danganronpa changed that.
This game was essentially tailor made for me, and I didn’t even know it. It’s over the top, it’s uncomfortable, it’s got a dark sense of humor, it’s intense, it’s thought provoking, it’s addictive; it’s everything I want. With some absolutely insane genre blending of Phoenix Wright/VNs and even some rhythm, ridiculous yet visually appealing character designs to accompany the initially gimmicky yet interesting characters, a truly hateful antagonist, a crazy and cruel game of death premise, and ridiculous amount of effective twists and plot developments, this was really a no-brainer for me. First VN I would give a perfect score to. I hope everyone buys the game when it releases in the US in February.