I'll be doing my usual gimmick of listing one or two standout tracks from each game's OST.
1. Bayonetta 2 ; With this game Platinum has smoothed over many of the niggling annoyances that hampered the fantastic original, including fiery enemies, insta-death QTEs, and out-of-body Alfheims. The vehicle segments have been made punchier and easier, and Umbran Climax gives you more options right out of the gate. All the elements that made the first game great are retained-combat mechanics that feel good, original character designs, well thought out encounter design, a high degree of enemy variety, and a number of different weapons that all have different playstyles but still feel satisfying. One improvement I liked but which I haven't seen much discussion of is with the writing. I'm not talking about the plot-although I do appreciate its tighter focus-but the title character. Bayonetta actually seems like a person here throughout, with real relationships, and not a walking avatar of female empowerment, as she was in the first game until close to the end. The climax is relatively disappointing, not rising to the same absurd heights as the first or The Wonderful 101, but it's still great, and it's churlish to genuinely complain about it. Also, there's a giant robot!
Standout Music Track:
Tomorrow is Mine. No offense to the game's
Moon River remix, but the main battle theme is charmingly infectious and perfect for listening to in or out of the game.
2. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ; I actually put more time into the 3DS version, but I'm consolidating my votes into this one. These games have all the extensive content you'd expect from a Sakurai game, with tons of Nintendo fanservice, cool new characters, and rebalancing. My main, Bowser, feels much more mobile. Plus it has
fucking Megaman in it!
Standout Music Track:
Dedede's Theme Ver. 2. It's a kabuki version of the Dedede battle music! All it needs is a guy going "
Yoooooo!" in the background.
3. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ; A masterful followup to the first Returns game. Maintains Retro's commitment to quality, antepiece-heavy level design, while adding tons of graphical flourishes and camera tricks with the Wii U's added power. It's challenging, often to the point of frustration, but that just makes it sweeter when you win; beating 5-K was probably one of the most heart-pounding gaming experience I've ever had. David Wise's return to music composition is most welcome, too. The boss battles are too long and slow, especially considering the player's health limits, but that's the biggest flaw in this must-play game.
Standout Music Track:
Snomad Theme. Bit of a dark horse! I like
Aquatic Ambiance Returns as much as the next guy, but Snomad Theme's ominous buildup and the transition to the chorus section are just too good.
4. Ace Attorney Investigations 2 ; I was a little leery of playing a fan translation, but this one was very good, accurately capturing the voices of returning characters and presenting compelling ones for new characters. Kudos to the
translation team! The story features the most heavily intertwined set of cases in Ace Attorney history by a mile, and in Judge Courtney a character I had a complete turnabout (ha!) on over the course of the game.
Standout Music Track:
Pursuit - Wanting to Find the Truth. The "Cornered" theme -called "Pursuit" in the Investigations sub-series-are typically the highlights of Ace Attorney soundtracks, and AAI2 is no exception.
5. Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney ; Worth the wait. The two game types compliment each other well, even though they don't really cross over until close to the end. You can tell it's a Layton game first and foremost; the puzzle gameplay is essentially identical to the home series, whereas the trials have all sorts of weird, experimental tweaks (multiple witnesses, the magic book). The plot is pure Layton, too. The puzzles and the trials are a bit easier than you'd typically see in their home series, but I don't really mind. The story...all I'll say is that it got me. It
fucking got me. Not the first twist, which I saw coming a mile away, but the second one. I really thought they'd gone too far, but nope.
Standout Music Track:
Bewitching Puzzles is the best puzzle-solving music the Layton series has ever had and if you disagree I will fight you.
6. Shovel Knight ; "Retro" games, especially platformers, aren't too hard to find nowadays. Games that actually look and feel like the best NES games, though? Those are much rarer, but Shovel Knight delivers. Its honest about its influences but maintains its own identity. Gameplay is challenging but not quite as tough as the most frustrating classic games, and is mitigated further by the elimination of lives and continues for a Souls-esque "lose your loot but you can get it back" system. The writing manages to be consistently funny but still genuinely affecting when it has to be; few NES platformers met even one of those criteria, let alone both.
Standout Music Track:
The Vital Vitriol. Plague Knights's boss fight theme has a manic yet sinister energy that matches the aesthetics and gameplay of the moment perfectly.
7. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker ; All games are built around the limitations of what you can do, this game just makes that really obvious. I wasn't actually the biggest fan of the Captain Toad sections in Mario 3D World, I think suddenly switching to such a limited character made more nervous about dying than it should have and caused too much stress. This game, however, has a consistent difficulty curve that lets you acclimate smoothly to the good Captain's skillset. There's a good deal of variety here too, more than you might think from the 3D World levels. Most stages feel unique, and the game is rarely repetitive. Apparently some people had trouble with the gyro camera controls; either I have
very steady hands or those people are jittery from too much caffeine, because I never had a problem with it.
Standout Music Track: Touchstone Trouble. A calming, ethereal track that play when the game is at its purest puzzle-solving best.
8. Pokemon Omega Ruby ; The very first console I ever bought with my own money was a GBA along with a copy of Sapphire, so this game had a lot to live up to. Fortunately, it succeeded; a decade of tech advances allow the game to give much a lot of gravitas and weight to its apocalyptic finale. All the battle system improvements of X/Y are here, including the new Exp Share that makes it easy-maybe too easy-to level up your monsters. Hoenn wasn't built with the idea showing off spectacular views and camera angles in mind like Kalos was, but Game Freak made some tweaks and managed to put in some fairly impressive scenery anyway. The writing is improved, and the various characters now have much more distinct voices. The Delta episode is a great addition, too. The beginning is kinda fetch questy, but Zinnia's a cool character and the climax is completely bonkers.
You ride a fucking dragon into space! Standout Music Track: Vs. Wally. The hype is real.
Vs. Zinnia might have gotten the nod if that battle hadn't been a complete cakewalk.
9. Mario Kart 8 ; I haven't really played Mario Kart much since 64, but this game just looked too awesome, and the final product lived up to that. The controls are fluid and smooth, with lots of fiddly details you can micromanage or leave alone, if you want. The racers are all bursting with personality, and almost every single track is utterly gorgeous. Many of them offer tantalizing glimpses into a wider universe; what's up with this
ancient Thwomp civilization, for example.
Standout Music Track: N64 Rainbow Road. I've earned enough hipster cred by not naming Aquatic Ambiance Returns my favorite Tropical Freeze music, right?
10. Hyrule Warriors ; Never really played a Musou game before, but the idea of Zelda in a new genre was too intriguing. All the characters, music, and neat little touches drew me in, what kept me in was the flow of the game itself. The combat mechanics are deeper than I'd thought before, but not by much, and were basically engaging in themselves, but the real hook is in managing the battlefield, making strategic decisions about where to go, who to fight, and what keeps to take with multiple priorities weighing on you. There's all sorts of wonderful grindy bullshit to eat up countless hours of your time if like that sort of thing; Skultulla hunting, leveling, crafting, badges, the adventure maps. Cia's costume is too revealing, and the story feels like it was written by a fangirl who likes Link but ships Link/Zelda too hard to actually pair him with her OC, but on the plus side we get that "play as Ganon" story so many people have been clamoring for.
Standout Music Track: Remnant of Twilight. A lot of this game's music was relatively disappointing; most of it's just combining classic Zelda music with electric guitars in way that don't feel particularly imaginative. Remnant of Twilight, however, actually feels somewhat original.
Honorable Mentions
x. Kirby: Triple Deluxe ; It's not often the term "power fantasy" is applied to Kirby, but the Hypernova mechanic really qualifies. It's awesome to just devour enemies that would have been tough fights normally. The games makes good use of multiple planes and stereostopic 3D, and retains the surprisingly deep gameplay options we've come to expect from the franchise. This game too features an unexpectedly over-the-top climax that makes seeing the credits seem like a real accomplishment.
x. Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy ; It's a pretty good Layton game! The world traveling gimmick allows for some good environmental variety, but also makes it harder to search for the new puzzles that crop up at the damndest times. The story revelations at the end are just too ridiculously soapy. And that last seal/ball puzzle can go to hell.
x. The Legend of Korra ; Platinum made a fun fighting system, but didn't have the time or money for much else. Enemy variety is low, encounter design is lacking, and the environments are just drab and ugly. Naga running segments get a lot of flack, but once I got used to them I thought they were neat little diversions, actually.
x. Bravely Default ; I'm sure this game would be rated higher if only I had managed to put more time into it. As it is, I'm in the middle of Chapter 1, and the game doesn't even really start until Chapter 5. The presentation is charming, from the cute graphics, to the characterful text, to the awesome battle music. The battle mechanics and job system have depth I haven't even begun to really comprehend yet. Here's hoping I can beat it before Bravely Second comes out!
x. Azure Striker Gunvolt ; The core gameplay is fine, if a little basic. I don't really like how equipment upgrades are locked behind games of chance and tough skill challenges. The song resurrection mechanic is probably a little too overpowered, even though it makes you feel like you're playing an awesomely cheesy anime.
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