1. Kid Icarus Uprising ; Just an absolute blast to play through. There is so much to like about this game, from the incredible characters and dialogue, the astounding soundtrack, and the scope of the game overall. Easily one of my favorite games ever now, it was just too fun. There's so much stuff to do in this game, and you can tell there was so much love poured into this. I never liked the original Kid Icarus game, because it just felt too "old" for me, I guess. I don't believe it held up as well as other games from the era, and was really problematic for me. Of course, I saw this when 3DS was first shown at E3 2011, and I just knew that I'd love it. I could feel the personality from the characters in the trailer, and the gameplay looked phenomenal. I love shooters like Sin & Punishment, so this was a great draw from me. I had skepticism for the ground segments, but in the end, I actually ended up liking it more. The controls were never a problem for me, so that certainly helps. It's a shame it just didn't click with everybody the same way it did with me, because it is just marvelous. Also, multiplayer is a lot of fun as well, and I hope to get back in there soon.
2. Pokemon Black Version 2 ; Definitely the best Pokemon game I've played. The distribution of Pokemon is excellent, in addition to updating the greatest original Pokemon lineup yet. It also helps that it got a supplement in the form of Pokemon Dream Radar, which while not amazing on its own, did make me enjoy this game more too.
3. Persona 4 Arena ; Such a great, stylish fighter. I've always loved ArcSys games since Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, and while it's certainly more simplistic, there's still a lot of fun to be had. It looks great, sounds great, and plays great. Although Guilty Gear XX Accent Core+ is my favorite fighter this year, while it's not eligible for this list, this is still a great title on its own merits.
4. Code of Princess ; A lot of the same things that prop up Kid Icarus Uprising bring this up for me too. Lots of fun characters and dialogue, great music, and really fun to play. It is shorter than other games here, which is why it' not my number 3. Character customization feels great in this though, and makes multiplayer really fun.
5. Professor Layton And The Miracle Mask ; If you love Professor Layton games, expect more of the same for the most part, which is definitely not a bad thing for this franchise. However, since this is the transition into a new platform, we also see puzzles that we haven't really seen in previous entries. I was afraid that models wouldn't be a good fit, but it definitely adds a lot of personality that the hand drawn portraits weren't really able to exhibit. While it lacks the London Life of The Last Specter, I feel the individual minigames are much stronger here as well.
6. New Super Mario Bros 2 ; I really like the direction of this game. The score attack nature really makes me approach things differently. The level design is top notch as well, and I might like it as much as New Super Mario Bros Wii. The DLC certainly helped.
7. Zero Escape Virtue's Last Reward ; Just got into the Zero Escape franchise this year, and playing this after Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors was a blast. I really enjoyed this more than the initial game, because I feel that the puzzles were significantly improved, and the progression system was much better as well.
8. Growlanser IV Wayfarer Of Time ; My introduction to the Growlanser franchise, and it's definitely a great start. The game feels very much like a traditional Playstation RPG, which was my favorite time for the genre. The characters aren't amazing or anything, which is a common theme of the games on my top 10 this year, but everything about this title is solid. It's also pretty big, but you can go through it piece by piece at a good pace.
9. Harvest Moon 3D A New Beginning ; Got into Harvest Moon last year with A Tale Of Two Towns, and it's just a nice relaxing game. Although it's like the poster child for grinding in a game (since that's the entire point), it's just nice to kick back and do some small activities every now and then. Really cute too.
10. Pokemon Conquest ; This was a good year for Pokemon, with the best main entry in the franchise, as well as the best spinoff, among other small things (Dream Radar and Pokedex 3D Pro). It helps that I love strategy RPGs, but I like the way this goes about it. It seems simplistic at first, but really, there's definitely a lot going on with it. Sometimes feels repetitive (especially the post game), but it's not a bad formula at all.
x. Crimson Shroud ; Just got through this game earlier today, and it was definitely fun. There are a lot of interesting ideas, with some great art. It did feel a bit too big for its scope though, as I felt I would like to do a lot more than what I went through. I also would've liked to see some animation, though I do see how this helps establish its "tabletop" status. Overall, a fun game.
x. Xenoblade Chronicles ; This was definitely a good game, and I can see why so many people love. While I had a lot of fun with it, and it was a great experience, it might just be too big for me. It's a pleasure to look at and listen to (though I'm not as big a fan of the voice track), but there's just so much to do at one time, which is a little overwhelming for me. These are not necessarily faults with the game though, and more on myself, but still, I definitely enjoyed the 60 hours I put in so far.
2011. The Legend Of Zelda Skyward Sword ; It was my Game Of The Year in last year's voting, and it still holds up for me. While people felt it was empty for the most part, I felt that it had some of the best dungeons in the franchise. Certainly the overworld could use some more life, but Skyloft was great fun, and the characters overall were really great. It had my 2nd favorite Link, 2nd favorite Zelda, and overall favorite side cast. It looked great, it sounded great, and it played great.
2. Pokemon Black Version 2 ; Definitely the best Pokemon game I've played. The distribution of Pokemon is excellent, in addition to updating the greatest original Pokemon lineup yet. It also helps that it got a supplement in the form of Pokemon Dream Radar, which while not amazing on its own, did make me enjoy this game more too.
3. Persona 4 Arena ; Such a great, stylish fighter. I've always loved ArcSys games since Guilty Gear XX Accent Core, and while it's certainly more simplistic, there's still a lot of fun to be had. It looks great, sounds great, and plays great. Although Guilty Gear XX Accent Core+ is my favorite fighter this year, while it's not eligible for this list, this is still a great title on its own merits.
4. Code of Princess ; A lot of the same things that prop up Kid Icarus Uprising bring this up for me too. Lots of fun characters and dialogue, great music, and really fun to play. It is shorter than other games here, which is why it' not my number 3. Character customization feels great in this though, and makes multiplayer really fun.
5. Professor Layton And The Miracle Mask ; If you love Professor Layton games, expect more of the same for the most part, which is definitely not a bad thing for this franchise. However, since this is the transition into a new platform, we also see puzzles that we haven't really seen in previous entries. I was afraid that models wouldn't be a good fit, but it definitely adds a lot of personality that the hand drawn portraits weren't really able to exhibit. While it lacks the London Life of The Last Specter, I feel the individual minigames are much stronger here as well.
6. New Super Mario Bros 2 ; I really like the direction of this game. The score attack nature really makes me approach things differently. The level design is top notch as well, and I might like it as much as New Super Mario Bros Wii. The DLC certainly helped.
7. Zero Escape Virtue's Last Reward ; Just got into the Zero Escape franchise this year, and playing this after Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors was a blast. I really enjoyed this more than the initial game, because I feel that the puzzles were significantly improved, and the progression system was much better as well.
8. Growlanser IV Wayfarer Of Time ; My introduction to the Growlanser franchise, and it's definitely a great start. The game feels very much like a traditional Playstation RPG, which was my favorite time for the genre. The characters aren't amazing or anything, which is a common theme of the games on my top 10 this year, but everything about this title is solid. It's also pretty big, but you can go through it piece by piece at a good pace.
9. Harvest Moon 3D A New Beginning ; Got into Harvest Moon last year with A Tale Of Two Towns, and it's just a nice relaxing game. Although it's like the poster child for grinding in a game (since that's the entire point), it's just nice to kick back and do some small activities every now and then. Really cute too.
10. Pokemon Conquest ; This was a good year for Pokemon, with the best main entry in the franchise, as well as the best spinoff, among other small things (Dream Radar and Pokedex 3D Pro). It helps that I love strategy RPGs, but I like the way this goes about it. It seems simplistic at first, but really, there's definitely a lot going on with it. Sometimes feels repetitive (especially the post game), but it's not a bad formula at all.
x. Crimson Shroud ; Just got through this game earlier today, and it was definitely fun. There are a lot of interesting ideas, with some great art. It did feel a bit too big for its scope though, as I felt I would like to do a lot more than what I went through. I also would've liked to see some animation, though I do see how this helps establish its "tabletop" status. Overall, a fun game.
x. Xenoblade Chronicles ; This was definitely a good game, and I can see why so many people love. While I had a lot of fun with it, and it was a great experience, it might just be too big for me. It's a pleasure to look at and listen to (though I'm not as big a fan of the voice track), but there's just so much to do at one time, which is a little overwhelming for me. These are not necessarily faults with the game though, and more on myself, but still, I definitely enjoyed the 60 hours I put in so far.
2011. The Legend Of Zelda Skyward Sword ; It was my Game Of The Year in last year's voting, and it still holds up for me. While people felt it was empty for the most part, I felt that it had some of the best dungeons in the franchise. Certainly the overworld could use some more life, but Skyloft was great fun, and the characters overall were really great. It had my 2nd favorite Link, 2nd favorite Zelda, and overall favorite side cast. It looked great, it sounded great, and it played great.