The 3DS Batman game is the only thing on this list that I'd count as something of a pleasant surprise... I didn't have high hopes for it until hearing the away team's impressions. Now it's something I'll be keeping a really close eye on. If they can make a strong offshoot of the console series for 3DS, I'll be quite pleased. Of course, if not... I'll have to blame you guys for getting my hopes up. ;)

What i want to know is if the exclusion of Donkey Kong from this list had more to do with disappointment about what you were hoping Retro was making or was the game legitimately not that fun?

I played the Demo at the Best Buy event.  Its Donkey Kong.  Its Donkey Kong.  Not much more to say.  Going against Super Mario World I can easily see why it wouldn't make the list.

Donkey Kong was one of the last ones out. Our conclusion was that it didn't really wow us because it was so similar to DKCR. Although, remember, DKCR kicked ass, so that doesn't mean we all think DKC Tropical Freeze was bad. It just wasn't one of the best games we saw at E3.

I don't really disagree much with the games on the list being there but it's still a pretty disappointing list to me.  Like Professor Clayton only Batman for the 3DS was a pleasant surprise.  Even more shocking that my favorite game from a Nintendo E3 was a 3rd party game, and even more shocking than that it was on a handheld.