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3DSWiiU

Daan's Top 10 Nintendo Wii U & 3DS eShop Games of 2015

by Daan Koopman - January 1, 2016, 10:07 pm EST
Total comments: 3

Daan is back with a vengeance... and to talk about downloadable titles again. Yeah, that too.

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Nintendo 3DS eShop

10. Space Lift Danger Panic - Arcade games are my bread and butter, which is why I adored this game so much. The concept is incredibly simple: Catch the guys falling from above in increasingly harsher challenges. That doesn't sound like much, but Space Lift Danger Panic kept it novel throughout.

9. Gunman Clive 2 - The original Gunman Clive caught me by surprise, so when I played the sequel, I felt way more prepared. While the experience is a short one, there is a lot of variety and challenge to keep you entertained. The game felt built with the Nintendo 3DS in mind.

8. Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure - Give me a Dr. Mario game and I will be playing it for hours on end. While the Wii U game left no lasting impression, Miracle Cure feels like the perfect package for playing on the go. There are challenges, all the modes from the previous games, online play and naturally Download Play. If you are a puzzle lover, you can't go wrong.

7. Dragon Fantasy: The Volumes of Westeria - My desire for old school RPGs lead me to try Dragon Fantasy. What I found was a rather excellent game, even if the random battles were a little too frequent. The story had a lot of fun with itself though, and all the gameplay elements were perfectly put together.

6. The Legend of Dark Witch 2 - While I enjoyed the original Dark Witch, I found myself rushing through it rather fast. With the sequel, this is no longer an issue and they fleshed out the story to give that expansion a purpose. The Mega Man and shmup mechanics are even better combined than before, which makes this one heck of a game.

5. Fullblox/Stretchmo - I was ready up to be up in arms about a free-to-start Pullblox game, but... the fact is that this my favorite one. The mechanics are the most refined and they throw in plently of new twists to make the offer compelling. Battling enemies, completing NES sprites and a whole bunch of studio tools make it one title to remember.

4. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth - There aren't many New Nintendo 3DS exclusive downloadables, so I didn't check this game out until its European release. I always wanted to, because Isaac remains one of my most played Steam games. It clicked even more on the screens of my handheld and I would try my hand at a new run every morning during my commute.

3. Quell Momento - At first glance, Quell Momento doesn't seem deep in the slightest. It is a puzzle game where you control a bubble through various mazes, so I didn't gave it much thought. There is, however, an interesting story associated with the journey. A voice that guides you through and watches over every step you make. I wanted to keep going, keep pushing for the end.

2. BoxBoy! - BoxBoy was a puzzler that charmed me from the very first moment. While it started slow, the clever design choices shined through instantly. Every set of stages introduced new mechanics that kept you intrigued without using cheap tricks. You had to really think about your moves and experiment with the simple environments the game gives you. Pure joy.

1. SteamWorld Heist - SteamWorld Heist isn't just another great Nintendo 3DS eShop game. Even when compared to most of the retail games this year, there was no handheld title I wanted to play more. It lived up to my personal expectations and dreams, and almost every worry disappeared when I started playing. Even if you think that the genre is not your cup of tea, Heist ensures that you as the player are prioritized.

Honorable mentions: The Delusions of Von Sottendorff and his Square Mind, 3D SEGA Classics, Dementium Remastered, Pokemon Picross, Toki Tori 3D, Gunslugs 2, Gotcha Racing, Mercenaries Saga 2, Mario vs Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, OlliOlli, Proun+, Zombie Incident, Ironfall Invasion, Adventure Bar Story, Kami, Citizens of Earth, Flick Golf 3D, Pazuru.

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Wii U eShop

10. Dot Arcade - It is hard to describe why I like Dot Arcade so much. It is not much more than dots on the screen that you move around with lovely artwork on the outer sides. Once you start playing it though, it is oddly fun to play around with. I found myself constantly passing the controller around with friends, and we would constantly compete for the highest scores.

9. Exteme Excorcism - Local multiplayer games really shine on the Wii U and one of the more entertaining ones was Extreme Excorcism. You could duke it out with four people in an arena and start a crazy brawl with a large variety of weaponry. To make it more diffcult, ghosts would mimic the movement of the victor, which would create chaos as a result!

8. PictoParty - Do you like the Sketch minigame from Game & Wario? If your answer is yes, and you would love to play a better version, you should totally pick up PictoParty. Not only does this drawing party game have tons of words directly available, you can make your own playlists with unqiue words and ideas. It is a ton of fun!

7. Nihilumbra - Nihilumbra is a game with a dark atmosphere and tone, which won't be exactly compelling for most. The story is absolutely brilliant though as you try to save a dark creature being shallowed up by The Void. You need to be a quick thinker to overcome the puzzle challenges that BeautiFun Games has created!

6. FAST Racing Neo - If I look back at the WiiWare era, FAST Racing League remains one of the best examples the service had to offer. Shin'en are masters at cramming so much in a small file size and that still blows my mind. They are also champions at doing very clever stuff with the hardware and that is showcased very well in Neo. Sixteen fun tracks, a hard as nails challenge and bursts of speed.

5. Year Walk - Year Walk has always been a game that people bugged me to play. When the Wii U version came into reality, I got my chance and sat down with this marvel. The sinister story and excellent usage of the Wii U GamePad makes this an incredible way to experience it. Just a little tip: Play this one with headphones. You will thank or hate me later.

4. Affordable Space Adventures - Since the update, I began to love this game even more. This is one of the Wii U's best co-op experiences and it should be played that way. Working together through hostile environments and using each other's ideas to progress is extremely novel. The experimentation allows for multiple solutions at a single obstacle, so every person I played Affordable Space Adventures reacted differently.

3. Swords & Soldiers II - I loved the original Swords & Soldiers and the sequel is no different for me. The three classes have more to them and the strategy gameplay has been more finely tuned than before. Add to that the increased detail in the art style and a single storyline that oozes with charm.

2. Freedom Planet - Freedom Planet came as a surprise. I never paid any attention to it before release, so I was shocked by how good this platformer was. Taking a page out of the Sonic's Mega Drive era, GalaxyTrail's title is a love letter to an era long forgotten. Traversing through the levels is an absolute joy and the playable characters have their own unique attributes to them.

1. Runbow - Runbow, Runbow, Runbow. Why do you give me so much joy? Your excellent multiplayer modes, which can be played off- and online, are still keeping me engaged. Every person I play you with gets overjoyed at a victory or screams when he or she lost. It is a game where everyone can have a brilliant time together and no one feels left out. Everyone can pick it up and everyone can master it. There is no doubt that Runbow is one of the best things on the Wii U eShop.

Honorable mentions: Temple of Yog, Typoman, Girls Like Robots, Electronic Super Joy, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, Race the Sun, Starwhal, Beatbuddy, Zombie Defense, Q.U.B.E.: Director's Cut, The Swindle, Gunman Clive HD Collection, Woah Dave, Kung Fu FIGHT!, Dragon Fantasy: The Volumes of Westeria, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Life of Pixel, Adventures of Pip, Don't Starve: Giant Edition, Ultratron, High Strangeness, Super Destronaut, OlliOlli, Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, Blek, Citizens of Earth, Midnight, Electronic Super Joy: Groove City, Chariot, Human Resource Machine, The Bridge, Never Alone.

Talkback

I've been trying to spread the gospel of Freedom Planet, as it's a game I've known about for years (I followed the game's composer on certain websites when the game was in pre-alpha and they still had Sonic placeholder sounds and Sash Lilac was sitll a hedgehog.)

PhilPhillip Stortzum, January 03, 2016

My favorite eShop games this year were Adventures of Pip, Freedom Planet, FAST Racing Neo, Elliot Quest, Trine: Enchanted Edition, and Gunman Clive 2. I still need to play Runbow.

fred13January 04, 2016

i know they aren't 2015 games (and in the case of the one it's really old), but I really enjoyed Guacamelee and CastleStorm on Wii U and StarShip Defense on 3DS!

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