Topic: Game of the Decade -- Vote After Listening to RFN 183!

[Jonnyboy117]

Nominees were vetted on the Radio Free Nintendo podcast, culminating on Episode 183. Original criteria: games must have been released in 2000-2009 on Nintendo platforms.

You may change your vote up until the poll closes on Feb. 25. However, poll results will remain hidden until all voting has ended.

Please feel free to post in this thread with your thoughts on nominees, lobbying for your favorite, etc. The result of this poll will be final and represents the collective decision of Nintendo World Report staff, the Radio Free Nintendo podcast crew, and all of our readers/listeners!

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

Copying my thoughts from the episode talkback thread...

Super Smash Bros Melee and the incredible multiplayer experiences aresomething I and just about everyone with a Gamecube can relate to. Backin my early teenage years, it was a regular part of my life; I wouldhave friends over literally every day after school to play it. That'swhat puts it on a podium above both its predecessor and successor. WhenI think about it, if I'm honest with myself, Brawl is probably a betteroverall package. The difference is that I played that in my lateteenage years and sadly, having friends come to my house to play it wasmuch more infrequent. I have so many more fond memories with Melee, sothis is a very good choice.

Metroid Prime... on a personallevel, I don't know if I would rank it among my own top games of thedecade. It is a brilliant adventure and there are so many aspects of itthat I can definitely appreciate. What sours my impression of Prime iswhen I first played it, I was 12 years old and honestly, I was quite abit worse at games when I was younger, so I originally found it toooverwhelming and put it down for years. Going back now, I can respectit a lot more, as well as the Metroid series as a whole, but I didn'tcome away with that feeling that this was something special when Iinitially played it. As such, Metroid Prime didn't make such a bigimpact on me, which I guess is sort of a shame.

Super MarioGalaxy is a decision that I can definitely get on board with. I totallyagree with whoever it was who said that it is the most imaginative andcreative endeavour by Nintendo in the last 10 years. When talking aboutthe world it creates, I can understand where you guys are coming from,about how it feels disconnected compared to Sunshine. Of the threeMario 3D games, Sunshine has the best hub world, in Delfino Plaza.Having said that, the lack of a theme in Galaxy allowed EAD Tokyo toinject a immense amount of variety that few games in existence canrival, while the tropical resort theme in Sunshine did constrict thelevel variety. It is somewhat surprising, though, at how littleinfluence Mario Galaxy has had. I'm shocked that other developershaven't taken inspiration from it, considering how good the ideas are.

WiiSports is the single one of the six that I don't believe is worthy ofbeing there. The impact it has had on the industry is beyongcomprehension, no arguments. It is staggering to reflect on the pastthree years since the launch of that game with the system. And there'sno doubt that it's simple, accessible design has captured millions ofpeople who had never been interested in this form of entertainmentbeforehand. HOWEVER, and this is a significant 'however', as I pointedout at the top of this post, you all conceded that you weren't all thatkeen on the gameplay of it and in my view, I feel a game should not bechosen on influence alone. The other nominations, you did include howimpactful they were in your reasoning for selecting them, but you alsodiscussed everything else it had going for it. For Wii Sports to beconsidered one of the best pieces of software of the decade, we mustobserve the full picture and I don't know for sure that you did.

TheLegend of Zelda: Majora's Mask is likely the best representative youcould have picked for the Zelda franchise. I loved Wind Waker too, plusI don't have the negative reservations that many do about TwilightPrincess 'cause I really liked that as well. Majora's Mask is in itsown league, though. Fantastic dungeons (I concur that the Great BayTemple may be the best in the series), music is wonderful, particularlythe Deku Palace theme, and Clock Town is indeed a pretty magical place.I remember always looking forward to the period of time aftercompleting a dungeon, when I would spend hours trying to finish theside quests that I wasn't able to before. Argh, I'm starting to get theurge to go play it again.

Resident Evil 4 is awesome. I'mstruggling to think of more to say about it. I don't revere it ashighly as some of these others, but I still see it as a strongcandidate. I hadn't played any games in the Resident Evil franchisebesides this, and simply purchased it based on the universal acclaimand numerous Game of the Year awards. It did not disappoint. This isSurvival Horror at its finest -- maybe not so much the horror because Ididn't find it all that frightening, but they did channel the survivalelements so well. The health & ammo management, the cunning AI andthe fluid controls all come together in those great set pieces, such asthe house defence in chapter 2 with Luis. Games after RE4 have copiedit, including its derivative sequel, although not as well in my opinion.

...all done.

So it all comes down to this. I'm weighing up three of those nominees in my mind and I do not know how I can order them right now. If I were to pick the game that I feel is the highest quality all around, I would go with Super Mario Galaxy.
But I have to take into account that the Legend of Zelda series is my favourite videogame franchise and Majora's Mask is, as far as I'm concerned, the best instalment in that from the past decade. I can't just dismiss that.
And then I think about Super Smash Bros Melee. There's about 6 years worth of fun times which I associate with it. I can't dismiss that either.

This will need some more consideration.

[TJ Spyke]

I thought Brawl was a better game then Melee, the only part Melee is better at is Samus (they totally nerfed her in Brawl). Don't know who I will vote for.

[NWR_DrewMG]

Long live Majora's Mask, the "11th best" Zelda!

[greybrick]

I put in my vote for Majora's Mask.

Not only was it a good Zelda game from an action/collection standpoint, but it created a world that could be fully explored within the context of three days in time. Most games, even today, see characters running through a world filled with NPC's whose lives never progress beyond commenting on the monsters in the forest or the heroes' latest exploits. Majora's Mask was not satisfied with presenting such a dull environment and allowed the player to explore a living world in its entirety through the use of time travel. One witnesses how the lives of NPCs progress, and are deeply affected by the player's actions.

Majora's Mask is not known for its influence on other games, and I say that is a tribute to the high bar it set for those that followed.

[that Baby guy]

I am writing something that completely makes me want to laugh at this, but not really for anything truly related.  I'll have to take my time to think of my answer, because that's not an easy choice.

I will say I'm glad one specific game isn't on that list >.>

[ShyGuy]

Twenty years from now Wii Sports will be the most remembered game on that list. It's going to be for that generation of grown up children what Super Mario Bros was for many us. Their earliest video game memory.

[gbuell]

I went with Metroid Prime - that game is pretty much responsible for getting me into modern gaming. Super Mario Galaxy is a very strong contender too, though. And by the way, I do not play Mario games for the "hub world" or for "interconnected levels"... I play Zelda and Metroid for continuous, explorable worlds, not Mario. Mario is about delivering short, manageable chunks of platforming goodness, and that's exactly what Galaxy does (and what Sunshine doesn't do nearly as well.)

[NWR_Lindy]

This was a very easy choice for me.  But I shall not reveal that choice!

[Yankee]

     I was struggling between galaxy, prime, and wii sports. I didn't choose wii sports because despite its immense impact on the industry as a whole and its commercial success, I really don't feel like it is the "game" of the decade. I guess I am trying to say that the amazing thing about wii sports is not really the game itself but the overarching idea or concept. The substance of the game is not mind blowing, but the accessibility that was promoted by the game and nintendo simultaneously is what created the change in the industry. As a game I can't really choose it.

     I think what pulled me away from Prime was the fact that it took many of the ideas of super metroid, and i don't know if it necessarily changed, improved or enhanced them, but i guess put it through a different lens if that makes sense. I also feel like the ideas of prime have been furthered this decade with its predecessors, of which I think echoes is my favorite (you aren't alone jonny). It may also be the fact that I played the series from corruption to prime to echoes that may have changed my opinion of the series as a whole. And I really feel like the ideas of super metroid were really refined in zero mission. As an aside, zero mission is currently my favorite in the series although I am only about two thirds through super metroid currently so it is subject to change.

     Although a cohesive world is something I am drawn to in games, I feel like that really isn't important to me when playing a mario game. Mario in many ways to me is a way for Nintendo to say "How much can we expand this world, or how many different experiences or ideas can we fit in this world or theme and have it still fit?" I think the genius of galaxy is that Nintendo gave themselves basically the whole universe to play with. Essentially they found an environment in which they were free to go bananas. Even in reality the galaxy is not cohesive, we only really know much about our own little hub world earth. Galaxy is like the melting pot for gaming as a whole from this decade and before. The fact that Nintendo is making a sequel I think emphasizes on how limitless the ideas that could fit in the setting are. They didn't have to create a new arena for mario like the castle or delfino island to keep the game fresh (at least we will see). So there we go. Mario Galaxy.

     That was basically my thought process written down. Kudos to the RFN crew. The discussion on the last episode was so great that I just had to make a post even though I am insanely inactive here. I always tell myself to go and post after I listen to a show but life and games that I am playing tell me otherwise.

[ShyGuy]

Go Red Sox

For Industry Impact, Majora's Mask is probably the weakest on the list.
For Cultural Impact, Resident Evil 4 is weakest
For Lasting Memory, probably Prime is weakest
For Game Quality, Wii Sports is weakest.

lot of different ways to look at this...

[King of Twitch]

Majora's Mask: 2x the Malon of any other contender.

[Stratos]

I'm initially going for Majora's Mask since it is probably my favorite console Zelda and 2nd favorite overall.

I never really liked the controls on the GC version of RE4 when I played it. I own a copy of RE4 Wii but I've yet to crack that open. Maybe I should do that now and see if it will sway my decision.

I agree with what others have stated that WS just doesn't feel like the Game of Decade despite it's impact on gaming and society.

Prime was one of the first games in a while that actually filled me with one of those 'joy and wonder' moments since I was a little child. I can't even remember the last game to make me feel that way since Mario 64.

Galaxy was a beautiful and enjoyable game, but it really doesn't stick in my mind as a game that defined a generation...

And that's probably why Melee may sway my vote in the end. It was the 'Goldeneye' of the 2000's I would argue. Just as during the N64/90's people associated console game nights and the system itself with Goldeneye, so people seemed to do the same thing with Melee. Brawl never seemed to capture the magic in the same way but Melee was right alongside Halo as "the games to play" last decade.

Yeah, after that thought I'm going with Melee. Even though I adore Majora. If I had to rank the games right now I would go:

Melee
Wii Sports
Prime
Majora
RE4

The discussion on the last episode was so great that I just had to make a post even though I am insanely inactive here. I always tell myself to go and post after I listen to a show but life and games that I am playing tell me otherwise.

I know what you mean. Back when I listened consistently to the 'casts before my iPod died I had tons of comments I wanted to share but would forget most of them before the show ended and I could get to a computer. I started keeping a pad of paper on me to write thoughts down but then my iPod broke and I got a job that prevented me from listening to podcasts at the same time. I appreciate the thoughts you do share.

[yoshi1001]

I've only played 4 of these games (I have no interest in RE4, and though I have MM on the Zelda compilation, I've heard from this podcast that the emulation there is poor). I am going to make the very odd decision that Melee should be named GotD based primarily on my experiences with its single-player. I didn't have many opportunities to play multiplayer Melee, but I loved single player. I could play the 1P modes over and over again (more than I could say for the Subspace Emissary in Brawl), and somehow it never got old. Plus the music is fantastic. If I had to give out an honorable mention, I'd pick Galaxy, even though I may have played less of it than Lindy.

[- NintendoFan -]

I threw down Majora's Mask. The mood and the atmosphere of the game pretty much does it for me. Add in the music, the story and just classic Zelda gameplay there is no other choice. Also, I can never get enough of the Song Of Healing.

[Tween20]

I know why they did it, but I was sad to see Pikmin go from the list.  Especially with the WiiPlay controls, I thought the first game was outstanding.  Oh, Pikmin 3, wherefore art thou...?
 
I think Prime has to get my vote, although I will admit that I am secretly voting for the whole trilogy.

[D_Average]

I went with Galaxy.  Like my good friend Malstrom, I walked out on gaming for a decade, and immediately after I watched the ad for Galaxy I relapsed and quickly bought a Wii.  And I was not disappointed.  Life felt magical again.

[gojira]

Unlike the guys I have no problem dropping a few games from the list.  The easiest being Smash Bros.  I realize that I'm a rare Nintendo fanboy who doesn't like the series, but that's all due to the fact that I really don't play multiplayer at all.  And when I do play with others its with non-gamer friends and family.  I've tried, but Smash Bros. is too chaotic/difficult for them.

Wii Sports is basically the exact opposite.  It's a game I've played a lot multiplayer.  I've also put a lot of time into single player having reached a Pro status on most of the games.  But even with all that time put into it, the game itself isn't beefy enough for me to call it the best of the decade.

Majora's Mask is another game that I don't find too hard to pass over.  The Zelda series has never clicked with me like Mario or Metroid.  Although if Wind Waker was on the list I may have given that more thought since I enjoyed it a lot more than MM.

Resident Evil 4 is the next game I'll knock off.  I love the game.  Being a long time RE fan, I found RE4 to be a great evolution of the series.  It gets a lot of flack for having the same tank controls of the old Resident Evil games, but moving the camera to behind the character really made those controls work.  Even with all that, the game still isn't up there with Mario and Metroid.

Choosing between Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime is my real difficult decision.  Both games are amazing and work on pretty much all levels.  They have top notch graphics, music, level design, etc. 

Metroid has been my favorite game series since Super Metroid and the 8 year wait for Prime was worth it.  I was unsure about the series going 3d and really against it going 1st person, but I was proved completely wrong.  The story being told in an unconventional manner has really made an effect on games today.  Games like Bioshock and even Halo have utilized a similar story setup that's fed in small log based bits. 

Mario maybe hasn't had as much influence on the industry, but the fundamental gameplay is so much fun.  Super Mario Sunshine was a fairly big disappoint for me.  And Galaxy felt more like what I really wanted from a sequel to Mario 64.  My only complaint is that the difficulty curve took way to long to ramp up. 

I could really go with either one but I voted for Metroid Prime since I love the series and I feel like I have less negative things to say about it.

[gbuell]

Yeah, if I were on that panel I'd have dropped Melee right away, just because I really didn't play it much. But I realize I am not representative of the majority of Nintendo fans in that sense.

[Killer_Man_Jaro]

I've put some more time into deliberating with myself. Although it's difficult for me to push some of these aside, I have come to a conclusion. I am listening to my heart, which is saying Super Smash Brothers Melee, and I'm reluctantly ignoring my head, which says Super Mario Galaxy.

There we have it. Chalk one vote up for Melee. In fairness, with the exception of Wii Sports, I would not mind if any of the nominations took the crown.

[KDR_11k]

I went with Prime because I <3 Metroid (and hence am appalled by the atrocity* Other M is shaping up to be). Sports would probably take the vote if the population of NWR was in any way representative of the gaming population at large but the people reading gaming websites are always a biased sample. Zelda might have been a contender if the game representing it had been stronger than Majora's Mask. Melee is a no-go for me, Galaxy is good but the buffet style kinda makes it feel disjointed so there's little drive to continue playing because it's like playing a different game all the time and RE4 just isn't as good as Prime.

*=I don't mind story per se as long as it stays the **** out of the way and by what has been said the story in OM will be like the one in Fusion and I considered Fusion the low point of Metroid overall. Castlevania tried telling stories and did that without making "I'm afraid I can't do that, Samus" doors or annoying computer interruptions all the time.

[NWR_Neal]

I went with Melee, because I spent an insane amount of time with it, and because I feel like it's a one-of-a-kind experience that almost anyone can play. It's also the only game I've ever consistently played for nearly seven years.

Wii Sports deserves consideration, as it did revolutionize the industry. It also was the game that got my parents interested in video games for the first time ever.

Resident Evil 4, Galaxy, and Prime are all fantastic games, but RE4 seemed more like a revelation in the Resident Evil franchise (I agree with Lindy), Galaxy seemed to be an amalgamation of 64 and Sunshine and its impact is not felt so far (and Flip's Twisted World looked like **** at E3), and Prime pales in comparison to Super Metroid. Each game is fantastic, and I completely agree with their representation on this list, but Melee is a bigger deal for me.

...And I haven't played Majora. I have 1000 Wii Points sitting on my system for buying it, so I aim to play it soon.

[NWR_DrewMG]

PLAY IT!

[NWR_Neal]

Reviews take precedence! I've been tempted to start jumping between Endless Ocean 2 and Majora's Mask, though.

[ejamer]

Interesting to see RE4 as the only third-party title on the list.
 
That fact alone was almost enough to make me vote for it -- especially after reading about the lengthy development cycle and how the original game designs were scrapped and reworked multiple times.  Throw in tremendous replay value, multiple releases, cross-platform appeal, along with graphics/gameplay that still hold up today and it's a strong candidate for game of the Decade.  It also revitalized a brand that was languishing and declining in popularity.
 
But despite being a great game, it didn't get my vote.