Topic: 2011 Nintendo Game of the Year Discussion Thread

[Retro Deckades]

What are your thoughts?

At this time, I'd just like to name FLUIDITY on the WiiWare service as my WiiWare GOTY. It was absolutely fantastic.

[broodwars]

Well, my Wii Game of the Year was easily Xenoblade, but I suppose that game is now the discussion for next year now that NoA is finally getting around to releasing it.

As for a replacement game on the list, I'm not giving it to Zelda just because it's the only other game eligible.  I was so disappointed in that game that I don't think it deserves the top spot, anyway.  So I suppose my new Wii Game of the Year was Chrono Trigger on the Virtual Console, as it is my favorite game period.

[Chozo Ghost]

The Wii had games this year?

Oh, right... Zelda.

[Mop it up]

I haven't played very many games that were released this year since I was trying to play some of the ones I already own before acquiring too many more. I'm trying to think of games released this year that I've played and I'm not coming up with much. Lost in Shadow, Trackmania, and Zelda Skyward Sword are all that come to mind right now.

As much as I like Skyward Sword, I don't necessarily want to default to it. Some of the other games released this year that I haven't bought yet look really good, such as Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Fortune Street, and Rune Factory Oceans. Can I answer this next year?

[nickmitch]

Before Kirby's Return to Dream Land came out, the last game I had played on my Wii was Kirby's Epic Yard. My 360 basically justified me buying in the meantime. So, the only games I could seriously put out there are Kirby and Zelda. However, if we just wanna include handheld games, SM3DL is forcing me to play it to death because to me it's just that good.

[TrueNerd]

I replayed Super Metroid on Virtual Console this year, can I nominate that?

[UncleBob]

the last game I had played on my Wii was Kirby's Epic Yard.

A fantastical Kirby lawn mowing and gardening adventure awaits...

[nickmitch]

That typo is only embarrassing if you look down at the space between the D and N keys. Also, if you somehow possessed the knowledge that I actually went back because I forgot the apostrophe.

[Shaymin]

Radiant Historia wins for the DS, I can't say enough about the 3DS, and the Wii gets a collective "See me after class".

That was easy.

[yosh]

Skyward Sword was the only top notch game to come out in US this year so it has to be that. I know some are privileged enough to have Xenoblade on their list.


Edit: I forgot about Rayman, but still it can't beat out Zelda.

[noname2200]

I guess Xenoblade doesn't officially qualify for this year in the U.S., and I haven't played Zelda or Rayman, so I'll hold off on nominating a Wii game. But for the DS, 999 was amazing for those of us who like interactive stories.

[ejamer]

Some thoughts about "Game of the Year" for 2011...

First, I grabbed the top 10 titles for each system from Metacritic. Some categories have more than 10 entries because there are digital games (marked with a *) included in the list. Some categories have fewer than 10 entries because there just weren't very many games worth discussing.

Wii:
95 - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
92 - Xenoblade Chronicles  (probably shouldn't be considered since it's getting an official North American release next year; but still clearly the best Wii game of 2011 in my opinion)
91 - Rayman Origins  (possibly the most underappreciated game in this list)
85 - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters
84 - Bit.Trip Complete
*  82 - MotoHeroz
*  81 - Bit.Trip Flux
*  81 - escapeVektor: Chapter 1
81 - Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
81 - You Don't Know Jack
80 - Kirby's Return to Dream Land
79 - Pro Evolution Soccer 2012
79 - de Blob 2

DS:
87 - Pokemon White Version
87 - Pokemon Black Version
85 - Radiant Historia  (own this, but haven't started playing despite being excited about the game)
*  85 - The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition
85 - Professor Layton and the Last Specter
83 - Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
83 - Kirby: Mass Attack
82 - Okamiden
*  81 - Mighty Milky Way
81 - Plants vs. Zombies
*  79 - Antipole
79 - Monster Tale
78 - Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation

3DS:
94 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
90 - Super Mario 3D Land
85 - Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition
84 - Cave Story 3D
83 - Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
81 - Star Fox 64 3D
80 - Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked
79 - Dead or Alive: Dimensions
*  79 - 3D Classics: Kirby's Adventure
77 - Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars
75 - Bit.Trip Saga

For digital games, I tried to grab a selection of the best titles in 2011 from various websites, since they tend to get so few reviews that Metacritic isn't a useful tool. Did I miss anything?

WiiWare:
MotoHeroz
BIT.TRIP FLUX
FAST - Racing League
escapeVektor: Chapter 1
Liight
MDK2

DSiWare:
Airport Mania: First Flight
Alt-Play: Jason Rohrer Anthology
Antipole
Castle Conqueror - Heroes
Digger Dan & Kaboom
Go! Go! Kokopolo
GO Series: Picdun
Inchworm Animation
Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition (hard to argue with a free, enhanced remake of this multiplayer classic)
Magical Whip
Mighty Milky Way (original, creative, and fun; a deserving winning in a strong field of games)
Surfacer+
Plants vs Zombies
Puzzle Quest (wasn't sure whether to include this digital re-release, but the convenience of having it available for quick rounds between other games is delicious)

3DSWare:
Freakyforms (wasn't sure what to expect, still not sure exactly what it is... but it's intriguing and original and creative and weird...)
PushMo  (many will prefer this to Freakyforms, and that's a fair opinion; although a polished game with great replay and creative value introduced by the level design options, puzzle solutions always felt kind of "by-the-numbers" to me)
Pyramids (enjoyed this more than I expected, and downloadable QR Code levels extended the game nicely)
3D Classics (not sure if the games in this series should be discussed because they are just remakes; none would win for me anyway)


Notes:

• This list was created before Mario Kart 7 was released, so you might as well add that to the 3DS list.
• Fortune Street, Rune Factory Oceans, Trackmania and Lost in Shadow were mentioned earlier as possible candidates for Wii. Personally none of those games would be in contention for me, although they are worth playing.
• I don't believe that Fluidity was actually released in 2011, otherwise it would be my WiiWare game of the year.
• My personal picks at this point in time are bolded, and I'm comfortable with those picks. However, there are a handful of titles that I haven't played yet which could be serious contenders in their field.

[Ceric]

Alright,

3DS:
For 3DS,  it comes to a head to head between Super Mario 3D Land and Skylanders.
Both are platformers but, Skylanders grabbed me and had me play it till I finished all the levels, not playing through with every character.  SM3DL I immediately started to enjoy but not greatly.  It got to a point where I wasn't feeling tortured to play the game but I wasn't particulary happy playing it though I knew that it would pick up so I continued on.  "Beat" the game and now I'm enjoying it.  SM3DL would probably be my pick if it started at World 7.  That being said I still have to say Skylanders.

eShop:
DK '94  Nope, there is nothing else to go here.

Wii:
Can I go for Monster Hunter Tri?  I got it this year.  I just feel like giving it to Skyward Sword is just defaulting on it because I haven't played anything else released this year.  It just doesn't feel Deserving.

PS3:
Portal 2.  I really don't need to say anything else.

Runner Up: Skylanders
I enjoy the game but, more importantly my family enjoys the game (Wife and All).  Which is more than I can say about any other game for the last 2 years.  Though without the family I wouldn't put it up.  The 3DS game is Vastly superior tighter package in my mind.

[Ian Sane]

When I first played Skyward Sword I had to eject a different Wii game that was left in the machine.  It was DKC Returns which I got LAST YEAR.  I literally had not played ANY Wii games for the entire year until Skyward Sword.  So I guess that's a default win but Kirby might be better.  I haven't played that.

[Retro Deckades]

Shoot, I just looked up the release date for Fluidity and it turns out that it was released Dec. 6 of last year, so it just missed this year's cut, and next to nobody would have played it in the 25 days that remained in 2010. Damn shame.

Having said that, it seems that I haven't played a single 2011 WiiWare title. I would have loved to play La-Mulana or Retro City Rampage seeing as how I've been waiting for them since last year.

[Mop it up]

Since most places publish their game of the year awards in December and therefore rarely include games released in that month, I think that any game released back in December of 2010 should be eligible.

[TJ Spyke]

Or places should wait until January to actually do their GOTY awards, which is the most sensible option.

[Ceric]

I think as a Nintendo Site we should work on the Nintendo Schedule and do our Game of the Year in April, I believe April is the Beginning of the Fiscal Year for Nintendo.

[Retro Deckades]

Perhaps GOTY should be awarded in mid-summer when fewer AAA titles (and games in general) are released. This would better afford people the opportunity to play all potential nominees.

[NWR_insanolord]

We are currently in the process of doing our end of the year awards, which should be out by the end of the year. We're doing something kind of different this year, but I think it's going to be really good.

[broodwars]

We're doing something kind of different this year

Ah, so we won't be hearing on RFN this time that James is still struggling with the feature come January?   

[yosh]

Or places should wait until January to actually do their GOTY awards, which is the most sensible option.

I just watched a Bonus Round at game trailers and they said that all major review publications get the games early so that they are able to beat them and review them by December.

[NWR_insanolord]

We're doing something kind of different this year

Ah, so we won't be hearing on RFN this time that James is still struggling with the feature come January?   

That's not what's different, but it's a significant part of the reason why we're doing it.

[Retro Deckades]

Or places should wait until January to actually do their GOTY awards, which is the most sensible option.

I just watched a Bonus Round at game trailers and they said that all major review publications get the games early so that they are able to beat them and review them by December.
[/]

That's a start, but even with that scenario, I imagine that some reviewers will have to rush through some games to complete them, dampening their experiences.

[NWR_Neal]

I think as a Nintendo Site we should work on the Nintendo Schedule and do our Game of the Year in April, I believe April is the Beginning of the Fiscal Year for Nintendo.

You know, this isn't that crazy of an idea. As JP said, we've already got plans in the works for this year's, but that's definitely something to mull over.

[Quadran]

My picks for game of the year:

Wii

• Retail: for me Xenoblade Chronicles is by far the best game to be released in Europe.
• WiiWare: I have 2 picks for this year: Hydroventure (Fluidity) and FAST - racing league. Although Hydroventure is technically a 2010 game (it came out on Christmas eve in Europe), It was the game I played and enjoyed the most on the service this year.

DS

• Retail: Normally I would pick Radiant Historia, but if I had to exclude imports then i would go with Ghost Trick or SolatoRobo as this years winner.
• DSiWare: Zelda - Four swords takes it this year

3DS

• Retail: Mario Kart 7 takes the number one slot for 2011.
• eShop: For the virtual console, my pick would be DK '94. It's the first time I played this game, but it impressed my very much. For the other releases it's more difficult, but as I like pinball games, my pick would be Zen Pinball 3D at this moment.

[ejamer]

Because it's been mentioned several times - with good cause - in this thread, let me point out that Fluidity (WiiWare) can now be purchased from the Club Nintendo website for a paltry 150 coins.  It's not technically free... but darn close for anyone with points who has been waiting for good prizes.

[FZeroBoyo]

Speaking of Game of the Year discussion, Edge Magazine released their list for 2011.


The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword received Mainstream Game of the Year.


Mario Kart 7 received Best Portable Game.


And Nintendo was named Publisher of the Year.                                                             

[ejamer]

Great "Nintendo Game of the Year" discussion in the latest RFN Podcast.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rfn/28725



Spoilers posted below with the overall winners, determined by awarding points to each game based on where it was listed in each of the three lists discussed:


1. Ghost Trick (DS) - 12 points   GotY Winner!
2. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) - 11 points
3. Zelda Skyward Sword (Wii) / Xenoblade (Wii) - 8 points
4. Radiant Historia (DS) - 5 points
5. Rhythm Heaven (Wii) / Pushmo (3DS eShop) - 1 point


Go listen to the podcast if you haven't already. The discussion starts about an hour in, and is very interesting while avoiding any notable spoilers. Hearing each participant list their favorite games and talk briefly about why they enjoyed that experience is worth far more than a simple list of games.

[FZeroBoyo]

For Wii, my GOTY is The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Yes, I agree that there are problems with the pacing, occasional control snafus, and a lot of padding. I also agree that the story and characters are great even if some did not live up to their potential, most notably, Fi. Ultimately, I find the core gameplay of running across the land, solving puzzles, and fighting beasts throughout the dungeons so utterly engrossing that I feel justified calling this my overall Game of the Year.


For DS, my GOTY is Pokemon Black/White. The fact that the developers attempted to give the game a darker, more compelling narrative certainly helped, and the core gameplay of capturing and raising the hundreds of monsters to be as fun as ever.


For 3DS, my GOTY is Super Mario 3D Land. What else is there to say? The controls are great, with superb level design, and the overall package is just ripe with content.


On Wii VC, it's Chrono Trigger. Fantastic game, go play it. On 3DS VC, and this is probably on no one's list, but I picked Game & Watch Gallery. I went into it with modest expectations and found one of the most addicting and replayable games of this year. As for 3DS Downloads, I went with Freakyforms: Your Creations, Alive!. It's Nintendo-like to its core: simple to understand and get into, and can be very enjoyable to play. Not to mention it gets a few laughs out of me almost every time I play it.


Sure, there were some bumps, but overall, I'd say it was a good year for these platforms. Here's hoping next year is great as well.

[NWR_insanolord]

There are probably four games I'd put ahead of Freakyforms on the 3DS Downloads side, which is impressive considering there are only six games total available on the service. That's not to say Freakyforms isn't good, but that there are three amazing titles (Mighty Switch Force, VVVVVV and Pushmo) and one underrated gem (Pyramids) that I like better.