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 On 07/04/2016 at 03:22 AM by Cary Woodham See More From This User » |
Can you believe this year is already half over? What I like to do this time of year is write about the best games of the year so far. Everyone is all excited over recent E3 announcements, and most of the really good titles come out during the Christmas season at the tail end of the year, and the games that come out earlier tend to be forgotten. So this is where those games get their due.
Keep in mind that no outside opinions went into the making of this list. It’s just my own picks. And if a game is missing from my list, it either didn’t appeal to me as much, or I just simply haven’t played it yet. Can’t play all the games out there, you know! Plus I do apologize if this list leans toward the Nintendo side. I don’t have an Xbox One or PS4, so you’ll just have to deal with it.
I also have to note that I felt last year we had more interesting and better games than we do at this point in the year. I guess if you like shooters like the new Doom or Overwatch, it’s been a good year for games so far. But not for games of my tastes. Hopefully it’ll get better as the year goes on, but it still looks pretty sparse right now. Anyway, without further ado, welcome to the Cary’s Best Games of 2016 SO FAR Awards Show!
BEST RPG
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (3DS)
There’s been quite a few new RPGs this year so far, and we’ll be getting a few more by the end of the year as well. So if you like RPGs, this has been a good year for you I guess. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is a crossover title between the Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario series. It has a few problems and isn’t the best Mario RPG out there. But I still beat it and it’s better than some of the other Mario RPG titles I’ve played recently. So I guess it can’t be all bad. Speaking of RPGs that we’ll be getting by the end of the year, Paper Mario: Color Splash is coming out on Wii U later this year as well. Let’s hope it’s better than the last main Paper Mario game: Sticker Star!
Runner Up:
This strategy RPG features characters from popular game companies like Capcom, SEGA, Namco, and Nintendo. It plays pretty much exactly the same as the last game, but this one had Phoenix Wright in it so I had to get it. If you like the characters in this game, you may want to check it out.
BEST 3-D ADVENTURE
There just isn’t very many 3-D platformers like there used to be. That’s why upcoming titles like Yooka-Laylee are such a welcome thing. LEGO Marvel’s Avengers wins by default because it’s the only 3-D game I’ve played this year so far. It’s OK, but not that great. I think Traveler’s Tales had their B-team working on this one. Speaking of LEGO, I’m going to be reviewing the LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens game, but didn’t get it in the mail in time for me to include it on this list. I imagine it’ll probably be on here when I do my Game of the Year blog at the end of the year. I bet it’s probably better than the Avengers game.
BEST CLASSIC COLLECTION/REMAKE
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (Wii U)
When I first played Twilight Princess on the Wii, I didn’t like it as much. The graphics were so muddy and blurry that it was hard to see where you could step, and it affected gameplay enough that it was frustrating. But the HD remake fixes all that. The graphics are much sharper, and there are no silly motion controls on the Wii U version, but it still works just as well. Now I like the game a lot better the second time around!
Runners Up:
Mega Man Legacy Collection (3DS)
While I am disappointed that it doesn’t have as many games as the Mega Man Anniversary Collection that came out ten years prior, this is still a decent compilation of the NES titles. Plus I got the special edition that came with a gold Mega Man amiibo figure!
Shantae: Risky’s Revenge Director’s Cut (Wii U)
I’m a huge fan of the Shantae games. While Risky’s Revenge is my least favorite of the bunch, it’s still a fantastic game and worth playing. I can’t wait for the new game coming out later this year: Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. That one has Game of the Year quality on it, right there.
SEGA 3-D Classics Collection (3DS)
You don’t really see arcade collections anymore, so I try to nab them when I see them. It’s a pretty decent selection of SEGA classics, although I wish we could’ve gotten the Streets of Rage one.
BEST FIGHTING GAME
Forget Street Fighter V, this game is where it’s at (hey, at least it’s a complete game, am I right?). It’s a 3-D fighting game featuring many Pokémon, and since it was made by the same folks who do the Tekken games, it’s actually pretty good! And as with any good fighting game, it’s easy enough for beginners to grasp, yet there’s enough technique for pros to master. And hey, it has Pikachu in a Luchador outfit, what’s not to like about that? If you like Pokémon, you’ll definitely want to try out this fun and colorful fighter. Now if only Nintendo would localize that Detective Pikachu game!
BEST PUZZLE GAME
Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge (Wii U)
This was a free-to-play game, but you had to have several Mario themed amiibo figures to get the full enjoyment out of it. Since I have all the amiibo figures, I was able to get the full enjoyment! While I don’t think it’s worth the price to get a bunch of amiibos to play this game, I kind of consider it as a reward from Nintendo to people who avidly collect amiibo figures. It plays like most other Mario vs. Donkey Kong puzzlers, so it’s a lot like Lemmings. But I really like Lemmings so I like this game as well!
WEIRDEST GAME
A game that combines horse racing and solitaire may seem really weird, but when you consider how many sports themed solitaire games there are on mobile devices, it’s not that weird. In fact, if Nintendo does more mobile games in the future, this would be a good candidate. Aw heck, who am I kidding? The game is still weird! It’s just presented in that quirky yet cute Japanese way. And also, the game is insanely addicting. So much so that I almost thought about making it my Game of the Year 2016 So Far, but I just couldn’t bring myself to give that award to a solitaire game. This was also made by Game Freak, the same folks responsible for Pokémon. If you’re curious, you can download a free demo on the eShop, and the data from the demo will carry over to the main game if you decide to buy it. And the game is only 7 bucks so it’s a great deal, too.
Runner Up:
Of course this music rhythm game is weird, too, as it was made by the same folks who do the WarioWare series. I just wish it was a cartridge game and not a eShop only game, as it is still 30 bucks. But it is certainly the biggest Rhythm Heaven game out there, so at least you get what you pay for!
And now for my Best Game of the Year 2016 So FAR (Taiko drum roll, please)…
BEST GAME OF 2016 SO FAR
And for those of you who know me, this shouldn’t come as a big surprise, since I’m such a huge Kirby fan. Even though it’s pretty much more of the same from Kirby Triple Deluxe, it’s still a fun game and it’s cool to have Kirby tromp around in a mech. Although I think I like Triple Deluxe slightly more, just felt more epic to me. Anyway, will a game topple Kirby at the end of the year? Who knows? We’ll just have to see.
Conclusions
And that’s all for now! I hope you enjoyed my list. There are actually some games I haven’t got to play yet this year that I was hoping to, because they might’ve made this list as well. But since I’m still looking for a full-time job as of this writing, I’ve had to kind of save money and not buy as many games. But hopefully by the end of the year, I’ll be able to get some of the games I missed out on so far, such as Disney Art Academy, Mighty No. 9, the Odin Sphere remake, and others. And I apologize for sounding selfish, but I’m also disappointed in the games industry for not releasing a lot of games this year that cater to my tastes. Oh well, I guess it’s the sign of the times. Anyway, in the comments section, let me know what you think of my list and tell me YOUR favorite games of 2016 SO FAR! --Cary
I'd have to say my GOTY so far is a toss up between Tokyo Mirage Sessions and Nights of Azure.
Spot on about Twilight Princess, but the first time around, I got the Gamecube version over the Wii version, so I didn't have to deal with the motion controls or the flipped map, and I loved it on GC. The Wii U version is even better, and I'm glad it took its design cues from the GC rather than the Wii. My favorite other than that? Valkyria Chronicles Remastered.
My brother told me I wouldn't like that Tokyo Mirage game. I said, "Way ahead of you, dude!" :)
Yeah I was wondering if the Wii U version of Twilight Princess was based on the GameCube one or not. Twilight Princess may not be my favorite Zelda game, but it has two of my favorite characters in it: Princess Zelda and Agitha.
My brother Jeff downloaded one of the Valkyrie Chronicles games recently and I watched him play for a little bit. I made up my own names for the characters in it. You probably would've cringed if you heard what I was doing to the game. You're probably glad I'm not around to watch you play games, huh? Ha ha! :)
It was, so I felt right at home. For the record, TP does happen to be my favorite Zelda, and it has one of my favorite characters from the series to date in it: Midna. She is a thousand times more awesome than Navi or Fi. Plus, TP has one of the best Links in the series.
Meh, I don't mind giving the MST3K treatment to my favorite games sometimes (and TP and VC are two of them right there). I enjoy the unique personalities Sega loaded into each individual playable character, instead of giving you "Generic Soldier/Shocktrooper/Engineer/Lancer/Sniper #206." Some of them are kind of silly, but that's part of the game's charm for me. :)
I like it at the end of Twilight Princess when Midna shows her true form and Link has a 'duh' expression on his face.
One of the main characters in Valkyria Chronicles wore a hat that made him look like he worked at a donut shop, so I named him Krispy Kreme.
That Pocket Card Jockey looks fun. I've heard some good things about it.
I bet that Kirby game has some amazingly cute screenshots of Kirby in a mech.
If you have a 3DS and can connect it to the Internet, there is a free demo of Pocket Card Jockey you can download to try it. I highly recommend it.
I want to very much but I haven't the time for it at the moment. I should just go and download it before they take it down though.
I don't know how quickly they take demos and things down, but I hope you get a chance to download it soon anyway because it's really fun.
I wouldn't mind playing Pokken if I had some people locally to play with. It seems fun.
Yeah I know what you mean. The good thing about Pokken is that it has an extensive single player mode and you can always play online (although I know that's not the same as playing with people in the same room as you).
I love your awards show blogs. I find out about games that I might not otherwise this way, and I usually love your game recommendations. One question - is Pocket Card Jockey a download-only game?
Thanks for reading! Yes, Pocket Card Jockey is a download only game. Normally I prefer cartridges, which is why I was disappointed that Rhythm Heaven Fever is download only because it's 30 bucks, the same price as a cartridge. But Pocket Card Jockey is a small, simple game, and only 7 bucks to download, so I'm OK with it being download only. I know you said you were having trouble getting your 3DS to connect to the Internet. I wish I could just warp up there right now and help you get it connected. But I'm sure you can figure it out. If I can do it, I know you can!
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