Round Table: The Snubs

And so concludes another year’s awards ceremony. We hope you’ve enjoyed looking back with us on some of the finest games 2013 had to offer. As satisfied as we are with our choices, however, there were inevitably some omissions from our lists– some more glaring than others– that no doubt caused some controversy among fans. To make up for that, the Dojo staff would like to take this opportunity to mention any titles we believe should’ve earned an award, but, for whatever reason, didn’t. Which titles do we feel deserved more recognition this year? Read on to find out!

Anthony Vigna

Oh boy, where do I begin? I’m utterly shocked that Shin Megami Tensei IV did not make the best 3DS games list! I understand that there were a ton of great 3DS games released this year, but it’s a bit ridiculous that the game is not even a runner-up! Shin Megami Tensei IV is one of the best turn-based RPGs that I have played in a really long time. The voice acting is fantastic, the story and its multiple endings are solid, the battle system is deep and rewarding, and it’s one of the best-looking 3DS games on the system. I suppose most people haven’t had the chance to play it though, especially since it hasn’t released in the UK yet. I’m sure some readers or staff members from the UK are wondering why Bravely Default didn’t make the cut either, but its delayed US release date has probably hurt its chances of making the list as well.

You know what else should have made the cut? EarthBound! Fans have been asking for this game to be released on the virtual console for years, and when the game finally hit the Wii U eShop, the Internet went nuts! I think that such a miracle should at least earn some kind of spot on the best Wii U eShop games list, but it sadly wasn’t included at all. Another turn-based RPG bites the dust! But other than that, I thought our lists were pretty spot on. All qualms aside, I have to admit that we put together a pretty solid list!

Sam Stewart

Even though there are a lot of games I would have liked to see make our Game of the Year lists, we can only honor so many games and I’m actually quite happy with the list in general. All of my favorite games are represented, even if some of them only made honorable mention. I would have personally put Link Between Worlds ahead of Fire Emblem Awakening, but honestly that’s like saying you would rather have one delicious slice of pizza over another. Either way you are eating delicious pizza.

But the real problem is that there were so many amazing 3DS games this year. The absence of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan, and Shin Megami Tensei IV is sad, but when the competition is Zelda, Fire Emblem, and Pokémon, you really can’t complain. So I guess what I’m saying is play them all!

Oh yeah, and if you haven’t played Attack of the Friday Monsters: A Tokyo Tale or SteamWorld Dig, go buy both of those right now! I didn’t play a ton of eShop stuff this year, but those two are musts!

Robert Marrujo

2013 was so packed with games that it’s really hard to pick what should and shouldn’t have been honored. For me, I pretty much agreed with the consensus all of us came to here at Nintendojo, but there are two titles I wish would have gotten some love. The first is a 3DS eShop game, Jett Rocket II. It’s the sequel to the first Jett Rocket, an amazing WiiWare 3D platformer that had stunning graphics and some fun gameplay. Jett Rocket II is similarly pretty, and the developers at Shin’en have altered the gameplay a bit, adding 2D platforming stages into the mix. Definitely deserving of a nod. Also, props to Anthony for mentioning Shin Megami!

For Wii U, I think both Wonderful 101 and Resident Evil: Revelations should have gotten more attention. I can understand the omission, though, as both of those games are great, but the competition was, well, amazing. Still, I had a lot of fun with 101 and Revelations. Wii U really had a better year, at least in terms of game selection, than people like to give it credit for. Along with Assassin’s Creed IV and everything on our Games of the Year list, I know I was pretty busy with Nintendo’s excellent home console. Anyway, those are my choices; here’s hoping that next year will be an even more crowded awards season!

Anthony Pershkin

2013 was just downright ridiculous with great games. And even though I mostly agree with the choices for Wii U games of the year, I would’ve loved to see The Wonderful 101 placed in the “Best Wii U Game Runners-Up” category instead of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. Don’t get me wrong, I love Zelda and I love Wind Waker, but after all, it is just another HD remake, when The Wonderful 101 is an incredible new IP that deserves more attention. Platinum Games managed to not only create one of the most exciting and stupidly fun character action games out there, it managed to make that new creation feel like a first-party Nintendo game. If you own a Wii U and still haven’t played The Wonderful 101, I think you’re doing something very wrong with your life.

As for the 3DS games released this year, I guess I would’ve liked to see Jett Rocket II and Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon mentioned in the list, but considering the competition, I think their absence is pretty fair. Let’s hope the next year is going to be even crazier!

Marc Deschamps

The thing with this year’s games is that the competition was insanely difficult. It’s really hard to disagree with anything that took home the top spots, but there are a couple of Wii U games that I would have loved to see get an honorable mention. Like Robert, I was also a huge fan of Resident Evil: Revelations. I knew the title would be a long shot as it’s mainly a modified 3DS port, but it’s a shame nonetheless. It really reinvigorated my interest in the series, and I thought Capcom did a fantastic job bringing it to home consoles, and exploiting some of the Wii U’s features, like Miiverse. That was really great to see.

The other title I would have liked to see get an Honorable Mention is LEGO Marvel Superheroes. As a lifetime comic geek, I was blown away by what TT Games brought to the table with this one. Unfortunately, I think Iron Man and company had a bit of their thunder stolen from the Wii U-exclusive LEGO City Undercover, which came out just a little bit earlier. It’s hard to argue “Best of” for a non-exclusive game that doesn’t come with any console-exclusive features, but the title showed an incredible amount of polish and it was a heck of a lot fun. Oh, well. I’ll start the campaign now for the inevitable sequel.

Jon Stevens

There was one title which I feel has been neglected due to Nintendo’s own offerings. The Assassin’s Creed series have provided me with some of the best experiences that I have had so far on Wii U and, in my opinion, this year’s version definitely deserves some mention when considering the best Wii U game of the year. Assassin’s Creed IV shows exactly what can be done with multi-platform games on the console and while it inevitably lacks the level of polished gameplay seen in Super Mario 3D World or The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, many of its Wii U-specific features exemplify what can be done on the system– something which I still think needs to be showcased further by games.

The Nintendo 3DS had an absolutely fantastic year in terms of games and choosing just a handful of them for the lists was always going to be a tough choice. Personally, I would have replaced Animal Crossing: New Leaf with Pokémon X and Y, and given Lugi’s Mansion: Dark Moon an honorable mention. The Animal Crossing gameplay is as compulsive as ever and the new additions are fun, but I still find myself growing less and less interested before my town and house are anyway near being fully developed! I’ll still happily play as the Villager in Super Smash Bros. this year though…

What about you? What games do you think were snubbed during this year’s awards? Let us know in the comments!