2012 and a myopic focus on first-party games

another year already? sheesh! this past year i played about the same number of games as the previous year, but less repeats. i also played less sequels overall, but spent more time on nintendo-published games and games on handhelds than other years, including downloadable games for DSi and 3DS.

here’s what my year looked like (games listed in approximate descending order) with links to each game’s corresponding blog review:

HIGHEST
– wii fit (wii)
– pushmo (3DSware)

MIDDLE
– gunstar heroes (gen)
– new super mario bros. 2 (3DS)
– brain age express: math (DSiware)
– number battle (DSiware)
– just dance 2 (wii)
– the legend of zelda: skyward sword (wii)
– gargoyle’s quest (GB)
– sin and punishment (N64)
– the legend of zelda: oracle of ages (GBC)
– kirby’s epic yarn (wii)
– castlevania: symphony of the night (PS)
– tetris DS (DS)
– sakura samurai: art of the sword (3DSware)
– mario vs. donkey kong: minis march again! (DSiware)
– metroid prime pinball (DS)
– metroid prime 3: corruption (wii)
– nintendogs + cats (3DS)
– rhythm heaven fever (wii)
– professor layton and the curious village (DS)
– maestro! jump in music (DS)
– might and magic: clash of heroes (DS)
– magnetica (DS)
– trajectile (DSiware)
– link’s crossbow training (wii)
– vvvvvv (3DSware)
– mario kart wii (wii)
– kid icarus: uprising (3DS)
– away: shuffle dungeon (DS)
– pokemon ranger (DS)
– yoshi topsy-turvy (GBA)
– urban champion (NES)
– photo dojo (DSiware)
– mario kart 7 (3DS)
– radar mission (GB)
– trace memory (DS)
– nyxquest (PC)
– order up! (wii)
– plants vs. zombies (DSiware)

LOWEST
– castlevania: circle of the moon (GBA)
– solitaire blitz (PC flash)
– AR games (3DSware)
– bonsai barber (WW)
– kirby tilt ‘n’ tumble (GBC)
– xevious (arcade)
– goldeneye 007 (N64)
– virtua fighter remix (sat)

NOT RATED
– DSi camera + photo clock (DSiware)
– swapnote (3DSware)
– pictochat (DS)
– e-reader mario party (e-r)

the number of games that broke into my “greatest games of all time” was the lowest it’s been so far, but the number of games that were added to my least favorite games list was also lower than last year. last year i had said i hoped to spend more time on third-party games. my ventures into non-nintendo platforms were generally more disappointing than not, such as nyxquest, my first game on steam, and virtua fighter remix, my first sega saturn game. i also had my first hands-on experience with the GBA’s e-reader peripheral, via e-reader mario party.

aside from the lack of time spent on third-party games, overall i think i did a decent job of slogging through games that i didn’t particularly want to finish (such as the headache-inducing kirby tilt ‘n’ tumble on GBC), although often the games i had to force myself to play turned out to be among my least favorite, despite their general popularity (such as the original goldeneye 007 on N64).

another notable event that happened this year was completing the metroid series and posting my ranking of all the games. i also completed the mario kart series with mario kart 7, but haven’t posted the ranking for that yet.

last year i had said i was hoping to cut down on the amount of game playing and to decrease my backlog. i definitely bought more games than i should have, but i think i’m cutting down on game playing a bit, partly because there haven’t been any new series that i’ve really gotten into. i’m hopeful that this next year i can really get to games that i’ve had lined up for ages, and i’m looking forward to finishing up the zelda and yoshi series, and starting to revisit previously played entries in the mario and metroid series. and of course i’m greatly looking forward to the new fire emblem game, due out february 4.

thanks as always to anyone who’s stumbled across my little patch of cyberspace and found it even mildly diverting, and welcome to another full year of rockin’ video games at video games rock!

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