hands held in 2013

my 2013 ended up being very similar to 2012 in that i was able to finish about a game a week and spent more time on first-party nintendo games and games on handhelds than anything else. this past year i also played more sequels than 2012, which altogether basically means i didn’t really branch out much, although on the plus side i did finish the brain age series, yoshi series, and the main entries in the pokemon series, as well as kept up with other series that saw major releases this year, such as animal crossing.

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

HIGHEST
– streetpass mii plaza games: set 1 (3DSware)
– little inferno (wii u ware)
– the legend of zelda: a link between worlds (3DS)

MIDDLE
– brain age: concentration training (3DS)
– super mario 3d world (wii u)
– flingsmash (wii)
– planet puzzle league (DS)
– pokemon Y (3DS)
– animal crossing: new leaf (3DS)
– crashmo (3DSware)
– art style: pictobits (DSiware)
– wii sports resort (wii)
– streetpass mii plaza games: set 2 (3DSware)
– liberation maiden (3DSware)
– guardian heroes (sat)
– yoshi touch & go (DS)
– kirby’s pinball land (GB)
– thruspace (wiiware)
– glow artisan (DSiware)
– fire emblem: awakening (3DS)
– mighty switch force! (3DSware)
– pokemon black (DS)
– dr. mario online RX (wiiware)
– donkey kong (NES)
– crimson shroud (3DSware)
– tom clancy’s ghost recon: shadow wars (3DS)
– yoshi’s island DS (DS)
– freakyforms: your creations, alive! (3DSware)
– crosswords DS (DS)
– 3d classics: kid icarus (3DSware)
– twinbee (arcade)
– pokemon puzzle challenge (GBC)
– half-life (PC)
– castlevania: harmony of dissonance (GBA)
– tetris party live (DSiware)
– pokedex 3D pro (3DSware)
– steel diver (3DS)
– groovin’ blocks (wiiware)
– sonic the hedgehog CD (PC)
– mutant mudds (3DSware)
– kirby’s block ball (GB)
– metal slug (neo geo AES)
– dr. mario (GB)
– personal trainer: walking (DS)

LOWEST
– brain age express: arts and letters (DSiware)
– the legend of zelda: four swords adventures (GCN)
– pokemon rumble (wiiware)
– kirby’s star stacker (GB)
– cut the rope HD free (iOS)
– super mario strikers (GCN)
– quarth (GB)
– a kappa’s trail (DSiware)

this marks the first year that i finished a game on wii u and wii u ware. the latter occurred in the last weeks of the year and helped save my “greatest games of all time” list which looked like it was dangerously close to having zero new entries this year. i also played my first neo geo AES game. my most-played platform tends to be the DS, but this year 3DSware won out, and that doesn’t even include games available on 3DS’s virtual console.

this year i compiled three lists: a look at my 10-year-old nephew’s favorite games to play on wii over wi-fi, and rankings for the mario kart series and the yoshi series.

last year i had hoped to decrease my backlog, which definitely didn’t happen. hopefully this year i’ll be able to finish some of the mountain of games i’ve started, some of which i’m actually quite close to finishing, and spend more time playing non-handheld games. i’m looking forward to finally finishing the zelda series (one entry to go!) and getting caught up with some of the mario games i’ve ignored, as well as digging into series i’ve only dipped into so far, such as shin megami tensei. i’m also planning on returning to series i’ve been ignoring, such as the phoenix wright and professor layton series. this is all assuming, of course, that the new smash bros. doesn’t completely eat my soul when it releases, along with upcoming games i’m looking forward to (highest on my list being SMT x FE, the crossover with the shin megami tensei series: my love for fire emblem continues despite awakening which i found to be disappointing due to its unlimited levelling), as well as any new game that hasn’t been announced yet (nintendo, please, please announce a new metroid for this year!).

as always, 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!