[Feature] Nintendo Everything’s 2013 Game of the Year Picks

‘Tis very sad that Little Inferno is a late 2012 game. Alas, I will have to only speak of AAA titles.

Pikmin 3: An emblem of Nintendo’s Miyazaki-like ability to effortlessly instill thematic elements within their work, Pikmin 3 also represents Nintendo’s mastery of the left side of the brain of the human as well; I was equally as captivated by their uses of naturalism, still life, and micro-serenity as I was their equally enrapturing level layouts and utilized design interplay between given discernable gameplay objects. A whole, beautiful, and brimming piece.

Grand Theft Auto V: GTA as a series has always acted as a sort of supreme validation piece— a psychological surrogate— for the perceived “insular gamer” stigma were one to personify it. It is unquestionably, legitimately cool (inane derivative thought notwithstanding), and somehow, everyone can get in on the action without feeling left out. To achieve what it did, in terms of ambition— not straying from the series’ continuously geometric (in terms of communal expectations) lifetime arc— and execution— getting all of those dang people and spending all of that dang money to ensure that every single little dang CGI bathroom urinal had the got dang ice cubes to go with them— while still in generation seven is an undeniable, medium-transcending feat. And you can take that to the bank. (editor’s note: i’m gonna let this one stay in. it’s beautifully written.)

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD>: Sometimes, being nudged to purchase and re-play a game many years later that you, technically speaking, already own and have access to is somehow a good thing. Nintendo crafted an already shockingly beautiful and complete experience in 2003 and merely trimmed and groomed it ten years later, but trim and groom they did to create undoubtedly the quintessential version of the piece. Heck, people don’t get mad at Count Basie for kidnapping Frank Sinatra and recording his own bigband version of “Fly Me to the Moon”, do they?

Would The Wind Waker have been better with extrapolation and an increase in tangibly-measurable figurative landmarks? While its slight amendments and addendums do more than enough to make WWHD a no-brainer purchase, the answer my friends is, suffice it to say, still blowing around in the dang wind.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf: When I think of future moments of telling my children sitting on my lap of moments that define my year this year, the year 2013, in gaming, I’ll whisper to them passages of my time, albeit brief, playing Animal Crossing: New Leaf. A world-class display of intricacy, New Leaf represents a drastic step up from its console predecessor, City Folk, while still wholly remaining true to its lineage. As with the rest of the series, a faux-meretricious air permeates throughout, begetting accessibility and ubiquitous charm, bringing the simple, granular things to the forefront and letting us simply rejoice. Rejoice, we did.