The Music of 2014 – Have Your Say!
It’s that time of year again! Last year’s game music podcast seemed to go over much better than I expected a two-hour show to, so let’s do the same thing for the soundtracks from this year. And once again I’m looking for reader (listener?) input to help put the thing together and narrow down a top 10 list.
The rules are pretty much the same as last year. Vote here to rate each of the twenty shortlisted games and add in any comments if you have them (you can also use that section to tell me if neglected to include certain soundtracks). Since some of them were included in last year’s show, the voting excludes games that were released in other regions last year like Bravely Default, but not ones like Fantasy Life that I previously forgot about. I’ve also excluded any games with an English release confirmed for next year like Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate – save it for the 2015 list! There are a handful of games like Guacamelee on the list that were released on other platforms last year, but as 2014 was their first showing on a Nintendo platform they’re up for voting.
So please get your votes in and look forward to the final podcast whenever it posts. Maybe there’ll be guests or co-hosts this time? Who can say. Since I’ll be out of the country for a while – I’ll probably have left by the time this posts – don’t expect any results until mid-January at the earliest. That’s kind of late for a retrospective, but I’m sure you’re all sick of top-10 lists at the moment. I know I sure am after putting together all that Nintendo DS stuff.
It’s no wonder a game such as Super Smash Bros. has become the big hit it is today. Even after its near 15 year lifespan, it seems that the Smash community only grows larger and larger every day. I mean, a game where you get to mound Sonic the Hedgehog’s smug little face in with Mario’s fire-spouting fists as Mega Man tries to intervene for that one extra kill is already my game of the century based on that scenario alone. While the series is also known for its kick-ass gameplay that’s just simple enough while still providing the necessary elements to begin a huge competitive scene, it’s mainly known for accomplishing a seemingly impossible task and gathering together all of Nintendo’s star players and making it all seem so… right. As expected, there’s a huge roster of characters to select from, boasting characters from huge series’ such as Mario and Legend of Zelda all the way to lesser known series such as Earthbound and Fire Emblem. I thought it would be fun to delve deeper into some of the more unique newcomers’ history and analyze why the characters might’ve been chosen join the battle, so let’s go ahead and do that, shall we?
Close to 150 Japanese developers were asked by 4Gamer about the games that impressed them the most this year. How’d the results pan out?
Youkai Watch 2 took the top spot with 13 votes. Destiny, Terra Battle, GUILTY GEAR Xrd -SIGN-, and the original Youkai Watch rounded out the top five.
View the full results below:
Youkai Watch 2 – 13
Destiny – 6
Terra Battle – 6
GUILTY GEAR Xrd -SIGN- – 5
Youkai Watch – 5
Dragon Age: Inquisition – 4
The Evil Within – 4
Watch_Dogs – 4
Ingress – 3
Grand Theft Auto V – 3
Threes! – 3
Monster Strike: – 3
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS – 3
P.T. – 2
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U – 2
Min’na de Mamotte Kishi Hime no Tokimeki Rhapsody – 2
Factorio – 2
Shironeko Project – 2
Samurai Warriors 4 – 2
Titanfall – 2
Nobunaga’s Ambition: Creation – 2
Dark Souls 2 – 1
Tropico 5 – 1
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag – 1
Sid Meier’s Civilization Beyond Earth – 1
Sailor zombie ~ AKB48 Arcade Edition – 1
LINE Pokopoko – 1
Dragon Quest X – 1
Saints Row IV – 1
SEGA 3D Reprint Archives – 1
The Legend of Heroes: Sen no Kiseki II – 1
Danganronpa: Another Episode – 1
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition – 1
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes – 1
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare – 1
Gundam Breaker 2 – 1
Mini Metro – 1
League of Legends – 1
Kantai Collection: Kancolle – 1
Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 – 1
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – 1
Hello Project Tap Live – 1
School Girl Strikers – 1
The Idolmaster: One For All – 1
Bayonetta 2 – 1
World of Warships – 1
The Sims 4 – 1
ONE PIECE: Treasure Cruise – 1
Zero Point – 1
Alchemists: – 1
Kirby: Triple Deluxe – 1
Puzzle & Dragons – 1
Pazudora Z – 1
Freedom Wars – 1
Drift Spirits – 1
Sunset Overdrive – 1
Rogue Legacy – 1
Monument Valley – 1
Naughty Kitties – 1
LINE: Disney Tsum Tsum – 1
Knack – 1
Framed – 1
Mario Kart 8 – 1
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds – 1
inFAMOUS: Second Son – 1
Gegege no Kitaro Specter Alley – 1
Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – 1
Ultra Street Fighter IV – 1
Ken to maho no Logress Inishie no Megami – 1
How to Train Your Dragon 2 – 1
Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed – 1
Dead Rising 3 – 1
Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 2014 – 1
DIVE IN – 1
Summer Lesson – 1
PS4 & Xbox One – 1
Torne for PS4 – 1
Project Morpheus – 1
Project Morpheus & Oculus Rift – 1
None – 7
View the latest deals from the North American Wii U eShop below:
Arrow Time U – $0.99 (was $1.99) until Jan. 15
Ducktales Remastered – $6.75 (was $14.99) until Jan. 2
Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara – $5.99 (was $14.99) until Jan. 2
EDGE – $1.50 (was $1.99) until Jan. 8
GetClose – $2.99 (was $4.99) until Jan. 2
Knytt Underground – $6.49 (was $12.99) until Jan. 1
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham – $37.49 (was $49.99) until Dec. 31
LEGO The Hobbit – $20.99 (was $29.99) until Dec. 31
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate – $15.99 (was $39.99) until Jan. 2
Paper Monsters Recut – $3.99 (was $7.99) until Jan. 15
Pure Chess – $3.99 (was $7.99) until Jan. 1
Resident Evil: Revelations – $15.99 (was $39.99) until Jan. 2
Rock Zombie – $4.99 (was $6.99) until Jan. 15
RUSH – $1.50 (was $1.99) until Jan. 8
Shuttle Rush – $3.99 (was $7.99) until Jan. 16
Stick it to the Man – $4.99 (was $9.99) until Jan. 1
Swords & Soldiers – $1.99 (was $2.99) until Jan. 8
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – $24.99 (was $49.99) until Jan. 1
The Amazing Spider-Man Ultimate Edition – $19.99 (was $39.99) until Jan. 1
The LEGO Movie Videogame – $15.00 (was $29.99) until Dec. 31
TNT Racers: Nitro Machines Edition – $4.99 (was $7.99) until Jan. 8
Toki Tori – $1.50 was $1.99) until Jan. 8
Toki Tori 2+ – $5.99 (was $14.99) until Jan. 8
Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark – $14.99 (was $39.99) until Jan. 1
Trine 2: Director’s Cut – $9.99 (was $19.99) until Jan. 15
The Voice – $24.99 (was $39.99) until Jan 1
Wipeout Create & Crash – $19.99 (was $39.99) until Jan 1
Xavier – $2.49 (was $4.99) until Jan. 8
The DLC costumes for Hyrule Warriors can now be purchased in North America. You can grab the Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, and Demon King Costume Packs for $0.99 each.
The first three DLC sets offer new costumes for Link and Zelda. The Demon King set, on the other hand, provides new costumes for Ganondorf.
Players could obtain the Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword packs as pre-order bonuses. Ganondorf’s DLC was made available as an early bonus to Club Nintendo members.
Thanks to Aaron W for the tip.
