FEATURES - NGEB Award Show: 2001 by the NGEB staff and our readers Introduction Today we look back at all the glorious history of the Nintendo legacy with a smile. So much has been acheived these past 20-some years, all leading up to this magnificent apex we know as the 21st century. With Nintendo's two newest systems, the GameCube and the Game Boy Advance, it seems we can truly experience what it means to "play it loud". Now at the end of this year, we would like to cap off with a definitive list of what worked and what did not, so as to be able to better walk forward that one small step for man ^_^. Readers, we present to you... The NGEB Award Show: 2001 GRAPHICS Graphics are a fundimental part of the gaming experience, although many can argue one way or the other. Without pretty pictures, a gaming experience can sometimes be hard to "believe", which can truly make or break a game. In 2001, the Game Boy Advance broke the barriers that say portable gaming can not look as good as at home, and the GameCube took our breath away with amazing real-time effects and cutting edge speed. The winners for games with the best graphics are... - GCN Star Wars: Rogue Leader - Jump into a cinematic experience of beauty and wonder, just as you're blown to smithereens in the cold darkness of space. Though both Wave Race and Luigi's Mansion showed us some beautiful visuals this year, the photo-realistic fun of Star Wars Rogue Leader is truly what dreams are made of. The explosion of a blasted TIE Fighter has never looked so hot, and the incredible painted backgrounds give us a much better glimpse of that galaxy far, far away. - N64 Conker's Bad Fur Day - Jaw-dropping environments and bling-bling eyes might just have a chance at brightening your bad fur day. Paper Mario revolutionized 2D in a 3D world, and Pokemon Stadium 2 was as smooth as silk, but Conker's BFD is just so vibrant and lively, it screams out "PLAY ME!". Rare has always been known for beautiful games, and this is a divine last "hurrah" for the N64. - Handhelds Golden Sun - Battles come to life in spectacular 3D effects, with monsters in-yo-face like never before. Better snag your djinns, fast. Rayman Advance and THPS2 were very pretty games, but it seems laughably obvious what game gets this award. Not only are the beautiful battle sequences a sight for sore eyes, but the RPG movement around the crisply detailed maps really takes us back to the days of the SNES classics. CONTROL For a game to have "good" play control, a player has to have the ability to say where to go, what to do, and have it all make perfect sense. Otherwise, where will you go and what will you do? In 2001, the Game Boy Advance introduced two new buttons to the Game Boy tradition, and the GameCube introduced a very well-rounded, pioneering controller that pulls from the greatest of all Nintendo's history. The winners for games with the best play control are... - GCN Luigi's Mansion - Operating a vaccuum cleaner alone, in the dark never gave you such a thrill; not even that one time. Pikmin and SSBM had rock-solid control schemes, but Luigi's Mansion truly took hold of the GCN controller's capabilities. It made full use of the two analog triggers, the C-stick, and even the simple analog stick at times. Nintendo really made ghost-hunting a thrill worth playing. - N64 Conker's Bad Fur Day - Squirreling around drunk, lost, and confused is better than not... squirreling around, that is. Paper Mario had fun, new controls, and THPS2 brought back the old Tony Hawk's fun, but Conker's BFD was something new AND something... blue, by taking the good in the Banjo-Kazooie scheme and utterly destroying the bad. It's the best you could ever want for a 3D adventure, and probably the best that you're gonna' get. ^_^ - Handhelds Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 - Balancing on the grind, reverting on the lip, banking 180 degrees, all in the palm of your hand. Though flying is great in Rayman Advance, and banking is fun in F Zero: MV, Tony Hawk's seems to outdo the two with its smooth and console-like feeling. Though it is a close match, this game just happens to win the run. STORY Where Adventure games start to lose their interest with the players, RPGs come in and fill the void with a clear and wonderful story. More recently, though, we're starting to see all sorts of games with lovable characters, from Fortress up to Smash Bros. Melee, and it's hard not to recognize them (but votes will always be votes). On the GBA, there's the extra capacity to tell a full story that the original just didn't have, and on the GCN, we're seeing beautiful worlds come to life to better convey what they have to tell. The winners for games with the best story lines are... - GCN Star Wars: Rogue Leader - Just as Luke saw it so long ago, the twin sunset is awe-inspiring in itself. For Rogue Leader 2, we follow the life of Luke Skywalker in the Rebellion, facing new challenges in every battle held. While it may not be as interesting to some as Batman Vengeance and Luigi's Mansion were, the epic fairy tale of the Star Wars series is as powerful as ever in this game. - N64 Paper Mario - There sure is a lot of deep interaction for such a flat game. In the last N64 adventure for Mario and Co., we guide the red-capped one through a wild 2D world of monsters and mystery. Its sole RPG companion, Aidyn Chronicles, and the quirky Conker's BFD, both had fun and exciting stories, but didn't posess quite the love power and charm of Paper Mario. - Handhelds Golden Sun - Awesome visuals are just a PS to one of the most epic stories under the sun. From beginning to end, we have one of the longest, most wonderful stories in an RPG to date, not to mention it's all in a tiny cartridge on your GBA. Castlevania had that entertaining gothic plot we know and love, and Klonoa was a true adventure, but Golden Sun so powerfully shows us what's in-store for RPGs of the future. INNOVATION For a game to be innovative, it has to feel brand-new and play significantly different from anything that's been done before. While a game might have fun, cool-looking new stylized graphics, it may just be the same-'ol thing when you get down to the roots of its gameplay. On the GBA, we've seen many innovations in the way we think of handheld playing, and on the GCN, Nintendo has probably tried its best to be the most zany and different gaming company in history. The winners for games that were the most innovative this year are... - GCN Pikmin - Commanding the Pikmin around; the passive-agressive approach toward bringing your opponents down. Monkey Ball was a rollin' good time, and Luigi's Mansion was fun in the night, but Pikmin was a whole new way of playing games. Though it looks passive next to adventure games in which you slam the giant monsters on your own, it was agressive next to the omnipresently controlled strategy games of old. - N64 Paper Mario - When in danger, one powerful ally can turn the tides of battle, and the precision of real-time movements is key. While Conker and Mega Man were fun and fresh games, Paper Mario was really the prime example of a game to make a real change to the way games are played. By mixing together both adventure and RPG qualities, Paper Mario came out as a true Mario game, still with the epic RPG flavour. - Handhelds Mega Man Battle Network - It'll never match the classic feel of Mega Man; it'll always be ahead. So what if it's RPG or Adventure; it's still Mega Man. Reflexes and skills are still key in racing through radically addictive battle scenes. But you also get the added bonus of a fun story and lovable characters that can only come from a true RPG. Fortress and THPS2, while very different for the GBA, just don't seem as interesting next to MMBN. GAME OF THE YEAR When it boils down to it, what was the ultimate game of the year? So a game doesn't have special graphics, or a heart-warming storyline. It can still be insanely fun, and it might be because of a perfect roundness of these attributes that makes it so great. It's important to note the solid game of the year on the Game Boy Advance, a system that's already seen so much utter crap being produced, and on the GameCube, a system with about 5 or 6 games that could just as easily deserve this title. The winners for game of the year 2001 are... - GCN Super Smash Bros. Melee - Nostalgia at its smashing best, to say the least. While it may not seem obvious that SSBM would win over Star Wars: Rogue Leader or Luigi's Mansion, think of the way it truly celebrates all of Nintendo's past. No series is overlooked in the Trophy Mode, it's so amazing. Nintendo really took a great game like Smash Bros. and gave it that extra dose of childhood nostalgia. Nice job, and we'll never forget this one. - N64 Conker's Bad Fur Day - It might be a BFD for him, but to you it's pure mayhem. It might not be the most breath-taking, spine-tingling experience in gaming, but it sure is a lot of fun. Paper Mario and Pokemon Stadium 2 were equally enjoyable, but Conker seemed to have that glowing charm to it that only classics really have. Not to mention its extreme raciness; what other Nintendo game allows you to stumble around urinating? Wow. ^_^ - Handhelds Golden Sun - Timeless fun in the sun that's truly golden. Golden Sun is truly a classic, in every sense of the word. They say SNES gaming can be acheived technically on the GBA, but this is where it happens in the mind. Advance Wars was addictive fun, and Mario Kart was wild, but Golden Sun is just one of those games that'll stay alive forever. Closing Now that the best have been judged, and the good year is over, it's easy to see that things are moving forward. New innovations, stunning visuals, epic storylines; it's all there, and it's coming with us for the future. Soon enough we'll be seeing Mario's sunny adventure, the latest chapter in the Legend of Zelda, Sonic on two Nintendo systems, and definately a few new surprises. Sit back, relax. We hope you enjoy your stay in 2002. Stay tuned.