FEATURES - NGEB Award Show 2003 :: by the NGEB staff and our readers Introduction While overall it has been a good year for gaming, 2003 saw a lot of ups and downs for Nintendo, both financially and in their popularity. However, the GameCube remains the world-wide second best-selling system, and the only that is turning up a profit, even at the new low price of $99. And of course, the Game Boy Advance has not seen brighter days, as it remains the world's best source for portable fun, even with rivals starting to poke their heads out of the ground. And while this has all been happening, we continue to see amazing games for both systems every month. Let's take a look back at what has made Nintendo the clear winner this year in our eyes, the amazing games... GRAPHICS Over the past year, it's seemed that players are less interested in games with incredibly realistic visuals, and are wanting visuals that are more cleverly aesthetically pleasing (take the cel-shading fad, for example). Nintendo has always had faith in style over simulation, and it finally seems like other developers are catching on. While there are still games that continue to push the boundaries of how realistic gaming can get, the trend persists and has produced some of the most beautiful Nintendo games in history... - GCN Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - A great example of a game that changes its visuals for a real change in style. Wind Waker could've very easily tried on the cel-shaded look and gone nowhere with it, but instead the game takes us into a world that captivates your senses and breathes new life into a series that was already as lively and rich as the Kokiri Forest itself, almost completely by graphics alone. The rest, in terms of gameplay, has already made gaming history... Runners-Up: F-Zero GX, Star Wars: Rebel Strike, Viewtiful Joe - GBA Rayman 3 - You are about to enter a world. A world where nothing is as it seems, and everything radiates beauty. Well, okay, it's not that good, but it's close. The same folks behind all the Rayman games update the series with the gameplay and wonderful visuals intact. The animation is very likely some of the most fluid ever seen in sprite-based gaming, and the worlds that Rayman travels through are filled with color when they need to be, and dark and dank when they need that too. A wonderfully vibrant and just all around pretty game, where everything down to the little background objects are animated, Rayman 3 just begs for this award. Runners-Up: Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Sword of Mana CONTROL The masters of innovative, intuitive play control (we speak of Nintendo, of course) have only continued to kick ass this year with great control schemes and brand new ways to play old games. What else would you expect, man? - GCN I-Ninja - When one first takes control of Ninja, the colorful star of this gem of a game, it might seem like just a regular old platforming game. And that's partially right. Where I-Ninja innovates is with genre blending, as well as a cool, if not very deep, combat system. It's just plain fun to run up a wall, grapple over a chasm, go grinding down a rail into a super speedy tube where you need to swing around corners with your chain and top it off by getting yourself stuck to a ball for a little Super Monkey Ball flavored action. It's also of great note that almost all of I-Ninja's bosses have completely different control schemes, from fighting in a submarine to a giant robot for some first person punching action. This is what controllers were made for, folks. Runners-Up: Kirby Air Ride, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, Mario Kart: Double Dash - GBA Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - For the first time since the Game & Watch Mario Bros., players can (or rather, must) control both Mario brothers simultaneously. This game in general, and this important aspect specifically, had the potential to be really crappy, poorly-crafted, and buggy. But thanks to the magical genius that is Nintendo, we were treated to an impressive, intuitive, 2-character, 1-player RPG experience. Runners-Up: Boktai, Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, Sonic Advance 2 STORY Nintendo's first party hasn't been known for brilliant storylines, but this year's releases, such as the most epic Zelda release yet, told in full, beautiful cinematic glory, and the third game in Mario's misfit RPG series, may indicate a change for the better. We'll have to wait and see. - GCN Enter the Matrix - Ask any fan of the Matrix what the best part of the game was, and they'll gladly tell you: the hour and forty minutes of new footage shot exclusively for the game that intertwines and correlates directly to the plots of both sequels. Well, they probably won't say all of that, but you get the idea. The gameplay? Not that great. The graphics? So so. Bullet time? Cool for about ten minutes. The story is where the party is at, dawg. I mean, I wouldn't go so far as to say it's integral for you to know the game's plot to understand the movies, but if you really want to know what's going on, you should check this out, as well as the Animatrix. It's so sexy it makes my brain hurt. Runners-Up: Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Skies of Arcadia Legends, F-Zero GX - GBA Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - You think you know Mario Bros. games - Bowser kidnaps the Princess, Mario and/or Luigi have to save the day, and so on. Then this crazy game comes in and changes all that. Sure, it may seem like it's just another mission to go out and rescue the Princess at first, but once you're done with that, you discover just how little of the game you've actually played. The way the storyline unfolds in this game is impressive - you think you know everything about the Bean Bean Kingdom, but time and time again, little new adventures pop up and vastly expand what could have very easily been a 20-hour mini-epic into one of the finest RPG's so far this millenium. Runners-Up: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, Sword of Mana INNOVATION As in past award shows, this is where the underdogs shine. As few of Nintendo's critics fail to point out, their more successful games in recent years have been sequels that only build on an existing concept. However, there are always brand new features thrown in that make even the oldest of old games (like the arcade hit, Mario Bros.) seem fresher than ever - at least to us, anyway. Then on the flipside, every year, Nintendo brings us games like last year's Animal Crossing that are innovations in every sense of the word, and this year was no different... - GCN Kirby Air Ride - Some people just don't get the point of this game, but we certainly do - it's a whole lot of fun. Don't be misled by the simple control scheme - mastering it on each one of Kirby's 18 intense vehicles is half the challenge of playing. This is where the game innovates - in having 18 different rides each make the gameplay feel completely new. City Trial mode is also one of the craziest multiplayer experiences we've seen so far on the Nintendo GameCube, and it's to be expected from the team who brought you Smash Bros. Plus, Kirby Air Ride was GameCube's first LAN-compatible game. So it's more of a "genre buster" than an innovator, but we feel it's one of those games that really deserved some more respect this year. Runners-Up: Giftpia, Pacman Vs., Viewtiful Joe - GBA Wario Ware - Where to begin? Man, if you've played this game, you already know it's one of the most unconventional pieces of software ever written. If you haven't, then maybe it stands another awkward introduction - Wario Ware pushes players into fast-paced mini-games in which you never know just what you're up against (your gamer instinct comes into play here), one after another in 5-second spurts. If it sounds too different for Nintendo's style, then you don't know Nintendo well enough. Definitely a game that should be remembered in years to come. Runners-Up: Boktai, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Super Mario Advance 4 e-Cards PARTY GAME It may be starting to sound like a mantra, but Nintendo has seriously always led the way in multiplayer gaming. This year, the GameCube got a start on the LAN gaming craze, allowing up to 16 players to play together, in one instance. The GBA too has had some fine multi-pak experiences, but so far we're still waiting for a game to break that four-player limit. No matter your opinion on the quality of their games, you have to give Nintendo a hand for their pioneering ways in improving multiplayer gaming... - GCN Mario Kart: Double Dash - Now, a lot of people have said (**cough**IGN**cough**) that Mario Kart: Double Dash is just a cookie cutter update that doesn't add anything new to the series. Well, we've got two words for them. Oh yeah? The idiots who say this must not have any friends because they stink of cigarettes and rotting beef and eat Cheetos by the gallon (liquid Cheetos, new from Nabisco), because multiplayer Co-op is more fun than a barrel of monkeys. One can't contain the elation a driver feels when they pull off the perfect curve just as the gunner whips the control stick back and forth to boost them into freedom. It really is a wonderful feeling, and a rush that hasn't been seen since the first wonderful months with SSBM. And, c'mon, it's got LAN mode. What could be cooler than hooking up with a bunch of your friends and Co-oping the hell out of it? We have the answer: nothing. Runners-Up: Kirby Air Ride, Mario Party 5, Pacman Vs. - GBA Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire - The latest generation of Pokémon games may have seen a more modest release than its predecessors, but the gameplay itself has never been better. For the first time, players can pit two of their own Pokémon against two of their friends', or they can team up to take on two more players and each of THEIR Pokémon. While it may sound like a gimmick on paper, it's an air of freshness for a series that already enjoys a great reputation for multiplayer fun, which in many ways is what this year in Nintendo's history is all about. Runners-Up: Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising, Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance NEW CHARACTERS While this generation hasn't quite seen the same franchise-spawning we enjoyed in the N64 days, a few new characters continue to pop up, some more enjoyable than others (Baby Bowser comes to mind...). What do you think - are our Nintendo favorites gonna' be able to carry the company through another generation? Or will we see completely new faces come the system launches in 2005... - GCN Niobe & Ghost (Enter the Matrix) - As we said before, the game itself was not that great, but the ideas and concepts were. If you look carefully, you'll see that it's not even nominated for any awards having to do with gameplay (although hacking was pretty cool). I mean, we're all huge Matrix fans and we only had to rent this game. But damn, Ghost is just the coolest guy ever, and the fact that he hardly gets any lines in the movie is an excellent excuse to play through his version on the game. Don't get me wrong, I mean, Niobe's great too, but she had a big part in the third movie whereas Ghost... was almost nonexistent. They both rock, and together they make up the two coolest new characters this year on the GameCube. Runners-Up: AX Racers (F-Zero AX), Ninja (I-Ninja), Joe (Viewtiful Joe) - GBA Cackletta and Fawful (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga) - Hard to say why, but something about these two just hits our funny bones. Cackletta seems a lot more evil than Bowser. She's the series' new clever, cunning, quintessential evil witch. And don't even get us started on the freakishly frightening Bowletta **shudder**. Fawful, Cackletta's little flunky, has some of the best dialogue for any character in a Mario RPG. It's not outrageously funny stuff, but then again, neither was EarthBound, and that game is, as a matter of fact, the greatest game ever made. So it's great to see Nintendo's more cleverly funny side getting the best of them for a change. Runners-Up: Marche & Co. (Final Fantasy Tactics Advance), Eliwood (Fire Emblem), Wario Ware, Inc. (Wario Ware) LOOKING AHEAD The first half of 2004 looks promising enough, but what WE can't wait for is E3. Sure, last year might've just as well been a no-show, but we're counting on some very big surprises from Nintendo, namely the mysterious new movement-based console, some possible talk about the capabilities of the new GameCube, and as always, a new Mario platformer on either system (PLEASE!). Only time will tell... - GCN Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles - Funny how we gave this award to this game in this category two years in a row. Crystal Chronicles is one game everyone should have been born excited about. Screw the skeptics (I'm lookin' at you, dirty Famitsu Magazine) - the intense four-player strategy will be more than enough to make up for any plot holes or lack of character development. As for the GBA issue, c'mon, what self-respecting GameCube owner DOESN'T own at least one GBA? And don't tell me your friends don't own GBA's, cause I'm gonna' tell you right now - you need better friends. Runners-Up: Baten Kaitos, Donkey Konga, Pikmin 2 - GBA Mother 3 - Okay sure, it's barely been announced in Japan, and that was almost a year ago, AND we have no idea what it's gonna' be like. But we knew EarthBound 64, we liked EarthBound 64, and we have never-ending, probably self-destructive faith in Nintendo. Let's put it this way - we're more excited about the prospect of learning any small shred of information about this game than we are about owning all three of the others, combined. Runners-Up: F-Zero: Falcon Legend, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Pokémon Fire Red/Leaf Green GAME OF THE YEAR So this is it - Game of the Year. I think we'll leave it at that... - GCN Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - Despite it having been a pretty good year for GameCube games, very few truly deserve this prestigious award (haha). The new Mario Kart is probably the only other game we could see going head-to-head with this category's obvious winner, the Wind Waker, and that's saying a lot, considering the fantastic new Zelda adventure is, for every staffer, one of our favorite games of all time, and almost definitely our favorite game in the series so far. However, like any great game, it still has its flaws. But instead of seeing them fixed in the next upcoming Zelda game, we'd like to see something even more brand new-feeling - a change on the scale of Zelda II versus the original Legend of Zelda for NES. Not that Wind Waker wasn't innovative itself, it's just sort of the highest point we feel the 3D Zelda's should attempt to reach. Having said that, again, it's a fantastic game and the critics can all die. :-P Runners-Up: F-Zero GX, Mario Kart: Double Dash, Viewtiful Joe - GBA Wario Ware - Now THIS was a hard choice to make. In all fairness, all four of the nominated games could've won this award against anything but eachother. When we look back at the past year in fabulous GBA gaming, we just have to go with the game that made us smile, laugh, and flip-out the most; Wario Ware, Inc. Mega Microgame$. Sure it's not an obvious pick - the graphics aren't phenomenal, and the franchise is all but completely brand new. But Wario Ware is pure fun for literally any player, be they avid gamer, bright-eyed 5-year-old, or even your own mom. This game is one of the finest examples of what Nintendo has claimed they're all about since 1981 - a charming gaming experience that's both bold and a little bit out there. Mr. Wario! We salute your entrepeneurism and welcome your company's first fabulous game. Now go out there and make us another one. GO! Runners-Up: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire Closing As you can see, video games are only getting better - prettier, more captivating, more daring and innovative than ever before. As we always have, we still feel at the beginning of 2004 that Nintendo continues to lead the way in great games, no matter the reputation they've gotten for an image that some gamers just aren't mature enough to accept and have fun with. Sure they may have been a little late on the LAN idea, and their online gaming plan hasn't exactly gone anywhere at all, but these are minor flaws on another otherwise flawless year in gaming. All we hope is that kids like us can convince other gamers to see the Nintendo we see, so that Nintendo can continue bringing us pure excitement in the years and decades to come.