Nintendo:Nintendo Wikia Awards 2008

Super Smash Bros. Brawl was king of the polls this year while other heavy hitters included the likes of Mario Kart Wii, Kirby Super Star Ultra, The World Ends with You, My Pokémon Ranch and World of Goo. Below you can see the winners of the users' categories as well as my own personal choices.

Nintendo DS game of the year: Professor Layton and the Curious Village
The most appealing aspect about this game is that it really is what Nintendo is all about - bridging the gap between casual and hardcore players. But there are plenty of people who'll come in and complain that there are many games that do that - Brain Age, Nintendogs, Wii Sports. Well, that's where I'm going to correct you and simply say "you're wrong". Those games were directed almost exclusively for the casual crowd. You may've enjoyed them, though they had that distinct casual feel. Professor Layton didn't. It also didn't feel like a hardcore game. It was right in between. Executed to perfection. And perhaps the most surprising part of this whole thing - it wasn't developed by Nintendo. Yes, in America and Europe it was published by the gaming giant, though it was actually developed by Level 5, also known as the team behind the Inazuma Eleven series and the newer Dragon Quest games.

Runner ups:

1. The World Ends with You (Jupiter, Square Enix) 2. Space Invaders Extreme (Taito, Square Enix)

WiiWare game of the year: World of Goo
I am seriously pissed at you guys for not choosing this game. What's worse is that you chose My Pokémon Ranch over this. I'm not saying that the game is bad (I've never actually played it), but something tells me that those who chose that game never purchased World of Goo. World of Goo is simply one of the most fantastic games to have ever been released. Easily the most innovative game of the year, World of Goo was shockingly developed by two people. Shocking, aint it?

Runner ups:

1. LostWinds (Frontier) 2. ArtStyle: ORBIENT (skip, Nintendo)

Nintendo DS game of the year: Kirby Super Star Ultra
Fans of Masahiro Sakurai are clearly on the site - Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Kirby Super Star Ultra were the big winners this year. Kirby Super Star Ultra is a remake of a classic SNES title. The game is generally considered the best that the series' has to offer, and has delivered some of the most fantastic gameplay and musical scores in all of video gaming. The remake offers more than just updated graphics - it features entirely new games, including one mode that allows the player to go through every other mode as Meta Knight, new mini-games are present, and there are even CGI films added too.

WiiWare game of the year: My Pokémon Ranch
The biggest shock was My Pokémon Ranch beating out the likes of World of Goo and Strong Bad. But why should I be surprised when this is in fact a Nintendo website??? Anyway, even though this game may not be my cup of tea, it does have a lot that appeals to the Pokémon fans out there - including 1,000 extra Pokémon spaces for owners of Diamond, Pearl or the soon to be released Platinum. For those unfamiliar with what I'm talking about - in the handheld titles you're given a limited amount of space for the amount of Pokémon you can have. This game doubles it, though you'll have to connect to the Wii using your DS in order to withdraw or insert. There are plenty of fun activities to partake in here and you can even get new Pokémon as well.

Game of the year/Wii game of the year: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
I suspect many websites will not choose Super Smash Bros. Brawl simply for the fact that it really didn't push the series forward. But in the long run, I don't choose my list based on a game's innovations, but simply based on how much fun I had, and of all the Wii games released this year Super Smash Bros. Brawl delivered in that category. And I have to correct myself: It did contain plenty of new features that should be brought into consideration. For one, it was the first in the series to have third party characters, or rather characters that Nintendo doesn't own. These characters were Sonic the Hedgehog, a predictable character, and the surprising yet oh-so-awesome Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid. Yes, there were only two third party characters, but all in all this is still a Nintendo focused fighter.

Second, it featured a single player mode that really felt like a completely different game altogether. I have played oh-so-many fighters over the years that have a stale single player mode that just has you fighting enemies as you would in any other mode, but possibly with a different background. No, this new single player experience feels like a full-blown platformer in the same vein as the Kirby series - unsurprising since the game's director created the small pink puffball of power.

Third, the game took Melee ' s concept of collection and went berserk with it. Imagine Melee as a gas station, and Brawl as the Empire State Building - there's literally that much more in this game, which is unbelievable since Melee had a ton of content in of itself. Over 500 trophies to collect, 700 stickers, tons of stages, characters, and so fourth. We've even got a stage builder - a first for the series. The stage builder felt kind of stale, but I suspect that it'll be a prominent feature in the next installment. Which brings me to my last point - Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. To be frank, it sucked. Yes, sucked. That's one word you don't suspect to see in an article claiming this to be the best game of the year, though there was one thing that came from it - plenty of emails to Nintendo wanting a better service. I'm sure Nintendo will take this into consideration while developing the inevitable fourth game in the series (Super Smash Bros. Battle Royal if they take my name... hecks to the yes).

Results
Best game of 2008

1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - 60 votes 2. Mario Kart Wii - 16 votes 3. Kirby Super Star Ultra - 10 votes 4. My Pokémon Ranch - 6 votes 5. The World Ends with You - 4 votes 6. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood - 2 votes 6. Strong Bad - 2 votes 6. World of Goo - 2 votes 7. No More Heroes - 1 vote Total votes: 103 votes

Best WiiWare game of 2008

1. My Pokémon Ranch - 32 votes 2. World of Goo - 20 votes 3. Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People - 18 votes 4. Mega Man 9 - 16 votes 5. Tetris Party - 7 votes 6. Art Style: Cubello - 3 votes 6. Defend Your Castle - 3 votes 6. Dr. Mario Online RX - 3 votes 7. LostWinds - 2 votes 7. My life as a King - 2 votes Total Votes: 106

Best DS Game of 2008

1. Kirby Super Star Ultra - 54 votes 2. Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood - 14 votes 3. The World Ends with You - 7 votes 4. Chrono Trigger - 6 votes 5. Final Fantasy IV - 4 votes 5. Professor Layton and the Curious Village - 4 votes 6. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney - 3 votes 7. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin - 2 votes 7. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - 2 votes 7. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - 2 votes 8. Disgaea DS - 1 vote 8. Lock ' s Quest - 1 vote 8. Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword - 1 vote Total Votes: 101

Best Wii Game of 2008

1. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - 75 votes 2. Mario Kart Wii - 7 votes 3. No More Heroes - 4 votes 4. Animal Crossing: City Folk - 3 votes 4. de Blob - 3 votes 4. Okami - 3 votes 5. Boom Blox - 1 vote 5. Endless Ocean - 1 vote 5. Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon - 1 vote 5. ''Mario Super Sluggers' - 1 vote 5. Wario Land: The Shake Dimension - 1 vote 5. Wii Music - 1 vote Total votes: 101