Now that 2014 had ended,I decided to do a list of the best games I got to play for the first time last year.There were many games I picked up this year,summing up to a total of over 25 game.Remember this isn't a list of the "best games of 2014",and there will be games that were released on the past years here too.To make things fair here,only one game per-franchise will be allowed,and sorry to informate this,but I haven't got to play games like Super Smash Bros 4 or Pokemon ORAS in time before 2014 pasted away,so don't expect them to be on the list,but I'll still try to get them throughout this new year.Without further ado,here are my favorite games that I got in 2014!
10)Sonic Unleashed (Xbox 360)
Sonic is faster than never before,going on a quest to restore the world's original form while having to go as his normal form in daytime,and as a 'werehog' during night,after Dr.Eggman/Robotnick awakens a menacing force with the help of the power from the Chaos Emerads.The gameplay during normal Sonic is a blast to play through,and I actually found the Werehog sections decent,and the soundtrack is awesome to listen.Only major problem I had with the game was the medal-hunting mechanic,since I got the Xbox 360 version,but otherwise,it was still a great Sonic game.
9)Kirby Super Star(Wii U/Virtual Console)
I'm glad I was able to get this one from Club Nintendo on my Wii U,because for my first Kirby game,it didn't leave a bad taste at my mouth at all.It had brightly colorful visuals,upbeat soundtrack(Candy Mountain is pretty much stuck on my head while writing this) and fun gameplay.After playing this,I will be looking forward to buying and playing other Kirby games in the future,thanks to this instalment in particular.
8)Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney (3DS)
Level-5's Professor Hershel Layton and Capcom's Phoenix Wright team up together(Yeah,the title has a VS on it,but it does have effect on a certain time of the game) alongside their apprentices/assistants,Luke Triton and Maya Fey,to solve their strangest and mysterious case yet,involving mystical stuff such as witches and magic in a curious town,and all because of one girl who's being accused of being the leader of all witches,Espella Cantabella.Even dough the puzzles were easier than previous PL games,and the story was left with some plot holes with no explanation at the end,the game was still fun for me,with great moments of dialogue,memorable trial sections(ala Ace Attorney,with some Layton twists),fun exploration,likable characters and excellent soundtrack.If you're wanting to start on the Professor Layton,Ace Attorney,or even both franchises,this game is a perfect recommendation on that subject,and a great collaboration for two amazing franchises.
7)Pokemon Black Version 2 & Pokemon White Version 2 (DS)
Two year after the events of the original Black/White games,Unova has changed a lot since then,and you,as a young Pokemon Trainer(not the same one as from 2 years ago),go off on a adventure through this new Unova,meeting new and old gym leaders,battling many trainers,fighting against a new Team Plasma to stop them from their evil plans,encounter legendary Pokemon and a new form,or should I say,forms,of one legendary in particular,and of course,catching all of the Pokemon you can.Gameplay otherwise didn't change much from it's predecessor,but hey,"if it ain't broke,don't fix it".The variety of Pokemon and stuff to do is bigger and better,the story as it progresses,becomes more engaging,the music is pretty good(like the many other entries of this list,as you might have noticed),and overall,it's basically another great Pokemon game to adventure through.
6)Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
The lovable tie-wearing,king of the swing Donkey Kong,alongside his trusty partner,Diddy Kong,are back in action after almost two decades from their last adventure.DK's bananas are stolen once again,now by a crew of ancient living objects(that's the best description I could come up for these guys) known as the Tikis,so it's up to the Kong duo to stop them from escaping off with their bananas.While I was playing this,I thought the levels were very fun and creative,the visuals had great polishment,being loyal to those of the original DKC trilogy,and it had a balanced difficulty,although I kind of sucked in this game while already playing through the first levels of it.I'm still trying to finish it,but so far,I think it's safe to assume that this is a spectacular reboot for the Donkey Kong Country games.
5)Rayman Legends (Wii U)
The Glade of Dreams is being attacked once more,and so it's up to Rayman,Globox,Murphy and the Teensies to restore peace to their land.Ubisoft managed to show us that the 2D Platformer genre is not dead,with spontaneous visuals,smooth gameplay,creative level design and use of the Wii U GamePad,wacky humor and great music.If you're fan of side-scrolling or Rayman games,this most certainly will amaze you.
4)Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
It was a hard decision between Super Mario 3D World,Mario & Luigi:Bowser's Inside Story and this.While the other two mentioned are as great as MK8,I prefered the 'chosen' one of this spot better than SM3DW(still a fantastic game),and I haven't really finished M&L:BiS,so in the end,that's why I've gone with one of the best Mario Kart games to date,MK8.Nintendo truly made me flip my head upside-down with this one,delivering gorgeous looks,chaotically fun gameplay,nice custom kart pieces,giving the possibility of hundreds different combinations,and a phenomenal soundtrack.If you're looking for games to play on your Wii U,this is an option I'd totally recommend for you.
3)Punch-Out!! (Wii)
Little Mac is ready once more alongside his 'chocolate lover' coach Doc Luis to take on every boxer ranked in the tournaments with one goal in mind:Become the worldwide champion boxer of them all,and maintain that title afterwards.I already did a review on this one,but I'm saying it again:"...With polished visuals,memorable characters,incredible presentation,great soundtrack,fun single-player and multiplayer and overally impressive depth put into it,it's no surprise why this got a spot on the 'Nintendo Selects' line-up of Wii games...".Also,you may want grab a bag of tears while playing this,because it gets emotional during certain point of the game,so that's a plus to Nintendo for actually making a game that makes the player cry a bit(or a lot).Like I said with Donkey Kong Country Returns,it's a septacular reboot/revival for Little Mac to punch his way to victory,and he did just that with this game.
WARNING:Before you see what the number 2 games of this list is,I can explain why I've putted it in here.You know that I've putted Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney on the number 8 spot.However,for this list,I'll consider that game as an Ace Attorney game(technically,the majority of the characters in there look like characters that would fit in a AA game,and yes,I did get PW:AA Justice for All in 2014,but I'm still stuck on the first case of that game),because I kind of felt the need to put the game chosen for the number 2 spot,based on personal taste,so I hope you understand as to why I did this.Anyway,my second favorite game I got in 2014 is:
2)Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (DS)
Professor Layton and his apprentice Luke Triton are setting off for another strange mystery,when they receive a letter from a future Luke from 10 years after their current time,in a story full of plot twists related to certain characters' past,and weird events.Level-5 did a fantastic job doing a grand finale to the first Layton trilogy,all of which include lovable characters(well,with the exception of one,unfortunely)a well-writen story,spontaneous soundtrack,fun puzzles to test your mind and more which is hold within this memorable and emotional experience.This game was my definitive favorite game of 2014...that is,until...
1)Fire Emblem Awakening
I will admit I haven't got too far in this game as of now(I only got it at last Christmas)but I will for sure,because Awakening is just pure amazing.Everything about this game seems to be payed attention in detail,and with that,comes lovably memorable characters,an engaging story,tactically complex gameplay,greatly produced music and much more.I plan on finishing this game this year,hopefully,and until then,I know that's what ahead of me will amaze me,and because of that,Fire Emblem Awakening is my favorite game I've gotten the pleasure to own from 2014.
Now here are some honorable mentions that didn't make the list(I wished I could had put them,but only 10 were allowed.And also,they're not in a specific order)or basically,the other games I've gotten in 2014,for curiosity:
The Legend of Zelda:A Link Between Worlds(Haven't completed it.Kind of stuck in it,actually)
Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney:Justice for All(Haven't finished it)
Pokemon X & Pokemon Y
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy(Haven't finished it)
Super Mario 3D World
Mario & Luigi:Bowser's Inside Story(Haven't finished it)
Mario & Luigi
ream Team(Haven't finished it)
Mario Golf World Tour
Sonic Lost World 3DS
Batman Akham City Xbox 360(Haven't finished it.It was close to being on the Top 10,dough)
Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition
Pokemon LeafGreen Version(Haven't finished it)
Mario Strickers Charged
Mario Super Sluggers
Donkey Kong Jr. (Wii U Virtual Console)
ExciteBike(Wii U Virtual Console)
Mario VS Donkey Kong:Mini-Land Mayhem!
Mario Power Tennis...on the Wii
Well,that's it for the list of my favorite games I've owned since 2014!Hope you liked the list(remember it was based on MY personal taste) and Happy New Year of 2015 to everyone!!
10)Sonic Unleashed (Xbox 360)
Sonic is faster than never before,going on a quest to restore the world's original form while having to go as his normal form in daytime,and as a 'werehog' during night,after Dr.Eggman/Robotnick awakens a menacing force with the help of the power from the Chaos Emerads.The gameplay during normal Sonic is a blast to play through,and I actually found the Werehog sections decent,and the soundtrack is awesome to listen.Only major problem I had with the game was the medal-hunting mechanic,since I got the Xbox 360 version,but otherwise,it was still a great Sonic game.
9)Kirby Super Star(Wii U/Virtual Console)
I'm glad I was able to get this one from Club Nintendo on my Wii U,because for my first Kirby game,it didn't leave a bad taste at my mouth at all.It had brightly colorful visuals,upbeat soundtrack(Candy Mountain is pretty much stuck on my head while writing this) and fun gameplay.After playing this,I will be looking forward to buying and playing other Kirby games in the future,thanks to this instalment in particular.
8)Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney (3DS)
Level-5's Professor Hershel Layton and Capcom's Phoenix Wright team up together(Yeah,the title has a VS on it,but it does have effect on a certain time of the game) alongside their apprentices/assistants,Luke Triton and Maya Fey,to solve their strangest and mysterious case yet,involving mystical stuff such as witches and magic in a curious town,and all because of one girl who's being accused of being the leader of all witches,Espella Cantabella.Even dough the puzzles were easier than previous PL games,and the story was left with some plot holes with no explanation at the end,the game was still fun for me,with great moments of dialogue,memorable trial sections(ala Ace Attorney,with some Layton twists),fun exploration,likable characters and excellent soundtrack.If you're wanting to start on the Professor Layton,Ace Attorney,or even both franchises,this game is a perfect recommendation on that subject,and a great collaboration for two amazing franchises.
7)Pokemon Black Version 2 & Pokemon White Version 2 (DS)
Two year after the events of the original Black/White games,Unova has changed a lot since then,and you,as a young Pokemon Trainer(not the same one as from 2 years ago),go off on a adventure through this new Unova,meeting new and old gym leaders,battling many trainers,fighting against a new Team Plasma to stop them from their evil plans,encounter legendary Pokemon and a new form,or should I say,forms,of one legendary in particular,and of course,catching all of the Pokemon you can.Gameplay otherwise didn't change much from it's predecessor,but hey,"if it ain't broke,don't fix it".The variety of Pokemon and stuff to do is bigger and better,the story as it progresses,becomes more engaging,the music is pretty good(like the many other entries of this list,as you might have noticed),and overall,it's basically another great Pokemon game to adventure through.
6)Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
The lovable tie-wearing,king of the swing Donkey Kong,alongside his trusty partner,Diddy Kong,are back in action after almost two decades from their last adventure.DK's bananas are stolen once again,now by a crew of ancient living objects(that's the best description I could come up for these guys) known as the Tikis,so it's up to the Kong duo to stop them from escaping off with their bananas.While I was playing this,I thought the levels were very fun and creative,the visuals had great polishment,being loyal to those of the original DKC trilogy,and it had a balanced difficulty,although I kind of sucked in this game while already playing through the first levels of it.I'm still trying to finish it,but so far,I think it's safe to assume that this is a spectacular reboot for the Donkey Kong Country games.
5)Rayman Legends (Wii U)
The Glade of Dreams is being attacked once more,and so it's up to Rayman,Globox,Murphy and the Teensies to restore peace to their land.Ubisoft managed to show us that the 2D Platformer genre is not dead,with spontaneous visuals,smooth gameplay,creative level design and use of the Wii U GamePad,wacky humor and great music.If you're fan of side-scrolling or Rayman games,this most certainly will amaze you.
4)Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)
It was a hard decision between Super Mario 3D World,Mario & Luigi:Bowser's Inside Story and this.While the other two mentioned are as great as MK8,I prefered the 'chosen' one of this spot better than SM3DW(still a fantastic game),and I haven't really finished M&L:BiS,so in the end,that's why I've gone with one of the best Mario Kart games to date,MK8.Nintendo truly made me flip my head upside-down with this one,delivering gorgeous looks,chaotically fun gameplay,nice custom kart pieces,giving the possibility of hundreds different combinations,and a phenomenal soundtrack.If you're looking for games to play on your Wii U,this is an option I'd totally recommend for you.
3)Punch-Out!! (Wii)
Little Mac is ready once more alongside his 'chocolate lover' coach Doc Luis to take on every boxer ranked in the tournaments with one goal in mind:Become the worldwide champion boxer of them all,and maintain that title afterwards.I already did a review on this one,but I'm saying it again:"...With polished visuals,memorable characters,incredible presentation,great soundtrack,fun single-player and multiplayer and overally impressive depth put into it,it's no surprise why this got a spot on the 'Nintendo Selects' line-up of Wii games...".Also,you may want grab a bag of tears while playing this,because it gets emotional during certain point of the game,so that's a plus to Nintendo for actually making a game that makes the player cry a bit(or a lot).Like I said with Donkey Kong Country Returns,it's a septacular reboot/revival for Little Mac to punch his way to victory,and he did just that with this game.
WARNING:Before you see what the number 2 games of this list is,I can explain why I've putted it in here.You know that I've putted Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney on the number 8 spot.However,for this list,I'll consider that game as an Ace Attorney game(technically,the majority of the characters in there look like characters that would fit in a AA game,and yes,I did get PW:AA Justice for All in 2014,but I'm still stuck on the first case of that game),because I kind of felt the need to put the game chosen for the number 2 spot,based on personal taste,so I hope you understand as to why I did this.Anyway,my second favorite game I got in 2014 is:
2)Professor Layton and the Unwound Future (DS)
Professor Layton and his apprentice Luke Triton are setting off for another strange mystery,when they receive a letter from a future Luke from 10 years after their current time,in a story full of plot twists related to certain characters' past,and weird events.Level-5 did a fantastic job doing a grand finale to the first Layton trilogy,all of which include lovable characters(well,with the exception of one,unfortunely)a well-writen story,spontaneous soundtrack,fun puzzles to test your mind and more which is hold within this memorable and emotional experience.This game was my definitive favorite game of 2014...that is,until...
1)Fire Emblem Awakening
I will admit I haven't got too far in this game as of now(I only got it at last Christmas)but I will for sure,because Awakening is just pure amazing.Everything about this game seems to be payed attention in detail,and with that,comes lovably memorable characters,an engaging story,tactically complex gameplay,greatly produced music and much more.I plan on finishing this game this year,hopefully,and until then,I know that's what ahead of me will amaze me,and because of that,Fire Emblem Awakening is my favorite game I've gotten the pleasure to own from 2014.
Now here are some honorable mentions that didn't make the list(I wished I could had put them,but only 10 were allowed.And also,they're not in a specific order)or basically,the other games I've gotten in 2014,for curiosity:
The Legend of Zelda:A Link Between Worlds(Haven't completed it.Kind of stuck in it,actually)
Phoenix Wright - Ace Attorney:Justice for All(Haven't finished it)
Pokemon X & Pokemon Y
Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy(Haven't finished it)
Super Mario 3D World
Mario & Luigi:Bowser's Inside Story(Haven't finished it)
Mario & Luigi
ream Team(Haven't finished it)Mario Golf World Tour
Sonic Lost World 3DS
Batman Akham City Xbox 360(Haven't finished it.It was close to being on the Top 10,dough)
Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition
Pokemon LeafGreen Version(Haven't finished it)
Mario Strickers Charged
Mario Super Sluggers
Donkey Kong Jr. (Wii U Virtual Console)
ExciteBike(Wii U Virtual Console)
Mario VS Donkey Kong:Mini-Land Mayhem!
Mario Power Tennis...on the Wii
Well,that's it for the list of my favorite games I've owned since 2014!Hope you liked the list(remember it was based on MY personal taste) and Happy New Year of 2015 to everyone!!
