As a diehard Gamecube-head, I feel ashamed that I've never played this one until now. I always told myself someday I would, and have downloaded the ISO for this game on like three different machines. It wouldn't be until this year when I started my Suda51 deep dive (well it can't really be called deep if this game is as far I got this year). I put this on my modded Gamecube and finally, truly learned what it meant to kill the past. I'm finally awake from my dream. And I also know that I'm incredibly easy to jumpscare.

Feel like the only thing I can say is what I said in my review: "Went from 9/10 to 10/10 after being rescued during the ending by someone named Used Cock Salesman"

It's sort of debatable whether this is actually better than SMB1, but for me it wins out both because of the story mode and the increase in side games. SMB2 gives you more mini games to start off with than SMB1, and even more to unlock. The story is adorably nonsensical and helps makes later stages less intimidating by giving the player a way to progress through the stages and experiencing the difficulty curve outside of Arcade mode. I understand some people aren't a fan on the amount of switch-based levels and general gimmicks, but to me this still satisfies the need for good-ass monkey balling. It was just the kind of thing where you're playing a game and you realize oh, this is literally perfect, this is everything it needs to be.

It's a weird feeling, getting exactly what you've always wanted, to the point that you can't help but doubt if it's actually what you always wanted. Odyssey is exactly the right direction for 3D Mario games, and while there are problems I have with some of its structure, it is the number one reason to get a Switch as far as I'm concerned. Nearly everything feels just right mechanically, the levels are mostly hits, and the capture mechanic is so good it feels like Nintendo needs to make at least one more game with it. Maybe the only reason I don't wanna give it a five is because I don't like being predictable. Come on Nintendo, you're doing BOTW 2 (I'm sorry, I meant to say The Sequel To The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild), give this one a 2!

The more pure, raw, unfiltered Monkey Ball experience, the one that only the realest Monkey Ballers can complete. Ended up preferring 2 mostly because I wanted to play Monkey Billiards with friends and you have to unlock that one in this game. Still and undeniable classic, Sega bringing that Dreamcast magic over to the Gamecube.

With this chapter, Deltarune has shown that is completely capable of surpassing Undertale. Everything here is top-notch and pitch perfect, the only reason I haven't given this game five stars is that I still want to see where the rest of the chapters go. The balance in tone is just right, it's simultaneously the funniest game I've ever played and also getting at something very real and painful about small town life and basically everything surrounding Kris. And of course, no one can introduce an Internet brain worm quite like Toby Fox can. Now, more than ever, is your chance to be a big shot.

A game that loves telling the player to go fuck themselves while delivering a classic Suda51 story of "good God what is happening, I thought I had this figured and then three more things happened". Love a game like this existing on the DS, one of the funniest games I've played, even if I am the butt of most of the jokes. Obviously I mentioned this game's attitude towards the player, but I should make it clear it's a little more specific than that. My actual review goes into it, so I don't feel like writing that stuff again.

I don't know, I've seen a lot of other platformer fans call this one boring or generic and I just don't feel that. Sure it's familiar and comfy, but I also think it has some of my favorite level concepts in any 3D platformer. There's such a good variety of the kind of missions and level structures this game tackles, and the moveset makes moving through them a joy. Also has some of my favorite writing in a 3D platformer, as it strikes a good balance of being funny but never leaning too hard into self-aware 4th-wall breaking jokes or "this one's for the adults in the audience" type jokes or references (well there's that one My Brother My Brother and Me joke, don't know why they did that). The characters are very fun and cartoony, as they should be in this kind of game, I love the way everyone ends up projecting on Hat Kid one way or another and the way she always finds a way to piss everyone off. It's a fun world to be in, it captures all the right parts of the Banjo-Kazooie series while taking from the best of Mario for the platforming and level design.

They made a virtual museum for two of my favorite albums that I've been obsessed with since high school. I only wish I could wipe my memory and do it again. Like I said in my review, I need someone to mod Mario into this game so I can do long jumps and wall jumps in this game.

I played this so early into 2021 it feels wild to think it was the same year. It's strange how it feels like both everything and nothing has changed. Anyway, Bugsnax manages to do a lot of things really fucking well all at once and every time I sat down to play it, it felt like there was always something to totally catch me off guard. Does the whole "cutesy thing revealed to be dark and serious" extremely well, the story could've easily been some Happy Tree Friends garbage but instead I'm out genuinely caring for these Muppet bitches.

Look, I didn't think a kart racer on the GBA would end up this high on the list either, but as someone who's become a kart racer fiend, this hit the spot so well. Allows the player to reach high speeds in a way it feels like many racers don't, and the lack of drift boost means this game demands a certain kind of track mastery and knowledge of the mechanics of kart racing in a way most in the genre don't. Also love the cast here, it's so inspired. Instead of Solid Snake it's Gray Fox, instead of a Belmont it's some weird version of Dracula, and while Japanese audiences would be more familiar with these characters, here in the West it has this sort of "here are the other guys no one really talks about" feeling to it that I love. Wish Nintendo would do a crossover with this sort of roster, no Marios or Zeldas allowed.

This year was the year I realized I was always a Sonic fan. Like, obviously there are Sonic games I like a lot, but it was with playing through this game, this specific version of this game on emulator, that I realized how much I overlooked this game when I first played it through the DX version. There's so much good here, it's easily my favorite 3D Sonic because of how it balances speed while still granting you good control of the character in more open spaces. There's no awkward wind up to full speed like the boost games, you can run around areas at a good pace and then start going fast when you decide to. It's the level design in this game that I desperately want to see come back to the series. Also love the Rashomon structure of the story, it's messy and all over the place and I love it. The soundtrack is also completely GOATed from beginning to end.

Feel like I can't put this on the list without bringing up the stream series that got me to replay it. A streamer I follow, Digilili, did a 30 Years of Sonic series of weekly streams where they and their co-host go through every game in the series. I love this series and the passion that the hosts speak of Sonic with really got me to replay Sonic games I previously dismissed as not for me and realize that I adore them. It felt like rediscovering why this series stuck with me even when I insisted I never really cared.

I love the first Crazy Taxi, and when I started getting into Dreamcast emulation thanks to Sonic Adventure, I decided to give it's sequel a try. I always thought it was weird how this game was never ported anywhere else, because this is a great sequel. The new maps are a lot of fun and different from the previous ones, now based on New York instead of San Francisco, and as an east coast bitch myself I love this change. Overall, a lot is mostly the same, the only real new mechanic is the crazy jump, which really allows for insane shortcuts and paths to open up. It's addition ends up really encouraging finding faster and faster paths to different places. But really, the big reason I ended up loving this game is that this is the first time I bothered learning Crazy Taxi tech. Mastering the way drifting works, finding out how to get a boost out of a standstill, and of course the crazy dash, which the final mission in this game demands mastery of. Beating it was one of my proudest gaming achievements this year.

My first step into Suda51's catalog, a deep dive spurred on by several cool people on this site. Fascinating, mind-bending, dense as hell, and never quite what you expect it to be. Intentionally hard to follow, something that certainly prepares you for future KTP games, and despite everything managed to be a good introduction to visual novels for me, because as fucked as it sounds I think this is my first one. Also easily the best soundtrack I discovered this year, several songs here have made it to my all time favorite video game tracks.

Rhythm Heaven on DS was a hellish experience for me as a child, and then as a teen when I tried to beat it again, and then as an adult when I finally succeeded in beating it. Rhythm Heaven Fever obviously didn't take me as long to beat, but it certainly does not hold back from being as hellish as its predecessor. Still, it's an incredibly well built, creative, and, despite the pain, joyous game about finding joy and music in everything. We got Warioware on Switch finally, this series is due.

I think almost everyone saw gameplay of this and just kind of went "oh that looks really boring compared to other Warioware games". In trailers it just kind of looked like moving a cursor over something happening in the background, but in reality this is one of the most exciting games in the series, and the first time I ever felt like the cast was used to its fullest potential. As someone who was already a fan of these characters, being able to control them in this way is such a treat. The way you're switch between different movesets in the middle of these already frantic microgames, it's totally true to the series despite at first seeming like a strange departure. Couldn't put this game down when it came out, and the large amount of post-story stuff to do makes it worthwhile to come back to every now and then.

Still coming back to this game every now and then to just put on a podcast and go to town on giant houses that apparently are just covered in shit or something. The fantasy of a job with immediately visible and rewarding results, one where there's no distractions and money is never an actual concern, just you and your power washer and houses covered in shit. You have no idea how many times I've played games since playing this one and saw a dirty surface and thought "I gotta wash that", like this game has taken over other games.

I like just wrote a review on this one so I don't feel like doing words for it, but it's an incredible 3D platformer that in my opinion manages to surpass the original and tell a genuinely touching and engrossing story. These old fuddy-duddies made me cry!

Not really a lot to say about this one, it's a super fucking solid Metroid game and Samus is really cool in it. That one moment where she speaks Chozo to that one guy and it's her only spoken words in the whole game, that shit made me pop off.

It's such a good feeling whenever you come back to an old game like this and it totally lives up to the hype. I've only played the 3D F-Zero games before, and this is a pretty different experience but just as good. Everything I like about my favorite kart racers is in here, there's nothing quite like mastering a track and just barely getting first after finally overtaking the car that's been hassling you the entire race. Also some of the most banging music on the SNES.

Was a joy to experience a very well-crafted throwback to Namco's arcade classics. Really understands the "purity" of that style of game and how to deliver on what makes those games so engaging, and also cute main character.

I'll never forget when I saw first saw this game at the arcade I was at. I was looking for any free machines when I saw a guy sitting on a stool in front of this one, open case of PBR right next to him while going HAM on this machine for at least an hour. He looked so in his element, drinking down cans of beer while pulling down that tap that I couldn't bear to ask him to move off of it. I left and came back later when he was gone to start playing and got hooked. Told all my friends they had to play it, none of them were as impressed as I was. Seriously, playing this game with the tap on the machine, nothing like it. I need to come back here.

At first I thought this game was just "better Minesweeper", but then it became "Minesweeper mixed with Picross", and I was even more hooked than I already was. Immediately bought the two other games in this series, they're all cheap and go on sale often so I would suggest any other puzzle fiend do the same.

If you've been looking for a new 2D platformer that delivers that classic SNES style of super difficult platforming ala Donkey Kong Country or the Ghost n Goblins series, but with a moveset inspired by the best Kirby Super Star powerups, then this is the game for you. Oh and also Touhou girls with giant tits, that's also here, if you've been, looking for that, I guess.

It's easy to forget how good a game boy color game can look and sound. One of the best versions of Panel de Pon you can play, and it's centered around Gen 2, the coolest gen IMO.

A very fun collection of games that feel like they've been entirely overlooked when talking about the history of games. As a kid I always loved collections of old arcade games so to have one of those for a group of games I basically knew nothing about was great for me. Lot's of good options for each game, good supplemental material as well, Psycho Soldier is there.

A fun time capsule of the style of sci-fi movies and games being made at the time of the game's release. Also a treat to finally check out what the this team did after Rayman 2. You can hear Rayman's VA say "hell" in this one. There's a cool pig.

Kind of loses it's initial excitement and fun as you play more and more rounds, but it's a good option if you want to play some Pac-Man But Different. I got three Ws in this one, as opposed to the zero in Tetris 99, so while Tetris 99 is the better game for a battle royale, I still think this is a cool thing. I hope they do this with more and more classic games. Also the Top 10 music in this game goes hard as fuck.

For just one dollar you can play a tight and charming 3D platformer, on Switch and PC. Listen, I've played worse 3D platformers this year that cost a lot more than one dollar, this is a blessing of a game.

This was the year I finally bought those DK Bongos I always told myself I would buy. It was mostly spurred on by the chance to play Headstrong in Donkey Konga, but it turns out Donkey Konga kind of sucks. This, meanwhile, is way better. Not always smooth, and sometimes a little too demanding of the player and their ability to clap and slap bongos consistently, but very cool, and sort of an indication of where Nintendo was going after the Gamecube. I wish my friend Diddy Kong was here though.

Game That's Bad But NOT The Way You Say It Is

Balan Wonderworld is no question a bad game but I hate seeing it become the "bad game punching bag" of the year. One of those games that certain youtube channels just go all in on and make ten different videos where the person pretends to be personally offended over it, it's just not fair. Balan Wonderworld is the kind of disaster only real Yuji Naka-heads and 3D platformer freaks can appreciate, all these new guys can fuck off.

Game That Could've Been The GOTY But God Damn You Had To Fuck It All Up

As I said in my exhaustive (and exhausting!) review of Demon Turf, this game is really close to Getting It when it comes to 3D platformer movement and design, but fumbles severely in the second half and never recovers. Maybe someday they'll make the flying power not feel awful, or change how chaining moves works, but that kind of change may be unrealistic for a single-player game that seems to have found a dedicated audience from what I've seen on Twitter and Steam. One thing that is nice is that this is yet another 3D platformer that clearly has a lot of Super Mario Sunshine influence, which certainly feels vindicating as a ride or die Sunshine stan, even if the game isn't great.

2021 Game I'm Sorry I Didn't Get To This Year

Blue Fire looks cool as hell, but unfortunately other cool-looking things managed to send far back in my mind's queue, hopefully I'll be able to give it a shot next year.

Most Anticipated Game

Lord knows if this will actually come out next year but god damn 3D Kirby is what I've been begging for my whole life. I'm not even sure if it'll be good, I just want it! I love the fact that it's also some sort of post-apocalypse world we're exploring, hope the story behind it is unnecessarily depressing because that's what I need.

Best Bad Game I Played This Year

This is the best kind of bad game, one that's actually surprisingly playable and constantly throwing off with new levels of jank and brokenness. The Steam version of this game is definitely the most polished version of this game, so if you would like to experience this legend first-hand, that's your best option. Also is sort of legitimately fun in certain moments? Listen, rapidly going in and out of bullet time to flop around five enemies and shoot them over a 100 times and then wall jumping off the side of a couch, no other game is doing that for you.

Honorable Mention

This is a very solid golf game but I didn't play it that much outside of some matches with friends and a little bit of solo play. However, when I did play it with friends one of them became obsessed with it, and asked me how to use Dolphin and optimize it so he could play this on his dying laptop, and he would message our group chat at like 3 in the morning talking about how all he did that day was play this. He even debated buying a Gamecube just to play this. You know how there's like, a gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, and some people have it and some don't. I'm convinced the Video Golf gene is real.

Game I'm Still Fucking Playing in 2021

Pokemon Go still works on me. Obviously I'm not out here getting my mind blown every time I open it and find a new Pokemon like everyone did in 2016, but the way it serves as a little encouragement to get some walking done is still effective. Trying to catch the best possible Pokemon, battling in gyms, hatching eggs, completing the Pokedex, this shit's still fun to me. It's nice to have an app I can open whenever I want when I'm bored and it won't give me (as much) brain damage. It's keeping me away from gacha games so that has to count for something. At my lowest points in life, I've been able to convince myself to go out to a new place solely because there'll be new pokestops and gyms. A good amount of people I know are still into it, some a lot more than I am, and so it serves as a fun group activity and a way to stay connected with people I don't normally talk to. Also, I have the coolest fucking Metagross, guy has perfect stats, I can't just stop playing.

The Sonic R Award

This award goes to the Sonic R of the year. This year it's Sonic R.