Your Game of the Year 2006

Since it's just about New Years and all the major releases are out, what's been everyone's top pick of the year? All platforms, all genres; what game stands out to you as the best released in 2006?

My pick: Mushihimesama Futari (PCB)

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Official site here
Released by premier scrolling shooting game developer Cave, this sequel to Mushihimesama has given me the most joy and satisfaction than any other game in recent memory. I've dumped many coins into the cabinets down at Akihabara and have enjoyed every minute. The challenge, variety, atmosphere and Cave's standard production value quality are all present and make up their best release since 2002's Ketsui. Not many companies dare to release shooting games in this day and age, but bless Cave for keeping the genre not only alive, but still kicking ass.

Honorable mention: Akumajou Dracula Gallery of Labyrinth (DS)
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
I'm not big into shooting games, but this one sure looks cool. Must be the whole dinosaur thing. Anyway, to be honest I can't think of a particular game I'd put above all others. I'd probably cite Zelda TP if I actually had a Wii to play my copy, but lacking that and not being able to remember when I played what (plus the fact I've played quite a bit of older games this year), I'll have to pass.

Just so I say something, if I had to name the system I've spent the most time and had the most fun on it'd definitely be the NDS. It's the great winner of the year to me and will probably also be next year's as well.
 
Ahh another Cave fan excellent! Guwange is probably my favorite by them though I like pretty much everything. I will agree Ketsui is up there. I wish I could afford the PCB for either as neither was ported. A good buddy of mine has Guwange though and we rock it pretty often.

As far as my game of the year I would have to say Gears of War.
 

CnC

Ad Oculos
NTSC-J said:
My pick: Mushihimesama Futari (PCB)

Why do games like that feel they need a story/big-boobed mascot? meh :troll:

As for me, yea - I'd probably pick Gears of War too. But Dead Rising is a close second, as I had a ton of fun playing that game.

Third would go to Company of Heroes - while I will eternally suck at RTS's I still enjoy that game.
 

incognitoX

you fail me
Gears of War has my vote.

Still wish I had a Wii, or that I never sold my Gamecube so that I may bask in the glory of that which is Twilight Princess. Ah well, soon enough it shall be mine.. oh yes it shall be mine.
 
Hmm, I don't really play games any more that often. (mostly when I do it's on ZSnes playing old FF's or something).

Though I do really like The new Zelda.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
IGN just gave Okami the overall game of the year. That was surprising to me after Gears of War seemed to be the likely candidate across the board. I've been meaning to play Okami, but I honestly don't have a strong desire to, even after this award.

http://bestof.ign.com/2006/

As for my personal game of the year, I've given it some thought, and from a purely practical standpoint, based on how many hours I've put into a game vs how much enjoyment it gave me, I choose Tetris DS. No kidding.

I must have already put 50-70 hours into this classic and I'm still not sick of the extra modes and great old-school remixed Nintendo tunes, not to mention playing WiFi vs the dreaded, god-like japanese players. It's just a beautiful package of a game, down to the sound effects and little touches like the design of each level board changing dramatically to its own theme.

I know it's a cheap choice since the game's been out for decades, but from the bottom of my heart, it's my favorite game that was released this year. Runner-up would have to be Mario Kart DS.
 

handsome rakshas

Thanks Grail!
I just got around to trying out Okami at a friends house, Awesome game!
When it comes to great games in 2006 the DS could not be stopped!
Castlevania, Bleach, Phoenix Wright, Dragon Quest , Elite Beat Agents, Mario Brothers, Tetris, Mario Kart, Final Fantasy, Children of Mana, Brain Age, Jump Superstars, phew! And I'm sure I'm forgetting a whole lot more! If this system continues to deliver awesome titles in 2007 I don't ever think I'll buy a next gen system! Oh yeah, my pick for game of the year!

It is...
Shenmue for the Dreamcast! Hey don't blame me, I just got around to getting one! Just kidding, my real pick is...
Castlevania Portrait of Ruin! Although I sounded unhappy with it, I love it.
Its Castlevania, and to me there is nothing more fun than that!
 

SMZKAH

I shall find the crystal of peace
handsome rakshas said:
It is...
Shenmue for the Dreamcast! Hey don't blame me, I just got around to getting one! Just kidding, my real pick is...
Castlevania Portrait of Ruin! Although I sounded unhappy with it, I love it.
Its Castlevania, and to me there is nothing more fun than that!

Funny you should mention Shenmue, a friend and I found it over the holdiays and marvelled at how wonderful of a game experience it was when we first played it 6 years ago...we'll be playing it again for old time's sake.

Anyway, my pick has to be Zelda, with an honorable mention going to Guitar Hero II.
 

Femto the Raven

The location of agony? The human soul.
Rule of Rose (clunky gameplay excellent story and ambiance), Okami (absolute masterpiece), Gears of War (Halo who?), Zelda Twilight Princess (best Zelda game hands down, the one I've wanted since Ocarina of Time), Disgaea 2: cursed memories (am a absolute sucker for grid based Japanese RTS) and last but not least, Final Fantasy XII.

Yep. 2006 was a great year for gamers.
 
Armored Core: Last Raven gets my vote. I'm amazed they still release this series in the UK, considering the lack of demand... but hey, best Mech games ever.
 
Most likely not, but Starmen.net are working on a translation, thankfully. I BELIEVE it will be released in ROM form, but don't quote me on that.
EDIT: Translation status- http://www.mother3.org/
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
My 2006 prize goes to Twilight Princess, but that doesn't mean much since I can't think of another game I've played that came out in 2006. =)

bph said:
Most likely not, but Starmen.net are working on a translation, thankfully. I BELIEVE it will be released in ROM form, but don't quote me on that.
EDIT: Translation status- http://www.mother3.org/

http://starmen.net/devotion/

It's going to be a patch, which makes sense for legal reasons. If I had to choose, I'd probably go with Starmen.net, they've been around forever and aren't likely to cry off now or get bored or lazy (biggest worry there is that Nintendo gets to them). I also like their no ETA, no updates, no promises, no bullshit approach to working on it. On the other hand, Mother3.org just had a very impressive site/progress update (after a long dead period) that shows they're still in it, and if their checklist is accurate, they're the ones displaying the measurable results.

Anyway, it's interesting that there's two different Mother 3 fan translations in the works; hopefully, a little competition will inspire them.
 
Thanks for the elaboration, Griffith. My Earthbound nerdiness allowed me to forget the need to distinguish that those were two different translations. Frankly, I wish that the two had worked together to get the damn thing done earlier, but oh well. I beat the game in Japanese having understood maybe 25%% of it, with my 201 level knowledge, so I'm excited about checking out either one.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
Yeah, I started playing it just to see what it was like, but quickly stopped and decided to wait for a translation.

We had high hopes for EarthBound, the Super NES version, in the US, but it didn't do well...

You might not know this, but there was a petition in the US, a 'Please make Mother 3' petition and it got about 30,000 signatures! After that, we thought "Wow... Earthbound fans are really solid."

-Shigeru Miyamoto (from Nintendo Europe, via Nintendojo)​

I signed that petition. :judo:
 
1.Okami
2.Final Fantasy XII
3.Guitar Hero II (Gift for Xmas, got to Free Bird on expert two weeks ago...sigh...75% and boom, fail)
4.The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
5.Xenosaga Episode 3: Ominous German Subtitle trois
.
To be honest, I wanted so badly to fall in love with Twilight Princess. The Zelda fan in me did love it, but I hate to say it, it didn't feel as good as I had hoped. I had a few issues with it and overall everything about Okami did Zelda better...than actual Zelda, if that makes any sense. Yes, pardon my needless opinion, I still loved it, but just not as much as I had hoped.
 

Majin Femto

Evil Incarnate
I've only had a taste of Twilight Princess so i cant really say its the best (even tho it, without a doubt, is) But i'd have to say Kingdom Hearts II. I'm just about to finish it (i give it about 2-3 days) and it owns.

BTW... is Okami really that good? Cuz in the best buy anime magazine it got damn near a perfect 10 out of 10.
 
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