It’s that time again: game of the year time! At Kotaku Australia we have a little process when it comes to awarding our games of the year. It’s a three week process. We nominate in week one, vote on week two, and then announce the final winners in week three! So let’s get to nominating! First up: handheld games!
Long time readers may remember that we used to bundle handheld games with mobile games in our awards. That may have been one of the more controversial decisions when it came to our awards so I’ve decided to add five more awards this year, and split mobile games from handheld games. I think it makes sense.
So — nominations please! As always, I’ll open up with a few nominations of my own. Some of my favourite handheld games of the year have been…
Hotline Miami (PlayStation Vita)
Luigi’s Mansion 2 (3DS)
The Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)
Tearaway (PlayStation Vita)
Now you go! I think this year has been a super strong year for handhelds, so this might be on of the more interesting votes! Let us know your nominations in the comments below.
Comments
82 responses to “Kotaku Awards 2013: Nominate Your Handheld Game Of The Year”
Pokemon X/Y
Pokemon X/Y
Animal Crossing: A New Leaf
Personally couldn’t support Hotline Miami as I played the game on its original platform (PC) on release.
I’m yet to play A Link Between Worlds, and wasn’t that taken with Luigi’s Mansion 2, so that leaves me with Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Pokémon X & Y.
As much as I’ve loved the new Pokémon games, I’m going to be boring and go with Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Simply because I’ve spent so much time on it this year (300 + hours to be precise). Easily my most played game this year, and I’m yet to lose interest in it. So many things to do, and a great expansion of the series.
I’m seriously finding it difficult to believe any game is going to win this other than Pokemon X/Y. . .
Yeah, stuff it. I’ll retract my original vote and go with Pokémon X/Y!
yet to play X/Y but link between worlds is great so far 🙂
Animal Crossing New Leaf.
Year Walk.
Luigi’s Mansion 2.
Pokemon Y. Because X can get stuffed.
Pokemon X/Y
Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies
Steamworld: The Dig
Animal Crossing New Leaf
Fire Emblem Awakening
For being the first to mention both Phoenix Wright and Fire Emblem, you deserve all the upvotes
I completely agree; specifically with Fire Emblem: Awakening (by far the best game on the 3DS!)
Pokemon X/Y
Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies
Fire emblem
Zelda
Pokemon X/Y
Mario 3d Land
Not sure what else
Super Mario 3D Land won’t count, was released at the end of 2011.
Persona 4 Golden.
EDIT: EU release was Feb 22, 2013.
Won’t deny P4G is one of the best handheld games I’ve played and I’d nominate it too, but it was technically released in 2012 in JP and NA, and early 2013 in EU. I’m not sure if it counts, but if it does then it has my vote.
EDIT: haha I see you updated it before I managed to hit reply.
Yeah, after I posted the comment I had a moment of doubt. Surely Mark would have listed it if it had been released in 2013, right? 🙂
Luigi’s Mansion 2
Hands down Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. A fantastic Zelda experience, and a great game period.
Special mention also goes to Luigis Mansion 2.
I am pretty excited for Bravely Default too, but it’s a week or so away yet.
Pokémon X/Y
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Fire Emblem: Awakening
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Luigi’s Mansion 2
In that order, I think.
@markserrels are you including Hotline Miami just to set precedent for allowing ports so that you can nominate Wind Waker HD for console goty?
Precedent doesn’t matter under dictatorships :p
LAWL
Pokemon X/Y
Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies
Bravely default?
– Link Between Worlds (3DS) – Only an hour or so in, but it’s like my teen years all over again. LttP/LA worthy.
– Soul Sacrifice (Vita) – Managed to live up to it’s hype.
– Persona 4 Golden (Vita) – ’nuff said.
-Black Rock Shooter : The Game (PSP) – A fitting reminder why I loved the PSP so much, and have done since launch. It just has all these games, man.
I got a few:
Persona 4 Golden
Luigi’s Mansion 2
Fire Emblem: Awakening
Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.
Also, I am really enjoying the Bravely Default demo but I guess seeing as it’s not actually out it can’t be nominated.
Oh damn, how could I forget Pokemon X/Y
Pokemon X/Y
Maybe we should just skip the voting and give the award now 🙂
I think if Bravely Default was out, it would be getting a fair few nominations right now.
Fire Emblem Awakening
Fire Emblem Awakening
Luigis Mansion 2
Pokémon X/Y
Zelda – A Link Between Worlds
Bravely Default – I’ll just assume its awesome.
Gotta be Zelda – A link between worlds… This game is scratching every itch i have for a handheld game. I have sunk hours into it already and i love the feeling of nostalgia it inspires but it still feels new and fresh!
Having a good think about it – the only thing which comes to mind is:
Velocity Ultra (Vita) – such a sublime blend of vertically scrolling action, along with crazy puzzle trickery with teleportation.
(I’ve not played Tearaway yet, and not put enough time into some of the 3DS games. Plus, TxK hasn’t dropped yet on Vita… that’s the one I’m most excited for to be honest…)
Fire Emblem: Awakening
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies
The new Streetpass Games. (Mii Squad/Battle/Mansion/Garden)
P4G
FIRE EMBLEM
ANIMAL CROSSING NEW LEAF
ALL CAPS ALL DAY
CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL
I’m sorry, but if it’s anything other than Persona 4 Golden, then there are simply too many people that haven’t played it. Not just my handheld GOTY, but my game of this generation, and perhaps my favourite game of all time.
I heard so many good things about this game (in fact ONLY good things) so I was excited to give it a try…so not my thing though, I was a little dissapointed. I’m not bagging the game at all, I just musn’t be an RPG sort of person. Same happened with Virtues Last Reward, only heard good things, thought it was a massive anticlimax.
Fire Emblem : Awakening
Pokemon X/Y
And I’m 99% sure I’ll be adding Legend of Zelda : Link Between Worlds to this list once I’ve finished it.
Persona 4 Golden
Guacamelee
Lone Survivor
Zelda LBW
…and the award for spamming the award thread goes to…. 😀
Just making sure Ol’ Mark ‘skimreader’ Serrels doesnt miss any votes 😛
Pokemon X Y
Gee, can’t see where this is going 😛
Just checked my shelf and… wow. The only game I bought this year (that was released this year, anyway) was Luigi’s Mansion. Found that hard to believe.
Because I totally forgot that my 3DS bricked halfway through the year, so never ended up picking up Mario & Luigi and haven’t got around to grabbing Zelda yet. Stupid Nintendo.
Pokemon X/Y
Fire Emblem: Awakening
Animal Crossing: New Leaf
A Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
No mention of Killzone Mercenaries! This is the game that the VITA promised and finally delivered. It rocks.
A Link Between Worlds
Pokemon X/Y
SO HARD TO CHOOSE.
Fire Emblem: Awakening
Thomas Was Alone
Tearaway!
Bravely Default (the demo is better than most games!)
If the demo is this good one has to wonder what the end product will be like. We won’t even be able to see it on the store shelves due to the high gravity of the awesome content contained within bending time and space around it.
LEAVE MY BABY ALONE!
I’ll duel you for it! Powergloves at dawn!
SUPERSCOOP
Pokemon X/Y
I miss having all my handheld devices 🙁 probably missed so many great games since my original PSP.
Persona 4 Golden – by a very wide margin.
Pokemon X and Y was my immediate conclusion, but then I forgot… I had a Vita once. And on that Vita, I had Persona 4…
…Crap. I’m just going to make it easy on myself and say Pokemon. Persona 4 was brilliant, but a little out of my league in terms of difficulty, and it was a little repetitive – purely my opinion, of course.
So, I vote Pokemon X. Not Y, because Y was silly.It lost focus. It forgot who it was. Pokemon X was there to remind Y what a Pokemon game was, and therefore it gets my vote. 😛
Tearaway!
Also, Luigi’s mansion (hopefully it comes to wii u)
Fire Emblem
Pokemon X/Y
Legend of Zelda: Link Between Worlds
Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate
Batman Arkham Origins: Blackgate (Vita Version)
Dragon’s Crown or Killzone Mercenary
Think this is unfair on Tareaway as it just came out. Will give it a vote though
Persona 4 Golden
Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies
Fire Emblem
Yeah, I’m the going the incredible technical achievement route with:
KILLZONE: MERCENARY
Fire Emblem: Awakening – Excellent entry in the series, pumped 100+ hours into it. Being a long time fan of the series the best bit about this game is it gathered a lot of positive exposure with the western audience, which increases the chances of receiving English versions of future entries in the series.
Pokemon X/Y – Pokemon games are always solid, but never really GOTY material since Red/Blue. However the graphical update and all the additional features that should see the competitive scene florish means this game needs to be nominated and possibly crowned the best handheld game this year.
Yet to play Tearaway and only just started The Legend of Zelda: A Link between Worlds so I can’t justify a nomination for either of these titles.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies
Pokemon X/Y
I’m too embarassed to make my nominations…They’re so vastly different I can’t help but think I’m doing it wrong…
A Link Between Worlds. No doubt. It ties with A Link to the Past as my second favourite Zelda, even if I didn’t like the ending.
Fire emblem. Pokemon xy. Monster hunter 3 ult
Was Persona 4 Golden released this year in Aus? If so definitely nominate that!
Zelda – A link between worlds This game is awesome and is something I’ve been looking for in a long time. Having a lot of fun with it.
Muramasa Rebirth – Vita
Looks like the winner will almost be decided by the first page… lol… Though we must remember these are only the nominations!
Tearaway – Possibly the best game to use all the functionality elements of the PS Vita.
Guacamelee – lite-metroidvania with excellent humour, great platforming and satisfying fighting system.
Velocity Ultra – Speedrunning space rescue goodness and occasional shooter
Stealth Inc. : A Clone In The Dark – Brilliant puzzle game, so very rewarding, speedrun goodness and I fucking loved the ending so much, completely unexpected!
Dokuro – Tough puzzle game, many head scratching moments, gameplay is slow but still fits with the game.
Rayman Legends – Although, not as good as Origins, decent sequel plagued by launch problems and incomplete, only now should the patch arrive this week.
Other games that I haven’t put enough time into…
Dragon’s Crown
Killzone Mercenary
Hopefully the Vita can put up a decent showing, as it would almost be a crime for Tearaway not to place, but I think the 3DS will get a clean sweep of the Top 3
Does P4G count if I imported it and played it last year?
Otherwise,
Fire Emblem
Pokemon XY
Ace Attorney 5
i have been playing zelda most of the weekend and i am absolutely loving it.
he art style looks crap in screenshots but somehow it works in motion and looks great in 3D.
next up id say Luigi’s mansion. that was a lot of fun and had so much charm.
Tearaway is fun but based on about 2 hours play its not even close to zelda or Luigi
Pokemon x and y and A Link between worlds
Pokemon Y (and X) is absolutely glorious! It’s the Pokemon game I have always wanted , and it is without doubt the best handheld title this year!
The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Pokemon X/Y.
The last time I played a Pokemon game was when Emerald came out and now that I’ve finally returned to this world (as well as all the new features both from the past few games and this one) the nostalgia has been flooding in!
Fire emblem
Tearaway
I only have a few these days.. got rid of my handhelds gave em to my kids.. I only have a Vita now.. rather lackluster range of games IMHO.. I do like Unchartered