The GNamer Forum Annual Awards 2016

Star Fox Zero (three votes) – 6 points



“I was so excited at the prospect of a new Starfox. I enjoyed the game, not disliking the controls or the structure anywhere near as much as some, but I can’t deny I was a little underwhelmed by the visuals and the level design. Not awful, but pretty forgettable.”

“As it was the other WiiU game that came out in 2016 that I actually played.”

“I don't care what anyone says about the controls this is an absolute cracker of a game.”

Pokkén Tournament(three votes) – 7 points



“7.8/10 too much hair.”

“A respectable, 7/10 sort of effort. Complex without not being approachable – I quite like it.”

“A one-on-one fighter from Nintendo would be enough to make anyone sit up and take notice, but the fact that you control Pokémon to do the scrapping made me sit up, take notice, buy and enjoy a thoroughly good fighter. It's got an unusual rhythm of battle, what with switching between the 2D and 3D fighting styles, but once mastered, it's just big fun.”

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD (five votes) – 12 points



“I’ve done the first dungeon and that’s it but I know this 10 YEAR OLD REMASTER of a great GAMECUBE ZELDA is excellent but just shows what the Wii U years been like that the best game of 2016 is a GameCube game.”

“I genuinely, shamelessly love Twilight Princess and this update only made things better. Gorgeous, phenomenal, untouchable stuff.”

“Made a great game even greater. Er. Now with added words everywhere!”

“Zelda.”

“I've not actually played this version (despite it sitting in my living room    ), but the original is my favourite game ever, so it stands to reason that I'd vote for it in a year of not much else. Plus it came with a Wolf Link amiibo that I'll get out for BotW for THE BEST USE OF AMIIBO EVER.”

Paper Mario Colour Splash (two votes) – 5 points



“Despite the slight combat and slow start, the narrative and humour in PM:CS pull you through this stunning adventure. Full of mad Nintendo moments, PM: CS is consistent and beautiful enough to take my whole GOTY, never mind just the Wii U one (psst, it's me, Zero! Are you enjoying the results so far? I should coco!).”

“There's a lot of good things in Colour Splash, but the battle system almost gubs the whole thing. Really, what a rubbish use of the GamePad.”

Axiom Verge (two votes) – 4 points



“Yeah I really need to give this one some more time. Good from what I played!”

“Whip-smart Metroid-like that never fails to surprise, entertain and subvert. An addictive little number with great play and a lovely, queasy storyline. Tom Happ knew what he was about, didn't he? Oh yes. If SEGA can employ Christian Whitehead to work on Sonic, then I see no reason why Nintendo can't get Mr. Happ in on the next 2D Metroid.   ”

Severed (two votes) – 3 points



“I've not actually played this, despite meaning to, but it deserves a third place more than chuffing Star Fucks-Given: Zero.”

“I played this on VITA the system it was developed for before it got ported to the Wii U and the game needs as much as it should have.”

Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (one vote) – 2 points



“Fun Lego Side Stories.”

Mario and Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (one vote) – 1 point



“It's a very ordinary, average Olympics game that is overall quite missable. And the third best Wii U game of 2016. Fuck right off. “

[b]Lego Marvel's Avengers [/b](one vote) – 1 point



“Lego Fun.”

Shadow Puppeteer (one vote) – 1 point



“I played this at last year’s EGX and was really good.”

Well... an HD remaster won an award. Says it all for the Wii U in 2016, really...

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice (four votes) – 7 points



“The Ace Attorney formula, honed almost to perfection. Well-written and memorable, with only Case 4 slipping up a bit.”

“I haven’t even played this yet but let’s be honest it’ll be a banger.”

“Capcom's law-'em-up improves on the template laid down by Dual Destinies, not least by, y'know, being good. The compelling story pushes you through some spectacular set-pieces and bizarre characters. Contrary to most popular opinion, I didn't find the prosecutor all that satisfying to beat... but it's still a great addition to the franchise. Hurry on down, AA7!”

“The best Ace Attorney since Trials and Tribulations – look, if I liked the game enough to do a two hour podcast on it (watch the forum this weekend...), then it clearly deserves some points.”

Monster Hunter Generations (four votes) – 11 points



“I guess by putting this in first, I’m finally coming out and saying it: I like Monster Hunter more than Pokémon. Generations is a best-of of the monsters and locales that have come before but that was exactly what I needed for the first MH I really got into. The gameplay is streamlined to perfection, the monsters are so good you could make a whole podcast about them and the aesthetic is a perfect mix of cool and hilarious. All we need now is for Monster Hunter V to totally reboot everything.”

“Great killing.”

“It's monster hunter, you hunt the monsters & it also has cat. It is best.”

“in monster hunter generations for nintendo 3ds, i played with my friends andrewman nine nine nine (call da police), luke drunkabuska and james the jaster, and we got to hunt monsters like the dreaded frog tetsucabra and the mean old hog bulldrome. the best bit was when we got to play as the legendary cat and do cat quests.”

Pokémon Sun and Moon (eight votes) – 17 points



“It's more Pokémon.”

“A fantastic game that nails every alteration to a foundation that was already phenomenal. Very interested to see where the series goes from here.”

“The best Pokémon game ever. Ever. Captures everything a Pokémon game could or should be perfectly.”

“An absolute triumph. The best in the series since Gold & Silver, easily.”

“Pokémon goes to Hawaii and is all the better for it! I really really liked this version of Pokémon, at first I was nervous about not getting the usual gym system but I honestly think Trial-based systems are a massive improvement, it makes it feel more natural in a game all about nature (Pokémon are animals after all).”

“It only took six generations for a real sea change in the eight-Gym structure, and boy, is it timely. So much added that it almost feels like a completely different game from X and Y. Some changes make things easier for the player but it's also somehow harder in places. Finally, let trials never disappear from the series.”

“I've not beat it yet, but I can safely say it's the best Pokémon in years.”

“Pokémon is taken to a new and more topical setting! And no, that's not a misspelling - Yungoos, my friends, Yungoos.”

Fire Emblem Fates (two votes) - 6 points



“Sure it wasn’t as good as Awakening which was always going to be hard to follow up but this this is still a top quality game for the 3DS library.”

“Holy cow's udders batman! This game was tough, but lots of fun. I'd put it as the hardest FE game ever but I've only played three. Despite being basically impossible to beat, the fact that it plays beautifully, has really well crafted characters and plot lines and the usual dose of support conversations to keep things interesting I feel pretty justified giving this my top spot for 3DS.”

Kirby Planet Robobot (two votes) – 4 points



“Although it may ride on the coat-tails of Triple Deluxe, Robobot is so much better than its predecessor. The Robobot Armour is where it's at, and any moment that you're riding it is brilliant. One of the game's flaws is that 'just' being Kirby never feels as good (though it is still aces). tl;dr? Fun.”

“Sweet-natured and easy to take a shine to. On the 3DS, this could very well be 2D platforming’s peak.”

Pocket Card Jockey (two votes) – 3 points



“Incredibly addicting, super fun, and lovably silly. Perfect on the move or just before bed.”

“It's got a lot of character, and it's really addictive, despite being quite complicated at first and, at times, a wee bit futile. You take the bitter with the sweet here, and it winds up being properly good if it goes your way.”

Rhythm Paradise Megamix (one vote) – 3 points



“Brilliant. A load of musical minigames, most of which I'd missed out first time round.”

Picross 3D Round 2 (one vote) – 3 points



“Great puzzles.”

Super Mario Maker for 3DS (one vote) – 2 points



“Not as impressive as its grown-up version, but still, a lot of Mario.”

Bravely Second: End Layer (one vote) – 2 points



“I'd like to see it appear in the pecking order for 'Best Traditional JRPG Ever', it's that good. *is jumped by Cappa, Jas, Jimbob...*”

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (one vote) – 1 point



“Great time travel.”

Hyrule Warriors Legends (one vote) – 1 point



Pokémon Yellow (one vote) – 1 point



“Is this a bit sneaky? Can I include this?” (Jay: Sure, why not?)

Strong year indeed. A great range of games from different genres. The 3DS lives.

=Ratchet and Clank (one vote) – 2 points



“Technically, structurally, aesthetically and audibly, this is superb. It's really good fun right the way through, and I'd recommend it to anybody.”

=The Last Guardian (one vote) – 2 points



“The boy controls like the programmers have never seen an analogue stick before. Ledges are arbitrarily grabbable platforms or background decoration. Trico don't bloody pay attention. But my goodness me is this game adorable.”

=SuperHyperCube (one vote) – 2 points



“Four-dimensional geometry... and it's super!? SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY”

=World of Final Fantasy (one vote) – 2 points

=Pony Island (one vote) – 3 points



“I think this is the only Nontendo exclusive I played in 2016, and it was a banger which made great use of the PC format.”

=Rez Infinite (one vote) – 3 points



“Probably the Nontendo Exclusive of the Year. I’ve not played it, but it’s Rez, so it’ll be quality I’m sure.”

=The Witness (one vote) – 3 points



“Brilliant puzzle game.”

=Super Mario Run (one vote) – 3 points



“Despite the fact that I've got no other contenders to vote for, this would be top anyway. Owning Nintendo history for £8 was too much for those iOS people used to playing for nothing, which is a huge shame, because it's really rather good.”

=Miitomo (one vote) – 3 points



“I 'played' it. It was meh. Still better than anything on the BBoPs though.”

Uncharted 4 (three votes) – 8 points



“Great end to the series.”

“I hate games that spend too much time in "movie mode", but Uncharted is just the right side of that. It feels like an action game, but there are so many little touches which really do make it feel like you're controlling a real person.”

=Forza Horizon 3 (one vote) – 1 point



=Gravity Rush Remastered (one vote) – 1 point



“I quite liked what I played of this – I could see how Vita folk were going radge about it.”

=RWBY Grimm Eclipse (one vote) – 1 point



“In that it's a third platform exclusive game I've played that came out in 2016. I don't know what this anime is, but my sister watches it and they needed a 4th player online. *shrug* LOOK I SPENT MOST OF THE YEAR PLAYING FALLOUT 4 ALRIGHT

=Act It Out! A Game of Charades (one vote) – 1 point



“I FUCKING LOVE CHARADES”

...thank fuck we had a winner!  

Yeah, this category needs reworked next year. Besides Uncharted, nothing else garnered more than one vote. Time to shake things up, methinks.

Titanfall 2 (two votes) – 6 points



“Takes the FPS genre and demolishes it. The phenomenal movement turns the dull, flat genre into exceptional three-dimensional, tactical action. The story was a lovely little robot friendship. The campaign had some puzzling at Portal levels of cleverness. And that multiplayer!”

“Great shooting men.”

Dark Souls III (three votes) – 7 points



“A threequel to the best game ever made. Not a patch on DaS, or maybe even DaS II, but still the best gameplay around.”

“SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLSSSSSSSSSSS!”

“Great Souls gameplay, occasionally-bollocks story.”

PES 2017 (three votes) – 7 points



“Cheers Konami, I'll be playing this for years. Bring on Metal Gear Survive!”

“SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCCCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRR!”

Overwatch (four votes) – 8 points



“Multiplayer shooting at its absolute finest.”

“Good Shoots for good people, except you.”

“Great way to hate the people gathered around your tv.”

Final Fantasy XV (2 votes) – 4 points



“The best RPG I've played in years – solid combat system and despite its flaws, a properly emotional story grounded by brotherhood.”

Hogs of War (one vote) – 3 points



“For the sixteenth year in a row, very impressive.”

XCOM 2 (one vote) – 3 points



“An honestly wonderful accomplishment. Each turn feels like a risk, and just when one becomes comfortable the game adds in a new enemy variety. Challenging but brilliant.”

Day of the Tentacle Remastered (one vote) – 3 points



“Bringing a wonderful game forward in time, to present day. We've missed you.”

Dishonoured 2 (one vote) – 3 points



“Holy cow this game is amazing. The first game in the series is still pretty fresh in my mind because I only played it in anticipation of the sequel and I thought "There's no way you can do better than this Mr. Developer". But Mr. Developer delivered in spade because we get to play Emily, Corvo's daughter, and she's a complete badass. People are always looking for female heroes, but Emily isn't a hero- she's a psychopath who killed about a hundred innocent civilians. Or she is a hero who didn't kill anyone. Dishonoured's trademark chaos levels are still here after all so how you play the game determines the game you play, which is a concept I really love. Full marks!”

Axiom Verge (one vote) – 3 points



“The only multiplat I played this year. Seems alright though.”

Swapperoo (one vote) – 3 points



“A totally delightful match-3 puzzler. It's novel enough to distinguish itself from the huge crowd of such puzzlers on its platforms and really makes you slow down and think about your next move. I loved it and am sad that I got rid of it before the Endless Mode was added. Duh!”

FIFA 17 (one vote) – 2 points



“Ground breaking, genre-defining Dark Souls beater.”

Overcooked (one vote) – 2 points



“Great team play.”

Doom (one vote) - 2 points



Hatoful Boyfriend (one vote) – 2 points



“A pure oddity, this one, but fun enough. I should go back and get the full storyline, really”

Bears Can't Drift?! (one vote) – 2 points



“It's got an interrobang at the end, that's how you know it's good. Plus: bears. Drunka will back me up on this.”

Firewatch (two votes) - 2 points



“Gorgeous looking game, and despite the criticism, I reckon the story is genuinely brilliant.”

Superhot (one vote) – 2 points



“Yes, this game is only 2 hours long. Yes this game uses three colours. Yes this game features the second coolest mechanic in the history of gaming. Time moves only when you do. This simple idea (pain in the butt to implement, mind) makes for exciting scenes of shooting bullets out of the sky, blocking a stray bullet with the shards of a corpse and many other ridiculous scenarios. Thoroughly good fun and a tremendous idea.”

Battlefield One (one vote) – 1 point



“SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGGGGG!”

Pac Man 256 (one vote) – 1 point



“A really successful update of old with new.”

Resident Evil 4 HD (one vote) - 1 point



Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom (one vote) – 1 point



“Movement that's up there with Spider-Man 2, a great aesthetic and a faithful adaptation. Highly recommended to fans.”

Pacman CE 2 (one vote) – 1 point



“They've reinvented PacMan AGAIN. Wowsers”

Coffin Dodgers (one vote) – 1 point



“COME AT ME DRUNKA”

Hollowpoint (one vote) – 1 point



“My only VR experience this year was bows and arrows. Hollowpoint puts you in a dojo and tasks you with shooting exploding boxes that fire projectiles at you which you must duck away from (squatting is the best idea because the projectiles aim for your head.) It sounds awesome and it is. Imagine that shuriken game from NintendoLand, now imagine it with bows and arrows and a VR headset. That's basically the idea. And that shuriken game was Nintendoland's finest attraction. The shooting is very realistic in that you have to hold the controllers as you would a real bow and reload in a similarly similar way, which is a nice touch. “

Whew, I'm all gamed out! Chuffed with the winner, as you'd expect, but again we've seen a huge number of games honoured.

Overwatch Eew, a Lesbian.
Paper Mario: Color Splash Eew, Coloureds.
Dark Souls III Eew, Darkies.

Stories: The Path of Destinies (one vote) – 3 points



“A bit cheaty as I got it purely because it was on PS+, but this is nonsense. It's a game that wants to be, and isn't as good as, Bastion. The supposed USP is the narration, which is presented like a kid's storybook. However, it's bad at even doing that; the paragraphs are horribly disjointed, and at best cringe-worthy.”

Chasing Dead (one vote) – 3 points



Letter Quest Remastered (one vote) – 3 points



“This is harsh but Letter Quest Remastered is pretty dire despite being praised. A lot of the stuff I’ve played in 2016 was either Wii, Xbox 360 or PS4 games that I missed out on (released in 2015 ie. Witcher 3, Bloodborne) so can't really lay in to anything Sad”

Star Ghost (one vote) – 3 points



“Too long winded for a quick score attack game, too bizarre to be anything other than niche. I quickly stopped playing.”

Virginia (one vote) – 3 points



“Steaming pile of shit all round”

Stella Glow (one vote) – 3 points



“Rather than a 'bad' game, this was a bad game. Not quite Doki Doki Majo Shinpan levels of bad, but... still.”

Homefront: The Revolution (two votes) – 4 points



“This would be an incredibly dull urban Far Cry with shit robot enemies, but it's also phenomenally broken and racist. Bad across the board.”

“Broken.”

Mighty Number 9 (two votes) – 4 points



“For days. Just a mediocre, crap game.”

“Between its second-rate production values, abysmal programming, boring level design, massive lack of personality, early PS2-era visuals, indistinguishable sounds, Master System-esque ideas and it's unforgivable cheapness, I genuinely think that Mighty No 9 is one of the very worst games I’ve played this decade. I wouldn’t wipe my arse with Mighty No. 9.”

Star Fox Zero (three votes) – 5 points



“I know, sorry. Maybe I just don't like Starfox...”

“We all know we're going for 'disappointing' rather than 'bad' here, right? I've not played Frenchy Bird or anything. That said, this was the game that built us up, and built us up, and that I then found all but unplayable due to the control scheme. It seemed fun otherwise too. Gutting.”

Monster Jam: Crush It! (one vote) – 2 points



“A fraction of a game. You’d flunk your SCQF Lv. 4 Introduction to Games Design college course if you tried to hand this in as your final piece.”

Grumpy Reaper (one vote) – 2 points



“Just a dumb, poorly made little Pacman clone that I can't believe they had the gall to charge money for.”

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 (one vote) – 2 points



The Banner Saga (one vote) – 2 points



“Bad combat.”

Digger Dan DX (one vote) – 2 points



“Too slight to really make an impression. I was hoping for some classic Boulder Dash type action with a bit more to it, but the one innovation they had (being able to switch between two characters) was sorely underused.”

BoxBoxBoy! (one vote) – 1 point



“This is where things get a bit smelly (by which I mean that this isn't a bad game). BBB! is not a bad game, not at all (see?); but its sequel, with one trailer, blew it totally away with its sheer innovation. There was too much that was exactly the same as BoxBoy! to really set this apart enough.”

The Last Guardian (one vote) – 1 point



“Disappointing. Poor controls letting down an atmospheric game.”

WWE 2K17 (one vote) – 1 point



“From a developer that patently has no idea whatsoever how to make a fun pro wrestling computer game. This is morbid. The folk making this probably grew up on Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 and Here Comes The Pain, so what’s their excuse for this shower of shite?”

Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (one vote) – 1 point



“This isn't here to troll Zero! Well not solely. But with its slog of a beginning and sludgy dull battles, not to mention two far superior JRPGs coming out this year, it was shown up as the mediocre piece of tripe it was.”

I suppose this category should be renamed "most disappointing game", moving forwards. None of us are in this business of explicitly going out and buying a game known to be tripe, so a lot of the top picks are games you've bought and ended up not enjoying. Having said that, there's still some bollocks in there.