There's talk that Zip Lash could be the final Chibi-Robo game, and that's a shame. I'd prefer to see him go out with a bit more style than Zip Lash offers. The irony of this game focused around acquisition and collecting is that it's not really worth acquiring for your collection. Even if that Amiibo is awfully adorable.
Happy Home Designer may not be your typical video game, but that's precisely what Nintendo was aiming for. It's not about challenge or winning or competition, but rather about playing interior designer to a host of creatures. While it's mostly very good at what it does, the specifics of what it does won't appeal to most gamers, or even most Animal Crossing fans. Taken on its own terms, however, the only area in which Happy Home Designer falls short of its rather relaxed mission statement is in its social and sharing features, which feel rather anemic.
What better way to commemorate three decades of Super Mario Bros. than to put the tools for creating Mario games in the hands of fans?
By far the best and most impressive Mega Man compilation ever assembled, what Legacy Collection sacrifices in reach it more than makes up for with refinement. It presents six games almost (though not quite) flawlessly, while providing enough display options to satisfy the obsessive and casual fan alike. Add to six beautifully preserved classics a massive database and dozens of addictive custom challenges and you have an excellent package that treats the classics with the respect they deserve — something that's traditionally been absent in the U.S. market. A must-have for any Mega Man fan.
The latest, and greatest, refinement of Atlus' Etrian Odyssey series, Untold 2 really manages to weave a ridiculous number of options into and around the basics of the franchise. All its best trademark elements — F.O.E.s, great tunes, map-making — remain intact, while elements that tend to be more a matter of taste (its difficulty level, its minimal story) can be tweaked to the player's preferences. A huge, thoughtful, and all-around well-made addition to the series that belongs in every RPG fanatic's collection.
Record Breaker improves on the original version of Devil Survivor 2 in every respect. Anyone who passed it over the first time around, in the dying days of the DS, absolutely needs to give it a look. Veteran players should give it a thought, too, despite its premium price — the new material is substantial, and you can jump immediately into the Triangulum chapter. In all, this is a hefty and well-crafted RPG, and it puts a great spin on the time-tested rules of MegaTen.
While it doesn't do much to satisfy adult players, Mario Party 10 isn't really meant to. It aims to be a chaotic, haphazard mess targeted toward kids, and it succeeds on that front in large part because Bowser Mode rewards them for being a complete jerk to everyone else. It definitely could use some fine-tuning, however, even bearing its unrepentant commitment to insanity in mind. Amiibo integration is haphazard at best, and the board game metagame breaks down the same way real board games do. Reasonably fun, and definitely more fun the younger you are.
While it offers enough familiar touchstones to appeal to fans of both Etrian Odyssey and Mystery Dungeon, EMD manages to establish its own distinct style... enough so that it should appeal to players who couldn't quite get into either of those franchises on their own. With tons of content and a similarly expansive level of challenge, it quite impressively sidesteps the tendency of Mystery Dungeon spinoffs to feel slight and insubstantial. Admittedly, there's no shortage of either Etrian or Mystery Dungeon games these days, but this combination of the two deserves a look on its own merits.
It's been a long time coming, and by and large Final Fantasy Type 0 is worth the wait. Despite some dated visuals and mechanics better suited for a last-generation portable system, and despite being greatly overshadowed by the Final Fantasy XV demo it ships with, Type 0 deserves the attention and respect of Final Fantasy fans. While last year's Bravely Default garnered praise for being a reprise of old-school Final Fantasy, Type 0 proves you can be progressive rather than regressive and still capture the series' spirit (whatever that means for you) quite neatly.
While it stumbles over its own ambition far more than it should, Ori and the Blind Forest bursts with both detail and passion. At times it's less a game you play than one you force your way through despite your better judgment, but the parts where it all works together make it worth the pain. And wow, does it look good.
The Order: 1886 ends by leaving itself wide open for a sequel (The Order: 1887, one presumes), and I'm interested enough in the series' premise that I'll definitely give it a look. But I can only hope that inevitable sequel offers the sort of improvement we saw from Assassin's Creed to Assassin's Creed II. There's a decent game here, but it does little to set itself apart from those that clearly inspired it. Here's to the future, and to differentiation.
Majora's Mask remains one of the most daring sequels ever. Who would follow up a blockbuster, medium-defining hit by wrapping the familiar in such strange and unearthly trappings these days? Majora's Mask 3D feels at home among today's indie games, but it also serves as a reminder that there used to be room for the offbeat at all levels of the games industry. And with the tweaks and improvements this version enjoys over the original release, it remains quite playable despite its age.
The fact that Temple of Osiris features the classic, confident, adult version of Lara Croft rather than the newfangled, young, vulnerable version should tell you exactly what this game is aiming for: Simple escapism, a video game for gaming's sake. It's not the next chapter in the Tomb Raider saga, and it doesn't push any boundaries in narrative or game design. Instead, it's a fast-paced action puzzler, energetic and accessible; and while it does stumble in a few places, it manages to deliver the sort of lowbrow entertainment it promises — just the way a series borne of classic pulp serials should. Different enough to stand apart from core Tomb Raider titles, and inexpensive enough that its throwaway nature won't offend, Temple of Osiris sets its sights for a modest target and hits it with aplomb. There's something to be said for that.
Treasure Tracker may be relatively budget-priced, but it doesn't feel like a cheap, throwaway creation. Every inch of its nearly 100 stages and bonus levels has been buffed to a spit-shine finish, and the Nintendo content factory has produced dozens of one-of-a-kind stage concepts to explore here. Alternately a test of observation, reflex, planning, and deduction, Captain Toad's first standalone title (of assuredly many) demonstrates that spinoffs don't have to feel phoned in... and that there's room in gaming to give top-class love and attention to family-friendly creations, too. A perfect video game sorbet to finish up 2014.
Persona Q represents a bit of a risk, bringing together two RPG series that, despite their common parentage, focus on entirely different facets of the genre. But it works, with the Persona elements livening up the dungeon-crawling and the Etrian Odyssey components bringing some merciless old-school discipline to the unruly Persona sub-universe. Though admittedly fans of the two series will get the most from the crossover, this lively, complex adventure works as a great RPG by any standard.
Unity attempts to improve on some of Assassin's Creed's innate problems, but it misses the mark as often as it hits. Nevertheless, you'll want to play it for the gorgeous rendition of revolutionary (etc.) France and the involving, opened-ended primary assassination missions. It's clear Ubisoft is trying to shake up the series a bit, but next time they need to shake a little harder.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection clearly sets out to be one of the videogame tributes ever assembled; and in doing so, its hard not to be impressed by the scope and ambition of its efforts. This is the definitive collection of Halo: Combat Evolved through Halo 4, effectively presenting both classic and remixed content in a way that makes it feel like more than a simple trip down memory lane. Assuming it avoids issues with multiplayer stability, it's possible that it will end up being relevant as a shooter for a long time to come.
With this game, a cult favorite comes into its own. Shantae has always been a passion project for WayForward, but this is the first time the series feels like it properly realizes the developer's ambition for it. A fun, funny, and pleasant substantial Metroid-alike boasting phenomenal old-school visuals and a refreshing sense of optimism, it's both an eShop standout and a great (though by no means final) conclusion to a slow-burning trilogy of games.
While not without its questionable qualities — expect to pay $120 to get something approaching an optimal play experience — Skylanders: Trap Team continues the series' tradition of catering to kids by treating them with respect. And the new trapping gimmick more than justifies itself through the flexibility it offers... not to mention the amusing and diverse role it gives the game's villains.
While it has a few rough patches and may prove too slow and drawn-out for some players, Isolation does an amazing job of capturing the essence of a classic film and recasting it as a video game. It can be a little too easy to see the man behind the curtain at times, but this is nevertheless one of the finest film-to-game adaptations ever... and a fantastic stealth adventure in its own right.