This year, it felt good to be a 3DS owner. Both retail and the eShop were loaded with excellent games across all genres, making the 3DS our most difficult to round down our ten favorite games of the year. To get it out of the way, our Top Ten list does not include amazing games like Crashmo, Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword, Pokemon Conquest, NightSky, New Super Mario Bros. 2, Paper Mario Sticker Star, Fluidity: Spin Cycle, and many other excellent games that were released in 2012. Even though we felt that each of those games were well-deserving of recognition, we can unfortunately only pack in ten, so here are our personal top ten favorite 3DS games of 2012:
| #10 |
Harvest Moon: A New Beginning |
| Harvest Moon is a series that you either love or hate. In the case of NintendoDude, the majority of our staff absolutely adores the Harvest Moon series, and A New Beginning is by far the best entry in the entire franchise. With more customization options than ever before and taking the best parts from pretty much every game released so far, it definitely deserves a spot as one of our favorite games of 2012. | |
| #9 |
Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask |
| Layton’s latest outing on the 3DS is the brightest, most interesting of the series so far. Loaded with mind-bending puzzles, brilliant artwork, excellent voice-acting, and even free downloadable puzzles for an entire year, Miracle Mask is highly recommended and makes our list for the top 10 3DS games this year. | |
| #8 |
Resident Evil: Revelations |
| Resident Evil is commonly considered to be the founder of the “survival horror” genre. However, the past few entries in the Resident Evil franchise seem to have featured very little “survival” and even less “horror”, instead replaced by quick thrills and fast-paced gunplay. Revelations takes several steps forward into bringing back that feeling of “survival horror” while keeping some of the technological advancements made since Resident Evil 4 fully intact. | |
| #7 |
Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion |
| When it was first announced that a version of Epic Mickey 2 was coming to the 3DS, I’m not sure any of us knew what to think. 3DS ports of console games usually end up mediocre at best. But when it was revealed that Epic Mickey on 3DS was not going to be a port, but rather its own independent entry in the series, and heavily influenced by older Disney games (notably the original Castle of Illusion on the Sega Genesis), it became apparent that Power of Illusion was going to be more of a love letter to old-school Disney fans. Long story short, the game does not disappoint, and will thrill both longtime Disney fans and those looking forward to some fantastic platforming. | |
| #6 |
The Denpa Men |
| While this game slipped under the radar for many in America, the game has been a top seller on the Nintendo eShop in its native Japan since the day it was released. Developed by Genius Sonority, better known for some of their Pokemon spinoff games, The Denpa Men is a traditional JRPG filled with quirky charm and making use of pretty much every single feature built into the 3DS, including the camera, QR codes, and even scanning for wi-fi SSIDs to generate special Denpa Men. Exciting as it is that we added this game to our top ten lists, the sequel released this year in Japan with even more crazy features and has been officially announced for North America in 2013. | |
| #5 |
Kid Icarus: Uprising |
| It’s been quite a while since Nintendo fans have been treated to a proper Kid Icarus game, (1991, to be exact, when we got Of Myths and Monsters on original Game Boy). When Pit made an appearance as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it set fans to drooling. The lack of a built-in second analog stick may have caused hand cramps for many, but the well-written dialogue and insanely excellent voice acting, as well as the sheer amount of unlockable goodies (and dozens of collectible AR cards) made this game the ultimate fanservice package for Kid Icarus fans. Add in the fact that next to Mario Kart 7 this is one of the most played online multiplayer games on the 3DS and it’s easy to see why it made it to this list. | |
| #4 |
Fractured Soul |
| Taking a page from action/platformers of old such as Metroid and Mega Man, and then multiplying the action times two, Fractured Soul really ramps up the hardcore factor. This is a game that doesn’t hold your hand across the street. Much of the enjoyment of Fractured Soul comes from the sheer challenge. Throwing in online leaderboards to compare your fastest times with friends and the world is just icing on the cake, and several unlockable bonus missions only become available by perfecting the main game. As we mentioned in our review, this game is a hardcore platformer fan’s dream, and it definitely deserves a spot on our top games of 2012 list. | |
| #3 |
Mutant Mudds |
| Continuing with the theme of retro-inspired platforming goodness, Mutant Mudds is another excellent choice for 3DS owners looking forward insane difficultly levels in their platforming games. The game take standard platform design a la Mega Man and mixes it up by putting platforms on multiple layers. The use of 3D is really well done, and while earlier levels may seem like a breeze, unlocking every level in the game is a feat only reached by platforming masters. Developer Renegade Kid recently made an additional 20 levels available for free, for a total of 60 insane levels. But be warned – these new “Grannie” levels are not for the faint of heart… | |
| #2 |
Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward |
| The original 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors on DS quickly became a cult classic for both those familiar with the visual novel and even those who had never played a visual novel before. Featuring mind-numbing puzzles and a fantastic story with several alternate paths, the 3DS sequel deserves its spot at #2 on our top ten list. Based on the critical acclaim seen even on mainstream sites, here’s hoping that sales of the Virtue’s Last Reward are just as solid as the game itself. | |
| #1 |
Code of Princess |
| It’s a funny story that this game was voted as our #1 pick for our top 3DS games of 2012. Had it not been for a single one of our staff members singing praises for this game, most of us would have never heard of Code of Princess. But thankfully, we did discover this game, and while the single-player game is fantastic on its own, the multiplayer mode is a simple blast to play. If you are looking for a crazy party brawler with dozens of unlockable characters, Code of Princess is for you. Just make sure you let your friends know about this game, because the online lobbies are unfortunately pretty empty most of the time. The story itself is self-aware of its brawler/RPG roots, and features gloriously over-the-top voice acting. With gorgeous artwork, anime cutscenes by studio Bones, music by ACE, and some of the original development team that worked with Treasure on the Saturn classic Guardian Heroes, Code of Princess should not be ignored, and earns its spot for NintendoDude’s favorite 3DS Game of 2012. |
This list attempted to include DS/DSiWare games, but somehow none of them made the final cut onto our Top Ten. Do you have your own personal favorites from 2012? Let us know in the comments below!
THE BEST OF 2012:
Top 10 3DS Games of 2012
Top 10 Wii Games of 2012
Top 10 Wii U Games of 2012
Genre Awards
Technical Achievements
Game of the Year
