Rank Up! - Super Smash Bros.

Over the weekend it was Super Smash Bros. for Wii U's first anniversary. With that in mind, it seems like the perfect time for SuperPhillip Central's Rank Up series to return to count down the best of the Super Smash Bros. series as a whole. There are five game in the series, and SuperPhillip Central is going to list them from least greatest to the best. Here are the games we'll be mentioning:

Super Smash Bros. (N64)
Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (3DS)
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Wii U)

With that, let's get to ranking these games!

5) Super Smash Bros. (N64)

The original Super Smash Bros. kicks off this countdown of Smash Bros. supremacy. This is Smash at its most basic, offering a modest selection of characters (eight to start with, four to unlock), a fun assortment of stages, and several modes to enjoy like the amazing Classic and Target Blast modes that would return in future installments. This was the beginning of something very special for Nintendo and its fans, and the original Super Smash Bros., like every other game in the series, is worth playing for multiplayer fun even to this day.

4) Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (3DS)

The first and only Super Smash Bros. game on a handheld, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS broke new territory and blew minds as Masahiro Sakurai and his team successfully converted the console gameplay of past Super Smash Bros. games to the small screen with almost everything you'd want from the series intact. The same arsenal of characters from the Wii U version were all available for play without much in the way of making concessions. Smash Run was the exclusive mode for the 3DS version, and it offered a maze-like dungeon of enemies to defeat to get your character stronger for the final round, a match of some kind against AI opponents. The stage variety was quite good, too, delivering well designed stages like The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks' train, Nintendogs' Living Room, and Fire Emblem: Awakening's Arena Ferox. While it's not a game that competitive players went to in droves, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS is a wonderful Smash Bros. game that feels complete and great to play on-the-go.

3) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

It seemed like we were waiting ages for the Wii's Super Smash Bros. game to be released, constantly getting teased with new information every weekday with the Super Smash Bros. Dojo website. When the game finally came out, it was a mixed blessing, more of a positive one than a negative one, though. Packed with amazing stages with seldom a stinker in the bunch, an incredible amount of characters with such newcomers as Wario, Kid Icarus's Pit, Kirby's Metaknight and King Dedede, as well as a first for the series, third party characters like Sonic the Hedgehog and Solid Snake of Metal Gear Solid fame. Super Smash Bros. Brawl featured a campaign with it with engaging and charming cutscenes, allowing for up to player to join in on the 2D side-scrolling levels. The amount of content in Super Smash Bros. Brawl is amazing, and that fact is something that is a tradition with the series itself. However, not all was great with Brawl. One issue that ruined its chances as a competitive title was the inclusion of tripping. While great for a party game, not really well suited for tournaments. Still, for the millions of people who just enjoy the games as Nintendo fighters and not the small number of players who seek a tournament-caliber competitive game, Super Smash Bros. Brawl was a legitimately great game.

2) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN)

This next Super Smash Bros. game, Melee, is still played competitively and enjoyed by players all over the world. It says a lot about the legacy of this near-launch GameCube title. What I enjoyed about Super Smash Bros. Melee was how it really began the content-packed tradition that games following Melee would possess. Melee saw the introduction of trophies, a collectible that showed well known and forgotten characters, items, settings, and objects with wonderful descriptions. It was a virtual museum and shrine of Nintendo. The solo mode, Adventure, continues to be my personal favorite single player mode of any Smash game, taking players through familiar Nintendo settings like the Mushroom Kingdom, a Legend of Zelda temple, and even an F-Zero race track. The stage design is some of the series' best without a doubt, offering great locales like the Fountain of Dreams, Mute City, Temple, Kongo Jungle, and so many others. Then there is the cast of characters that introduced Fire Emblem as a series to the West and brought memories of Nintendo's Game and Watch systems back into the limelight (or for many, the first time ever). Super Smash Bros. Melee is the complete package, but at the same time, it's not the best that the Super Smash Bros. series has to offer.

1) Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Wii U)

The latest and what SuperPhillip Central considers the greatest Super Smash Bros. game is the recently released Wii U sequel. Although its board game mode isn't the best, everything else more than makes up for it. Everything including the largest roster of Super Smash Bros. characters ever to be contained in one game-- from Nintendo staples like Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Samus Aran, and Pikachu, to third party greats like Mega Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, Pac-Man, and now even Street Fighter's Ryu and Final Fantasy VII's Cloud Strife. The immense amount of excellent stages with plenty of dynamic hazards and obstacles to concern yourself with give them as much character as the fighters you battle with. The variety extends to the game's many modes like returning delights like Classic mode, All-Star mode, Event mode, Special Orders, Multi-Man Smash, Target Blast, Home-Run Contest, and Trophy Rush. The addition of mostly lag-free online play (something that Brawl sadly balked on) makes it easy to join up and play intense battles for up to four players over the Internet. Finally, the creation of Omega versions of stages makes it so the Battlefield and Final Destination aren't the only backdrops competitive players will have to put up with, as all stages now feature a Final Destination version. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is the most content-rich, enjoyable to play, and magnificent Smash Bros. game to currently exist. Once again, Masahiro Sakurai and his team delivered sublimely.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Nintendo's DLC Strategy

Like many online-related things in gaming, Nintendo took their sweet time entering into the world of downloadable content, or as I'll shorten it to DLC for my own sanity's sake. Starting off, the company showed great promise in the way they were testing the waters. Nintendo has approached DLC in a multitude of different forms and ways. Some good, some bad, and some really undesirable. 

First off, Nintendo seemed to be doing all the right things with DLC with the Wii U. The three major games featuring DLC are Mario Kart 8, Hyrule Warriors, and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. This trio of games offers tremendous value to the buyer already, but the added DLC only makes the packages all the more enticing. 

For instance, Mario Kart 8 owners are able to purchase one or both of the DLC packs, each featuring eight new tracks, three new characters, and three new vehicles. Buying both at the same time gives a discounted price that is cheaper than buying both separately, despite both packs not being out at the same time. In fact, the second DLC pack is set to release next week, offering eight more remixed and brand-new tracks into the equation. Thus, you're essentially buying another half of Mario Kart 8 for less than $15. That is one heck of a deal, especially since the actual content is so desirable.

Moving onto Hyrule Warriors, Nintendo seems to have a great handle on making a compelling season pass if this Omega Force-developed title is anything to go by. Unlike Mario Kart 8, there is a staggering amount of content already on the disc that would make anyone who purchases it fulfilled without needing to fork over any extra cash. Though, don't get me wrong, what Mario Kart 8 has content-wise is nothing to honk one's horn at; it's just that any game compared to Hyrule Warriors' content would seem like slim pickings in comparison!

Hyrule Warriors was the gift that kept on giving to those who purchased the season pass. New characters which completely different strategies and play styles for players to learn, new adventure maps which allowed players even more fun completing each mission, and the brand-new weapons made for a game that could easily make players lose hundreds of hours of real life time, and I say that in a good way. Maybe not so much if you have an unhealthy addiction to playing video games, though.

Finally, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is the third game from Nintendo that I believe does DLC well. Recently (as in yesterday), the first of two announced DLC characters, Mewtwo, was released for people who purchased and registered on Club Nintendo both the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U copies of the newest Super Smash Bros. games. A lot of time and effort goes into creating a new character, as you can probably imagine. I mean, after all, there is balancing the new character against the entire roster, making the character work on all of the stages and with all of the items in the game. It's a lot of work, for sure. 

While Mewtwo will be available for purchase for everyone else later this month, another DLC character was announced at this past Nintendo Direct a couple of weeks ago, Lucas from the unlocalized Mother 3. This enables fans to purchase and play as these returning fighters for a fair price while not putting players who don't pay for them at any kind of disadvantage besides not having the coolness that is Mewtwo and Lucas in their personal roster of available characters.

These three examples are good forms of DLC practice because they aren't already on the disc completely, they weren't held over from the base game to get people to pay more for cut content, and they were created long after the initial development of the base game was over.

However, Nintendo started to slide into more, well, sleazy forms of what we can essentially also call DLC. It all began with one term-- amiibo. Many games recently released by Nintendo have features of the game locked away by an amiibo paywall-- that is, one needs an amiibo figure to unlock that content. Therefore, things like having a member of the Fire Emblem squad join you in Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. is locked behind not only owning a New Nintendo 3DS XL but also owning one of the amiibo figurines. The latter is more important factor to focus on. You're basically forced to buy a $12-$13 figure for something that could have been unlocked with a much cheaper DLC digital key. Speaking of keys, not only is the content already in the game itself, this expensive physical amiibo serves as the key to unlock this reward for players. 

The most egregious (and this is where it starts to get ugly) example of hiding something behind an amiibo paywall is Mario Party 10's amiibo Party mode. To play this mode, at least one amiibo is required. This makes essentially one-third of Mario Party 10 locked away from players without an amiibo, and considered the price of amiibo, that makes a $50 investment turn into an over $60 one. That is pretty slimy to me.

What's worse here is that a lot of the amiibo are too difficult to find. To get Mii costumes in Mario Kart 8, for instance, requires some of the rarer amiibo like Captain Falcon and Fox McCloud. Good luck getting those at a reasonable price, but even at the standard price of, again, $12-$13, it's a huge expense compared to just being able to go on the Nintendo eShop and just pay for a key to unlock all of the costumes yourself with a pain-free, scalper-free transaction. 

Things don't seem to be getting better with the amiibo front either. Wave 4 figure pre-orders sold out incredibly quick, new amiibo were announced for upcoming games like Splatoon and Yoshi's Woolly World (the former locking exclusive costumes and missions away from non-amiibo buyers), and the hope of restocking for most of the rarer amiibo seems hopeless. 

It's my wish that Nintendo leans more toward the good path of DLC (i.e. Mario Kart 8, Hyrule Warriors, and Super Smash Bros.) rather than the amiibo route. Sadly, as the figures continually sell out and are in great demand, these make Nintendo a lot of money. In turn, this reinforces Nintendo's desire to go the amiibo route with adding optional, but usually much desired content to its future lineup of software. Seeing my disgust with trying to even find amiibo figures or make pre-orders, if this were a card game (funnily enough Nintendo wants to make a line of card-based amiibo), I'd definitely say "deal me out."

Multiplayer Madness: My Favorite Multiplayer Games

To cap off SuperPhillip Central's month of multiplayer madness, I have the first in a new series of articles based on my favorite multiplayer games, whether online or off (mostly off since that's what I'm accustomed to). Whether nailing an opponent with a red shell to make that last second come-from-behind victory in Mario Kart or making an opposing player eat lead in an arena shooter, these are my most beloved multiplayer experiences. After you've seen my picks, let me know what games you personally enjoy the multiplayer modes of most!

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Wii U)

These first two games on my list of favorite multiplayer games will most likely be mentioned during April 1st's (no April Fools there-- honest!) Nintendo Direct. The first is Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, which is set to get a new Miiverse stage and new Mewtwo character soon. Even without that, the content for mulitplayer gamers is astronomical. Maybe that's hyperbole, but not by much! There is just so much to do with friends and family, hopping online to take someone from across the country down a notch, playing together in Classic or All-Star modes-- once unheard of in the series, and battling across one of around 30 stages with over 40 fighters! There is no question why my family's Wii U still regularly houses our Smash Bros. disc, and it's not because the system lacks good games-- that much is for sure!

Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

There are but three absolutes in this life: death, taxes, and an increase in people playing online in Mario Kart 8 when downloadable content is made live. The second batch of DLC for Mario Kart 8 is due out next month, so I wouldn't be surprised to hear some words about it at tomorrow's Nintendo Direct. If you don't ever bother to download the new tracks and characters, you're still getting your money's worth, online or off. For the first time in a Mario Kart game since Double Dash!! on the GameCube, multiple players can vie for the top spot in a Grand Prix. Versus and online modes offer even more Mario Kart madness. No wonder Mario Kart 8 continues to be played in the SuperPhillip household to this day. It's just plain crazy fun!

New Super Mario Bros. U (Wii U)

One of two big launch titles from Nintendo for the Wii U was New Super Mario Bros. U. While a game like that with a modest presentation doesn't scream "the new generation", the gameplay remains as accessible and well designed as 2D Mario games of the past. Yes, I even mean beloved (and rightfully so) classics like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. Although four players is absolute mayhem-- and depending on your mood and game desires, that can be a good or bad thing-- playing through New Super Mario Bros. U with my brother made it that two skilled players were having fun helping one another out and having a sensational platforming adventure together. And oh, what an adventure it was!

Perfect Dark (N64, XBLA)

The quintessential first-person shooter in my book, Perfect Dark is indeed forever, as the ending credits do say. The game's multiplayer mode offers SO much customization, from the multitude of bot types and personalities (e.g. ones that go after the player in first place, suicidal bots, bots that only attack with their fists, etc.) to the myriad of expansive maps with plenty of choke points, hidden nooks and crannies, and places to battle it out. You can choose what weapons spawn on maps, what music is played, and so much more, and you can save your favorite scenarios for future multiplayer sessions. Literally hundreds of hours have been spent with Perfect Dark's multiplayer, and I haven't even touched the Xbox Live Arcade version.

TimeSplitters 2 (PS2, GCN, XBX)

The successor to Perfect Dark's throne, TimeSplitters 2 was made by Free Radical Design, made up of many team members who designed GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark. It only makes sense, then, that TimeSplitters 2 made me, an migrant from Perfect Dark, feel right at home. Through completing missions in the Arcade League, you can unlock new characters, modes (of which there any many), and arenas in the full multiplayer piece of TimeSplitters 2. My brother and I found a lot of joy in blowing and blasting bots away in the multiplayer, and then hopping into the cooperative campaign to save each others' hides-- or at least having one of us (usually my brother) being bullet bait. While not exactly as near the magnificence of Perfect Dark's multiplayer, TimeSplitters 2 delivers plenty of similar feelings to that game.

Unreal Tournament (Multi)

While the gaming world knew of Unreal Tournament's excellence over a decade and a half ago, I am relatively new to the world of frags and bags. Containing four wonderful multiplayer modes that each possess their own set of well crafted maps and arenas, Unreal Tournament is a blast to play even to this day. There are a plethora of reasons players keep coming back to UT, and just a sample of those include fast and frenetic action, great guns that give highly satisfying kills, and insanely smart AI to help train newbies like myself to be good enough to battle it out online against human intelligence (or in my case, lack thereof).

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (Wii U, 3DS)

This next game may be old news thanks to the release of Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate on the Nintendo 3DS, but some of my favorite online multiplayer memories (Wii U version owner here) come from playing with a group of three other hunters and attempting to take down some ferocious beast. It is still fun to lose and suffer defeat, but it's even more delicious to pull out an unexpected victory. The stress and excitement levels are intensified thanks to a lack of a health meter for monsters. All you are helped notified by are different stances by the killer creatures and possibly broken off pieces from said behemoths. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is the type of a game where the multiplayer is so good that you don't mind fighting against the same foes dozens of times just to get that last desired material to complete your armor set.

Resistance 2 (PS3)

Before the servers were taken offline (RIP), Resistance 2's multiplayer received a lot of playtime by yours truly. While the massive multiplayer deathmatch and team deathmatch modes allowed for a multitude of players to rush across maps, fragging others, the real enjoyment from Resistance 2's multiplayer was in its cooperative modes, spread out across multiple maps. Each had several objectives for players to take care of and complete together, three different character archetypes like offensive and medic, and insane open-ended missions to play through. Sadly, Sony doesn't have infinite money, so the servers were taken offline, an unfortunate casualty of the online multiplayer machine.

Classics I Can Return To - Part Five

Welcome to an all-new installment of Classics I, your friend Phil, Can Return To! We all have games that we find ourselves coming back for more even long after we've beaten them. This segment is dedicated to those titles that are recent and of yesteryear that I can easily find myself coming back to time and time again. It's primarily a modern Nintendo-filled edition of Classics I Can Return To this time around, so get yourself comfortable and let's get to my latest list of seven classics!

If you have interest in a past installment of this series of articles, check them out at the following links:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Wii U)

This highly anticipated fighter finally came out this past November, and it brought with it loads of content-- almost an obscene amount of things for players to do. It's four months later, and I'm still digging into Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, beating challenges to unlock new content, fighting against my Amiibo, playing online, fighting offline with friends and family, and just enjoying the game on the whole. The copious amount of trophies, challenges, characters, stages, and modes means that players entering this game need to make a great time investment if they wish to view everything Super Smash Bros. for Wii U has to offer. I certainly I know have spent over 70 hours already on this beast of a game, and I expect to log in many more hours on top of that amount.

Super Mario 3D World (Wii U)

A lot of folks were disappointed that Nintendo didn't have a new 3D Mario with the scope of Super Mario Galaxy as Mario's first (and maybe only?) three-dimensional romp on the Wii U. While the initial unveiling did little to fully excite, subsequent trailers and impressions turned towards Super Mario 3D World's favor. The game itself is a sensational one, full of variety, platforming challenges, well designed levels, and the extreme amount of polish that one would expect from Nintendo EAD. Whether playing it by my lonesome or with up to three other players for some local multiplayer mayhem, Super Mario 3D World is a game that I've already beaten three times, and I have the itch to do so again.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U)

Another game that disappointed Nintendo fans with its announcement since it was "just Donkey Kong", Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze takes the foundation that Retro Studios laid down with Donkey Kong Country Returns and creates a masterful 2D platforming game full of challenge. The fact that levels are tailored for both normal and speed-run play says a lot to the strength of Retro Studios' wondrous level design. I kept wanting to see what new mechanic or obstacle I would encounter next, keeping me engaged so much that I would hook the Wii U GamePad to its charger just so I'd have an excuse to continue playing. Tropical Freeze is a textbook example of great design and gameplay trumping anything else.

Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

The gift that keeps on giving is Mario Kart 8. The first downloadable content pack gave racers eight new tracks on top of the 32 that were already on the disc. The second DLC pack is due out this May, and it adds new vehicles, characters, and tracks to further entice players. I didn't need new tracks as an excuse to keep playing Mario Kart 8. The pure adrenaline-driven gameplay, tight controls, intense races, series-best courses, and online play were all things that beckoned me to return to Mario Kart 8 on a monthly basis. Whether online or off, Mario Kart 8 is one of my favorites in the franchise.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS)

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds did a lot to make me love it. It tickled my nostalgia bones by having it set in a familiar A Link to the Past-era Hyrule, but it also brought a lot that was new, including a profound sense of freedom when compared to recent Zelda games, an ingenious wall-merging mechanic that opened up the level design to massive degrees, and dungeons that were delightful to play and replay. Like A Link to the Past, I find myself returning to the lands of Hyrule and Lorule, playing through the Lorule dungeons in different orders, collecting heart pieces, and exploring the world. It's a near-perfect Zelda game, and that is why I can't say no to coming back to it.

Mario Golf: World Tour (3DS)

A golf game that is packed to the brim with stuff to do, a common concept that a lot of these classics I can return to possess, Mario Golf: World Tour features a wide selection of varied courses, characters, challenges, modes, and unlockables for players to dive into. The different tournaments that go on online, officially run by Nintendo, unlock new costume pieces for players just for participating in them. This means that I am encouraged to keep coming back to the game, seeing what new gear and equipment I can unlock. The addition of DLC that was reasonably priced means that six 18-hole classic courses from the Nintendo 64 Mario Golf are available to me if I somehow get bored of what's already available on the game card. (Hint: I haven't gotten bored of them yet!)

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (Multi)

While it doesn't have the amount of polish that the Mario Kart series has, I do find myself entering the arcade racing action of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. The creatively designed tracks alter their appearance each lap, meaning each race feels like its own adventure and offers a high amount of unpredictability. The game is mighty tough, too, on harder difficulties, requiring the player to have great skill to overcome the challenges presented to them. That's part of the reason I keep playing Sonic the Hedgehog's latest racer, to hone my racing skills to routinely become better against the harder AI. Throw in highly competent online, and you have a game that encourages replaying.

SuperPhillip Central Best of 2014 Awards - Top Ten Games of 2014

Welcome to the final list of SuperPhillip Central's Best of 2014 Awards! This is the list where I talk about my favorite games of 2014, so it's an extended top ten list this time around. Game-wise, 2014 was a year that I will look back on fondly, due to its staggering amount of gameplay-centric releases. Without further ado, here's my Top Ten Games of 2014!

10) Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker (Wii U)

Nintendo is great at putting out games that I didn't even know I wanted until they're released and I play them. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is one of these games-- a puzzle adventure game with levels that are more akin to interactive dioramas than anything else I've ever seen. With an abundant array of adorable characters and worlds, clever puzzles, and plenty of replay value, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker was a big surprise to cap off a great year of games that was 2014. Each level introduces a new component to the level design that delights, shows off the impressive knowledge of game design that Nintendo EAD possesses, and wows players with its brilliance.

9) Shovel Knight (Wii U)

Indies continue to astound me with their quality. When a studio devised up of a dozen or less can create an experience that rivals what big developers can do, my jaw drops to dangerously low levels. Yacht Club Games' Shovel Knight is a NES-era retro game inspired by action platformers like Mega Man and DuckTales. The end result is a two hour tale that offers immense value, tight platforming, unparalleled action, and terrific level design. The entire package of Shovel Knight is polished so incredibly well that it makes games made by some bigger developers look like student projects in comparison. Since the game is on sale for 33% off at both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS eShops at the time of this top ten list, there's no better time to see what the hubbub around Shovel Knight is all about.

8) Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call (3DS)

The rhythm game genre is one I absolutely adore-- even as someone without much actual rhythm (d'oh!). The original Theatrhythm Final Fantasy made its mark on me greatly, making it my favorite music game of all time. Curtain Call, its sequel, adds so much to the formula-- over 200 songs from both mainline and spin-off Final Fantasy games, a wealth of Final Fantasy characters to choose from, and multiple new modes like Quest and online battling to create a fantastic rhythm game. Throw in the simple yet tough to master gameplay of tapping and touching the screen to make Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call a fantastic musical journey.

7) Fantasy Life (3DS)

Many people throughout my gaming career have told me to get a life. Well, with Fantasy Life I outperformed their meager expectations of me and got twelve different lives! Har-har... In all seriousness, while the campaign of Fantasy Life is short compared to the rest of what the title offers, the real meat of the game happens when you try to take your life (i.e. job type) and become better at it. There are a wide amount of objectives to complete for each job as you make your way from fledgling to master, massive numbers of lands and areas to explore, creatures to defeat, and a wondrous world to journey through, making Fantasy Life one of my favorite original handheld games of 2014.

6) LittleBigPlanet 3 (PS3)

Next to Ratchet & Clank, the LittleBigPlanet series is my favorite that SCEA publishes. Although released with many issues (welcome to next gen, baby!), by the time I picked up the game and played it, these problems were taken care of. LittleBigPlanet 3 is a game that features 16 layers of depth to play and create levels in, allowing for levels that look and play absolutely awesomely. The way tutorials are implemented into actual levels rather than having you sit through the dry humor of Stephen Fry makes LittleBigPlanet 3 a much better game in teaching the player to create than past entries. Throw in different characters in how they look and how they play, a bustling community that is as creative as any I've seen on a console, and you have a fantastic game and tool kit to work with.

5) Hyrule Warriors (Wii U)

The last Musou styled game I played while Dynasty Warriors Gundam, and that wasn't the most varied gaming experience around. However, Nintendo and Tecmo-Koei managed to mix two series that originally seemed like the gaming equivalent of oil and water, The Legend of Zelda and Dynasty Warriors series, to create one of my favorite games of 2014. It's certainly one of my most played. Hyrule Warriors is fan service comes to life for Zelda fans like me, and it definitely doesn't hurt that the actual game is a blast to play, teeming with a massive amount of content and modes. Even without DLC, Hyrule Warriors is packed to the gills with content, co-op play, and fan service that oozes out of every orifice of the title. The game is without question a fantastic love letter to both Zelda and Dynasty Warriors fans, doubly so if you're a fan of both!

4) Mario Golf: World Tour (3DS)

I am a definite sucker for a good arcade golfing game. For the longest time, the Nintendo 64's Mario Golf was my personal choice when I wanted to hit the links with Mario and friends. That is until Mario Golf: World Tour for the Nintendo 3DS came out. This game is absolutely packed with cool characters, well designed courses, deep golfing gameplay, a solo mode that while not an exact RPG mode like the GBC and GBA Mario Golf games offers longevity and entertainment, online play, tournaments, and so much unlockable content. The DLC which is essentially the N64 Mario Golf courses and four different characters is the icing on the cake, solidifying Mario Golf: World Tour as my favorite golf game of all time. I just didn't know I'd love it as much as I did and do.

3) Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

I haven't been this enamored with a Mario Kart game in quite some time. Perhaps the long-missing inclusion of being able to play Grand Prix mode with a buddy added to my love of the game. Perhaps also the 32 expertly-designed tracks, terrifically tight controls, and gorgeous graphics makes for a Mario Kart that is as much a treat to look at as it is to play. The all-new anti-gravity sections of tracks makes for a Mario Kart that is heavily reminiscent of F-Zero, and since that series is in hiatus until who knows when, that's definitely not a bad thing! Add in excellent online and offline multiplayer, one of the best soundtracks the series has ever witnessed, and some of the best valued downloadable content around, and you can see why Mario Kart 8 is on a lot of folks' game of the year lists this year.

2) Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U)

When Retro Studios was revealed to be working on a sequel to Donkey Kong Country Returns and not something new like Metroid, gamers collectively turned up their noses. However, when the actual game, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, released to the public, many of these critics quickly aimed their noses back downward and enjoyed what I absolutely consider one of the best 2D platformers ever created. Each level is a new adventure. Each of the four Kongs is a dream to control. The return of David Wise to the series' soundtrack adds a gigantic exclamation mark to what is otherwise an immense treat to experience. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is gaming nirvana, particularly if you're a big fan of the platformer like I am.

1) Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Wii U)

After the relative disappointment that fans experienced with Super Smash Bros' showing on the Wii with Brawl, many felt that they were owed a better game from the ever-hardworking Masahiro Sakurai and his team. Well, while I wasn't one of these people, I definitely am of the opinion that Sakurai and friends achieved practical perfection with Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, a game which not only plays well for both casual and competitive players (and everyone in between), but it is an absolute love letter to any fan of Nintendo history. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is jam-packed with content-- so much so that even after nearly a hundred hours of playing the game I have yet to see all that there is to see. Most importantly, though, this new console version of Smash Bros. is just an amazing pleasure to play. It feels responsive, it plays great, and it looks extraordinary, making it my favorite game of 2014.

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As you can see, Nintendo dominated this year for my SuperPhillip Central end of year awards ceremony. I think it's more to do with the fact that the majority of Western gaming continues to move in a direction that has pretty much alienated me. The only main platforms for big Japanese-style gaming, the style that I really appreciate and meshes with my tastes, are on Nintendo systems. That isn't to say that the PS3 and Vita have let me down. That's not the case at all.

Regardless, I hope your 2015 is a joyous year full of fun games and gaming experiences! I will be here on SuperPhillip Central for another great year. I hope you are with me, too!