Can you believe this year is already half over?  What I like to do this time of year is write about the best games of the year so far.  Everyone is all excited over recent E3 announcements, and most of the really good titles come out during the Christmas season at the tail end of the year, and the games that come out earlier tend to be forgotten.  So this is where those games get their due.  Keep in mind that no outside opinions went into the making of this list.  It’s just my own picks.  And if a game is missing from my list, it either didn’t appeal to me as much, or I just simply haven’t played it yet.  Can’t play all the games out there, you know!  Luckily I have to say that this year we’ve already gotten way better games than we did at this point last year, so that’s a good thing.  Anyway, without further ado, welcome to Cary’s Best Games of 2017 SO FAR Awards Show!

BEST 3-D ADVENTURE

LEGO City: Undercover (PS4)

It seems that we’ve had a resurgence of 3-D platforming adventures this year.  And actually, LEGO City: Undercover isn’t the best 3-D adventure this year, but that game is getting an even bigger award at the end, so you’ll just have to wait and see what that is.  But LEGO City: Undercover is still one of the better LEGO games I’ve played.  Technically it’s been out for a while on the Wii U, but now that that system is dead, they’ve released it on all the current consoles this year, and I played it on the PS4, so it goes on the list.  It’s like a family-friendly LEGO filled GTA title, and it’s a lot of fun.  I liked it so much I bought the 3DS prequel.

Runners Up:

LEGO Worlds (PS4)

A lot of people say it’s LEGO Minecraft, but I think it plays more like the Toy Box from Disney Infinity.  But it’s still a pretty creative little game and nice to see a LEGO property that’s based on the toys and not a movie parody.  I should also give props to the LEGO Dimensions packs I’ve been reviewing because they’re what’s keeping me from unplugging my Wii U and putting it away.

RIME (PS4)

This neat little 3-D puzzle platformer is similar to games like Ico and The Last Guardian, with Zelda-like dungeon puzzles.  It also has one of the saddest endings in a video game that I’ve ever played!  Make sure you have a tissue handy before beating it!

Yooka-Laylee (PS4)

It certainly isn’t perfect, as it has some control, camera, and level design issues, but Yooka-Laylee is still a nice tribute to the Banjo-Kazooie games.

WEIRDEST GAME

1, 2 Switch (Switch)

It’s just a mini-game collection and it should’ve been a pack-in game with the Switch in the first place.  But it’s how they presented it and some of the things you must do that make it really weird.  Like holding the controller near your mouth and moving your mouth up and down to eat a bunch of sandwiches, or rocking the Switch screen to put a baby to sleep!

Runners Up:

Cooking Mama: Sweet Shop (3DS)

The Cooking Mama games have been around for a while, but I still say they’re weird.  I mean, a cooking game?  Come on.

GNOG (PS4)

This game is so weird that I don’t think I could describe it well in my review.  It’s a puzzle game where you must push buttons and switches and levers in a particular order in little lunchbox like toy things that look like those baby activity centers you hook on the side of a crib.  And it was published by Double Fine, too.

BEST RPG

I am Setsuna (Switch)

Technically this came out last year on the PS4, but it came out this year on the Switch, and that’s where I played it, so it goes on the list.  It plays a LOT like Chrono Trigger in how you view the world map and battles.  So much so that if they made a few tweaks to the story and characters here and there, it could almost be a Chrono Trigger side story.  But because the game has classic RPG sensibilities, it held my interest all the way though, so that’s why it wins this award.

Runner Up:

Stardew Valley (PS4)

I don’t know if you’d call a farming sim an RPG, but it does have RPG elements so it goes on the list.  Again, this actually came out on PC last year, but this year it came out on consoles and that’s where I reviewed it.  It blew a lot of people away but it’s really nothing different than a Harvest Moon game.  But it is a very good copy of a Harvest Moon game, and there hasn’t been one of those on a big console for some time, so it goes on the list.

BEST SPORTS GAME

Mario Sports Superstars (3DS)

This really wins by default since it was the only sports video game I played this year so far.  But Mario sports games are good simple fun and I was surprised on how much I liked the horse racing parts.

BEST CLASSIC REMAKE/COLLECTION

The Disney Afternoon Collection (PS4)

I just adored The Disney Afternoon cartoons as a kid.  I even wrote a separate blog about them when I reviewed this one.  For me, I have better memories playing Capcom’s Disney games on the NES over Nintendo’s originals.  That’s why most of the games on this collection interested me more than most of the titles on the NES Classic Edition!

Runners Up:

Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap (PS4)

Now THIS is how you do a remake.  The Wonder Boy titles were popular in the 8- and 16-bit days, and even had ties with the Adventure Island series.  But they’ve kind of faded into obscurity and they’re definitely not as popular in the US.  It plays like an early “Metroidvania” where you can switch animal forms to bypass obstacles.  If you enjoy the Shantae games, you’ll definitely enjoy this one.  I loved how they let you seamlessly change the graphics and sound from retro to modern.  Best of all, supposedly later this year we’re getting a TRUE Wonder Boy sequel!  I played it at PAX South and it’s awesome!

Arkanoid vs. Space Invaders (iPad)

I may not talk about them as much, but I’m a huge Taito fan.  They have as much history behind them as Namco or Nintendo!  I have a lot of respect for how Space Invaders impacted the arcade industry, and I have a lot of special memories playing Arkanoid as well.  So I thought it was cool how they combined both games in this neat little mobile title.  I especially loved how other Taito characters make cameos as power-ups!

BEST PUZZLE GAME

Bye Bye Box Boy (3DS)

HAL Laboratory may be best known for Kirby and Smash Bros., but they’re no slouch when it comes to puzzle games, too.  Before Kirby, their ‘mascot’ was a little blue ball with eyes named Lolo that starred in his own series of block-pushing puzzle games.  HAL still shows they have puzzle chops with the newest BoxBoy game.  It’s a 2-D platformer where you can create blocks that can be used as stepping stones or even a shield.

There are a few games that have come out this year already that I haven’t had a chance to play yet, but I do want to.  One is another puzzle game called Puyo Puyo Tetris.  I want to play it, but I don’t want to pay full price either.  Another one I haven’t played yet is ARMS.  I’ll get it eventually, I just didn’t feel I had to get it right away.  When I do get it, I may have to make another category for ‘BEST FIGHTING GAME.’  And finally, I haven’t gotten Ever Oasis yet, but I want to since it was made by the game guy who did Secret of Mana.  I just don’t have time to play ALL the games out there, and money’s a little tighter for me right now than it used to be anyway.  But hopefully I can get these games soon and maybe even add them to the list when I do my Game of the Year blog at the end of this year!

And now for my Best Game of the Year 2017 SO FAR.  Taiko drum roll, please…

BEST GAME OF THE YEAR 2017 SO FAR

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)

Yeah I know, big surprise here.  Actually as far as Zelda games go, this one was not one of my favorites.  I really prefer my Zelda games to have actual dungeons, and not have to worry about weapons breaking after using them a couple of times (and honestly my favorite Zelda games are the 2-D ones).  And really, this wasn’t even a Zelda game at all.  Sure it had Zelda elements, but it was really another game entirely, cleverly disguised as a Zelda game.  But I do appreciate it for trying to be different, and it still held my interest for the 60 or so hours I put into it.  So it goes on my list.  Can you guess my favorite character?

So will Breath of the Wild keep the top spot for when I do my Game of the Year blog at the end of the year?  Well, as good as the game is, it also easily has the potential to be overthrown by something else.  Splatoon was my Game of the Year back in 2015, and I may like the sequel a lot as well.  And while I would hate to give the award to a Mario game over a Zelda one, man that Mario Odyssey game looks SO GOOD!  We’ll just have to see I guess.  One thing’s for sure, there are still lots of games to look forward to by the end of the year, and that’s always a good thing!  –Cary

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