Mr. Shauna's Top 5 3DS Games of 2013!

[Ayen]

Costs for triple A games are dumb.

Yes, yes they are.

@Topic, aha! Knew Pokemon would make it on this list somehow. Now I'm wondering if we'll be seeing Zelda.

[Dat Matt]

Who knows!? You'll need to wait till tomorrow to find out!

[Skyblade]

I am disappointed by the low placement of Fire Emblem Awakening. But I understand having personal preferences adjust the positions slightly.

Truly, this is a phenomenal year for the 3DS.

[Jiro]

This thread makes me wish I could afford a 3ds I love Fire Emblem so I'm glad to see it was so enjoyable for you.

[Dat Matt]

We are reaching the end of the list. How has my list compared to yours so far? Did you play our next entry this list? Is all this talk of good games making you wish you had a 3DS? Find out next time on "Dragonball Z". Also:

Number 2

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

My Playtime - 16 hours

For those whom have seen me around the forum, this entry should be no surprise. The Legend of Zelda Series is my go to series, and with a few exceptions I have played all entries in the franchise. Needless to say that this Day one Purchase for me. There is actually a funny story surrounding that…

While I love the series, I am a big fan of the top down view iterations of the series (Links awakening, Oracle Games, Link to the Past) so the introduction of a sequel to a link to the past was waited with the highest of hype. Oh man this game delivered.

The main change added to this entry is the ability to buy weapons from a trader early in the game. Traditional Zelda have given you an item to help you solve puzzles within the dungeon, however the ability to have these items before entering the dungeon is a vast change from tradition. What this means is that there can now be various solutions to puzzles as opposed to one. Another addition to this series is the introduction of "Painting link" After a few story events Link is transformed into a painting, and can travel across walls and through cracks. This allows for new puzzles to be invented and that previously were unthinkable in previous iterations.

Another brilliant addition to this installment is its non linearity. When hall the items are available to you from an early stage, dungeons can be tackled earlier than intended (eg previous instalments would require you to have the hookshot from a previous dungeon before advancing to this one). This game this time assumes you have access to all the weapons from an early stage and as such can be accessed whenever you feel. This non linearity allows for a lot more freedom in gameplay by suggesting "I want to do the fire temple first" and being able to do so is refreshing.

The main issue with a link between worlds is it is very short. I purchased the game on the Saturday , and it was finished by Tuesday clocking in 14 hours for 100% completion. This however worked in it's favour as it made me crave for more immediately after finishing. I had to slap my hand and say "No" as Bravely Default was out the following week.

This leaves number 1 on the list. Any guesses to what it could be?

[Ayen]

Sweet. I had a feeling this was either going to be #2 or #1.

Calling it, next up is Pokemon X/Y.

[Shauna]

Pokemon was already put up at #3!

[Ayen]

Pokemon was already put up at #3!

And I even replied to that earlier in the thread...

Haha... Memories.

[Dat Matt]

Well here we are. The finale. Mr. Shauna's Top 3DS game of 2013 is:

Number 1

Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies

My Playtime - 24 hours

While Bravely Default was pretty good. I finished it the day after I made my list. Had I considered making the list later It would have been #4, and fire emblem #5. However, this year's best 3DS games goes to Phoenix Wright: Dual Destines.

Phoenix Wright is one those odd niche titles that doesn’t get much publicity. This rings doubly true for the fact it only got an e-shop release outside of Japan. Despite this the game is superb.

The game is the 5th in the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series and features both old and new additions to the series. This instalment of the series sees the return of Phoenix Wright to the stand, following his absence in Apollo Justice. Apollo also makes an appearance as a playable character but this entry now features a third playable defence attorney in the form of Athena Sykes.

Each of the three characters has a Unique ability that Aids in the development of the investigations. Phoenix has his Magatama that allows for the investigation into people's hearts to see if they are lying, which can be disproved with evidence. Apollo can use his Bracelet to identify if a person is subconsciously showing they are nervous about a particular statement which leads to further probing. Anthea added a new interrogation technique in the form of investigating the emotions of the witnesses. These emotions of Happiness, Sadness, Shock and Anger are compared to the testimonies that are given in order to identify if a person is consciously or subconsciously lying about events. After identifying the inconstancies, testimonies are then updated to provide the truth surrounding these testimonies.

The reason why this is my favourite 3DS game of the year is that it is a visual novel which we rarely see in the west. The format, characters and story are all superb and you are challenged with finding out the truth behind the crimes while the story develops. Some cases are easy to understand who the culprit is, but finding out motives and methods always lead to an interesting story.

That is my list of 3DS games for 2013. This year has been amazing for the 3DS. Hopefully 2014 will be even better. Unless this is the year of the Wii U!

[Ayen]

PHOENIX WRIGHT! *spazzes*

I approve.

[Dat Matt]

Indeed. It is super good fun.This was just icing on the cake.

[Shauna]

The only thing that would have made AA: DD better would have been the appearance of Maya. ;_;

[Ayen]

No Maya?

And here I was all ready to get a 3DS so I could play this game.

[Shauna]

It is still a fantastic piece of video game, and you should still run out to get a 3DS.

Maya was gone in the previous AA game too, so it's not so shocking that she didn't make an appearance here. It would have been nice, but hey ho. :3

[Del Murder]

It is odd that one of the main characters of the series doesn't appear in the final two games, but I guess her story arc was pretty much fulfilled in AA3.

Great list, and I agree this has been an awesome year for the 3DS. Your number 1 pick was a bit of a surprise and now it makes me want to play it all the more. I have a huge 3DS backlog though.