Everyone has a personal "Games of the Year" list. But probably unwritten, and unlike game journalists who do a game of the year based on the year it came out, gamers can make a game of the year list based on WHEN they played each game in question regardless of when the game came out. Here's my list from 1990 until 2012, and I'd love some posts from you guys about your personal game of the year list to contrast with each other.

MY GAMES OF THE YEAR (1990 to Present)

1990 - Tetris (GB)

1991 - Super Mario World (SNES)

1992 - Super Ghosts and Ghouls (SNES)

1993 - Super Mario All Stars (SNES)

1994 - Mega Man X (SNES)

1995 - Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES)

1996 - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)

1997 - Star Fox 64 (N64)

1998 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)

1999 - Final Fantasy VII (PSone)

2000 - Mario Golf (N64)

2001 - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64)

2002 - Grandia II (Dreamcast)

2003 - Skies of Arcadia: Legends (GameCube)

2004 - Tales of Symphonia (GameCube)

2005 - OddWorld: Stranger's Wrath (XBOX)

2006 - Baten Kaitos: Origins (GameCube)

2007 - Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

2008 - Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts (XBOX 360)

2009 - New Super Mario Brothers (Wii)

2010 - Super Metroid (Wii VC)

2011 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS)

2012 - (So far, this is my game of the year) Infamous (PS3)

Prediction: My 2012 game of the year will almost definitely change (Unless 2012 is the next 2008 in terms of solid Nintendo releases). My game of the year for 2012 may very well be a Zelda title... because I believe that we might get a surprise Zelda game on 3DS or Wii U THIS YEAR.

Anyone noticed?

As a 24 year old gamer I am disheartened by what I'm forced to see in upcoming releases. While it was common in the 90s to see a plethora of diverse games on the shelf, I walk into a game store now and see mostly more of the same. The common FPS. The war game. The action game. They are all realistic, have realistic character models, and almost always feature some kind of gunplay.

While the days of creative development are not gone, they are also not at the forefront like they used to be. Its very common for me to walk into gamestop and walk out 20 minutes later empty handed.

XBOX is the biggest offender. Featuring games with little inherent value and rely heavily on the inborn fun of online gaming.

Playstation 3 has a lot of exclusives that veer from the mold - including Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted, God of War, Final Fantasy, and a huge amount of PSN titles including the impressive Beyond Good and Evil HD and a back catalogue of classics. I'm also VERY impressed with Starhawk, which takes the online war game to new heights.

Wii features most of what I loved about the 90s brought to present day, but Nintendo is a shadow of its former self. And the games that define the Wii are not released often enough to make the impact I'm wanting.

I think this is dangerous. The japanese developer has fallen from grace and a lot of american patriotic bullcrap is falling into the holes like sand that automatically fills a gap when a gap is created. If the industry keeps moving in this direction, creative game development and titles the like of Braid, Mario, Zelda, Banjo, Metroid, Final Fantasy, Uncharted, Crash Bandicoot, Starhawk... I fear we'll see less of those and more games like Call of Duty.

Its already happening. If it continues and consumes the industry I will no longer be a gamer.

Super Mario

Best: Peachs Castle: Super Mario 64

I wanted to go with Sunshine, but unfortunately Sunshine's amazing hub world can't stack up against Peach's Castle. Jumping into paintings, exploring, and climbing from one floor to the next has never been handled so expertly.

Worst: Rosalina's Observatory: Super Mario Galaxy

When I read up on Galaxy before it was released, I thought that the hub world took place on the upper upper levels of Peach's Castle. Needless to say I was disappointed. The observatory has sickeningly happy music, no exploration value, and walking into the library for the first time is a very painful experience.

The Legend of Zelda

Best: Termina Field: Majora's Mask

Its diverse, creepy, and weird. There's so much to do and see. Leaving clock town for the first time and realizing that each compass direction takes you to a strange new area is very mysterious and satisfying.

Worst: The Sky/The Surface: Skyward Sword

Despite Skyward Sword's leaps and bounds over previous titles, what should have made it a true Zelda game was seriously neglected. Only a few of the islands in the sky are even worth checking out, and the lack of a true Zelda overworld beneathe the clouds leads to a very restricted feeling that marrs an otherwise amazing game. Seriously? Only 3 questing areas? This isn't supposed to be Metroid, people!

Final Fantasy

Best: Gaia: Final Fantasy 9

While previous playstation FF titles had an overworld that felt slightly restrictive (especially 8) 9 does it right with a good balance of locales to visit and secrets to unearth.

Worst: Cocoon: Final Fantasy 13

Cocoon fails to replicate a real world and instead feels like a series of hallways and levels. Gran Pulse, on the other hand, is Final Fantasy 13's saving grace - with a Hyrule Field-esque expanse and loads of secrets to unearth.

To be continued...

Let's get something straight - A Wii U Zelda is FAR off. FAR FAR off. 2014 at the absoluteearliest.

Before that point we will probably see 2 Zelda titles see the light of day. One of them will be the Majora's Mask remake. The other will be a big Nintendo 3DS question mark.

Lots of speculation arrises here. The 3DS has set a benchmark for Zelda. Ocarina of Time as it played on the N64 almost 15 years ago is BETTER when played on the 3DS. Imagine that. I see this as a sign. A good sign. A sign that the new 3DS Zelda will be less like a handheld offering, and more like a console game. Less like Phantom Hourglass. More like Ocarina of Time. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that the ONLY Zelda game that has ever PLAYED like Ocarina of Time is its direct sequel... Majora's Mask.

Dare we hope that the 3DS Zelda will be Ocarina of Time's 2nd sequel? A 3rd Zelda game that plays like it did on the N64? No gimmicks? No ocean? No wolf? No Sky? No exclusive touch screen controls and trains? Too good to be true, in my opinion. While Zelda has always been good, I don't think its ever matched the glory of its n64 days. Whenever they innovate something goes wrong. The DS games don't even feel like proper Zelda titles. Wind Waker's too weird. Twilight Princess lacks the Zelda magic. Minish Cap has too much padding. Skyward Sword has limited exploration and a sometimes clunky way of doing things.

While Majora's Mask lacked the streamlined focus of Ocarina of Time, I still think it modeled its magical world better than any other offering - lending a vibe that it expanded on Ocarina rather than being a simple sequel.

No game has done that since. In some ways I mourn. In my eyes I haven't played a true Zelda title since 2000. 12 years is too long. Could the 3DS bring back those magical days?

I'm imagining a world. Like a world Map. That's where my mind goes first. The whole game is on the ground. You travel on foot... and later by horse. The World Map is detailed and has the "Cloud over the area you haven't visited yet" of the n64 games, rather than the bland "Charting" of the GameCube offerings and the "Eye Candy With No Depth or Mystery" of Skyward Sword. I'm picture a strange, mysterious world. It has the expanse of Ocarina of Time, yet varied and mysterious like Majora's Mask.

Imagine waking up in the forest yet again. Its a mysterious land. Link is a traveler after his journey in Termina. He still seeks Navi. His search continues in a new land beyond the expanse of Termina. I'm thinking he journeyed beyond one of the four compass locations in Majora's Mask and arrived in a whole new segment. In fact, I'd like to take that idea farther.

The entirety of this new world exists on a higher elevation than Termina. And at certain points of this new map - say on top of a mountain or something - you can see the land as far as you can see. You can see the new area you are exploring and its field and all the crazy stuff in it that's hard to predict. But then beyond it you can see Termina. You recognize those lands. While you can't explore it, its obvious that you are close by. Or... even better... you CAN explore termina. You can return to Termina and the new "time free" Clock Town to see all the new stuff that's going on. Each area that you visited in Majora's Mask has changed to match the peaceful times (The mountain is melted, for example). There are 2 or 3 hidden dungeons in Termina that you must find. It'd be a cool blending on old and new - maybe lending a seasons and ages vibe to the game. Perfect seeing as Majora's Mask and this new Zelda will probably be released very close to each other - if not on the same day. Grezzo will probably work on Majora's Mask and a more internal developer (Or maybe Retro Studios) might work on the new 3DS game... so its very possible they'll be made at the same time and have a simultaneous release.

Unfortunately, its hard to point out specs for the new 3DS Zelda game. If it will truly model the n64 titles the rest is left up to imagination until the screenshots in japanese text start rolling in.

Playing origins right now. I'm near the end of the main quest. I have 180 of those Pink electra-whatevers and I have 8 of those red teeth.

I think the game has its ups and downs and it can be very frustrating. Some worlds are more enjoyable than others - my favorites being the desert levels and underwater levels. The mountain levels are also really cool... but I didn't care for world 3 with all its... odd... design choices.

The underwater levels remind me of Donkey Kong Country 3 for some reason...

Speaking of Donkey Kong, this game feels like some weird successor to Country Returns... except somewhat less polished. Particularly the treasure chest levels harken to last year's special levels in Returns where you would traverse extra tough worlds to get orbs to unlock the final level. Treasure chase levels feel alittle too reliant on trial and error for my tastes, but I enjoy them and love finally beating one after 50 tries. The toughest one I've faced yet is probably that first one where you have to swim after the treasure chest in world 4. I think he starts on a pirate ship?

So... I like it but it didn't have the click with me that had me constantly wanting more the way Returns did... but that might just be my apathy toward Rayman talking.

Also... check out my previous blog on Majora's Mask on Wii U. No comments are on that blog. Sadface. lol.

There's a lot of talk about Majora's Mask 3DS. Personally, I think Majora's Mask is the type of game that needs to be remade on the Wii U.

We're talking sbout what is possibly the most atmospheric game in the series. The Metroid Prime of Zelda. The 3DS will be able to revamp MM the same way it improved Ocarina, but the Wii U could expand and enhance... instead of just the latter.

One of my favorite ideas toward an MM remake is how they will handle the redesign of the moon. That moon and all of the sky around it throughout the 3 days were atmospheric high points in the series for me. The moon gets closer. The sky has a different color and hue depending on the day. Its a menacing green on the final day. The night of the second day is a cool purple-blue. The sky during the last 12 hours is peaceful, yet alarming.

The Wii U could really rehaul that moon and make Majora's Mask a creepy and daunting title to play. I'm imagining the same graphical style except next gen polish - similar to how Banjo Kazooie looks in Nuts n' Bolts on 360. The world is still Banjo, but by god it is breathtaking. Majora's Mask remade could really push the hardware to its limits. The Snowhead area sticks out in my mind because I think it has the most memorable entryway in Termina Field. Imagine Termina looking as good as Nuts and Bolts, plus having all the creepy stuff happening with severely enhanced technology... the only drawback is that Majora's Mask would be so dang scary that they'd probably need to rate it M.

And lastly... add more. Majora's Mask could use an extra region and a couple new dungeons. Maybe place the new area behind an existing area (Put a volcano beyond Snowhead Temple that you can'treach until you've beatenStoneTower Temple... and maybe an area you can reach via cannon.) just so it doesn't interfere with Termina Field's compass-based layout.

Wii U is a great opportunity to reenvision and expand Majora's Mask. Take advantage, Nintendo.

Yesterdays Skyward Sword review was very negative. Rightly so. Skyward Sword is a very flawed game. But I may have jumped the gun a bit. Here's why.

1) I personally have not seen EVERYTHING the game has to offer. I did the main quest, but only part of Hero Mode and 1/3 or the side quests... maybe less. So I shouldn't have wrote that review yet.

2) I need to point out that while Skyward Sword is a MESS of a Zelda game, its one GLORIOUS and AMAZING mess. Kind of like how Wind Waker ***** up its dungeons but delivered an amazing experience otherwise... except in different ways. So while it is clearly flawed, that doesn't mean its BAD. Its just... well... underwhelming compared to what I've come to expect from Zelda.

3) The whole game isn't a mess. I think some sections are better than others. I think the game's lowest points are the first visit to Lanayru and the 3rd dungeon, the section before dungeon 4, and the sections before dungeon 7. The games highest points are the first 5 hours, the middle of the game, and the final dungeon all the way up to the final battle. There's just junk and clutter crammed in between all the great stuff. BUT its important to note that GREAT STUFF IS PRESENT... I just think a lot of the game's required content should have been side quests instead.

So I took a break from SS for like a week, but I'm diving back in and tackling all the good stuff I missed before... including tackling hero mode eventually. When I've seen everything it has to offer I'll consider revising my review on the game.

Skyward Sword isn't bad, and I was wrong to say that its the worst 3D Zelda (Those honors still lie with Twilight Princess)... but don't expect any 10s from me. Maybe a 9 if you're lucky, Skyward Sword.

Unfortunately Skyward Sword lacks the key elements that make Zelda games shine

I was expecting a second coming of Majora's Mask from Skyward Sword. After Wind Waker's amazing sense of freedom, and Twilight Princess' bold return to Zelda's roots I looked at Skyward Sword as a gem in disguise. I disregarded the nagging feeling in the back of my head that something is "off" about this game. Well, shame on me.

Skyward Sword is a mess. Its a big giant mess and there's no getting around it. Tinkering with the Zelda formula and getting rid of the sense of freedom that a true overworld gave has lead to a disjointed, and muddy experience. There's none of Ocarina of Time's crisp balance, or the darker and sadder moments of the incredibly subtle Majora's Mask. There's none of Wind Waker's charm or Twilight Princess' grand sense of scale. Skyward Sword streches its legs ever-so-slightly in those grandiose directions, but not enough to make an impact. We're left with a game that is entirely step-by-step and dull on subsequent playthroughs. I was excited about the second quest until I realized that half the sequences in the game were not enjoyable the second time around.

But that's where Skyward Sword shines. Your first playthrough will be an amazing, engrossing experience just because this is a Zelda game, and a finely crafted one at that. The dungeons are incredible, the puzzles will keep you stumped, and there's plenty to do and explore.

But when Skyward Sword is no longer a mystery - when you've already solved its puzzles and seen what it has to offer - then it dawns on you. This game is a one-hit-wonder. A woman that's fun for a night and then calls you 20 times a day for inane, boring conversation. You'll play the game going through the motions. The challenge is gone. The sense of wonder and mystery is gone. Its like walking through the park every day expecting a UFO to inevitably land there - but it never does.

A few problems create this. For one, Skyward Sword lacks freedom to explore. If I'm wandering Hyrule Field I'm compelled to check out every nook and cranny because I can take my horse to get there and there's no clutter in the way. But asking me to explore "The surface" to find extras and goddess cubes is a chore. Especially in Lanayru. There's quick sand everywhere and I need to trudge through it all over again on return visits.

Then there's the dungeons. They just don't hit as strongly after you've already experienced them. Ancient Cistern is a great example of this. This dungeon floored me when I first played through it. It was an amazing, complicated, thought provoking dungeon. But on my return visit I beat it in less than an hour. And there was NO challenge. I went through the motions and that was that.

Skyward Sword has a style of puzzle solving that sucks the juice out of subsequent playthroughs. Its usually some kind of puzzle that dumbfounds you at first until you realize how simple it was in the first place. Then when you play through the game again everything's obvious. Challenge gone.

The fighting is another example of this. Combat takes practice. But once you master it, you'll plow through enemies like nobodies business. This also takes away from Skyward Sword's challenge on later playthroughs. How am I supposed to enjoy its original difficulty when I've already mastered the swordplay? Well... there's hero mode. Sure. Buuuuuuut... hero mode doesn't enhance enemy AI. It just makes you take more damage and gets rid of heart pick ups. Yeah. That's a great way to mirror Master Quest. Not.

There are many more more things I could pick apart and frankly I'm running out of time and need to cut this review short.

But before that I want to point out that Skyward Sword is a great purchase and well worth your money. Its one of the coolest ideas put to life since Ocarina of Time made Zelda 3-dimensional in 1998. Just don't expect it to have the same impact. Motion controls are great for Skyward Sword, but Skyward Sword's awkward world design is poor substitute for a proper overworld and deeper dungeons.

better luck next time, Aonuma.

Lifes been crazy. Been playing Skyward Sword and attempting to get everything in the game. No small task. Also - just moved into my own place for the first time so that's been crazy.

But like it or not, Skyward Sword will eventually get old. Then what? What the hell am I gonna do with myself then?

I have a few ideas.

For starters I'm getting back into my energetic practices after a hiatus. They are CRAZY. I'm doing one in particular that focuses on healing emotional traumas and crazy things happen when I'm doing the practice. I'll see weird flashes of light, hallucinate, snd be in total bliss. I'll get jitters afterwards and need a glass of orange juice to calm myself down. Love it. So I'm trying to do that at least an hour a day.

Gamewise, I'm thinking about focusing on improving my game in Smash Bros on Wii. I've considered doing this for a while... picking a game up and developing serious skill with it. And while I'm already good at the game I want to become downright unbeatable. I've only faced one person in combat who could be called "Unbeatable." It was in 2008. An old friend returned from college and I'd heard rumors about how good he was in brawl. I squared off against him and I could barely land a blow. He fought in Smash Bros like it was an art form. I fought him 20-25 times and I never beat him even once.

I want to figure out how to get that good. I want to be unbeatable.... then get a bunch of friends together and knock their heads in... lol.

Beat the final boss. All I can say is be careful. This boss is possibly the toughest boss in the entire series. Including the 2D games.

Best Zelda yet? Maybe. Gotta wait for my hype to die down.

I didn't get everything though and that's what I'm really wanting to do. So on my second quest (the game has extra content along the lines of Master Quest onOOT3DS) I will try to get absolutely everything.