E3 had kind of a rough year this year with a couple of major companies dropping out and deciding to do their own thing offsite. Even E3 had its own offsite mini-E3 that was open to the public. And inside the main floor, the trend of bigger booths with fewer games continues and seemed even more pronounced than ever. Luckily, the games I seem to like are all wacky Japanese games, and the smaller Japanese publishers usually have more games than booth. Still, it was a lot of fun, and there were some games that really stood out this year. And I'm going to give them some awards! 

Biggest Fighting Game With the Smallest Character
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven

I got a chance to play this game when I visited Bandai Namco, but I only played a bit of the story mode. At the show, Bandai had the versus mode playable and it's crazy! There are 50 playable characters spanning all the JoJo's arcs! You can definitely feel the love for the series in this game as it's filled with all kinds of nods to the manga and anime. I played the stage with the house where Koichi gets trapped by Yukako, the mentally unstable girl with hair-based Stand powers. It looked just like the anime and they even included the Boing-Boing rock! If you fall off the cliff, the rock will bounce you back onto the battlefield. Genius! But the wackiest part of playing was picking Iggy, the tiny Boston Terrier, and seeing how small he was. He's to scale, so when he's running around the sizable arenas trying to bite everyone's ankles, it's totally hilarious. He may be the smallest fighting game character ever! 

I Dream of Half-Genie Award
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero

As RuPaul once sang, "Shantae, Shantae, Shantae!" And that's what the fans have been saying ever since this adorable little genie made a comeback a few years ago. The first Shantae came out in 2002 on the Gameboy Color, but it wasn't until 2010 that it got a sequel. And now, thanks to a very successful Kickstarter campaign, it's making the leap to major consoles. Why do fans keep dreaming about this half-genie? I don't know. The first time I played it was this year's E3, but it definitely made an impression on me. The main character is cute and has a fun kind of infectious energy. The levels were beautiful, the platforming tight and her ability to transform into different animals is a fun mechanic. I think I'm starting to understand the dream. 

The Double Depraved Dragons Award
Mother Russia Bleeds

I've seen some depraved games in my day. Thrill Kill, Narc, Manhunt just off the top of my head. But it's been a while since something has caught my eye in that department. When I stumbled upon Mother Russia Bleeds on the floor, I could not take my eyes off it. Two tough guys walking around very bad neighborhoods in Russia beating the bloody borsch out of everyone in their way. While the gameplay is similar to the classic Double Dragon style, the atmosphere of the game is completely grim. Backgrounds feature drug addicts shooting up, drunks barfing, bums passed out on the ground, and just a bunch of depraved stuff you never want to see in real life. In other words, fun! 

Poor Country Boy Dilemma
Harvest Moon: Skytree Village or Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns?

There are too many farming games! There are too many farming games! I never thought I'd ever think that, but now with two companies making " Harvest Moon" games, it's getting crowded. Natsume makes Harvest Moon games and owns the rights to the name in America. Marvelous also makes Harvest Moon games but calls them Story of Seasons. Sounds confusing, but it just means there will be more farming games than ever! What's a poor country boy without much more than a dollar bill and some hayseed to do? Natsume's new game is called Harvest Moon: Skytree Village and it has all the farming goodness you love about the series, plus the ability to terraform, like in the popular Minecraft series. Marvelous' farming game is called Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns and is more of the classic experience. Both look great and should provide hours of relaxing video game fun. You may have to spend a summer bailing hay for some extra cash to get both, though! 

Gun's Out, Fun's Out Award
Wild Guns Reloaded 

The original Wild Guns came out for the SNES in 1994. It gained a cult following because of its unusual mixture of cowboys and robots. You play a Clint Eastwood-inspired character named Clint." See what they did there? Nothing. Or a girl named Annie, no doubt after the famed sharpshooter, Annie Oakley. The game's pretty straightforward: you control the crosshairs and move it all over the screen shooting whatever pops out from behind the horse trough. You must also keep your character from being shot. But they follow the crosshairs, so it's kind of tricky to know when to shot and when to dodge right or left. It forces you to use two parts of your brain at once. The enemies are a mix of human outlaws and mean old robots. This new version is for PS4 and comes with new characters, new stages, and new weapons. Lots of new stuff, but the same ornery difficulty the series is famous for. 

Highest Numbered Sequel
Final Fantasy XV

I suppose it's kind of ironic that the game with the highest sequel number at E3 got its name because the company that made it thought it would be the last game they ever made--thus their "final" fantasy. Of course, if you add up all the offshoots, the game would be more like Final Fantasy 317 or something. But among all the games on the show floor, 15 was technically the highest number. Years ago I remember people complaining the industry has "sequel-itis" and it's only gotten worse. But the game looked amazing and although some of the true FF sequels have misfired, they always have incredible production value and deliver an epic gaming experience. I'm guessing this one will not be their "final" fantasy either. 

Easiest Joke
God of a-WAR-ds 

This game cleaned up at E3! Which is great because the GoW franchise has been stumbling for awhile. The formula of Kratos being a super tough guy doing super tough guy things in his super tough guy way kinda got stale. But when I watched the demo I was totally surprised by this new Kratos, he has a bit of...humanity? The demo focuses on him taking his son hunting, still in a super tough guy way, but the interaction with his son felt surprisingly genuine. Before he was a completely boring one-dimensional character, so it was interesting to see him more as a real person. Of course, the action was as insane as ever. Crazy giant monsters would pop up and he'd go to town on them, so that part of the game is still intact. It also looked amazing, which is one of hallmarks of the series as well. We'll see when the game comes out how much he's changed as a character and if it'll be enough to engage fans again. 

Things Are Getting Pretty Serious Award
Yakuza Zero

Believe it or not, girls at E3 don't run up to me and ask me to be their girlfriend. Shocker! But when I played Yakuza Zero, from the long-running beat-em-up/wacky Japanese life simulator, the first girl I talked to asked me to be her girlfriend! The booth game helper (those guys who watch you play and advise you) told me to say no so I could see other parts of the game, but how could I? She was soooooooo cute! I said yes, and it unlocked a whole quest chain about a girl that lied to her father and needed someone to pretend he was her boyfriend to fool him. This series is well-known for the tough-as-nails yakuza storytelling, but it's also full of quirky mini-games and wacky quests like this one. And this particular game is a prequel and takes place in 80's Osaka, which seems like the wacky meter might be firmly buried in the red. In other words, it looks fun! 

Biggest Booth With the Least Games
Nintendo 

I think they won this award last year, but this year they've really outdone themselves. They had their normal giant-sized booth in the usual area, but it had a massive line that snaked all the way around back and then some. You'd think they were showing off a new console with a whole bunch of hot new games, but they were showing off a dying console with one game—Zelda. I understand everybody wants to see Zelda, that's their biggest, most legendary title. I still contend Ocarina of Time is the best video game ever made. BUT, holy Hyrule, a whole booth for just one game that has to be a record. Hopefully next year they'll have their new console on display and some serious games. I want to play with Power! 

Rumble in the Concrete Jungle Award
River City: Tokyo Rumble

When it comes to sidescrolling beat-em-ups, the River City boys have long been fan favorites. There's just something inherently fun about playing two superdeformed tough guys fighting their way through the tough streets of River City. This time, they're in Tokyo and they've got their work cut out for them as they try and clear out gang after gang. This new game features everything the series is famous for like RPG elements, weapons, special moves and more. Plus, you can play as other famous fighters from the RC series. And you can even play dodgeball, which is a nod to the famous Super Dodge Ball from the same company. When I played it, I really liked the ability to manipulate the camera and zoom in on the action. Something magical about seeing these little guys beating everyone up so close and personal. 

Best Floor Display
Capcom Monster Hunter Hot Air Balloon

Every E3 there are a few massive statues of monsters, video game characters, or something to grab the eyes of wandering fans but this year was a little underwhelming in that department. However, Capcom wowed fans (well, a fan at least) with this gigantic, and really cool looking hot air balloon. It not only looked great, the basket had a Monster Hunter demo that con-goers could play. Capcom also had a huge booth with very few games, but at least it looked stylish! 

Best in Show
Headlander 

Hey, what do you know—after thirtysomething years of continual gaming, I'm a little jaded. Not super jaded, I still love games and gaming culture, but I'll admit I often have a case of "been there, done that." That's why when something I feel is truly unique comes along, I get kind of overly excited. And when it's not only unique but also fun and hilarious, well, you've got my full attention. And that's Headlander in a nutshell. You play the last known human in the universe and all you are is a head in a world of technology gone wrong! To find out what happened, you must use your head—literally! You have to fly around as a head, land on other things and take their bodies over to solve puzzles. You might take over a humanoid robot body, or a dog, or a vacuum cleaner. And every single time I saw it happen it was hilarious. I usually don't stand on the floor of E3 and laugh like a crazy guy, but I did playing this game. Oh, the art direction is really cool too, it's done in a 60's B-Movie science fiction style. 

And those are the games that stood out for me at E3! As for the show's future, it'll be interesting to see what they do to keep the buzz going. I wouldn't be surprised it they opened it up to the public. If they do, I'll give myself the "Nostramadus Award" next year! 

by Urian Brown