The GNamer Forum Awards 2021 and Five Years of Switch (Thanks For Voting!)

= Forumotion should be paying us an additional Expansion Pack fee to access The Cappuccino Kid Online. (5 points, 2 votes, 1 first)



You say:
"A solid Cappa quote immortalised in tagline form.”


= We're going on a monster hunt. We're going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day! We're not scared. (5 points, 2 votes, 1 first)



You say:
“A delightfully whimsical GJones submission.”
“I like to picture Jas, Jay and Buska all skipping to the park together while this plays in the background.”


I say: Our second-funniest forumites, showing how they got that way.  Forumotion is indeed blessed by the presence of our very own Del Boy.  As for the second, I said that GJones' tagline solutions have consistently been among my faves: well, here we are!  That first place was mine.  Lovely stuff.

No More Taglines (7 points, 3 votes, 1 first)



You say:
“This sums up my feelings perfectly”

I say: Bastards.

Read the Forum FAQs!  READ THEM AND UNDERSTAND THEM! (8 points, 3 votes, 2 firsts)



You say:
“Good ol' Jackie Weaver.”

I say: ONE OF MINE WON!  I'm disproportionately happy about this, I've never won anything vaguely humour-related on these awards.  Never mind that Handforth Parish Council did most of the heavy lifting for me, I'm truly chuffed.

Play as lamb chops, sausages, and fillet steak in Meatopia (5 / 3 / 0) - “Top tier dad joke.”

Bloom! shake-shake-shake the room, Pik-pik-pik-pik bloom! (4 / 2 / 1)
“Jaster’s Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff Pikmin Bloom one”
“My favourite of the two musical Pikmin Bloom taglines.”
Waiting on Game Builder Hip-Hop, Game Builder Techno, and Game Builder Acid Jazz (4 / 2 / 1) - “Did I mention I like dad jokes?”
'You call portable gaming steamed eggs?' 'Yes. It's a regional dialect.' (4 / 2 / 1)

Bloom, bloom, bloom, bloom, I want you in my room, Let's play Pikmin together from now until forever (3 / 2 / 0) - “I never thought I’d be able to separate this song from my dreadful ex.  Every step in that direction gets a vote from me.”
Where Every 70% Game is a Masterpiece (3 / 2 / 0)

I say: Pikmin Bloom was fertile ground for popular taglines, it seems.  No I will not apologise, there's a dad joke fan out there and that gives me a licence to pun. (See today's 'offering'.)

Default, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in our Switches. (3) - "Very clever"
VOTE VOTE VOTE! It’s the Last Week of the GNamer Forum Awards! (3) - “Obv”
This Pokémon game's going to be legen... wait for it... dary! (3)

FMK: Rathalos, Diablos, Deviljho (2) - “For the opposite reason [to the Default one]”
Let the games pile high in their thousands. (2)

Enjoy a wee bit of afternoon delight while you're listening to the Cannon Fodder theme. (1) - “It IS a very sexy theme.”
Gotta negotiate with them all (It's you and me) (1) - “I feel like Mas went a little insane this year and this was a fine example of said insanity.”
Happy GNew Year!  (We've almost certainly done that one before.) (1) - “The least shit of the rest”
What did the Canadian say when he was excited to receive a warm beverage? (1) - “A dreadful pun.  I like dreadful puns.”
We can't show you any taglines right now but development for them is running smoothly. (1)

I say: Once again, very happy to get a good selection of comments sprinkled through our tagline votes.  Delightful.  Not afternoon delightful though.  (Thanks for voting for the Default one, genuinely thought that was my best!)

February Bum Poo Wee Games Reviews (10 points, 4 votes, 2 firsts)



You say:
“I had great fun both contributing to this thread and reading everyone else's baw bootings. I'd be up for another round of this down the line!”
“People suffered through many truly terrible games for it, but I felt most of these reviews recaptured a lot of that old N64 Magazine/NGC/NGamer spirit that probably attracted us here in the first place.”
“Because forcing everyone to play shite and then write about it was pleasing.”
“It was short lived and probably worked best that way as playing rubbish games then trying to write about them was harder work than NGamer made it look all those years ago. That being said the novelty of it was great fun and the resulting reviews were severals laughs a minute.
10/10 would do again.”

I say: I'm chuffed that people enjoyed this, even if they might not have done while playing the games.  It wouldn't work without the hilarious writing of a bunch of us who grew up on hilarious writing, natch, but I think it's fair to say it was a massive success.  Would it work as well a second time around?  I suppose there's only one way to find out...

La5t Game You Fini5hed And Your Thought5 (14 points, 6 votes, 4 firsts)



You say:
“Always a highlight. The reviews we drop for whatever we're playing are always good sources of conversation and good reads to boot most of the time too.”
“Or any 'last game' thread - they're my favourite to check!”  (This was originally for thread 4, but... see comment below. - Balla)
“Always check this for the mini-reviews.”
“Always some chat here innit”
“Gimmie all dem views”

I say: Not, I admit, one I would have voted for.  In retrospect it's probably the most consistent source of discussion 'round here, but I'm not sure that discussion is any better than in various other threads, and there's nothing new or original in the idea.  What's more, some people didn't even specify which LGYF thread they were voting for, showing how they all merge into one.  I've picked the one started this year to link to, rather than the one from 2019 that the picture came from, and subtly reallocated one vote.  Whose thread was it anyway?

...I take it all back, great votes, well-deserved.

What's The Score? (15 points, 7 votes, 2 firsts)



You say:
“A simple concept but good to have both a game everyone can get involved in and also a way to gauge everyone's expectations, it also gifted us THAT POST so it's always gonna go down as a classic.”
“This was an entertaining and good-natured addition to the forum, and it’s kept folk interested. I hope it becomes a yearly league like someone suggested.”
“It's always a treat to see a forum game take off and this one was great to both observe and take part in it. It's like a mini Fantasy Critic each month!”
“I like forum games.  This was a good forum game.  Thanks for running it Muss!”
“Because I like the numbers.”
“Gimmie all your prospective views?”

I say: Is this another category that's been effectively won by Buska's dance post?  I like to think it was more than that. Great though Buska's jiving was, I personally voted for the idea, and the fun I had playing the game.  Top choice.

Last Retro Game You Finished And Your Thoughts (4 / 3 / 0)
“I always pop in here to hear what random nonsense Cappa Del Boy has dusted down from his drawer of delights.”
“Always a treat to have a little Cappa review to read.”

Gaming-Related Only Connect (3 / 2 / 0)
“I like forum games.  This wasn’t a forum game, but it was jolly close and a lot of fun while it lasted.  Thanks for putting it in the public eye Cappa!”
“I felt like a big dummy on a regular basis, thanks guys”
The 9th Annual GNamer Forum Secret Santa (3 / 2 / 0)
“Really glad this still happens”

“Always a laugh”
Your Actual Bottom Games (3 / 2 / 0)
“Another Cappa gem.  It’s not big or clever to dump on bad games, but it is kind of funny, especially when you’ve got some of the wordsmiths on here doing the dumping.”
“I know it's not helpful to by cynical always, but 2021 was the year of putting the boot in, fuck it”

I say: Cappa ruled the roost here, with a number of variously appreciated threads.  Tip of the hat to this year's GNSS, which I know he was considering abandoning at one point, but which was much enjoyed!  Also: more appreciation for bobbins games, now (in the year of 2022) with added Jimbob.

Super Play Guide to SNES Online (3) - “The blimmin' work that went into this, Mr. Jones et al.”
What In Gaming Are You Excited For? (3) - “Nice to read little bursts of positivity now and then”
What's Next? (3) - “It represented many of the best aspects of the GNamer Forum. The idea was novel, the conversation was friendly and interesting, and it showcased that a lot of folk in this community are bright and intelligent individuals with lots to add and contribute. It’s a shame that it didn’t gain more traction in the end.”

GNamer Fantasy Games League (2) - “Ok it's a bit of a stretch, but it's good fun”

I'm a Switch, I'm a Lover, Talk About It With Each Other (1) - “Gimmie all your switcheroos"
Official(?) Nintendo Consoles Music Thread v2.0 (1) - “I must vote this every year and rightly so because it's always a pleasure to sample the very best audio delights that Nintendo's machines have to offer (other consoles with good music are available but they have their own thread so that's that).”
Your Actual Top Games (1) - “I particularly enjoyed the conversation with Balladeer delving into why our Top 25 lists are the way they are. I’d like to explore this further with other forum members, as we could start to identify patterns or crossovers in tastes and therefore, recommendations.”  (I think we settled on, I shouldn't recommend anything to anyone. - Balla)

I say: Hard to pick out individual threads to talk about from this - is what I'd say if this thread hadn't reminded me of What's Next?  Thanks for the kind words mysterious person, I was sad that it didn't quite get the purchase it needed, but it may yet live again!  And of course the usual thanks to anybody who remembers the Music Thread around this time of year.  Much obliged.  Some other great content tops off this vote!

'OBEY ME, THE FORUM!'

Balladeer
"For being the most dedicated contributor in the place. Even if he does have Mad Opinions occasionally (but don't we all).”
"For putting up with this shit”

Buskalilly’s signature - “Cappa's quote about Kim K's big arse is always a pleasing sight.”

GJones
“If we did two votes for funniest forumite, I'd probably have given to yer man gjones. He often popped up in my look back on 2021 on GNamer with some great quips and some brilliant Photoshopped jokes here and there too. Props to him!”
“His retro reviews are fewer and further between than Cappa's, but also Very Good and I like them because they are Very Good.”

JayMoyles
“Never met the lad but I had a great chinwag with him on the podcast. Would love to hear some more episodes from other members of the forum.”
“For his unpredictable bursts of replying to 100 threads at a time. Always unexpected, always a nice little sesh to click through.”

The Pod of War lads - "I’ve enjoyed hearing about Mas’ latest investment in NFTs (as in he’s Never Finishing Them).”

All of us!
“Thanks for no-one here being an arsehole”
“I like you you're my friends”

Among Us - “I enjoyed those multiplayer sessions that a lot of us had together at the start of 2021. I felt there was a bit more mileage in it, it got dingied too soon.”

Animal Crossing New Horizons - “The 2.0 update and the Happy Home Paradise add-on content are very worthwhile and massively satisfying. They make New Horizons complete, and solidify it’s status as one of the generations’ absolute best games.”

Balan Wonderworld - “I still enjoyed it good dammit”

Boomerang X - “This probably would be in my Switch top 5 of 2021 if it didn't have one massive bug, the gyro aiming randomly inverts & only a full game reset fixes it.”

Bowser's Fury - "Didn't really feel substantial enough to put in the top 5, but I had a lot of fun with it and hope we see more of its ilk!”

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time - “An impressive port of an excellent game that you’ll never play.”

Eastward - “I’m featuring games in my HMs only if they did something interesting, and Eastward definitely did that.  Earthbound-influenced Chinese action-adventure with RPG bits and sometimes ambiguous plot…  It’s far from the best game that 2021 had, but it’s one of the weirdest and I’m glad I tried it.”

Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind - “Even if it’s not one of 2021’s top games, and is dragged down in the UK by being saddled with its inferior sibling, I’m so glad TGWSB exists.  The sort of game Nintendo don’t make at all this days, a nicely written text-focussed title with sublime production values.  A low-key treat.”

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles - “Probably would have charted in my top 5 Nintendo games, but I've still to play the supposedly superior second half, so it didn't feel right putting in a game I'd not finished. I'll get to it sometime…”  (Can’t believe that ‘the first half was top 5 material but I didn’t play the better second half so it’s not top 5 material’ is a genuine thing I’ve read this year. - Balla)

Knockout City - “A really fun online game that deserves much more credit than it got, the NGamer sessions were a personal highlight for my year in gaming.”

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD - “I don't tend to vote remasters in my game of the year but if I did this would have probably been my number one, they made all the key changes to remove any criticisms I would have previously had and I felt it looked stunning in HD.”

Loop Hero - “Not played this one yet but it's highly regarded from folk who tend to like the same games I do.”

NeoGeo Pocket Colour Selection Vol. 1 & Capcom Arcade Stadium - “Two of the best retro compilations in memory, and solid proof that games mostly became rubbish after around 2001.”

New Pokémon Snap - “I never actually played the original of this and only experienced it through Let's Plays and the like, so to actually get to grips with the game on Switch was a lovely treat. Visually, this might be Switch's prettiest title next to Luigi's Mansion 3, which is apt and much appreciated considering the game revolves around looking very closely at Pokémon and their habitats. Whilst this isn't a game I could get stuck into for hours on end like others in my list, I enjoyed going on the odd photo safari now and then and seeing what 'Mon I could spot.”

Pikmin Bloom - “I've gotten more into this than Pokemon Go - mainly because I like my Pikmin bringing me gifts and then putting silly things on, usually with wonky English descriptions. "Red Pikmin put on a Scissors!”"

Quake - “Just not played enough of it but it's a remaster by Nightdive studios so I'd be shocked if I don't like it.”

Steel Assault - “Only have a couple hours on this but it's a cool 2d action platformer where you have an electric whip. Like a mix of old Castlevania & Contra.”

Streets of Rage 4 - “I’m going to give Streets of Rage 4 a proper shoutout - it would have definitely been my game of 2020. This game is an all-timer and something that I continue to put on for thirty minutes only to dedicate the whole evening to it. How they managed to include the characters and movesets from three old Mega Drive games, and they work alongside the new ones, is incredible. It’s a tough game, but one that is infinitely replayable and rewarding. I’ll be playing this in twenty years time. It’s crept into my Top 5 Games of all time, and I think the studio deserve all the plaudits they get. Jaster banged on about in the 2020 Awards chat and I can see why.”

Toree 3D & Toree 2 - “Two friendly and upbeat 3D platformers that get straight to the point and cost only 89p apiece. They’re too good and too cheap for you not to play.”

What the Golf? - “They may not be quite up to the standards of the main campaign, but three free DLC campaigns in 2021/late 2020 with one to come means I’ve felt spoiled with this game.”

Metroid Dread, No More Heroes 3, Bowser's Fury - “All seem great, but for some reason I decided to replay their predecessors first, so I never got around to them in 2021.”


Capcom on Switch - “It feels like I’ve been waiting for Capcom to pull their fingers out every year since the Switch launched.  With Monster Hunter and Ace Attorney in a single year, I think it’s fair to say they did.  One more big game away from being a truly bumper year, Capcom nonetheless released twice as many great Switch games this year (that I played) as anybody else.”

JRPGs on Switch - “Working from home has given me more time to fill with sixty-hour epics, and 2021 delivered.  NEO TWEWY, Shin Megami Tensei V, Ys IX, Bravely Default 2, not to mention hold-overs from other years…  Like the DS and 3DS before it, my Switch has become a JRPG machine and that’s a really good thing to have.”

Life Is Strange: True Colours - “I think most years this would be in my Top 5 and was for a long time but that late one two punch from Xbox knocked it out of the running.” (Nontendo because apparently the Switch version’s a noticeable downgrade. - Balla)

Psychonauts 2 - “After 1 was a dated slog with rough mechanics I lost most of my interest in this, but being on gamepass the only thing I would lose was my worthless time. It turned out to be a joy from start to finish. Another shock entry to the GOTY list, but it didn't quite make the top 5, sorry lad.”


Game Pass - “…baybay as you see from my Top 5 Nontendo three of them are from the service and out of all the games I finished in 2021 sixteen are part of the service with things like Psychonauts 2, The Medium, Unpacking, Gunk all which I did consider for the awards playable through it.”

Sony Remasters - “So yeah I got Death Stranding which might be my favourite game of all-time now on PS5, and it is even better than it was on PS4, same goes for Final Fantasy VII Remake.”

Xbox Backwards Compatibility - “More games got added that are playable on One or Series with some getting upgrades, this is great for video game preservation.”


The Back Page, a videogames podcast - “It’s not The Rotating Platform, because nothing will be, and Sam doesn’t have that same NGamer spirit that would make this an all-timer - but this is quality podcasting.  Matthew Castle could read out numbers from the FTSE and it’d probably still be one of the greatest gaming podcasts today.”

Vaccinations - “A bright spot against an uncertain backdrop.  If only everybody saw it that way, instead of some pricks being pricks about pricks.”

Balladeer - “cunt"

JayMoyles
“You know what looks nice next to each other?  Lots of snappy little votelets, summarising people's feelings about games.  Moyles gave me essays.  Jay probably thinks 'summary' means 'to do with the hot season'. ”
“For not playing Yakuza 3 or Kingdom Hearts 2 yet.”

Taglines - “Most of them are parodies of utterly utterly terrible things we were subjected to in real life”

Balan Wonderworld - "I don’t know what’s a bigger calamity: this or eFootball 22. An unforgettable waste of time, energy and effort.”

Bowser’s Fury - “THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN ODYSSEY DLC YOU COWARDS”

Chicory - “boring" (I... kind of agree. - Balla)

Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir - “When is a remake not a remake?  When it’s got an entirely updated front end but the same old, clunky, terrible interface.  The visuals and audio have received such love that it’s incredible nobody thought to look at the actual game and give it the same treatment.  An enforced bundling in Europe brings down the far superior sequel too.”

Gnosia - “I would have nightmares that this was the game that came up as an example if I had to explain videogames to aliens. If you liked this, I hope you're on a register.”  (What did it do wrong?  It looked interesting to me, albeit not my sort of thing. - Balla)

Mario Golf: Super Rush - “shite”

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl - “There’s no way Game Freak are putting in any effort for future remakes.  After all, these did stupid numbers without any.  I hate that they exist, I hate that they sold so well, I hate that our forumites’ comments mostly confirmed my misgivings, and I hate that this is what we’re getting for Black/White etc. going forward.”

RetroMania Wrestling - “I acknowledge that this was RetroSoft’s first ever game, and the main developer was just one guy who balanced the game alongside his daily job and his family life. Yet it was way too overhyped off the back of an official license that it turned out it wasn’t actually allowed to use, and it massively underdelivered in terms of what you’d except from a £22 game in 2021. It’s just left a bad taste in my mouth.”

Stonefly - “Slower, buggier, and less fun than a centipede that’s had its legs pulled off.”


Nintendo Switch Online
“It’s still pretty underwhelming. A regular release schedule for the old games would probably make me feel cheerier about the service, but Nintendo don’t seem interested in that. They’re instead playing a cruel game where they spring Bombuzal on you at 3am on a random July’s morning, like a mad jumpscare.”
“The pay bump for Switch Online's N64 and Mega Drive offering. I'm a Nintendo lad at heart, but business-wise they are a bunch of wangs!”

Game Freak - “For being untrustworthy. We just want them to be reliably good!”

2021 on Switch
 - “I hate voting for games I've not played on the Switch [in the Nintendo category], but it's been a shit year for switch”

Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance - “For all the good of Game Pass because it was on the service I played this garbage and now have achievements that will be stuck on my profile forever.”

eFootball 2022
"The unexpected final nail in the coffin of what was once the ISS pro evo/PES series. It usually feels over the top when folk say end of an era for certain things but it honestly feels like that to me, not to mention how odd it will be not having a new football game to play each year.”
“I don’t know what’s a bigger calamity: this or Balan Wonderworld. Dropped bollock after dropped bollock, it’s a barely playable shambles.”

Evercade PIKO Interactive Collection 2 - “In Summer Challenge, Winter Challenge and Football Madness, thanks for introducing me to three of the worst games I’ve ever played, ya shower of bastards.”


Sony Remasters - "Not a lot new on PS5 this year and full price or an upgrade fee is not great when Xbox has Smart Delivery and games have upgrades for free.” (That's more like it. - Balla)


Activision - “Do I need to elaborate?”

UbiSoft and Activision - “Sexual assault is not okay.  Given how endemic it seems to have been in both companies, there’s no way the people at the top of either, the ones who’ll get the bonuses from games sales figures, the ones who are still there, didn’t know.
EDIT: The MicroSoft purchase happened in 2022.  This comment’s fine, shush.”

NFTs
“Because the planet wasn’t already fucked enough.”
“Do I need to elaborate?”

Video game preservation - “Basically everyone part from maybe Xbox as I should be able to play Final Fantasy VI on the Switch for instance. These classics should be available for new generations to play.”

Antivaxxers - “Do I need to elaborate?”

GJones’ Heap O’ Bile - “Boris Johnson. NFTs. The twat who caused that petrol panic. The bit on the M25 that sounds like you’re driving over a cattle grid. McDonalds stopping Chicken Selects. Nintendo not releasing Switch Selects. I’m sure those last two are connected.”