New Super Mario Bros. Wii: One of my favorite Wii games of 2009

I know what you're thinking: What a shocker! I mean, what blogger/critic/journalist/poet/writer hasn't placed Mario's latest two-dimensional romp through the Mushroom Kingdom at the top of his/her "best Wii game of 2009" list?

As much as I hate bandwagons (they're so bumpy!), I have to take a seat on this one. Sure, New Super Mario Bros. Wii isn't a perfect game, but it is a perfectly fun game. In fact, it's the funnest game I've played in a very long time.

That alone is enough for me to declare New Super Mario Bros. Wii my favorite Wii game of 2009. Yes, other aspects of the title--its charming and colorful graphics, its nostalgia-laden levels, its maniacal multiplayer mode--are worthy of adoration and praise, too, but all of them pale in comparison to its imitable "fun factor."

Since I have so little to say about New Super Mario Bros. Wii, why don't I share my thoughts on the games that nearly topped my "best of 2009" list?

Little King's Story--Yoshirou Kimura, the mastermind behind the bat-shit crazy Chulip, also made this simulation-slash-RPG, so you know it's a little weird and a lot wonderful. (Or maybe a lot weird and a lotter wonderful? You know what I mean.) It's also cute, charming and compelling--and well worth its (current) $43.19 price of admission.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade--button-mashing action RPGs really aren't my bag, baby, but I'll make an exception for Muramasa. Why? Well, for starters, the graphics are amazing. Actually, they're more than that--they're what I imagine heaven would look like if heaven was a two-dimensional video game created by the folks at Vanillaware. Second (and third, I guess), the game sounds and plays like a dream. A wet dream. A wet dream you experience over and over and over again, until you're completely wiped out. At least, that's what it's like for me.

Wii Sports Resort--This sequel/spin-off/whateveryouwannacallit to Wii Sports certainly is a steal. It includes 12 (yes, 12) different "sports," for crying out loud! The funny thing is, you'll probably only care about half of them--if that. It won't matter, though, because you'll really care about the half you care about. (You're following me, right?) For me, the "sports" (sorry, I can't help but use quotes here) that make this title worth the moolah: air sports, archery, frisbee, swordplay and table tennis.

Rhythm Heaven: My favorite DS game of 2009

Don't tell me: You expected to see the name of another game here, didn't you? Like Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box or Scribblenauts?

Well, I played all of those games (and more) last year, and I certainly enjoyed them, but I don't consider any of them my favorite DS game of 2009. That "honor" goes to a little game known as (or maybe I should say little-known game) Rhythm Heaven.

Why was Rhythm Heaven my favorite DS game of 2009? Let me count the ways:

1) It's weird--Really weird. You participate in a glee club consisting of bald, bow-tie-wearing aliens (well, that's what I think they look like), you play ping pong with someone sporting a boxy, blue head and you pluck hairy beets from a farmer's fertile soil--all while attempting to match the beat of each level's background music.

2) It's difficult--I'm one of those cranky geezers who thinks today's games are too easy. I enjoyed having my ass handed to me while playing Kid Icarus and Metroid back in the day, for God's sake. Which means, of course, that I get a tremendous kick out of playing "Fillbots" and "Freeze Frame" and "Lockstep" (the hardest of Rhythm Heaven's mini-games, in my humble opinion).

3) It's addictive--If you're anything like me, you'll be unable to play "Crop Stomp"and "Love Lizards" and "Munchy Monk" just once. You'll play them over and over and over again. And then you'll play them some more. Why? Because the gameplay and especially the background music worm their way into your brain and turn you into a Rhythm Heaven-loving zombie, that's why.

4) It's fun--Whenever I play Rhythm Heaven, a huge, goofy grin wraps around my face. (Sadly, that accomplishment is less impressive that it sounds--thanks to my big mouth.) Not only that, but I giggle like a little schoolgirl--even when the game is slapping me around like I'm a redheaded stepchild. The sign of an amazingly awesome game, no?

By the way, if you're not averse to playing games in a language you don't understand--and you have the ability to play GameBoy Advance games--pick up a copy (if you can find one) of this title's predecessor, Rhythm Tengoku. I actually prefer it to Rhythm Heaven (called Rhythm Tengoku Gold in Japan), for a number of reasons I won't bore you with right now.