Best Video Games of 2001

Intelligent Systems' turn-based strategy masterpiece brought their Wars franchise to the West for the first time with a perfectly calibrated tactical experience. Advance Wars' accessible mechanics mask deep strategic complexity, and its map design creates endlessly replayable competitive battles.

Camelot's technical marvel proved the Game Boy Advance could host a fully-featured JRPG. Golden Sun's Psynergy system — elemental magic used both in battle and for overworld puzzle-solving — was innovative, the presentation was stunning for handheld hardware, and the world of Weyard was richly imagined.

Rare's audacious, boundary-pushing platformer used the deceptively cute character of Conker the squirrel as a vehicle for adult humor, cinematic parodies, and surprisingly emotional moments. One of the N64's most technically impressive games and its most unexpectedly mature.

One half of Capcom's Zelda pair for Game Boy Color — Oracle of Ages focuses on puzzle-solving and time travel, sending Link between past and present Labrynna to restore peace and defeat Veran.

One half of Capcom's Zelda pair for Game Boy Color — Oracle of Seasons focuses on action and the Rod of Seasons, letting Link alter the four seasons to transform Holodrum's landscape and access new areas.

The GBA launch Castlevania that brought the Symphony of the Night formula to handheld — Circle of the Moon introduced the DSS card combo system and proved the Metroidvania formula translated perfectly to portable play.

The Dreamcast's final major Sonic release and the last first-party Sega Dreamcast title. Sonic Adventure 2 split gameplay between speed stages (Sonic/Shadow), shooting stages (Tails/Eggman), and treasure hunting (Knuckles/Rouge), with the Chao Garden providing hundreds of hours of optional content.

The GBA's Mario Kart and the only handheld entry developed by Intelligent Systems rather than Nintendo EAD. Super Circuit impressively recreates SNES Mario Kart's sprite-scaling engine on the GBA while adding new circuits and including all 20 tracks from the original Super Mario Kart as unlockable bonus content.