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Despite potentially valid complaints that portable systems just don't get enough games, it remained a nonetheless close-fought battle for best handheld experience of 2012. The libraries may not be as varied and robust as consoles and PC, but when a portable game is quality, it is bloody quality.
Every nomination for this category was highly deserving, but now is the time to announce the ultimate winner. First, here's a brief reminder of all games in the running:
- Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
- Rayman Jungle Run
- Resident Evil: Revelations
- Super Hexagon
- Persona 4 Golden
And the winner is ...
Super Hexagon
The beauty of Super Hexagon is found in its simplicity. All you really do is press left and right to keep a pointer away from ever-enclosing walls, and that kind of minimalist input leads to untarnished elegance. It's a perfect example of how to use the limitations of an all-touch control system to create something refined and polished to a mirror-sheen.
More than that, Super Hexagon's addictive qualities and almost dizzying audio-visual presentation place it head and shoulders above much of the competition. With its bold visuals and an impeccable soundtrack, Super Hexagon is a game worth playing for the showmanship as much as the compulsive need to beat one's high score. It helps that the game is so easy to restart, and each session can last mere seconds, with players feeling proud just to make it past the minute mark.
Though there are still many gamers desperate to write off the mobile gaming space for whatever self-serving reason, releases like Super Hexagon demonstrate that it's a credible and respectable market, one that will inevitably become a bigger part of gaming culture with time. This game deserved to stand tall with anything on a dedicated gaming device, and is a worthy winner of Destructoid's handheld title of 2012.