For the finale of the 2006 NWR Awards, we'd like to introduce you to a new category. With the quality of DS games starting to rival most console games, it may not always be that the best Nintendo game available is always going to be on the Wii. With the gap between handhelds and home systems shrinking, we wanted to see what would happen if we directly compared the best games from each. The Nintendo World Report Overall Game of the Year is given to the single best game available on any Nintendo platform, whether it be on a console or handheld.

For our first year doing this, the final battle came down to two console games. Well, the same game, just on two different platforms. Even though there were some outstanding DS games released in 2006, like Elite Beat Agents and DS GOTY New Super Mario Bros., the simple fact of the matter is the best game released for a Nintendo system this year was The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. For us, the big question wasn't whether or not Zelda would take the award, but rather, which version of it. Is Zelda on the Wii better, or is Zelda on the GameCube better? The winner is...

There is a mound of evidence why Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Wii is superior. (Wide screen support, pointer aiming, easy spin attack.) There is also a mound of evidence why Zelda: Twilight Princess on the GameCube is superior. (Responsive sword controls, free camera, was a GameCube game to begin with.) Both camps have strong arguments. So why didn't we bite the bullet and pick one over the other?

Why must we? Why do you need us to tell you which version is the definitive one? You already made that choice when you went out and got a copy of the game for yourself. If you braved the launch-length lines and got a copy of Twilight Princess for your shiny new Wii, you thought it to be better than the GameCube version. If you didn't get (or want) a Wii but still wanted to play Zelda, you got the GameCube version because you figured it was just as good or better than the waggle version.

We're not giving this award to a game on one specific platform. The Wii and GameCube editions already got their respective Game of the Year awards, so there's no need to give one or the other another. If we did, we'd basically be telling a lot of people that they got an “inferior" version. To think that Twilight Princess is inferior is heresy. No, instead we're giving the Overall Game of 2006 Award to the game itself; the award transcends the two versions. Whether you play the GameCube's final masterpiece or the Wii's first one, you're still going to get the most amazing Zelda experience you have ever played in your entire life.

Of course, that still leaves one question unanswered: If you haven't played Zelda yet, which version should you get? Well, we're sure that someone as prominent as Time Magazine's Person of the Year can make that decision on your own.

With that, we're going to put a lid on the 2006 NWR Awards. We hope that everyone enjoyed the show. Remember, even though we're in 2007 now, that doesn't mean you can't go back and play all of the great games of 2006. Not just the winners, but the runners-up and nominees, too.

Do you agree with our winners? Disagree? You can head into our Talkback forums thread and let your own voice be heard.

We'll see you next year!