Tears of the Kingdom Wins Game of the Year at 2023 Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards
Posted on March 18 2024 by Nicole Scott
As we encroach on Tears of the Kingdom’s first anniversary, there is no better time to celebrate its monumental wins than now. After winning IGN’s Game of the Year, Best Action/Adventure Game at The Game Awards and D.I.C.E., Link and Zelda should be flying higher than the Great Sky Island. Tears also received BAFTA nominations and Game Informer recognition as a top game of the year. This isn’t even an exhaustive list, but it’s time to add another medal to Tears’ list of accolades.
The 2023 Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards had Tears of the Kingdom nominated for Game of the Year against Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, Street Fighter 6, Resident Evil 4, and Final Fantasy XVI. Much to Nintendo fans’ delight, Zelda came out on top. It also won for the best Action/Adventure game and best game development team. Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi accepted the Game of the Year award with a brief pre-recorded statement.
Tears of the Kingdom was also nominated for best Graphics, Music, and Character (Zelda), but Final Fantasy bested it in all three face-offs.
These awards celebrate astonishing achievements for Japanese-made video games, so it’s not a shock so many fan favorites arrived on the roster. Choosing the winner depends on fan participation and critical review. Congrats are in order!
Luckily, Zelda’s history with Famitsu gave fans hope that it would win.
Famitsu scores games from zero to 40, and few titles have received the coveted Famitsu 40. The publication judges games based on fan and critical reviews alongside sales numbers. Tears surpassed 20 million unit sales in February 2024, earning its spot in the top 10 best-selling Switch games — a major boon for its reputation.
Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, Skyward Sword, and Breath of the Wild have all received a Famitsu 40 before, alongside a short list of other games. Tears of the Kingdom was an unsurprising addition in 2023. A Link to the Past and Phantom Hourglass came close — they received 39’s. Zelda’s piece of the Famitsu pie will always be a testament to the series’ caliber.
What did you think of the other nominees and winners from this year’s Famitsu Dengeki Awards? We can’t wait to celebrate and see your thoughts in the comments!
Source: Famitsu (via Super, My Nintendo News)
Nicole Scott is writer for Zelda Dungeon from suburban Appalachia. She loves drinking espresso, seeing live music, building LEGO sets, being a completionist, and snuggling her two probably-alien cats, Tizo and Alarielle.
