2008 Nintendo Power Awards

The 2008 Nintendo Power Awards were the 20th annual awards published in the March 2009 issue (Volume 239).  Most of the awards in this category went almost unanimously to Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Even more notable, however, is that this was the first Nintendo Power Awards to acknowledge and even outright nominate downloadable games due to the addition of WiiWare, due to all the games released for it being a new and original game as opposed to the Virtual Console containing games released for older platforms.  

Awards and Nominations	NP's Pick	Readers' Pick
Wii Game of the Year Animal Crossing: City Folk Bully: Scholarship Edition Mario Kart Wii No More Heroes Rock Band 2 Super Smash Bros. Brawl (NP's Pick) (Readers' Pick)
Nintendo DS Game of the Year Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Chrono Trigger Final Fantasy IV Kirby Super Star Ultra (Readers' Pick) Professor Layton and the Curious Village The World Ends With You (NP's Pick)
WiiWare Game of the Year Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King LostWinds Mega Man 9 (NP's Pick) (Readers' Pick) Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Tetris Party World of Goo
Best Wii Graphics: Castlevania Judgment Ōkami Sonic Unleashed Super Smash Bros. Brawl (NP's Pick) (Readers' Pick) Tomb Raider: Underworld Wario Land: Shake It!
Best DS Graphics: Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia (NP's Pick) Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen Final Fantasy IV GRID Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword The World Ends With You (Readers' Pick)
Best Original Score: Chrono Trigger Final Fantasy IV Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon No More Heroes Super Smash Bros. Brawl (NP's Pick) (Readers' Pick) The World Ends With You
Best Sound/Voice Acting Bully: Scholarship Edition Call of Duty: World at War No More Heroes (NP's Pick) Professor Layton and the Curious Village Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People (Readers' Pick) Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2
Best Music/Rhythm Game Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party 2 Guitar Hero: On Tour Guitar Hero World Tour (Reader' Pick) Rock Band 2 (NP's Pick) Samba de Amigo Wii Music
Best Adventure Game Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Bully: Scholarship Edition Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia No More Heroes (NP's Pick) Ōkami (Readers' Pick) Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People
Best RPG Chrono Trigger Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen Final Fantasy IV Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World The World Ends With You (NP + Readers' Pick)
Best Shooter/Action Game Bangai-O Spirits Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy Call of Duty: World at War Mega Man 9 (NP + Readers' Pick) Metal Slug 7 Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword
Best Sports Game: Madden NFL 09 All-Play Mario Super Sluggers (Readers' Pick) New International Track & Field Sega Superstars Tennis Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All-Play (NP's Pick) We Love Golf!
Best Racing Game: Ferrari Challenge: Trofeo Pirelli GRID Mario Kart Wii (NP + Readers' Pick) Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity
Best Platformer Crash: Mind Over Mutant de Blob Kirby Super Star Ultra (NP + Readers' Pick) Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars Sonic Unleashed Wario Land: Shake It!
Best Puzzle Game: Boom Blox Dr. Mario Online Rx Professor Layton and the Curious Village (NP + Readers' Pick) Tetris Party World of Goo
Best Alternative Game Animal Crossing: City Folk (Readers' Pick) Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 Wii Fit (NP's Pick)
Best New Character Apollo Justice (Apollo Justice Ace Attorney) Blob (de Blob) Neku (The World Ends With You) Professor Layton (Professor Layton and the Curious Village) Shade (Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood) (Readers' Pick) Travis Touchdown (No More Heroes) (NP's Pick)
Best Multiplayer Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates Guitar Hero World Tour Mario Kart Wii Rock Band 2 Super Smash Bros. Brawl (NP + Readers' Pick) Tetris Party
Best Story/Writing Chrono Trigger Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen No More Heroes Professor Layton and the Curious Village Robocalypse The World Ends With You (NP + Readers' Pick)
Best Online Functionality: Animal Crossing: City Folk Bomberman Blast Guitar Hero World Tour Madden NFL 09 All-Play Mario Kart Wii (NP + Readers' Pick) Rock Band 2
Best Fighting Game: Bleach: Dark Souls Castlevania Judgement Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 Super Smash Bros. Brawl (NP + Readers' Pick) The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009
Overall Game of the Year Animal Crossing: City Folk Bully: Scholarship Edition Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Chrono Trigger Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King Final Fantasy IV LostWinds Mario Kart Wii Mega Man 9 No More Heroes Professor Layton and the Curious Village Rock Band 2 Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People Super Smash Bros. Brawl (NP + Readers' Pick) Tetris Party The World Ends With You World of Goo

Super Smash Bros. Brawl - 12 Awards

The World Ends With You - 6 Awards

The Awards presented a table of past Game of the Year winners from 1988 to 2007.

The Awards also presented four Special Staff Awards:

Special Staff Awards and Winner
'The Chris Slate "Good Samaritan" Award:'Wario Land: Shake It!
'The Chris Hoffman "Retro Revival" Award:'Chrono Trigger
'The Justin Cheng "My Brain Hurts" Award:'Professor Layton and the Curious Village
'The Steve Thomason "Living Longer" Award:'Wii Fit