With every E3, you can guarantee that the RPGFan attendees sit down and discuss the best of the best. But what about the weird and wonderful? The games we don't cover? The food on offer? That's where our Editor Awards come in! To find out what each of our attending editors loved at the show, read on!

The Nintendo Direct started off strong and kept getting better and better. I couldn't sit down for half of the presentation because I was so excited by everything they showed off or revealed in their presentation. The Dragon Quest heroes in Smash! Animal Crossing news! The Mana news! Pokémon! More Breath of the Wild! Banjo-Kazooie in Smash! *breathes* Thinking about it all is making me so giddy again.

I want to single this announcement out of the Direct because oh my word this is a dream come true. Not only is Seiken Densetsu 3, now called Trials of Mana in the West, getting a remake in 2020, but we're getting the Collection (released in Japan back in 2017 on Switch) complete with the original third game?! And on the very same day it's announced? How did I conduct myself on June 11, you ask? I don't know how.

I started playing the first Cold Steel just a few weeks before E3, and I'm already falling in love. Spending time at NIS America's booth, and during our appointment with them, I jumped straight into the third game; all of the updates to the battle system and the new characters clicked immediately. Looks like I've got two epic RPGs to beat before September 24th.

It's been six years since Animal Crossing: New Leaf. I put nearly 500 hours into that game. Am I ready to do it all over again by moving to an island, building my own town, crafting tools, playing with friends, and decorating my house? Hell yes.

Killsquad is 100% not my thing. A Diablo-like multiplayer game is the last thing I'd probably pick up and play, but after sitting down with a group of people and playing through their demo, I was enthralled. It was easy to start out and play, not too overwhelming, and never punished you for not being as good as your other teammates.

I would've laughed had you told me the Final Fantasy VII Remake would playable at E3 this year. Yet it was, and it was everything I could've asked for and more. Was it seeing Tifa for the first time? Maybe she was part of it, because Tifa is the best, but really it was making time to get a ticket to play the demo. I hardly played anything that wasn't appointment-based at this year's show, but the FFVII Remake blew my socks off. My jaw was on the floor from the moment I started to the moment I got back to the UK two whole days later. And I only have to wait nine months?! This and Animal Crossing New Horizons in March means I'm disappearing for a whole month.

From the moment Wooloo was introduced during the Pokémon Direct at the end of June, fans have been falling progressively more in love with this fluffy friend — myself included. After playing through the demo for Pokémon Sword & Shield, I can now confirm that this rolly ball of fluff is not only one of the cutest designs for a Pokémon in years, but will almost certainly be my new best friend. As if its cuteness wasn't enough, learning that Wooloo actually rolls away from its problems is both extremely lovable, and highly relatable. Having the chance to see Wooloo in action during my hands-on time with Pokémon Sword & Shield, I think it may well have earned its place as my best new best friend.

Runners-up: Yamper and Corviknight (Pokémon Sword & Shield), Masaharu Kaito (Judgment)

At E3, I had the incredible opportunity to go on a booth tour with Nintendo, and while this is something I brought up in my appearance on Random Encounter Episode 166, it's a moment that will be with me forever. Being within feet of incredible people like Doug Bowser, Eiji Aonuma, Satoru Shibata, Kensuke Tanabe, Hisashi Nogami, Aya Kyogoku, and Junichi Masuda, among others, was just unbelievable for me. I even saw Shuntaro Furukawa, the current president of Nintendo! To say that I was starstruck would be an understatement, but it will always stand as one of my favorite moments from this year's event.

My most anticipated non-RPG from E3 2019 has to be Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but as I obviously didn't have the opportunity to try it out for myself, my award for Best Non-RPG (that I played) has to go to a good spooky boy and a man with a vacuum. Being an ardent fan of the Luigi's Mansion series since its debut, I am ecstatic that Luigi's Mansion 3 beautifully utilizes elements of both the original release and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, or Luigi's Mansion 2 if you're not from North America, while adding plenty of visual flair and exciting new mechanics. Luigi's Mansion 3 also adds more Polterpup appearances and brings back Portrait Ghosts to the game, both of which were absolutely necessary. Going hands-on with Luigi's Mansion 3 during the event was incredible, and even though it isn't an RPG, it's a game I enjoyed playing, and I can't wait to play more when it releases later this year.

My award for game of the show won't shock anyone, because I was floored by Link's Awakening for Nintendo Switch. The team at Grezzo, the folks behind the 3DS ports of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, have really outdone themselves, bringing new life to an underrated classic. The beautifully redone soundtrack alone gave me goosebumps. The Mabe Village theme gently accompanied my walk through the town and the slightly more subtle tones of the Mysterious Woods theme carried me along through hollowed-out logs and past strange raccoons hiding deep in the forest depths. For the reasons listed here and in our preview coverage, I'm overjoyed at the chance to give my personal Game of the Show award to Link's Awakening, which also took our Best Action RPG award for this year.

Runners-up: Pokémon Sword and Shield, Final Fantasy VII Remake

It's easy for me to say that this was my favorite first E3, but really, any event with the lovely RPGFan staff will tilt the balance in that direction. It was really cool to have a group of us in the same room for the showcases, sharing reactions. Not to mention the amazing showing of RPGs there and the Square Enix booth alone. It is really a favorite E3, full stop.

When you have a lot of appointments in a short period, it's always nice to go to one that has a lot to offer, along with friendly staff. Daedalic delivered both this year! The two back-to-back games we played that featured innovative game mechanics really helped, but the variety of artistic styles and overall high quality sealed it. Thanks to Daedalic for having great developer representation and for patiently walking us through both Iratus and Iron Danger. It was a fun time all around.

I wouldn't have known about any of them if I hadn't taken a certain path between the two main halls at the convention center, but there are some great initiatives to make E3 more accessible and, well, better as a result. There was a single sign board with all of this information, and I really wish it had been more widely broadcasted. One side encouraged attendees to welcome special guests from the Make A Wish foundation and Starlight Children's Foundation UK, as they worked to make E3 wishes come true. The other side explained the AFK room, a quiet space away from the hectic show floor for guests who may have felt overwhelmed by the crowds and activity. Even if the hours were limited to 12-6 pm, that did cover a lot of the show time, and they were also using it to educate and promote mental health. That's a big win for everyone.

We giggled a lot when we first saw its name, and I got really excited seeing him in the demo. Sorry I completely destroyed you with my Corviknight friend, Impadimp!

We go to appointments in pairs as often as possible, and it just so happened that Corey and I ended up sharing most of ours. I'm aware I can't compete with his best new best friend, but we got to demo Nintendo titles together, anyway.

I liked this fierce bird the moment I saw it, and when I found out it's typically seven feet tall and could basically crush cars like a T-rex, I knew I was in love. Now all I need to know is how it evolves, because I have this plan in my head that Corviknight could evolve like suits on playing cards, and males/females could evolve into Corviking and Corviqueen like the Nidorans of eld. Whatever happens, Corviknight is just one more reason I am stoked for Pokémon Sword & Shield.

As many leaks as we get for E3 now, it was nice to see some major surprises at the pre-show conferences this year. While we all still want to see Mother 3 announced, Nintendo fulfilled a long-abandoned hope that Seiken Densetsu 3 would be localized. For said localization to release that day, and get news of a full remake was something I was not prepared for. And speaking of things we gave up on, Phantasy Star Online 2 is finally coming West after, what, 7 years? Astounding.

Beyond that, Final Fantasy VII Remake being far enough along to demo was a big surprise too. And we finally got to see Tifa! And while they didn't get enough screen time in my opinion, it was good to see Romancing SaGa 3 progressing, and SaGa Scarlet Grace's quick appearance was a nice surprise! All said, Square Enix, Nintendo, and SEGA had a mix of surprises that if I hadn't been sitting down to watch, I'd have needed to sit down to recover.

I attempted that Titania battle challenge three times with three different groups, and none of us managed to clear and win t-shirts. Several people we played with were either new to the game or still in earlier parts of the game. I was really surprised at the complexity of a story-based battle; it felt on par with some raid bosses in the most recent expansion. It's a good ramp up in difficulty by the time you reach Shadowbringers, but it's definitely too complicated for people used to lower level fights to adapt to in a ten-minute timespan (though I was really impressed with some of my friends' adaptability!). In any case, it was exciting to get a taste of the changes coming to the battle system!

Link's Awakening is one of my all-time favorite Zelda games and was the first game to make a little Mike cry, which is not something I can say for most games, let alone an early-90s black and white Game Boy title. I am absolutely here for this remake. I wanted to play it badly, but I could do a lot more with those three hours, and the game is out soon enough that I could pass for now. Not that I'm not jealous of those that played it...

"Final Fantasy VII Remake will release in ____" is a common joke among Final Fantasy fans, with that blank space ranging from 2021 to 2031. Imagine my surprise when that blank space ended up being 2020 and the E3 demo of Final Fantasy VII Remake ended up the most exciting game of the show. FFVIIR looks and plays fantastically to a degree I can scarcely believe. And to think I doubted it would even have a presence on the show floor.

Runners-up: John Wick Hex, Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers

I adore the original Link's Awakening, and my most recent replay of that delightful Game Boy game was in early 2018. For the upcoming Switch remake to be so colorful, expressive, and feature-rich is a true delight, and I can't wait to re-experience Link's time on Koholint Island and to Frankenstein together new dungeons from pieces of old ones. I was excited to try the game, but not wait-three-hours-in-line excited. And holy crap I can't wait to hear the 2019 version of Ballad of the Wind Fish.

Runners-up: The Outer Worlds, Cris Tales

I've been a longtime fan of Seiken Densetsu 3, having played and replayed a bootleg English translated version several times over the past 17 or 18 years. The announcements for an official localization and next year's remake were a double mindblow. The localized Collection of Mana was one of the fastest game purchases I've ever made. I almost immediately scheduled two podcast episodes about it. This is the most hyped I've ever been to replay a game that's over two decades old. As a longtime Mana fan who'd given up on ever playing an official version, I was overjoyed by the Trials of Mana reveal.

Runners-up: Dragon Quest Heroes in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Animal Crossing New Horizons

Bethesda had an underwhelming E3 showcase, unless you're a massive fan of Doom, Wolfenstein, Elder Scrolls Online, or Arkane Studios. Those are perfectly valid preferences, but I don't share them. Followers of Bethesda's RPG catalog were thirsty for more news on Elder Scrolls VI, Starfield, or possibly a new Fallout game not named 76, but E3 2019 provided nothing on those fronts. Maybe they should have delayed the Starfield and Elder Scrolls announcements by another year?

Runners-up: 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim absent AGAIN, no Sony presence at all

I was sure that Yamper had this award in the bag, but the good girls and boys of E3's security team had too strong a showing to ignore. They were all over E3 as part of the security presence and were exceptionally handsome and well-behaved. A one-year-old yellow Labrador Retriever named Heavenly (!!!) was doing vest-off training and her handler let her play with us for a few minutes; after that it was game over. Turns out petting dogs in real life is even better than petting them in a video game. Don't need a social media gimmick to check that.

Runners-up: Yamper from Pokémon Sword & Shield, Watch Dogs Legion

I played a lot of smaller titles at E3 that I'll be keeping my eye on (Boyfriend Dungeon, Killsquad), but Heroland is easily the best one I got my hands on. Unique aesthetic? Check. Great dialogue? Check. Turn-based combat with a twist that promises depth? Check. Add to that an amazing pedigree, including people who worked on the Mana and Shin Megami Tensei series, and even Mother 3, along with a localization in the always capable hands of XSEED, and I'm here for it.

To put it lightly, I have been a Final Fantasy VII fanboy almost since release. I've never been more hyped for, or enjoyed a game more than the original Final Fantasy VII. So, even though I often have reservations about remakes, I've been excited for this one, in whatever form it takes. I will admit to being a little disappointed that it was going to be an action game. Boy, was I wrong. The gameplay footage we saw at the Square Enix conference beforehand had me incredibly hyped. The demo's clever introduction with Jessie hacking a Shinra commercial and explaining the combat to us, was a delight. Then the game demo played like a dream. The combat manages to feel completely modern while also maintaining the old-school ATB goodness that early Final Fantasy titles are known for. It looks stunning and goes well beyond my already lofty expectations.

Oh, and a Turk stared me down for two minutes while I was waiting in line to play the demo. It ruled. Bring on March of 2020!

This might not have been the biggest announcement of E3, but it's the game I walked way most hyped to play. I'd heard rumblings of the Collection of Mana coming West for the last couple of months, yet never would have expected a remake. All I really wanted was the base game to be localized. We got that, too. And they released it immediately! So, the moment I got home from E3, I turned on my Switch and downloaded the collection. And it plays so well. Trial of Mana takes everything that was excellent about Secret of Mana, polishes up the combat and caters to a number of different playstyles, giving the game incredible replay value. I can't wait to dig further into this unexpected gift.

I'll be honest: I'm normally not that into WRPGs. Outside of The Witcher 3, most of them fail to grab me. Maybe it's their open-ended nature, or maybe I'm just really attracted to Japanese storytelling, but the recorded demo I watched of Cyberpunk 2077 almost immediately washed all of that away. Its neon-infused Blade Runner aesthetic and beautifully detailed and varied world were enough to sell it on their own, but the startling variety of ways you can interact with the game — ranging from the dialogue trees that change based on your personal history to the stunning amount of choice in combat — make this look like something special. I may not love WRPGs, but this is one I'll be picking up day one.

Allow me to be self-indulgent for a moment here. I avidly followed and read RPGFan almost since its inception. It's always been my favorite spot for RPG-related news, media, and especially reviews. So, it was a pleasant surprise when I started working here last year that the staff are just as interesting as they seem in their content. I was excited and a little nervous to meet everyone, but let me tell you, the people here was so warm, welcoming, and kind that it made my first E3 experience a true joy. Hopefully I get to attend many more with these wonderful people!