1. Mother 3
Gamers tend to fetishize rarity and novelty. Japan-only titles often command prices and praise far above their actual quality. Mother 3 is one of those never-localized white whales that actually stands up to its reputation. To me, it’s the perfect sequel to Earthbound. It takes many of the same notes, but is a lateral move rather than trying to advance everything in Earthbound to some logical next step. It stands neatly on its own pedestal next to Earthbound- each different enough to not make the other feel obsolete or inferior.
2. Wario Land 4
Warioland 4 is one of Nintendo’s triumphs of subtractive design. This game builds on the concepts laid out in the first 3 (4) titles, but holds nothing sacred. What results is one of the tightest, most inventive, weirdest games that Nintendo has put out. As a kid, I was disappointed that the experience was condensed where the previous titles were sprawling, but as time has gone on Warioland 4’s design choices have endured, where the plodding, collectathon tendencies of the other titles has grown tedious.
3. Pikmin 3
The singleplayer is as good as it’s ever been, but the mission mode was some of the most fun I’ve had so far this generation. It’s so well-tuned that it approaches the feeling of playing a racing game for me, every time around the lap just trying to shave off a second to achieve that goal. I still return to it often in both singleplayer and coop.
4. Super Mario Bros. 3
An amazing achievement on the NES, and a game that has served as a blueprint for inventive, intuitive game design for almost thirty years. At this point, I think it’s safe to say that I’ll never tire of donning the tanooki suit and flying off, or grabbing the warp whistle and sneaking up on Bowser’s Castle.
5. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Link’s Awakening was an attempt by Nintendo to bring a fully-fledged console Zelda experience to a handheld, but it ended up as so much more. The dungeons and exploration aren’t half bad, but what makes this game enduring is the world building and atmosphere. Quite an achievement for a game originally released on a glorified calculator that can vaguely depict 4 shades of grayish green.
6. Super Metroid
I struggled with whether this spot should go to the more action-oriented Zero Mission or the more narrative driven Fusion, but ultimately this spot belongs to Super Metroid. Not only is it one of the greatest achievements in game design, it’s a perfect representation of the era when it was released. The definition of a timeless classic.
7. Kid Icarus Uprising
As a huge fan of the original Kid Icarus game, I was overjoyed when Nintendo decided to bring it back. Then I saw the reveal trailer, and my hype instantly died. “3DS title? Some weird mashup of shooter and brawler? By director of recent disappointment Smash Bros. Brawl? Bark like a dog?” I wrote it off, and never looked back. A few years later when I finally picked it up, I realized that I couldn’t have been more wrong. The game is a weird, yet somehow perfect, mashup of Kid Icarus, Starfox, and Monster Hunter. The writing is genuinely hilarious, the 3D visuals are some of the best on the system, the multplayer is great, and the amazing depth afforded by the equipment system and difficulty slider have kept it a fresh experience for years.
8. Splatoon
Nintendo’s long awaited entry into the competitive shooting genre finally lands, and it does so with a huge splash. So much more than a cute coat of paint on a well-defined genre, Nintendo successfully deconstructs every aspect of a multiplayer shooter, and rebuilds them block by block to make something entirely fresh. My only hesitation towards giving this game a top ten spot is that I’m sure there will eventually be a sequel that outdoes it, but for the time being it’s simply too good to leave out.
9. F-zero GX
F-Zero GX is a finely tuned, pure skill arcade experience as only
Early 2000’s Sega Nintendo can deliver. It’s a game that always leaves you feeling like you’re one step away from mastering it, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This game has been in constant rotation since I picked it up at gamestop for $3 10 years ago, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
10. Advance Wars Dual Strike
Some of the titles may be more “balanced”, whatever that means, but Dual Strike bests them all on both fun and content. Maybe I would enjoy this game less if I googled some gamebreaking strategies, but as it is I’ve spent years bettering my times in the War Room and increasing my rank in singleplayer. Totally unrelated, but the
Wars series is by far the most overdue for a Smash rep at this point, IMO.
