hmm don't have time but just from top of my head, recent games tend to rank higher for me but anyway
1. Mario Galaxy - Mario perfection
2. Super smash bros melee - the game I played the most during my childhood
3. The legend of zelda Twilight princess - made me fall in love with zelda series
4. Pokemon gold silver
5. Mario kart 8 - the perfect mario kart
6. Splatoon - A multiplayer shooter i actually enjoyed for once
7. Pikmin 3
8. Xenoblade Chronicles
9. Donkey Kong country tropical freeze
10. Wii sports - enjoyed many game nights with friends with this game.
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2 ; gaming nirvana.
2. Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time ; really more of a 1A, the adventure game GOAT
3. Super Metroid ; so creepy, exciting, fun, challenging. Wish they'd make another one like this.
4. Super Smash Bros. Melee ; easily the most hours i've ever put into a game with my friends
5. Super Mario World ; just fun all around
6. Super Mario 64 ; pure magic
7. Goldeneye 007 ; easily the second most hours I've ever put into a game with my friends
8. Pikmin 3 ; maybe the most underrated game of the generation/ever
9. Donkey Kong Country ; just a mind blowing tent pole type game in the mid-90s.
10. Metroid Prime ; the high water mark for atmosphere and sci-fi/older audience material for Nintendo
holy shit that was tough. Honorable Mentions:
x. Legend of Zelda A Link the Past
x. Banjo Kazooie
x. Yoshi's Island
x. Mario Bros. 3
x. Mario Kart
x. Earthbound
x. Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask
1. Metroid Prime
2. Zelda: OoT
3. Super Mario Galaxy
4. Twilight Princess
5. Paper Mario
6. Super Mario World
7. Pikmin
8. Super Mario Galaxy 2
9. Wii Sports
10. Super Metroid
The bottom five were really tough.
So hard to make a list... so many great games. These are mine.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2. Super Mario 64
3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
4. Pokemon Red & Blue
5. Donkey Kong Country 2
6. Banjo Kazooie
7. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
8. Pikmin 3
9. Goldeneye
10. Earthbound
1. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD ;
2. F-Zero GX ;
3. Metroid: Zero Mission ;
4. Mario Golf: Advance Tour ;
5. Mario Kart 8 ;
6. Star Fox 64 3D ;
7. Fire Emblem: Awakening ;
8. Pokémon Red ;
9. Super Mario World ;
10. Punch-Out!! ;
1. Kid Icarus: Uprising ; There is no competition. Uprising is far and away Sakurai's masterpiece and is indicative of the ocean of talent available to the father of Smash bros. The music, bosses, and characters are absolutely stellar, the length is perfect, and there's a tremendous amount of replay value from an arcade-like perspective. Here's to Kid Icarus Uprising, my eternal favorite game of all time!
2. Sin & Punishment: Star Successor ; Star Successor essentially takes Kid Icarus's flying sections, improves them, but is then left with not much else. But that's ok, because Star Successor results in a heavenly combination of light gun and shmup style gameplay with great bosses and great music.
3. The Wonderful 101 ; I think people get the wrong idea when they call The Wonderful 101 a love child to lazy saturday afternoons, because to play it you have to be anything but. Demanding so much on the player drives off new players, but if you work yourself in you find that there is a remarkably fun and colorful game with epic encounters and a much better story than its siblings.
4. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ; Better than the original in every way. Weapons that are actually balanced instead of just power creeping your original gun (even though they still expect you to use your old guns due to the colored enemies) by way of a restrictive yet easily understood ammo system that encouraged the use of variety. Bosses, locations, and music are all greatly improved, and retains much of the same flow.
5. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
6. Wario Land 2
7. Super Mario Galaxy
8. Pokemon Black/White Version
9. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
10. Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.
Honorable Mentions:
x. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
x. Splatoon
x. Pikmin 3
x. Punch-Out! (Wii)
Oh yeah, a question for this thread and I guess for the GOTY thread later: is Fire Emblem Fates going to be considered one game or will each route be considered separately?
Honorable Mentions: Picross 3D; With so many Picross games over the years, there really isn't one to choose as my favorite. But Picross 3D stands out a little bit more from the pack of puzzle greatness with the 3D puzzles. The logic and deduction required of this game and its brethren challenge my mind to the fullest. At times I wished to go back to the simpler 2D ones because the Picross 3D was just so difficult with that addded dimension. But nonetheless, this one is my favorite of all the Picross games, and I can only hope the sequel makes it to the West soon.
Pocket Card Jockey; The newest game on this list, this was the only game I played for a good two weeks, something that never happens anymore for that length of time. The concept and mechanics are simple, but the systems behind the game are deep and intricate. It was simply addicting to play.
Thought I'd be the only one here to mention Picross 3D. Really hope the sequel makes it over too. It'd be nice if OP could run the Affinity lists like the GOTY thread does. Might be worth asking them for their scripts?
I was so close to putting Pocket Card Jockey on my list too but I figured it's just an infatuation right now. I've got like 50 hours logged into that and I'm still absolutely hooked.
I really really need to get around to playing this now that they've patched in the sped up AI turns. I played the first mission then put it down for some reason and I love these games. SteamWorld Heist would be right up your alley by the way.
I though Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars counted as Nintendo games ......
1.- Pokemon Platinum
2.- Super Mario Galaxy 2
3.- Xenoblade Chronicles
4.- Super Smash Bros for WiiU
5.- Mario and Luigi Bowser Inside Story
6.- Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door
7.- Mario Kart DS
8.- Mario Party DS
9.- Donkey Kong 64
10.- The Legend of Zelda Wind Waker
1. Banjo-Kazooie
2. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
3. Pokemon Emerald
4. Super Mario RPG
5. Mother 2/Earthbound
6. Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
7. Legend of Zelda: Link between Worlds
8. Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
9. Super Mario 64
10. Advance Wars 2
Oh yeah, a question for this thread and I guess for the GOTY thread later: is Fire Emblem Fates going to be considered one game or will each route be considered separately?
1. Super Mario 64: Still the best video game I've ever played in many ways, and probably Nintendo's finest hour, which is saying a lot.
2. Super Mario Bros. 3: The height of 2D adventure gameplay, probably never to be topped. I'm still blown away by the amazing secrets and all the little details. Completely essential.
3. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time: Epic in every way, an incredible 3D adventure that set the standard. Nintendo has been chasing the feeling of riding through Hyrule Field on Epona, surrounded by skeletons and ghosts, Hyrule Castle and Death Mountain looming in the distance, ever since, and has never quite hit the same high note.
4. Super Mario World: Constant fun, such a big, bright adventure, filled with heart and challenges and tons of little tricks and secrets. The game *still* looks so amazing and feels so smooth to play.
5. Super Mario RPG: It's a miracle that this game exists. Huge story, unforgettable characters, epic boss battles, it does such surprising and weird things with the Mario world and makes it into its own uniquely legendary thing.
6. Super Mario Galaxy: An expansive, imaginative, constantly inventive take on 3D platforming that did so many new things and put such an original mark on the genre.
7. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: Misunderstood at the time, now I can clearly see that it is completely genius and one of Nintendo's most inspired titles. Love the huge, colorful sprites, the sense of fun, the surprising challenge of collecting everything, the boss battles, and the whole spirit of the entire project.
8. Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: For my money, the best handheld game ever...it's an adventure that captured my imagination like nothing else as a young kid. A mini-masterpiece of atmosphere, charm, and challenge.
9. Splatoon: So fun, fresh, unique, the DNA from this game is going to be laced through so many games throughout the next generation. Genius in its simplicity, so easy to get the hang of, it's a family friendly shooter that still has a hip and ironic edge.
10. Teleroboxer: A sentimental favorite, this is a testament to what the Virtual Boy could have been if it had been given a chance. It's immersive, dangerous, addictive, and completely exciting. Loved it then and still do.
x Super Mario Bros. 2 (US)
x Punch-Out
x Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
x Earthbound
x Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
x Mario Kart 64
x F-Zero X
x Super Mario 3D World
I would have included stuff like Wonderful 101, but it didn't feel right...really just wanted to stick to games that were designed and developed by Nintendo itself. Even Super Mario RPG pushes that a bit...but had to include it!
1. Super Metroid ; This is my all time favorite game so it gets the nod by default. The story was well told given the time, great ending, great atmosphere, graphics sound, and gameplay.
2. Super Mario 64 ; This was it. A stellar title which is still the pinnacle of 3D platforming. This game alone validated the analog stick as the next step in controller design. Sega and Sony probably worked feverishly to design and release an analog controller after this game was shown on the floor at E3 1995.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening ; I'm sure I will be in the minority here. I love LttP and OoT but for me this game, overall, rivals even those which is saying something given it was a SPINACH GREEN Gameboy title. Solid controls and framerate, great music, an interesting and very well told story line. Please wake the Windfish!
4. Super Mario Bros. 2 ; aka Doki Doki panic. Again, I'm partial to this game and will be in the minority here. I loved the fun graphical style of this game when it was released. The pickup mechanic was unique to the this series entry but it felt natural enough that you's didn't notice the addition. Despite already having a wide variety of unique and well designed levels the game had a lot of replay value thanks in part the varying mechanics of each of the four playable characters. The controls were rock solid.
5. Mario Kart 8
6. Splatoon
7. thinking
8. thinking.
9. thinking
10. thinking
Alright let's do this more succinctly for once.
No franchise duplication in the top 10 and I'll leave Rare and Platinum's stuff for the HM section...
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
A truly landmark title that would set a template the 3D iterations of the series would run with all the way up until the recently revealed Breath of the Wild. With good reason of course, though it may not look so grand now back in 98 OoT was a full blown adventure taking advantage of the strange and still relatively new 3D world gaming was moving into. That it nailed things so spectacularly on the first speaks volumes to OoT's quality.
To this day it's still one of the best paced entries in the franchise with the balancing act between dungeons and overworld antics kept steady throughout, I'm pretty sure the game did wonders for the ocarina itself as an instrument, now that's a legacy right there.
2. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Dare I say Retro Studios bested Nintendo's internal teams at their bread and butter genre of 2D platforming (of course I'd also argue Rare did previously with DKC2 but ooohhh that one will really rustle some jimmies).
The result of a truly focused team looking to create a AAA calibre title in a genre often viewed these days to be in a lower budget territory. From it's impeccable level design supporting both exploration focused and speed running play at the same time to it's incredible level of detail that gives rhyme and reason to all the game world's obstacles, Tropical Freeze is a platforming tour de force.
Also Fucking David Wise.
I'll never forgive you NintendoGAF if you let DKC1 trump the rest of the series again....
3. Super Mario Galaxy 2
To think that Nintendo's strongest 3D platformer started off as an expansion pack, granted that was as an expansion to their previous strongest 3D platformer but even with a few tell tale signs of leftovers and reused content the bulk of SMG2 is the most imaginative and creative outing Mario has ever been on and boy he's had a lot of them. SMG2 doesn't need the training wheels of its predecessor, it's much more comfortable ramping up the action way earlier and asking more from the player under the assumption they know what they're doing. Walks the fine line between previous expansive 3D Mario and obstacle course linear style 2D Mario.
4. Metroid Prime
Metroid was significantly later to the 3D party than say Mario and Zelda, so much so that the impressiveness of transitioning the series into 3D could've been lessened by the time it arrived. Yet Retro's work creating the atmospheric world of Tallon IV to support the unique and at the time not so common "metroidvania" formula brought the Metroid franchise back with a vengeance setting off an entire sub series that took the series from a lengthy hiatus to having the clout for a pinball spin off of all things.
A different type of first person game for its time favouring exploration and discovery over the combat, where many expected it to fall it instead stood tall and for my money is still the definitive Metroid experience edging out its SNES predecessor.
5. Pokemon Red/Blue Version
Now here's a series that keeps a level of consistency and familiarity to this day, as such nailing down the "best" one is a bit tricky as mechanically speaking they just keep refining in such a way it's always improving at its core. My mind says one of Gen 5's titles but In any case though the original phenomenon still holds up surprisingly well as I found out earlier this year through its VC release. A stone cold classic that exploded the Game Boy's popularity and gave Nintendo and Game Freak a license to print oh so much money. There may be over 700 of the critters now with more to come but the original 151 that started it all left their mark in a big way.
Red version for life, it has Primeape.
6. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
A true underrated gem in Nintendo's history right here, arriving late in the Gamecube's lifespan with ho-hum visuals and not much fanfare it's possibly the most understated title on my list whose main claim to fame to the wider Nintendo public is likely it's lead hero Ike being a recurring smash series character.
While the series itself powered out of the sales rut it found itself in with a successful revamp on the 3DS it arguably lost that which made the whole PoR package so damn appealing to me in the first place. The plot manages a simple yet engaging tale with a cast to match and the strategic gameplay is finely tuned to have a difficulty curve I find just perfect, I've said it before and I'll say it again, PoR is like running a fine bath where you get the temperature just right.
7. Pikmin 3
Taking the series for me from "it's pretty neat I guess" to "when the heck did it get this good?!".
Pikmin 3 looks at what worked and what didn't work in the first two outings and finally takes its place in the Nintendo classic lineup with its active spin on the RTS genre that carries a cool sense of progression as you unravel and connect the routes through the undergrowth with the application of chucking obedient plant peeps at anything and everything.
No game has ever described fruit so humorously, there's your back of box quote Nintendo, thank me later.
8. Kid Icarus: Uprising
When I'm enjoying a game enough that I can overlook the awkward grip gymnastics I'm having to perform to simply play it I'd say that's a sign that the gameplay itself is doing a pretty good job.
Uprising truly is everything but the kitchen sink, the amount of stuff packed into this little cart is staggering, an incredibly replayable adventure that's a bit like playing through an escalating 24 episode tv series of Pit's adventures against the oddly comedic evils that lurk in his world.
Sakurai put his all into this one and basically injured himself in the process, now that's commitment.
9. Super Smash Brothers for Wii U
Probably soon to be replaced by the seemingly inevitable SSB for NX but anyway...
Here lies the most comprehensive Nintendo library in playable game form, a celebration of everything Nintendo and even some of the friends and rivals it picked up along the way. The platform fighter is still unique in its style unmatched by the few contenders that step into its domain. It's not just a wonderful helping of fanservice for the Nintendo faithful but a fantastic fighter in its own right which is bringing the series balance back to catering for super serious one on one competitive showdowns and super silly eight player clusterfucks, A flawed masterpiece
Still no Dixie Kong though *pout*
10. Xenoblade Chronicles
You either bask in the relentless British banter that consumes every enemy encounter or you wish Reyn time would come to an end, but Reyn time never ends. Actually this game felt a bit like it was never going to end at one stage, it's huuuuge with an incredible world to match its scope.
A stealth Wii classic that sorta snuck out in PAL regions to immediate cult Nintendo classic status that made those across the pond have to beg NoA to let them join in on the fun, a complete contrast to the SNES days of "what the heck is Earthbound?".
It's hitting all the tropes you expect from a JRPG but boy is the world a blast to explore with a quality OST backing up the journey, a must for those who yearn to journey out into the wilderness and get mugged off by some lvl 100 troll demon.
Honourable mentions
A lot of Rare's stuff: Notably Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark and the DKC trilogy (especially DKC2 which is basically joint number 2 in this list anyway)
Starfox 64/ Lylat Wars: Endlessly quotable space shooter
Kirby's Adventure Wii/Return to Dreamland: Definitive traditional kirby experience
Elite Beat Agents: Begging for a sequel..."HEEEEEEELLLLLP!"
LoZ Majora's Mask: OoT on drugs
Super Mario Maker: The creative culmination of everything 2D Mario in one package.
The Platinum Wii U combo of W101 and Bayonetta 2 (sorry Star Fox but you just can't compare)
1. Metroid Prime
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2
3. Super Mario Galaxy
4. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (fight me)
5. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
6. Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire
7. Super Metroid
8. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
9. Pokemon Gold & Silver
10. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2. Super Mario Galaxy
3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
4. Pokemon Emerald ; - My first ever Pokemon game, and still my favorite too this day, i played through this game for endless hours on my Gameboy SP back in elementary school, even talking about it brings out unforgettable memories
of getting destroyed by the elite four/wallace constantly :'(
5. Fire Emblem: Awakening ; - This game is what got me into my recent addiction to JRPG's, and i don't regret a single moment
6. Super Smash Bros Wii U
7. Mario Kart 8
8. Splatoon
9. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
10. Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
1. EarthBound (SNES) ; I've been in love with this game from the moment I played it.
2. Xenoblade Chronicles (Wii) ; The open world and story really grabbed me.
3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past (SNES) ; As obvious, ALttP is a big influence on me. Excellent adventure and dungeons.
4. Super Metroid (SNES) ; Arguably a perfect game (aside from the controls lol).
5. Mother 3 (GBA) ; I used to prefer M3 over EB for a period of time, but I cooled a bit. It's still excellent; the gameplay is better, and the story is unique.
6. Super Mario World (SNES) ; Super solid platformer, and one of the first video games I've ever played.
7. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) ; Just a bit less preferable to World. Gets a bonus point for being one of my first memories was seeing my dad play it (he was fighting Wendy).
8. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (GC) ; Really great game. Great pacing, great story. Wouldn't it be fun if they stopped making shit like Sticker Star?
9. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) ; Indisputably my favorite 3D Zelda. It's by far the most unique game in the series.
10. Rhythm Heaven Megamix (3DS) ; While it has some flaws (like Rhythm Rally), the inclusion of some of the series' best as well as making certain levels more fun (particularly the DS ones) makes it one of the best.
Honorable mentions (in order of quality - honorable mentions include one game per platform where an honorable mention is earned):
11. Punch-Out!! (Wii) ; Really, this game's only flaw is that you use the Wii Remote pointer in the menus. No flaws whatsoever for me.
12. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES) ; I do love it, but it just missed the mark unfortunately.
13. Rhythm Tengoku (GBA) ; It's a bit dated, but it's super fun and engaging. Great soundtrack, too.
14. Metroid Prime (GC) ; No one seemed to think that they could do it, but Retro really managed to make the difficult jump from 2D to 3D.
15. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (GB) ; One of the best Zeldas, totes. Really unique and one of my favorite examples of good handheld game design.
16. Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (DS) ; Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 is arguably the better of the two games, but I can't deny that nostalgic feelings have me going back to the first game far more often.
17. Mother (NES) ; A lot of people don't like this game, but I love it. It's definitely a tough game with ridiculous leaps in difficulty, but it's fun all the same.
18. Paper Mario (N64) ; Not as imaginative as TTYD, but it stood as acceptable that a lot of the settings are Mario-like since it was the start to a new thing (SMRPG aside).
19. Wario Land 3 (GBC) ; While I love Wario Land II, Wario Land 3 upped the ante by crossing platforming gameplay with Metroid-like exploration mechanics - finding items and power-ups that allow you to revisit levels and find new secrets.
20. The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds (3DS) ; I can see why some people might not like this as much as I do, but the rental system and the nonlinearity were great for me. It also has by far my favorite set of dungeons in the franchise, with absolutely zero I would even say are just mediocre - the worst dungeon in this game is a really strong 8.
21. Splatoon (Wii U) ; YMMV - if you don't like multi-player games, you might not like this game. But as far as a multi-player game goes, it's super great. I'm really excited to see what the designers have to offer with a sequel.
Super honorable mention:
Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii) - Because OP forgot it, and it's excellent (my one game per platform rule for honorable mentions excluded it, but its absence from this thread forced me to make a special section for it!).
It is quite funny to thing that what I believe to be Nintendo's best game ever, was actually developed by their once-competitor SEGA. This game is simply the closest thing to a perfect racing game for me.
A game where skill is the one deciding factor. To be able to compete against the other 29 racers you will need to hone your driving skills to avoid being taken out by your rivals, fall off the boundaries, and managed to make it in first place.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this series is the HP-Reliant Boosting system. Which adds a layer of resource management that contrasts with the emphasis on quick reflexes and high sense of speed the series is known for. One simply cannot boost themselves to victory as doing so will deplete the vehicle's HP, causing it's destruction at the slightest touch.
The game features a story mode as well, the story in itself is rather weak. It revolves around Captain Falcon trying to stop Black Shadow's plans from gaining the Grand Prix. That's really not important though, what really is important however, is the high level of challenge one will go through the story mode's 9 chapters. They are, simply put: Hard. Very hard. The safety rails literally come off as soon as the second chapter, the AI will be relentless as it tries to defeat you at any cost.
The story mode features variety in its missions. One chapter for example has Falcon's vehicle, the Blue Falcon, be wired with a bomb that will explode if he exceeds or goes below a certain speed threshold. The player has to carefully maneuver through he track's very narrow curves while avoiding the other drivers on the track, and all while keeping a while on their current speed. It may even feel unfair at some point, but no other racing game has come close to feeling as rewarding as beating the game's notorious story chapters in Very Hard.
Ultimately this game succeeds at being an exhilarating racing game with incredible track design, tight controls, and high sense of speed. One of the best games that ever exist on my opinion.
Godspeed little guy ;-;7
2. Wonderful 101
This is a weird game for me to put on second place. I really love this game, A LOT, but the many flaws of this game are all very apparent constant. Yet, I can't help but feel that ultimately it means nothing when the game succeeds at having one of the best combat systems in the action game genre.
In this game the player will command the Wonderful 101s. Heroes that can temporarily endow civilians (and some defeated enemies) with super powers and make them part of their ranks. The player will control up 100
Actually, the max is over 200 heroes
heroes behaving as a single unit.
The heroes act as a resource that needs to be managed. In order to fight off the many waves of enemies one will encounter, the heroes need to be "morphed" into the weapons. The more heroes you use to create a weapon, the bigger and stronger it will be.
Each of the main colored heroes of the game have their own signature weapon. Unlike Kamiya's Bayonetta where he allowed the players to style on their enemies on any way the game let them to. In this game different types of enemies will need to be dealt with different types of weapons. For example the "frustrating" turtle enemies from this game have a hard armored shell that cannot be pierced by most weapons. The player needs to either cheap away damage with the Unite Hammer weapon, or wait for the right opportunity and flip over the turtle exposing their weak point.
At different points the game will throw at the player enemies that need to be dealt with specific weapons, forcing the player to think which enemies to tackle first, while protecting themselves. Like most platinum games, the player will be graded on a scoring system. How quickly the enemies are dealt with, a combo scoring meter, and how much damage the player took. For me the REAL fun of the game came from revisiting the old areas with new abilities and trying to at the very least gain a platinum rating on all stages.
The game has a LOT of content, there's a number of unlockables that require the player to perform specific tasks. Such completing a number of secret missions, or simply getting a platinum rating on a stage.
The game also features a lot of genre-shifting mini games. For a first playthrough, these minigames will likely serve as a nice change of pace for the player, but for those seeking to replay old stages to get trophies, these will quickly become a nuisance. Some of these minigames are rather engaging, such as the Punch out boss battle, but for the most part, they are an annoying break from the game's Wonderful battling system.
Also I forgot to mention, this game is hilarious. While some running jokes get way overplayed (such as any interaction between Wonder Green and Blue) the game's ever escalating over the top nature will most likely even win over people that hate the game's gameplay systems. I've never seen an ending that was more over the top and hilarious in scale, probably Asura's Wrath would come close.
This game is viewtiful combination of humor and challenging gameplay, something very similar to Platinum's other offerings, yet different all the same. Highly recommended.
3. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Alright I'm just going to drop the pretentiousness and ask: Yo, how the fuck did they pull this off?
This is the single player game in which I've done the most playthroughs. I have already lost count, but since the game came out I've probably beaten it around 12 times or so. Maybe less, or it could even be more I really don't remember! The point is that something in this game just keeps drawing me back, and its probably quite simply that the sum of this game's parts ends up being an extremely fun and engaging experience.
This is the sequel to the N64's Paper Mario (which in turn is an spiritual sequel to SMRPG by Square on the SNES). The original was a fantastic game that took classic Nintendo characters and locales and spiced them up with an RPG flare.
In this game, they go beyond that and have Mario and Co set foot in the nasty city of Rogueport where crime, both petty and organized is always looming. Mario is on a quest to find Peach, who went missing after arriving to the city. The only clue Mario has is an old mystical map that peach left him. He would later find out that the map is tied to a thousand year old legend, and there are quite a few number of people that want that map, and what that map leads to.
This game is just ZANY! Mario will be often met with quirky and eccentric characters, setting off in different adventures. At one point Mario goes to the city of Glitzville, which as the name implies, is an extravagant location. There Mario ends up enrolling on a wrestling competition that seems to be hiding something beneath the glamour. The game is full of situations like that. Whether it be sailing off to an uncharted island to find treasure, being indebted to the Mafia, or going through a long train ride, the constant changes of thematic per chapter keep the game funny and fresh.
In the Wrestling chapter I mentioned. The player will be spending most of the time battling enemies on a stage while the audience cheers on. It probably says a lot about the battle system that I never found this chapter, one where I was met with constant battles, boring.
The battle system is very simple, yet engaging. Expanding on the previous game's (and SMRPG) action command mechanic. The player has to time button presses while attacking enemies for extra damage, or while defending to reduce damage taken. All of this is accompanied with a thematically appropriate gameplay mechanic. In each of Mario's battles he's "performing" in front of an audience, the better he performs in battle the happier the audience will be, which will have a number of different result on Mario's battle such as filling his star meter (for special attacks) or receiving items from the adoring audience.
There's honestly a lot I could talk about this game, but I'm just going to say I highly recommend anyone who hasn't played it to do it if they are able, and go through one of the funniest RPGs ever. It may not be very challenging, but it is VERY engaging. Everything in this game really comes together in a magical way.
4. Xenoblade Chronicles
Oh man this game.
It has one of the most intriguing settings I've seen for an RPG. The game takes place in the bodies of two continent-size gods that battled to the death. After their deaths life flourished on their bodies, and that's where the story takes place. Of course that's just the beginning.
The adventure begins in the body of the Bionis, where it's people are at war with the Mechon the machines of the Mechonis, which seem hell-bent on eradicating the races of the Bionis for whatever reason. The main character is Shulk, a young scientist-in-training who after an attack from the Mechon comes to possess the Monado. A weapon that among other things, lets its wielder see the future.
The game is an action RPG, which utilizes a cool-down system for its attacks (called "Arts") Cooperating with your AI teamates allows for certain combinations of attacks on enemies. For example Shulk can use an attack that leaves an enemy with the status effect "Break" this leaves the enemy susceptible to be afflicted with another status effect called Topple, which renders the enemy helpless for a few seconds. The catch is that Shulk cannot perform topple on enemies himself, but has to rely on his teamates to do it.
Shulk being able to see the future is tied both to the narrative and gameplay mechanics of the game. When Shulk receives a vision in battle, he can warn his comrades about the incoming attack or do something himself to prevent it altogether.
The battle system has more layers to it with the ability to equip characters with gems that will affect their stats, or the affinity between characters affecting the number of times a special move called a "chain attack" can be performed on an enemy.
Aside from battling the player will spend most of their time exploring the vast world of Mira. Which its beautiful landscapes that urges players to just go and see what's out there, exploration in this game is its own reward. The music that accompanies each area is simply beautiful and greatly enhances the game's atmosphere.
The game's story and cast are interesting enough to keep players interested, but the real draw for me was the world itself and being able to explore it as much as I could.
5. EarthBound
I don't know what I could say about this game that someone from here hasn't already said, so to keep it short. This is a peculiar game. Is weird, it is funny, it is also a bit melancholic.
Ness wakes up one day from hearing a loud sound at night, turns out a meteorite crashed near his home. He sets out to investigate and after some hurdles comes to learn that a great evil entity known as "Giygas" has already spread his influence in the world and soon will become a threat that will not be able to be stopped.
Ness sets on a journey to stop Giygas, along the way he meets many friends, and many bizarre enemies. As many people will surely argue, the entire point of the game is the journey, and not the end goal. There's just so many quirky and funny things happening in the world.
The battling system is similar to that of Dragon Quest, with the adding twist of the HP being displayed on a rolling meter. Meaning that receiving a fatal attack doesn't mean the battle is over as one may still have enough time to prevent the HP to rolling to zero before it actually does. This small little twist to the RPG formula is enough to keep the battles from being boring, although the battle system is better explored on the game's sequel: Mother 3.
I don't know what else to say about this game, but if you have a Wii U or N3DS and feel like playing an RPG, I'd really recommend this. There are not many games like EarthBound out there.
6. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
To talk about this game one has to talk about Ocarina of Time first. Luckily for me, everyone knows about Ocarina of Time, so I don't need to talk about it!
Majora Mask was an really neat twist into the Zelda formula, focusing more on the hub location of Clock Town. Link has 3 days before the Moon comes crashing down on Clock Town, annihilating everything on its path. The game emphasizes the people of clock town coming to terms (or not) with their impeding death with ends up creating one of the darkest, if not the darkest, Zelda game ever. Link will go around time helping people with their issues, learning more about their lives, and their daily routines.
Of course only having 3 days to prevent the apocalypse seems a bit too much, so Link has the ability to rewind back to the first day, and thus the game has the player revisit the same events over and over until they gain a new Item or Mask that allows them to continue forward.
Just like all Zelda games, there are Dungeons, except this time Link is on a time Limit as rewinding time will mean Link will have to redo the puzzles on each specific dungeon if he has not gone through them already.
This is very interesting game. My favorite Zelda game, and what I personally think is the series's best blend of narrative with gameplay.
7. Super Smash Bros for Wii U
I've always loved Smash Brothers. Every time a new one came out I would play it for MONTHS with my friends until we got tired of it.
Well is no different with the Wii U version of Super Smash Bros. This game has the best cast of the series (rip snake and ICs ;-;7) with over 50 characters. Most of the new additions of the game have a very unique playstyle that represents the series they come from. Special mention to characters like Ryu and Bayonetta which executed incredibly well in this game.
The suffers in single player content compared to the previous two entries, with poorer Classic Mode and weaker Event Matches, but the game's core gameplay is as good as usual, with the online mode extending the game's lifetime for those that don't get to play it with friends locally too often.
This game is a real multiplayer threat, doesn't matter if you enjoy the more competitive aspect, or the more chaotic side of series with all the havoc breaking lose, everyone's bound to have a good time in this game.
Unless someone picks Sonic, fuck sonic.
8. Mother 3
I was initially thinking of just choosing one game per series as I thought each had a definitive entry that stood among the rest, but I had to make an exception with Mother.
EarthBound and Mother 3 are part of the same franchise, with Mother 3 being somewhat of a direct sequel to EarthBound, but for all the game's similarities they are REALLY different. EarthBound focused more on the things happening during the journey, making friends and going out there. Mother 3 has a stronger narrative focus with a more looming threat. It also expands on the gameplay system of its predecessor.
Also its sad as fuck.
This game's tagline is "Strange, Funny, and Heartrending". Well they are right. This game is in a way as zany and amusing as EarthBound, but its a lot sadder than its predecessor as well. Tragedy happens early in the game and it doesn't stop there.
Someone help this poor monkey please ;-;
But for all the talk about how sad this game can be it IS a blast to play, it may be sad at times, but the humor is always constant and the battling system is heavily improved from EarthBound. The rolling mechanic is back except it rolls slower leaving the player more time to react to the events of a battle. More importantly a rhythm mechanic was added to the battle system. Players can listen to the "beat" of a music's battle theme, and when bashing an enemy (performing a normal attack) timing button presses with the beat of the music allows the player to perform multiple hit for more damage, similar in a way to Paper Mario's Action Commands.
Oh yeah, your dog helps too! What a good buddy.
If you were disappointed by EarthBound's lack of a more focused narrative and simplistic battle system you should give Mother 3 a shot, and if you loved EarthBound then you SHOULD give Mother 3 a go.
9. Pikmin
I never thought of Pikmin as being of my favorite Nintendo series, but I thought all 3 games were really good, and also thought the original one was a unique enough concept that deserves a mention in this thread.
Captain Olimar crashes on "mysterious" planet, with his ship flying systems broken, and the key pieces dispersed along the area, he has to cooperate with the planet's native species known as "Pikmin" ant-like creatures that will go beyond the line of duty to help Olimar go back to his home.
You monster
Of course Olimar only has a set amount of days before his backup oxygens system runs out. With this time limit in mind players must make smart use of their Pikmin and their different abilities to solve puzzles before nighttime predators come through, forcing Olimar back on his ship.
A fantastic real time strategy/action game that excels at forcing players to make the most of their resources, if you are not a fan of the time limit, the sequels Pikmin 2, and Pikmin 3 might be more up your alley. All 3 are fantastic games, but I think the first one succeeds the most as a strategy game.
10. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Speaking of strategy!
The Fire Emblem series might not be as good as its spin-off, Super Smash Brothers, but its a very solid strategy game series.
I'm a gameplay man, so something like Conquest's superb gameplay and level design is fine by me even if Conquest has the worst story in the series ever, but thinking with an "overall package" in mind, I've got to say Path of Radiance edges out Fates and the rest of the series, or at least those released on the west.
In my opinion Path of Radiance features the best story and characterization in the series, the interaction between characters feels a lot more natural and ingrained in the story than the in the rest of the franchise. The game gives you insight on the characters thought on the story's conflict as you advance through the story, something most other Fire Emblems do not do. Thus you get to learn more about the characters and for the most part, everyone feels like they have a place in the story.
The map design in the series is among the best, up there with Radiant Dawn and Fates: Conquest. While not as difficult as those other two, the map design still shines through. Successfully dividing your units in small groups across the map to cover more terrain and getting everyone safely feels very rewarding.
Overall I'd say this is the strongest Fire Emblem when thinking of all it's aspects, it may not have Awakening's content or production values, nor Fate's greatly improved battle mechanics and challenge, but I feel its story, characterization, and it's own strong level design and mechanics makes this the best Fire Emblem game out there.
Honorable mentions:
Metroid Prime
Starfox 64
The Last Story
Bayonetta 2
Super Smash Bros Melee
Mario Kart 8
F-Zero X
Splatoon
Not really surprising: 1. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island ; My favorite game of all time. Oozing with charm it features the best design and makes you want to go the extra mile for those 100 points. 2. Fire Emblem ; Till this day I'm still enchanted by the animations. 3. Kirby's Dreamland ; Probably the first game I remember playing. I tried playing different kirby games, but it's just not the same. 4. Pokemon Red ; The first RPG I played. I can't believe I'm still playing this series. Game has aged horribly lol. 5. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest ; I love the trilogy by Rare, but 2 will always be the best. Featuring my favorite animal buddies 6. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ; While I have very fond memories of Melee, this game has replaced Melee for me. 7. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ; I wouldn't have gone back to Prime if it wasn't for this game. Love the light-dark theme. 8. Mario Kart 8 ; The best racer with the best tracks and music. Dolphin Shoals <3 9. Banjo-Kazooie; My favorite 3D platformer. High hopes for Yooka-Laylee! 10. Earthbound ; Quirky and charming adventure.
So many left behind. ;-;
Makes me look like a horrible person for not including a single zelda game D:
1. Goldeneye 007
2. The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
3. Banjo Kazooie
4. Metroid Prime
5. Mario 64
6. Mario Kart 64
7. StarFox 64
8. Super Mario Kart
9. Eternal Darkness
10. Perfect Dark
I'm a gigantic N64 fanboy and I haven't enjoyed a 2D game since 1994, so this list was pretty easy for me.
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2; Simply the best platformer ever made. The refined creativity on show is hard to believe, playing with gravity, sound, sight, and thousands of well timed jumps and enemies. And as exceptional as the level design is, the score is perhaps judged even better, so fittingly exuberant and confident it forces a smile.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D; a revolutionary game that has its rough edges toned and a warm varnish applied in the remaster. Everyone knows about OoT, but the atmosphere (underlined by the shift to adult link) doesn't get acknowledged enough.
3. Super Mario World
4. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
5. Super Mario Bros. 3
6. Donkey Kong Country Returns
7. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
8. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
9. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
10. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Rhythm Heaven Fever (Wii) - Because OP forgot it, and it's excellent (my one game per platform rule for honorable mentions excluded it, but its absence from this thread forced me to make a special section for it!).
1. The Legend of Zelda (NES): I enjoyed Super Mario Bros, but if not for Zelda, I never would have really gotten into videogames. I still remember being told the secret to entering the 7th dungeon by using the whistle by the empty lake and being sworn to secrecy not to tell a neighbor (I did anyway). It was a huge competition to beat the game first and I emerged victorious! So happy that Breath of the Wild seems to be hearkening back a bit to the original.
2. Metroid Prime (Gamecube): This game marks the last time for me where Nintendo was not only on the cutting edge of gameplay, but also on the cutting edge of console graphic fidelity since they decided to get out of the arms race beginning with the Wii. I was completely absorbed in Prime's world, read every available datalog, explored every nook and cranny and the jumping felt so right. I'm in the minority, but I still prefer the Gamecube controls to the Wii pointer ones on Trilogy.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
1. Super Mario Galaxy
2. Super Mario 64
3. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
4. Super Mario World
5. Perfect Dark
6. Xenoblade Chronicles
7. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
8. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
9. Super Smash Bros. Melee
10. Pikmin 3
Honourable mentions to DKC2, DK64, Banjo-Kazooie, Super Paper Mario, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Goldeneye.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker 2. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island 3. Pokemon Gold & Silver 4. Super Mario Bros. 3 5. Bayonetta 2; 6. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 7. Super Mario World 8. Super Metroid 9. Donkey Kong Country 2 10. Mario Kart 8
1. The Legend of Zelda - Majora's Mask (N64) - 4 Points - I think Majora's Mask is the best hero story ever told in a game; one where the successful completion of the main quest is irrelevant if you don't also care about the people of the world you are saving. Link constantly deals with the weight of success and failure, all while a ticking clock is threatening to wipe it all his achievements away. This unwavering feeling of hopelessness, as well as the perversion of the NPC models from OoT, creates a "through the looking glass" weirdness to this game whose bleak tone has haunted me for 5+ playthroughs.
The reason I picked the N64 one over the 3DS one is because the 3DS version made the game accessible in a way that conflicted with the games tone. The lack of a free camera in the N64 version makes the game feel more claustrophobic, which is more befitting of Termina as a setting. Additionally, the hints and clues that are more liberally given to fill the Bombers Notebook spoils the puzzle that is saving every aspect of Termina, which in itself acts like the greatest and most fulfilling dungeon in the Zelda franchise. Lastly, the ability to save the game at any point takes away the urgency of the race against the clock where you are desperately trying to inch your progress forward before your 72 hours begins again. The N64 game is bleak, perverse, unsettling, and perfect.
2. Animal Crossing (GCN) - 3 Points - Even though it's the only Animal Crossing game without "true" multiplayer, I still firmly believe that original US Animal Crossing was home to the best multiplayer in the franchise. I remember sleeping over at friends houses, waiting on the ocean shore at two in the morning in bitter storms, taking turns with the controller trying to farm Red Snappers and Barred Knifejaws for profit. Running numerous errands around town on the off chance of finding the perfect piece of furniture to jack up the price of via my Gyroid salesman. Passing off the memory cards on friends for days at a time, getting excited to see all of the changes that occurred in the town since I last played it. This game sticks with me as one of my favorite multiplayer experiences because it was based more around competitive building then competitive destroying, and had this "pen-pal" element to it that I haven't seen in a game since.
3. Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii) - 3 Points - I know this is the equivalent of throwing points away that should go to Melee/4, but, I firmly believe how much enjoyment you get out of a game is a product of when in your life you experience it. For me, I associate this now-maligned version of SSB with memories of how much fun I had playing it freshman year in a college dorm. Memories like the time I came back from a 4 - 1 stock match on finals week and the group of goons watching started cheering so loud that I got a hundred-dollar noise complaint fine from the buildings RA.
4. Pokemon Gold (GB) - 2 Points - If you were to tally the numbers, this is probably my most played game of all time whopping in at around 700 hours before the internal battery died. One of my favorite memories of Satora Iwata is the technical wizardry he engineered to allow your PC's return to Kanto after the Elite 4, and ultimately the ability to face your own god-tier protagonist from Red/Blue.
5. The Legend of Zelda - The Wind Waker HD (Wii U) - 2 Points - One of my top five moments is gaming is the first time you really get to take the ocean with the King of Red Lions, as the mountaintop of Dragon Roost Island materializes over the horizon. The Wii U version is the superior of the two versions: in addition to completely realizing the games gorgeous cel-shaded look in HD, it also made surgical cuts to the Triforce Quest which makes the game a lot more replayable.
6. Earthbound (SNES) - 2 Points I remember renting this game as a kid thinking it was utter garbage. It wasn't until the Wii U re-release where I appreciated the subtle weirdness and the overall heart of the game, as well as it's timeless artstyle and amazing soundtrack. The final sequence of this game
specifically the moment when your only option to defeat Giygas is to pray for victory
is one of the most effective, hair-on-your-arm-raising sequences of any game I've ever played.
7. Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (GBA) - 1 Point - I was torn between including Fire Emblem: Awakening instead of this, however, Advance Wars more-strategic gameplay mechanics and lighthearted, cartoonish take on war edges it out. While I typically don't care about score attack modes, I tried my damnest to S-Rank every story mission and War Room mission I could in this iteration.
8. Paper Mario - The Thousand Year Old Door (GCN) - 1 Point Pinnacle of the Mario RPG concept thus far with great and legitimately humorous story beats. Loved the moments of amateur-wrestler Mario rising through the ranks, as well as the surprising depth and heart behind the side characters, in particular Vivian. This might have been Treehouse's most impressive translation effort yet.
9. The Legend of Zelda - Link's Awakening DX (GBC) - 1 point - It still impresses me to this day how well realized the dreamy Koholint Island feels with despite it's sparse graphical prowess and characterization of it's inhabitants. While later 2D Zelda's probably did a bit more from a gameplay perspective, I'll always respect the original the most just based on how iconic the setting and world felt.
10. Super Mario Sunshine (GCN) - 1 Point - When I think of wanting to replay any Mario game this moment, this is the one I want to go back to the most, mostly for the cheery tropical island setting and soundtrack, the lovably doofy Piantas, and all of the movement options afforded by the F.L.U.D.D.
1. Super Mario 64
2. The Legend of Zelda A Link to the Past
3.Super Mario Galaxy 2
4. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
5. Super Mario Galaxy
6.Super Smash Bros Melee
7.Pokemon Red
8.Super Mario Bros.3
9.Splatoon
10.Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; Hands down the greatest game of all time. Not only because of nostalgic reasons -- thinking Kokiri Forest was the whole game and Gohma was the final boss, only to get your mind completely blown apart realising that it wasn't even 5% -- but also because of what it not only brought to the Zelda series, but the industry in general. Just think about how Ocarina of Time refined mechanics we nowadays take for granted, mechanics like Z-targeting and context sensitive buttons. Almost every game - from AAA to indie - uses them. This game is as perfect as they come.
2. Super Mario 64 ; Closely following Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64 is another all-time classic and my personal best Mario - and platformer in general - game of all time. This was my first 3D game, and after having meat the moustached icon earlier in Mario Bros 3, the - for that time - huge and detailed world was nothing short of jaw-dropping. I'll never forget the countless hours I spent running through the castles and messing around with the controls in Bob-omb Battlefield, all the way to the later - and more complicated and challenging - levels.
3. Super Metroid ; Before 2010, I don't think I've even remotely showed any interest in the Metroid series. Never really cared for it. In fact, I played the first few hours of Metroid Prime 1 many times, but I've always disliked it and I've always quit prematurely due to - in my opinion - massive pacing issues. Since a lot of people praise MP1, I refused listening to people saying Super Metroid would be more my thing if I disliked Prime's pacing. I downloaded it off the Wii U eShop, and you'll never guess, they were right. Except maybe for controls that were less responsive than its later GBA sequels, it has aged incredibly well. From a visual design perspective to the sound design all the way to the philosophies of not holding your hands.
4. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past ; While I have to admit I'm personally not a huge fan of A Link to the Past, it's hard to ignore what it brought to the Zelda series. In fact, this is the game that started the incredibly successful formula that later entries faithfully adhered to. In my personal top 10 it would have ranked lower, but for its sheer importance everything less than top 5 would feel as a disservice.
5. Super Mario Galaxy ; In terms of level design, I have to admit it's not perfect. Levels aren't as open ended, somewhat linear, and in that regard several steps below Mario 64, but you'd be a heartless bastard if you don't get all warm and fuzzy because of Galaxy. The gravity mechanic is amazing, the visual design looks stunning, and the score is absolutely brilliant. While you could argue Galaxy 2 has refined the gameplay, it never truly captured me like Galaxy 1 did. I loved the story book chapters about Rosalina and her childhood.
6. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ; The best 2D platformer of all time. To be honest, I've never been a big fan of the 2D Mario games - although I do recognise the greatness of Mario Bros. 3 and Mario World. But I always found their controls to be way too floaty for my tastes, whereas the Donkey Kong Country series (including Retro's trilogy) have a much more heavy feel to it. It also helps that I really like the settings, DKC usually feels a lot more dense than the rather stale environments from the 2D Mario series, and as a result the secrets in them are usually more fun to discover.
7. Banjo Tooie ; When I played Banjo Tooie in 2001, I never played its predecessor before, and I don't think I even understood English - except maybe for some words. But regardless of that I had a lot of fun with Banjo Tooie. The wacky characters were hilarious, the varied worlds were huge with lots to do, the music was amazing, and there were plenty of gameplay opportunities for combat and exploration. It wasn't until a few years later that I understood English sufficiently and I also started to appreciate the amazing sense of humour in it. More than a decade later, in 2013, I finally played the original Banjo Kazooie. And while I now understand where Tooie's greatness came from, I still can't help but feel a magical link with Banjo Tooie. A link that I'd probably have felt with Kazooie as well, but it wasn't meant to be.
8. Metroid: Zero Mission ; After coming off from a huge high from Super Metroid and very excitedly starting off Metroid Fusion, I was let down in several aspects. While the controls were incredibly responsive, everything else was significantly less good than its SNES counterpart. Especially in terms of design philosophy and subtleness in the storytelling. Luckily we got the sequel (technically prequel since it's a Metroid 1 remake) to Super Metroid that it deserved: a hauntingly atmospheric action game with tight controls and an interesting way of telling a story.
9. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ; The near ultimate Smash experience, the faster pace from Melee with everything else from Brawl. The only flaw is the lag during online play that I always seem to be having. But in terms of offline, it's perfect. But don't forget, it ain't Smash if it ain't 1v1, no items and Final Destination (or any other Omega stage for that matter).
10. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask ; The younger brother of Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask looks and plays a lot like its big brother, but they couldn't be more different underneath. For better or worse. While its strength no doubt comes from the menacing moon threatening to come crashing down and its influence on the people of Termina - of which most are crucial to certain side quests - and as a result Termina feels much more alive than OOT's Hyrule Field, but the downside is a rather dull main story with barely a handful of dungeons. In that regard one of the least good Zelda's, but in terms of atmosphere very few like it.
1. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time: My world got turned upside down and I loved every moment experiencing the Legend of Zelda in a 3D world. One of the most memorable games I've ever played.
2. Metroid Prime: A masterclass in level design and adventure gameplay.
3. Super Mario World: Iconic, classic, and timeless.
4. Super Mario Galaxy: Addicting, beautiful, and incredibly fun gameplay.
5. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: IMO the best SSB
6. Mario Kart Double Dash: There's a legit "battle mode" that is actually fun to play.
7. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze: Such a beautiful and enjoyable game.
8. Splatoon: So original and so unique. Nintendo proved with this game that they can still succeed and take chances.
9. Fire Emblem Awakening: Huge huge game. Has that classic Nintendo charm.
OP, I think you should make sure that you let everyone know to mark certain games; for instance, I'm sure some posters who list Punch-Out!! are referring to Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, but some may be referring to the Wii game.
1. Virtual Boy Wario Land; The greatest Nintendo game that no one has really ever played because it was on the Virtual Boy. It's brilliant - the foreground/background gameplay enhances the platforming and makes for decent puzzles littered throughout as well, and the hidden treasures (which are hidden in different places on NG+!) make exploration a must. Honestly, this might be the greatest game that Nintendo has ever made, and that includes consideration for the graphics (the sprites are lovely) and even the music, which is coming through the speakers of a Virtual Boy. It's a damned shame that this hasn't been re-mastered, colorized, and put on the 3DS so that more gamers can enjoy one of the best platformers ever made.
2. Super Mario Bros. 3 ;The greatest 2D platformer entry in one of the greatest 2D platformer series of all time. The art design is extremely thoughtful as well as the music, which puts it over the top.
3. Super Mario 64; Great objective-based 3D platformer that almost everyone, including Nintendo itself, took awful lessons from in terms of design. It's still one of the two or three greatest games of a genre that should have better representatives than it does.
4. Kirby Super Star Ultra ; What a beautiful, lovely game with some really fun exploration in the Great Treasure Hunt and Milky Way Wishes in particular.
5. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins; I really wanted to put this higher, but I just couldn't justify it. It's a triumph graphically, with gorgeous sprites, and though it's an easy game, it is bizarre and creative and never, ever boring. One of my favorite games to revisit.
6. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening; This game makes me feel feelings for whatever reason. This and Majora's Mask. The world conveys this sort of surreal, dreamlike aura successfully, and as a guy whose least favorite part of Zelda games are the actual dungeons, I enjoyed these dungeons. Also, the end of the game always makes me feel melancholy. Games that make me feel things get extra points.
7. Super Mario Kart; Just pure fun - still my favorite Mario Kart, maybe because my siblings and I played the crap out of this. One of the best multiplayer games EVER, maybe the best.
8. Super Metroid; It's a game that I, at this point, respect more than I like, only because many devs have taken their own swings at this type of game that I totally love even more than Super Metroid (Guacamelee, come on down!). Still, I mean, this is so good and is such an influence - you can't have a Best of Nintendo top ten list without a 2D Metroid game (now 3D Metroid, on the other hand...)
9. Super Mario Bros; I couldn't leave this off. As someone whose only platformer experience before this game was Pitfall 2600, it still might be the game that most stunned me when I first played it. Like, "everything that I know about games has irreversibly changed forever" stunned. And it's STILL a really good game, too! Here in 2016, it's better than most 2D platformers that come out! This should probably be higher, honestly.
10. Wii Sports; I don't like this game as much as quite a few other Nintendo games, but I do like it, and it needs to be here because it changed how everyone else I know who normally doesn't play games viewed them. Is WSR better? Yes. Is Bowling flawed? Yes. But it shows the power of fun games that are so easy to pick up, grandparents were playing them. This might be the most underrated game ever made in history simply because people really pooh-pooh it as a casual minigame collection when it legitimately opened up a new form of entertainment to people who never otherwise would have bothered.
Honorable mentions:
x. Pokemon Snap - I was weighing personal enjoyment and importance/greatness of the game overall, and I really enjoy this game, but couldn't argue for a top-ten position.
x. Super Mario World - See Pokemon Snap
x. Super Mario World 2 - See Super Mario World
x. Teleroboxer - See Super Mario World 2
x. Super Mario Land - See Teleroboxer
x. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - See Super Mario Land
x. Super Mario RPG - See TLoZ: MM
x. Starfox 64 - See Super Mario RPG
x. Super Mario Galaxy - Other games here were the opposite - I don't think they're particularly good games personally, but I do appreciate elements of them and recognize their importance in terms of how they have influenced other games.
x. Super Mario Galaxy 2 - See Super Mario Galaxy
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Pure, unbridled joy. A rapturous celebration of this interactive medium we call gaming.)
2. Super Mario Galaxy
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
4. Super Mario World
5. Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow
6. Super Mario 3D World
7. Super Mario 64
8. Metroid Prime
9. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
10. Super Smash Bros. For Wii U/3DS
And because I'd feel bad about not mentioning some other incredible Nintendo games...
11. Conker's Bad Fur Day
12. Mario Kart 64
13. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
14. Banjo-Kazooie
15. Pokemon X/Y
17. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
18. Fire Emblem: Awakening
19. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
20. Pokemon Black/White
21. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
22. Mario Kart 8
23. Super Smash Bros. Melee
24. Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal
25. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
1. Splatoon
2. Super Mario World
3. Super Mario Galaxy
4. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
5. Tetris
6. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD
7. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
8. Super Smash Bros. Melee
9. Pokemon Red
10. Mario Kart 8
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Not only the greatest Nintendo game ever, it's also the greatest game ever made. So insanely influential we could talk about it for decades. 2. Super Metroid - A masterclass in game design. There are very few games I'd call perfect; This is one of them. 3. Super Mario Bros 3 - My first video game obsession and still my favorite Mario game ever. 4. Super Mario World - The sheer variety and fun that can be had with this game is hard to beat. 5. Super Mario 64 - Probably the first game to get 3D movement right. Literally a game changer. 6. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - A great game that set down the blueprint for future Zelda games, a blueprint that OoT improved on and perfected years later. 7. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Not quite the game changer that OoT was, but it did have a better field, town, and sidequests. 8. Pokemon Red - A JRPG where you capture and train your own monsters in order to take on other trainers. Need I say more? 9. Earthbound - My second favorite SNES JRPG after Chrono Trigger. A fun game with OODLES of charm. Made other JRPGs on the system look downright generic (yes, I'm including all the SNES FF games) 10. F-Zero GX - Easily the greatest and finest futuristic antigrav racer ever made. Nothing before or after has come even close.
F*** you for making me do this. This is one of the most difficult lists I've ever had to come up with. So many amazing titles I had to leave out =/
1. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask ; One of the only games that I've played that aged even better as time went on. Gameplay, story, setting, characters, visual design... everything about this game is superb, and honestly, it all comes together so well because it takes advantage of the medium it exists in to bring one of my favorite experiences in all of gaming. Anyone that plays video games owes it to themselves to play this.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; The game that created 3D Zelda, and helped pioneer many aspects of 3D games in general. Also aged incredibly well, like Majora's Mask. Fantastic adventure that I'll gladly embark on over and over again.
3. Metroid Prime ; Master class in level design, combat, exploration, and an overall sense of isolation. Same could be said of all the Metroid Prime games. Arguably the most effective transition from 2D to 3D a series has ever had, right alongside Zelda.
4. Bayonetta 2 ; So, so glad Nintendo published this game. The best character action game I've ever played, and a non-stop barrage of everything I love about video games from start to finish.
5. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ; It's more Metroid Prime, but with a far darker atmosphere. Some things make it not as great as its predecessor, but that doesn't mean it doesn't stand heads and shoulders above the competition.
6. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption ; A great end to the Prime Trilogy. Motion controls really added another layer of quality to the Metroid Prime series, and it's hard to envision playing without them anymore.
7. Paper Mario ; An incredibly simple, yet incredibly fun Mario RPG with loads of charm. The artstyle that this game went with is absolutely timeless, and the battle system is loads of fun.
8. Xenoblade Chronicles ; Despite being on the underpowered Wii, this open-world RPG is absolutely massive, and its scale is completely breathtaking. I was blown away the instant I walked into Gaur Plains, and it was clear that this is the way open world games should feel. It also has one of gaming's best soundtracks.
9. Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga ; Another great Mario RPG, but with a lot more wit and humor. The writing is incredible, and I will never forget the "mustard of your doom!"
10. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance ; My favorite Fire Emblem game. Maps and objectives were varied and fun, and the war between the Beorc and Laguz is actually one of the most interesting stories in the whole series.
Why not Super Mario Bros.? SMB's gameplay is timeless, but at the same time, Super Mario 64 is more relevant to today's 3D videogames.
This is the foundation for everyone's favorite 3D games. It inspired the mission design of Goldeneye 64, which in turn inspired other shooters. The sheer freedom inspired the appeal of Grand Theft Auto, which has its own imitators. There are millions and millions of gamers who think they're too cool for Nintendo games, but they still owe a ton to this one game. Well, and the one below...
2) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Even if it's no longer the origin of the Zelda series, its story is perfect. The characters are various and memorable. The pacing is the best in the entire series. Nintendo took what they learned in Super Mario 64 and threw in Z-targeting. They could have stopped with a floating reticle over the enemy, but they used artistic license and made the mechanic into its own character: Navi. It is a perfect blend of Nintendo's gameplay and their philosophy on storytelling.
3) Metroid Prime
Another incredible expression of 3D world design and responsive controls. Seeing the world through Samus's eyes is still an immersive experience.
4) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Their greatest 2D platforming action game. It's accessible enough to beat. There's tons of secrets and even hidden levels for advanced players. On top of the gameplay, the art direction was a direct response to increasing realism in other games. Providing commentary on at least two levels, Yoshi's Island is a perfect example of videogames as an artform.
5) Pokémon Gold and Silver
Generation 1 might be the favorite of the series' oldest fans (including myself), and Generation III allowed them to bring their Pokémon forward all the way to the modern day, but Generation II is quite possibly the biggest expansion in any sequel that Nintendo's ever done. You can complete the story, but it doesn't end there. YOU UNLOCK THE REGION OF THE FIRST GAME.
6) F-Zero GX
While the Mario Kart series is the king of multiplayer racing, GX is their most difficult (and most rewarding) racing game.
7) Star Fox 64
An N64 game that blends arcade action with cinematic storytelling. Like many other games on N64, it had an addictive 4-player VS. mode. I put it above other games because Team Starfox are great companions for the player.
8) EarthBound
It's not the best RPG that Nintendo's ever made, but its world and characters are worth it just to see how everything unfolds. It reminds me that games that don't need the best graphics or the most visceral gameplay to be successful.
9) Wii Sports
Super Mario Bros. and NES. Tetris and Gameboy. Neither were a better match to bundle with a console as Wii Sports was for Wii.
It's true that the most talked-about console games are for core experiences. However, Wii Sports showed that games could still be for everyone.
It debuted the use of the Mii, which is a terrific way for a user to form a bond with a game.
10) Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS
Possibly the most fun multiplayer game ever made. Yes, better than all those Internet-heavy games. It's #10 because it wouldn't be jack without the fan service from games such as the above. It also took time to celebrate Nintendo's relationships with companies like Capcom and Sega.
1. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past; a masterclass in game design, from openings, pacing, world design and difficulty curve. It's the only game where I can't think of a single thing I'd change.
2. Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn; Some of the best scenarios in the series, and a range of forces showing multiple factions engaged in battle.
3. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening; A well-rounded tale that combines sadness, loss, humour and lighthearted adventure.
4. Lylat Wars/Star Fox 64
5. Super Metroid
6. The Legend of Zelda: Link Between Worlds
7. Advance Wars 2
8. Mario Kart 8
9. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
10. Super Mario World
1. Pokémon Diamond and Pearl ; I had more fun with this game than any other, by far, as this game was at the height of my friends playing Pokémon.
2. Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire ;
3. Kid Icarus Uprising ;
4. Mario Kart 8 ;
5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl ; I know most Smash fans will crucify me for this. I don't get any enjoyment out of the competitive meta as I'm crap at it and I doubt I'll ever have good enough coordination to get good at it. As party games I think the mechanics of each game are all great. Smash 4 has a better roster. But for me the Story mode means Brawl takes it for me.
6. Super Mario Galaxy ;
7. Pikmin 3 ;
8. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D ; I don't see any way in which the original is superior to this. I can't talk though, a lot of my list is subjective and heavily influenced by nostalgia.
9. Mario Kart DS ;
10. Animal Crossing: New Leaf ;
Galaxy 2 just barely didn't make the list. Too many other great Nintendo games to really give an honourable mentions list. Note that this is a list of my favourites not a list of those games which I think are objectively the best. It is therefore subject to nostalgia.
1. Super Metroid
2. LoZ: A Link to the Past
3. Metroid Prime
4. Super Mario World
5. Mario Galaxy
6. LoZ: Ocarina of Time
7. Baten Kaitos Origins (I think this game should count?)
8. LoZ: Majoras Mask
9. Super Mario Bros. 3
10. F-Zero GX
Now if Nintendo had all these games on Virtual console...I think most people would pay 10 dollars a month to play them Netflix style
1. Super Mario Galaxy Put simply this is in my opinion the greatest 3d platforer. From its use of a hub world to make you feel like you are exploring the universe, yet in bite sized challenges. The Music, Rosalina and her tragic backstory. Gravity mechanics. This game took the 3D platformer to its limits and nailed it.
2. Ocarina of Time while mechanically it doesn't hold up as well now as it once did. It was truely mindblowing at the time. And the Story... Well it is considered one of the greatest video games of all time for a reason.
3. Mario Kart 64 stil the best Mario Kart from a driving mechanics perspective. Everything feels right, there isn't an over abundance of increasingly complicated items. The game is fairly balanced with 3 lightweights for race modes and 3 heavy weights for Batte mode, while Mario is viable in both.
4. Tropical Freeze retro took modern advances in AAA gaming and applied them to the 2D platformer and created the best one yet
5. Pokemon Fire red/ Leaf Green while the origional Pokemon games are why people love the series. The added presentation that these remakes bring realy do elevate those games to a much better place
6. Splatoon transformed the multiplayer shooter. Which had grown stale and become all abuot K/D ratio. It's brilliant use of movement mechanics and territory control is incredible. Splatoon is practically the perfect Esport game
7. Xenoblade Chronicles X Giant open world games don't get much better then this. X is a 300 hour epic full of mechs, scifi worlds and likeable party members
8. Skyward Sword nothing makes you feel like the hero of time More then being able to swing that master sword yourself, and that final battle with Ganon is one of the most intense and satisfying experiences in gaming
9. Super Metroid the best game on the SNES it's still incredibly fun to pick up and play today
10. Wii Sports the ultimate party game, incredibly easy to pick up and play
1. Link to the Past
2. Yoshi's Island
3. Super Metroid
4. Xenoblade Chronicles
5. Link's Awakening
6. Elite Beat Agents
7. Splatoon
8. Star Fox 64
9. Kirby Super Star
10. Metroid Fusion
1. Super Mario World
2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
4. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
5. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
6. Pokémon Yellow Special Pikachu Edition
7. Pokémon Trading Card Game
8. Super Mario Land
9. Wario Land II
10. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
1. Xenoblade Chronicles ; Incredible locations, a gorgeous soundtrack, and an engaging and compelling story.
2. Perfect Dark ; Endless hours of fun in multiplayer mode. My brother and I loved playing with our family of freaks we created. Haha.
3. Pokémon Silver ; A whole new region with 100 new Pokémon. Let's not forget the post-game content...
4. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker ; One of the most stunning games with a fantastic artstyle.
5. Super Mario Sunshine ; Unfairly hated on by a lot of people. I personally loved the tropical setting and the various large open areas.
6. Donkey Kong 64 ; Lot of good memories with a cute cast of characters.
7. Splatoon ; The only multiplayer shooter that comes close to Perfect Dark. It's probably my most played game ever with over 300 hours so far.
8. Xenoblade Chronicles X ; Another game that doesn't deserve the hate it receives. The exploration is top-notch with a beautiful planet to explore to boot. The story, while not as engaging as the first game, is decent. The sidequests however, is absolutely phenomenal. I like to think of this game as the equivalent of Majora's Mask. Oh, Elma is one of my favorite female protagonists!
9. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages ; Lots of clever puzzles and really interesting dungeon themes. Love its quirky nature.
10. Mario Kart: Double Dash ; The best game in the series for me. Two of my favorite tracks hail from this game: DK Mountain and Wario Colosseum. The tag team gimmick is amazing and deserves to return in a future game.
1. Zelda: A Link to the Past (GOAT)
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2
3. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
4. Zelda: Majora's Mask
5. Metroid Prime
6. Super Mario World
7. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
8. Banjo Tooie
9. Smash Bros Wii U
10. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Really, one of the most difficult lists for me to make. There are so many games I wanted to list. This list could be a top-10 best games ever list, IMO, despite not being mine.
1. Metroid Prime ; My number 1 game of all time. Great atmosphere, great music, top notch level design. They even managed to make first-person platforming feel good.
2. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze ; The best 2D platformer ever. The controls are tight, but DK feels heavy enough that you feel like you're playing as a giant gorilla and you have to plan your moves a bit more than you might in other platformers. Level design is amazing, with every level offering something new and exciting. Graphics are beautiful. And do I even need to mention Dave Wise's amazing soundtrack? Yes, yes I do.
3. Kid Icarus Uprising ; A divisive game due to its controls, but once you get the hang of them, it's an absolutely brilliant shooter with very unique mechanics. The story and writing are absolutely wonderful, constantly keeping you guessing what's going to happen next until the end of the game, and filled with memorable characters. The variety of weapons and the weapon fusion system will keep you coming back to the game, playing through over and over again with different weapons, or even just better versions of the same old weapon. Multiplayer was also surprisingly fun, though online is probably dead by now. And the soundtrack is one of the best I've ever heard in a game.
4. Donkey Kong Country 2 ; The best game on the SNES, in my opinion, and an immense step over the original DKC. Perfect controls, excellent level design that adds something new in every single level, a surprisingly dark and moody atmosphere for a game about cartoon monkeys, and a soundtrack that lacks a single bad track.
5. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes ; A sequel that improves on the original in a lot of ways. The graphics made a style change for the better, levels are even more intricate and labyrinthine than before thanks in no small part to the Dark Aether mechanic, there are some great new upgrades and changes to existing upgrades (spider ball, for instance), and Sanctuary Fortress is easily one of the best environments in the series. All that said, I wasn't a fan of how segmented the game felt. Prime 1 had you wandering all over the map throughout the whole game. In Echoes, the structure is mainly that you go to area 1, mostly stay there until you're done, then go to area 2, mostly stay there until you're done, etc. The world feels less like a big world and more like a bunch of levels that happen to be connected by an overworld. And the three times it deviates from this and asks you to leave the current area are frustrating if you don't have the hint system on, because you'll just be wandering in circles in Torvus Bog trying to figure out what the hell you're missing. Still a great game, but just a slight step down from Prime 1.
6. Metroid Zero Mission ; This game builds on everything that Super and Fusion did to make what is, in my opinion, the best 2D Metroid game. Controls are tighter and snappier than the floaty Super Metroid, but you can bomb jump and wall jump with a single wall unlike Fusion. The map is brilliantly designed, with so many ways to sequence break, some planned by the level designers and others not. It's a bit short, but it encourages replays.
7. Super Metroid ; Metroid 1 and 2 laid the groundwork for the series, but Super Metroid is really where the series became great. New features like the map and the ability to aim diagonally made the game far more fun to play. No longer did you have to deal with rooms that looked exactly like other rooms. Many games have attempted to copy this game, but in my opinion, Zero Mission is the only one that succeeded in meeting it, much less surpassing it.
8. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption ; Like Echoes, this game brought a number of improvements to the table. Most prominently is the Wiimote aiming, which is excellent. I'd also argue that the environments in this game are the best in the series; Bryyo, Skytown, and the Pirate Homeworld all look unique and fantastic. But for all its improvements, I feel like it took another step back in level design. Like Echoes, the world is very segmented, except this time even more so, as it actually takes place across multiple planets. Plus, even if you have the hint system off, the game still tells you where to go next. This leads to the game feeling a bit too linear than I like my Metroid games to be. It's like they heard the complaints about Echoes being too confusing and went in the complete opposite direction.
9. Super Mario Galaxy ; Some people prefer the sequel, but I'll always like this one more. Galaxy 2 is very straight and to the point: This is a platformer. Here are platforming levels. Go platform. But Galaxy 1 feels like a wondrous adventure. It's not that the game exactly has a good story, but the intro of the first game helped me feel more invested than the extremely barebones intro of the second game. Both are great platformers, but while Galaxy 2 feels like a great game, Galaxy 1 feels like a great experience.
10. F-Zero GX ; Quite simply the best racing game ever made. Perfect, super tight controls, excellent track design, and an awesome soundtrack that gets me pumped. It's a shame the brutal difficulty turned so many people away.
1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2
3. Super Metroid
4. Super Mario World
5. WarioWare, Inc: Mega Microgames
6. Mario Kart 8
7. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
8. Super Smash Bros. Wii U
9. Advanced Wars: Black Hole Rising
10. Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver
Honorable mentions:
*Super Mario Maker
*The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
*Super Mario RPG
*Metroid Prime
*Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
1. Super Smash Bros (64)
2. Super Smash Bros Melee
3. Mario Kart (64)
4. Pokemon Leaf Green
5. Super Smash Bros Brawl - SOLELY because without this we wouldn't have Project M. Vanilla Brawl is hot garbage.
6. Mario Kart 8
7. Super Mario Galaxy
8. Super Mario Sunshine
9. Yoshi's Woolly World
10.Mario Party 2
1. Super Mario Galaxy ; Platforming perfection which was highlighted more at the time due to the lack of platformers. Just an amazingly crafted experience. Looks beautiful, sounds even better.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask ; One of the best experiences gaming has to offer. The environmental storytelling was ahead of its time. The fun signature Zelda gameplay mixed with an excellent and emotional narrative makes it very special.
3. The Wonderful 101 ; My current favorite game of this generation. An extremely creative action title that doesn't mess around. It's extremely deep, maybe to a fault with the lack of tutorials, but it's an amazing experience and I was still learning new things after beating the long campaign.
4. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time ; The all time classic. The pacing is exceptional with minimal bloat. Great game feel and creative puzzles to solve. The quintessential Zelda experience with the best world with its varied and creative races that aren't just dwarfs and elves. This is probably a game I'll keep coming back too every single year.
5. Bayonetta 2 ; The game that cemented my love for Platinum Games and action games in general. While it lacks the high points that the Wonderful 101 provides, it makes up for it with a more consistent and polished experience. All the levels are fun, all the enemies feel good to fight.
6. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword ; This game has received a lot of undeserved flack over the years. It might not be an open world adventure people might want, but it's an expertly crafted world full of great dungeons, puzzles, bosses, and combat. The biggest issues, and the reason it's not higher in the list is a lot of minor annoyances like getting notifications for every items if you restart your system and a slow start. It was tolerable when it was setting up the world and story, but it's hard to go back to. I'll wait for a remaster.
7. Super Mario 64 ; The first video game I've ever played. I've spent so much time recently just watching these ridiculously good players break the game as far as they can. I've tried to pick some moves up over time and I've been playing it a ton lately. It feels great to play, it's a nice little sandbox, the content isn't too great with a wonky camera but the way Mario moves feels great enough to allow it to hold up after all these years.
8. Splatoon ; This is the first online multiplayer game I've dedicated a long time to. The world and the characters are so charming and unique, the gameplay feels great and I've spent over 100 hours playing it. Stopped playing it a few months ago due to a friend saying I sucked at the game and he didn't want to play with me anymore, which tripped me up pretty hard, but I'm looking forward to starting fresh with the sequel.
9. Fire Emblem Awakening ; One of my favorite 3DS games and the first Fire Emblem I pour a lot of time into. I really enjoyed what they crafted here and I'll make sure to pick up all the future sequels when I can.
10. Star Fox Zero ; A recent game and quite the divisive one. I wanted to put Star Fox up here, maybe with Star Fox 64 but after completing SF Zero, I do feel like this is the better game overall and just a ton of fun after getting past the learning curve.
Super Mario World ;
Super Mario RPG ;
Super Mario 64 ;
Donkey Kong Country 3 ;
Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze ;
Zelda Ocarina of Time ;
Mario Kart 8 ;
Zelda Skyward Swords ;
Super Metroid ;
Metroid Prime ;
this is a hard task and I'd probably change my list every single week
