The twenty-first century has been kind to Nintendo. Among the ten best-selling consoles of all time, three of them — the Switch, DS, and Wii — were made by Nintendo and were released in the last 26 years. More importantly, two of the ten best-selling video games of all time — Wii Sports and Mario Kart 8 — were made by Nintendo and released this century.
Beyond the stellar marketing for these games and consoles, Nintendo has consistently hit home runs with its releases. Among their greatest masterpieces to date include new entries in classic franchises like Mario and The Legend of Zelda, and newcomers like Splatoon.
Pikmin 4 Marked a New High Point in the Series
Pikmin 4 is the culmination of producer Shigeru Miyamoto’s two-decade-long vision for the wider Pikmin franchise. It took everything that made previous installments so good, added a few more ingredients — such as night exploration and a customizable player character — and basically turned the game into an RPG disguised as a strategy title.
This makes Pikmin 4 an essential Switch title. The fact it finally satisfied Miyamoto’s vision of the Pikmin series should be enough to entice gamers to play, even ignoring how satisfying it is to scavenge for items.
Splatoon Gave the Wii U Era Have a Purpose
Splatoon has gamers playing as both kids and squids at the same time. More specifically, the in-game world is home to the Inklings, a humanoid race capable of transforming into squids if they’re moving through the right ink spill. This may already sound crazy, but there’s even more to Splatoon than just that.
The game is bound to fulfill its target audience’s desire to feel like kids again, which is made apparent by the gameplay. Its chaotic mixture of stealth mechanics — by means of the aforementioned transformation ability — and third-person shooting, which has players splatting opponents, is bound to allow players to create cherished memories surrounding the game.
Eternal Darkness Is Nintendo’s Hidden Survival Horror Masterpiece
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem is Nintendo’s hidden survival horror masterpiece. Developed by Silicon Knights, it shares many hallmarks of a Nintendo title, notably its unusual approach compared to other survival horror games. This primarily manifests in the game’s signature sanity effects, which are effective at deeply unnerving players.
These sanity effects range from relatively mild, such as fake rooms and blood on walls, to disturbing fourth wall moments, including the TV’s volume being turned down and the game’s data being “erased.” It couldn’t stand out more if it tried, and when combined with the mystical plot and macabre enemies, it’s one of the best horror games ever made.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons Is the Ultimate Social Sim
Animal Crossing: New Horizons combines just about every element of previous Animal Crossing games and adds a lot more to make it the ultimate social simulation game. Mainly, the game allows players to design their island however they desire, and there is a considerable emphasis on crafting as well.
Not only is Animal Crossing: New Horizons the most customizable game in the series, but when combined with the plethora of great characters one can come across, the game is very personable. It’s no wonder why some gamers will spend hundreds of hours hanging around their virtual village.
Sin & Punishment Star Successor Is a Blessed Rail Shooter
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor is, in fact, the successor to the oft-forgotten N64 game Sin & Punishment. The game is considerably more intricate compared to one’s perceptions of rail shooters. The game includes firearms, but melee weapons such as swords also play a major role.
Beyond combat, the game has a lot going on that makes it easily admirable. It is easily one of the best rail shooters of all time when it comes to presentation, and its ridiculous story and addictive nature make it endlessly fun to go back to.
Xenoblade Chronicles Spawned a New Series of RPGs For Nintendo
Xenoblade Chronicles changes things compared to previous installments in the Xeno franchise. Rather than the standard turn-based RPG formula, it shifts to an action-RPG format, with a special emphasis on action. There is little need to wait around for cutscenes, as the game will happily take players straight into the battles.
Here, players will find that the game has an intricate battle system that has them in control of their selected character, while the others auto-attack any given enemy. This helps make the game feel more epic in scale. The story is similarly epic, as it sees main protagonist Shulk trying to put an end to a long conflict between two planets.
Fire Emblem Three Houses Tells One of Nintendo’s Greatest Stories
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is something of a Tactical RPG version of Persona, given its emphasis on time-skipping and day-by-day routines. Unlike Persona, the game also has an emphasis on actually building up the skills of the player’s party, which can be achieved through lectures in the early parts of the game.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses opens itself up as an emotionally complex title that deals with the loss of innocence in favor in the face of war. Combined with how tough the battles will become over time, it makes for an emotional and epic RPG experience.
Metroid Prime Marked the Start of a Masterpiece Series
Following the release of Metroid Prime, a whole new series within the Metroid franchise followed. Playing the first game in the series will give one an understanding as to why this is. The game traded the standard 2D Metroidvania formula in favor of a high-octane action-adventure romp that sees Samus Aran taking on evil parasites in a 3D open world environment.
Metroid Prime is almost like a family-friendly version of Halo, with the game being presented from a first-person perspective with a full HUD, and Samus being limited in the weapons she can carry. What makes the game special, more than anything else, is that it still has the feeling of a Metroid game, complete with the ability to find upgrades to help make getting through the game a breeze.
Super Mario Galaxy is One of the Best 3D Platformers Ever
Super Mario Galaxy sees Mario traveling all across the universe for two reasons: to help replenish the galaxy’s stars, and to rescue Princess Peach from the nefarious King Bowser. The planets Mario will have to traverse through are all beautifully designed. Incidentally, many of said planets make use of unique gameplay mechanics, such as drilling through celestial objects.
It goes without saying that no other game better defines the Wii than Super Mario Galaxy. It’s grand in scope for a 3D platformer, let alone one released on the Wii, and everything just fits right, from the beautiful orchestral soundtrack to the gorgeous world design.
The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild Is Nintendo’s Crown Jewel
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild marks a substantial improvement upon previous 3D Zelda games. For one, the game is considerably more open-ended, which allows for Link to explore every last crevice of the game’s delicately-crafted world of Hyrule. For another, there are more enemies to take on than ever, which helps keep players busy for hours on end.
Little else needs to be said as to why The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is truly Nintendo’s crown jewel. It’s difficult to imagine that any releases on the already controversial Switch 2 will be able top take its place.