Last year, we ranked every Sony franchise
from worst to best. We decided soon afterwards to rank every Microsoft
franchise, but they didn’t have any, so let’s do Nintendo instead. Nintendo did not make this task easy for us. In addition to the sheer volume of franchises
they have, it’s not always clear which games belong in which series. For instance, the first Wario Land game was
released as a Mario Land game, and the first Yoshi game was released as a Mario World sequel. What’s more, the game called Yoshi is pretty
clearly not part of the Yoshi series. Then you have things like Metroid II, which
got what could be considered either a remake or a completely different gamebased on the
same story. Also, in our Sony list, we were able to rely
almost exclusively on Metacritic averages, but Nintendo’s history is much longer than
that site’s existence. We will still be getting our ratings from
Metacritic where possible, but in a few cases we turned to our friends at Nintendo Life
for their averages. Where both Metacritic and Nintendo Life didn’t
work, we turned to GameFAQs. And where all three of those failed us, we
turned to places we’d rather not discuss. Our ground rules are quite similar to those
in our Sony list. We are defining a “Nintendo franchise”
as a series developed by one of the company’s first- or second-party studios. We are only counting series that have three
or more games. Ports, remakes, collections, and rereleases
don’t count; we are looking only at the first release for each game on a Nintendo
console. In addition, we aren’t going to include
arcade games. If those games were ported to consoles, however,
we will consider those ports in our calculations. We also won’t count dedicated handheld games,
such as the Game & Watch series. Same goes for Satellaview games, as those
can’t be played and reviewed properly anymore. Let’s rank ‘em. I’m Ben,and I’m Peter from TripleJump,
and here is every Nintendo franchise ranked from worst to best. #69: Mario Discovery Series – 43.4%
Didn’t expect to see Mario at the very bottom of this list, did you? I don’t know; maybe you did. I have no particular insight into the way
your mind works. Perhaps I’d be more insightful if I’d
grown up playing the Mario Discovery Series. Probably not, though, because look at this
crap. We wish we didn’t have to bring these things
up – the series did originate on PC – but Nintendo saw it fit to publish ports for its
home consoles as well, so here we are, as tax paying adults, playing Mario is Missing
and Mario’s Time Machine and wishing God would let us die. The series also includes three games under
the Mario’s Early Years banner: Fun with Letters, Fun with Numbers, and Preschool Fun. That’s three games with fun in the title
and yet there’s no fun to be had. Perhaps that’s why the series is no more;
Nintendo didn’t want to get sued for false advertising. #68: Donkey Kong – 51.6%
The first Donkey Kong arcade game may have established Nintendo as a serious contender
in the video-game industry, but by the time it and its sequels made their way to the NES,
the world had moved on. Scores for the NES games only went as high
as 53% for Donkey Kong and sunk as low as 25% for Donkey Kong Jr. Math, which we’re
only counting here because YouTube’s algorithms will give us a bump if enough of you start
arguing in the comments about whether or not or we should have considered that a spinoff. The highest-rated game is Donkey Kong for
the Game Boy, with 90%. That game ultimately gave rise to the Mario
vs. Donkey Kong series, and we were tempted to include it there instead. Had we done that, though, the average score
for this series would have been 42%, dropping it into last place. And hasn’t the stupid apesuffered enough? #67: Balloon Fight – 52.33%
Of the original “black box” NES games, Balloon Fight was among the best. Granted, that’s similar to choosing the
“best” time you slammed your fingers in a car door, but still. In the main game,you pop the balloons of baddies
before they can pop yours. There’s also Balloon Trip Mode, in which
you navigate an obstacle course to see how far you can get. The Game Boy sequel, Balloon Kid, attempted
to fit the series into firmly recognizable Nintendo territory. It was a side-scroller that attempted to marry
Balloon Fight’s mechanics to more or less standard platforming levels. It was awful. We did eventually get a third game, and by
that I mean Nintendo took Balloon Fight and put Tingle in it. It was – by quite a wide margin – the
highest-scoring game in the series, and I can’t wait for Nintendo to finally release
Mike Tingle’s Punch-Out. #66: Pokémon Rumble– 55.5%
I have to admit, I was bit surprised to see this many big names end up so far down the
list. In the case of Pokémon Rumble, though, it’s
fairly well deserved. After all, the idea behind the series seemed
to be, “What if we took everything people love about Pokémon, and then didn’t do
that?” Simplicity has worked to the benefit of many
Nintendo series, but stripping the Pokémon experience this far down has yet to win over
critics. None of the Pokémon Rumble games have even
hit 60% on Metacritic. I guess nobody was impressed by their core
gameplay loop of pressing some buttons, turning the game off, and wishing you were dead. Most Pokémon spinoffs bring at least something
interesting to the table, but Pokémon Rumble is like Pokémon for people who don’t like
Pokémon. And if that’s the case, why bother? #65: Famicom Grand Prix – 62.33%
Look, it’s that racing series from Nintendo that isn’t the one you’re thinking of. These Japan-only games form a kind of franchise,
we think. It’s hard to tell. The first game was titled F-1 Race, which
was also the subtitle of the second game, Famicom Grand Prix: F1 Race. The third game dropped the F1 Race but retained
Famicom Grand Prix, with the subtitle 3D Hot Rally, which is also my name on RacingSingles.com. F-1 Race was a tough-as-nails race into the
distance. Famicom Grand Prix took a bird’s-eye view
of the action. 3D Hot Rally went back to the racing-into-the-distance
model, but this time with music. Which was the best approach? Famicom Grand Prix scored the highest with
64% and 3D Hot Rally scored the lowest with 61%, so it’s not like any of them performed
particularly well in the eyes of critics. Fortunately, this was far from the last time
Nintendo would hit the road. #64: Fossil Fighters – 65%
Fossil Fighters was never much of a critical darling – it peaked with a 70% average for
its first game – but it attracted a number of devoted fans. Players roamed around, digging up fossils,
and summoning dinosaurs for combat. Its sequel, Fossil Fighters: Champions, did
little to push the series forward, but it pleased fans well enough and averaged a similar
68%. Its dismal – and so far final – 3DS outing,
Fossil Fighters: Frontier, is what seals its place so low on this list. It averaged 57% among critics, and a good
number of fans are likely to argue that even that is too generous. It felt like a series that suddenly didn’t
understand why anybody liked it, and I suppose that worked out, because people indeed stopped
liking it. One could even say, it ex-stinks. Please save your applause for the end of the
video. #63: Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games–
66.6% For years, Nintendo and Sega were at each
other’s metaphorical throats. Meanwhile, gamers were at each other’s literal
throats. The console wars of the early 1990s saw children
everywhere pledging their undying support to either a plumber with a mustache or a hedgehog
without a mustache. The clash was brutal, without around 80% of
the world’s population being killed. Anyway, then the two companies became friends! What’s more, the mascots of history’s
most antagonistic video game companies were teaming up for an all-new series of games. The imagination ran wild. Sonic’s speed, Mario’s whimsy, the possibilities
were endl—it was a minigame collection. Yes, the series built around the industry’s
least-likely teamup was a set of licensed Olympic tie-ins. It’s not what anyone was expecting nor what
anyone wanted, and its position on this list shows exactly how thrilled critics were to
finally see Eggman curling. #62: Dr. Mario – 66.83%
Nintendo’s answer to Tetris was…putting Mario in a lab coat and making him play PuyoPuyo. Okay, it’s not exactly like PuyoPuyo, but
it certainly has more in common with that series than anyone should have been comfortable
with. Nintendo’s upbeat puzzle game about the
joys of mixing medications was a hit. Review-wise, though, it never averaged more
than 72%withthe WiiWare version, which certainly benefited from being one of two games on the
Wii with online functionality that worked. When paired with another series for Dr. Mario
/ Puzzle League, it fared a bit bitter, averaging 74%. So should we put Dr. Mario / Puzzle League
here, or in the Puzzle League entry? We did both, because no matter what we did,
we’d upset somebody. We decided, therefore, it was only fair to
upset everybody. #61: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon – 67.1%
Spike Chunsoft’s Mystery Dungeon games have crossed over with different IPs a number of
times. Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and TwinBeefor
instance; three of the greatest and most influential RPGs in gaming history. That third one was a joke, by the way. We make those sometimes; enjoy yourself. It’s even crossed over with Pokémon, which
won’t surprise you because I’ve already said the name of this entry. Perhaps strangely, the best-received Pokémon
Mystery Dungeon games are the trio of Japan-exclusive WiiWaretitles, with scores ranging from 75%
to 77%. The worldwide releases fared quite a bit worse,
with Gates to Infinity earning the lowest score of 59%. The Switch did just recently get a remade
version of the first two games, so the series isn’t dead yet. Remember that; it will really annoy you when
you see what much-better series are never coming back. #60: Dillon’s Rolling Western – 67.33%
Does anybody out there likeDillon’s Rolling Western? If you do, go to bed without supper because
you are lying. Nintendo doesn’t even seem to care about
it, dumping three games onto the eShop and hoping nobody would notice. The first game earned a 65% average on Metacritic,
but the next two games fared a bit better, with Dillon’s Dead-Heat Breakers scoring
a series-high of 69%. The games did get better as they went on,
but only because they couldn’t get worse without giving players leprosy. We’ll never see Dillon again, we promise,
though that may disappoint whomever maintains his fan wiki. It contains such valuable information as this:
“Dillon's name may be a combination of the last two syllables of 'Armadillo', his species,
as well as the common name ‘Dillon’.” You heard it here first; the name Dillon may
be a reference to the name Dillon. Citation probably not needed. #59: Chibi-Robo! – 68%
Chibi-Robo!was an unexpected fan favorite for the Game Cube. Its following wasn’t huge – and with a
Metacritic average of 75% its critical reception wasn’t all that impressive – but it slowly
gained an appreciative fanbase who enjoyed the quirky, household adventures of a brave
little robot. Well, he’s four inches, so he isn’t that
little. Right? We can all agree that’s about average. Anyway, what was Nintendo to do now that it
had a beloved new character? That’s right; destroy it! The next game, Park Patrol, was released as
a Walmart exclusive in North America. Perhaps because that game still managed to
reach too many fans, the third game remained Japan exclusive. Nintendo then squashed fan enthusiasm for
good. They released Photo Finder, an innovative
game for the 3DS that didn’t work. Of course, surelythe nextChibi-Robo! game
would be good. To which Nintendo answered, “Zip Lash.” And nobody ever mentioned the series again. #58: Pokémon Ranger– 68.33%
Pokémon Ranger is a Pokémon game with a difference, and that difference is nobody
liked it. Okay, well, some people did like it, but none
of the three games in the series cracked 70% on Metacritic. In fact, they all scored either 68% or 69%,
so at least they’re consistently disappointing. One welcome feature was compatibility with
proper Pokémon games, such as Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver. One less-welcome feature was that it was not
a proper Pokémon game itself, relying on the stylus gimmickry that marred so many other
games on the DS. “If we’re going to give them a touchscreen,”
Nintendo must have said, “we might as well make them hate it.” The odds of us getting another Pokémon Ranger
are quite slim. If you listen closely, you might hear somebody,
somewhere, lament the death of this series. You might, but you definitely won’t. #57: Mario Party– 69%
Mario Party’s placement so far down this list isn’t evidence that the series is bad;
it’s more that it’s uneven. Average scores range from a very fair 80%
all the way down to 54%. Of course, scores are bound to fluctuate when
comparing minigame collections; some titles will simply have better minigames. With Mario Party, though, much of the criticism
comes from the overall experience. Later titles reduced the number of boards,
simplified the non-minigame activities, almost entirely eliminated the strategy element,
and introduced random events that all but declared a new winner on the spot. It shouldn’t be difficult to make a good
Mario Party game, and on the whole Nintendo’s franchises benefit from experimentation. In this case, though, the series seems to
keep pulling away from the reasons anyone enjoyed it in the first place. As Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, “Party’s
over.” He said that, right? He must have. Sounds like something he’d say. #56: Donkey Konga– 70.33%
Do you don’t want to work? Do you just want to bang on de drum all day? Then, brother, is Donkey Konga for you. Donkey Konga seemed to be Nintendo’s answer
to titles such as Guitar Hero, with a reliance on popular songs. Which makes sense, but part of the appeal
of Guitar Hero was…y’know…the guitar. You could live your dream of playing the solos
and riffs of your favorite tunes. Is it as exciting to slap along to the music
of Smash Mouth?The answer, of course, is entirely down to your own opinion, but the answer is
also no. The games didn’t benefit from being built
around a clunky peripheral. Just one look at the DK Bongos made it quite
clear they’d be gathering dust before long. It’s not like you could use these things
to control, say, a platformer. OH MY GOOOOOOOD… #55: Art Academy– 70.63%
Art Academy was a series of releases aimed at developing artistic skill. How successful the titles were at this is
debatable; overall scores for the games range from 40% to 82%. But the impulse is a good one, especially
since a number of Nintendo’s consoles had touchscreens. Drawing and painting programs were a good
fit. The series even had some crossover appeal,
with releases centered on Pokémon and Disney properties. It probably wasn’t a series many children
were begging for, but it would at least have given them a creative outlet. Could it produce anything as impressive as
this, though? I didn’t think so. It’s possible we’ll see another release
in the series – the Switch seems like a perfect home for it – but we don’t think
too many people will miss it if it skips a generation. Or the rest of the generations. #54: Brain Age– 70.75%
It’s probably not a good sign that Brain Age barely gets a passing grade. The series, also known as Brain Training,
is designed to stimulate your mind and improve your intelligence. A noble goal, but not an especially fun one. It’s like a minigame collection, but instead
of enjoying yourself, you solve for x. There’s no real evidence that Brain Age
or anything like it has a true impact on one’s capacity for thinkin’ real good, but it
certainly can’t hurt. What’s more, it fills an important niche
by appealing to people who bought a Nintendo console but would rather not play games on
it. Critics didn’t seem to enjoy it much, however. The first two games scored a decent 77%, but
it was downhill from there with the latest game, Brain Training for Nintendo Switch,
receiving a paltry 60%. #53: Hamtaro– 70.87%
In 1982, Nintendo released a licensed Popeye game for arcades. It was a success, but it wouldn’t be long
before Nintendo built an impressive roster of original characters, meaning they would
never have to rely on the whims of licensing again. They could sell their games on the strengths
of their own ideas rather than relying on anyone else’s. Except for Hamtaro. Mario, Yoshi, Link…they’re nice and all,
but do any of them hold a candle to Hamtaro? Could they even hope to? Hamtaro is a hamster who…well, he’s a
hamster anyway. OR SHE.It’s a hamster. It’s called Hamtaro. It’s cute and it slots easily into minigames;
what else do you want from me? The games themselves range hugely in quality. Question Castle in the Clouds holds a 50%
average, while TottokoHamtaro: TomodachiDaisakusenDechuholds an average of 83%, presumably because saying
the game’s title out loud teaches you Japanese. #52: Yakuman – 71%
It’s one of Nintendo’s longest-running series, but you probably don’t know much
about Yakuman. That’s because there isn’t all that much
to know about Yakuman. It’s a series of mahjong games, with little
of the Nintendo flair we often find when they adapt existing concepts. That’s because there’s already a market
for mahjong games in Japan; there’s no need to rely on zany gimmicks or to turn it into
something it’s not. Mahjong sells as is, and Nintendo gives the
fans exactly what they want. The first game in the series was released
for the Game Boy, with sequels following for the Famicom, the Game Boy Advance, the DS,
the Wii, the 3DS and the WiiU. We wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Switch
gets a version as well. After all, Yakuman can’t be that difficult
to develop, and mahjong fans – or Yakuman-iacs, which we will all call them starting now – surely
can’t wait. #51: Labo– 71.25%
Labo is more than just cardboard; it’s cardboard that will sit in the corner mocking you for
the money you spent on it. But the cardboard also came with games, which
means they got reviewed. Which in turn means you have to listen to
us talk about it now. Of the kits released so far – we say “so
far” in order to send chills down your spine – the Variety Kit has fared best with an
average of 77%. It was released alongside the Robot Kit, which
could only be used to create one thing and play one game. I admit that’s not much of an observation,
but look at what we are working with here. Strangely, Labo also represented Nintendo’s
foray into Virtual Reality. With the LaboVR Kit you could press your Switch
directly into your eyeballs. The number of games that take advantage of
this functionality is hovering near zero which, frankly, we think is for the best. #50: Custom Robo – 73%
Custom Robo is a franchise that didn’t leave Japan until its fourth game. There was only one game to come after that,
and Custom Robo was no more. Westerners got just enough of a taste of the
series to miss it. The two games that did come westward actually
ended up being the worst-scoring ones, with Custom Robo for the GameCube earning a 65%
average and Custom Robo Arena earning 74%. That latter score is much more in line with
the first three games in the series, all of which scored either 75% or 76%. It was never one of Nintendo’s biggest critical
success stories, but the chance to smash up robots alone or with friends earned it a devoted
– and ultimately disappointed – following. But don’t lose hope! Nintendo could well release Custom Robo: Zip
Lash any day now… #49: Pilotwings – 73.67%
Pilotwings serves every so often as a retail tech demo for Nintendo’s consoles. Each of its three entries was a launch title,
with the SNES game showing off Mode 7 technology, the Nintendo 64 game showing off 3D environments,
and the 3DS game showing off the system’s impressive depth of field. Beyond that, the games tend to not have much
staying power, which seems to be reflected in their modest critical appraisals. The averages range from 70% to 80%. Not bad, of course, but also nothing worth
crowing about. For those who stick with the games, there
is satisfaction to be gained from mastering the various vehicles and gadgets, and they
have excellent soundtracks to keep you company in the lonely skies. Nintendo doesn’t seem keen on developing
the idea into more fully fleshed-out experiences, and that’s a shame. There’s a great formula here but, as of
now, a formula is all that it is. #48: Mario Tennis– 74.86%
One of only two series on this list with an entry on the Virtual Boy – which we mention
because we ranked all of that system’s games ina previous videoand we need your sympathy
– Mario Tennis hasn’t quite had the impact as most of Nintendo’s other sports titles. The games have powerups and silly courts and
this guy, but overall it’s basically tennis. If you enjoy the sport, you can have a good
time. If you don’t, these games won’t win you
over. The series has a wide range of scores – from
91% for Mario Tennis on the Nintendo 64 all the way down to 58% for Mario Tennis: Ultra
Smash on the Wii U. We’ll almost certainly be seeing Mario Tennis
games for generations to come, even if the novelty – what small novelty there was – has
long worn off. #47: Yoshi– 75%
Best known as the creature you’re willing to sacrifice so that Mario can jump a bit
higher, Yoshi has starred in a good number of games since his introduction in Super Mario
World. We are only counting his platformers here
– sorry, first-person shooter fans – but we’ll still end up with some wildly varying
scores. The first proper Yoshi game, Super Mario World
2: Yoshi’s Island for the SNES, is often cited as one of the best platformers ever
made, and Nintendo Life awarded it a rare 100%. After that, however, the series never hit
80%, with Yoshi’s Woolly World and Yoshi’s Crafted World coming closest with 78% and
79% respectively. Massively disappointing was the attempted
return to form with Yoshi’s New Island. Few people would have expected another perfect
score, but its eventual average of 64% is downright embarrassing. #46: Excite – 75.4%
Look, it’s that other racing series from Nintendo that isn’t the one you’re thinking
of.We could have limited this franchise to the three games with Excitebike in their titles,
but Nintendo’s decision to name two other games Excite Truck and Excite Bots make the
intended association rather clear. Excitebike 64 fared best in a critical sense,
with a Metacritic average of 88%. The lowest average – 70% – goes to both
the original Excitebikeand Excitebike: World Rally.It may be true that the first game has
not aged especially well, but it was an important early title for Nintendo, showing us what
to expect from their sports games to come: simplicity. We say that as a compliment, to be clear. Nintendo wanted a simple, easy-to-understand
game, and tried several times to turn that into a larger series. The problem was, by the time the second game
came around, Nintendo had a bigger and better racing franchise on shelves… #45: Art Style– 75.58%
Art Style was a…strange series. It hails from Nintendo’s earliest dabblings
with online storefronts: WiiWare and DSiWare. Remember the DSi? It was like the DS, but it was the same thing. Of the Art Style games, Boxlifescored 80%,
turning the simple act of cutting and folding boxes into a frantic nightmare. Orbientscored 82% and is one of the simplest
games in the series, as you manipulate a planet’s orbit to avoid larger bodies and absorb smaller
ones. The highest-scoring game, though, was called
either Picopict or Pictobits, depending on where you lived. It hit 83% even though it was a fairly uninspired
puzzle game. It featured sprites from Nintendo history
and remixes of their music, so of course it was the one everybody bought. Not that we can blame them. Most of the Art Style games made their theoretical
charms difficult to understand. Might as well go with something that at least
looks familiar. #44: Pokémon Stadium – 75.67%
Pokémon Stadium is held in decent regard, and until the Switch came along it was the
closest thing home consoles had to a “proper” Pokémon experience. The reason the series is so far down this
list is its Japan-exclusive first entry, Pocket Monsters Stadium. It earned what is honestly a generous 69%,
considering it feels unfinished. Fewer than one-third of the first-generation
Pokémon are even in the game. Pokémon Stadium, the second game, fared much
better. It even had a selection of fun minigames,
making it something you could play with friends even if they didn’t care about Pokémon. We’re joking, of course; if they don’t
care about Pokémon, they’re not your friend. It and its sequel refined the rough formula
of Pocket Monsters Stadium and earned notably improved averages of 80% and 78%. Fun as they were, we’re glad to live in
an era when actual Pokémon games are on consoles instead. #43: Kid Icarus – 76%
Kid Icarus – no, not that one – is an oddity. It was one of Nintendo’s original platformers
for the NES, it made the jump to the Game Boy as nearly every other franchise did, and
then…nothing. It wasn’t until the 3DS that Kid Icarus
got a third game. That’s a gap of 21 years. The original Kid Icarus starred an angel exploring
dungeons to find armor that would let him defeat Medusa. Y’know…the story of Icarus. It was brutally difficult and you’d periodically
turn into an aubergine. The sequel sanded off the rough edges to the
point that it no longer had much of a personality. Uprising, however, was well received by critics
and fans alike. It has a Metacritic average of 83%, with criticism
directed at the game’s control scheme. A direct sequel could solve that problem and
give the world the phenomenal Kid Icarus game it’s always wanted. I suppose we’ll all find out together in
2033. #42: Mario vs. Donkey Kong– 76.57%
TheGame Boy Donkey Kong gamesparked the idea for this series, but Mario vs. Donkey Kong
has an identity all its own. The first game, Mario vs. Donkey Kong, is
a sort of bridge between the Game Boy game and the later titles. It also introduces thelittle clockwork dolls
known as the Minis. As the series progressed, the Minis became
the focus, having to be guided around and through the many obstacles of each level,
like Lemmings. Or like Krusty’s Fun House, if you prefer
playing bad games. Fans may be pleased to know that this is the
one series in which Pauline – damsel in distress from the original Donkey Kong arcade
game – has a regular role, and various Mario characters have been represented by Minis
over the years, but the series is honestly not very memorable. It is well made, though, and you could do
far worse for a time killer. #41: WarioWare– 76.63%
Nintendo has no shortage of minigame collections, but starting with the Game Boy Advance, the
company branched into microgames as well. True to their name, microgames were designed
for those who thought the main problem with minigames is that they were too long. They fleshed out Wario’s new series with
colorful characters, great music, and a willingness to be very, very silly. Before long, WarioWare was being used to show
off Nintendo’s various control gimmicks, such as gyroscopic sensors, touch screens,
and, of course, the Wii Remote. These tended to be well received, not least
because none of the concepts stick around long enough to wear out their welcomes. All but three games in the series averaged
scores between 80% and 90%, with the lowest-rated coming from the camera-focused WarioWare:
Snapped! with its dismal 53%. I guess making funny faces isn’t a great
way to control games. Who could have imagined? #40: bit Generations – 76.71%
Alright, sue us. We weren’t sure how to treat this series
in relation to Art Style. See, bit Generations was a series of seven
abstract games released in Japan for the Game Boy Advance. The issue comes from the fact that some of
these games were remade as Art Style titles. Technically ports, which we aren’t considering
for this list, but only some of the bit Generations games were rereleased under the Art Style
banner, all of which featured gameplay tweaks and all but one of which had a different name. Further, both series had exclusive titles
in addition to the overlap, so Art Style wasn’t just “bit Generations,
again.” See what we meant about Nintendo making this
list very difficult for us? Regardless, bit Generations is a strange series. And if you’d like to import them, don’t
worry; there’s no language barrier. You’ll just be baffled by everything else. #39: Style Savvy / Style Boutique – 76.75%
Style Savvy – or Style Boutique in Europe, where people know how to spell and pronounce
“boutique” – is a series of fashion games published by Nintendo for the DS and
3DS. We aren’t all that familiar with these,
we admit. Mainly because we’re the two most stylish
human beings on the planet, so we think we’d have an unfair advantage playing these games. We are surprised to see the series this far
up the list; their critical receptions imply these might actually be quite good, as far
as dress-up games go. The original game on the DS averaged 73%,
but the trilogy of games that followed on the 3DS fared better, with average scores
ranging from 76% to 80%. Perhaps we’ll play these games sometime
for a sleepover stream, and we’ll do each other’s hair. Or perhaps I’ll finish recording this entry
and immediately forget these games exist. Who can say? #38: Wave Race – 77%
Look, it’s yet another racing series from Nintendo that isn’t the one you’re thinking
of. The first Wave Race game saw a western release
but no release in Japan…a real rarity for this list. Critically it averaged a mere 59%. Nintendo was willing to give the series a
shot on home consoles, however, and this time they’d release it in Japan. The result was Wave Race 64, which was a massive
improvement in every way. I mean, okay, of course. Just compare this to this. It represented a huge step forward in terms
of reception, earning an average of 92%. The Game Cube got the third and final game,
Wave Race: Blue Storm, with its impressive weather effects and water physics. It scored a bit lowerbut it showed that the
series might be a fixture of Nintendo’s upcoming consoles, showing off what they could
do in a graphical sense. Needless to say, it was never heard from again. #37: Kirby– 77.11%
Without question one of the most popular video game characters to be made entirely of candyfloss,
Kirby has been in a massive number of games. We’re only considering 19 of them here (yes,
“only 19”), but he’s been in puzzle games, sports games, and…well, that’s
it really. But he’s been in a lot of them. Mainly he’s known for his platformers, which
might seem a bit odd as he can fly over everything. Kirby games aren’t defined by challenge,
but rather by adorable charm and colorful worlds.And by the fact that most of the games
end with you kicking the frozen snot out of a penguin. The lack of challenge hasn’t held back the
critical praise. The supremely relaxing Kirby’s Epic Yarn
holds a series-high 86%. On the other end of the spectrum, Kirby Battle
Royale – a game in which you and 99 other Kirbys drop onto an island and clash until
only one survives– earned the series low of 57%. #36: Wii Fit – 77.33%
Nintendo essentially created the gamer lifestyle in the 1980s. Then Microsoft recreated the gamer lifestyle
to be more like this. Always one to rise to a challenge, Nintendo
set about getting everyone back in shape with Wii Fit. The strangest thing is…it actually worked. Well, it worked from a sales perspective. We have no way of knowing how many Wii owners
became overnight Adonises, but demand for the game outpaced production several times
over, leading to scalpers selling it for exorbitant sums on eBay. I think we can safely say nobody expected
such a rush for fitness software. I wonder how many people were killed in the
stampede for Get Fit With Mel B. There were two games on the Wii, one on the
Wii U, and that’s been it. Nintendo isn’t out of the fitness game…game
yet, though. Ring Fit Adventure for the Switch is a clear
successor, and could well become a series of its own. #35: Game & Watch Gallery– 77.6%
I know we said we wouldn’t include Game & Watch games, but surely by now you understand
that our rules aren’t really rules; they’re just things we say to make you angry. Game & Watch Galleryconsists of mainly compilations
of Nintendo’s old Game & Watch titles, which is an excellent way to relive the days during
which games were not good. What elevates the series, though, are the
modernized versions of the old concepts. They look better, they play better, and they
sound…well, they have actual sound now and not just little computer sneezes. These remade versions are a bit more engaging
than the originals, but your tolerance for them will still boil down to how much you
care about beating your own high score. The Game & Watch titles are far from Nintendo’s
best, but it’s impossible to ask for a better way of keeping them alive. #34: Kururin – 77.67%
This may be history’s least-compelling box art, but it’s at least pretty true to what
Kuru KuruKururinhas to offer. The game is about navigating a slowly spinning
shaft through a series of mazes. It’s exactly the sort of game that looks
easy unless you can hear the profanity spewing from the person recording the gameplay footage. Critics gave it an overall average of 80%. Its very similar sequel earned a very similar
score of 78%. A much-enhanced third game was released for
the GameCube. It didn’t fare as well – it earned an
overall average of 75% – but it was much easier to control with that console’s analog
stick than with the GBA’s D-pad. It’s a shame the series didn’t survive
into the DS or Wii eras, when those unique control schemes could have made the games
that much easier to play. #33: Star Fox– 78.25%
Star Foxmakes it this far up the list due entirely to its strong debut. It was an important, fast-paced, action-packed
game for Nintendo. The company would have been foolish not to
turn it into a series. The company would have been even more foolish
to turn it into a lousy series, which is exactly what they did. Star Fox Adventures was the last game to score
above 80%, and it did so just barely. The next several games dipped into the low
60s. Years after the series crashed and burned,
Nintendo made the previously unreleased Star Fox 2 available officially. This gave modern critics an uncommon chance
to review a SNES-era game without beinginfluenced by nostalgia. Would this prove that Nintendo had forgotten
how to make Star Fox games, or would it prove that they were never that great to begin with? The game earned an 80% average and proved,
yeah, Nintendo just stopped caring. Whoops! #32: Punch-Out!! – 79%
At first it seemed as though Punch-Out!! would be one of Nintendo’s tent-pole releases. It followed them from the arcade to the NES
to the SNES…and then that was it. Nintendo didn’t seem to have much interest
in keeping the series going beyond that. It did have a brief – and excellent – resurgence
on the Wii, and now it’s vanished once more. We’re not quite sure why Punch-Out!! doesn’tstick
around. Perhaps it’s something to do with the fact
that each game features racial and cultural stereotypes who you punch repeatedly in the
face. Punch-Out!! is a lot of fun, though, reimagining
boxing as a sort of reaction-based puzzle game. It’s up to you to work out what to do and
when, within a limited moveset. It’s a pretty brainy way to represent a
sport that famously results in literal damage to the brain. #31: Daigasso! Band Brothers– 81%
Daigasso! Band Brothers is not the most famous rhythm
series from Nintendo—we’ll get there eventually—but it is the one that’s most directly connected
to music. Throughout the games you’ll play along with
licensed songs, classical compositions, video game tracks, and so on. All of this works well enough, but the real
draw was the ability to compose your own music. Even if you had no musical talent, you could
use the DS’s microphone to hum or sing your melody,whichthe game would then convertinto
notes. Pretty neat. The series was almost entirely exclusive to
Japan, with none of the three games reaching North America. The second game, retitled Jam with the Band,
made it to Europe, but that’s it. If you want to play any of these games, the
odds are good you’ll have to search for an import copy. Word of advice on that note: If you’re Googling
“band brothers,” just…be extra cautious of typos. #30: BOXBOY! – 81%
BOXBOY! is in capital letters and followed by an exclamation mark, indicating that the
title is meant to be read loudly, and with great emphasis, into the ear of your sleeping
grandmother. The games are puzzle platformers, with the
series so far spanning the 3DS and the Switch. That makes sense; BOXBOY! isn’t the sort
of thing you’re likely to play for long sessions, but it’s a perfect fit for a handheld. Just don’t let anyone see you playing a
game in which a square poops out other squares and climbs around on them, because they may
ask questions you will not be able to answer. The series has been remarkably consistent
in its critical reception. The first two games averaged 80% on Metacritic,
the third averaged 83% and the fourth averaged 81%. They’re good enough puzzlers with fair difficulty
curves and some deceptively complicated levels, but there probably aren’t many die-hard
fans in BOXBOY!’s…corner. Ahem. #29: Mario Golf– 81.17%
We were a bit surprised to see Nintendo’s golf games so high on the list, but the fact
is that they really are among the best. We are counting NES Open Tournament Golf on
our list, as it’s Mario Golf in everything but name. That game established the basic mechanics
of the series to follow and, overall, for every other golf game worth its salt. As the series has evolved it’s definitely
grown more playful, with themed courses, unlockables, powerups, and so on. At its core, though, it remains a simple and
relaxing experience that’s perfect for playing whenever you get the urge to use the words
“stroke” and “Birdo” in the same sentence. Some of the games even include RPG elements,
allowing you to guide an avatar through its own career. This mode teaches you the rules, the controls,
and a number of solid strategies, making Mario Golf a decent way to learn the sport. #28: Panel de Pon– 81.2%
If you don’t live in Japan, you may not recognize the name “Panel de Pon.” You may still know the series through one
of its reskins, however. The franchise first came to the West with
Tetris Attack, a Nintendo-fied reimagining of the first game. Replacing the game’s fairy characters withthosefrom
Yoshi’s Island diluted a lot of the charm of the original. Also, the game plays nothing like Tetris,
just to confuse things further. Afterward, the series went by the name Puzzle
League, plastered again with Nintendo characters to serve as Pokémon spinoffs. It’s obvious Nintendo doesn’t know quite
what to do with this series outside of Japan, as it keeps relabeling it and tying it into
other franchises in the hopes somebody will buy it. That’s a shame, because Panel de Pon, while
simple, is an addictive and memorable experience. Also, the soundtracks stand tall among Nintendo’s
best, and that’s saying something. #27: Rhythm Heaven – 81.67%
Rhythm Tengoku, known in the west as Rhythm Heaven, is a difficult series of rhythm-based
minigame collections that demand near-perfect timing, despite their often-cartoony, childlike
presentations. Either that, or we lack rhythmourselves. But I think we know that isn’t true… It’s a simple series, but it requires a
lot of focus, particularly when you’re first adjusting. And, as with any collection, not every minigame
is all that much fun.Even fans will be quick to confess their hatred of one frustrating
sequence or another. There are only three games in the series that
fit our criteria, but they’re rather consistent in their overall quality. Both Rhythm Heaven and Rhythm Heaven Fever
have averages of 83%, with the original Rhythm Tengokucoming in only a few points below that
at 79%. The series almost certainly has a future ahead
of it, and we’re surprised we don’t already have a game for the Switch. #26: Nintendo Wars– 82.09%
Before it was conquered by another turn-based strategy series, Nintendo Wars scratched the
battlefield itch across several consoles. And like that other fiery, emblematic series,
quite a few of the games never left Japan. Of the ones that did, the Advance Wars games
are the most well-known. Games were released for other systems, but
bythe time these hit the Game Boy Advance, the formula had been improved and refinedto
perfection, which is why so many gamers remember them fondly today. Critics agreed, as the Advance Wars titles
scored between 89% and 92%, notably higher than both earlier and later iterations, which
tended to hover around the mid-70s. Is there still a place for the Wars series
in Nintendo’s plans? Possibly not, but you never know. Nintendo Wars and Fire Emblem have completely
different characters, tones, and settings. Then again, so do F-Zero and Super Mario Kart. And we all know how that’s working out. #25: WarioLand– 82.13%
Wario getting his own series of platformers when Mario already had one might seem redundant,
but there are a number of important differences that set him apart as a character. He’s fat, he’s greedy for coins, he’s
disrespectful to the local wildlife…well, I assume there’s a difference. Cooler moustache, maybe? Anyway, Wario’s games do differ quite a
bit. They’re overtly tongue in cheek, and a number
of them are structured more like puzzle-platformers, in which it’s impossible to die and the
only challenge is finding your way forwards. They’re both more experimental and less
refined than Mario’s 2Doutings, which suits their protagonist well. It’s anyone’s guess as to when Wario will
return to adventures of this kind, however. For a good while, both this series and WarioWare
coexisted, but we haven’t seen a Wario platformer since Wario Land: Shake It for the Wii.A return
is Wari-overdue. #24: Donkey Kong Country– 82.3%
WhenDonkey Kong Country arrived on shelves, it looked lightyears beyond anything else
the SNES had given us. The level design and soundtrack were top notch,
and it’s still considered one of the best platformers ever. The two SNES sequels that followed were held
in just about as high regard, which represents a phenomenal run for the trilogy. The lowest-scoring game in that initial batch
still averaged 87%. After that, however, the banana started to
soften. Handheld outings did well enough, but Donkey
Kong 64 brought down the average hard with its 70%. And, frankly, we think that’s a bit too
high. Fortunately, a pair of recent titles have
confirmed that Donkey Kong’s platforming adventures can be as strong as ever. Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freeze
are both firm contenders for best in the series. What can we say? This monkey shines. Insert sunglasses emoji. #23: Picross– 82.75%
Do you like sudoku? Do you like looking at images with your eyes? If so, Picross combines both of your life’s
passions in one simple package. The series began on the Game Boy with Mario’s
Picross, which was really just regular Picross with a picture of Mario tossing you saucy
winks every so often. Official magazine Nintendo Power dedicated
pages not just to previewing the game, but to teaching you how to play it. They even included puzzles for readers to
solve on paper, and that reveals one drawback to Picross as a series: You really can play
it just as easily on paper. That’s not something that can be said of
Dr. Mario or Panel de Pon. Picross is a fun series, and it’s mainly
made its home on Nintendo’s handheld consoles, where it fits best. It’s made no major missteps, but it certainly
hasn’t done much worth remembering, either. #22: Metroid– 82.8%
In 1986, Nintendo asked the world, “What if we made Alien, but with more than two good
ones?” Metroid was thusly born. It was a game that birthed a genre that appeals
primarily to those who enjoy walking back and forth through rooms until they accidentally
do what is necessary to progress. The shining star of the series is Super Metroid,
a game with secrets that are still being discovered today, and which Nintendo Life has blessed
with an average of 100 out of 100. (The highest possible score.) Not far behind is Metroid Fusion which sits
at an impressive 92%. With scores like that, you might think the
series is being weighed down by the profoundly hated Wii entry, Other M. In truth, it’s
weighed down by its first two titles, which scored 73% and 70%. Other M, by contrast, missed out on an 80%
average by a single point. Critics must really like watching Samus wet
herself. #21: Paper Mario– 82.83%
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is frequently cited as one of the best role-paying
games ever made. Fans waited patiently for a sequel that never
came, but Nintendo gave the world a worthy successor with Paper Mario, a humorous RPG
adventure with an incredible visual design that guaranteed we’d get yet another timeless
series from Nintendo. Only that didn’t quite happen. Paper Mario is this high on the list due to
the stellar reception of its first game, which sits at a mighty 93% on Metacritic. The scores haven’t gotten anywhere near
that since. The era of gimmickry hasn’t helped, with
the RPG mechanics being dropped to sorely diminishing returns. The lowest ranking game in the series is Sticker
Star, with 75%, though Color Splash is only one point higher. The Origami King proved to be no less gimmicky,
but critics did give it an average of 81%. This is the stage of grief we call “acceptance.” #20: Mario Artist – 83%
Western Nintendo fans probably remember Mario Paint for the SNES. It was an art program slash bug-extermination
simulator with an excellent soundtrack. During the Nintendo 64 DD era, though, Japan
got an entire series of programs built around learning fine arts from a plumber. Consisting of Paint Studio, Talent Studio,
and Polygon Studio, this creativity suite was described by IGN as being the Nintendo
64 DD’s “killer app.” Being as that device never left Japan, very
little killing was done in the name of Mario Artist. For the purposes of this list, we are not
including the Communication Kit, which did little more than allow the sharing of creations. Of the three that remain, though, two of them
scored 85%, with Talent Studio dragging down the average a bit with its score of 79%. It’s one of Nintendo’s strangest and least-known
franchises, which makes its placement just outside the Top 20 all the more impressive. #19: New Super Mario Bros.– 83%
Should we have lumped these games together with the other 2D Mario platformers? Maybe, but the more we thought about it, the
more we felt New Super Mario Bros. really does stand on its own. The gameshave unique enemy designs, powerups,
and level gimmicks, among other things that give this series a clear and deliberate identity. Which might be odd, because the first title,
released for the DS, was an effort to return Mario to his roots. The fact that this effort became an entire
series unto itself is proof of just how much of an appetite there was for back-to-basics
Nintendo magic. The scores range from 77% to 89%. They’re not the most exceptional games Mario
and pals have ever starred in – far from it – but they represent a great modern spin
on a formula that made so many people fall in love with games in the first place. #18:Luigi’s Mansion – 83.33%
Nintendo’s elaborate apology to Luigi for sticking him into Mario is Missing is slowly
turning into one of the company’s staple releases. Each game sees Luigi in a haunted mansion…or
a haunted series of other buildings…or a haunted hotel? Okay, so half of the name of the series is
misleading, but you get the idea. Armed with a variety of gadgets bestowed upon
him by terrifying man-babyProfessor E. Gadd, it’s up to Luigi to clear out these ghosts
once and for all. Or, y’know, until the next console launches.The
first game sits at an unremarkable 78% on Metacritic, but its reputation has grown in
the years since, with many seeing it as a gem in the GameCube’s library. Each of its sequels – one for the 3DS and
one for the Switch – hit 86%, but that doesn’t exactly mean they’re better. It more likely means critics finally came
around to the series’ spooky charms. #17: Fire Emblem– 83.4%
Nintendo hadno faith in Fire Emblem succeeding outside of Japan. Perhaps they felt western audiences wouldn’t
have the patience or intelligence necessary to appreciate the series and…yeah, fair
enough. After Super Smash Bros. Melee introduced Marth
and Roy to new audiences – and despite the fact that they had nothing to do with most
Fire Emblem games – the company gave it a shot. Fire Emblem has since become a popular and
critical success around the world. Nintendo has even remade a few of the earlier
titles in the series to take advantage of this massively expanded group of fans. It’s largely those early titles that drag
down the franchise average. Fire Emblem Gaiden, the second game in the
series, holds a 73% average. It was followed a few titles later by Genealogy
of the Holy War with 74%. Nearly every other game settled somewhere
between 80% and 89%, except for series highlight Fire Emblem Awakening, which hit 92%. #16: Pikmin– 83.75%
Debuting on the GameCube, Pikminsees Lilliputian spaceman Olimarwaddling around a mysterious
planet to gather the necessary parts to fix his rocket. Also he’s running out of oxygen and will
soon asphyxiate, leaving his family to spend the rest of their lives wondering why daddy
left them and never came back. Olimar – and others in later games – can
command little vegetable boys OR GIRLS known as Pikmin to perform tasks for them, and if
you don’t guide them back to safety before nightfall, they all die. It’s fun! The main games were loved by fans and critics
alike, with scores between 87% and 90%. Then cameHey! Pikmin, which hurt the overall average with
its rather dismal 69%. We debated considering that game a spinoff,
but decided that if Chibi-Robo’s weird experiments should qualify, this one should, too. Had we not counted it, the Pikmin series would
rocket – get it? – into the #5 position. #15: F-Zero – 84.33%
Look, it’s that racing series from Nintendo that might be the one you’re thinking of,
but Nintendo certainly isn’t.F-Zero was a high-speed futuristic racer that was no
more “realistic” than Nintendo’s other racing games, but a lack of weapons, a high
skill ceiling, and a risk-vs-reward dilemma regarding opportunities to repair your vehicle
made it an immediate hit. The first four games in the series all scored
between 85% and 90%; quite impressive averages. The other two didn’t do much worse, with
77% and 79%. Aside from Smash Bros. featuring Captain Falcon
Kick – that is his full name; we’ve seen his drivers’ license – the company isn’t
all that interested in keeping F-Zero alive as a series, though. The final game was released in 2004 for the
Game Boy Advance, with the hugely appropriate subtitle Climax. That’s…appropriate because it’s where
the series ended. With the climax.Not because I…
#14: The Legendary Starfy– 84.6% With Kirby keeping the peace in the sugary-sweet
skies and Yoshi keeping the peace on sugary-sweet land, it’s up to Starfy to keep the peace
in the sugary-sweet sea. Not just any Starfy, though…the legendaryStarfy. Known as Densetsu no Stafy in Japan – and
I already know I’m not pronouncing it correctly so don’t bother letting me know – this
is another series that has just barely seen the light of a Western release. Its fifth game was its global debut, which
is unfortunate, as it’s the lowest-scoring one in the series, perhaps convincing Nintendo
that it’s not worth localizing more of them. It is a bit strange that Nintendo hasn’t
pushed the series harder, as Starfy has much in common with its more successful franchises. An adorable mascot, great music, simple gameplay. For whatever reason, though, Nintendo has
left it behind. How far behind? Oh, about 20,000 leagues. …I’ll get my coat. #13: Mario & Luigi– 84.6%
Coming in much higher than that other RPG series starring Mario – possibly because
these games are still recognizable as RPGs – it’s the Mario & Luigi series. The defining feature of these games is the
ability to control both brothers at once, whether in combat or while exploring. The series began with Superstar Saga on the
Game Boy Advance, where its lovely, cartoony style and surprisingly strong sense of humor
earned it commercial and critical success. It currently sits at a well-deserved 90% on
Metacritic. From there the series has of course varied
in its reception, sinking to a series-low of 76% for Paper Jam on the 3DS. Much of the criticism today is that the games
feel increasingly formulaic, but a ranking of #13 is nothing to be ashamed of. Maybe being formulaic is okay when it’s
a formula this good. #12: ‘mo– 84.75%
Well, what else were we supposed to call this series? Each of the games change the overall name
somewhat. Pushmo, Crashmo, Stretchmo…at least in America. Europe got Pullblox, Fallblox, and Fullblox,
which doesn’t make things any easier. We won’t even begin to attempt the Japanese
names. The series revolves around manipulating various
sculptures, turning their features into platforms so that they can be climbed and the goal can
be reached. Each title gives you different ways to interact
with the pieces, but they play similarly enough that they are all recognizably part of the
same series. The puzzle editors and shareable creations
are also a very nice touch. There’s no sign of it yet on the Switch,
but we doubt Nintendo has lost interest. Yes, Ihave a feeling we will see ‘mo games. Pause for laughter. #11: Xenoblade – 84.75%
Operation Rainfall was a fan initiative during the Wii era that wanted three things: Pandora’s
Tower, The Last Story, and Xenoblade Chronicles. These were Japan-exclusive titles that, at
the time, were not planned for any kind of western release. Shockingly, the movement was successful. All three games came westward. Only Xenoblade Chronicles ended up having
a real impact, though, and it became a surprisingly high-profile RPG series for Nintendo. The first game was a critical success, earning
a 92% average on Metacritic. Ideally, subsequent games would have refined
and expanded upon that strong foundation, but the average has decreased for each game
since: 84% for Xenoblade Chronicles X, 83% for Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and 80% for Torna
– The Golden Country. Even with this downward trajectory, though,
it just barely missed out on being one of the 10 highest-rated Nintendo franchises ever. That’s definitely a success story. #10: Animal Crossing– 84.8%
Nintendo’s yardwork simulator is, without question, one of the most relaxing and warm
experiences a gamer can have. Beginning life in Japan as Animal Forest,
the Western release on the Game Cube won the series many passionate fans. It’s difficult to describe the appeal of
Animal Crossing. Tell somebody what you did during your last
play session and it will sound like you were trying to set a world-record for wasted time. Once the games click with you, though, you’ll
feel their pull and be won over by their simple charm. Also, Tom Nook gets a bad rap. I know everybody likes to tell their jokes
about what a greedy little jerk he is, but if you’ve ever had a mortgage you’ll appreciate
just how good you have it with his no-background-check, zero-percent-interest, pay-whenever-you-like
approach.You ungrateful cur. #9: Pokémon– 84.96%
It’s a well-known fact that Nintendo spent many years trying to develop a cockfighting
game for its handhelds so that fans worldwide could take all the fun and excitement of that
bloodsport on the go. Alas, they never quite cracked the formula,
and turned their attention to Pokémon instead. It was an instant smash. Trading cards, toys, manga, anime, sellotape
dispensers…these little guys were everywhere and much loved. Even those who didn’t play the games had
a favorite pocket monster. The series was so popular that it warranted
not only multiple releases each generation, but upgraded followups. We can’t think of many franchises that could
get away with that, unless The Last of Us II leads to Let’s Go Joel and Let’s Go
Ellie, as I’ve been petitioning Naughty Dog relentlessly. #8: Golden Sun – 85.33%
As you’ll soon see, Golden Sun isn’t the only beloved series this far up the list to
be canned after three games. In fact, it’s not even the only RPG this
far up the list to be canned after three games. Golden Sun was released in 2001 for the Game
Boy Advance. It holds a 91% average on Metacritic and often
pops up on lists of the best games ever, full stop. This and its sequel look and sound fantastic,
the stories are engaging, and the mood is surprisingly mature. It seemed like a franchise Nintendo would
do well to nurture, so of course it didn’t. 2010 saw the release of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn,
a late-game third entry in the series for the DS. It scored decently – 79% on Metacritic – but
failed to sell well, which is likely why we haven’t seen anything since. #7: Metroid Prime – 85.6%
As the Nintendo 64 and original PlayStation were making 3D gaming the standard, a number
of popular series experimented excitedly with the new possibilities. Except, perhaps oddly, for Metroid, which
sat out the entire generation. The wait proved to be worth it, however, as
Metroid Prime for the Game Cube didn’t just represent a transition into 3D; it’s one
of the best games ever, and it holds an incredible 97% average on Metacritic. That’s even more incredible when you realize
that outside of this series, there are precious few notable examples of first-person Metroidvanias. Though the sequels failed to live up to the
success of its first outing, Metroid Prime 2 still hit 92% and Metroid Prime 3 hit 90%. Even the DS game, Metroid Prime: Hunters,
hit 85%. So what dragged the average down? You already know. We don’t want to talk about it. And you can’t make us. #6: Super Mario Kart– 86.5%
Look, it’s that racing series from Nintendo, the one thatgave the world thekart-racer genre. The company hit upon a goldmine with Super
Mario Kart, one of the all-time-great multiplayer franchises. Much ink has been spilled – ink, see? Like the…okay, anyway… – much ink has
been spilled regarding the series’ reliance on luck over skill, but that’s sort of the
point. You don’t need to win every time you play
a game, you big crybabies. The critical response to these games might
come as a bit of a surprise. The lowest-ranked game is Mario Kart Wii,
with 82%, though we reckon anyone who owned a Wii put enough hours into this game online
to question its ranking at the very bottom. The highest-rated? Mario Kart: Super Circuit for the Game Boy
Advance, with 93%. The highest-rated Mario Kart, here. Yep. This is the best one. #5: Super Mario 2D Platformers– 87.14%
With Super Mario Bros. Nintendo codified the conventions that all other great platformers
would follow and which rendered previous platformers obsolete. The physics, the level design, the enemy types,
the music…the game singlehandedly represented the dawn of a new era. The sequels absolutely lived up to and built
upon its promises. Super Mario Land for the Game Boy ranked the
lowest, with a 70% from Nintendo Life. All of the other games in the series scored
80% or higher, with two titles earning 100%: Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. The games have aged well and are still fun
to rediscover today. What did surprise us was that this particular
series ended in 1992 with Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins. That’s right; if you don’t count New Super
Mario Bros., this was the last game in Mario’s 2D platforming series. #4: EarthBound/Mother – 88.67%
If anyone can explain to us why Nintendo prefers to let its fourth-most-critically-acclaimed
series languish completely, we’d love to hear from you. Brilliantly colorful, masterfully constructed,
and wonderfully weird, the Mother series represents the company at its most fun, most inventive,
and most intelligent. To this day, Westerners haven’t gotten an
official release of the third game. Mother 2 came to the SNES as EarthBound, but
didn’t see a proper rerelease until the WiiU’s Virtual Console. A localized version of the first Mother game
followed, now called Earthbound: Beginnings. Leave it to Nintendo to stick two of its most
in-demand titles on their one console nobody wanted. There’s no reason the series can’t continue,
but perhaps Nintendo is afraid they can’t produce anything that will live up to the
previous games’ legacies. Then again, these are the guys who released
Metroid Prime: Federation Force, so that’s probably not their concern. #3: Super Smash Bros. – 89%
Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64 was a humble first outing, but all of the ingredients
were there. And, frankly, if anyone wanted to see Pikachu
kick the living tar out of Donkey Kong, there weren’t many better options. From there it grew to a celebration of Nintendo
history, and it’s only branched out further since, with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate including enough non-Nintendo characters
that it became a celebration of video games in general. In fact, Ultimate has a roster so large, it
even includes characters nobody’s created yet. While the first game scored 79%, Super Smash
Bros. Melee hit 92%. That’s actually the lowest score of any
of the sequels, barring the 3DS version which still pulled in a respectable 85%. Few other companies in gaming have a history
as long as Nintendo’s, and no other company knows how to have this much fun with it. #2: The Legend of Zelda– 89.89%
True to its name, there are few series more legendary than this one. What’s more, Zeldacontinues to provide highlights
of just about every console generation. Ocarina of Time even stands as the highest-rated
game on Metacritic, with a 99% average. Each of the major games feels like a response
to what came before. Zelda II expanded the world of the first game
and experimented with new mechanics. Majora’s Mask took the years-long story
of Ocarina of Time and reimagined it as a cyclical three-day nightmare. Twilight Princess responded to the sunny,
colorful approach of The Wind Wakerby sulking in the corner until we paid attention to it. And, most recently, Breath of the Wild responded
to Skyward Sword by allowing us to forget Skyward Sword existed. For just about any developer, The Legend of
Zelda would stand as their crowning achievement and guarantee their place in gaming history. Nintendo, though, has managed to outdo even
this. #1: Super Mario 3D Platformers– 94.29%
Nintendo has done an excellent job of making sure Mario’s core games are nothing short
of excellent, with his 3D outings being among the absolute best games ever. This is all the more impressive when you realize
how many other franchises – Castlevania, Sonic, our beloved Bubsy– failed to make
a lasting or effective jump to 3D at all. None of the 3D Mario games have earned less
than a 90% average. That relative low-point was Super Mario 3D
Land which, in all fairness, is still a very good game. An incredible three games are tied at the
top with 97% averages: Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and the recent Switch
masterpiece Super Mario Odyssey. We do realize that a number of you will disagree
with our decision to split the 2D Mario games from the 3D Mario games. We went back and forth on that ourselves,
but rest assured that even if we hadn’t, Mario’s platforming adventures would have
ranked #1. The race with Zelda would have been much tighter
– Mario wins by less than one percentage point in that case – but the overall result
is the same. Mario has absolutely earned his place at the
very top. And that’s every Nintendo franchise ranked
from worst to best. By other people, remember; we’re just ordering
them by overall average, so be sure to direct all of your disagreement at them. Do you think Donkey Kong got done dirty? Would you personally place Kururin at #34? Did you expect to see Mario at the top? Of course you did; these questions are rhetorical. You can follow TripleJump on Twitter here,
and while you’re at it, why not support the things you enjoy by having a look at our
patreon. Finally, don’t for get to like the video,
share it with your friends, and subscribe to the channel. I’m Benand I’m Peter from TripleJump,
and thanks for watching.
