Nintendo has been a staple in the gaming community since the mid-70's and has brought us some of the most well known characters in gaming to date. This is a list of what I believe to be the six best and most recognized Nintendo games.
1. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES, 1990)
-While most people would place the original Super Mario Bros. In this place I think that Super Mario Bros. 3 is much more deserving of the spot. Super Mario Bros. 3 brought us everything that Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2 did not. Such as unique levels spanning across 8 worlds, with each world bringing a unique theme to the table. Different armor suits that provide different "buffs" to Mario, And a plethora of new items to use with in-game benefits. It expanded on everything the previous Mario games brought us, without just rehashing content.
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2. (Wii, 2010)
-Super Mario Galaxy 2 is the best 3d Mario game that has been released. I was debating putting Super Mario 64 in this place but I realized that I would be putting it there purely for nostalgia and not because it is actually the better game. Super Mario Galaxy did to 3d Mario games what Super Mario Bros. 3 did to side-scrolling Mario games. It re-invented the play style without ruining the game that we have all come to know and love. While the basics are still the same (you run around stomping enemies, collecting coins, and retrieving stars), there is a lot of new added content that was not seen in any previous Mario game. Not only is there 120 stars to collect like in the original Mario game, but there is 120 extra stars to collect after you 100% complete the game. Giving this game a huge replay value and a lot of extra content for the fans.
3. GoldenEye 007 (N64, 1997)
-To this day GoldenEye 007 is still one of my favorite first-person shooters. This was the first FPS I had ever played, and the first multi-player game I had ever played, so you can imagine the impression that it made on me. GoldenEye had very fun basic "shoot 'em up" game-play with various necessary and secondary objectives on each level. This made the game have a linear feel and provided replay value for those wishing to complete all the secondary objectives in the level. What really made this game great though for me was the multi-player mode, maybe its the fond memories I have of sitting around with 4 controllers plugged into my Nintendo 64 with all my friends competing for top kills, but it was something that I had yet to experience in a game. It was something completely new and exciting to actually be able to kill your friend in a FPS video game, and I believe it has shaped a lot of current FPS games.
4. Pokemon Ruby And Sapphire (GBA, 2003)
-The best games to have been released on the Gameboy console in my opinion are the Pokemon RPG games. Most people would argue that Pokemon games are just for kids, but I disagree. The Pokemon games may not have the best story-lines but what they lack in story they make up for in game-play and just the amount of hours you can spend trying to complete everything this game has to offer. Th game-play is simple for the most part, you start off with a Pokemon and you go into the wild to collect more and battle trainers. After the first couple trainers though the game gets increasingly difficult to the point where even a seasoned gamer can lose a battle very quickly. There are literally hundreds of Pokemon to collect, and it is no easy task to catch them all, but it does provide for hundreds of hours of game-play. Once again giving this game a ton of reply value. By the time you reach the last trainer battle (which is actually 4 trainers) you better come prepared with great Pokemon, knowledge of how to play each one, and a ton of healing items. For something that is deemed to be just a kiddie game I believe it has the depth of any good RPG.
5. Banjo-Kazooie(N64, 1998)
-This game doesn't stray far from the Mario 64 formula, but it is one of the most fun platformers I have ever played. In each level you most collect the jigsaw pieces to advance, very similar to Mario and collecting stars. The difference between this game and Mario is that this game is HUGE, much bigger than the Mario 64 world. Banjo and Kazooie have many more attacks than Mario does, including punches, kicks, rolls, and even flying. The game graphics are also much better than its plumber counterpart. There's not much to say about this game other than it is a very fun platformer that doesn't just copy Mario, it breaks the mold and gives you a massive world to collect and explore in.
6. Resident Evil 4 (GC, 2005)
-Resident Evil 4 is a great and unexpected shooter to come out of a Nintendo platform. The game takes place in Europe and you play as Resident Evil 2's Leon S. Kennedy. Your objective is to rescue the presidents kidnapped daughter somewhere in Europe. Resident evil 4 provided a level of horror that hadn't been found in video games in a long time, especially not a Nintendo game. For a system that has been highly regarded as a kids console Resident Evil 4 comes out of nowhere and provides a chilling and immerse first person shooter experience. Throughout the game you will experience a load of new zombies that have not been found in previous Resident Evil games, and trust me these zombies are freaky. Get to close to certain ones and you will end up in a mini cut-scene getting your head sliced off with a chainsaw. Overall I'd say this is one of the best shooters to come out of Nintendo, if not one of the best shooters ever made.
