LFG Presents: Part 1 of 2 “Top 20 Nintendo Console Games Of All Time” (By Hiro)

Nintendo is the most historical video game company known to gaming. Over the past 25+ years, Nintendo consoles have had some of the most memorable and innovative games of all time, and the company has molded the cartridge (or Disc) of what a real video game is all about.

I’ve been gaming since the early Atari days and have touched on pretty much every great Nintendo console game there is. I’ve seen the good, bad and the ugly. Today I’m just going to touch on the good.

My rankings are based on many things. Impact the game had at the time and overall on the gaming industry, popularity, gameplay and innovation. Game sales play no part, as do graphics and all the other minor things that doesn’t necessarily define a great game in my opinion.

Below is my list of the top 20 (part one: 20 through 11) Nintendo console games of all time, and it’s not just games made by Nintendo (although 90% of the list will be of course) . I give you a little background info on each title and my own overall ranking on a scale of 1 through 10, just like most critics. And just so you know, I’m a tough grader, so when you see any game rated a 9 or up by me, it’s a pure classic instead of just a “great” game.

Enjoy the list and feel free to leave comments.

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20. The Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker (Gamecube)

The Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker is set on a group of islands in a vast sea—a first for the series. What lies beneath this sea are the ruins of the kingdom of Hyrule from Ocarina Of Time. The player controls Link, the protagonist of the Zelda series. He struggles against his nemesis, Ganondorf, for control of a sacred relic known as the Triforce. Link spends a significant portion of the game sailing, traveling between islands, and traversing through dungeons and temples to gain the power necessary to defeat Ganondorf. He also spends time trying to find his little sister.

The Wind Waker follows in the footsteps of Ocarina Of Time, retaining the basic gameplay and control system from the N64 title. A heavy emphasis is placed on using and controlling wind with a baton called the Wind Waker, which aids sailing and floating in air. Critics enjoyed the similarity to Ocarina of Time, but often complained that the large amount of sailing became tedious.

Rating: 9.14

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19. Duck Hunt (Nes)

Duck Hunt is a video game for the (NES) game console system in which players use the NES zapper to shoot ducks on screen for points. The game was developed and published by Nintendo, and was released in 1984 in Japan. The ducks appear one or two at a time, and the player is given three shots to shoot them down.

Rating: 9.15

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18. Super Mario Sunshine (Gamecube)

Super Mario Sunshine is a platform game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Gamecube.

The game takes place on the tropical Isle Delfino, where Mario and Princess Peach are taking a vacation. A villain identical to Mario, known as “Shadow Mario”, vandalizes the entire island, and Mario gets blamed for the mess. Later on, Mario is ordered to clean up Isle Delfino, while saving Princess Peach from Shadow Mario.

Rating: 9.20

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17. Donkey Kong Country (SNES)

Donkey Kong Country is a video game developed by Rare, featuring the popular arcade character, Donkey Kong.

In this game, Donkey Kong must recover his stolen hoard of bananas from King K. Rool and the Kremlings. His banana hoard is located in a cave just underneath his house. He has the special help of his nephew and best buddy, Diddy Kong, who idolizes DK. Cranky Kong lends some advice along the way. Funky Kong and Candy Kong also lend a hand. For the first time, Donkey Kong’s home environment, Donkey Kong Island, is unveiled to the player.

Rating: 9.24

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16. Metroid Prime (Gamecube)

Metroid Prime is a video game developed by retro studios and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Gamecube.

Metroid Prime is the first of the three-part Prime storyline, which takes place between the original Metroid and Metroid 2: Return Of Samus. Like previous games in the series, Metroid Prime has a science fiction setting, in which players control the bounty hunter Samus Aran. The story follows Samus as she battles the space pirates and their biological experiments on the planet Tallon IV.

Rating: 9.25

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15. Paper Mario (N64)

Paper Mario is the first installment of the Paper Mario series which came out on the N64.

Paper Mario is probably best described as an RPG platformer. Mario travels through various lands, from desert to rainforest, on land, water and air, platformer style, jumping on objects, breaking blocks, and uncovering hidden items. But he interacts with characters, enemies, and storyline development RPG style. The game begins as Mario sets out to save the Princess from the evil Bowser, who has stolen a magical artifact called the Star Rod and made himself invincible. Jealous of Mario’s popularity and wanting desperately to be favored by the Princess, Bowser has kidnapped her against her will and taken her to his floating castle high in the skies above the land. Mario quickly finds that the only way he can beat Bowser and rescue his main girl is to retrieve seven Star Spirits, magical entities that grant wishes, and use them against his evil foe.

With stunning graphics, excellent sound, and extremely solid gameplay, Paper Mario is a quality game on all fronts for it’s time.

Rating: 9.29

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14. Perfect Dark (N64)

Pefect Dark is a first person shooter for the N64.

Spiritual sequel to GoldenEye. Starring special agent Joanna DarkT, the storyline, is brought to life by outstanding cinemas and surprisingly good voice-acting. Shooting, with some snazzy new weapons, is still the primary focus of the game, but with all of the tasks and puzzles to get through, you’ll have to use your brain as well as your trigger finger to get by. It is in this way, that Perfect Dark, pays the ultimate respect to GoldenEye. Rare took so many steps to differentiate this game from its three year old predecessor, but the one thing that is consistent over both games, is the extraordinary depth and rich gameplay. If you didn’t play GE, you might have a hell of a time learning how a game like PD thinks and what kind of behavior is rewarded.

Rating: 9.31

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13. Super Mario World (SNES)

Super Mario World is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo Co.

Super Mario World is a side scroller as in previous Mario games, and it takes advantage of the Super Nintendo’s 16-bit graphics and stereo sound. The game consists of a journey through levels in seven worlds: Yoshi’s Island, Donut Plains (later a series of tracks in Super Mariokart, Vanilla Dome, Twin Bridges Area (including the Cheese & Butter Bridges and Soda Lake) terminating in Cookie Mountain, Forest of Illusion, Chocolate Island, and the Valley of Bowser. There are also two secret worlds – Star Road and Special Zone (accessed via the Star World) – which can be found by finding a key and a key hole in certain levels. Experienced players can utilize the Star Road to reach the end of the game in only 12 levels.

Rating: 9.36

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12. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

Super Mario Galaxy is a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii.

The game follows Mario on his quest through space to save Princess Peach from his arch-nemesis Bowser. Levels take the form of galaxies filled with a variety of planetoids and worlds while gameplay is updated with a variety of gravity effects and new power-ups.

Rating: 9.38

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11. Super Mariokart (SNES)

Super Mario Kart is the first video game in the Mariokart series, released in 1992 for the SNES.

Players race go-karts as one of eight characters from the Super Mario series.The eight available drivers can be classified into four types based on top speed, steering, strength and acceleration.

Rating: 9.39

Click here for part 2 (10 through 1)