Mario, Zelda, Pokémon, Metroid: Nintendo is the home of the biggest franchises and a unique standard of play. RomWize re-ranks the publisher's best games by its re-evaluated scores, each with its current score, its versions, their rarity and their collector value.
"Super Mario Advance 4 Super Mario Bros. 3 on GBA, Western version. SMB3 in your palm with the 90 NES levels and exclusive bonus levels. One of the best Mario ports on handheld."
"Zelda no Densetsu Toki no Ocarina 3D on 3DS, original Japanese version of Ocarina of Time 3D. The definitive version of the greatest video game ever made in its original Japanese presentation. For collectors."
"The ultimate cozy escape. Shaping your island at your own pace, free of pressure, has a rare soothing effect. The content can thin out over time, but visiting friends' islands keeps a comforting warmth."
"The absolute pinnacle of 8-bit platforming. Eight thematic worlds, revolutionary costumes, infinite secrets. Nintendo at maximum creativity. The best NES game and one of the greatest games ever made."
"A darker, more singular follow-up to Ocarina of Time. Three days looping endlessly to save Termina, forty-two masks with astonishing powers, dungeons tighter but brilliantly designed. A Zelda of rare melancholy, more demanding and more mysterious than its predecessor, rightly cult."
"The cel-shaded Zelda that first split fans then won them over. Archipelago world crossed by sea, animation of rare expressiveness and dungeons of mad elegance. Some stretches at sea drag a touch, yet the voyage has become a timeless classic."
"Super Mario Advance 4 Super Mario Bros. 3 on GBA, Japanese version. SMB3 in your palm with the 90 NES levels and exclusive bonus levels. An absolute must."
"Donkey Kong Game Boy 1994, and arguably the best game on the system. The original four arcade screens explode into 100+ true puzzle-platform levels, Mario learns to swing, climb and carry. Absolutely prodigious Nintendo work. Essential on Game Boy."
"A Fire Emblem that reinvents its own formula. Running the academy between battles forges a strong bond with your students, and picking a house radically shifts your perspective. The calendar management can wear thin, but the narrative attachment is gripping."
"An Intelligent Systems papier-mâché RPG, full of charm and humour. The flat 2D world in storybook style charms instantly, the turn-based combat folds in precision timing prompts and every recruited partner has real personality. An accessible, delicious Mario RPG."
"Super Mario Advance 2 Super Mario World on GBA, port of the SNES masterpiece. Yoshi, Cape and Dinosaur Land magnificently rendered. One of the best Mario games ever in your palm."
"The 3D World port is flawless, and Bowser's Fury bolts on a punchy little open world that shows Mario can breathe outside corridor levels. Local co-op is still gleeful chaos, though the fixed camera betrays its age."
"Mario 64 invented 3D adventure gaming. Analog stick, orbital camera, painting-portal worlds full of stars and Mario's movement precision rest jaw-dropping. Thirty years on, the thing remains foundational, joyful, miraculous. Probably the most influential game in all of video-game history, without hyperbole."
"For many fans the favourite Smash across every generation. Wild speed, demanding tech, a tightly cut roster and combat physics never matched since. Tournaments still going twenty years on. Quite simply a fighting game high point."
"Super Mario World + Mario Brothers on GBA, Japanese version of Super Mario Advance 2. Same SMW excellence in its original version, with Mario Bros. as bonus."
"This remake restores all the shine to one of the most beloved Paper Marios: witty writing, endearing partners, battles staged like theater. The pacing occasionally shows its age, but the charm lands intact and the visual overhaul is gorgeous."
"Direct sequel adding the concept of parallel light/dark worlds, à la Zelda Twilight Princess. Aether and Dark Aether mirror each other, some areas blocked in one are reachable in the other. Beefier combat, demanding bosses, new gear like the Dark Visor. Harder than the first entry, sometimes punishing, but a rare-depth adventure. Wii Edition with polished motion controls."
