Nintendo Games

The N64 F-Zero — 30 racers simultaneously at impossible speeds, no textures (for consistent 60fps), and a track design so precise that every shortcut and bump matters at 1,000km/h.

Eight games in one cartridge, each with a distinct mode — Spring Breeze, Gourmet Race, Great Cave Offensive, Revenge of Meta Knight, Milky Way Wishes, and more. Kirby Super Star's unprecedented content breadth, polished co-op, and satisfying copy ability system made it the most complete game on the SNES at launch.

The definitive third-generation Pokemon experience and the GBA's best Pokemon title. Emerald combines both Ruby and Sapphire's storylines with the Battle Frontier — an endgame facility of seven unique battle facilities that represent the pinnacle of competitive Pokemon challenge before the series went online.

The GBA port of Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island with six new bonus stages — Super Mario Advance 3 delivers the SNES classic's egg-throwing physics, baby Mario transport mechanics, and crayon-illustration art style in portable form, with additional content including extra stages created specifically for the GBA version.

The most mechanically inventive Wario Land — Wario is completely invulnerable, and enemies transform him into states (zombie, invisible, tiny, flaming) that unlock new paths across the fully revisitable world.

The GBA entry that introduced Ezlo the talking hat and Link's ability to shrink to Minish size, exploring an entire micro-civilization living unseen within the normal world. With gorgeous sprite art, inventive dungeons, and the Kinstone fusion system for unlocking secrets, Minish Cap is one of the finest 2D Zelda games ever made.

Intelligent Systems' masterful refinement of the original Advance Wars introduces Super CO Powers, pipe-laying terrain, and a more sinister villain in Black Hole commander Sturm — all while preserving the exquisitely balanced turn-based combat that made the first game essential. The expanded campaign, robust War Room mode, and Map Editor ensure near-limitless replayability on cartridge, cementing Black Hole Rising as one of the Game Boy Advance's finest strategy accomplishments.

The ambitious Banjo-Kazooie sequel with nine interconnected worlds, a massively expanded moveset, multiplayer modes, and first-person shooter sections — bigger in every way than its predecessor.

Square's isometric tactical RPG on GBA — 34 job classes, five races with unique skill sets, and an ivalice law system that restricts actions in battles, creating deep strategic builds across 300+ missions.

The most accessible Fire Emblem in the classic era — The Sacred Stones introduces branching promotion paths, an optional training tower, and a dual-protagonist structure following siblings Eirika and Ephraim across the continent of Magvel.

One of the SNES's most inventive puzzle-sports games. Kirby's Dream Course uses Kirby as the ball in an isometric miniature golf game where defeating all enemies (except one, which becomes the hole) and landing Kirby in the resulting pin creates a unique fusion of golf mechanics and Kirby's ability system. A brilliantly designed two-player competitive game.

Camelot's N64 golf game brought Mario characters and human golfers together in one of the finest golf games ever made. With an accessible three-click swing mechanic, multiple modes, and the ability to transfer and develop human golfer characters from the Game Boy Color Mario Golf, the N64 version became the definitive Mario Golf experience for a generation.

The deep N64 strategy RPG that remained Nintendo 64-exclusive for years. Ogre Battle 64's real-time tactical battles, political narrative about class and revolution, and complex character alignment system made it one of the most mature and thoughtful games in the N64 library — a cult classic with devoted fans.

The definitive remake of the original Pokemon Red. FireRed rebuilds Kanto from the ground up with modern mechanics, physical/special split, and the new Sevii Islands postgame. For many players, this was their first Pokemon game, and its balance of accessibility and depth made it the perfect entry point to the series.

The counterpart remake of Pokemon Blue, featuring version-exclusive Pokemon like Sandshrew, Vulpix, and Magmar. LeafGreen's faithfully recreated Kanto — now with GBA graphics, running shoes, and refreshed trainer dialogue — gave a new generation access to the original Pokemon adventure.

The definitive handheld Super Mario World — Super Mario Advance 2 ports the SNES classic to GBA with Luigi as a fully playable separate character (distinct moveset rather than a palette swap), Yoshi available from World 1, and voice clips for Mario and Luigi throughout, delivering the complete SMW experience in portable form.

Nintendo's SNES anthology of remade NES Mario classics — Super Mario All-Stars updates Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, and The Lost Levels with 16-bit graphics and saves.

Super Mario Bros. Deluxe for GBC included the complete original NES game plus Super Mario Bros: For Super Players (the Japanese Lost Levels) in portable form. The added Challenge mode, collectible Red Coins and Yoshi Eggs, and Boo Race competitive ghost features made it the definitive portable Mario experience of the era.

The Game Boy masterpiece that introduced Wario to the world. Super Mario Land 2 massively expanded on its predecessor with a large overworld, six distinct zones, and the Bunny Ears and Carrot power-up that let Mario float. The final showdown with Wario in Mario's own castle is one of gaming's great villain reveals.

Nintendo's enhanced Game Boy Color version of Tetris — Tetris DX adds color graphics, four game modes including the marathon mode that replaced the original's ending, stat tracking, and the GBC-specific 10 simultaneous colors. The definitive Game Boy era Tetris experience and the version most played by casual and competitive players on original hardware.

The GBA launch title that cemented Wario Land as one of Nintendo's most inventive platformer series. Wario crashes his car into a pyramid, fights through four themed worlds, and must escape each level before time runs out after finding the golden passage. Bizarre enemies, inventive transformations, and an unforgettable soundtrack make this the high point of the Wario Land series.

One half of Capcom's Zelda pair for Game Boy Color — Oracle of Ages focuses on puzzle-solving and time travel, sending Link between past and present Labrynna to restore peace and defeat Veran.

One half of Capcom's Zelda pair for Game Boy Color — Oracle of Seasons focuses on action and the Rod of Seasons, letting Link alter the four seasons to transform Holodrum's landscape and access new areas.

The SNES launch title that demonstrated Mode 7 racing at extreme speed. F-Zero's futuristic hover-car racing introduced Captain Falcon and delivered a technical showcase of unprecedented smoothness and speed.