Nintendo Games Of The Decade: Part Four

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Okay, you're getting closer to discovering our top ten games of the decade. All our selections are great games but as we enter the teens, the big guns start coming out and Zelda, Mario and Metroid begin to dominate. So take a look and let us know if you agree or disagree by commenting below and don't forget that you can vote for your games of the decade here.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

20. Super Smash Bros. Melee
GameCube, 2002
The GameCube's best selling game wasn't Mario, Zelda or Metroid but their lead stars did star in it. Throwing Nintendo's most famous stars into a fighting game wasn't a new idea (Smash Bros. had been released on N64 in 1999) but with loads of new characters, an amazing orchestral sountrack and tons of challenges to complete the second game in the series was a big improvement on the original.

New Super Mario Bros.

19. New Super Mario Bros.
DS, 2006
Before New Super Mario Bros., many thought the 2D platformer was a relic of a bygone age but with a leap of faith, Nintendo revived the genre in style, bringing it to a brand new audience and reminding the older generation of why they fell for the plumber in the first place. You could blast through it quickly but collecting those big gold coins offered a good challenge. And remember, if this hadn't been a success you wouldn't have New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Legend Of Zelda: Minish Cap

18. Legend Of Zelda: Minish Cap
GBA, 2004
After their success with Oracle Of Ages/Seasons, Nintendo once again trusted Capcom with its crown jewels and again they didn't let anyone down with a short but sweet adventure. The talking green cap which Link could use to shrink in size made for some great puzzles and his quest to restore the Picori Blade back to the Four Sword was another classic.

Pikmin 2

17. Pikmin 2
GameCube, 2004
While everyone was waiting for a new Mario or Zelda game for Cube, Miyamoto followed up Luigi's Mansion with a strategy game starring an army of vegetables tasked with helping a spaceman rebuild his spaceship. The original was good but this follow-up perfected the formula.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

16. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Wii, 2007
Ending the Prime trilogy in style, this excellent adventure proves that it is possible for developers to make good looking first-person shooters on Wii. Unfortunately since this came out, no game has quite managed to reach the heights of Samus Aran's adventure. It's prettier and more accessible than the first two games, but the storyline isn't quite as good as the original so it doesn't make our top ten.

Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

15. Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
DS, 2007
With the controversy of cel-shaded Link having died down since Wind Waker, DS owners were free to sit back and enjoy this DS adventure inspired by its GameCube ancestor. Captain Linebeck was a great companion on the high seas even though his and Link's motives were a bit different. The only thing that slightly marks this down is that temple which you kept having to revisit.

Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

14. Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
DS, 2009
Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks are difficult to separate. They are pretty similar adventures but Eiji Aonuma listened to fans and made sure there was nothing as annoying as the Temple Of The Ocean King this time around. It was great to see Princess Zelda show up as a playable character and the train travel provided a nice change from sailing.

Mario Kart DS

13. Mario Kart DS
DS, 2005
After the double teaming of Double Dash, it was great to see Mario Kart go back to basics for this DS racer. The series looked to the past with tracks from both the N64 and SNES era, but the online mode (a first for the series) made sure it was a cutting-edge racing game and meant that you could really enjoy multi-player Mario Kart on the move. A classic.

Advance Wars: Dark Conflict

12. Advance Wars: Dark Conflict
DS. 2005
The first two GBA Advance Wars games were brilliant and introduced us to the sight of charming little cartoon soldiers being sent into serious strategy battles. Dark Conflict is the series high point as it's the first in the to offer online battles although just getting through every single mission will keep seasoned CO's busy for ages before they've even considered taking on friends.

Metroid Fusion

11. Metroid Fusion
GBA, 2002
The first Metroid game for eight years was a stunner and the fact that it had a similar style to the SNES adventure could have made fans wonder why it had taken so long for Samus to return to our screens. Of course we were just happy to have her back in this top class adventure that boasted the usual amazing level design and atmosphere we had come to expect.



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