Nintendo Games Of The Decade: Part Five

69 Comments

This is it! We'd say that we debated our best game of the decade long and hard but, if we're honest, there was only one winner. Every single person on the magazine and online team picked it out as their favourite game of the decade. Do you agree? Let us know by leaving your comments below and don't forget to vote for your favourite game of the decade here.

Mario Kart Wii

10. Mario Kart Wii
Wii, 2008
Nothing beats playing Mario Kart with four players sat around the same TV, elbowing each other and bemoaning their luck when someone slams them with a red shell on the finishing straight and that's what this package has over the excellent DS adventure. Sure it seems unfair at times but even if you throw your Remote across the room in frustration, you'll be up five seconds later for another go on this enormously addictive racer.

Pokémon Gold

9. Pokemon Gold/Silver
Game Boy Color, 2001
Remember when Ant & Dec used to introduce Pokémon cartoons on SMTV? This was perhaps the point at which Pokemon reached its peak in terms of popularity. As for the games, Gold/Silver introduced the real time clock, Pokémon breeding and 100 new Pokemon featuring the design team's best and most varied work. Today's Pokemon fans may enjoy the online battles of Platinum but this was Pokémon before it became almost too vast. When catching 'em all didn't mean finding nearly 500 monsters. If you want the best of both worlds, buy HeartGold/SoulSilver next year!

Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask

8. Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask
N64, 2000
The release of Majora's Mask on Virtual Console earlier this year gave us the opportunity to revisit this adventure. And what an adventure it was. The darkest and most challenging Zelda game by far, it is not exactly accessible for newcomers but who cares? When you crack it you'll feel like you've really achieved something great.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

7. Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Wii. 2008
The Nintendo fan's favourite Wii game. Once again an extraordinary cast of Nintendo legends faced off against each other but this time they were joined by some amazing special guests including Sonic The Hedgehog and Solid Snake. Playing with friends was as great as ever but the excellent Subspace Emissary story mode gave the single player something to get stuck into.

Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess

6. Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Wii, 2006
Ocarina Of Time and Majora's Mask fans were delighted to see a more human Link return in the spiritual successor to the old N64 games. This massive adventure takes a bit of time to get going but once Midna shows up in the Twilight Realm you'll be immersed in one of the finest Zelda storylines ever. Released at launch, there still isn't a better adventure game on Wii.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii

5. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Wii. 2006
Wow! After New Super Mario Bros. had been released on DS in 2006, many were just expecting a console version of the handheld game with a multi-player mode tacked on. Not so. Instead we got a bigger, better and harder 2D platformer that took fans back to the glory days of Super Mario Bros. 3. Only two months since release, it may seem a bit early to call it timeless but it is such fun it's difficult to see how people won't be enjoying this for years to come.

Metroid Prime

4. Metroid Prime
GameCube, 2002
While Link and Mario had undergone 3D makeovers on N64, Samus was overlooked completely. Her return was long overdue in Metroid Prime yet she still managed to surprise us by starring in a stunning game that blended exploration, platforming and first-person shooting. Corruption could never hope to have the same impact as this sprawling adventure.

Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker

3. Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker
GameCube, 2002
Remember the controversy when the new-look toon Link was revealed at SpaceWorld? A few years later and those who had doubted Zelda's new direction had forgotten all about it because Wind Waker was one of the most beautiful games ever made and its legacy is still being felt today in the shape of the brilliant DS adventures Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks. Legendary.

Resident Evil 4

2. Resident Evil 4
GameCube, 2005
Mario, Zelda and Metroid aside, it's not often that a game released on a Nintendo platform makes owners of other consoles envious but that's what happened when Resident Evil 4 was released for GameCube in 2005. Reinventing a series that had become plodding, Resi fans were offered a link to the past in the shape of Resident Evil 2's Leon who returned to blast waves of mutants. The Wii version with Remote aiming improved on the original two years later.

Super Mario Galaxy

1. Super Mario Galaxy
Wii, 2007
It took 11 years for Nintendo to make a Mario adventure that matched the impact of Super Mario 64 and they did it by shooting their plumber into outer space. Entering a new dimension, Mario skipped around planets in great new suits giving us many memorable moments that not only matched but beat many we'd experienced in Mario 64. At the time the only bad thing we could say about it was that it had to end. Thankfully the plumber's adventures will continue next year in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

What did you think of our choice for Game Of The Decade? You can vote for your favourite vote for your favourite game of the decade here.


Games of the decade - 20-11
Games of the decade - 30-21
Games of the decade - 40-31
Games of the decade - 50-41

Advertisement: