Nintendo is undoubtedly the biggest name in gaming. Established all the way back in 1889, Nintendo ushered in the era of home console video games, primarily through the success of the Nintendo Entertainment System, which hit the scene in the 1980s. It has since gone on to release hundreds of games across a variety of different platforms, all of which it has manufactured itself.
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There are almost too many incredible Nintendo games that have launched over the past 40 years to name. Franchises like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, Metroid, Splatoon, and dozens of others have come about at one point or another and have made a huge impact on players. Despite having so many stellar games to choose from, though, some are clearly better than others on the consoles on which they were released.
Before diving into this list, it’s important to note that we’ll only be choosing the best games from Nintendo’s home consoles. Handhelds and smaller releases, like the Virtual Boy, won’t be included here. With that caveat in place, here’s the best Nintendo game to release across every console generation.
Super Mario Bros. – NES
It might seem obvious, but there’s really nothing else that could’ve been chosen for the NES other than Super Mario Bros. This game didn’t just establish Nintendo as a household name, but it also helped catapult the titular character, Mario, into superstardom. Everything that Mario has touched over the years, whether it be with Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros., or the countless Mario sports games, can all be tied back to this release.
Super Mario Bros. isn’t just important to Nintendo, either. It’s likely the most influential game of all-time and inspired countless other developers around the globe. Without it, the modern gaming industry as we know it today doesn’t exist.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – Super Nintendo
The Super Nintendo might have the single best catalog of games from Nintendo in the company’s history, which is saying a lot. Super Mario World, Earthbound, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Kart, and Super Metroid all arrived on SNES alongside a ton of other classics. For The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past to be the best game in the console’s entire archive is a major feat.
What sets A Link to the Past apart is that it’s the first Zelda game that established the formula that Nintendo would go on to rely upon for numerous different entries. The first The Legend of Zelda and its sequel, Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link, were a bit more experimental and clearly showed Nintendo trying to find its footing. A Link to the Past was the culmination of the ideas in those two previous games and set the template for every Zelda game to follow up until Breath of the Wild.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – Nintendo 64
Super Mario 64 might have opened up everyone’s eyes to what 3D gaming would be capable of, but it’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time that best utilized the technology. Between its vast world, memorable story, and intuitive gameplay mechanics, Zelda’s first foray into 3D set the benchmark that every other game would try to surpass in the years to follow.
One of the best things that can be said for Ocarina of Time is that it’s still pretty replayable to this day. That cannot be said for most Nintendo 64 titles, as games from this era have aged somewhat poorly. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time isn’t just the best N64 game; it’s perhaps still the best single video game to ever come about in the history of the medium.
Super Smash Bros. Melee – GameCube
The GameCube library is extremely deep and features some of the most iconic Nintendo games. Metroid Prime, Luigi’s Mansion, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door were all on the GameCube and were all fantastic in their own right. Still, the choice for the best game on GameCube is a relatively simple one.
Super Smash Bros. Melee is arguably the peak of Nintendo’s fighting game series. It greatly expanded on everything from the first entry and entrenched Super Smash Bros. as one of the biggest franchises that belongs to Nintendo. What makes it even more relevant is the staying power it has had for nearly 25 years, with many still playing it to this day.
Wii Sports – Wii
It feels weird to put the pack-in game that came with the Wii as the best one that released on the console, but Wii Sports is the clear pick here to me. While you could argue that games like Super Mario Galaxy or The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess are better for one reason or another, Wii Sports perfectly encapsulates everything that Nintendo wanted the Wii to be.
Wii Sports is a game that relies almost solely on the hardware’s motion controls and is meant to be played with others in a social setting. This means of play led to the Wii becoming a cultural phenomenon that anyone of any age could engage with. Wii Sports remains one of the best multiplayer experiences ever and defines the Wii more than any other game.
Mario Kart 8 – Wii U
The Wii U had a shorter run than most other Nintendo consoles, but it wasn’t without plenty of fantastic games. Without question, the best of the best, though, was that of Mario Kart 8. Nintendo’s eighth mainline Mario Kart game is the high point of the series and features the smoothest controls, best courses, and an incredible soundtrack.
What further makes this choice obvious is that Mario Kart 8 has essentially not stopped being relevant since its launch. Its port on Switch, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, sold a whopping 68 million units, which is the highest mark for any Nintendo game in history. Mario Kart has always been a staple for Nintendo, but MK8 is the best the franchise has to offer.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Nintendo Switch
The first game that launched on Nintendo Switch ended up being the best that the console ever saw. As the third Zelda game on this list, Breath of the Wild once again helped reshape the gaming industry at large. Its approach to open-world game design put freedom at the forefront and allowed players to worry less about map markers and more about traveling to what looked interesting.
It’s not a stretch at all to say that Breath of the Wild has been the most influential game of the past decade. It has already gone on to inspire titles like Elden Ring, Ghost of Yotei, and Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Without Breath of the Wild, it’s hard to say if the Nintendo Switch ends up becoming as big a success as it is, even if it was also on Wii U.
Donkey Kong Bananza – Nintendo Switch 2
The Nintendo Switch 2 is still in its infancy, so there aren’t many games that can be considered for this choice right now. The only two real options at the time of this writing are Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza. Of those two, Bananza is the better game.
Borrowing from the gameplay stylings and design of Super Mario Odyssey, Donkey Kong’s first new 3D adventure in decades is easily his most memorable. Bananza’s destructible sandbox environments offer a level of freedom rarely seen in the genre, as many of its collectibles can be obtained in almost endless different ways. Bananza is not just the best that the Switch 2 has to offer at the moment, but it’s a platformer that could shape how others approach the genre in the decade ahead.
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A Nintendo Entertainment System over a collage of the system's game's screenshots.
