Nintendo’s video game franchises tend to score high with reviewers. That has been the case for more than four decades now, going back to the early days of the NES era. The reality is, the company tends to have a very high standard when it comes to its premier franchises. Metacritic recently compiled the data for 44 Nintendo franchises, ranking them entirely based on their review scores. Interestingly enough, the average Metacritic scores for two Nintendo franchises are incredibly close, to the point that the series that came in second place very nearly edged out the competition.
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Nintendo fans probably won’t be surprised to hear which franchises placed at the top of the list. The best-reviewed franchise in Nintendo’s stable is The Legend of Zelda, which has an average score of 89.6. The adventures of Link and Princess Zelda have carved out an impressive spot at the very top, but it’s worth noting that both characters also appear in Nintendo’s second best-reviewed series. That franchise of course is Super Smash Bros., which fell just short of the gold. The fighting game series has an overall Metacritic average of 89.
Comparing the Metacritic Scores for Zelda and Super Smash Bros.
To figure out the overall breakdown for this list, Metacritic averaged the scores for every 2D and 3D core game in the Zelda series. That means games like Ocarina of Time, Echoes of Wisdom, and Skyward Sword all counted, but not stuff like Link’s Crossbow Training, or the CD-i games licensed and published by Philips in the ’90s. The high scores for the Switch versions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom played a big role in delivering the win over Super Smash Bros., with scores of 97 and 96, respectively. The entries that dragged Zelda’s overall score down are the original version of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (score of 78), its 2004 rerelease on Game Boy Advance (score of 72), and 2015’s The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (score of 73).
The Super Smash Bros. series has had far fewer entries over the years, starting on Nintendo 64 in 1999, 13 years after the first Zelda. That first N64 entry was promising, but failed to reach the same critical heights as its successors; the average Metacritic score for Super Smash Bros. was just 79. Things took a big turn two years later with the 2001 GameCube sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee. That game earned a score of 92, and is still widely played by the fighting game community. The rest of the series received similar scores, with the lone exception being Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, which received an average score of 85. That game was an impressive feat on Nintendo’s handheld, but there were some compromises to play on 3DS.
Where Nintendo’s Other Franchises Rank
While Zelda and Smash Bros. are securely in the top two spots on Metacritic’s list, Nintendo’s mustachioed mascot just narrowly missed getting silver. The overall score for Mario’s 2D and 3D platforms was an impressive 88.5. Xenoblade Chronicles and Mario Kart both rounded out the top five, with Metacritic averages of 87 and 86.7, respectively. Some of Nintendo’s other big franchises didn’t make appearances until later, with Metroid at number 9, and the core Pokemon games coming in 11th place. Interestingly, Pokemon’s spin-offs ranked much lower, though.
Metacritic’s criteria for the list required that a series have at least four entries to be included. That means games like the criminally-underrated Eternal Darkness didn’t qualify, and more recent franchises like Splatoon didn’t get a chance to compete. Metacritic did combine some relevant games into one category, though. For example, Pokemon Stadium technically only has two entries (outside of Japan at least), but the series still got a spot on the list because related games like Pokemon Colosseum, Battle Revolution, and XD: Gale of Darkness were included.
Can a Nintendo Series Ever Dethrone Zelda?
At this point, it’s hard to imagine another Nintendo series reaching a higher level of critical acclaim than Zelda. Games like A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, and Breath of the Wild all had a profound impact on the video game industry, and on millions of players around the world. No one knows what the future holds for Zelda; outside of a new Hyrule Warriors spin-off (which is counted separately by Metacritic), no new Zelda game has been announced for Nintendo Switch 2. It’s likely that development on a new installment started shortly after (or even before) the release of Tears of the Kingdom. However, we could be waiting a while to hear about it.
While there’s a big question mark on the future of Zelda, the same can be said for Super Smash Bros. Director Masahiro Sakurai has made it no secret that the series takes a lot of effort to develop, and he seemed to have considered retirement at one point. Since then, it was confirmed that Sakurai will handle directing duties on Kirby Air Riders, which is coming to Nintendo Switch 2. We’ll have to wait and see what’s next for both of these franchises, but it’s a safe bet the next games will be just as critically well-regarded as the rest.
Which Nintendo franchise do you think should rank at the top? Are you surprised Zelda and Smash Bros. came so close?
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