Top 100 Best Nintendo Games Of All Time

The Famicom is now 40 years old. Time, huh? That’s four whole decades of 8-bit Nintendo games, many of which defined entire genres and birthed enduring characters and series that would go forth and flourish in future console generations and are still starring in system-sellers today.

In honour of 40 years of quality from our video game purveyors of choice, we’re publishing this list of the 100 Best Nintendo Games ever made. We’re talking first-party published titles here, most of which Nintendo developed in-house, although you’ll see some select second-party gems nestled in amongst all the gold from Kyoto’s finest.

As with many of our ranked lists, this selection of the finest Nintendo games available to humanity is governed by each game’s User Ratings on our database. Yes, this is a reader-ranked list, and a dynamic one that can change in real-time as individual game scores go up and down. As such, registered Nintendo Life users can click on the stars beside each game below and score them out of 10 and exert your influence on the ranking. If you’ve rated these games before, good on you! If not, it’s never too late!

A couple of notes before we begin. We’ve excluded a handful of games to prevent repetition. The Wii U version of Breath of the Wild, for example, is incredible, but not enough to warrant having Breath of the Wild occupy two spots in the Top 10 (apologies for the spoiler there, but c’mon!). In cases where we’ve deemed the two entries to be too similar, we’ve kept the higher of the two (which, perhaps surprisingly, isn’t always the HD or Deluxe Switch version). We’ve also removed all compilations in order to give more individual games a chance to shine. Complaints to the usual address.

Okay, that’s enough prevarication. On with the countdown of the 100 Top Nintendo games of all time, starting with…

Diddy Kong Racing (N64)

Diddy Kong Racing (N64)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Rare

Release Date: 24th Nov 1997 (USA) / 21st Nov 1997 (UK/EU)
Pokémon Black and White (DS)

Pokémon Black and White (DS)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Game Freak

Release Date: 6th Mar 2011 (USA) / 4th Mar 2011 (UK/EU)
Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS)

Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Intelligent Systems

Release Date: 22nd Aug 2005 (USA) / 30th Sep 2005 (UK/EU)
Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Level-5

Release Date: 10th Feb 2008 (USA) / 7th Nov 2008 (UK/EU)
TRIANGLE STRATEGY (Switch)

TRIANGLE STRATEGY (Switch)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Square Enix

Release Date: 4th Mar 2022 (USA) / 4th Mar 2022 (UK/EU)
Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (GBA)

Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (GBA)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Intelligent Systems

Release Date: 23rd Jun 2003 (USA) / 3rd Oct 2003 (UK/EU)
Pikmin (GCN)

Pikmin (GCN)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EAD

Release Date: 2nd Dec 2001 (USA) / 14th Jun 2002 (UK/EU)
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time / Darkness (DS)

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time / Darkness (DS)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo

Release Date: 20th Apr 2008 (USA) / 4th Jul 2008 (UK/EU)
Splatoon 3 (Switch)

Splatoon 3 (Switch)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo

Release Date: 9th Sep 2022 (USA) / 9th Sep 2022 (UK/EU)
Donkey Kong Country (SNES)

Donkey Kong Country (SNES)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Rare

Release Date: 21st Nov 1994 (USA) / 24th Nov 1994 (UK/EU)
Splatoon 2 (Switch)

Splatoon 2 (Switch)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EPD

Release Date: 21st Jul 2017 (USA) / 21st Jul 2017 (UK/EU)
Advance Wars (GBA)

Advance Wars (GBA)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Intelligent Systems

Release Date: 10th Sep 2001 (USA) / 11th Jan 2002 (UK/EU)
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)

Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Retro Studios

Release Date: 21st Nov 2010 (USA) / 3rd Dec 2010 (UK/EU)
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GCN)

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GCN)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Retro Studios

Release Date: 15th Nov 2004 (USA) / 26th Nov 2004 (UK/EU)
Tales of Symphonia (GCN)

Tales of Symphonia (GCN)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Namco

Release Date: 13th Jul 2004 (USA) / 19th Nov 2004 (UK/EU)
Pokémon Crystal (GBC)

Pokémon Crystal (GBC)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Game Freak

Release Date: 29th Jul 2001 (USA) / 2nd Nov 2001 (UK/EU)
F-Zero X (N64)

F-Zero X (N64)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EAD

Release Date: 27th Oct 1998 (USA) / 6th Nov 1998 (UK/EU)
Available On: NSO + Expansion Pack
Super Smash Bros. (N64)

Super Smash Bros. (N64)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: HAL Laboratory

Release Date: 26th Apr 1999 (USA) / 19th Nov 1999 (UK/EU)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo

Release Date: 9th Mar 2008 (USA) / 27th Jun 2008 (UK/EU)
Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U)

Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Monolith Soft

Release Date: 4th Dec 2015 (USA) / 4th Dec 2015 (UK/EU)

The Famicom is now 40 years old. Time, huh? That’s four whole decades of 8-bit Nintendo games, many of which defined entire genres and birthed enduring characters and series that would go forth and flourish in future console generations and are still starring in system-sellers today.

In honour of 40 years of quality from our video game purveyors of choice, we’re publishing this list of the 100 Best Nintendo Games ever made. We’re talking first-party published titles here, most of which Nintendo developed in-house, although you’ll see some select second-party gems nestled in amongst all the gold from Kyoto’s finest.

As with many of our ranked lists, this selection of the finest Nintendo games available to humanity is governed by each game’s User Ratings on our database. Yes, this is a reader-ranked list, and a dynamic one that can change in real-time as individual game scores go up and down. As such, registered Nintendo Life users can click on the stars beside each game below and score them out of 10 and exert your influence on the ranking. If you’ve rated these games before, good on you! If not, it’s never too late!

A couple of notes before we begin. We’ve excluded a handful of games to prevent repetition. The Wii U version of Breath of the Wild, for example, is incredible, but not enough to warrant having Breath of the Wild occupy two spots in the Top 10 (apologies for the spoiler there, but c’mon!). In cases where we’ve deemed the two entries to be too similar, we’ve kept the higher of the two (which, perhaps surprisingly, isn’t always the HD or Deluxe Switch version). We’ve also removed all compilations in order to give more individual games a chance to shine. Complaints to the usual address.

Okay, that’s enough prevarication. On with the countdown of the 100 Top Nintendo games of all time, starting with…

Diddy Kong Racing (N64)

Diddy Kong Racing (N64)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Rare

Release Date: 24th Nov 1997 (USA) / 21st Nov 1997 (UK/EU)
Pokémon Black and White (DS)

Pokémon Black and White (DS)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Game Freak

Release Date: 6th Mar 2011 (USA) / 4th Mar 2011 (UK/EU)
Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS)

Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Intelligent Systems

Release Date: 22nd Aug 2005 (USA) / 30th Sep 2005 (UK/EU)
Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Level-5

Release Date: 10th Feb 2008 (USA) / 7th Nov 2008 (UK/EU)
TRIANGLE STRATEGY (Switch)

TRIANGLE STRATEGY (Switch)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Square Enix

Release Date: 4th Mar 2022 (USA) / 4th Mar 2022 (UK/EU)
Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (GBA)

Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (GBA)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Intelligent Systems

Release Date: 23rd Jun 2003 (USA) / 3rd Oct 2003 (UK/EU)
Pikmin (GCN)

Pikmin (GCN)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EAD

Release Date: 2nd Dec 2001 (USA) / 14th Jun 2002 (UK/EU)
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time / Darkness (DS)

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time / Darkness (DS)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo

Release Date: 20th Apr 2008 (USA) / 4th Jul 2008 (UK/EU)
Splatoon 3 (Switch)

Splatoon 3 (Switch)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo

Release Date: 9th Sep 2022 (USA) / 9th Sep 2022 (UK/EU)
Donkey Kong Country (SNES)

Donkey Kong Country (SNES)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Rare

Release Date: 21st Nov 1994 (USA) / 24th Nov 1994 (UK/EU)
Splatoon 2 (Switch)

Splatoon 2 (Switch)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EPD

Release Date: 21st Jul 2017 (USA) / 21st Jul 2017 (UK/EU)
Advance Wars (GBA)

Advance Wars (GBA)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Intelligent Systems

Release Date: 10th Sep 2001 (USA) / 11th Jan 2002 (UK/EU)
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)

Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Retro Studios

Release Date: 21st Nov 2010 (USA) / 3rd Dec 2010 (UK/EU)
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GCN)

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (GCN)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Retro Studios

Release Date: 15th Nov 2004 (USA) / 26th Nov 2004 (UK/EU)
Tales of Symphonia (GCN)

Tales of Symphonia (GCN)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Namco

Release Date: 13th Jul 2004 (USA) / 19th Nov 2004 (UK/EU)
Pokémon Crystal (GBC)

Pokémon Crystal (GBC)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Game Freak

Release Date: 29th Jul 2001 (USA) / 2nd Nov 2001 (UK/EU)
F-Zero X (N64)

F-Zero X (N64)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo EAD

Release Date: 27th Oct 1998 (USA) / 6th Nov 1998 (UK/EU)
Available On: NSO + Expansion Pack
Super Smash Bros. (N64)

Super Smash Bros. (N64)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: HAL Laboratory

Release Date: 26th Apr 1999 (USA) / 19th Nov 1999 (UK/EU)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Nintendo

Release Date: 9th Mar 2008 (USA) / 27th Jun 2008 (UK/EU)
Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U)

Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U)

Publisher: Nintendo / Developer: Monolith Soft

Release Date: 4th Dec 2015 (USA) / 4th Dec 2015 (UK/EU)

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