It’s no secret that Nintendo has had a profound impact on the history of the video game industry.
After an epic collapse of the video game industry in the early ‘80’s, which left retailers with absolutely no desire to have anything to do with any product that called itself a video game, Nintendo was able to single-handily resurrect home console gaming, through their sheer determination and moxie.
What was once an emerging art-form that was left for dead, was suddenly reforged into an activity synonymous with the name Nintendo itself; through the popularity and might of the Nintendo Entertainment System.
While those salad days didn’t last forever, as new challengers rose and eventually overtook Nintendo’s position of industry leader, the company has continued to pioneer; pushing forward our conceptions of gaming, the mechanics of games, and what products will be accepted by the consumer.
After resurrecting the home console, Nintendo was able to define gaming on the go, through the portable Game Boy line of systems. When Nintendo needed to rethink both portable and home gaming, they did so through the massively successful Nintendo DS and the Wii systems.
At this moment, we are on the cusp of Nintendo’s next console, a hybrid device between a home console and a portable unit called the Nintendo Switch. Much like the launches of the Wii and the Nintendo DS, Nintendo is once again attempting to redefine the concept of what it means to play video games.
There is a huge potential impact that the Nintendo Switch may have on the market place if they are successful in their endeavors to marry home and portable gaming.
However, as good as the Nintendo Switch may or may not be, no console is going to be worth a single dime without good games.
Fortunately, Nintendo has often been at the forefront of redefining the art of gaming itself; having published numerous games that have pioneered new mechanics and established new genre’s.
With the launch of the Nintendo Switch on the horizon (March 2017 as of this writing) I thought it would be fun to take a look back through the history of Nintendo and pinpoint the ten games that in my opinion, have been the Ten Most Important Games Nintendo Ever Published.
Throughout the month of December, we’ll be counting down the titles in Nintendo’s vast history that have pioneered standards for the entire industry and laid the foundations for Nintendo’s success.
These games were the games that were often instrumental in refining the very notion of what video games are and what they can be.
We already counted down #10 on our list, which you can view here.
9. Super Smash Bros.
What was once a simple philosophical question of who would win in a fight – Mario, or Luigi – was finally answered with the 1999 release of Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64.
Super Smash Bros. began it’s life as a fun, party-game alternative to the more serious fighting games on the market; however, it’s 2001 sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee introduced a number of changes to the fighting engine. The result was the inadvertent evolution of the franchise into a seriously competitive title.
Even though two sequels would be subsequently released in the Wii’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and the Wii U’s Super Smash Bros. Wii U, the Melee fan-base has refused to let their preferred version go quietly into the night.
Thousands of fans signed up to compete in the Super Smash Bros Melee tournament at Evo 2016, and there is little doubt that the soon-to-be 16 year old title will return to the premier fighting game tournament in 2017.
But even if you’re not a hard core fighting game enthusiast, there is still plenty to love about the approachable nature of the Super Smash Bros. series. Anyone, regardless of skill can always jump in for a few rounds and have a good time.
Super Smash Bros. has also expanded its founding philosophical premise beyond the confines of the Mario and Nintendo’s universe, into the spectrum of gaming as a whole, through a cavalcade of unexpected guest stars, which have included:
- Solid Snake – from the Metal Gear Solid series.
- Sonic the Hedgehog – from the iconic, Sonic the Hedgehog series.
- Pacman – from the classic Pacman games.
- Mega Man – from the Mega Man series.
- Bayonetta – from the Bayonetta series.
- Cloud Strife – from Final Fantasy VII.
These guest stars have helped the Super Smash Bros. series maintain its popularity by becoming a de facto video game fantasy match-up battleground, where almost any character could show up. While that, and the easy to pick up game play help draw in new fans and casual players alike, it’s the complexity beneath the surface of Super Smash Bros. that helps the series maintain its longevity.
With the popularity of Super Smash Bros. showing no signs of slowing down, it is a certainty that we will see a version of the game on the Nintendo Switch in the near future.
I hope that you enjoy this look at the Most Important Games Nintendo’s Ever Published. Please keep an eye out at NerdBacon.com, or like our Facebook page as we continue the countdown!
We also want to know your thoughts on what games were most important to Nintendo. Have a disagreement with the list? Want to share a Nintendo memory? Just let us know in the comments section below.
Written by The Watchman
He’s also an actor, a reporter, a pro wrestling connoisseur, and some say he’s a cat whisperer.
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