I made a poll for the handhelds and someone else made a poll for the consoles, so I figure now there should be a poll for both of them in one to find out which one reigns supreme overall. Also, this is strictly about each game's own library, so you shouldn't factor in backwards compatibility or Virtual Console.
Like the original polls, the Switch is excluded because its library is still growing (and to give the other systems a fair shot....haha).
For me, I would go with the DS, due to the sheer fact that I love the 4th gen to a slightly lesser extent the 5th gen Pokemon games. Also need to give a shout-out to Explorers of Sky, as well as Bowser's Inside Story. All rank near the top of my favorites list overall. That being said, other systems do have better games for other franchises in my opinion, like Zelda, Mario & Mario Kart. Of course, the DS never got franchises like Smash Bros. or Paper Mario and I felt that the consoles got better Mario Sports titles.
If I had included the Switch, that would be the one I would choose. Ultimately, I would rank everything pre-Switch (excluding Wii U & Virtual Boy) as follows:
1. DS- Reasons listed above.
2. GameCube- TTYD is my third favorite Nintendo game. Metroid Prime & Wind Waker are in my top 10. Melee is probably my second favorite SSB and Double Dash is my 3rd favorite MK. XD & Colosseum were great games and I have fond memories with Channel. Mario Party 4 was fun and Sunshine was solid.
3. 3DS- FE: Awakening is a top 5 Nintendo game for me. Kid Icarus is also pretty highly ranked for me and OoT 3D is a great remake of a classic. Planet Robobot is my favorite Kirby game and Triple Deluxe is probably third. Gen 6 Pokemon games were good and ALBW was as well. Super Mystery Dungeon, Smash 3DS, MK7 & Dark Moon are solid games. Samus Returns, 3D Land & DKCR 3D were good. Wasn't a big fan of Gen 7 Pokemon though and Paper Mario, Paper Jam, TF Heroes and others left something to be desired.
4. Wii- The Mario Galaxy games are masterpieces. I actually prefer MK Wii slightly over Double Dash. Brawl was great. TP was a masterpiece and I actually like SS a lot more now (could be argued that it is because of the remake, but I don't think it would be too different if I replayed the Wii version). I have very fond memories with Super Sluggers, MP8, Sports Mix and Wii Party. Also, Prime 3 was great. Super Paper Mario & NSMBWii were great games, as was Strikers Charged.
5. GBA- 3rd Generation Pokemon games. I honestly don't remember a lot of the other GBA games I had, but I know a lot of it was silly kid stuff based on Scooby Doo, etc. I do have fond memories with 2 Hamtaro games though.
6. N64- Mario 64 & OoT are great games. MK64 is OK and Smash is fun. Pokemon Snap is a great game, even if it is short. Can't go wrong with GoldenEye.
7. Game Boy Color- 2nd Generation Pokemon.
8. Game Boy- 1st Generation Pokemon.
9. SNES- Mario World and ALttP are good games. The DKC trilogy is great. SMK is OK.
10. NES- The Mario & Zelda games are fun (well, moreso Zelda 1 than 2). The NES version of DK, Pac-Man & Punch-Out!! are fun as well.
As you can see, I started with GBA & GCN, so I have more to say about those systems than about anything N64/GBC & older. Those are still great systems, but it's harder to go back to those systems when I started with stuff that was more advanced.
What is your favorite? Feel free to post your ranking of all of them, or all that you have at least played. Feels weird to include Wii U since it is so similar to Switch.
EDIT: Decided to merge GB & GBC and add Wii U since Wii U got votes in the console only thread and Game Boy got no votes in the handheld thread.
Last edited by Torpoleon - on 24 July 2021
