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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - What's the single best game Nintendo has ever created?

coolharry said:
HylianSwordsman said:
Well fine curl, I'll do it properly. My pick is Majora's Mask, for a few reasons. First, it is the best execution of what it tries to be, no other game has done a time travel Groundhog's Day style game like that, at least that I know of, and certainly not to the level of the 3DS version's execution. Second, what it tried to do was actually a lot more than a Groundhog's Day concept. The Groundhog's Day time travel mechanic was just a narrative mechanic to deliver what the game wanted to give you. The game portrayed really mature themes at a level a child could understand, because it was a game about growing up. It took the player through the stages of grief, taught you that part of growing up is losing people that are important to you. Through the foil of the main villain Skull Kid, it showed what happens to those that can't accept this truth, and also taught that just because people aren't in your life anymore doesn't mean they stopped caring. Link has to learn this to accept the loss of his friend Navi. Through various characters in the main story and sidequests, he has to learn that death and loss are a part of life, and that even the Hero can't save everyone. Once you've conquered every task and gotten every mask, and gone through the stages of grief, you face the final boss. If you didn't get all the masks, and thus haven't learned all the game wants to teach you, you don't get the Fierce Diety Mask, but if you did, you get it, and it basically transforms you into adult Link. Without the mask, the final boss is somewhat difficult. With the mask, you spank the final bosses ass like a misbehaving child, because you've achieved manhood, and the problems of childhood are nothing to you now. At least that's more or less how I see the game. Every Zelda game is a different take on a coming of age story, that's why the original character was based off of Peter Pan. Majora's Mask is the Zelda game that does this coming of age story in the most powerful way possible. Not just better than any other Nintendo game, but better than any game ever, in my view. So in addition to be a fun game that still looks great in the 3DS version and still has a fun concept that has yet to be executed better anywhere, it also is just the most meaningful game I've ever seen Nintendo make.

It's funny. When I played Majora's Mask, all I could see was a game less polished than OoT, less cohesive, and just more off the same, but lesser :P I didn't like the time time pressure or the changing masks all te time to be able to play as an Zora, deku scrub or Goron. But besides the fact that I didn't give the game a fair chance, because I used OoT as a reference (which I saw as perfect), I don't think I really understood what the was about. Should give the game a new chance, if it ever comes out for Switch online. 

Give the 3DS game a try. It's pretty great. I didn't really get into it for the N64 either but the updated version really hooked me.



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coolharry said:
HylianSwordsman said:
Well fine curl, I'll do it properly. My pick is Majora's Mask, for a few reasons. First, it is the best execution of what it tries to be, no other game has done a time travel Groundhog's Day style game like that, at least that I know of, and certainly not to the level of the 3DS version's execution. Second, what it tried to do was actually a lot more than a Groundhog's Day concept. The Groundhog's Day time travel mechanic was just a narrative mechanic to deliver what the game wanted to give you. The game portrayed really mature themes at a level a child could understand, because it was a game about growing up. It took the player through the stages of grief, taught you that part of growing up is losing people that are important to you. Through the foil of the main villain Skull Kid, it showed what happens to those that can't accept this truth, and also taught that just because people aren't in your life anymore doesn't mean they stopped caring. Link has to learn this to accept the loss of his friend Navi. Through various characters in the main story and sidequests, he has to learn that death and loss are a part of life, and that even the Hero can't save everyone. Once you've conquered every task and gotten every mask, and gone through the stages of grief, you face the final boss. If you didn't get all the masks, and thus haven't learned all the game wants to teach you, you don't get the Fierce Diety Mask, but if you did, you get it, and it basically transforms you into adult Link. Without the mask, the final boss is somewhat difficult. With the mask, you spank the final bosses ass like a misbehaving child, because you've achieved manhood, and the problems of childhood are nothing to you now. At least that's more or less how I see the game. Every Zelda game is a different take on a coming of age story, that's why the original character was based off of Peter Pan. Majora's Mask is the Zelda game that does this coming of age story in the most powerful way possible. Not just better than any other Nintendo game, but better than any game ever, in my view. So in addition to be a fun game that still looks great in the 3DS version and still has a fun concept that has yet to be executed better anywhere, it also is just the most meaningful game I've ever seen Nintendo make.

It's funny. When I played Majora's Mask, all I could see was a game less polished than OoT, less cohesive, and just more off the same, but lesser :P I didn't like the time time pressure or the changing masks all te time to be able to play as an Zora, deku scrub or Goron. But besides the fact that I didn't give the game a fair chance, because I used OoT as a reference (which I saw as perfect), I don't think I really understood what the was about. Should give the game a new chance, if it ever comes out for Switch online. 

You really should, I wouldnt compare it with OoT because conceptually those 2 games couldnt be more different, even tho Majora recycles all its assets and said comparison feels inevitable, but I wouldnt say its lesser than OoT at all, its just as perfect for what it is. But its definitely a game that grows on you, I think it doesnt give a good first impression, at least to me it didnt, but as I kept playing I absolutely loved it. 



d21lewis said:

My favorite game and Nintendo's best game are two different things.

I think Twilight Princess is their best game. It's just perfectly designed, well paced, had tons of epic moments, and the best boss fights. The world is not needlessly large but it's a big game with tons to explore, nonetheless. It takes all of the greatness of tried and true Zelda formula and refines it to perfection.

My favorite: Pikmin 3. If I play it for a couple of minutes, I'm playing nothing else for the next few days until I beat it. Sending my minions out into an unknown world to explore never gets old.

SWITCH PORT WHEN?!

This and Mario 3d World need to get their act together and get ported off the WiiU, there is now at least 26 million Switch owners who didn't have a WiiU so there is 26m potential new players who never had the option to buy these titles before, although I guess games like those and Windwalker / Twilight princess HD are going to be aces up Nintendo's sleeve which they'll break out when there is a gap in great games coming out.... maybe sometime around next April lol.



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Ganoncrotch said:
d21lewis said:

My favorite game and Nintendo's best game are two different things.

I think Twilight Princess is their best game. It's just perfectly designed, well paced, had tons of epic moments, and the best boss fights. The world is not needlessly large but it's a big game with tons to explore, nonetheless. It takes all of the greatness of tried and true Zelda formula and refines it to perfection.

My favorite: Pikmin 3. If I play it for a couple of minutes, I'm playing nothing else for the next few days until I beat it. Sending my minions out into an unknown world to explore never gets old.

SWITCH PORT WHEN?!

This and Mario 3d World need to get their act together and get ported off the WiiU, there is now at least 26 million Switch owners who didn't have a WiiU so there is 26m potential new players who never had the option to buy these titles before, although I guess games like those and Windwalker / Twilight princess HD are going to be aces up Nintendo's sleeve which they'll break out when there is a gap in great games coming out.... maybe sometime around next April lol.

Those two games are (Pikmin 3 and 3D World) are practically the only reason my Wii U is still connected. I'd buy them both all over again!



Mario Galaxy, for the sheer enjoyment of contemplating emptiness while listening to its serene compositions. Taking you back to when you were a kid, back when everything could spark joy and elation, that takes something bafflingly bewildering: true magic.



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The_Liquid_Laser said:

The Legend of Zelda (NES)

3. Most Innovative Game - Zelda 1 is arguably the most innovative game ever made.  You have to realize, first of all, that Super Mario 1 was considered an extremely innovative game in it's day.  Think about that.  Just the fact that the screen scrolled in 1 direction and there was music playing and a second button for running and fire -- all of that was extremely new at the time.  However The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros were developed at the exact same time.  Zelda had 4 way directional exploration.  It had dual purpose items that could be used for both combat and to find secrets.  Hell, it had far more secrets than any game that came before.  It was the perfect marriage between arcade action and PC depth.  It was the first console game to actually use a save state.  It was also the first major console game to use anything like hit points.  It was so freakin' innovative, that they included a hint guide with the game.  This is also why you don't start with a sword in Zelda 1.  Miyamoto wanted people to realize that this game was not like anything that had come before.

You're giving Zelda undue credit.

There were many adventure games and RPGs with 4 directional exploration before Zelda. The first such console game was "Adventure" from 1979 for the Atari 2600 which established the action-adventure genre and its primary conventions, including the 4 directional exploration across a large map that you incorrectly credit Zelda as inventing. Zelda also wasn't the first adventure game to have you start without a sword, this was actually common practice in Atari 2600 action adventure games. But Adventure (1979) was, perhaps, the first game that included hidden secrets.

There were also adventure games on Atari that had users switch between overhead and sidescrolling levels.

You can play Adventure and other earlier action adventures on Switch in the Atari Flashbacks collection.



I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.

It might be some recency bias on my part, but I'll say BotW.

Melee is a close second, tho. I poured hundreds of hours into that game as a kid.



Jumpin said:
The_Liquid_Laser said:

The Legend of Zelda (NES)

3. Most Innovative Game - Zelda 1 is arguably the most innovative game ever made.  You have to realize, first of all, that Super Mario 1 was considered an extremely innovative game in it's day.  Think about that.  Just the fact that the screen scrolled in 1 direction and there was music playing and a second button for running and fire -- all of that was extremely new at the time.  However The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros were developed at the exact same time.  Zelda had 4 way directional exploration.  It had dual purpose items that could be used for both combat and to find secrets.  Hell, it had far more secrets than any game that came before.  It was the perfect marriage between arcade action and PC depth.  It was the first console game to actually use a save state.  It was also the first major console game to use anything like hit points.  It was so freakin' innovative, that they included a hint guide with the game.  This is also why you don't start with a sword in Zelda 1.  Miyamoto wanted people to realize that this game was not like anything that had come before.

You're giving Zelda undue credit.

There were many adventure games and RPGs with 4 directional exploration before Zelda. The first such console game was "Adventure" from 1979 for the Atari 2600 which established the action-adventure genre and its primary conventions, including the 4 directional exploration across a large map that you incorrectly credit Zelda as inventing. Zelda also wasn't the first adventure game to have you start without a sword, this was actually common practice in Atari 2600 action adventure games. But Adventure (1979) was, perhaps, the first game that included hidden secrets.

There were also adventure games on Atari that had users switch between overhead and sidescrolling levels.

You can play Adventure and other earlier action adventures on Switch in the Atari Flashbacks collection.

I am very well acquainted with Adventure.  It was one of my top 50 games of all time on last year's list. 

Let me clarify the paragraph you quoted by saying that Super Mario Bros was considered an innovative game at it's time, but Zelda was actually a much more complex game that was developed at the same time.  I didn't mean to imply that Zelda invented 4-way directional exploration, and it didn't invent the idea of not starting with a sword.  Instead, it was a much more complex game than Super Mario Bros, and to make the game work they had to innovate a whole lot more.

Also Zelda 1 is a much bigger and more complex game than Adventure.  It is somewhat like comparing Contra to Call of Duty.  Yeah they are both wartime shooter games, but it takes a lot of innovation to go from Contra to Call of Duty.



The_Liquid_Laser said:

Thanks for the kind reply.

Zelda 1 did in fact come with a map of most of the world (except the upper corner areas) that also had some hints on the other side about the first couple of dungeons.  The instruction manual also had several pages of art and story about the game.  This is the sort of thing that helped make the first Zelda feel like a living, breathing world.  It also is a lot like what some PC RPGs would do in the day.  In the 80's some RPGs would include maps or other inserts to make you feel like you were entering a fantasy world.  Zelda 1 did the same thing. 

I found this PDF that has the original instructions and map.
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/clv/manuals/en/pdf/CLV-P-NAANE.pdf

Wow, man, something I haven't looked at since I was a little kid. This was a real treat! I just finished Link's Awakening on Switch, and now I need a new game to play. Going to load this up on my NES Classic tonight and see where things go.



The_Liquid_Laser said:
Jumpin said:

You're giving Zelda undue credit.

There were many adventure games and RPGs with 4 directional exploration before Zelda. The first such console game was "Adventure" from 1979 for the Atari 2600 which established the action-adventure genre and its primary conventions, including the 4 directional exploration across a large map that you incorrectly credit Zelda as inventing. Zelda also wasn't the first adventure game to have you start without a sword, this was actually common practice in Atari 2600 action adventure games. But Adventure (1979) was, perhaps, the first game that included hidden secrets.

There were also adventure games on Atari that had users switch between overhead and sidescrolling levels.

You can play Adventure and other earlier action adventures on Switch in the Atari Flashbacks collection.

I am very well acquainted with Adventure.  It was one of my top 50 games of all time on last year's list. 

Let me clarify the paragraph you quoted by saying that Super Mario Bros was considered an innovative game at it's time, but Zelda was actually a much more complex game that was developed at the same time.  I didn't mean to imply that Zelda invented 4-way directional exploration, and it didn't invent the idea of not starting with a sword.  Instead, it was a much more complex game than Super Mario Bros, and to make the game work they had to innovate a whole lot more.

Also Zelda 1 is a much bigger and more complex game than Adventure.  It is somewhat like comparing Contra to Call of Duty.  Yeah they are both wartime shooter games, but it takes a lot of innovation to go from Contra to Call of Duty.

Haha true, I do not disagree with you there.

Thanks for the clarification in your response!



I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.