The gamecube was the darkest era for Nintendo gaming. So many franchises once signiture of Nintendo stagnated in its wake.

Starfox: With Rare's last dissapointing contribution to the series (Starfox Adventures) Nintendo tried desperately to recapture the glory of the series' SNES and N64 glory but a lack of direction and focus seemed to plague both Starfox Assault and Starfox DS.

Donkey Kong: Without Rare's innovative understanding of the franchise, Nintendo chose to relegate the series to legacy of mini-games and gimmick titles resulting in the latest DK dissapointment, DK Barrel Blast for the Wii.

F-Zero: A great racing franchise that seemed doomed to obscurity on the GC, again, what seemed to be lack of direction and focus that made the GC release a boring edition to a once great series.

Mario: Mario Sunshine, a game that left many Nintendo faithfuls asking why?! The earliest victim of Gamecube syndrome dooming Nintendo's most notable franchise to mediocrity. However with Mario Galaxy, hopes are the tides can be turned for the plumber once more.

Geist: Nintendo's failed attempt to launch a new mature franchise, this game seemed mired in politics and other factors which were not atypical of the Gamecube era.

Mario Kart: While Mario Kart Double Dash was a great game many consider it nothing compared to the N64 title and saw little to justify the title as being a different game other than drifting. The DS title has shown promise of moving forward and many believe the Wii Mario Kart will set the series on track in full stride.

Paper Mario: Many still consider the N64 Paper Mario the best and many have often wondered why it sequels didn't live up to N64's glory. Will future Paper Mario games (is there will be any) satisfy nitpicky fans?

Legend of Zelda: While Wind Waker was a great game, it left many confused as to what had happened to the franchise and till this day remains one of the most controversial LOZ titles. Twilight Princess was another great game, but Miyamoto himself admited to a lack of focus plaguing the title. These were far and above the grade of their fellow Nintendo franchises of the Gamecube era but neither were Ocarina of Times. Will the future Wii Zelda surpass even these?

Metroid: Metroid thrived during the GC era thanks to Retro, but being far from the seller the SNES game was many are left to question how successful the Prime series was.

There's no arguing the stagnating effect of the Gamecube era, the real question is, without companies like Rare to bolster titles such as Donky Kong and Starfox, can Nintendo recapture what made these games great now that they have a winner console? Bringing Rare back obviously isn't an option as when they were still during Nintendo during the early Gamecube they were suffering creativity and since then have lost much talent. Companies like Silicon Knights are also not a factor as they're mired in prior agreements with other companies and stuck waist deep in financial problems. That aside will we see older franchises reborn such as Kid Icarus?

....

Ok, lets consider this:

Starfox was being made by an ever increasingly incompetent Rare who haven't reached their glory days since the N64. The game wasn't actually all that bad, just not to usual standards. I would say it was a 7/10 game.

Donkey Kong, i would like a fully fledged 3D donkey kong game but have you ever thought that Nintendo haven't yet thought of a way to fully integrate DK into 3D?

F-Zero didnt go into obscurity...

Mario Sunshine, hrm,tough one, i was dissapointed as the overall game was very good but it just didnt have that overall Mario magic, dont think anybody thought it did but Mario Galaxy will resurrect this, i can feel it. Still a 9/10 game IMO.

Mario Kart, loved it, wasnt as good as the SNES version but neither was the N64 version, still a classic racer and one i played a lot with my mates.


Paper Mario, erm the quality of these are still insanely high, peoples only quabbles with them are the difficultly levels.

LOTZ, Now you are just being verly critical for no reason, TP was a great game, anyone who says it isnt is really talking out of their arse.

Metroid, im not even going to comment on how the game series is flailing....

Then what about the new franchises that arose within the GC, Pikmin and Animal Crossing for example.
I dont see a great deal wrong with the Nintendo franchises at the moment.

Starfox and Mario Baseball were developed by Namco in exchange for the exclusive release of a handfull of games.

F-Zero was developed by Sega in exchanged for the exclusive release of a handfull of games.

Geist was a game developed by a small third party developer which Nintendo published; it was rumored that Nintendo was looking for another western developer (like Retro) to boost its fortunes in North America and Europe but that their relationship with nSpace was not so great ...

Donkey Kong finds itself it a redundant space where Mario is King. Donkey Kong Barrel Blast is a poorly thought out game in general though:

"Originally Donkey Kong Barrel Blast was to be controlled using the the DK Bongos; the left and right drums would steer in their respective directions, and rolling both drums accelerated. When the game was moved to the Wii, the DK Bongos were replaced with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, having the player to shake the controller in place of hitting the drums. The player can also raise the remote and Nunchuk to jump, and use the motion sensing to punch opponents and obstacles, and to use items."

Super Mario Sunshine gets way too much bashing for how good of a game it was; being that it was only one of the best games of the generation it was released in, and that it didn't revolutionize the industry, it is seen as a faliure in the Mario Series.

Well, I mainly disagree with Onimusha12 on most of his statements.

Starfox: No real comments here.

Donkey Kong: DK Jungle Beat was a great game. Yes it was short, but the bongos made it a one of a kind experience and thinking out ways to constantly increase your combo to get to platinum level for all stages was a real challenge.

F-Zero: I enjoyed the GC version very much.

Mario: Sunshine didn't live up to its predecessor, but still it wasn't a bad game. Super Mario Galaxy seems to be able to blow everybody away again though, so in one month this franchise will be back to its old glory once more.

Geist: So a new franchise failed, who cares. Lets add another new franchise while we're at it.

Pikmin: Yes, another new franchise from last generation. The first one was good but limited, the second one was a great game. Can't wait for the announcement of the third iteration in the series.

Mario Kart: I agree that the GC version wasn't the best one out there, but many people really love the last one Nintendo made for the DS and I expect the new Wii version to continue on that path.

Paper Mario: Never played the first one, but I enjoyed both Paper Mario 2 and Super Paper Mario in a different way.

Legend of Zelda: So both Windwaker and Twilight Princess were not able to outdo Ocarina of Time, but what game did? It is still ranked number 1 of all time on gamerankings. I myself loved the Windwaker for its style and Twilight Princess was in many ways the true successor of Ocarina of Time. Its main problem was that it of course didn't have the new feeling Ocarina had, but I still very much enjoyed the game, I really loved Midna as a new character and as long as Nintendo makes games at that level I really don't think you have any right to complain.

Metroid: Metroid Prime was a great translation of 2D Metroid to 3D Metroid. In a sense this game went through the same process as Mario and Zelda did on the N64. The original Metroid Prime is the game with the highest average review score of the last generation, so I really don't think you can complain there. Maybe it is not your type of game, but that doesn't mean it is not a great game.

Starfox: I agree with you wholeheatedly

Donkey Kong: I agree

F-Zero: F-Zero GX for Gamecube is considered the pinnacle of the series. F-Zero fans and hardcore gamers a like consider this one of the Gamecube's best titles. You are first person I've heard call it disappointing. Now the recent portable versions of the series based on the anime' are another story.

Geist: Was definitely a hit or miss title, it is either loved or loathed. That said unless their is a Geist 2 in the works, I wouldn't call it a franchise.

Mario Kart: Double Dash was considered a disappointment by most. The main problem with the Mario Kart series is the CPU assistance. In the last few titles its been better to hang around in second place until the last possible moment because of the "rubber band" AI.

Paper Mario: I have never relly gotten into the franchise so I can't speak to who its been handled.

Legend of Zelda: Zelda needs a serious overhaul. Like the Mario titles the basic premise of Zelda games have been pretty much the same. The difference is that Mario titles usually have significantly different gameplay elements added to each sequel to shake things up. Zelda's gameplay has been the same since The Ocarina of Time. That wouldn't be so bad if the story would compensate but the story has been generally the same as well. Either Nintendo has to step up the story and character development to Fire Emblem levels or dramatically change how the gameplays.

Metroid: The Metroid Prime titles are the best selling Metroid titles. The reason it took so long for a Metroid sequel is that despite its critical acclaim, Super Metroid didn't sell all to well. In fact the reason it took so long for Super Metroid to be created was because Metroid II didn't sell exceptionally well nor did the original. I don't know whats in store for the franchise but I'm betting on either a 2D title from Intelligent Systems or a Third Person title for Wii.

What !?

Amusement Vision 's F-Zero is the best title in the serie ( at this moment, obviously ). Are you  crazy ? Did you play it ?

As far as sales go, many big-name franchises have taken a hit (MGS, FF, Halo, Zelda, etc).

 Quoting all the way!! What did you guys played? That game's awsome!!!

Oh, and Celine, good to see you here as well, my friend (coming straight from GR.it)!!! XDXDXDXD

 ouch... XDXDXD

While I definitely agree most Nintendo franchises were at their worst at the GameCube era, not all were AND a lot of them are recovering now on the Wii/DS.

Oh...and uh on the topic of the Zelda series.

I'd say The Wind Waker and Twilight Princess are a lot better then OoT and my two favorite Zelda's. JMHO. 

Nintendo's franchises have been growing with the times, changing and evolving.

I think they'll be alright.