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Japan Ranks Their Favourite Nintendo Franchises

Japanese publication My Navi has conducted a survey to find out exactly what Japan’s favourite Nintendo franchises are. The survey was split between male and female, and the results for the survey can be found below. Do you agree with the results?

Men:

  1. Super Mario
  2. Legend of Zelda
  3. Pokemon
  4. Kirby
  5. Donkey Kong
  6. Smash Bros.
  7. Mother (Earthbound)
  8. Fire Emblem
  9. Metroid
  10. F-ZERO

Women:

  1. Super Mario
  2. Pokemon
  3. Kirby
  4. Donkey Kong
  5. Animal Forest (Animal Crossing)
  6. Legend of Zelda
  7. Rhythm Heaven
  8. Smash Bros.
  9. Pikmin
  10. Fire Emblem

142 thoughts on “Japan Ranks Their Favourite Nintendo Franchises”

            1. Says the guy coming from a ms franchise where you can actually have same sex marriages and intercourse etc in one of their franchises ;). The ironing is delicious.

  1. HAHAHAAHA the wiiu will fail and nintendo will close,say goodbye to your pathetic motherfucking company and say hellow to the future…MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY!

    1. I am so excited for the WiiU.
      I was watching the Kevin Butler commercials, (Hilarious BTW) turns out, I DO love Playstation Commercials.
      Anyway, seeing the PS3 graphics, knowing I will soon be playing AC3, ZombiU and my favorite Nintendo IPs in HD…and the gamepad’s second screen?!
      Damn, I am so ready.

              1. Mass Effect 1
                Gears of War (I consider the whole series a single entity)
                Blue Dragon
                Fable II
                The Gunstringer (only kinect game worth playing)
                Halo: Reach and ODST (only two games in the series that I like)
                Infinite Undiscovery
                Kameo: Elements of Power
                Lost Odyssey
                Naruto: Rise of a Ninja

                There’s eleven right there. Don’t sink to his level! There are great 360 and PS3 titles. Which is why I own three systems.

                1. The Xbox may play multi platform games better than other consoles, but Metacritic places 5 of those exclusives under 80/100. I’d replace them with Fez and Forza 4, yet still I believe that, since I can only get two, PS3 and the Wii are the ones. Also, I am a huge fan of Ratchet and Clank, so that may have influenced my decisions a bit…

                2. Super mario galaxy 1 and 2 , twilight princess , skyward sword , smash bros brawl , Xenoblade chronicles , The last story , Donkey kong country returns , Muramasa demon blade , No more Heroe’s 1 and 2 , Monster hunter tri , Fire emblem Radiant Dawn , Metroid prime 3 / trilogy , Animal crossing lets go to the city , Wii sports resort , metroid others , Red steel 2 .
                  The wii has the best exclusives with the ps3 . the 360 has Halo and forza , lool . and most of the 360’s exclusives can be found on the PC .

                  sorry bro had to write the list , the wii and the ps3 >>>>>>>>> 360 .

                  1. Like I said, I own all three consoles. He asked me to name 7 exclusives, I named eleven. I never claimed that they were better than the ones on the Wii or the PS3.

                  1. AGAIN! I OWN THREE SYSTEMS! I am a gamer first and foremost! I never claimed that the 360 was better than the PS3 or the Wii. The Wii is my favourite console this gen!

            1. Your bestselling Xbox game has sold enough copies to land on 8th place on the list of best selling Wii games. It seems the only thing that Microsoft is the future of is going bankrupt!

        1. Funny you say that because all the games I’ve played on PS3 run at 1080p at 60 fps…Just like the Xbox 360. They’re one in the same, just different companies and different exclusives.

          1. ”because all the games I’ve played on PS3 run at 1080p at 60 fps”
            I think you mean upscaled resoloution , not native 1080 p .

            80% of ps3 and 360 games are native 540P upscaled , 15% of ps3 and 360 games are native 720p upscaled , and less than 5% are native 1080p full HD resoloution .

        2. I’d ask if your parents dropped you on your head as a child, but judging by your comments I’d say they threw you. Sad that you found your way back though. They must be disappointed…

    2. Ha I can’t wait for my WiiU. Ik I’ll have fun playing the system as I had more fun playing its predecessor than playing the 360. 360 was ok but I felt that the Wii was better as I preferred a different control style than the usual 360 shaped controller. I’m blessed to have pre ordered it before it sold out along with trading in my 360 and some games for credit xD

    1. and dont be so glad because nintendo has made a broken promise…something that you have been w8ting for…yes that starfox game,…it will never come oh and thats for babies so whos gonna buy that shit ur baby and ungly grandmother or just your mom YIIIIIHAHAHAHAHAH

  2. Kinda right, specially for men… but the order isn’t the best. I mean, Smash Bros is behind Kirby!
    I’d vote for: 1- Legend of Zelda 2- Mario 3- Pokemon 4- Super Smash Bros 5- Star Fox 6- Donkey Kong 7- Kirby and the rest I’m not sure

  3. Aeolus and the other trolls are getting so pathetic.
    I almost feel sorry for them. It’s to the point that EVERY word of every post has me either smiling, or laughing.
    They are so getting PWNED this November, and they don’t even realize it yet.
    Vita get’s it’s ass kicked around the globe, and they troll on.

    In addition to other responsibilities, I analyze analytics for our corporate site. Aeolus, Ness, Von Scrotum, and all the AKA’s are building Nintendo’s online presence.

    So. Gotta lov’em and hat’em.
    Web hits for Nintendo!

  4. I’m surprised that the lists share a lot of games.

    I’m also surprised by the order of some of these games too… I thought Smash Bros would rank higher for the males.

    1. I thought LoZ would rank higher for women, I see a lot more girls around where I am wearing Zelda gear, then guys and any other Nintendo franchise.

        1. Well I’m in Australia and from a city population of about 500,000 I at least see someone wearing a Zelda shirt once every 2 weeks or so.

    2. I’m suprised Zelda went down so low for girls. Come on ladies! Though Animal Crossing being up there is no surprise. And it’s nice to know Pokemon and Smash Bros are pretty popular among girls.

  5. Me
    1) Legend Of Zelda
    2) Super Mario
    3) Smash Bros.
    4) Metroid
    5) Pokemon
    6) Golden Sun
    7) Fire Emblem
    8) Donkey Kong
    9) Star Fox
    10)Kirby

  6. 1. Zelda
    2. Metroid
    3. BAYONETTA (Close enough to a first party at this point. I know. Not really.)
    4. Pikmin
    5. Smash Bros
    6. Fire Emblem

  7. Mine would be
    1. Metroid
    2. Super Smash Bros
    3. Legend of Zelda
    4. Starfox
    5. Pikmin
    6. Super Mario Bros
    7. Pokemon
    8. F-Zero
    9. Donkey Kong
    10. Fire Emblem

  8. 1 Super Mario
    2 Pokemon
    3 Metroid
    4 Eartbound/ Mother
    5 Super Smash Bros.
    6 Pikmin
    7 Star Fox
    8 Kirby
    9 Golden Sun
    10 Legend of Zelda

  9. Why can’t we just say that certain people have certain preferences when it comes to consoles? I like the Wii, PS3, and 360 and I am very excited for Wii U.

  10. Now if only Nintendo would realise that it has so many mother fans and FRICKIN MAKE SOME MORE MOTHER GAMES….jokes guys, I know better than to hold onto that dream :'(

  11. 1. Zelda
    2. Smash Bros
    3. Pokemon
    4. Metroid
    5. Mario
    6. Mother
    7. Pikmin
    8. Star Fox
    9. Kirby
    10. F-Zero
    Donkey Kong would make 11.

    1. Mine would be:

      1. Legend of Zelda
      2. Pokemon
      3. Animal Crossing
      4. Kirby
      5. Super Smash Bros.
      6. Star Fox
      7. Mario
      8. Fire Emblem
      9. Metroid (I’ve never played a game.)
      10. Mother (I’ve only played 10 mins of a rom. It crashed before I did much of anything)

      8, 9, and 10 are pretty interchangeable for me. I may have forgotten something.

  12. 1. Kirby (I LOVE KIRBY BLAhBLAH KIRBY OCD!!!!!!!!!! :DDD KIRBY!!!)
    2. Animal Crossing (I have a mansion/last expansion in all of the games ;3)
    3. Mother (I love Mother, so dramatic, I could almost become friends with everyone in all 3 games if I could!)
    4. Smash Bros. (I’m gonna pound ya’ll!)
    5. Mario (Pretty cool, my favorite game on the whole earth is TTYD though.)
    6. Zelda (Hard, but a little too hard)
    7. Starfox (Eh, could have been better.)
    8.Fire Emblem (Never played, hoping to get the one for 3DS.)
    9. Metroid (Yeah, disappointing.)
    10. Pokemon (Big no!)

  13. 1. The Legend of Zelda
    2. Metroid
    3. Smash Bros.
    4. StarFox
    5. Super Mario
    6. F-Zero
    7. Mario Kart
    8. Donkey Kong
    9. Kirby
    10. Animal Crossing

  14. So Metroid, despite having a female protagonist, isn’t even in the Top 10 for women. That’s a little surprising. Guess Metroid really isn’t that popular in Japan.

  15. 1. The Legend of Zelda
    2. Super Smash Bros
    3. Pikmin
    4. Super Mario Bros
    5. Kirby
    6. Advance Wars
    7. Starfox
    8. Donkey Kong
    9. F-Zero
    10. Metroid

  16. My list
    1.Mario
    1.Legend of Zelda
    1.Pokémon
    1.Kirby
    1.Smash Bros
    1.Donkey Kong
    1.Mother
    1.Fire Emblem
    1.F-ZERO
    1.Animal Crossing
    1.Rythym Heaven
    1.Pikmin
    1.Kid Icarus
    1.Starfox

  17. 1.Pokemon
    2.Mario Kart
    3.Super Mario
    4.Kid Icarus
    5.Super Smash Bros
    6.Kirby
    7.Legend of Zelda
    8.Mystery Dungeon
    9.Mario Tennis
    10.Fire Emblem

  18. It’s nice to see Japan still appreciates Mother. <3 if I were to write a list..

    1. Mother – This series changed my life forever and has a perminate spot in my heart
    2. Pokemon – This series made me love RPGs, and has the most intense RPG multiplayer to me
    3. Metroid – Super Metroid was my first game and minus other M, I enjoyed every game
    4. Mario – Was close to Metroid, but I felt more for Metroid's atmosphere
    5. Legend of Zelda – Windwaker is the most re-playable game to me next to pokemon.
    6. Kirby – Kirby solidified a spot in my heart when I discovered how truely dark the series is
    7. Pikmin – The only RTS game I truely love for its quirkiness and innovation
    8. Smash Brothers – I only wish it was a little better with the balance
    9. Kid icarus – I'd rank it higher, but I only truely enjoyed uprising.
    10. Animal Crossing – It's been slowly drifting from me. It's fun, but becomes tiring

  19. I thought women might like Metroid, since the main character is a woman as well, but seems I am mistaken… It’s not a surprise that Mario is on top of both lists, but I’d expect Zelda to be second with women as well. And I find it cool they liking Fire Emblem as well XD

  20. LOL, I thought Metroid would have a higher ranking since its so loved in america, but i guess FPS games aren’t Japan’s cup of tea, which I respect to some degree xD. Plus there’s probably some american Nintendo fans who don’t even know what Rythm Heaven is, just look in the eShop. :P
    Plus the last Great StarFox game(StarFox 64) was made over a decade ago so of course it wouldn’t be in their most recent survey in 2012, that’s why Hopefully with the Wii U, Nintendo can bring back the Badass Mercenary Pilot in all his Fast-Paced glory.

  21. My top 10 favourite Nintendo franchises are…
    1. The Legend of Zelda
    2. Pokemon
    3. Mario
    4. Super Smash Bros.
    5. Kirby
    6. Donkey Kong
    7. Kid Icarus
    8. Animal Crossing
    9. Metroid
    10. Star Fox

    I haven’t played Fire Emblem, F-Zero or EarthBound yet though I really want to.
    Kid Icarus is only on here for the awesomeness of Uprising.

  22. 1. Fire Emblem
    2. Kirby
    3. Legend of Zelda
    4. Super Mario
    5. Smash Bros.
    6. Kid Icarus (I consider it a series anyway)
    7. Star Fox
    8. Golden Sun
    9. Pokemon
    10. Metroid

  23. For me:

    1. The Legend of Zelda
    2. Super Mario
    3. Donkey Kong
    4. Super Smash Bros
    5. Metroid
    6. Star Fox (Do a freaking barrel roll)
    7. Earthbound
    8. Kirby
    9. Animal Crossing
    10. Yoshi

    Honarable Mentions:
    – Kid Icarus
    – Wario
    – F-Zero

  24. For me:
    1. The Legend of Zelda
    2. Pokémon
    3. Smash Bros
    4. Animal Crossing
    5. Pikmin
    6. Kirby
    7. Mario Bros
    8. Metroyd
    9. Golden Sun
    10. Rhythm Heaven

  25. 1. The Legend of Zelda
    2. Pokémon
    3. Smash Bros
    4. Animal Crossing
    5. Pikmin
    6. Kirby
    7. Mario Bros
    8. Metroid
    9. Golden Sun
    10. Rhythm Heaven

    1. I don’t think it’s a matter of hate, just not alot of interest overall. This is just Nintendo franchises after all. If other companies were involved, Metroid would probably get buried under most series.

      Heck, Super Metroid is hailed as the series best by the fans, and that one sold terribly in Japan.

  26. 1. Mario, 2. Legend of Zelda, 3. Metroid, 4. Donkey Kong, 5. Mario Kart, 6. Paper Mario, 7. Kid Icarus, 8. Earthbound, 9. Eternal Darkness, 10. Star Tropics.

    1. Oh, Star Tropics is such a good one. Such a shame it was an exclusive release for Nintendo West. Nintendo is never going to bring it back :(

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