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Famitsu Readers Rank The Top 50 Nintendo Games Of All Time

The bonus catalogue that accompanies the latest edition of Famitsu contains the readers top fifty Nintendo games of all time. The results were taken from a survey conducted by the popular Japanese gaming publication and here are the surprising results:

1. Super Mario Bros. NES
2. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time N64
3. Super Mario 64 N64
4. Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past SNES
5. Mother 2 SNES
6. Xenoblade Wii
7. Legend of Zelda NES
8. Super Mario RPG SNES
9. Smash Bros. Melee GC
10. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Wii
11. Fire Emblem – Seisen no Keifu SNES
12. Famicom Mukashi-banashi Famicom-DiscDrive
13. Super Mario Kart SNES
14. Famicom Tantei Club Part II Famicom-DiscDrive
15. Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker GC
16. Fire Emblem – Monsho no Nazo SNES
17. Legend of Zelda – Links Awakening GB
18. Super Mario World SNES
19. Super Mario Sunshine GC
19. Smash Bros. Brawl Wii
21. Donkey Kong Country SNES
22. Ice Climber NES
23. Mother NES
24. F-ZERO SNES
25. Kirby Super Star SNES
26. Mario Kart Wii Wii
27. Mario Kart 64 N64
28. Pokemon Red/Blue/Green/Pikachu GB
29. Super Mario Bros. 3 NES
30. Super Mario Galaxy Wii
31. Star Fox SNES
32. Magical Vacation GBA
33. Kirbys Air Ride GC
34. Golf NES
35. Joy Mech Fight NES
36. Donkey Kong Country 2 SNES
37. Super Mario 64 DS DS
38. Legend of Zelda – Twilight Princess Wii
39. Legend of Zelda – Majoras Mask N64
40. Animal Crossing: Wild World DS
41. Donkey Kong NES
42. Smash Bros. N64
42. Volley Ball Famicom-DiscDrive
44. Banjo-Tooie N64
45. Baseball NES
46. Famicom Tantei Club Famicom-DiscDrive
47. Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi NES
48. Metroid Famicom-DiscDrive
48. Metroid II – Return of Samus GB
50. Super Mario: Yoshis Island SNES

196 thoughts on “Famitsu Readers Rank The Top 50 Nintendo Games Of All Time”

      1. I love Zelda too, but this is just plain fanboyism. Grow the fuck up.
        ___________________________________
        I think Mother 2 has earned a very well deserved place, maybe even higher.
        Pokemon Red/Blue/Etc. could have done with a higher place though, even if you don’t enjoy playing the game, you still can see it’s a very well made game.
        #28 for those games is just not high enough to show it’s importance for Nintendo.

    1. Oh, and even though i really didn’t try, First! :D (I just had to, but at least i posted logical comments!)

    2. Ocarina is overrated. Skyward should be higher. Twilight Princess shouldn’t even be on this list. Majora should also be WAY higher.

      1. Twilight Princess should be higher. Skyward should be lower. Ocarina shouldn’t even be on the list.

        See, I can do this, too.

      1. I agree that Super Mario 64 was an amazing game, but it wasn’t an amazing remake. Ocarina of Time 3D was a brilliant remake and it’s not in the top 50… Animal Crossing was an amazing game and the best example of online play on DS.

      1. I disagree. I think Animal Crossing truly belongs on a handheld system. Can’t wait until Animal Crossing 3DS! :D

        1. animal crossing wild world removed a lot of the unique features from animal crossing gcn and added little but minor customization and online play. it took away the depth from the series and even city folk has yet to reach the depth of the gcn version. i could name at least 15 very interesting things that they removed but that would take up too much time. i think on a forum post from some 3 years ago i was able to name 29, but my memory is alas foggy…

          but here’s to hoping that animal crossing 3ds will be a world with many details as well as awesome online play! :) just from the trailer it seems like a huge jump from the rest of the series so it probably will!

          1. I agree. Til this day the GCN version is my favorite Animal Crossing, because of all the detail that was put into the game. The music, codes, neighbors were more interactive, and not to mention THE NES GAMES!!! Wild World scored an A for multiplayer, but it felt like a skinned down version of the GCN. And City Folk was nice, but it still wasn’t as complex as the one on the GCN (imo). Hopefully the 3DS will meet and go beyond the expectations I expected of Wild World.

        1. still.

          Metroid was made in Japan and yet it’s only 48.

          only Prime series was made out of Japan, it was made in USA.

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      1. majoras mask is my top 1 favourite game in all of my nintendo history!! that famitsu has to learn many things about gameplay!

        1. mine too is my favorite Zelda game ever!!!!! my second favorite being Zelda oracle of ages. a can’t wait for its remake Zelda mm 3ds

    1. Compare to melee, i thought brawl sucked balls (its not a bad game) but the only improvement i saw was more characters, and maps (the story was repetative, boring with a dumb story) the stickers added nothing, the map creation was a joke, the online lagged (your a fool if you thought is was good) and the gameplay felt slow and dumb down….. but i gues it comes down to opinion.

      1. you forgot one more thing the fuckin cpu hates you so damn bad to a point when the match starts all three of them go straight after you and dont even fight the other cpu arggggggg it fuckin pisses me off so freakin bad >:/

  2. what the hell.. wheres the metroid prime series or mother 3
    theres not even a metroid game on there except at the bottom of the list .. guess metroid is mostly american

    1. No, this List isn’t wrong, it’s just japanese! xD

      You see it at Xenoblade. This game sucks imo but it’s ranked 6. WTF? It’s not that good. But maybe it got “Because-it’s-relatively-new”-Bonus.

  3. Livin Aint Eazy When You Cheezy

    I agree, for the most part, about this list. As long as OoT was in the top 3 I’m good. Though Metroid Prime does kick serious ass!

  4. :o Mother 2 in the top 5??? Well, makes sense since this is a Japanese poll. I’m surpised to see the first mother up here but not mother 3. IMO mother 3 was on par with mother 2. Although Mother did have a pretty dramatic endin, not as dramatic as Mother 3, though

  5. Half of this crap is nostalgia. The older games (Especially NES Games) aren’t really that good, it’s just pure nostalgia that’s ridden them. Heck, Zelda NES was done by SEVEN people.

    1. Your point? SEVEN people made one of the best games all time. I think there are better Zelda games like SS but LoZ set a standard for good games extremely high.

    1. i am sorry to interupting u mr sonavabich eden hazzard but ur trolling more than the others and steal our names,give up and go to cry ro ur mom.

      1. I isnts all the fakes peteriusss or many peteriusss variationsss.buts I is reels peteriusss.lerns somes betterer insults.u stupids German shepherd.

      1. OoT: Survives solely off nostalgia. Link to the Past was better, Twilight Princess was better, Minish Cap was so much better.
        SS: Seeing as this is a user-made poll, a lot of people would be turned off by mandatory motion controls and how the game is designed around them instead of, y’know, being a good game.

  6. Whe could say its nostalgia but games like super mario bros and TLOZ ocarina of time did make landmarks on gaming

  7. But i do agree on why xeno blade its on 6 place i mean i know its japan ( and i actually like the game) but it does not compare too super mario bros. 3 or the legend of zelda for the NES

  8. Metroid has what, two games up there? And near the bottom of the list too. Metroid is probably better than most of those games… Not gonna lie, I am a HUGE Zelda fan, but I had more fun playing the Prime series than Skyward Sword, as it was just a really good game!

    1. Super Metroid or Prime would have been No.1 if I created this list because I think those are the best games in history! But it’s just not as popular in Japan as it is in Europe or the US… And Ocarina of Time is overrated IMO…!

  9. You’re all being idiotic by saying “Zelda should be number one.” First of all it’s only one position from first. Secondly sure YOU may think it should be number one, but the Japanese survey rated it number 2 and Mario number 1 meaning Mario is more popular in Japan and in my opinion the world. Mario is hands down the most known and loved video game character, you can’t seriously think the most known video game character would lose.

    1. I agree, this is only a the y from surve from a market in japan.

      its more of how nintendo it Japan > Western Gamers

    1. In my opinion, Mother 3’s story wasn’t as good. Mother 1 and 2 kind of have this story and aura to them that is so touching and emotional that you can’t help but feel with the characters, even the villain. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Mother series as a whole and it’s my favorite franchise of all time. Mother 1 and 2 just give a much broader variety of feelings while the majority of Mother 3 felt like it was trying to depress me… and it was successful. XD The battle interface and mechanics were amazing, though. I loved that I could apply my musical abilities into the game and that the PSI attacks were much better organized. Made it easier to play when I bought my real copy. =P

      1. GOLDEN EYE IS THE BEST GAME EVER.but why now golden eye will released to ps3 and 360!!!? i saw the news on des games and it said the remake of remake! but golden eye is nintendos platform and only shooter game i think.

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  11. a friend gave me a gift and it was a pspvita! when i opened the system it was all in the japanese languege,anyway he gave me a game als to play (pro evo.11) but i dont like football at all,anyway so i ve saw pspvitas games and i didnt like them (not all,at least the half of its games) so i prefare to have my 3ds because it has mario,zelda,soon it will have super smash FUCKING browl!!! I LOVE IT!!!

  12. This list is lame…no Galaxy 2?? Galaxy 1 is ranked 30th? Where’s Goldeneye? I am happy though that Xenoblade was top 10….and why the crap is Skyward Sword so far down the list?? Blasphemy!

  13. Why are so many old games near the top?? Sure they’re great and they made Nintendo famous but it doesn’t mean that they’re better than modern games. I mean Galaxy is farrrrrrrrrrrrr better than most of the games above it. Also why is Pokemon so far down?? It’s the second most successful franchise in history behind Mario!! Plus no Advance Wars?? How depressing.

  14. This is a Japanese listing, not North America. They have different tastes than we do. Also those results were taken from one site/gaming publication. It does not represent EVERYONE WHOSE EVER PLAYED NINTENDO GAMES.

    Anywho, I think its a good list considering I know most of the games on there. Some replies mentioned games I never played which is cool too.

  15. It’s good to see FE4 and at a high ranking none the less (11 to be more precise), but WTF is FE1 doing there!?!

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  17. No super metroid. Figured even the Japanese would get chubbys from this game as well. Such is life. Good list for the most part though. Can’t wait for xenoblade. Playing through radiant historia ds now. Great game so far. Impossible to find a copy so get one if you can. Happy new year!

  18. I’m not suprised to see Super Mario Bros. as number 1. It is after all, the game that rebuilt the industry back in the day, and is responsible for giving birth to the gamer in most of us. It’s the perfect game to introduce someone to the gaming world.

    This list runs like a who’s who of the best games of all time. Did anyone else notice number 20 is missing?

  19. How could Super Mario Bros. be the number 1 Nintendo game? The best Mario sidescroller is either SMB3 or NSMB for the DS. Even then, I’m surprised that OOT wasn’t number 1 on the list.

  20. Where is battle toads?!?! Also one thing I noticed is that all of nintendos best games were apparently for the NES and SNES with a decent amount from N64… So their best games according to these readers were made a longgg time ago…

    1. Oh and why is Mario Kart Double Dash not on there or at least where Mario Kart Wii is ??? (DD was way better then Mario Kart Wii)

      1. Agreed. Double Dash added a unique racing experience now racing game I know of gives you. I still play my double dash at college. =P Also, Golden Eye was revolutionary at its time and is practically the building block to shooters today.. which is both a good and bad thing.

        1. Japan doesn’t like FPS games or Goldeneye would be there…

          Nope, MK Wii is 100000000000000x better than Double Dash. While DD introduced many good play techniques, items and character match ups, it was hindered by its lack of online play, overpowered specials for particular characters, and uninteresting courses.

  21. – No Pikmin? It’s the only RTS game I know of for Nintendo consoles..
    – Only first generation pokemon? I can make a list as to why it’s not nearly as good as the newer ones other than it started the series… *cough* bad mechanics and glitches *cough*
    – Finally. People who realize Brawl is making a game meant for fun too serious.
    – Mother 1 AND 2 on here? I’m pleasantly surprised <3
    – Why is Metroid on the list but not Super Metroid? Metroid was frusterating and had much less exploration..
    – No main franchise Kirby games? Crystal Shards for N64 was incredible!
    – I'm surprised not a single Prince of Persia or Megaman game made it here.

    The list is great and all, but a lot of these I feel are on here for nostalgic reasons, not because of how incredible they were. =/

    1. Hay I don't have a name

      I see what you mean with pokemon but for a lot of people me included new pokemon games are ruining the charm and nostalgia that games like red blue and crystal hold.

      I’m also glad to see your a mother fan but I’m dearly upset that Earthbound zero beat out Mother 3 which is by far my favorite game of all time.

  22. How is Donkey Kong Country 2 not higher up! I mean seriously that game was amazing! plus typical the the super mario bros is no 1 just because its the first super mario game =/ also Melee is better than Brawl huh tbh I didn’t think so really I thought brawl was ALOT better

  23. “34. Golf NES” what…? Most of the other eye-openers have been mentioned by other people, but…golf NES? I’ve never played it so I guess I can’t judge, it just seems so weird to me D=

    1. Famitsu did not make this. its readers did.

      Anyway i can’t believe Metroid is 48. and Twilight Princess is so low.

  24. Pingback: Famitsu Readers Rate the top 50 Nintendo Games of All Time | Zelda Sanctuary - Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Zelda Wii U, Walkthroughs, News, Forums, and more!

  25. Personally, I think The Legend of Zelda series should have been the 1st set of games on the list beating all other games.

  26. Few problems with this list: Mario Kart: Double Dash is the best Mario Kart game, Brawl is better than Melee, Super Mario Sunshine is better than 64 and Galaxy, and there isn’t a single Metroid Prime game on this list…

  27. Okay, this list is crazy. No Mario game could beat a Zelda game, and there’s no way Ocarina of Time beat Majora’s Mask. . . I really don’t know how Twilight Princess beat Majora’s Mask.

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  29. While I love Metroid and Metroid II: Return of Samus. I wish there were more on that list. Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion are my favorites. Prime is excellent too. Also there are two Zeldas in the top 5. That’s 2 more than there should be.

  30. Original super mario bros can stay where it’s at because it is the most epic video game ever made. But just because some games are classics doesn’t make them better than the newer games like Skyward Sword. Don’t get me wrong I love the older games and they were amazing, but their next generations are so so much more amazing and just keep getting better.

  31. Major’s msk in 39?!!?!??!?!?! WTF?!?! it should be at least in the top 15, c’mon!! happy SS is on top 10 at least…

  32. No Paper Mario? No Mother 3? 1 pokemon game? Original super mario bros 28 places higher than 3? Xenoblade as #6? WTF!?

    1. They had the other 2 Mother games, don’t cry about it. Also, every Pokemon game is pretty much exactly the same. And Xenoblade is amazing.

  33. Okay, okay. Where the fuck is mother 3? No way earthbound zero gets in and mother 3 doesn’t. I WANT A FUCKING EXPLINATION

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