A Look At 4 Of Nintendo’s Biggest Properties

The Nintendo Wii won’t be the juggernaut that it is if it weren’t for Wii Sports, Super Mario Galaxy, and even Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The Nintendo DS Lite won’t be dominating sales charts without titles like New Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and Nintendogs.

These show us the extreme importance of first party games for any gaming system – portable or otherwise.

First party games, after all, are exclusive to the system – a reason for gamers to support the console for the chance to experience what the title can offer.

And Nintendo is rich with first party properties. Which among them are the most recognizable? Here are the top 4 Nintendo franchises of all time:

1. Mario. Mario has become the mascot for Nintendo, if not the face of the video game industry. Mario, after all, led the resurgence of the industry when the NES was released. Almost every household owns a Mario game or two, and everyone –and this means EVERYONE from Tennessee to Tibet – will recognize Mario as well as his less illustrious but also famous brother, Luigi.

2. Legend of Zelda. Legend of Zelda is the first action-RPG that charmed the world. As a top down adventure game for the NES, people saw the depth behind its seeming simplicity – a philosophy that was maintained with each and every installment in the series. Every Legend of Zelda game offers a different story (unless one is the direct sequel of the other, which has only happened thrice before), but they will always include Link, Princess Zelda, Ganon (the final boss in every game), and the Triforce.

3. Metroid. The adventures of Samus always bring back fond memories for old and new Nintendo players. Fun times are always associated with being able to roll into a ball for the first time, discovering breakable walls that reveal hidden passages to monumental suit upgrades, and beating the crap out of Mother Brain after dying 50 times trying to figure out her pattern. Since its NES incarnation, Metroid has been transformed as a first person adventure (not shooter, according to Nintendo itself) for the Gamecube, the Wii, and the Nintendo DS Lite. And now, Team Ninja – the same development group that gave us Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Ninhja Gaiden Sigma 2 – has taken the reins of bringing us a new Metroid game… and everybody is excited once again.

4. Pokemon. Pokemon was a surprise moneymaker for Nintendo. Up to now, company execs still can’t believe how the property has become a billion dollar franchise for Nintendo. The idea of populating a game world with hundreds of monsters and challenging players to “gotta catch ‘em all” has paid dividends for the number one video company in the world.