Since the early 1980s, Nintendo was one of the first companies to come to mind when most people think of video games. Even before the Nintendo Entertainment System saved the industry from a financial crisis, its arcade games as Donkey Kong and Mario Bros. defined games. Today, Nintendo is a mainstay in the gaming world, and the popularity of the Switch and its exclusive titles are proof of that. But of the company’s long line of home consoles, which Nintendo system is the best?
Nintendo entered the console industry in the mid-1980s with the Nintendo Entertainment System, and its instant success cemented the corporation’s place as one of the best in the field. Its simple but effective control, combined with the strong line of NES games, crushed Atari and pushed Sega in. Players have been playing on Nintendo platforms since then, and the company is unlikely to leave anytime soon. These consoles tend to be extremely unique when compared to their competitors and, regardless of how successful they have been, each one is memorable and fun to turn to.
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Over the years, Nintendo has released seven home consoles, without considering any updated or alternative versions, such as the Nintendo Switch Lite or the Wii Mini. Although these technically contain as separate pieces of hardware, they operate on the same operating systems and play the same game library, so they will not be counted in this list. Here are all Nintendo home consoles, ranked from worst to best.
# 7 – Nintendo Wii U (2012)
Needless to say, the Wii U is Nintendo’s weakest home console in general. He managed to beat Virtual Boy sales, but this is hardly an achievement. The device was weak, badly advertised and its library launched at a snail’s pace. The Wii U certainly had some gems, like Xenoblade Chronicles X, Splatoon, Super Mario Maker, Pikmin 3, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, and Mario Kart 8. It is also home to some of Nintendo’s most controversial titles, such as Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, Mario Tennis Ultra Smash, and Paper Mario: Color Splash. Most of these games have sequences or ports on the Switch, which makes the platform even more redundant. There was fun on the Wii U, but especially compared to the PS4 and Xbox One, many players thought their money was better spent elsewhere.
# 6 – Nintendo Wii (2006)
The Wii was Nintendo’s most financially successful home console, but the platform was largely a fad. This is where Nintendo’s appeal to a casual audience peaked, which is not inherently bad, but it alienated more hardcore fans in the process. The platform was severely weak compared to the Xbox 360 and PS3, and its controller forced players to use motion controls, whether they wanted to or not.
Many players have also noticed that the popularity of Wii Sports and the focus on motion controls inspired the Wii library to consist of a lot of shovelware. Even so, the Wii had great games, like Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Metroid Prime 3, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Donkey Kong Country Returns. The Wii was not Nintendo’s worst console, but it led the corporation to failure when it created the aforementioned Wii U based on the success of the Wii.
# 5 – Nintendo Entertainment System (1983 in Japan, 1985 in the USA)
Known as the Famicom in Japan, Nintendo’s first console launched during a time when people were losing faith in the quality of the games they were buying, but were successful with the power of the original Super Mario Bros. games. Since then, developers have observed the success of Nintendo’s hardware and software and imitated its execution. Mario popularized the platform genre and The legend of Zelda did the same for action-adventure. The NES is easily Nintendo’s most important and revolutionary platform, but most games in its library have seen superior sequences. Super Mario, Zelda, Mega Man, Castlevania, Metroid, Mother, and Final fantasy they are all great, but there are equal or better versions of all of them only on the Super Nintendo. The NES is historic, with a library of timeless classics, but many are looking for something more refined than these sketches of classic Nintendo series that have not aged well.
# 4 – Nintendo 64 (1996)
Similar to the NES, the Nintendo 64 revolutionized 3D console games, introducing fans to open worlds like Super Mario 64’s and Ocarina of Timeand the 3D games with enhanced freedom offered when compared to 2D. It was also the first Nintendo home console to allow four players to play simultaneously, which was strongly reflected in its library. GoldenEye revolutionized the genre of first-person shooter for console and the popularity of Mario Party and Super Smash Bros. started on this platform. But while Ocarina of Time and Majora mask are often considered to be some of the best Nintendo games of all time, a large part of the N64 library has not aged well. Like the NES, future platforms have released enhanced variants of the N64 library, with GoldenEye and Super Smash Bros, in particular, showing their ages.
# 3 – Nintendo Switch (2017)
Nintendo’s current platform saved the company from the potential destruction announced by Wii U. Most fans began to expect Nintendo’s hardware to be weaker than the competition, but this was the first platform where that difference in power seemed justified. The ability to easily switch between playing on a TV and playing portably is an extremely convenient change that has encouraged casual and hardcore fans to embark. This even allowed the Switch to be able to compete fiercely with the PlayStation and Xbox.
The Nintendo Switch game catalog is also fantastic, featuring titles like Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Splatoon 2, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Fire emblem: three houses. The console, unfortunately, relied on many Switch Wii U ports, such as Mario Kart 8 or Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, to reinforce your library, however, which may make it look like an extension of the Wii U era instead of something entirely new.
# 2 – Super Nintendo entertainment system (1990)
After Sega Genesis aggressively attacked the NES in its successful marketing campaign, Nintendo responded with SNES, which is often considered one of the best consoles of all time. Your controller is one of the best for 2D games, and your library has stood the test of time. Zelda: a link to the past, Super Mario World, Final Fantasy 6, Crono Trigger, Super Metroid, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Earthbound, Donkey Kong Country, and Street Fighter 2 are just a few examples of the classics that defined the era of SNES games. If the NES revolutionized the 2D video game, the SNES refined it.
# 1 – Nintendo GameCube (2001)
In the same way that the SNES took what the NES did well and improved it, the GameCube took advantage of the N64’s strengths and ran with them. The GameCube was a powerhouse, with games that still look solid today. Like the N64, games like Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mario Kart: Double Dash !! continued to support Nintendo’s revered sofa multiplayer.
The GameCube was also home to many exceptional experiences for a player, such as Zelda: The Wind Waker, Resident Evil 4, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Metroid Prime, Eternal Darkness, Luigi’s Mansion, and Super Mario Sunshine. The GameCube did not try to appeal to reinvent the wheel, but, ironically, that platform was when Nintendo was most innovative from the point of view of the software. Most GameCube games are radically different from those on other Nintendo platforms, and each brings something unique to the table of their respective franchises.
The GameCube may not have been Nintendo’s best-selling platform, but that hardly means the console was a failure. Today, his games are some of the most requested by fans for re-releases of the Switch. This marked an era when the developer was more willing to take bold risks – not by creating an ingenious controller with a screen or motion controls, but by creating an entirely new experience that some may not love. All of Nintendo’s The consoles have been fun and full of great games, but the GameCube has a slight advantage over what others can offer, with its excellent multiplayer and single-player games.
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