60. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U)
Retro Studios demonstrated once again that it can take a treasured Nintendo franchise and keep it relevant, with modern thrills and retro nods expertly combined. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze utilised the Wii U’s graphical capabilities beautifully, with levels both stunning in design and looks, and impressive set-pieces that never skip a frame and can test any gamer’s skills.
Small touches and masterful contributions, such as the music of David Wise, only add to the experience. As a single-player experience, it is near flawless, but the precision of the level design can lead the often fun multiplayer into moments of chaos.
An excellent Wii U title that would inevitably be recruited for another tour of duty on Switch, it was a demonstration of how skilful developers and powerful hardware can be combined for spectacular results.
59. Pokémon Legends: Arceus (Switch)
Designated a mainline entry in the series by Game Freak itself, Pokémon Legends: Arceus feels like the result of the developers learning lessons for 25 years, refining the formula, and finally taking the franchise in a new, incredibly exciting direction.
Technically it may stumble in places, but with an emphasis on extremely rewarding exploration, addictive catching mechanics, a fine roster of Pokémon, and a genuine sense of scale that’s unlike anything in the series, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is up there with the greatest Pokémon games ever made in our book.
58. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Switch)
For years, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has been held as the best Mario RPG of all time, and the Switch remake proves it has earned that title.
This is a fantastic RPG adventure, whether you’re a Mario fan or not, with some best-in-class combat and brilliant writing. A fresh new localisation, beautifully enhanced visuals, and new quality-of-life features help iron out a few little creases to make this the definitive way to play a GameCube classic.
57. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GCN)
Some believe that your favourite Mario Kart game depends on which one you played first, or which you've played the most in multiplayer. This can lead to much contentious debate, but we have wonderful memories of Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
While not overflowing with new ideas, the racers were presented as gorgeous fully 3D models for the first time, the two-driver gimmick was extremely satisfying and introduced a new layer of strategy as you switched characters and juggled items, and it has some all-time great courses, including DK Mountain (ah, that little shortcut at the end!) and perennial favourite Baby Park, the hilariously hectic mini-loop.
It might lack a certain je ne sais quoi if you're devoted to other entries in the series, but this remains a chaotic karting classic in our book. We love it.
56. Tetris (GB)
With few of the bells and whistles that would arrive later on, Game Boy Tetris is arguably the purest expression of the original block-falling idea.
There have been countless ports of this addictive puzzler made available for just about every electronic device in existence, but the Game Boy version is arguably the most beloved and its clear visuals, responsive controls, and that theme tune make it easy to appreciate why.
The very deadliest of killer apps, no self-respecting Game Boy enthusiast should be without a copy.
55. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch)
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a massive, sprawling JRPG built by Monolith Soft, who developed the Baten Kaitos games on GameCube. The team also helped Nintendo design the world of Breath of the Wild, so there's no doubting the pedigree.
XC2 sees you explore a massive open world made up of Titans – enormous living creatures that house entire civilisations on their bodies. Along the way, you meet a wide variety of characters, solve a bunch of quests, and save the world. It's the developer doing what it does best, albeit without shaking off the series' occasional flaws. This is another Xenoblade gem, though, and a must-have RPG.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 also has a massive standalone DLC, Torna: The Golden Country, that's well worth playing. It serves as a prequel to the events of 2, so you can play it before or after. Larvely.
54. Pokémon Black and White 2 (DS)
Those who brushed Pokémon Black and White 2 off as simply more of the same back in 2012 were sorely mistaken.
On a superficial level, sure, the Pokémon games have not changed much, and for good reason; the foundation that was placed way back in Pokémon Red and Blue was incredibly solid and engaging from the off. By adding more around it and tweaking things under the hood, the series has grown far beyond its humble monochromatic origins, even if the pace of change is a little more glacial than some would like.
The naming of these entries, their status as the first 'direct' sequels in the franchise, and the fact that they weren't being released on the then-new 3DS console arguably did them a disservice and masked their greatness. Make no mistake though, these are two of the finest entries in the series.
53. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA)
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap carried on the trend of giving Link a talking piece of equipment to accompany him on his quest. This time around, it was the Minish Cap — a hat named Ezlo that could shrink Link to microscopic proportions so he can locate the Kinstone fragments and save the tiny Minish people, the Picori.
Another Flagship-developed entry after the company proved itself with the excellent Oracles pair, this was a traditional Zelda adventure that still looks and sounds wonderful, even if it didn't do an awful lot to shake up the formula.
This GBA game introduced a few new items, though — Mole Mitts, Gust Jar, and Cane of Pacci — and allowed Link to learn new sword techniques, as well as gain the ability to fuse elements to his sword. All-in-all, a brilliant bite-sized adventure.
52. Pokémon Emerald (GBA)
Pokémon Emerald is the upgraded version of Ruby and Sapphire, and — as you might expect — it was more evolution than revolution. It included some new story elements in the Hoenn region, updated the locations where you could nab certain Pokémon, allowed you to catch a greater pool of Pokémon than in its predecessors and added the Battle Frontier — a competition island you can visit after beating the Elite Four to earn badges, buy items and get new moves to teach your 'mon.
Perhaps a little lacking in 'wow' factor for Poké Fans who had been there from the beginning, Emerald was nonetheless solid entry in the Pokémon canon.
51. Luigi's Mansion 3 (Switch)
Luigi’s Mansion 3 is not only a graphical powerhouse and showcase for Next Level Games’ unrivalled mastery of video game animation but also an immense helping of spooky fun.
The amount of care and consideration poured into every facet of the game is abundantly clear, and it all results in one of the most enjoyable and attractive Switch titles, and the undisputed high point of an underappreciated series.
50. Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS)
Building on the solid foundation of Kirby: Triple Deluxe, this is a game where the pink ball can transform into Mech Kirby.
Personally, we would have scribbled that into the design doc, grinned from ear to ear and gone down the pub for a celebratory pint, but the consummate professionals at HAL took that winning central idea and surrounded it with brilliantly designed worlds, trademark rainbow visuals and enough charming moments to make Kirby: Planet Robobot the finest outing on 3DS — and arguably on any system — for The Most Powerful Video Game Character Of Them All™.
We always knew he was more than candyfloss with a face.
49. Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)
Animal Crossing: New Horizons improved upon every single facet of the series imaginable. There's more to do, more to see, more to change, more to mould, and more to love; fans and first-time players can find themselves losing hours at a time gathering materials, creating new furniture, and making their island undeniably theirs.
Every moment is unashamedly blissful, with excellently written characters that truly feel alive and an island paradise that gives back infinitely more than you put in. Back when Animal Crossing: New Leaf hit the shelves all those years ago and created a whole new generation of fans, many people were wondering how Nintendo could possibly top it, but here we got our answer. This is a masterpiece that's worth buying a Switch (or two) to play.
As for the minor Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrades? They're underwhelming. It does load a little faster and look a little better — the Switch 2 version is measurably the 'best' one — but if you're happy with your Switch 1, it's absolutely not worth buying the newer console to experience ACNH's improvements alone.