When it comes to longevity in the console market, none can compete withNintendo. TheSwitchis just the latest ina long line of home consoles that dates back to the early 1980s. In total, the Japanese company has released seven home consoles as well as a number ofhugely successful handhelds. There was also the Virtua Boy, although the less said about that, the better.
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Over the years, some ofthe largest franchises in gaminghave found a home on Nintendo’s machines. Many of them are the company’s own creations, but there are plenty of top third-party titles in the consoles' back catalogs as well. Some come and go, but there are a select few that have been with Nintendo since the very beginning. What’s more, they don’t look like they’ll be going anywhere anytime soon.
10Kirby
Masahiro Sakurai’s pink puffball floated onto the NES in 1993 inKirby’s Adventureand debuted on the SNES two years later inKirby’s Avalanche.Kirby 64: The Crystal ShardsandKirby Air Ridewere the onlyKirbygames on the N64 and GameCube respectively.
The beautifully craftedKirby’s Epic Yarnbrought the series to the Wii in 2010 and, five years later,Kirby and the Rainbow Cursereleased for the Wii U.Star Alliesthen became the series' first physical release on the Switch when it arrived in 2018.
9Tetris
Tetrisis perhapsbest associated with the Game Boydue both to it being bundled with the handheld and its ridiculously high sales figures on the system. What many might not realize though is that the series first appeared on the Famicom, releasing one year before the Game Boy port.Tetris Battle Gaidenreleased on the Super Famicom five years later andTetrispherebecame the firstTetristitle for the N64 in 1997.
Tetris Worldsdropped onto the GameCube five years later and the 2008 titleTetris Party Deluxemarked the series' debut on the Wii. The Wii U actually had a couple of Tetris games, but the first wasPuyo Puyo Tetrisin 2014.The game was hugely popularand, as a result, was rereleased for the Switch three years later, making it the firstTetristitle on both consoles.
8Mario
Mariois one of the most recognizable faces in gaming. He’s appeared in hundreds of games over the years, but his first on a Nintendo home console came inDonkey Kongfor the Famicom way back in 1983. It wasn’t until the release ofSuper Mario Bros.two years later thatthe series really took offthough.Super Mario Worldfollowed on the SNES in 1990 andSuper Mario 64for the N64 in 1996. Both of them were launch titles for their respective systems.
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The plumber featured in three other GameCube games beforeSuper Mario Sunshinearrived for the system in 2002 and four Wii titles before the eventual release of 2007’sSuper Mario Galaxy.New Super Mario Bros. Uushered in the short-lived Wii U era of Mario games in 2012 before a rerelease ofMario Kart 8brought the series to the Switch in 2017.Super Mario Odysseyfollowed six months later.
7Donkey Kong
After taking arcades by storm in the early ’80s,Donkey Kongswung onto the Famicom in 1983. Perhapshis finest moments came in the early ’90s though, in the shape of theDonkey Kong Countrytrilogy, the first of which released on the SNES in 1994. The great gorilla next appeared inDonkey Kong 64in late 1999.
Donkey Konga, a series of bongo-based games, brought the series to the GameCube in 2003, while the 2007 titleDonkey Kong Barrel Blastwas the Wii’s first DK game.Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freezeushered in the Wii U era in 2014 and was subsequently rereleased on the Switch in 2017, making it the series' first release on both machines.
6Zelda
Link’s adventures began inThe Legend of Zeldafor the Famicom Disc System way back in 1986. Since then, the young Hylian has appeared on all of Nintendo’s home and handheld consoles.A Link to the Pastbecame the firstZeldagame for the SNES when it released in 1991 andOcarina of Timebrought the series to the N64 seven years later.
As with the N64 before it, the GameCube got two mainlineZeldareleases in the forms ofThe Wind WakerandThe Twilight Princess, the latter of which was alsothe firstZeldagame on the Wii. Many of the olderZeldagames were rereleased for the Wii U, but the first and only new mainline entry came in the form ofBreath of the Wildin 2017. As withTwilight Princess,it launched simultaneously across two generations of Nintendo consoles, therefore making it the firstZeldagame for the Switch as well.
5Bomberman
Bombermanmay not have had the same impact as Mario and Link have, buthe’s been around for just as long. He made his debut on the Famicom in 1985 in a self-titled game and blasted into the 16-bit gaming era in the 1993 titleSuper Bomberman.Bomberman 64hit the Nintendo 64 in 1997 andBomberman Generationtook the series to the GameCube five years later.
The firstBombermanentry on the Wii came in 2007 in the form ofBomberman Land, but from here, the rate of releases slowed down quite a bit. There were a few WiiWare games over the next few years though, with a rerelease ofBomberman 64the sole Bomberman title available on the Wii U. In 2017,Super Bomberman Rwas one of the launch titles for the Switch.
4Star Wars
The firstStar Warsgame for a Nintendo system was actually a Japanese exclusive.Star Warsreleased for the Famicom in 1987 and was loosely based onA New Hope. A similar game did release in the West in 1991 and was also calledStar Wars. This was followed up bySuper Star Warsfor the SNES the following year.
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The series' N64 debut came in the form of the 1996 titleShadows of the Empire, whileRogue Squadron IIbrought the franchise to the GameCube five years later.Star Wars: The Force Unleashedthen made its way to the Wii in late 2008, and the 2013 titleStar Wars Pinballwas one of a handful ofStar Warsgames on the Wii U. It was also the franchise’s first physical release on the Switch, although was beaten to the punch by some digital rereleases.
3Batman
The caped crusader has appeared in countless video games over the years, many of which have appeared on Nintendo consoles. The first of these came in 1989 for the Famicom and, like many of theBatmangames of that era, was simply titledBatman. His first appearance on the SNES was the aptly-titledBatman Returns, which released in 1992.Batman Beyond: Return of the Jokerwas the only Batman game to make it to the N64, doing so in 2000.
Batman Vengeancefollowed for the GameCube one year later beforeLego Batman: The Videogamebecame the first of the series' entries on the Wii in 2008. Four years later,Batman: Arkham Cityreleased for the Wii U. Both of the Batman games for the Switch so far have been Telltale titles, with the second,Batman: The Enemy Withinactually appearing a few months before the original Telltale series.
2Pac-Man
Namco’s long-running series,Pac-Manfirst debuted on the NES in 1984 withPac-Attackarriving on the SNES nine years later. 2000’sMs. Pac-Man Maze Madnesswas the series' one and only release for the N64.
As Nintendo home consoles switched from cartridges to discs, a sequel toPac-Man Worldwas ported to the GameCube in early 2002 and this was followed byPac-Man Partyfor the Wii in 2010. Three years later, Bandai Namco releasedPac-Man and the Ghostly Adventuresfor the Wii U andPac-Man Vs.was then rereleased for the Switch in 2017 as part of the Namco Museum compilation.
1Mega Man
The very firstMega Man(orRockman, as it’s known in Japan) title appeared on the NES in 1987, and it would go on to spawn five sequels for the system.Mega Man 7blasted its way onto the SNES in 1995 and was followed up byMega Man 64just three years later.
The 2003 spinoff titleMega Man Network Transmissionwas the series' first entry on the GameCube, whileMega Man 9and10released on the Wii in 2008 and 2010 respectively. The first seven mainlineMega Mangames were rereleased on the Wii U in 2013, as were the first three titles in theMega Man Xline of games. Although there have been plenty of collections on the Switch, the first new mainline release wasMega Man 11in 2018.
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