TOP 10: Forgotten Nintendo Franchises
Based on the deluge of leaks that have been flooding the internet over the past few weeks, Nintendo looks poised to officially announce its successor to the mighty Switch any day now. The Switch debuted in March 2017, effectively combining Nintendo’s home console (the DOA WiiU) and handheld products (including the successful DS line) into one machine. Over its 8-year tenure the Switch has become one of the best-selling consoles of all time, revitalizing Nintendo’s fortunes and scoring massive hits for some of the company’s biggest first-party titles, including two Zelda games, Mario, Smash Bros., etc.
Switch 2 will almost certainly have new entries for best-sellers like Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, and the oft-delayed Metroid Prime. But Nintendo has many properties that it rarely if ever touches anymore. With a new system due to arrive in the first half of 2025, we went back to the Nintendo archives and put forward our picks for 10 forgotten franchises we would love to see make a return on the Switch successor.
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10. Super Mario Land
Last Game: Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (1994, Game Boy)
Do we really need another Mario game? Debatable, but Super Mario Land was a departure for Nintendo’s mascot when it launched in 1989 as an early title for the original Game Boy. In Land, Mario does not try to rescue Princess Peach in the Mushroom Kingdom. He is rescuing Princess Daisy – in her first-ever appearance! – in Sarasaland. The gameplay in this iteration is strange, with fireballs replaced by the bouncing super ball, airplane-assisted shooter levels, 1-Ups being represented not as mushrooms but hearts, etc. The game’s sequel introduced Wario, who fully took over the franchise for the third installment. But maybe it’s time for a return visit to Sarasaland.
9. StarTropics
Last Game: Zoda’s Revenge: StarTropics II (1994, NES)
This charming adventure game is notable as one of the very few Nintendo games to not be released in Japan – it was initially only available in North America and Europe. Taking gameplay cues from The Legend of Zelda but setting the game in a more realistic, 20th Century world, StarTropics lets the player control ordinary Seattle teen Mike Jones, trying to track down his scientist uncle, who has apparently been abducted by aliens. The game was pushed heavily by Nintendo Power magazine, and sold well enough to receive a sequel – but since then, nothing new for the property. In 2023, IGN named it No. 35 on its Top 100 NES Games of All Time.
8. Golden Sun
Last Game: Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (2010, Nintendo DS)
Nintendo has largely given up on the RPG market, aside from action RPG Xenoblade (heavy on the action, less heavy on RPG), Paper Mario (the spiritual successor to Super Mario RPG), and Fire Emblem, which is really more of a tactics game. In Golden Sun, it has a perfectly good RPG property sitting on the shelves waiting to be rediscovered. The original two Golden Sun games were hits on the Game Boy Advance, following protagonist Isaac and his fellow wielders of psyenergy as they explored the world, solved puzzles, and defeated enemies. The 2010 reboot on the DS was not as successful, but it has been 15 years. Isaac has appeared as an Assist Trophy in Smash Bros. It’s time for another Sun rise.
7. Ice Climber
Last Game: Ice Climber (1985, NES)
This vertical scroller started its life as a fairly popular (at least in Japan) arcade game, but didn’t make much of a dent when it came to the NES home console. It remained largely in obscurity until its protagonists, twins Popo and Nana, were added as unexpected fighters in Super Smash Bros. Melee for the GameCube. The fighters proved so powerful that they have been banned in competitive tournaments, and became fan favorites in the Smash series – there was outcry when they were left off the roster for the WiiU/DS edition due to technical limitations. It has been 40 years since the last true Ice Climbers game. If Pac-Man is getting a new lease on life due to a wild new roguelike, surely Popo and Nono could as well.
6. Dr. Mario
Last Game: Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure (2015, 3DS)
The number of hours spent playing Dr. Mario in the 1990s – far too much. And yet, if it was a sickness, we never wanted a cure. Nintendo’s homemade answer to puzzle juggernaut Tetris was addictive, and of all the falling-block match games Nintendo put out around that time (Yoshi, Wario Woods), it was the clear winner, and became a favorite of multiple generations of players. Iterations of Dr. Mario have been released since, including a mobile game in Dr. Mario World. But a new, robust Dr. Mario puzzle game could be just what the doctor ordered for casual gamers of all ages.
5. F-Zero
Last Game: F-Zero: Climax (2004, Game Boy Advance)
Racing game F-Zero was one of the splashiest titles when the Super Nintendo launched in the early 1990s. Since then it has fallen quickly out of contention, as Mario Kart (and, briefly, the excellent Diddy Kong Racing) cornered Nintendo players’ need for speed. The 2004 game Climax was released in Japan only; a battle royale version called F-Zero 99 was released in 2023. But we have not had a true F-Zero game in decades. Mario Kart does a lot of things very well, but there is still room on the track for a more serious, futuristic racing game on the new Nintendo system, and we’d love to see F-Zero return for another lap.
4. Punch-Out
Last Game: Punch-Out! (2009, Wii)
A complicated property, Punch-Out was one of the most ubiquitous titles on the NES, in part due to the partnership with boxing legend Mike Tyson, who was the original big boss. But years of serious criminal and legal issues – and, we’re sure, licensing woes – saw Tyson replaced by the generic “Mr. Dream” in subsequent re-releases of the game, which frankly lacked the cachet. The motion-control-defined Wii was a perfect excuse to bring Punch-Out! out of retirement, but since then nothing. Lead character Little Mac has been added to the Smash Bros. roster. Isn’t it time he gets back in the ring?
3. Star Fox
Last Game: Star Fox Zero (2016, WiiU)
Simply put, there is no reason that Star Fox should not be in Nintendo’s regular rotation, with a new entry on every system. When the original title was released in 1993, it was a showcase for the then-mindblowing graphic capabilities of the Super Nintendo. It was also a challenging but rewarding rail shooter with rich worldbuilding and an instantly iconic cast. The series had a decently successful iteration on the N64, but the GameCube Star Fox Adventures completely abandoned the core gameplay and lost many fans. An attempt to return to form, Star Fox Zero for the WiiU was largely criticized for its clumsy gameplay. The most recent version came in 2017, when Star Fox 2, the completed but canceled sequel to the original game, was released 20 years later on the Super NES Classic Edition, and eventually on the Nintendo Online service. A back-to-basics sci-fi rail shooter that includes contemporary graphics could bring this property back to the stratosphere, where it belongs.
2. Kid Icarus
Last Game: Kid Icarus: Uprising (2012, Nintendo 3DS)
Almost the opposite of the last example, Kid Icarus started its life in 1986 on the NES as a difficult vertical platformer, with winged Pit trying to survive waves of monsters straight out of Greek mythology and, for some reason, an eggplant turned into a wizard. Kid Icarus got a Game Boy version that was, essentially, the same game, and then…basically nothing. Despite the fact that Pit was a main character on the Captain N cartoon (which, bring that back, Nintendo!), and became a playable fighter in Smash Bros. in 2008, he did not get another game until Kid Icarus: Uprising on the 3DS in 2012. That game reworked the concept into a rail shooter game, with Pit launching energy arrows at his targets. While Uprising had its fans, it was a huge departure. Let’s see a new Kid Icarus adventure game with Pit running through a massive mythological world, not unlike the wildly popular Hades series.
1. Donkey Konga
Last Game: Donkey Konga 3 (2005, GameCube)
HEAR ME OUT. Donkey Konga was an early 2000s series of games that satisfied two goals for Nintendo: 1) it was a new way to utilize Donkey Kong after the Country games petered out; and 2) it was Nintendo’s way to get into the then-massive music-creation game space (think Guitar Hero and Rock Band). The Donkey Konga games featured dozens of tracks ranging from public-domain ditties from the American Songbook, to theme songs from Nintendo properties, to some of the biggest pop, rock, and r’n’b hits of the day. Players had to play along to the tracks using precise rhythms either via the included DK Bongos, or via the (still unparalleled) GameCube controller. Donkey Konga was a blast, whether you were playing solo or with a group. Two editions were released in the United States, and a third entry was put out in Japan only in 2005. Early 2000s nostalgia is very in right now, and it’s only a matter of time before people remember why they loved music games. The main downside were the bulky, space-consuming peripherals, but if the Switch 2’s motion controls are sensitive enough, this could be a slam dunk. We still have fond memories of playing along to P!nk’s “Trouble” and Blu Cantrell’s “Hit ‘Em Up Style”...
What are YOUR favorite Nintendo franchises that you’d like to see return? Leave a comment below!
