Recent gaming presentations like Summer Game Fest have been satiating fans' appetite for news, but many are still holding out for the next Nintendo Direct. Being one of the oldest and biggest names in the video game industry, Nintendo has naturally made its platform a great home for many franchises.
And whether those games are Nintendo exclusives or multiplatform titles, their home consoles have always had an allure to playing them there. Longtime classics like the Metroid Prime Trilogy are expectedly placed on a high pedestal, but recent ports for the Switch like the Spyro Reignited Trilogy are also worthy modern-day shoutouts.
Metroid Prime Trilogy
After enduring a brutal development cycle, MercurySteam's Metroid Dread rightfully put bounty hunter Samus Aran under the mainstream spotlight. The series has had several acclaimed entries before, though, with some of the most revered being the Metroid Prime Trilogy.
Spanning the GameCube and Nintendo Wii consoles, the original Prime set in motion an ambitious new direction for the games: "Metroidvania" level design in 3D and through a first-person perspective. These games were beloved for the possibilities they brought to life, with the Alien-inspired sci-fi ambiance and thrilling gameplay achieving a new level of tension. Fans will be hoping the long-awaited Prime 4 lives up to this legacy.
BioShock: The Collection
2K and Irrational Studios' steampunk dystopian BioShock series is arguably one of the most thematically inventive games to release. Combining gameplay mechanics of first-person shooters, survival-horror, and more, BioShock collectively made for immersive and intense experiences.
The first two games are more directly related in terms of narrative, with Infinite taking place in a sprawling steampunk-themed floating city, but all the games were similarly praised for their nuanced exploration of themes like morality, existentialism, corporate greed, and violent nationalism. BioShock: The Collection has since repackaged all three games.
Dragon Quest 1+2+3 Collection
Square Enix is known for publishing and developing some of the best JRPGs in the industry, namely Final Fantasy, but the Dragon Quest franchise is another pillar of the subgenre and has just as sprawling a history. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age has helped bolster the IP's international fame, but some of the retro classics are still worth revisiting.
Dragon Quest 1+2+3 Collection brings together the first three games to start it all to Nintendo Switch, and are still engaging nostalgic throwbacks today. The mainline games have been consistently praised for their vibrant high-fantasy settings and tasteful balance of genre conventions and accessibility. Veteran fans would be wise to look out for the upcoming Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake.
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Once a PlayStation-exclusive mascot, Crash Bandicoot has been revived for the modern gaming scene across several platforms. Vicarious Visions' Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is a collection of remastered versions of developer Naughty Dog's original three PS1 games, resulting in a streamlined platforming experience.
Reception has been positive overall, with critics deeming this collection a welcome return to form for the titular zany character. Controls and platforming action have been polished with the graphics wonderfully upgraded, but the remasters were faithful to the acclaimed source material at the same time.
Spyro Reignited Trilogy
Following in the footsteps of Crash Bandicoot's revival, the beloved purple dragon Spyro received a remastered makeover. This time developed by Toys for Bob, the Spyro Reignited Trilogy eventually found its way to the Nintendo Switch where it was also warmly received as one of the best-remastered game collections available.
It also helps that Nintendo is somewhat synonymous with the platformer genre (Super Mario, Kirby, Donkey Kong, etc.), and the praises toward the Reignited Trilogy were similar to the N. Sane Trilogy. Action-platforming was tight, fun, and responsive, while the stunning visuals and intricate level design were deemed equal parts engaging and faithful to Insomniac's originals on the PS1.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars
While it's more of a loose and artificial trilogy of sorts, the Super Mario 3D All-Stars compilation collected three landmark and mainline games in the Super Mario franchise. The iconic Italian plumber is a staple and franchise juggernaut for Nintendo, and Super Mario 64, Sunshine, and Galaxy were all major milestones in the Mario series and the gaming industry in general.
64 revolutionized gaming in the 3D space and what the platforming genre could do in it, Sunshine mixed vibrant art direction with bold new mechanics, and Galaxy took every great aspect of prior games and reimagined them with inventive new settings, level designs, gameplay features, and awe-inspiring art direction.
Castlevania Advance Collection
Even though publisher Konami has been heavily neglecting their legacy gaming IPs for several years now, fans were at least treated to a repackaged collection of Nintendo's original Game Boy Advance Castlevania games. Also available on multiple platforms, the Castlevania Advance Collection contains Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, Aria of Sorrow, as well as the Super Nintendo's Dracula X as a bonus.
The GBA games were especially acclaimed as some of the best the series had to offer, encapsulating what made these action-RPG Metroidvanias compelling on older home consoles and refashioning them in a handheld format. To this day, Aria of Sorrow is lauded for its meticulous level design and RPG character progression systems.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy
Ported over to the Switch in 2019, the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy was comprised of full-on remakes of the first three games in Capcom's series. The games are visual novel adventures where players take on the role of the titular Phoenix Wright, a rookie defense attorney that has to tackle a series of cases.
They're the best way to experience his earliest adventures, with the games being historically and consistently well-received for their premises. Critics enjoyed the innovative nature of making a visual novel based around taking part in trials, especially thanks to the exciting and even hilarious cast of colorful characters.
Super Mario All-Stars
The All-Stars brand was used for the Super Mario series before the recent compilation of remasters, with the first collection having released for the Super Nintendo. This franchise has pioneered the platforming genre since its 2D 8-bit days in the '80s, and the three main Super Nintendo entries are still widely considered timeless by fans in their own right.
All-Stars contained remakes of Super Mario Bros. 1-3, which were beloved for how they were given quality-of-life features and reinvigorated to fit the SNES' color-popping pixel art at the time. For good measure, this compilation also included a remake of The Lost Levels, which was previously never released outside of Japan.
Donkey Kong Country Trilogy
Despite not having gotten an original game release in several years, the Donkey Kong series is another instantly recognizable Nintendo platformer franchise. The titular gorilla has had several all-time classics in years past, with the Super Nintendo being perhaps his most definitive stint in gaming.
The original Donkey Kong Country, in particular, is still regarded by longtime Nintendo fans as the best game in the franchise for its engaging and challenging gameplay, as well as the impressive amount of secrets to find and replay value. Diddy Kong's Quest and Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! were also admirably received, even if the latter didn't match up to the outright critical acclaim of the first two.