Top 25 Greatest Nintendo Games

#25 Wii Sports (Wii)
Gamers will always remember Nintendo for the Marios, Metroids and Zeldas. Decades from now, however, Wii Sports may become the company's defining moment. A launch game for its Wii console, Wii Sports makes excellent use of the motion sensitive remote, allowing us to golf, play baseball and enjoy a few frames of bowling with friends. Most importantly, it introduced non-gamers to the joy that is, well, gaming. People that never played games picked up a remote and never looked back. Sure, having grandma hog your Wii isn't cool. Then again, perhaps it is.

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#24 Mario Tennis (Nintendo 64)
Ace the competition in this sweet tennis game, which features spot on game play and the ability to transfer characters to and from the Game Boy Color Mario Tennis. We'll always remember it for introducing the world to Waluigi, because if there was one thing Luigi needed, it was a nefarious alter ego.


#23 Animal Crossing Wild World (DS)
Exchange your real life for a virtual one, interacting with a host of critters, delivering and sending mail, digging up fossils or taking long walks on the beach. Customize your house using tons of items, then invite friends to visit your town. Sure, the lack of NES games (a huge bonus in the GameCube Animal Crossing) hurt, but Wild World survived that glaring omission and became one of our guilty pleasures.

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#22 Mario Kart DS (DS)
SNES Mario Kart will always hold a special place in our hearts, but the DS version far surpasses the original. Not only did Nintendo toss more characters and tracks into the mix, but it also lets users create their own tags with a simple painting tool. Of course, the biggest feature is the online play, which lets us wirelessly race against gamers from across the world.


#21 Duck Hunt (NES)
Super Mario Bros. will go down in history as one of the best pack-ins, but its counterpart, Duck Hunt, also deserves attention. We spent countless hours blasting ducks and clay targets with the Zapper, passing the light gun to our friends to see if they could beat our high scores. Too bad we couldn't shoot that mangy dog.

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#20 Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
Before Rare's (at the time) beautiful platform game arrived on the SNES, Donkey Kong was best known for his starring role in the 1981 arcade game. Donkey Kong Country breathed life into the character and the console, thanks to clay animation style graphics.


#19 Donkey Kong (Arcade)
Nintendo's 800-pound gorilla crashed into arcades and became a national obsession, as thousands of gamers dodged barrels to rescue Pauline from the cranky DK. If you don't believe us, check out the film, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters to see how far some are willing to go.


#18 Star Fox 64 (N64)
We love the original Star Fox, but the N64 edition blew us away. Not only does it feature an excellent presentation, with voices for the characters and dramatic music, but it also introduced rumble into our lives, courtesy of Nintendo's rumble pak. Exquisite, four-player battles were an added bonus.


#17 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
We'll always remember Link's SNES adventure, not just because of the visuals and Koji Kondo's epic score, but also for the introduction of the fabled Master Sword and the Hookshot. If you haven't already, download it onto your Wii and experience this epic journey through Hyrule.


#16 Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (GBA)
The first Advance Wars consumed us for hours. Its sequel, however, robbed us of more time than we can remember. We bombed enemies throughout its awesome campaign mode, busted out commanding officer super powers and deployed new units, in addition to waging war against friends.


#15 Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
After getting our mitts on an import version, we're proud to declare Super Smash Bros. Brawl one of Nintendo's finest accomplishments. Everything about it screams polished, from the four control schemes to the detailed graphics. Most importantly, it has tons of content, including Nintendo-themed trophies, stickers, the ability to play demos of retro games, numerous characters, online play and well over 150 audio tracks. Its U.S. release can't come soon enough.


#14 WarioWare: Twisted! (GBA)
Nintendo scored a hit with WarioWare, but the company outdid itself with the sequel, Twisted. Thanks to a gyroscope built into the cartridge, you complete mini games by tilting the Game Boy Advance left, right and 360 degrees. Not only are the numerous games innovative and fun, but the technology works surprisingly well. Factor in the numerous unlockable goodies, and you have a recipe for a great time.


#13 Punch-Out!! (NES)
Punch-Out!! uppercut its way through the competition, in large part because of its simple controls and addictive, hard-hitting gameplay. Beyond that, it reinforces our desire to root for the underdog, as the unproven Little Mac squares off against the more established King Hippo, Bald Bull and Don Flamenco. Naturally, Glass Joe is still a pansy.


#12 F-Zero GX (GameCube)
When it comes to Nintendo's racing games, few can top F-Zero GX's exhilarating thrills. Moving at ludicrous speeds, you must make split second decisions to avoid blowing up, navigating past narrow ledges, zipping through loops and avoiding your dangerous opponents. Remixes of popular F-Zero music, plus excellent track design (we love the casino stage) make this a must play.


#11 Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
To say Super Mario Galaxy is out of this world is a huge understatement. Mario's romp through the cosmos is a fun-filled and gorgeous adventure, complete with tight controls, numerous levels to explore and catchy music. Sitting down to collect just one more star usually results in a five-hour play session.

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