TOP 5: Nintendo Systems

Tomorrow the Nintendo Wii U finally hits stores, which means our Nintendo portion of the month will conclude with this article while the Playstation portion will continue for two more days. Also keep in mind, we have the last few entries of the Top 100 Games as well as Halo 4, Black Ops 2, Nintendo Land, Playstation All-Stars, and Skyfall reviews coming soon.

Number 5: Nintendo Wii

Kicking off this article is the predecessor to the Nintendo Wii U, the Nintendo Wii. While they do sound similar in name, the Nintendo Wii U is NOT an expansion or remodel of the Wii in any way, it is an entirely new system, although all the controllers and games from it's predecessor are compatible. The Nintendo Wii was originally codenamed the Nintendo Revolution, which in all honesty, was a much better name in theory, but when the actual product became available, I think Wii suited it much better than Revolution. The Wii is the first gaming console to ever introduce motion-controlled gaming, even though it was to a lesser extent. While some games, such as Twilight Princess, only required a flick in the wrist's worth of motion controls, other games like Metroid Prime 3 truly allowed the Wiimote to be used to it's full potential. While the graphics of the system were not on par with Xbox 360 or PS3, Nintendo's first party titles pushed the graphical limits of the system to it's edges, resulting in beautiful games like Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The console had an all-star lineup of amazing first party games, such as Super Mario Galaxy and it's sequel, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Metroid Prime 3, Mario Kart Wii and WarioWare: Touched. Toward the middle of the system's life, Nintendo introduced Wii Motion Plus, which enhances the WiiMotes motion controls to a higher quality, allowing for games like Red Steel 2 and Skyward Sword to have complete 1:1 motion controls. Although many people are critical of the Wii for being behind in it's generation, I honestly believe it had a great lineup of first party titles, and the single player alone made up for it's lack of quality online support.


Number 4: GameBoy Color

The GameBoy Color was an enhanced version of the GameBoy, but with a catch: it was in color! This system allowed for games such as Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue to be entirely in color, a first in the handheld system market and quite revolutionary at its time. The GameBoy Color also had an all-star lineup of games, including Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow, Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Land, and Shantae. I know for a fact anyone who had one of these babies back in the day devoted hours of playing time on it, and probably still own theirs today. Easily one of the best handheld systems out there with great support from the fans.


Number 3: Nintendo DS

The Nintendo DS was the first Nintendo handheld system to drop the name of GameBoy. The reason for this was because of it's gimmick, the dual-screens, hence the name DS. Before the DS came out, I don't think any gaming company would have ever even considered gaming possible with two simultaneous screens displaying different images at the exact same time. The DS made us of a bottom touch screen to interact with the top screen, allowing for very diverse and never-before-seen gameplay methods. The Nintendo DS was supported for an extremely long time, and over the years, racked up one of the best lineups of games ever on a handheld system, some including Pokemon Diamond, Pear, and Platinum, Pokemon Black and White, Kirby's Squeak Squad, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Nintendogs, and Animal Crossing: Wild World. Nintendo DS was also the first Nintendo system to ever tackle online gaming, with select titles like Mario Kart DS and Metroid Prime: Hunters utilizing the online capabilities. Finally, Nintendo DS is the best selling handheld of all time, and also the second best selling system of all time, meaning it definitely was one of the better systems out there.


Number 2: SNES

This system was my very first video game system ever, and definitely one of my favorites. The SNES, or Super Nintendo, utilized a higher form of graphics than it's predecessor, the NES, and also utilized saving in games that did not require passwords. This system held some of the greatest games of all time, such as Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, Super Metroid and Super Mario World. It also introduced many series to the gaming world that are still relevant today, such as Donkey Kong Country and Mario Kart. I don't really have much else to say about the SNES, but it is definitely the second best Nintendo system out there.


Number 1: Nintendo 64

Nintendo 64 is not just the greatest Nintendo system of all time, but the greatest video game system of all time. Nintendo 64 was the first system to ever introduce 3D graphics and four player games. Also, this system had the best lineup of games ever created: Super Mario 64, Mario Kart 64, Mario Party 1-3, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, both Banjo-Kazooie titles, Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong 64, Goldeneye 007, and Conker's Bad Fur Day. One of the best things about Nintendo 64 was Rare and Nintendo's partnership, which resulted in so many fantastic games. Goldeneye 007 is still considered one of the best multiplayer games of all time, and Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time still holds the highest metacritic rating, even to today. I don't know many people who had an N64 and don't still have it, and when we at LifesAHammer get together we always find ourselves playing Mario Tennis or Mario Party 3, and the competition gets quite crazy. This system was full of fun, amazing classics that can never be trumped and will always remain and the golden gaming console that nothing can ever hope to beat.

This concludes Nintendo month, thank you all for reading.

Giuliano V.