by majormitch
Over the years, I have written a number of lists ranking various video game things. With the addition of tier lists to Giant Bomb, I am going to slowly but surely redo those lists in tier form! This is for a few reasons. First, I always wanted these lists to be tier lists anyway: my rankings regularly have to split incredibly thin hairs, and the ability to group games that are essentially equal into the same tier feels more accurate. Second, it makes it easier to include more items, and create special tiers for unconventional items. Third, it gives me a chance to re-evaluate and update these lists, some of which are quite old. One last important note about these tier lists: since I can't comment on items individually in this format, I will simply make some notes on anything that need it here in the intro section.
My next list revision is a larger one: Nintendo franchises. I'm a fan of Nintendo's games and franchises in general, and it's easily the long-running video game company I have the most experience with. There's also a distinct, "Nintendo" feel to most of their games, which makes it a fun company to rank. And of course, I don't love everything Nintendo does either. As always, there's no grand scientific method for these rankings: they are based on my personal, subjective preferences alone. That's especially relevant on a list like this, so the notes are extra worth reading this time.
List Notes:
This list was last updated on July 9, 2026.
What counts as a "Nintendo franchise" itself is not a clear-cut thing. I could get into the nitty gritty, but it came down to individual judgement calls. For example, you could make an argument to include things like Meteos, Drill Dozer, and Bayonetta. You could similarly make an argument to exclude things like Duck Hunt and Pokemon TCG. I'm not precious about it, and went with my gut on these questions.
I did opt to include franchises with a single entry, such as Super Mario RPG, Mario Paint, and Ice Climber. I also opted to separate related franchises where it made sense. For example, things like Mario, Donkey Kong, and Pokemon all have various sub-franchises and spin-offs, and I list them separately.
If a franchise is missing from this list, it's purely because I have not played it. If I ever play a new one in the future, I will add it to the list. I opted not to make a "Haven't Played" tier for this list because it would be too big. It turns out there are a lot of Nintendo franchises.
The S-tier franchises all contain multiple games that I would consider all-time personal favorites. I may not love every game, but they hit more often than not, and when they hit they really hit. The only entry here that gave me pause was Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents, because it only has three games. But I love all three to death, so S-tier it is.
The A-tier franchises all have at least one strong personal favorite, and unless they are a single entry franchise, one or two other games I like a whole lot. They're all one or two great entries away from being considered for S-tier. Some of them also suffer by straying away from what initially made them great (Paper Mario), or becoming a bit too samey over time (Pokemon).
The B-tier franchises are ones I've enjoyed at least one entry in, but not much more than that. They can also be uneven (Yoshi, Star Fox), or I haven't spent nearly enough time with them to justify a higher place. For example, I've liked the few Kirby games I've played well enough, yet I don't have a strong desire to play more Kirby games. Other franchises here, like Mario Kart, the various Mario sports, the puzzle games, etc. I enjoy for a time but run out of steam with.
The C-tier franchises I wouldn't say I've derived zero enjoyment from, but none of their games have ever grabbed me for long. Some of them are too simple to become a favorite (Excite, Pilotwings), some are interesting but never hooked me for various reasons (F-Zero, Splatoon, Xenoblade), and some are not great yet hang on to an odd piece of nostalgia in me (Mario Party, Pokemon Stadium). Regardless, these are franchises I have little to no interest in playing more of.
The D-tier franchises are the ones I've never had meaningful fun with. Well, I like Sudoku, and had fun playing Sudoku in Brain Age. But that's not really Brain Age. I don't necessarily think all of these are bad, but it's more that they are not for me. It's probably worth talking about Kid Icarus in this tier specifically, because I know many people adore Uprising. The controls never clicked with me, and I think that's a very make-or-break aspect of that game. If they don't click, that game is not fun. I also do not like like the original Kind Icarus.
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