Games that Defined the Last Decade for Nintendo - DecoyDW

It’s hard for me to believe that we have come to the end of the 2010s. The past decade has truly been a roller coaster in my life with huge milestones including several big moves, new jobs, getting married, starting a podcast, and a ton more. It has been a decade of extreme highs and low lows, but one that I know I’m going to miss and look back on with nostalgia in the years to come. 

As Nintendo gamers, we have also been through quite a ride. We’ve been through some of the craziest highs and lows that the industry has ever seen: all centered around Nintendo, and all occurring in the span of just a few years. In these closing days of the decade, I think it’s important to look back on the defining moments that occurred, and how they shaped where we are today. And when I view this in terms of Nintendo’s decade, I have to focus on the games themselves. So without further ado… here are the games that I believe defined the 2010s for Nintendo and paved the way for what the company is becoming:

Xenoblade Chronicles 

(June 2010 in Japan/April 2012 in North America)

I’m going to start this list with a little bit of stage-setting for context. The Nintendo Wii was released at the end of 2006 and instantly lit the world on fire. Nintendo’s marketing had directly and openly targeted a non-gamer casual audience for the system, and it worked… really well. Within a couple of years, everybody owned a Wii. Everybody’s grandmother owned a Wii. There were (and still are in some places) active Wii Bowling leagues. I’m not kidding. The Wii was clearly successful and a phenomenon, but there was a problem with this strategy long-term. A large part of the casual audience bought in to the fad, enjoyed it, then set it aside and moved to the next big things (the iPhone in 2007, for one). This left the Wii in a weird position where much of the marketed audience did not suddenly become “gamers”, and some of Nintendo’s most avid fans suddenly felt left out in the cold with a ton of casual-oriented games (Wii Play, anyone?). Don’t get me wrong here, there were still some solid games on the system (Mario Galaxy, Zelda Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, etc), but Nintendo’s attention felt divided between the “gamers” and the “casuals”, to say the least. 

Fast-forward to the early 2010s, when a trio of huge, cool-looking RPGs were set to launch in Japan and then Europe, but not North America. These games were The Last Story, Pandora’s Tower, and Xenoblade Chronicles. Nintendo gamers in North America learned of these games and started a movement called Operation Rainfall, to petition Nintendo of America to localize the games. This movement became so large that NoA repeatedly mentioned it while saying there were no plans to bring the games over, but eventually reversed that decision and localized all three games for North American release. This move gave the Wii three gigantic RPGs that resonated with core Nintendo gamers in its closing days. The rest is history… Xenoblade Chronicles reportedly sold more in the West than in Japan, and the series can today be considered a core Nintendo franchise with three main releases, several re-releases, and a ton of representation in Super Smash Bros. It’s possible this would have happened without Operation Rainfall, but I have to think that the movement helped bring attention to the series, and it helped bring the message that Nintendo fans are still here, and we still want deep, engrossing games to play when we’re not bowling with our parents and grandparents. 

Fire Emblem Awakening

(February 2013)

Fire Emblem is a longstanding series developed by Intelligent Systems dating back to the Famicom days in Japan. The series remained Japan-only until 2003, when Fire Emblem (GBA) was released in the West due to the popularity of Advance Wars and the inclusion of Marth and Roy in Super Smash Bros. Melee. While the game was a success in the West and led to the release of multiple sequels, the series began to stagnate and was at risk of cancelation should another Fire Emblem game sell poorly.

The planned “final” game in the series was Fire Emblem Awakening for the 3DS, a console that was still trying to find its footing after a drastic price cut. With Awakening, Intelligent Systems added a variety of new systems and quality-of-life improvements, as well as a character and relationship-driven story that resonated with existing fans and new players to the series. The response to the game, both critically and in terms of sales, far exceeded expectations and made Awakening the best selling entry in the entire series. The game’s release also led to a significant boost in 3DS sales, and played a large part in the long-term success of the system.

Today, Fire Emblem remains one of Nintendo’s largest-selling franchises, which even surprises its creators. Its characters made up over 10% of the starting roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Fire Emblem Three Houses has become one of the largest games on Switch. None of this could have happened without the success of Fire Emblem Awakening.

New Super Mario Bros U / New Super Luigi U

(November 2012 for NSMBU / June 2013 for NSLU)

Say what you will about the Wii U (and believe me, my thoughts are coming), but the console led Nintendo to a whole lot of uncharted territory. The console released at the end of 2012 into direct competition with the upcoming Playstation 4 and Xbox One. Up until this point, Nintendo’s forays into online services and multiplayer had been limited at best. While the Wii and DS offered online play for a few games and download services with a number of classic and new downloadable games, Nintendo was far from refining their stores and systems for game updates. Remember when you could mail your memory card to Nintendo to fix a game-breaking bug in Skyward Sword? 

The Wii U released when DLC was becoming prevalent in the gaming industry and generally annoying gamers with its “nickel and dime” nature. At that time, there was often a debate about how or when Nintendo should enter the DLC marketplace. One of the first answers to this debate (and the one most similar to their current model) came in the form of the New Super Luigi U update for New Super Mario Bros U. The DLC cost $19.99, which was considered pricey at the time compared to “standard” DLC of the time, but the content was far more substantial than, say, an armor set for a horse. NSLU included enough content to be considered an entirely new game, with additional challenge and new physics. Because of this, the DLC was generally well-received as a good value. This rollout strategy became a standard for DLC from Nintendo, and has been used in subsequent games like Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and current-day games such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Fire Emblem Three Houses. 

Pikmin 3

(August 2013)

Okay here we go… The Wii U will go down in history as a massive flop. There are a number of potential reasons for this (the name, the marketing, the slow software release, the older hardware, and the low material quality of the GamePad, to name a few), but ultimately that doesn’t change the end result. The Wii U bombed. What has always bothered me about this is that the Wii U had great games. Seriously, I still say that the console had one of the best games libraries ever, but it didn’t matter. 

This was never more evident than when Pikmin 3 released. At this point, the system had launched with a rather large lineup of games, and then gone quiet for several months. Pikmin 3 was the first large Nintendo game to release since the console’s launch, and it was incredible. The game was fun, charming, beautiful, challenging, and everything you could want from a solid 1st party release, but it still wasn’t enough. Because the first year’s schedule for Wii U software was so sparse, undue amounts of pressure were placed on Pikmin 3. And because of this, a common statement across the critic reviews of the game was that it “wasn’t enough to sell the console” and “didn’t do enough to showcase the GamePad’s usefulness,” etc. The game was put in a position of holding up the entire console, and it never should have been. The launch of the Wii U was undoubtedly a failure, but one that Nintendo learned from with the Switch release, which had large releases nearly every month for the first year instead of relying on one game to fill months of void. Though the reception to Pikmin 3 has saddened me since its release, I believe Nintendo learned the most important lesson from the failure. But I will say, I cannot wait for Pikmin 4 to get a proper release (please come soon). 

Splatoon

(May 2015)

“All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.” - Walt Disney

If there is one truly shining product that came from the Wii U era… one perfect highlight that almost saves the reputation of the failed system, it would be Splatoon. Splatoon is a perfect example of what happens when a creative giant like Nintendo is pushed against a wall. It was formed from a prototype created by junior developers within Nintendo, and it launched the company into a space that it had never been comfortable: online multiplayer. While Nintendo had made advancements in their online infrastructure, with respectable online play in Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, and a few more, Splatoon was their first online-centric game. 

Splatoon also made huge advancements in the concepts of content rollout, and simplified mechanics that had bloated shooter games for years, all with a Nickelodeon-esque attitude and sense of style. The game felt like a perfect package to introduce new players to team-based online shooters, and it did exactly that. The game performed extremely well for Nintendo, even with the poor overall sales of the Wii U, and found a huge following in Japan, where shooters had traditionally struggled. The game quickly became one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises (with its sequel being a huge focus in the Switch reveal video), and it helped define at least part of what Nintendo’s online strategy will become. 

Super Mario Maker

(September 2015)

2015 was an interesting year for Nintendo. Breath of the Wild was originally slated for release that holiday, but was delayed. Splatoon came out and was unlike anything we had seen previously from Nintendo. Big hitters like Xenoblade Chronicles X and Yoshi’s Wooly World were released, and Nintendo was trying interesting pricing models on 3DS with the addition of the Badge Arcade. It was a time of growth and experimentation for Nintendo, and in my opinion, the best year the Wii U had. 

Out of this period of experimentation and new growth for Nintendo came Super Mario Maker, a game that is simultaneously one of the least and most “Nintendo” games I have played. The game came from actual development tools created to aid in making Mario levels internally, but was released to the public, allowing everyone to create and share levels (online, no less). This was a huge step in removing the level of control that Nintendo had maintained over their games, but in a way that allowed players to experiment and learn together. They allowed the masses to create monstrous, terrible levels in their most protected IP, and formed an amazing community of inspired level makers and speed runners in the process. This was the start of Nintendo loosening the reins a bit and allowing more flexibility in their approach, a flexibility that has continued since that time. 

Pokémon Go

(July 2016)

I debated putting Pokémon Go on this list because it is arguably not a “Nintendo game”. The game was developed in a partnership among Nintendo, Niantic, and The Pokémon Company and almost instantly became a mass phenomenon in the summer of 2016. The game’s release and reception caused a sharp stock price increase for Nintendo, which was quickly reverted after Nintendo clarified that they did not directly own the app. 

However, I think it’s fair to include the game as it has undeniable ties to Nintendo, and is at the core of the Nintendo mobile strategy that has been rolled out over the last few years. Over the last five years, Nintendo has tried multiple methods with their mobile games, including one-time fees, microtransactions, and subscription models. They have used some of their biggest IPs with varied success, but it all started with a summer of walking around trying to catch augmented reality Pokémon. The sight of that many gamers hooked on Pokémon Go, walking around neighborhoods or visiting malls or parks all over the world to catch that Vaporeon or become a gym champion was completely novel, and one that we won’t soon forget.  

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

(March 2017)

I’ve spent the majority of this article thus far discussing Nintendo’s failures. However you slice it, the decade started with the Wii declining and continued into hard times for both the 3DS (which eventually came through it) and the Wii U (which... didn’t). That all changed with the release of the Switch. Looking back now, nearly every choice that Nintendo made contributing to their year in 2017 was a direct response to the failures of the past. From the system’s name, the marketing, the software release schedule, the cutting edge handheld hardware, and the high quality feel of the handheld; everything seemed to be a direct response and a perfect 180 from the Wii U’s first year. 

At the helm of this 180 was the release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Although the Switch’s launch lineup was small, it launched with a game that could be argued as the best game ever made. I don’t feel that much else needs to be said about Breath of the Wild, but the effect of playing a game that felt so fresh and new on a purely magical piece of hardware at launch is one of the most defining moments I’ve had as a gamer. Breath of the Wild played a huge part in the success of the Switch, and kicked it off better than any console before it. 

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

(April 2017)

While Breath of the Wild provided the initial push for the console, the games that followed it showed the real genius in the software schedule for the Switch. Nearly every month had a huge 1st party release to seemingly remind gamers that this was a different Nintendo than we had seen in the years prior. The main skepticism after the Switch’s launch was whether Nintendo would repeat past mistakes, whether there would be large droughts of software, whether Nintendo could support their console single-handedly while the 3rd parties were deciding whether to jump back in. 

In this vein, releasing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was a bit of a gamble. It was a fairly direct port of a Wii U game as the first real Nintendo game after Zelda. But this is where the Switch magic actually revealed itself to the world. Almost instantly, the game took off in sales, far surpassing its numbers on Wii U (actually, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has sold substantially more units than the Wii U console itself at this point). This reception showed that the issue was never the software that was on the Wii U, but rather the overall console. It showed that the Switch was going to take off and be successful. Mario Kart was a huge signal to Nintendo and 3rd parties that there was an audience here, for new games and old. And Mario Kart, along with the proposed release schedule for 2017 showed gamers that the Switch was going to be a ton of fun, a promise that has been upheld to this point. 

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

(August 2017)

Speaking of 2017… Man, I still say that may have been the best year for Nintendo gamers ever. Practically every big game that released was something smart, something wanted, or something we didn’t know we needed. Mario + Rabbids falls into that last category. Actually when leaks revealed that the game was in development ahead of its E3 reveal, a large number of Nintendo fans were skeptical about the strategy, and many complained about the crossover as a whole, but that all changed once we saw it. 

I view Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle as one of the results of the experimentation and overall loosening that Nintendo went through in 2015. Their willingness to partner with a 3rd party and even lend their mascot for a game was unprecedented at this point, but it went incredibly well. Once Mario + Rabbids was revealed, people realized the brilliance of these two strange IPs being brought together into an… XCOM-like strategy game…with guns! It still sounds weird, but it somehow works. It was a risk for Nintendo, but again, it just paid off and expanded what could be done. Since that time, we’ve seen another large-scale crossover between Star Fox and Starlink, and we’ve even seen Zelda characters in an Indie-developed game. This level of flexibility has led to some of the craziest “wait what?” moments in Nintendo’s history, and I think they’re much better for it.   

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

(December 2018)

If ever a game embodied the “wait what?” moments, it would be Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Ultimate almost feels like the culmination of the entire decade and more. It is the (pardon me) ultimate crossover game with the biggest collaboration of characters from multiple companies that we have ever seen, outside of a few fan-made games. The game is approaching 80 widely varying playable characters, has over 100 playable stages, and has over 30 hours of original music and remixes from some of the greatest gaming soundtracks in history. It is the craziest overload of content that we have ever seen, and it’s not even finished yet. 

The game is fully online with decent, albeit imperfect results. It is frequently updated with new content and patches to keep the game fresh, and it’s flexible to try new things and innovative where it counts. The new characters show that Nintendo is listening to its fans now. Everything we have watched over the last decade has combined in this game, and it feels like the celebration of where Nintendo is now. To me, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a celebration of gaming as a whole, and a defining game overall, not just for the decade. 

Tetris 99

(February 2019)

2019 has been a fantastic year for Nintendo. The Switch is still killing it and feels like it is really reaching its stride with consistent, strong releases from 1st and 2nd party, 3rd party, and indie developers. We’ve gotten huge games like Super Mario Maker 2, Fire Emblem Three Houses, The Witcher 3, etc; smaller games like Untitled Goose Game and Wargroove; and a ton of added/ongoing content to existing games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Fortnite, Celeste, and Shovel Knight. Let’s just say we haven’t been bored. But to me, there’s one game this year that has shown, more than anything else, that the “Nintendo Magic” is still going strong… and that’s Tetris 99. 

Tetris 99 is an example of Nintendo doing what they do best, which is taking an already-established game or genre and flipping it on its head. At the beginning of the year, “Battle Royale” was basically synonymous with “shooter”. Now, Nintendo has shaken up that formula with Tetris 99, combining the extremely addictive classic puzzle game with the extremely addictive modern Battle Royale format to create something completely new, completely exciting, and completely Nintendo. Of course, this was offered primarily as an incentive for their new paid online service (along with the NES and SNES Online apps), but I say, if this is the type of innovative “why does this work so well” game we can expect on a consistent basis from Nintendo, the 2020s are going to be fun. 

Final Thoughts

Overall, I believe this has been a defining decade for Nintendo, where they have seen some of the lowest and highest moments in their history as a video game maker. Although some of the decade has been hard as a fan of Nintendo, it has been incredible to see the turnaround once the Switch released. While it’s easy to lament their slowness in embracing the online system culture that the other platforms have defined, and they’re not yet where we want them to be in that area, we can clearly see that they are making strides to listen to their fans and grow from where they used to be. Though they will have adversity in the coming years, the lessons they have learned, flexibility they have gained, and progress they have made this decade make me excited beyond belief for what’s next. See you all in 2020!

What do you think about the list? Do you think any other games are worthy of being called “decade defining?” Let us know in the comments below!