A Nintendo community
by the fans!
           
  Forum main
 + 
What are your Top 5 third-party games on each Nintendo platform? [roundtable]
 
In light of the ongoing Konamiclysm and all of the minor Capcomstrophes (and the impending doom of the Japanese console gaming industry), I was remembering the good times I had with those companies, back in the day.

With that in mind, what are your Top 5 third-party games on each Nintendo console? You can rank them or just list them. Whatevs. It might even be fun to compile the results in the end.

I'll do one platform now and fill in the rest later.

NES: (in no particular order)
a) Bionic Commando
b) Contra
c) River City Ransom
d) Castlevania
e) Super Spike V'Ball

Honorable mentions: TOO MANY TO LIST, especially for an action game junkie like myself. NES is probably my favorite system of all time. But, off the top of my head... Crystalis, Ghosts'n'Goblins, Stinger, Ninja Gaiden, Ring King, Rygar, Wizards & Warriors, The Goonies II, Ikari Warriors, Double Dragon II, Blaster Master, Tetris, Batman, Gradius, Maniac Mansion, Lode Runner... I could honestly keep going for a really long time, but I'll stop here.


First roundtable of the new year, baby!!

URL to share (right click and copy)
01/13/16, 19:41    Edited: 01/13/16, 19:41
 
Why not sign up for a (free) account?
   
 
Time for the other half!

GAMECUBE

5. Resident Evil (Remake)
4. Tales of Symphonia
3. Viewtiful Joe
2. Skies of Arcadia: Legends
1. Resident Evil 4

This list breaks a couple rules--I never played Skies on the DC so while it was an upgraded port, it was new to me (and ridiculously great). REmake is such a big jump from the original that I think it deserves mention as its own game. Also, the GameCube was amazing for third-party games! RE4 might be my second-favorite third-party title ever, behind only FF3. Viewtiful Joe would be a number one contender on almost any other one of these lists. And this set of runner-ups is no slouch either: Ikaruga, Beyond Good and Evil, TimeSplitters 2, Soul Calibur 2, and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.


DS

5. Retro Game Challenge
4. Dragon Quest IX
3. Dragon Quest V
2. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
1. Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations

What can I say? I love me some Phoenix. Trials and Tribulations WOULD be my number one DS game if it weren't for the Jam With the Band series (that never got a US release). Dragon Quest V gets a nod since it was new to the US, so I'm counting it here. IX is just an all-around jam-packed game, some of the highest production values I've ever seen in a handheld title. Retro Game Challenge is a big ol' bowl of amazing nostalgia, I loved it. Runners-up: Dragon Quest VI, Phoenix Wright: Justice for All, Contra 4, Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice, Henry Hatsworth.


WII

5. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
4. Trauma Team
3. Rune Factory Frontier
2. Mega Man 9
1. Little King's Story

For such a teh casual system, the Wii had some big third-party hitters. Rune Factory gave me over 70 hours of addictive enjoyment, and Little King's Story was super clever, charming and creative. Runners-up: Rayman Origins, Boom Blox, World of Goo, FFCC: My Life as a Dark Lord, Trauma Center: New Blood, and Metal Slug Anthology (it was new to me!).


3DS

5. Steamworld Heist
4. Resident Evil: Revelations
3. Steamworld Dig
2. Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies
1. Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy + Curtain Call (counting these together since one's almost an expansion)

I didn't count Shovel Knight since I got that on the Wii U. There're a few good ones here. Runner-up would have to be Super Street Fighter IV. Expect this list to change dramatically this year with the release of Dragon Quests 7, 8, and maybe 11!


WII U

5. Scribblenauts Unlimited
4. Mighty Switch Force! HD
3. Guacamelee
2. Shovel Knight
1. Rayman Legends

Pretty slim pickings here but the top three are good stuff. I counted the Wii U versions of Shovel Knight and Mighty Switch Force since I got them on that platform. Otherwise...it's a little sad. Every one of my retail games for Wii U are first or second-party except Rayman (which--on the plus side--is really really good). No runner-ups of note.

That's all! I hope you enjoyed reading this.

@Hinph

Nintendo is the best, but sometimes it's nice to have a bit of a different flavor in a game. And some of the best 3rd-party games complement Nintendo's nicely.
01/14/16, 04:32   
Edited: 01/14/16, 04:34
Zero said:
@nate38 Honestly I almost just did MM 1-5.

If you're going to do that, I'd do 2-6. The first one is...rough. At least, IMO. If there's some nostalgia attached to it though, I'd understand.
01/14/16, 04:41   
@TriforceBun

Yeah. If we start talking about Sony, MS, Sega platforms and PC, I can suddenly name all kinds of games that I really love. I guess first party Nintendo games have always mostly dominated my playtime and affection on Nintendo platforms though.
01/14/16, 05:12   
Hm, this thread has helped me organize my favorite 3rd party games, so I'm gonna do an OVERALL TOP TEN!

Yep, the TEN BEST THIRD-PARTY GAMES ON A NINTENDO PLATFORM OF ALL TIME:

10. Mega Man 2

09. Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations

08. Mega Man X

07. Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals

06. Viewtiful Joe

05. Mega Man 3

04. Skies of Arcadia: Legends

03. Chrono Trigger

02. Resident Evil 4

01. Final Fantasy III


NES is red, SNES is purple, DS is blue, GCN is black. SNES and GCN dominate pretty hard here!
01/14/16, 05:41   
@GameDadGrant Not so much nostalgia (like most people I played it after 2, I think maybe after 3 even?) as I just legitimately think it's a good game. Solid level design, good boss fights, awesome music. Not sure why it gets the hate. Obviously 2 came along and was way better but 1 was still a great game. You'll notice it made my list while 4 and 5 did not.

As for 6, I think it's pretty close to 4 and 5 for me but I played it way after the fact (on the MMAC) so I don't have the same attachment to it. It's probably actually a better game than 5 though.
01/14/16, 06:09   
So I'm going to abide by the one-game-per-series rule. And that makes five for NES a lot tougher than anticipated, so let's start with an easy one...

Nintendo DS
5. Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword
~~~ 3D action, on a DS, with touch controls? How does this work so well? Book-style grip, is the answer.
4. Radiant Historia
~~~ Maybe my favorite old-school JRPG ever.
3. Mega Man ZX
~~~ Underrated junior member of the Mega Man family.
2. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney -- Trials and Tribulations
~~~ No explanation necessary.
1. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
~~~ My personal favorite of an amazing trio of DStlevania games.


My experience with third party titles on the original DS is the best of any Nintendo system, I think. So many great non-Nintendo games on that thing. Narrow cuts from the list include: The World Ends With You, Retro Game Challenge, Bangai-O Spirits, and Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.
01/14/16, 06:38   
@Zero

Yeah, that's cool. The level design in the first Mega Man actually is pretty solid. Did you see that video where they re-created all the stages in Super Mario Maker? If not...check it out:


The "Mario" physics kinda ruin the challenge that was present in its original form, but...still fun (looking)! And of course, the music is really cool, as per usual for the series.

I won't fault anyone for nostalgia, though (even if that were the case). I mean, I put Mega Man 4 on my NES list. Even though I wouldn't call that one *objectively* the best of the NES games, it's still my favorite. "Dat nostalgia" as the kids say.

Mega Man 5 and Mega Man 6 are fairly equal, in my eyes. Most days I'd say that 5 has better music, though.

nate38 said:
My experience with third party titles on the original DS is the best of any Nintendo system, I think. So many great non-Nintendo games on that thing.

I would tend to agree!

@TriforceBun

Chrono Trigger is too spots too low, but otherwise, I'd tend to agree with you as well! Maybe I'd swap out Final Fantasy III for a Street Fighter title (I love dem fightin' games!). That aside, solid list is solid!
01/14/16, 16:20   
Edited: 01/14/16, 16:23
My goodness! How'd I forget the Virtual Boy?? Here we gooo...

VIRTUAL BOY

5. (haven't played five third-party ones!)
4. Golf
3. Panic Bomber
2. Red Alarm
1. Vertical Force

For the sake of completion (there were only 14 VB games after all), I'm including games PUBLISHED by Nintendo in this list. These aren't very good, but I do genuinely like Vertical Force. It's a pretty simple shmup with a nice little gimmick and a good use of 3D.

@GameDadGrant

Yeah, Street Fighter would be an acceptable top-rated third-party game. It's one of those legacy franchises that tend to do well on Nintendo systems.

I'm in the same camp as Zero that thinks MM1 is great (if a little slippery by comparison). It broke a lot of new ground. My series rankings for classic MM would actually be 3 > 2 > 1 > 5 > 4 > 6.
01/14/16, 16:30   
Edited: 01/14/16, 16:38
@TriforceBun

Ah, poor Mega Man 6! It never gets any love.

Mega Man was pretty fun. IIRC from my childhood, I actually did play that when it first came out. A buddy of mine that lived across the street got it for Christmas or his birthday, and I remember playing it over at his place. Particularly, Bombman's stage. I remember it being fun, but HARD. Mega Man 2 eventually came along and everything seemed to click better. Though I think my memory may be fuzzy...I may have played Mega Man 3 *before* Mega Man 2.

Well, either way, the sequels did everything better. IMO, anyway. Did you guys ever play the remake on PSP? It's pretty dope.
01/14/16, 19:58   
@GameDadGrant Ah, I didn't know anyone here had Tetris Ultimate. I dunno if I'm that good at it, I don't do very well in the online multiplayer... but I s'pose that those require different strategies than going for a high score.

Also, while I do like Mega Man 6, I think I might have to put it at the bottom as well. That might make it look like I think it's bad or something, but I just don't have as much fun with it as the others. It still has a few nice tunes in it though, and I enjoyed the Rush-Mega Man morphs.

@TriforceBun Anand did say that even Nintendo-published games don't count, so yeah, he isn't counting Tetris on Game Boy (I wanted to choose it also). This also means that Dragon Quest IX for DS doesn't count, since Nintendo published that one along with DQ VI. DQ V and IV are fair game though.

I realised that two of my GBA picks in Sword of Mana and FF I & II were also Nintendo-published, so I guess I don't really have anything to say for GBA picks!

Yours are some interesting choices for N64. I also played that Rocket game and it was surprisingly enjoyable, I'd even say it about matches the quality of Nintendo-published titles! However, I didn't like the N64 version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, I felt it was a pretty poor port, partly because the controls were a lot worse than the PSX version. They did a little better job with Tony Hawk 2 and 3 on the system, but other versions are still better.
01/14/16, 20:39   
@Mop it up

One day maybe we can play Tetris Ultimate online together. I'm fully prepared....to be curb-stomped, ha ha.

I also enjoy Mega Man 6, though I'll admit it's definitely on the lower-tier for the NES games. And I find it to easily be the...uh, easiest. Are the Rush-Mega Man morphs *too* powerful...?

Oh yeah, one last thing. Did you feel the controllers of the N64 versions of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater were worse because they weren't responsive enough? Or because they defaulted them all to the C-buttons? I felt the game played - technically - fine. But getting used to the tiny C-buttons definitely took some time.

As a (primarily) handheld gamer, I usually have no issue with "small" buttons, but wow. I feel as if the N64's C-buttons were even smaller than what was on the Gameboy.
01/15/16, 00:11   
Great idea for a roundtable! I love seeing this kind of stuff.

NES
1. Mega Man 5
2. Mega Man 4
3. Mega Man
4. Mega Man 3
5. Mega Man 2

My favoritism towards Mega Man really shows here. I adore the series and Capcom was on the ball during the 80's and 90's. In fact Little Nemo would be my 6th choice

SNES
1. Mega Man X2
2. Final Fantasy 6
3. Mega Man 7
4. Wild Guns
5. Mega Man X

Still a lot of Mega Man. Capcom also gets my number 6 with Aladdin. Final Fabtasy 6 has a lot of proponents here, so I won't explain why I like that game. Wild Guns is a fun on rails shooter and I have a soft spot for games like that or Sin and Punishment.

N64
1. Sin and Punishment (does that count?)
2. Mischief Makers
3. Neon Genesis Evangelion
4. Star Wars Rogue Squadron

I haven't played a lot of 3rd party N64 games but that's okay because Nintendo and Rareware were around to pick up the slack.

Gamecube
1. Resident Evil 4
2. Beyond Good and Evil
3. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
4. Super Monkey Ball
5. Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life

Aside from a few heavy hitters, Nintendo was still pulling a lot of weight for the GameCube, and having what I might consider to be the best period in their history, creatively speaking.

Wii
1. No More Heroes
2. Pandora's Tower (might not count)
3. Little King's Story
4. One Piece Unlimited Adventure
5. No More Heroes 2

While a majority of the AAA industry skipped out on the Wii, the system did receive a fair amount of inspired titles that feel like they were made by developers with a passion and love for their project. These games are among my favorites not only for the Wii, but among all games.

Wii U
1. Child of Light
2. Teslagrad
3. Ittle Dew
4. Shovel Knight

A continued lack of major 3rd party games and the growth of digital distribution have created room in the Wii U's library for lower bugeted and indie releases. Child of Light and Teslagrad are highlights, with creative takes on established genres and striking visuals.

I'll post handhelds later. I want to get this post out now because I'm on my phone and afraid of losing this post.
01/15/16, 01:24   
Edited: 01/15/16, 01:53
1. Sin and Pubishment (does that count?)

Nintendo published it! Otherwise I would definitely have added it.

Also... what's pubishment? Or do I not want to know.
01/15/16, 01:30   
Edited: 01/15/16, 01:31
Gameboy
1. Mega Man V

I need to play more Gameboy games!

Gameboy Advance
1. Mega Man Zero 3
2. Mega Man Zero
3. Mega Man Zero 2
4. Mega Man Zero 4
5. Lady Sia

And my third party GBA library is packing too! That's okay, because the Zero series is fantastic.

DS
1. The World Ends With You
2. One Piece Gigant Battle 2
3. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
4. Jump Ultimate Stars
5. Dragon Quest 9: Sentinal of the the Starry Skies

The DS had a nice variety of games and a huge library. We got an RPG, an ARPG, a puzzle/visual novel thing, and 2 Smash bros-like fighting games.

3DS
1. Liberation Maiden
2. Rhythm Thief and the Emporer's Treasure
3. Azure Striker Gunvolt
4. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call
5. Gunman Clive 2

What's nice about the 3DS (and the DS too) is that they give delevopers a chance to put out mid-budget niche titles with comparatively lower risk. These may seem like deep cuts to some, but for me they're right up my alley.
01/15/16, 01:40   
@Zero

It's where you punish someone by publishing stuff of theirs. Probably private stuff. I dunno.
01/15/16, 01:42   
3. Little Kong's Story
01/15/16, 01:46   
Zero said:
1. Sin and Pubishment (does that count?)

Nintendo published it! Otherwise I would definitely have added it.

Also... what's pubishment? Or do I not want to know.

It's what happens when you try to quickly write a post before you accidentally close the tab on your phone or unintentionally click on an ad and lose everything.

Still not as good a Ludist's "I dog it a lot note".
01/15/16, 01:52   
Wii
5. Boom Blox
~~~ Steven Spielberg apparently whips up a great physics-based party/puzzle game!
4. Trauma Team
~~~ The solid Trauma Center series gets a little less cheap and a lot more variety.
3. Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
~~~ Easily my favorite Capcom Vs. game, mostly filled with obscure yet really fun characters on both sides.
2. Red Steel 2
~~~ A taste of how first-person games could have flourished on Wii. And in a form closer to Devil May Cry than Halo, no less!
1. Mega Man 9
~~~ This game was a dream come true, and it surpassed my high expectations.


There were a lot of "meh" third-party games on Wii for me, but at least most of them had an interesting premise or twist to them, even if they didn't wow me.



Seeing Rune Factory Frontier on a lot of lists here, and I have a few friends elsewhere who are crazy about it. Maybe I should give it a late look...
01/15/16, 02:09   
Edited: 01/15/16, 02:10
NES

This thread makes me realize how few third party games I've played on this system. That's something I'd like to change over time.

5. Mega Man
4. Ufouria: The Saga
3. Mega Man 3
2. Life Force
1. Mega Man 2


SNES

Make way for the RPGs and roman numerals!

5. Secret of Evermore
4. TMNT IV: Turtles in Time
3. Super Castlevania IV
2. Chrono Trigger
1. Final Fantasy VI


N64

I don't list some of these games very often, but I genuinely enjoy them.

5. Resident Evil 2
4. San Francisco Rush 2049
3. NFL Blitz
2. Rayman 2: The Great Escape
1. Wrestlemania 2000


Gamecube

I became a fan of Capcom and fighting games on this system. I already liked Star Wars, though!

5. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
4. Viewtiful Joe
3. Resident Evil 4
2. Soul Calibur II
1. Resident Evil


Wii

I feel like some third-parties saw the Wii as an opportunity to think outside the box, and this led to some great games.

5. Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars
4. Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure
3. Mega Man 9
2. Little King's Story
1. Muramasa: The Demon Blade
01/15/16, 03:18   
Wii U:

5. Unepic (Enjoy Up)
4. The Fall (Over the Moon)
3. Runner 2 (Gaijin Games)
2. Tekken Tag Team Tournament 2 (Namco)
1. Need for Speed: Most Wanted U (EA)

Honorable mention: Little Inferno (Tomorrow Corporation), Monster Hunter 3 (Capcom), Star Wars Pinball (Zen), CastleStorm (Zen)

Wii:

5. NBA Jam (EA)
4. No More Heroes (Ubisoft)
3. Little King's Story (Marvelous Entertainment)
2. Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars (Capcom)
1. Zak & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Capcom)

Honorable mention is probably too many to name.
01/15/16, 20:47   
  Forum main
 +