We want Mario, Link and Pokemon on our iPhones

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What new Nintendo games will we get on the iPhone?Photo remix: Stephen Smith
What new Nintendo games will we get on the iPhone? Photo remix: Stephen Smith

Hell just froze over.

Nintendo has finally given in to the fact that smartphones have dealt its handheld gaming business a huge blow; the only way they’re going to stay relevant is to release their immensely popular gaming characters and game franchises onto the devices we all have in our pockets.

Whether you’re a Nintendo super fan or just looking at the gaming history this venerable Japanese company represents, you’ll be excited for this new era in which Nintendo partners with social and free-to-play juggernaut DeNA to bring it’s valuable content to mobile devices.

Even though Nintendo’s president Satoru Iwata insists that the company has no intention of porting existing games to mobile devices, he said nothing about not brining the incredibly popular and cash-generating characters and franchises that have become synonymous with the company, and with video gaming in general.

Here, then, are ten of our top wishes for the characters and franchises Nintendo should bring to the iPhone or other smartphones.


Mario Kart – Sure, Iwata says they won’t port existing games to mobile devices, but why not release Mario Kart Mobile for the iPhone? It’s already a huge hit among critics and fans on the Wii U with Mario Kart 8, as is Mario Kart 7 on the 3DS, Nintendo’s current handheld gaming platform. We’d thrill to be able to match up with our Game Center buddies as we slam through the Donut Plains or along Ghost Valley on our iPhone 6 Plus.


The Legend of Zelda – Hoping for Princess Zelda to be a playable character may be a bit much to ask from the initial outing of this respected gaming franchise, but we’d be happy with a mind-bending puzzle and action game starring Link on our iPhones. The Zelda series goes way back to 1986 when she is kidnapped by Ganon, forcing Link out into the world to rescue her. Sure, finding the princess is so very old-fashioned these days as a trope, so maybe our iPhones will have a thoroughly modern princess who not only can save herself, but joins Link on his adventures, perhaps both of them saving the world from ecological collapse. Or something.


Metroid – Seriously, any kind of game featuring Samus Aran will go over big on any platform, but having a new one on the iPhone can only be another feather in the very large Nintendo cap. The gameplay in this series, from the 2D side-scrolling adventures of discovery to the 3D glory of the Metroid Prime Trilogy, has always been leading edge, so bringing the science-fiction franchise to iOS would please a ton of gamers both new and retro.


Earthbound/Mother – The only cartoonish retro RPG that got me to tear up, Mother 3 stands tall as a masterpiece of ludic storytelling; so much so that when it wasn’t released in the U.S., enterprising fans went out and created an entire localization file you could use to graft onto the Japanese ROM via emulation. I’d play any game set in this universe on the iPhone, which seems fairly suited to manage a cartoony text adventure with serious themes and ideas, judging from all the similar (yet far inferior) games available for iOS now.


Punch-Out – With plenty of punching games already out there, it seems like a version of Punch-Out, the venerable boxing series originally released in 1987 could make Nintendo a serious amount of cash either as a free-to-play game or straight-up premium app with updated nostalgic graphics and a call back to the original, Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

https://youtu.be/Gl3Ptnns9c8
Pokemon – This world-devouring media juggernaut features pocket monster battles, collection, and training in one of the most addicting video games out there. Pokemon is a phenomenon that’s invaded video games, trading card games, animated TV shows, movies, comic books, and toys. The latest video game iterations, enhanced remakes of the 2002 Game Boy Advance titles Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, sold over three million copies in the first three days of release. To say there’s a market here is a perfect understatement.


Fire Emblem – This series of 13 games seems like a perfect fit for today’s gaming audience, as the last entry in the franchise, Fire Emblem: Awakening, actually tried its hand at paid downloadable content. It’s a challenging tactical role playing game where the position of and relationship between different characters effects their ability in battle. I would play the crap out of a Fire Emblem game on iOS, and I’m betting many more would, too.


Star Fox – First released to the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993, Star Fox was the second 3D Nintendo game ever, and the first to use polygons in rendering the 3D effect. Inspired by legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto’s visits to an arched fox shrine in Japan, Star Fox is a beloved franchise that has spawned five sequels (and a planned sixth for the Wii U, coming soon) and several spin-offs; even an arcade game. To have an iteration on the iPhone would bring many a fan’s retro love full circle.


Pikmin – Created in 2001 for the Game Cube by Shigeru Miyamoto, Pikmin tasks you to solve environmental puzzles with several small colored characters, each with its own set of useful powers, called Pikmin. The sequel, Pikmin 2, came out in 2004 and Pikmin 3 released in 2013 to critical acclaim. Tapping our way through various fun levels on an iPhone or iPad would be sheer Nintendo bliss; it’s a game style not often reproduced on any app store.


Animal Crossing – The one area in which Nintendo has failed to conquer, it’s the social internet. Getting the Wii or the 3DS to connect to the internet is still a somewhat arcane process (though it’s better now than it used to be), but Nintendo still insists on friend codes, walling off the social potential of great games like Animal Crossing, which is a brilliantly charming game where you move into a town of animals, collect fruit from trees, and try to pay off your ever-increasingly expensive house. You can go visit other players’ towns and interact with the animal denizens of your own town as various seasonal activities happen. It’s a sweet, wry, enjoyable little living town, and we’d love to play it on our iPhones.

What did we miss? Let us know how wrong we are in the comments below, and feel free to suggest your own Nintendo favorites!

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