Summary
- Super Mario Maker is a standout from 2015, offering endless levels and creativity for players.
- Yoshi’s Woolly World uniquely shines as a charming platformer and one of the best Yoshi games ever.
- Monster Hunter Generations delivers exhilarating action in an RPG format, diverging from Nintendo’s cute visuals.
You can’t call 2015 a huge year for Nintendo. After all, it was a few years after the release of the Wii U and several years before the Switch. On top of that, if you were to list the best-ever Nintendo games, you probably wouldn’t include many from 2015, as there weren’t many huge releases for the company that year.
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However, this is Nintendo, so they still released a fair few good games throughout the year on both the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. The following titles are some of the most notable releases that are about to turn ten years old.
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Yoshi’s Woolly World
Yoshi’s Woolly World
- Developer(s)
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Good-Feel
- ESRB
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e
In 2015, the world was treated to another Yoshi game. This time, it’s set in a world completely made from yarn and cloth. This instantly gives the game a unique art style, especially compared to Yoshi’s other titles and Mario games in general.
It also adds an extra bit of charm to the experience. Yet, this isn’t a game only about style. It’s actually a solid platformer and one of the best Yoshi games ever.
7
Kirby And The Rainbow Curse
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
- Developer(s)
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HAL Laboratory
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
- ESRB
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e
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse isn’t the most traditional Kirby experience. After all, you don’t technically control Kirby. You simply direct the main character by drawing lines on the screen using the stylus.
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Kirby goes up the lines you draw, and you must take advantage of that to navigate the pink hero to the end of each level. Therefore, it’s a unique 2D platformer, but it works quite well and is a lot of fun. It’s also nice to look at due to the eye-catching, cute art style.
6
Monster Hunter Generations
Monster Hunter Generations
- ESRB
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T For Teen Due To Blood, Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes
Nintendo-exclusive games are often thought of as light-hearted titles with adorable visuals. Monster Hunter Generations (aka Monster Hunter X) for the Nintendo 3DS doesn’t quite fit that description.
This is an action RPG where you control a hunter who is tasked with tracking down and eliminating various dangerous beasts. These monsters look very fearsome, and they’re just as dangerous as they look. Thankfully, taking them on is a lot more fun than it is scary due to the slick and satisfying combat.
5
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Xenoblade Chronicles X
- Developer(s)
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Monolith Soft
, Nintendo SPD - ESRB
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T For Teen Due To Animated Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
One of the best Nintendo-exclusive series out there is Xenoblade Chronicles. These games hadn’t been around for too long by the time Xenoblade Chronicles X came onto the scene. So, this action RPG deserves plenty of credit for boosting the reputation of the series.
It’s an excellent open-world game about a group of humans that manage to escape Earth before an alien war rips it apart. You play as one of those humans and spend the game doing missions on the planet you crash-landed on. The story is really well-written and engaging. In fact, it’s the highlight of what is a good overall game.
4
Mario And Luigi: Paper Jam
- Developer(s)
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AlphaDream
- ESRB
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e
Many great gaming series are set in the Mario universe, and two of them come together in Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam. The game is a crossover of Mario and Luigi and Paper Mario. So, in this game, there are regular Mario characters and 2D paper versions.
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The two different art styles mesh together surprisingly well. On top of that, the turn-based battles are fun, and the puzzles are interesting. Therefore, it’s a well-executed crossover. Unfortunately, we have yet to see the two series cross paths again.
3
Splatoon
Splatoon
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo EAD
- ESRB
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e
Nintendo isn’t exactly known for shooters, but they did release Splatoon in 2015. It’s a third-person shooter that is very different from many of the other top third-person shooters out there.
After all, you play as a set of creatures called Inklings that shoot colorful ink at one another. They can also swim in their own ink when the time calls for it. It may sound odd, but the game is a good one and helped launch a solid shooter series.
2
The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D
- Developer(s)
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Grezzo
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
- ESRB
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E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, Suggestive Themes
There wasn’t a big, new Legend of Zelda game released in 2015. Yet, there was a remake of Majora’s Mask. While It isn’t too dissimilar from the original game, it is still a very well-made remake.
The developers made several quality-of-life changes and significantly improved the visuals. What stayed was all of the excellent parts about the original title, of which there were many. Altogether, this makes for an incredible Legend of Zelda game that ranks up there with the best.
1
Super Mario Maker
- Developer(s)
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Nintendo EAD
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo
- ESRB
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E For Everyone due to Comic Mischief
Arguably, the most noteworthy Nintendo game to come out in 2015 was Super Mario Maker. By 2015, there had already been many Mario games, so it would be understandable if Nintendo had run out of ideas.
However, the company innovated yet again with Super Mario Maker, which is a game that allows you to build and share your own Mario levels. The customization options are great, as you can make all sorts of wild and wacky levels for people to play. Plus, it can also be fun to see what others come up with. So, it’s enjoyable to play or create in this game.
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