The most notable Nintendo games turn 10 in 2025

summary

• Super Mario Maker is a standout from 2015, offering endless levels and creativity for players.

• Yoshi's Woolly World shines as a uniquely engaging platformer and one of the best Yoshi games.

• Monster Hunter Generations offers fun action in an RPG format, breaking away from Nintendo's cute visuals.

You can't call 2015 a big 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 Nintendo's best games, you probably wouldn't include many from 2015, as there weren't many big releases for the company that year.

However, this is Nintendo, so they still released some great games throughout the year on both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. The following titles are some notable releases that are about to turn ten years old.

8

Yoshi's Woolly World

In 2015, the world was treated to another Yoshi game. This time, it's set in a world made entirely of yarn and fabric. This immediately gives the game a unique art style, especially compared to Yoshi's other titles and Mario games in general.

It also adds more charm to the experience. However, this game isn't just about style. It's actually a solid platformer and one of the Yoshi games.

7

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse isn't the most traditional Kirby experience. After all, you don't technically control Kirby. You only direct the main character by drawing lines on the screen using the stylus.

Kirby moves over the lines you draw, and you must take advantage of this to navigate the pink hero at the end of each level. So, it's a unique 2D platformer, but it works very well and is a lot of fun. It's also nice to look at because of the attractive, cute art style.

6

Monster hunter generation

Nintendo-exclusive games are often thought of as light-hearted titles with lovely visuals. Monster Hunter Generations (aka Monster Hunter X) for Nintendo 3DS doesn't fit that description.

This is an action RPG where you control a hunter who is tasked with tracking down and eliminating various dangerous animals. These monsters look very scary, and are just as dangerous as they are. Thankfully, taking them on is more fun than scary because of the clever and satisfying combat.

5

Xenoblade Chronicles X

One of the best Nintendo-exclusive series out there is Xenoblade Chronicles. These games hadn't been around for very long when Xenoblade Chronicles X came on the scene. So, this action deserves a lot of credit for raising the reputation of the RPG series.

It's a great open world game about a group of humans who manage to escape Earth before an alien war tears it apart. You play as one of those people and spend the game doing missions on a planet where you crash-land. The story is really well written and engaging. In fact, this is the highlight of what is a good overall game.

4

Mario and Luigi: paper jam

Many great gaming series are set in the Mario universe, and two of them come together in Mario & 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.

The two different art styles blend surprisingly well. On top of that, the turn-based battles are fun, and the puzzles are interesting. Therefore, it is a well-executed crossover. Unfortunately, we have yet to see the two series cross paths again.

3

Splatoon

Nintendo isn't exactly known for shooters, but they did release Splatoon in 2015. This is a third-person shooter that is very different from the other top third-person shooters out there.

After all, you play as a set of creatures called Inklings that shoot colored ink at each other. They can even swim in their own ink when the time calls. It may sound strange, but the game is a good one and helped start a solid shooter series.

2

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D

There was no big, new Zelda game released in 2015. However, there was a remake of Majora's Mask. While it's not that different from the original game, it's still a very well-made remake.

The developers made many changes to the quality of life and significantly improved the visuals. What remained were all the great parts about the original title, of which there were many. Overall, it makes for an incredible Legend of Zelda game that ranks right up there with the best.

1

Super Mario Maker

Arguably, the most notable Nintendo game to come out in 2015 was Super Mario Maker. By 2015, there had already been several Mario games, so it would have been understandable if Nintendo had run out of ideas.

However, the company innovated again with Super Mario Maker, a game that allows you to build and share your own Mario levels. The customization options are great, as you can make all kinds of wild and wacky levels for people to play. Plus, it can be fun to see what others have come up with. So, this game is fun to play or create.