There's more than just Nintendo!

Every Nintendo game will be followed by four (sorry, mobile users) other games that, if you're a fan of the related Nintendo game, you might be interested to check out. I personally think all these non-Nintendo games are just as good (in fact, I usually think they're better) than their Nintendo counterparts, so shake off the brand loyalty and check out the rest of what the medium has to offer!

Not all games will be perfect 1:1 matches, but they will always have critical, foundational things in common where if you enjoy one, you'll at least be able to appreciate aspects of the others.
Also, the games listed after their Nintendo counterpart will be in ranked in order based on a complicated algorithm of how much I recommend the game + how similar it is to its Nintendo counterpart.

Alan Wake
Alan Wake
Alundra
Alundra
Ape Escape
Ape Escape
Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa
Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa
Bonk's Adventure
Bonk's Adventure
Breath of Fire III
Breath of Fire III
Cadash
Cadash
Card Sagas Wars
Card Sagas Wars
Celeste
Celeste
Chase Bombers
Chase Bombers
Chocobo Racing
Chocobo Racing
Community Pom
Community Pom
Crusader of Centy
Crusader of Centy
Dragon Warrior Monsters
Dragon Warrior Monsters
EarthBound
EarthBound
Echo Night
Echo Night
Enemy Zero
Enemy Zero
Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy XII
Final Fantasy XII
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
Gamera 2000
Gamera 2000
G.O.D: Mezame Yo to Yobu Koe ga Kikoe
G.O.D: Mezame Yo to Yobu Koe ga Kikoe
Gokinjo Boukentai
Gokinjo Boukentai
Gregory Horror Show
Gregory Horror Show
Jumping Flash!
Jumping Flash!
Kirby's Adventure
Kirby's Adventure
Klonoa: Door to Phantomile
Klonoa: Door to Phantomile
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Linda Cube
Linda Cube
Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals
Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals
Luigi's Mansion
Luigi's Mansion
Magical Pop'n
Magical Pop'n
Magic Knight Rayearth
Magic Knight Rayearth
Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color
Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color
Magna Carta: The Phantom of Avalanche
Magna Carta: The Phantom of Avalanche
Maka Maka
Maka Maka
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Marvel Land
Marvel Land
Monster World IV
Monster World IV
Moon: Remix RPG Adventure
Moon: Remix RPG Adventure
Motor Toon Grand Prix 2
Motor Toon Grand Prix 2
Mr. Gimmick
Mr. Gimmick
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
NieR
NieR
Ōkami
Ōkami
The Outfoxies
The Outfoxies
Panzer Dragoon II Zwei
Panzer Dragoon II Zwei
Paper Mario
Paper Mario
Pokémon Red Version
Pokémon Red Version
Popful Mail: Magical Fantasy Adventure
Popful Mail: Magical Fantasy Adventure
Power Stone
Power Stone
Rakugaki Showtime
Rakugaki Showtime
Sakura Taisen
Sakura Taisen
Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow Squadron
Shadow Squadron
Shining Force II
Shining Force II
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Sin and Punishment
Sin and Punishment
Skies of Arcadia
Skies of Arcadia
Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart
Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart
Star Fox 64
Star Fox 64
Super Adventure Island II
Super Adventure Island II
Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros.
Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros.
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together
Tail Concerto
Tail Concerto
Umihara Kawase
Umihara Kawase
Vexx
Vexx
Wild Arms
Wild Arms
Xenoblade Chronicles
Xenoblade Chronicles
Xenogears
Xenogears
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

13 Comments


1 year ago

Some runners up that couldn't quite fit into their respective lists:
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past ➡ Ys Origin
The Legend of Zelda: Adventure of Link ➡ Mugen Senshi Valis
Luigi's Mansion ➡ Any pick of the Fatal Frame games
Luigi's Mansion ➡ Too many RPG Maker games to name

I've decided to omit Metroid and Animal Crossing since, even though many games fit their style, not enough (that I'm aware of) have quite reached or surpassed their quality to make a strong list I truly believe in. Nintendo fans win this time.

1 year ago

LOVE the formatting and just the general idea in this too wow, so many games to add to my backloggd!

1 year ago

The Paper Mario ➡ Xenogears is so funny to me but I never really thought about it lmao

1 year ago

I guess I should also mention that F-Zero and Splatoon are not included here because I haven't played many racing games (and the ones I have played aren't really anything like F-Zero) and I hate shooting games. I'm just not really qualified to speak on these. If anyone has suggestions for games like F-Zero or Splatoon let me know!

1 year ago

Can't believe I forgot to include alternatives for Super Smash Bros. This has been remedied as of right now

1 year ago

Great list!

1 year ago

Very good content, though seeing the games listed after Luigi's Mansion made me laugh. Like, you're not wrong, but it's so weird to see.

1 year ago

It definitely is funny! I was hoping to pair it with some equally light-hearted or otherwise silly games (Illbleed is there mostly for this reason) but the fact of the matter is Luigi's Mansion follows the lineage of some pretty gruesome games. I suppose that's the Nintendo way though, is to strip ideas from other devs and dress it up in kid-friendly clothing to introduce it to audiences that haven't played anything else yet.
What a creative list. Nicely done!
Seing Hollow Knight compared to Zelda II is very interesting. Not wrong tho; the easier comparasion would be to Metroid, but I can see the similarities,

Amazing list! It also reminded me that I really need to try Power Stone.

1 year ago

The secret is that all Zelda games in many ways are Metroidvanias (just without the platforming) but the culture isn't ready for that discussion yet

6 months ago

Adjusted several entries and added a row for Mario Kart

6 months ago

Thank you.


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