Which Nintendo Franchise is most hardcore, relevant and important today?

[QUOTE="Cherokee_Jack"][QUOTE="khoofia_pika"] Yeah... that is pretty much true... But Mario Galaxy and Twilight Princess were very fresh and innovative games.charizard1605

Twilight Princess was just Ocarina waith a Wii control scheme slapped on

Out of those probably metroid, although F-zero is more hardcore IMO. Story mode on GX was unbelievably hard.

oldmanriver1

The most hardcore Nintendo franchise is with out a doubt Zelda or Metroid. Both games, are not made with casuals in mind, and both games have really dark, mature undertones to them, something Nintendo is not really known for.

mexicangordo

As much as I love Zelda, while it does cater to the hardcore audience, its incredibly user friendly. Hell I beat ALTTP when I was 4 and have continued to beat them for the next 13 years. As long as you have some common knowledge and some patience, Zelda is an amazingly easy game to simply beat (obviously only those who are anal will 100% it). Metroid however I've found isnt as friendly, so I would put it just a bit higher in that regard.

Then again, like another user, I opt for Fire Emblem, but thats just because I'm a fanboy :P

[QUOTE="mexicangordo"]

The most hardcore Nintendo franchise is with out a doubt Zelda or Metroid. Both games, are not made with casuals in mind, and both games have really dark, mature undertones to them, something Nintendo is not really known for.

freek666

As much as I love Zelda, while it does cater to the hardcore audience, its incredibly user friendly. Hell I beat ALTTP when I was 4 and have continued to beat them for the next 13 years. As long as you have some common knowledge and some patience, Zelda is an amazingly easy game to simply beat (obviously only those who are anal will 100% it). Metroid however I've found isnt as friendly, so I would put it just a bit higher in that regard.

Then again, like another user, I opt for Fire Emblem, but thats just because I'm a fanboy :P

[QUOTE="freek666"]

[QUOTE="mexicangordo"]

The most hardcore Nintendo franchise is with out a doubt Zelda or Metroid. Both games, are not made with casuals in mind, and both games have really dark, mature undertones to them, something Nintendo is not really known for.

khoofia_pika

As much as I love Zelda, while it does cater to the hardcore audience, its incredibly user friendly. Hell I beat ALTTP when I was 4 and have continued to beat them for the next 13 years. As long as you have some common knowledge and some patience, Zelda is an amazingly easy game to simply beat (obviously only those who are anal will 100% it). Metroid however I've found isnt as friendly, so I would put it just a bit higher in that regard.

Then again, like another user, I opt for Fire Emblem, but thats just because I'm a fanboy :P

Out of those probably metroid, although F-zero is more hardcore IMO. Story mode on GX was unbelievably hard.

oldmanriver1

People say this way too much, am I the only person that managed every 'chapter' (aside from the last one) within the first 3 attempts? Or is it just that F-Zero GX is the first F-Zero lots of people every played (I had both the SNES and N64 games)? Anyways, I cannot wait for F-Zero Wii, and Starfox Wii needs to happen. Both of these are hgreat ardcore franchises.

I stick to what I said earlier with it being between Zelda and Metroid, though neither are that difficult (Prime 3 was distinctly easier than the other 2, most likely Nintendo/Retro appeasing a wider range of people, and Zelda games are my favourite, but most are never challenging). To those saying SSBB wins, I really dont agree (although I love it), the game is great but the tier list is unbalanced and you cant say its more hardcore then F-Zero or Metroid (Other M seems distinctly hardcore). And as always, the most relevant is Mario, followed by Pokemon and then Zelda.

Mario. I grew up with Mario Platformers and they are win. Now we get two more. Catch me.

Mario because the games have changed gaming through the years.

its wii sports

zelda

[QUOTE="oldmanriver1"]

Out of those probably metroid, although F-zero is more hardcore IMO. Story mode on GX was unbelievably hard.

alia999

People say this way too much, am I the only person that managed every 'chapter' (aside from the last one) within the first 3 attempts? Or is it just that F-Zero GX is the first F-Zero lots of people every played (I had both the SNES and N64 games)? Anyways, I cannot wait for F-Zero Wii, and Starfox Wii needs to happen. Both of these are hgreat ardcore franchises.

I stick to what I said earlier with it being between Zelda and Metroid, though neither are that difficult (Prime 3 was distinctly easier than the other 2, most likely Nintendo/Retro appeasing a wider range of people, and Zelda games are my favourite, but most are never challenging). To those saying SSBB wins, I really dont agree (although I love it), the game is great but the tier list is unbalanced and you cant say its more hardcore then F-Zero or Metroid (Other M seems distinctly hardcore). And as always, the most relevant is Mario, followed by Pokemon and then Zelda.

You must have lightning reflexes, I don't think I even ended up finishing the story mode. But yeah it was my first f-zero game so maybe as you said that could be the reason. Although I did get f-zero N64 on virtual console afterwards and master mode was still pretty damn hard

[QUOTE="alia999"]

[QUOTE="oldmanriver1"]

Out of those probably metroid, although F-zero is more hardcore IMO. Story mode on GX was unbelievably hard.

oldmanriver1

People say this way too much, am I the only person that managed every 'chapter' (aside from the last one) within the first 3 attempts? Or is it just that F-Zero GX is the first F-Zero lots of people every played (I had both the SNES and N64 games)? Anyways, I cannot wait for F-Zero Wii, and Starfox Wii needs to happen. Both of these are hgreat ardcore franchises.

I stick to what I said earlier with it being between Zelda and Metroid, though neither are that difficult (Prime 3 was distinctly easier than the other 2, most likely Nintendo/Retro appeasing a wider range of people, and Zelda games are my favourite, but most are never challenging). To those saying SSBB wins, I really dont agree (although I love it), the game is great but the tier list is unbalanced and you cant say its more hardcore then F-Zero or Metroid (Other M seems distinctly hardcore). And as always, the most relevant is Mario, followed by Pokemon and then Zelda.

You must have lightning reflexes, I don't think I even ended up finishing the story mode. But yeah it was my first f-zero game so maybe as you said that could be the reason. Although I did get f-zero N64 on virtual console afterwards and master mode was still pretty damn hard

Wii Sports

Zelda all the way,woulda went with Mario but sheesh talk about a milked franchise.

For hardcore, it's Smash, because it has competitive multiplayer. (Pokemon does too, but it lacks depth.)

For relevant, it is, and will always be, Mario.

Tsug_Ze_Wind

Metroid is the only one that is still alive and isn't stagnating.Cherokee_Jack

[QUOTE="Tsug_Ze_Wind"]

For hardcore, it's Smash, because it has competitive multiplayer. (Pokemon does too, but it lacks depth.)

For relevant, it is, and will always be, Mario.

Shinobishyguy

Of course not, you just have to cut out 90% of the Pokemon, 90% of the moves, and 90% of the game. :roll:

That's how it works with games that are casual and competitive. I do not understand that argument at all.

Pokemon

The online battle scene is intense. :P

You know, once, Mario was the be all and end all of gaming. A Mario game invoked such mass hysteria, it was almost uncontrollable. While Mario still remains very important today, he no longer can carry off a console alone, by himself, like he did back in the N64 days.

charizard1605

???

New Super Mario Bros. = 18 million sold

Mario Kart Wii = 16 million sold

Mario Kart DS = 15.12 million sold

SSB Brawl (not really a "Mario" game but still) = 9 million

Super Mario Galaxy = 8 million sold

Super Mario 64 DS = 7.3 million sold

Mario Party 8 = 4 million sold

Super Paper Mario = 3 million sold

For me anything Nintendo has to offer which is "hardcore" is irrelevant as i can't bring myself to play Wii as it's too much of a step down grapically and technology wise.LiquidShnake

Dude, you gotta start being a serious gamer, a hardcore gamer, and not be so superficial. The graphics non the Wii or the DS may not be as good as on their rerspective competitors, but the fact is, the games are, and they're unique. You know, maybe, just maybe, you should take off the fanboy goggles, look past the HD gloss, and PLAY games, rather than ogling them. What say?

[QUOTE="charizard1605"]

You know, once, Mario was the be all and end all of gaming. A Mario game invoked such mass hysteria, it was almost uncontrollable. While Mario still remains very important today, he no longer can carry off a console alone, by himself, like he did back in the N64 days.

Thunderdrone

???

New Super Mario Bros. = 18 million sold

Mario Kart Wii = 16 million sold

Mario Kart DS = 15.12 million sold

SSB Brawl (not really a "Mario" game but still) = 9 million

Super Mario Galaxy = 8 million sold

Super Mario 64 DS = 7.3 million sold

Mario Party 8 = 4 million sold

Super Paper Mario = 3 million sold

What I meant here was that back in the N64 days, people would go out and buy the N64 over the PSOne simply so that they could play Super Mario 64. However, today, you won't see that happening bfor the Wii or the DS, will you? Mario is just one of the many factors weighed in while going for a Nintendo console, do they? Also, you're right, SSBB is not a Mario game, Maybe you should remove it off there.

Super Mario Bros

For hardcore, it's Smash, because it has competitive multiplayer. (Pokemon does too, but it lacks depth.)

For relevant, it is, and will always be, Mario.

Tsug_Ze_Wind

[QUOTE="Tsug_Ze_Wind"]

For hardcore, it's Smash, because it has competitive multiplayer. (Pokemon does too, but it lacks depth.)

For relevant, it is, and will always be, Mario.

farnham

That may be true, but that doesn't help the actual multiplayer. There's tons of things you can do and tons of ways to build your team, but that doesn't matter when there's still only a few things that will actually be effective in practice.

I actually think the "Wii brand" is the most relevant and important today (i.e. Wii Fitness, Wii Sports, Wii Play, etc.). That is closely followed by the Mario brand which has the ability to sell games in any franchise on name alone. Pokemon comes in 3rd because the main games are consistently huge blockbusters but the spin-offs don't have quite the success that Mario has.

The most hardcore are Fire Emblem and Metroid though Fire Emblem is not that big and Metroid is 2nd tier as far as importance and relevance goes in this industry.