Rank all the Nintendo home consoles from favorite to least favorite

[Steelmaker]

Keep mind, this is home console only. No handhelds! But Switch is included since it's technically both...

1. NES

The OG! For me, nothing will ever top this one! It will forever sit as #1 for me! So many classics were berthed from this console like Supoer Mario Bros 1 &3, Zelda, Kirby, Punch Out, Excitebike, Duck Hunt, etc. Not to mention all the classic 3rd party games that originated here like Castlevania, Contra, Final Fantasy, Mega Man, Metal Gear, Tecmo Bowl, etc. Plus the NES single handedly resurrected the home console market! I may not even be into videogames today, were it not for this console! It is forever enshrined as the GOAT!

2. SNES

Terrific 16-bit graphics, vibrant colors, a great Sony sound chip, and Mode 7! Plus, some absolute timeless classics! Not to mention cracking arcade ports of Mortal Kombat 2 and 3, Street Fighter 2, TNMT: Turtles In Time, and others! A fantastic library of both 1st and 3rd party games! The SNES truly stands the test of time!


3. GameCube

Though not a wild commercial success, the GameCube will always hold a special place in my heart for so many reasons! I feel this period was Nintendo at one of its creative peaks! Pikmin was berthed out of this console! First person Metroid came from this generation! Luigi's Mansion started here! Animal Crossing started here! Eternal Darkness was a very innovative horror game at that time. Smash Bros really came into its own on GameCube, plus out of this came my all-time favorite Nintendo controller! So much so that I still use one today with my Switch! The only thing that held GameCube back was the mini disk format. Nintendo should have gone with standard DVD and let the GameCube double as a DVD player the way PS2 did. Doubling as a DVD player would've made the product more appealing and probably would have garnered more 3rd party support.


4. Switch

Great concept! A home console/handheld hybrid with a great library of games! A solid effort somewhat marred by weak hardware that lead to a lot of poor performing ports of 3rd party games. Plus IMO it relied too heavily on Wii U ports and "handheldy" type games to round out its library. But overall a solid effort that hopefully will be even better realized by it's successor!

5. N64

Though it is home to THE pioneering and one of the greatest 3d platformers of all time, in Mario 64. The N64 was disappointing in several ways. Awkward control design, coupled with expensive cartridge prices and very little 3rd party support all combined for a disappointing generation compared to the previous ones. It had a decent collection of Nintendo classics like the two Zelda games, Paper Mario, Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye 007, Star Fox 64, Waverace, etc. But all in all the N64 does not quite stand the test of time like it's predecessors IMO.

6. Wii U

Some of you might be surprised to see this one at 6 instead of 7, but I really do not think Wii U is the worst. I actually had a lot of fun playing many of the exclusive games on Wii U. But it's high price and low specs, not to mention confusing name hurt the sales which ultimately hurt 3rd party support. The tablet controller was a nice idea, but it had poor picture quality and had to be too closely tethered to the main console to make it viable as a portable option. Plus it needlessly added expense to the overall package that couldve been allocated to better performance.

7. Wii

In short, I hated the Wii! I hated everything about it! I hated it's weak hardware. I hated that it didn't support HDTV'S. I hated that it forced you to play games a different way when I was perfectly happy with sitting on my couch and mashing buttons! I hated everything about it. So much so I completely checked out from Nintendo that entire generation! I am glad that some of the Wii specific games are getting Switch remasters so they're not forever stranded on that rancid console! Burn it! Burn it with fire!

9. Virtual Boy

The Virtual Boy technically was not a generational console like the SNES or the GameCube. It was more of a Nintendo side project than anything, and I do applaud Nintendo for trying to do something innovative. But ultimately, we ended up with nothing more than a monochromatic moving View Master that never got off the ground. Funny thing is I don't hate the Virtual Boy like I hate the Wii and there WAS some fun to be had on this oddball machine like Teleroboxer, Mario Tennis, and Wario Land. But I have to put it last for how quickly it fell off the market.