Top 5 Nintendo Exclusives (That Need To Make A Comeback)

Everything thats old is new again and we have seen studios take chances on new IP’s lately with middling success. The thing about bringing back a dormant IP is that it already has a built in fanbase of varying sizes but nonetheless, there is less marketing and risk bringing back an older IP. In our three part series we are going to look at PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo and list the five dormant exclusives that need to make a comeback. Here are the top five Nintendo exclusives that need to make a comeback.

Firstly, there should be some guidelines for what should make the list and there are five major points.

• Needs to be a minimum ten years since the last entry

• Nothing official about development of a new title

• our list, which means some popular games might be left off the list, your list will be different

• Mobile titles don’t count towards the minimum 10 year hiatus

• fits into portfolio

Dear Nintendo, Bring Back These Games

WaveRace

WaveRace needs to make a comeback for the simple reason that there is nothing like it. Even to this day, Wave Race 64 had some of the best water physics. The only other time in gaming that I have seen water as awe inspiring was Sea of Thieves.

I don’t know what Nintendo needs to do to make WaveRace relevant again today but there is nothing like it in Nintendo’s portfolio or really in the gaming market. Nintendo has always embraced the blue ocean strategy of going where there is less competition and a Jet Ski game would definitely have less competition. Obviously, adding in online multiplayer would be a smart feature to bring to the series but beyond that it’s tough to say as sometimes keeping things simple is best.

FZero

You can make the argument that the reason that Diddy Kong Racing hasn’t made a comeback is because Mario Kart has evolved into much more than a kart racer. They have incorporated other types of vehicles, zero gravity sections, flying sections with parachutes and a whole bunch of other evolutionary changes. F-Zero on the other hand makes more sense because even though there are some F-Zero tracks in Mario Kart 8, the game still lacks the hardcore difficulty that was the futuristic racer.

Not only does F-Zero fill a gap in Nintendo's portfolio of a hardcore racer but with a few modern changes to the series, it could easily compete with Forza and Gran Turismo. Add in some dynamic weather and a deep tuning system and you have a good base to build from.

Punch Out

There has never been a bad Punch Out. Still to this day secrets are being found about 1987’s Mike Tyson’s Punch Out including seeing the audience flash which tells you when to dodge or even using a certain combinations of buttons on the second controller to make the game two players. The first two games on the NES and SNES were developed in house. The 2009 reboot was developed by then indie studio Next Level Games from Canada who made an amazing entry on the Wii.

Since 2009, there hasn’t been another Punch Out and Next Level Games was acquired by Nintendo in 2021. There is a good chance that Next Level Games returns to the series but the big question is when? Their last game in 2022 was Mario Strikers: Battle League, which underwhelmed both commercially and critically. However, their title before that was Luigi’s Mansion 3, which was a hit on both accounts and means that their next game has a strong possibility to be either Punch Out or LM4.

Ring Fit Adventure and Swtich Sports were both commercial hits and Nintendo could use some more high quality motion based games that offer multiple ways to play. Punch Out fits the bill perfectly.

Dr Mario

With the exception of Dr Mario World that was released in 2019 on mobile and shut down in 2021, the series has only got one original entry back in 1990. Obviously, since then it has been on just about every Nintendo console since in one form or another but has yet to get a true sequel. There are three very good reasons why Dr Mario should return to Switch with its first original console release in over 30 years.

There is nothing like it in Nintendo’s current portfolio. There is Puyo Puyo Tetris but that is lacking the Mario IP power and is made by Sega. Dr Mario not only has the IP behind it, but also the strong history. According to VGsales, Dr. Mario has sold 11.49 million copies.

Finally, there is a market for these type of puzzle games. When Tetris 99 was announced for Nintendo Switch Online back in 2019, it had a moment and everyone in the gaming industry was talking about it. In their first earnings call after the release of Tetris 99, Nintendo announced that Tetris 99 had been played by over 2.8 million players. Then you have Tetris Effect which was critically acclaimed and went on to win a handful of awards.

So how could you bring back Dr Mario in 2023? I think incorporating some type of Inner Space style campaign that features rogue-like elements similar to Slay the Spire. Decide where to travel in the body next, find items along the way that can help battle the enemies would be fun way to tackle solo. As for multi, the key would be to incorporate Nintendo Switch Online with Tetris 99 style tournaments but also to embrace the local functionality of the Switch.

Excitebike

There are more obvious Nintendo IP that would make sense like Kid Icarus or Earthbound but there is no shortage of platformers or RPG’s on the Switch. How many series can go back as far as Excitebike and its influential roots on Nintendo to 1984. Designed, Directed and Produced by Miyamoto, Excitebike was the foundation that Super Mario Bros was created with its side scrolling engine.

In my head, I can see Excitebike making a return with influences of modern biking games like Trials and Lonely Mountains Downhill. The key is not trying to be cutting edge with visuals but instead a more retro approach to the series. The other two entries Excitebike 64 and ExciteTruck were both trying to compete graphically with technology at the time. Nintendo also wasn’t the lead developer on these two titles.

The other major aspect of a revival would be borrow from Super Mario this time around and take the path of Super Mario Maker. A curated amount of levels would be great but what if you created a speed running community inside the game with user created levels. There is also nothing in Nintendo’s portfolio currently that fills the same gap as Excitebike. Family friendly, challenging, and a nostalgia heavy franchise.