Nerd Fight!!! Hello all you Geek Enthusiasts and Nerd Aficionados!

Another Nerd Fight and another poll for you to pick. What’s your Favorite Nintendo Franchise?

Nintendo

Nintendo has been a giant in the video game world since the 1970’s. But, the actual Nintendo Brand has been around much longer than that. It has stretched all the way back to 1889 when they designed and produced handmade playing cards. During their lifespan, they have dabbled in everything including cab services and hotels. What really set them off as the mega-giant entertainment company they are today was the Launch of the Game & watch series. In 1983 they went from handheld portable devices to home entertainment with the Family Computer (aka Famicom). In 1985 this system was launched in the United states as the Nintendo Entertainment System.

The NES was home to most of our favorite franchises. These included Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, Tetris, Donkey Kong, Contra, Metroid, Kirby, Final Fantasy. There are so many others it would take us most of the day listing every hit franchise that started on this amazing gaming system. Nintendo has created more phenomenons in the gaming industry than any other creator combined. Below is a small list of these amazing franchises we chose to represent us in our newest Nerd Fight Poll. So, take a look and check out which combatant you would like to see reign supreme. Who will take home the title of Nerd Fight Champion.

The Legend of Zelda:

The Legend of Zelda was the original title that created the Open world video game. The first entry in this franchise placed players in the middle of Hyrule with nothing equipped. Also, no hints of where to go except a small cave nearby. Once you entered this cave you were given arguably the most iconic weapon of all time and told by the wizard, “IT’S DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE! TAKE THIS.”

With those simple words your journey began. You were in an unknown world with no save points. No internet walk through guides. Only your pencil and note paper to help you keep track of every hidden bush and terrible boss that lay ahead. Zelda has arguably been one of the best games on every Nintendo system that has ever been released. Titles including Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, and most recently Breath of the wild. The Zelda Franchise always finds ways to start new generations of fans with every chance it gets. Selected by SuperWhovianFreak.

Kirby:

Kirby is one of the most versatile, dangerous, and wonderfully adorable adventurers Nintendo has ever created. He has powers that range from blasting his foes with stars and smashing their faces with a star mallet that anyone on the wrong side of it should fear. Kirby can ride the stars with the greatest of ease. He can also adapt to any situation because he can inhale his enemies and absorb their powers. If that was not demoralizing enough, Kirby smacks down his enemies candy asses with their own abilities! He can also wreck havoc from above and smash them by morphing into a variety of heavy and deadly objects. Beware, he may look like a pink ball of cute but Kirby is an old school brawler who takes no prisoners and cooks them up for dinner. Selected by Saphir Rose.

Metroid:

Metroid was one of the original dungeon crawlers. This series burst on to the scene with a space bounty hunter out to eliminate foes on planets of unknown origin. Metroid was the space exploration game that showed off a bad-ass protagonist that left trails of blood and destruction. Not only did you get to blast enemies with a charging arm canon, but also one that shot missiles which caused destruction and chaos as you explored dark new areas and battled full screen sized monsters.

In the first entry, only the most hardened of players discovered the true identity of this bounty hunter extraordinaire. With a special ending the helmet was removed and revealed that this bounty hunter was the most bad ass female in all the universe named Samus Aran. Samus became one of the first female protagonists that had no fear and definitively didn’t need any lame sidekick around to get in her way.

As a solo arm canon touting bad ass Samus’s arsenal grew as her series continued to produce hit game after hit game. Metroid transitioned from side scrolling 2D adventures to a fully 3D first person shooter in Metroid Prime. This title showed off the staying power this series had. Our favorite bounty hunter from Nintendo has been on a hiatus for quite sometime. Hopefully soon with the release of the Switch, we will see the return of the best woman in video games, Samus Aran. Selected by BCON.

Animal Crossing:

Animal Crossing is a site to behold. If you love a wonderful world filled with crazy characters that you get to build and interact with in so many ways, then you’ve probably played Animal Crossing. Animal Crossing is the best kept secret from Nintendo. It is a “Sims” style game that has a Nintendo twist that can’t be resisted. Animal Crossing always finds ways to provide fun for all ages.

Despite not being filled with enemies or any clear objective, the engaging gameplay and what feels like infinite possibilities of ways to enjoy your time in this world will have you coming back to the good life that is Animal Crossing. This series finds very unique ways to have interaction between users. Whether it be sending mail or pairing up with activities. This series is one of the top selling franchises on every console it has been released on. It really shows off that a fun world and seamless gameplay trumps action and graphics every time. Selected by Igor.

Donkey Kong:

The original Donkey Kong Arcade game was one of the first members to ever join the video game hall of fame. This series made every arcade a place to visit and spectacle to behold. With a wild hammer swinging, barrel jumping , princess saving plumber first known as Jumpman got his start with this Arcade game. Donkey Kong was vicious in this series with his never ending barrage of barrels. Now, even though this series was a true phenomenon, it was a franchise seeking something new and fresh. With its entry on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Donkey Kong Country the King of swing DK was back.

With his sidekcik Diddy Kong at his side, Donkey Kong Country was amazing. When this game was released, it was by far the best looking game to ever hit a 16bit console. Donkey Kong fought everything from giant killer bees to crocodile kings. Donkey Kong continues his epic journey to rescue his stolen bananas with Donkey Kong Country returns as well. He even helped launch the careers of Diddy and Dixie Kong. Each of them received their own games on the SNES. So, be careful what you say about this gorilla in a tie. He obviously knows someone in the business since he has launched the careers of so many other Nintendo greats as well. Selected by Jack Malice.

Pokemon:

I spoke about Nintendo having more video game phenomenons than any other game creators of all time. Pokemon may not be the biggest of these franchises, but it definetely rose far above any of the others when it was at the height of its dominance. Pokemon started out as not just one video game but two. If you thought choosing between Red and Blue was the toughest choice you ever had to make, then you were dead wrong. The beginning of the game had you choose between three of the most adorable, badass pocket monsters you ever did see. This wasn’t just a choice on which pokemon had the coolest name, but you had to think about what powers this pokemon wielded. As well as, what it would eventually evolve into.

Choosing between Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle will go down as the toughest decision of all time. Not only would it mean how you would adventure fourth in the Kanto region but if you would be ridiculed by friends at school. The original release of Pokemon was one of the most wild video games to ever be released. It spawned the trading card/battle games. It also had a TV series that still to this day has the best opening of any after school cartoon. New game after new game brings new fans to the series. The most recent release was Pokemon Go which came out last summer. Pokemon still proves to be a franchise that nobody is safe from. More importantly it is a franchise everyone from young to old can enjoy. Selected by BigPapaMatt.

Super Smash Brothers:

Normally you would have to argue about who was the better video game character. Could Mario’s fireballs be enough to stop Link? Could Links arrows beat the armor of Samus Aran? Would Kirby stand a chance against Star Fox’s technology? Well, Nintendo did something on the Nintendo 64 that would change this argument for all time. Nintendo then created copycats across every console and franchise. Super Smash Brothers was launched and there was nothing better than defending your favorite video game characters honor by showing who is boss.

The release of Super Smash Brothers Melee on the Gamecube is considered on of the best fighting games of all time. To this day, tournaments are held across the world to finally settle that nagging question every nerd has. Which one of our favorites characters truly is the best? Selected by Mest5150.

Mario Kart:

Mario Kart has never stopped being fun. We get a new Mario Kart with every new console Nintendo releases. After its first entry to the series on the Super Nintendo, the chaos has never ceased to amaze even the most hardened of video game racing fans. You can compete against the AI to get three stars for every Flower Cup or Star Cup you can. Or you can compete with friends trying not to fall off the sides on the latest entry of rainbow road.

The Mario Kart series always finds a way to grant joy and despair in every person that plays this classic. Mario Kart is a challenge on all levels. You may white-knuckle around corners on 200cc races, or race your grandma who is throwing blue shells at you from last place. Mario Kart will always find ways to delight and make sure people have a great time behind the wheel. You’ll be dodging banana peels and tossing turtle shells at family and foe a like. Fan Choice.

Time To Vote!!!

You can vote now that you’ve seen the competitors and what makes each of them special and unique. Unique not only to Nintendo but to the entire gaming world that we know today. Some of these competitors started franchises that are considered the greatest of all time. Others have spawned billion dollar franchises. Please vote below and leave comments here. Also, go to our YouTube podcast where we chose the contenders. Like, subscribe, and comment on the video.

– BigPappaMatt, Contributor.