It was a great time to be a Nintendo fan in the 2000’s. If we’re comparing their release cycles to Beatles albums (because why not) the 90’s would be Revolver, a near-perfect masterpiece that couldn’t be topped. And the 2000’s would have be Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, where the band, and Nintendo found a way to top their masterpieces.

Super Mario 64 became more polished and more complex with Super Mario Sunshine. Ocarina of Time was succeeded by Majora’s Mask and Windwaker, two games that completely turned the franchise on it’s head, and we’re just getting started. Here’s the best games Nintendo released in the 2000’s.

10 Luigi’s Mansion

We start our list with the unlikely hero of Nintendo games, and one of the most pleasant surprises in video game history, Luigi’s Mansion. Sure Luigi would’ve got his own game eventually. We mean if Wario and Donkey Kong can, who’s to say our favorite plumber’s little bro shouldn’t get the spotlight too.

But who would’ve guessed he would’ve had one of the best games on the GameCube, and one with so much style. This game completely redefined Luigi’s character and caused the Nintendo universe to expand in ways unimaginable. And with the series now on its third game, it’s safe to say it’ll go strong for a while.

9 Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

Nintendo dipped into the RPG genre in the ’90s with Earthbound, Pokemon and the aptly titled Super Mario RPG. The latter of which caused fans to beg Nintendo for a RPG-styled game that featured Mario characters – so the company made Paper Mario. The original version of the game that made it’s debut on the Nintendo 64 was fantastic, but The Thousand Year Door is a masterpiece.

Level design and puzzles are so much fun to complete and the characters are so rich and unique that they feel completely separate from the Mushroom Kingdom cast. (Paper Mario for Smash!)

8 Metroid Prime

Metroid Prime was an absolute game-changer for the franchise, and boy was it ahead of its time. The game looked fantastic at the time and still does, and it felt so lonely yet the world so full of life. It’s such a weird game, especially when you remember it came from Nintendo – but with titles like Earthbound, Majora’s Mask and even the original Metroid – this just seemed like the next step.

It’s one of their most mature games to date, with a slow-paced gameplay that rewards you for taking your time to unlock the secret of this cast world.

7 Animal Crossing

To whoever plays it, Animal Crossing is often among those players’ favorite games ever. And we only say that because we rarely come across fans who don’t have the same sentiments – you don’t just like this game – you love it. At its bare bones you’re essentially you escaping the drab of your own life to live out a virtual one populated by Animal NPCs. But only if it was that simple.

The devil is in the details for this game – there’s so many secrets, so many small touches and easter eggs that make this game perfect. You may hate games like this, but we can promise that you’ll enjoy Animal Crossing.

6 Super Mario Sunshine

Sure this is turning out to be a GameCube’s greatest hits list, but dang did it have some classics. There isn’t much to say that hasn’t been said about Super Mario Sunshine, but here’s our attempt anyway.

This was the game that gave Mario style, it let the world know that our favorite plumber could be so much more than just a try and true vanilla platformer. It gave the Mushroom Kingdom color and without it we would’ve never gotten titles like Super Mario Galaxy or Odyssey. Looking back it’s not the best Mario game to ever been released, but it’s still a masterpiece, and so much fun to play.

5 Pokémon Platinum

It’s hard to go an entire decade talking about Nintendo and not mention Pokémon. While several fantastic games were released in the years following the original Red and Blue, Pokémon Platinum would have to take the cake as the best. The game was the ultimate version of Diamond and Pearl, two games that forever changed the franchise with it’s improved graphics and game play.

Platinum just made those games better with the addition of a few new quests and legendaries that have become fan favorites. The world felt so much more immense and in typical Pokémon fashion it was addicting as heck.

4 Super Smash Bros. Melee

You wouldn’t have to go far to find someone that would argue that Melee is the best Smash game in the series. Trust us, walk onto your nearest college campus where if a Smash club exists (which is rather common in 2019) then you’ll find a section of said organization that solely dedicates their time to this game.

And that’s for good reason, this game is fast, chaotic and one of the most entertaining fighting games to have ever been released. The best part, it was all an accident, something Nintendo never intended, but that fans reaped through years of gameplay. Plus, it gave us Wombo Combo.

3 Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker

This is Nintendo’s cheekiest game – it’s almost as if they knew they struck gold with the concept of a cartoon Zelda game – all that needed to be done was releasing it and letting fans go crazy.

But that’s Wind Waker at its surface level, underneath is one of the most creative and wholly original games that the company has released to date. Like Super Mario Sunshine it added so much color into the universe and as you play the game you’ll want to explore every inch of it’s uniquely created world. Zelda fan or not, this is one that any gamer has to play.

2 The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Getting back to the Beatles for a moment – The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is the White Album – a piece of work that is experimental and downright weird, but to many fans is celebrated as the best.

The best part about this game is even if you’re unfamiliar with Zelda games you’ve likely seen game play or some sort of art regarding this game. Whether it’s the scowl-faced moon, the mischievous Skull Kid or the haunt your nightmares mask salesman. If you needed to point to a game to showcase gaming as a work of art it would be this.

1 Super Mario Galaxy

Super Mario Sunshine is amazing, but Super Mario Galaxy is in a different world (all puns intended). Seriously, this is when everyone went “Oh, we didn’t know Mario games could be this good.” It’s like you’re playing a Mario movie as every single moment feels cinematic and leaves you staring at the game with this sense of awe.

Nobody saw this game coming, sure up to this point Mario games had a near flawless track record, but Galaxy turned the franchise into something where the series had potential to redefine video games. God bless Galaxy, Mario and all of Nintendo – and here’s to hoping we make more memories with their games.

NEXT: Nintendo Switch: The 10 Most Anticipated Games of 2020