6. Miitomo
Miitomo was Nintendo’s very first foray into the world of mobile, and while it was hard to describe as a “game” it was a fascinating social app that took the internet by storm for a while.
Miitomo takes some serious inspiration from the 3DS title Tomodachi Life, letting players create their very own Mii avatar and answer various crazy questions. Friends could visit your Mii and let you see their own crazy answers to questions. Of course, you could also get a ton of different clothing and accessories to dress up your Mii.
The real appeal of Miitomo, however, was the brilliant little art system that let you pose your Mii and use a bunch of different items to create weird and wacky pictures. Because of this, Miitomo memes flooded the internet for a short while, and it was all great fun to see.
Sadly, Miitomo officially shut down in May 2018, and its initial appeal certainly wore off quickly as you just simply ran out of things to do. It was an interesting first experiment for Nintendo on mobile, but just a taste of things to come.
5. Dr. Mario World
Dr. Mario is yet another Nintendo series that seemed ripe for a mobile adaption, and while it’s nowhere near the company’s best mobile game it’s a fairly enjoyable experience still. Dr. Mario World is a match-three game that has you matching different colors of viruses in order to eliminate them off of the puzzle screen.
You’ll proceed through a ton of different levels as you try and stop the Mushroom Kingdom from being overrun by viruses. There’s even a wealth of different playable characters, letting you take control of some of your favorite Mario characters as doctors, like Bowser and Peach. You can also assign assistants that provide various effects during stages, for example Pokey gives you a 10 percent chance of earning an extra three seconds in timed stages.
Unfortunately, part of what drags Dr. Mario World down is that it’s absolutely inundated with microtransactions and purchases, much more so than any other Nintendo mobile game. The entire game is built around timers and currencies, meaning you’re only able to play in short bursts and have to wait for things to refill, unless you want to spend extra money.
While it’s still a fine game, Dr. Mario World is more intrusive with its purchases than the other Nintendo titles, which hurts the overall experience.
4. Super Mario Run
Super Mario Run marks the first time the most iconic video game character in all of history has starred in his own mobile game. Fittingly, Super Mario Run translated that classic Mario experience into a bit-size mobile one, with an emphasis on being able to play the game with just one hand.
The game uses classic 2D Mario levels, but it blends that with an endless runner experience. Mario automatically moves to the right, and by tapping you have to control when he jumps, changes direction, collects power-ups, etc. Tapping and holding longer will make Mario jump longer.
Super Mario Run still has you exploring a world map and going through different levels, all while you build your very own Mushroom Kingdom with different buildings and decorations. The app was downloaded a whopping 2.85 million times in its first week, eclipsing the record previously held by Pokemon GO.
It certainly hasn’t enjoyed enduring success, but Super Mario Run is still a great condensed Mario experience that you can play on your phone.
3. Dragalia Lost
Dragalia Lost was a huge surprise when it was announced; a completely new IP from Nintendo, published by them and developed by Cygames, the dev behind the smash hit Granblue Fantasy.
The peppy mobile title hit some good success when it launched, and has continued to enjoy a dedicated fan base ever since, although not at the scale of Fire Emblem Heroes. Dragalia Lost takes place in the world of Alberia, where every member of the royal family has a dragon transformation ability.
When strange events start happening in the capital you, the Seventh Prince, set out to undertake the Dragon Selection Trial. Dragalia Lost is a gacha game that has you summoning for a wide array of different heroes and characters. Then you pick a team of characters to take into each level, where you fight enemies and bosses with a fast-paced action-RPG system.
It’s all still bite-sized, as you’d expect from a mobile game, but Dragalia Lost’s fantastic presentation and style are what really give the game personality. Full voice acting and a soundtrack that uses songs from the Japanese popstar Daoko, also help make Dragalia Lost even more unique.
As Nintendo’s first original mobile title Dragalia Lost was a resounding success, and to date the game has grossed more than $100, putting it just barely above even Animal Crossing.
2. Animal Crossing Pocket Camp
Animal Crossing is Nintendo’s smash hit simulation series, and right off the bat it seemed like one of the franchises most fitted for mobile. That turned out to be completely true when Animal Crossing Pocket Camp launched in 2017.
Pocket Camp doesn’t do a ton to deviate from that tantalizing Animal Crossing formula, but instead adapts it for a mobile experience. Instead of building your own house you’ll be building your very own campground, and visiting the campgrounds of other friends.
You can even customize your RV camper, and any animal friends you make can come and hang out at your camp, partaking in the various services, instruments, and more that you have. Of course, Pocket Camp still has that delightful gameplay loop of collecting resources and fishing, then turning these resources into new items or clothing options.
Pocket Camp introduces a microtransaction currency called Leaf Tickets, and while you can do pretty much everything without spending extra money, you can speed things up by purchasing more, like in most mobile games.
As a mobile game, Pocket Camp perfectly encapsulated that relaxed experience that Animal Crossing games provide. Whether on the bus or waiting for a doctors appointment, Pocket Camp is the perfect way to burn some time with virtual camping.
1. Fire Emblem Heroes
Fire Emblem Heroes has easily been the most successful Nintendo mobile game at adapting its series, and its also simply the most successful monetarily. Nintendo struck literal gold with Heroes, which has grossed an insane $500 million since its launch, as of February 2019.
There’s good reason for this, though, as Fire Emblem Heroes takes the epic strategy of the franchise and condenses it down to quick stages that can be beaten in as little as one minute. The big draw, of course, is the ability to build your dream team of characters from across Fire Emblem history.
The gacha mechanics of Heroes are so successful because people are basically betting on getting their favorite characters, from Path of Radiance’s Ike to Navarre from Shadow Dragon. While it’s not as heavy on RPG mechanics as the main series, Fire Emblem Heroes still as you leveling up your heroes, equipping them with new weapons and items, assigning new skills, and more.
Compared to the rest of Nintendo’s mobile games, Fire Emblem Heroes is hugely more complex, and that’s party what has drawn so many players to the game. Heroes has continued to get liberal updates and special events, like new characters from Fire Emblem Three Houses.
Nintendo has still yet to top Fire Emblem Heroes in terms of quality, and maybe they never will.
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