Everyone wants the big games. The Marios, the Metroids, the Zeldas.

But what about games that are lesser known for their soundtracks? The games more in line with Nintendogs, Brain Age and Tomodachi Collection, things people wouldn't even think of being on a Nintendo music platform, but they're there.

I'm in a weird position. Played a lot of MK as a kid in the 90s / early 2000s. Mostly MK64, Double Dash, and DS. My family had a Wii in 2006 but we never got MK Wii. I remember playing it at a friend's house and being disenchanted by how different it was from the Mario Kart versions I had played before, so I wrote it off.

I've been having a bit of a Wii renaissance lately after 15+ years absence, and purchased a copy of MK Wii, after hearing how it became a classic and there is still a huge community for it.

I just want to have an honest discussion without the "git gud" and "skill issue" nonsense which doesn't add value to the conversation. Is it just me, or is this game shitty? It just seems like Mario Party or something. As though instead of rewarding you for being a good driver, it punishes you with item spam. A single banana drops you from first to 8th or something, because all the AIs pass as a group. I've been playing though all my childhood MK games and the AI is cheap in all of them. We all know that, we accept it, it's part of the rubber band mechanism, it's still fun. But this is something else, it's borderline un-enjoyable in 150cc.

What is your take? Again, please skip the "gid good" stuff, I'm not a competitive player, just a guy trying to have a good time after work.

The nominees available on the Switch are:

• Balatro

• Fortnite

• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

• No Man's Sky

• Sonic X Shadow Generations

• Warframe

You can vote for ten games in all in round one, which ends Wednesday night.

#On this day (December 2) in Nintendo history...

• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past/Four Swords was released in 2002 for the Game Boy Advance in North America. In this action-adventure remake of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System's The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, developed by Nintendo EAD with Flagship, experience two great games on one cartridge. In A Link to the Past players will experience the classic Super Nintendo adventure in portable form.

• Daigasso! Band Brothers was released in 2004 for the Nintendo DS in Japan. In this music game, developed by Nintendo R&D2 with Nintendo SPD, you are a new musician joining Barbara's GB Music recording studio. Choose an instrument and play along to a set of popular songs by tapping the screen or buttons at the right time. If you choose to be the vocalist then you have to sing into the microphone during the song. You can string your performances together with each instrument to compose a whole song.

• Pokémon Dash was released in 2004 for the Nintendo DS in Japan. In this racing game, developed by Ambrella, faster than a speeding Latios, here comes Pikachu! The Pokémon Dash Grand Prix is taking place across the Pokémon Islands, and there's one yellow Pokémon determined to take the top prize! You use the Touch Screen to propel your Pokémon towards the finish line. Simply use the stylus to rub the screen in the direction you want Pikachu to move.

• Polarium was released in 2004 for the Nintendo DS in Japan. In this puzzle game, developed by Mitchell Corporation, with minimalist black and white design and an electronica soundtrack, Polarium is a stylish, engrossing, engrossing tile-based puzzler that will hook you from your first play. Clear space for the tiles falling from the top screen by removing rows of tiles in the lower screen; do this by flipping blocks, rows and columns of tiles from black to white or vice versa by marking them on the Touch Screen with the Stylus.

• WarioWare: Touched! was released in 2004 for the Nintendo DS in Japan. In this action/rhythm game, developed by Intelligent Systems with Nintendo SPD, Wario and his wacky companions have returned to transform your touch screen into a playground of possibilities, with 180 wild microgames. Join Mona, the pizza delivery diva, for quick bouts of stylus slicing, or face Jimmy T in the club. Young witch Ashley thinks life is such a drag (of the stylus). Scribble through ninja kids Kat and Ana's games.

• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was released in 2006 for the Nintendo GameCube in Japan. In this action-adventure game, developed by Nintendo EAD, when an evil darkness enshrouds the land of Hyrule, a young farm boy named Link must awaken the hero - and the animal - within! Link's life takes a sudden and dramatic turn. Raised to be a wrangler, looking after the farm's animals, Link's adventure begins when he is ordered by the mayor to attend the Hyrule Summit.

• Nintendo Countdown Calendar was released in 2009 for DSiWare in Japan. In this utility, developed by Intelligent Systems, these days we all lead increasingly busy lives. This is an easy, fun way to keep track of not only urgent appointments but also to remind you about life's small (yet important) tasks. You can organise your day-to-day 'Events' by category, selecting from either School (such as trips, homework deadlines), Work (meetings, projects) or Everyday (doctor's appointments, holidays). You can even add your own Custom Events using handwritten notes via the Touch Screen.

• Snapdots was released in 2009 for DSiWare in Japan. In this puzzle game, developed by D4 Enterprise, you are presented with incomplete pictures on the main screen, while the example image is shown on the right. By rotating the image, you can help Dotty in her UFO shoot blocks into the correct locations or shoot away blocks in the wrong place. In the Puzzle Mode you have to clear each of the stages one-by-one, while in Time Attack mode the faster you clear stages, the more time is added to your timer.

What are you favourite memories of these games? How do you think they hold up today? Hash it out in the comments.

(I am a bot. I think that I'm posting Nintendo events from this day in history, but if I've made a mistake or omission please leave a comment tagging /u/KetchupTheDuck).  

Is it me or does the Nintendo Music app taking too much time to release new music? There are literally thousands of tracks that can be launched. And one a week is not enough, not to mention, I can't image people are dying for tracks like from those in Brain Age, though I could be wrong. Either way, what's with this super slow release schedule.

#On this day (December 1) in Nintendo history...

• Nakayama Miho no Tokimeki High School was released in 1987 for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan. In this dating sim game, developed by Square, you have transferred to Tokimeki High School. You befriend a strange boy in class called Sadakichi who confesses he is a fan of teen idol Miho Nakayama and he gives you a phone number to her fan hotline. After class, you run into a girl in the corridor who drops a small mascot toy. When she comes back for it, you realise she bears a striking resemblance to Miho Nakayama herself.

• Heisei Shin Onigashima: Kōhen was released in 1997 for the Super Famicom in Japan. In this adventure game, developed by Nintendo with Pax Softnica, you play a series of side-stories to the Famicom adventure game Famicom Mukashibanashi: Shin Onigashima, telling the previously untold stories of Ringo the dog, Matsunosuke the monkey and Ohana the pheasant, as well as revealing the backstories of Donbe and Hikari when the Avatar of Darkness was awakened.

• Heisei Shin Onigashima: Zenpen was released in 1997 for the Super Famicom in Japan. In this adventure game, developed by Nintendo with Pax Softnica, you have to make your way through the game by moving to different screens, talking to the various characters and taking part in timed or action scenes in order to progress.

• The 64DD was released in 1999 in Japan. A magnetic disk drive peripheral for the Nintendo 64 developed by Nintendo with Alps Electric. It was originally announced in 1995, prior to the Nintendo 64's 1996 launch. The "64" references both the Nintendo 64 console and the 64 MB storage capacity of the disks, and "DD" is short for "disk drive" or "dynamic drive". New genres of games were developed due to the advent of 64DD's rewritable mass storage, real-time clock (RTC), and Internet appliance functionality. However, the system's commercial failure required many 64DD games to be released on traditional cartridges alone, ported to other consoles, or cancelled. Some of these standalone Nintendo 64 cartridge releases include the equivalent of the 64DD's RTC chip directly on board the cartridge, as with Japan's Animal Forest. The 4MB RAM Expansion Pak became a sometimes mandatory staple of Nintendo 64 game development, being packaged along with a few cartridge games. All subsequent Nintendo consoles would directly include RTC functionality.

• Picross NP Vol. 5 was released in 1999 for the Super Famicom in Japan. In this puzzle game, developed by Jupiter, a Character Mode features 12 puzzles based on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Each of the picture crossword puzzles is a grid with numbers along each row and column, representing a solid line that must be filled in. More than one number means there is at least one space between the lines.

• Tottoko Hamtaro Nazo Nazo Q Kumonoue no Jou was released in 2005 for the Nintendo DS in Japan. In this quiz game, developed by AlphaDream, on the day Princess Hantena of the Hams is due to become queen, a mysterious group of Dark Hams descends from the clouds in a flying castle.The Riddle Q Team kidnap the princess and fly away. The Ham-Hams give chase in their balloon. You have to answer riddles on the touch screen by uncovering the answer on a word grid.

• A second wave of The Legend of Zelda amiibo Figures was released in 2016 in Japan and included Link - The Legend of Zelda; Link - Ocarina of Time; Toon Link - The Wind Waker and Toon Zelda - The Wind Waker.

What are you favourite memories of these games? How do you think they hold up today? Hash it out in the comments.

(I am a bot. I think that I'm posting Nintendo events from this day in history, but if I've made a mistake or omission please leave a comment tagging /u/KetchupTheDuck). 

welcome to smile sunday! turn your caps lock off and rave about whatever has made you smile this week! some things to smile about:

• the legend of zelda: echoes of wisdom was officially placed in the series timeline, and nintendo made a stop-motion short based on the game!

• an art book for the metroid prime trilogy is releasing next summer!

• what's this week's haul? what game did you just buy, just start, complete? anything else that made you smile? let us know in the comments below!

turn that frown upside down:

• here on smile sunday, we have one rule: e.l.e., which stands for everybody love everybody. if will ferrell said it, it must be true.

• uppercase letters are strictly forbidden – haha, just kidding! if you wanna do some uppercase, feel free, but try not to angry shout sunday; today is about happiness! (happy and excited shouting is a-ok, though)

• this is a happy thread! keep the love flowing! if someone's saying something and you think they're wrong, just let them be happy! anything that's made you unhappy this week can go on over to this week's throwdown thursday thread.

join the official r/nintendo discord server to share even more of the love!

I’m choosing Star Fox i’s make I play more like Metroid Prime but in ships fighting non other than team Star wolf to fight out side of their ships in one final brawl killing off wolf in the vacuum of space leading us onto a sequel were we fight a new 3rd party villain we’re fox and andross must team up to fight him until wolf comes back and finishes the job with that as the last game in the SF series until the reboot

One huge beef I have so far is a title added that includes more jingles and short tunes (maybe 30 seconds long) which feel kinda pointless for a music streaming app.

A great update would allow those little tunes to be used for phone ringtones. One I’d use will be the expansion jingle from Metroid Prime (which I just checked, looks like it’s missing 🤨) as a text alert.

Just an idea. Or hell, if I’m just not aware of that function I’d love to know how to do it.

I've been watching videos about Miis. You know, Tomodachi Life, Mario Kart Wii, Streetpass Mii Plaza, Miitopia, etc. I've been thinking about starting a thread about the Miis, since (apart from a Switch port of the aforementioned Miitopia) (and not counting Nintendo Switch Sports) not a single game in the Switch era has been exclusively dedicated to the cute little pals born from the Wii/DS era.

You can discuss everything about Miis, how you feel about them, the games starring the little guys (Tomodachi Life, again, for example), how you like to design them while growing up in the era, anyway you like, Wii, DS (of course, the only one that I know was the Japan-only predecessor to Tomodachi Life named Tomodachi Collection), 3DS, Wii U and Switch.

You can also share the Miis you created as well.

I don't know why but for me, DQIX just happens to be superior to other DQ games. I love them all, I am not putting down any part of the series but DQIX just has something special to it. It may be the mystical lore around Heaven and Hell (good against evil), the characters, the design of the bosses, music and scenary, etc.

It was my first Dragon Quest ever back in 2010 and my opening door to the great world of RPG's: Final Fantasy, Golden Sun, etc. I keep coming back to it to replay it once again every few months or years and keep a separate slot to keep farming and discovering grottos. The story hits me everytime and it takes me back to great times where my friends and I gathered around in the school playground and shared each other's characters, equipment and thoughts about how Corvus' final battle would be.

I just can't seem to enjoy other DQ's as much as this one. What can I do? Is nostalgia keeping me from enjoying different and probably as wonderful Dragon Quest games? Any recommended DQ games that can restore my enjoyment for the saga?

Why they seriously have the need to make everything that remotely resembles a game mechanic a tutorial, from the menu navigation, to equipment, even a tutorial to how to drink water And they have to have to create a whole bunch of NPC's that are nothing more than to provide tutorials.

And in dream team there is a tutorial in the final dungeon of the game.

And I find it super odd, because I feel like the mario and Luigi games are actually one of the easiest games to actually figure things out on your own because alpha dream is really good on making easy to read visuals, with half the games and the tutorials given basically just another way of saying "press A when is Mario, Press B when is that green guy"

#On this day (November 30) in Nintendo history...

• Excitebike was released in 1984 for the Family Computer in Japan. In this racing game, developed by Nintendo, the competition heats up fast! Face crazy curves, hairpin turns, and daredevil jumps as you race toward the chequered flag and the Excitebike championship. Race against the clock or challenge an opponent. You must keep your bearings as you fly through the air and avoid getting clipped by other racers. Stay cool under pressure, or your bike will overheat.

• Kaettekita Mario Bros. was released in 1988 for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan. This platforming game, developed by Nintendo EAD, is a remake of Mario Bros.. In the late 80's, a food company called Nagatanien was producing "Mario Curry" for the Japanese market. The company sponsored this remake and their name appears throughout. Their sponsorship also meant the price of the game was lower than other Disk System titles.

• Mr. Driller Drill Spirits was released in 2004 for the Nintendo DS in North America. In this puzzle game, developed by Namco, as the titular power-tooled miner, it's your job to dig through layer upon layer of colourful blocks, scramble for air capsules, dodge cave-ins and race to rescue fellow Drillers. Features precise Touch Screen control, three different game modes (Mission, Time Attack and the frantic Pressure mode), six playable characters and a wireless Driller Race mode for up to five people. You'll dig this game - literally!

• Final Fantasy VI Advance was released in 2006 for the Game Boy Advance in Japan. In this role playing game remake of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System's Final Fantasy III, developed by Tose, the newly translated classic comes with improved graphics and sound - as well as a host of all-new features! True to form, the game is independent of other Final Fantasy episodes. However, players will encounter compelling similarities as they meet complex new characters with whom they will embark on spellbinding adventures.

What are you favourite memories of these games? How do you think they hold up today? Hash it out in the comments.

(I am a bot. I think that I'm posting Nintendo events from this day in history, but if I've made a mistake or omission please leave a comment tagging /u/KetchupTheDuck). 

Recently sony lifted the restriction on the last ps1 games which are Dino crisis and resident evil. So now you can buy any classic game individually and also if you previously bought them on the ps3 you get them for free on the ps5. Nintendo needs to allow something similar. For example if I only care about ocarina of time I should be allowed to buy the game instead of paying $50 a year to play the same game. I’m not saying NSO is bad I’m just proposing an option to buy the games as a way to support game preservation and to save us money if we don’t want all the old games.

I was thinking this morning about the Red Rider BB Gun from Christmas Story and how much Ralph wanted one as a kid. I think for many of us our “Red Rider Gifts” must’ve been video game or Nintendo related. So I wanna hear what yalls were!

For me, my Red Rider Gift was actually my Red Nintendo DS.

When I was 9, I remember on Christmas morning opening some DS games (Mariokart DS, Spyro, and one more can’t remember) but not being able to find the system itself. It was fun trying to locate all the DS and DS game shaped packages. But eventually I couldn’t find it. I thought my parents had made a mistake and only bought the games when my dad did the whole “what’s that behind the chair over there?” (Just like Christmas Story movie) and had hid it behind our couch. It’s probably my most fond Christmas ever because I hadn’t really had my own game system until that point and I look back on it as probably the best Christmas I had as a kid.

So what are your Red Rider Gift moments?? Share them below!

#On this day (November 29) in Nintendo history...

• Jason Griffith was born in 1980 in New York, United States. A voice actor: he is known for portraying Sonic and Shadow in the Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Smash Bros. series, as well as various roles in Pokémon media.

• Metal Slader Glory: Director's Cut was released in 2000 for the Super Famicom in Japan. In this adventure game, developed by HAL Laboratory, improved graphics and additional story sequences cut from Metal Slader Glory due to size constraints feature. The team was composed of mostly new talent instead of the old team. This time around, Yoshimiru did not experience any graphics limitations as he did with the original.

• Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box (known as Professor Layton and Pandora's Box in PAL territories) was released in 2007 for the Nintendo DS in Japan. In this puzzle/adventure game, developed by Level-5, a riveting mystery and more than 150 new brain teasers to solve on the Nintendo DS Touch Screen feature. Challenge yourself with riddles and logic puzzles.

What are you favourite memories of these games? How do you think they hold up today? Hash it out in the comments.

(I am a bot. I think that I'm posting Nintendo events from this day in history, but if I've made a mistake or omission please leave a comment tagging /u/KetchupTheDuck).  

Honestly I think the game is alright, not a huge fan. I like the dungeons and the progression is fine, but I wish they worked on Zelda's character more. She feels very bland and withdrawn compared to other Zeldas from previous games. My biggest complaint is I personally think they should have added Sheik somehow into the game. I remember being a kid and playing OOT and seeing Shiek turn into Zelda and that made her the coolest princess ever. I just wish she had more to do with fighting as thats how shes been portrayed like in Twighlight Princess, OOT, kind of in BOTW and TOTK but even in Spirit tracks I feel (let me know if theres other examples ive missed). I think giving her a "Link Form" just undermines her abilites as a character.

This holiday season many people are either buying a Switch for the first time and want more storage capacity or are planning on increasing their current storage.

On /r/NintendoHelp, one of the most common things people post about is issues brought about by having cheaped out and bought a fake MicroSD card for their Switch or 3DS.

These fake MicroSD cards trick the system into thinking that they hold more data than they actually do, and will corrupt your data.

How do I know my card is fake?

There's a few telltale signs of a fake MicroSD card.

It costs way less than other similar sized cards.

A 1TB MicroSD card currently costs around $100 USD. A 512GB card costs around $50 USD. If you're finding a card in these size ranges for $30 or even less, you're probably buying a fake card.

It's from a brand you've never heard of.

There's a lot of weird brands sold online. Look out for well-known brands like SanDisk, Samsung, PNY, or Lexar. Weird brands that aren't well-known are often fake cards.

It just looks off

Some fake cards have bad printing or weird packaging trying to pass themselves off as real brands.

Test it with H2TestW

If you have a card that you suspect is fake, you can test it with the free software H2TestW. This will let you know it's fake.

My card is probably fake, what do I do now?

Simple, throw it away and buy a real one.

Fake cards should not be kept around. Just get rid of it and buy a real card.

If you're using it with a Nintendo Switch, fortunately you won't lose anything of value. Purchased games from the eShop can be redownloaded, and the save data for games is saved on your Switch hardware, not your MicroSD card.

If you're using it in a 3DS, you may lose your save files.

WELCOME TO THROWDOWN THURSDAY, TURN YOUR CAPS LOCK ON AND VENT ABOUT WHATEVER HAS YOU PISSED OFF THIS WEEK. JUST LET ALL THAT ANGER OUT.

SOME THINGS TO RAGE ABOUT:

• IF YOU AREN'T ESPECIALLY KIND AND PATIENT AND GRATEFUL TO RETAIL WORKERS TOMORROW, THEY HAVE MY EXPRESS PERMISSION TO PHYSICALLY HARM YOU

• NOTHING AGAINST BRAIN AGE BUT WHAT ON EARTH IS UP WITH THIS RANDOM DRIP-FEEDING ON NINTENDO MUSIC

THINGS NOT TO RAGE ABOUT:

• LOWERCASE LETTERS. THIS WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. IF YOU THINK I'M KIDDING, JUST TRY ME.

• THINGS YOU'RE HAPPY ABOUT. WE HAVE SMILE SUNDAY RIGHT THERE, PEOPLE.

• ANYTHING RACIST/SEXIST/HOMOPHOBIC/BIGOTED/ETC. USE ALL THE FUCKING PROFANITY YOU WANT, BUT NO SLURS. I HOPE YOU ALL KNOW WHERE THE LINE IS DRAWN.

• OTHER USERS. BE EXCELLENT TO EACH OTHER.