More Than Half Of Gamers Chose This As Their Favorite Nintendo Franchise

As Sony and Microsoft continue to battle one another for the very hearts and souls of consumers eager for a next gen gaming experience, Nintendo remains comfortably in its own arena. Nintendo's approach to gaming is (and always has been) idiosyncratic, with the company's trajectory defined not by its competitors, but by its own clear and unique vision.

This is possible in large part due to a history of iconic series, some of which are nearly as old as gaming itself. No matter how unusual the next Nintendo console's controller may be, for example, it's a sure thing players will be able to use it to control a familiar fireball-slinging, mushroom-munching plumber.

In order to determine which of the many beloved Nintendo franchises from throughout the company's storied history is number one in fans' eyes, SVG conducted a survey of 1,700 people that definitively crowns one series above all others. The Legend of Zelda arose as the majority favorite, earning 55% of all votes.

The Zelda games are often met with significant critical acclaim, but it's not just because of this continued excellence that they remain so uniquely revered. Many of the series' installments serve as cultural touchstone. Ocarina of Time, for example, helped define 3D console gaming in the 64-bit era. Breath of the Wild likewise reinvented open-world design in the minds of an entirely new generation of players. These and entries like the original Legend of Zelda and A Link to the Past are not just examples of good Zelda games, but were groundbreaking for gaming at large. The series has transformed through the years.

Nevertheless, certain other Nintendo series, as reflected by the poll results, have their share of devotees. Donkey Kong netted 8% of the vote, boasting a long history of games and a track record that remains solid with recent entries like Tropical Freeze. Earning 7% was the Metroid series, the first entry of which pioneered the Metroidvania formula that remains very much in the zeitgeist to this day. Finally, Animal Crossing received 6% of the vote.

The second highest share of votes, totaling 24%, went to an "Other" category. Voters who selected it were asked to then share their unrepresented favorites in the attached comments section.

Chief among series cited in the comments was Super Mario. Similar to the Zelda franchise, at least one standout Mario has been released, more or less, during every major console generation. Plus, Mario is iconic to an extent only rivaled by a number of video game characters that could be counted on one hand.

One of those characters is Pikachu, who at one point was determined to be among the most recognizable animated characters period. It's unsurprising, then, that the Pokémon games also received their fare share of recognition in the comments section.

Finally, barring one-off answers like a highly-upvoted comment positing the "Steel Ball Run" arc of the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure anime/manga as a video game for some reason, or a dark horse vote for the Nintendo DS' Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, most of the rest of the commenters chose Super Smash Bros. While its characters aren't original, it's nevertheless a Nintendo franchise, and an ultra popular one at that.