Combat doesn’t have to be the most important part of a game, but most people would be lying if they said they didn’t care about how well combat plays. Nintendo is a company that tends to understand this well, consistently featuring compelling gameplay loops between their series. What constitutes good combat, though?
Easy to pick up, difficult to master, with plenty of variety that never forgets to be cohesive: that’s good combat. Or at least a good recipe for good combat. The fact of the matter is, combat is as good as its design. What’s the use in playing a game with good combat if it’s poorly designed? Fortunately, if a Nintendo game has good combat, it’s usually worth playing for other reasons as well.
10 The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess
All versions of Twilight Princess are good and worth playing, but it’s the HD and GameCube versions that feature the best core combat. Without motion controls, Twilight Princess turns into a surprisingly tight action game with great combat variety. Better yet, the HD release features a harder “Hero Mode” that naturally makes better use of Link’s widened kit.
Wolf Link is also surprisingly sound on a mechanical level despite how underdeveloped he is. What fans see is what they can’t, but playing as a wolf is by no means bad. Really, though, it’s the swordplay that’s Twilight Princess’ real draw. And the bowplay.
9 Terranigma
An incredibly late Super Nintendo game that only released in Japan and Europe, Terranigma is also the best action RPG on the SNES. There’s no contest here. Not only is the story incredible, the mechanical depth at play will keep audiences engaged from start to finish. Other than a framerate typical of an SNES action game, Terranigma is flawless.
There are a few noticeable difficulty spikes here and there, but Terranigma features an often overlooked magic system that does flesh out combat considerably when given the proper attention. This is a game everyone should play at least once in their lifetime.
8 Bayonetta 2
Although Bayonetta 2 isn’t quite as mechanically in-depth as its predecessor, it is by no means a bad game. It’s still one of the best action games in the genre and boasts plenty of content for players to chew on. Bayonetta 2 even features a very generous online component that didn’t need to be nearly as fleshed out as it ultimately is.
Bayonetta 2 emphasizes fast-paced, frantic action that requires the player to actively be paying attention to their surroundings at all times. This more or less means that Bayonetta is always moving, but that’s the fun of the combat system— it’s non-stop action.
7 Tales Of Symphonia
While the game has since been re-released for non-Nintendo consoles, Tales of Symphonia was originally developed as a Nintendo GameCube exclusive. It’s one of the best action RPGs on the GameCube, if not the best RPG period. It might feel a bit dated today, but it’s also a game that helped establish several modern JRPG tropes.
Most importantly, its combat still holds up well today. Far simpler than later Tales of installments, but it’s better to think of ToS as the natural endpoint of Tales of Phantasia’s combat system. In that respect, it’s probably the best of the genre!
6 Super Mario RPG
If Terranigma is the best action RPG on the SNES, Super Mario RPG is the best turn-based RPG on the SNES. Adding a level of interactivity to turn-based combat, Super Mario RPG manages to incorporate constant action during combat without resorting to an ATB system ala Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger (both amazing games in their own right.)
Super Mario RPG just has so much in-combat gameplay variety that it’s difficult to see other turn-based games on the system in as positive a light. If there’s one thing the game does struggle with, it’s difficulty curve. Other than that, Super Mario RPG is combat perfection.
5 Viewtiful Joe
Another Nintendo GameCube exclusive that did not remain so, Viewtiful Joe and its sequel were ported to the PlayStation 2, even featuring new content for the former in the form of Dante from Devil May Cry serving as a playable character. That said, while it has less content, the GameCube version of Viewtiful Joe is still a damn good game.
It’s more or less Kamiya’s traditional gameplay style placed into a 2D plane, and it all plays obscenely well. Viewtiful Joe requires genuine skill, but it’s so much fun that anyone looking to really get through it will slowly find themselves building up the talent necessary to complete the game.
4 Astral Chain
No discussion about Nintendo games with the best combat is complete without mentioning Astral Chain. Although it only just released this year, it’s already one of Platinum’s best games and one of the strongest action titles on the Nintendo Switch. It plays like a love letter to all things Platinum Games.
Astral Chain also features an insane amount of combat depth thanks to its five LEGION types, three weapon types, and intricate upgrade system. It’s a game that always pushes this feeling of progress. Better yet, Astral Chain 2 can very easily pick up where the first game left off, developing an already fantastic combat system.
3 The World Ends With You
This is only true for the original Nintendo DS release. The mobile and Nintendo Switch ports frankly don’t even compare with the DS original as they remove an entire half of the combat system. In the original DS release, players needed to focus on both screens at once— controlling Neku with the stylus and using the D-Pad to control his partner.
This could lead to insane combos through the form of a puck toss system where both characters took turns extending the combo. Without that level of nuance, the combat just doesn’t shine as much. Neku is the meat of the combat, but he’s not as interesting when players can just ignore their partner.
2 Hagane: The Final Conflict
If Terranigma is the best action RPG on the SNES and Super Mario RPG is the best turn-based RPG on the SNES, Hagane: The Final Conflict is the best action game on the SNES. This is a game that quite literally uses every single button on the controller. Not just that, there are full combos in play and Hagane is brutally hard.
It is immensely rewarding, though, featuring a fairly generous checkpoint system and airtight level design. Hagane: The Final Conflict is the kind of game worth going back to time and time again in order to get better at it.
1 Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
It’s really a toss-up between the Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario franchises, and while the former is certainly more consistently good overall, it just lacks the same highs as the latter. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is still one of the best RPGs of all time thanks to its great gameplay and even better game design.
There’s so much customization, an amazingly paced main game, and a decent amount of side content to wade through. With more partners than before (all of which are more involved with combat,) there’s never a dull moment in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.