Summary
While the continued success and critical acclaim of a franchise is always hoped for, such expectations can sometimes hamper the creative exploration of a property. As such, even seemingly risk-averse Nintendo has presented players with multiple AAA spin-off projects that have arguably proven to be more enjoyable than their source franchise installments.
From genre-bending reinterpretations of Nintendo mascots and multiplayer experiments with burgeoning wireless technology, Nintendo has continuously used some of its most prestigious intellectual properties to push the boat out creatively, with sometimes great results.
Although Nintendo’s entry-level real-time strategyPikminfranchise has seemingly found continued lukewarm commercial reception despite Shigeru Miyamoto’s passion for the series, the cutsey RTS property has found enough breadth to provide players with alternative ways to experience its unique perspective on the world.
2017’sHey! Pikminis not a wholehearted attempt to translate the 3D RTS experience of the Nintendo GameCube-spawned series. However, its prominent use of the 3DS' dual screens and adaptation of traditionalPikmingameplay into 2D has arguably elevated itself beyond the realm of a simple cash grab. Although its more restricted level environments and exploratory freedom do set it apart from the series' core home console experiences, Arzest’sPikminspin-off still"manages to stand on its own as an enjoyable iteration that provides its own unique spin on the 2D genre".
Although thePokemonfranchise has grown exponentially since its debut titles on the Nintendo Game Boy, that is not to say that the child-friendly, monster-catching role-playing franchise remains the same as its 1996 beginnings. While the mainlinePokemoninstallments arguably provide iterative improvements on the decades-old gameplay, the series has consistently provided players with multiple new ways to explore the industry-defining world ofPokemonby"pushing the franchise in unexplored directions".
Despite its seemingly niche appeal as a mystery-solving adventure title on the 3DS, Creatures Inc.‘sDetective Pikachunot only provides players with yet another way to experience the world of their favorite pocket monsters but bestows the series’ pseudo-mascot, Pikachu, with a hearty dose of characterization. While the 2016 title did not receive overwhelming critical or commercial success, its unique interpretation of thePokemonsetting was so impactful that a Nintendo Switch sequel and motion picture starring Ryan Reynolds has been created based on its storytelling and mechanics.
Of all Nintendo’s flagship franchises,The Legend of Zeldahas become revered as not only one of the publisher’s best single-player series but an industry-defining property - however, that is not to say that the fantasy world of Hyrule has been kept far from the experimental efforts of Nintendo’s spin-off titles.
Although Nintendo has tested the waters with cross-platform cooperative dungeon-crawlers andDynasty Warriors-themed adventures,“easily the best of the Legend of Zelda multiplayer experiences to date"remains 2015’s 3D co-op adventure titleThe Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. Standing on the shoulders ofThe Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures' gameplay andThe Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds’art style, the 3DS wifi-enabled multiplayer release is filled with character and charm alongside a whole host of engaging puzzles and boss fights.
Although Nintendo’s moustachioed mascot and red-tie-wearing ape have become industry-renowned for their tightly-wound freeform platforming exploits in recent years, both titans of Nintendo’s first-party franchises began their life as bitter rivals in 1981’sDonkey Kongarcade game. With 1994’s spiritual successorDonkey Kongreinterpreting the plumber and king ofKong’s conflict as a puzzle platform title, and 2004’sMario vs. Donkey Kongsolidifying that genre shift, Nintendo not only promoted the pair of unlikely antagonists with one title but established a series that would go on to have a substantial number of releases for the company.
Although both characters have their contemporary roots in the 2D and 3D platforming adventures,Mario vs. Donkey Kongreinterprets the duo’s classic capers with modern imaginings to present players with"an intricate puzzle game with unique levels filled with familiar Mario characters”. While the inaugural title was critically revered, it failed to blow up commercially. However, the series has continued with many sequels and a 2024 remake of the original 2004 title on the Nintendo Switch.
Although many Nintendo fans seemingly wait with bated breath for the reveal of a new mainlinePokemon title- that promises a new region to explore, new creatures to train, and secrets to discover - the industry-defining franchise is made up of so many more elements than just these core titles. From anime, plush toys, the trading card game, and spin-off video game titles, thePokemonproperty has multiple moving parts - and in the unique case of 1998’sPokemon Trading Card Gamerelease on the Nintendo Game Boy, multiple of these elements intersected.
While"each new generation of Nintendo handheld; from the original Game Boy right through to the Nintendo Switch"has been home toPokemonspin-off titles, the collaborative release from Creatures Inc and Hudson Soft was not only a brand-newPokemon-themed release amid Pokemania, but a tie-in title for Nintendo’s latest card game project. Boasting an arguably ambitious interconnected world and hundreds of virtual packs of cards to open, thePokemon Trading Card Gameis simultaneously an entry-level learning tool for those interested in the cardboard-based pillar ofPokemon’s worldwide appeal and a unique role-playing adventure on the go.
Considering the role that Retro Studios’Metroid Primefranchise of titles has played on Nintendo hardware to showcase not only the graphical but gameplay capabilities of the hardware, it should come as no surprise that the 2006 handheld spin-offMetroid Prime Hunterswould be positioned as doing the same for the Nintendo DS.
AlthoughMetroid Prime Hunterswas initially presented to players through a pared-down demo - titledMetroid Prime Hunters: First Strike- coming bundled with every launch Nintendo DS system, the graphical fidelity and expansive gameplay available in the internally-developed retail release remains"a true spectacle in the realm of mid-2000s handheld gaming". Despite some graphical and mechanical alterations having to be made for the weaker portable hardware,Metroid Prime Hunters' tightly-wound narrative, alongside its ambitious online multiplayer and voice chat capabilities, sets it apart from many other Nintendo spin-off titles.
While Nintendo’s first-party cozy, pseudo-life sim franchise has garnered much contemporary commercial success - in no small part due to the 2020 release ofAnimal Crossing: New Horizons- many of its modern titles' customizability and flexibility can be traced to"the very first spinoff of theAnimal Crossingseries"; 2015’sAnimal Crossing: Happy Home Designer.
Utilizing the systems and graphical engine first presented in the 3DS system-sellerAnimal Crossing: New Leaf, players are instead tasked with formatting and customizing various themed households for the game’s multiple villager characters. AlthoughAnimal Crossing: Happy Home Designerdid not perform well commercially, the release of theHappy Home Paradiseexpansion forAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsin 2021 continued many of the expanded gameplay systems originally developed forAnimal Crossing: Happy Home Designer’s environment.
Considering that thePokemonproperty has become the world’s most profitable franchise, primarily off of the back ofPokemon’s original 1996 Nintendo Game Boy releases and their successive sequels, the fact that"one of the bestPokemongames in Nintendo’s library"is a concerted effort to stray away from the core games' design principles is all the more impressive. WhilePokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Skyis not the firstPokemon Mystery Dungeon Game, but an expanded sequel to the second generation ofPokemon Mystery Dungeonefforts, it remains arguably not only one of the best Nintendo spin-off releases, but one of the best side projects in the medium.
Retaining the dungeon-crawler mechanics and chibi-esque pixel art aesthetics of the series' previous entries,Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Skygoes beyond the acclaimed narrative presented inPokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of TimeandExplorers of Darknessto provide Nintendo DS players with a wholly unique and heart-wrenching tale in the traditionally by-the-numbers world ofPokemon.
