Nintendo is famous for its family-friendly games. However, there are many games that gain a whole new level of nuance when played by an adult.
There are more and more names that emerge as iconic developers and creative minds within the gaming industry, but there are also certain titans that have been around for decades, like Nintendo. Nintendo is still one of the biggest first-party developers in the industry, and their consoles continue to redefine gaming with their ambitious ideas.
However, a good deal of Nintendo’s content skews towards a younger demographic. While true, there are also lots of games that become substantially more satisfying and acquire greater depth when they’re experienced as an adult.
Nintendo’s Mother franchise, also known as Earthbound, features some of the most groundbreaking RPGs of its generation. The games embrace a modern and urban setting as opposed to the heavy fantasy worlds that typically fill the genre. Mother 3 is one of the greatest games on the Game Boy Advance, and even though its protagonist, Lucas, is a child, it still presents a very adult story. All of the final battles across the Mother series turn into introspective and emotional experiences. Mother 3’s conclusion asks deep, probing questions that aren’t expected in a video game, and they likely won’t make as great of an impact on younger audiences.
At their core, Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda games are designed for all audiences, and even though they can feature challenging gameplay and puzzles, they’re still games that younger audiences can effectively complete. Zelda games have gotten progressively larger and more mature, and the Nintendo Switch’s Breath of the Wild is the apex of this. The sprawling open-world title gives the player tremendous freedom in what they choose to explore and when. Adults are the ones who will go through every inch of the world and get the most out of the hidden lore and story details that are hidden away.
Nintendo’s Metroid Prime Trilogy, which started on the Gamecube and concluded on the Wii, pushed the iconic action-adventure series into a moody first-person shooter with great success. The shift in genre presents an inherently more mature Metroid experience, but the games are full of nuance that’s better suited for more mature gamers.
Metroid Prime 2 and 3 grapple with surprisingly nihilistic themes for a Metroid game, where Samus herself turns into a liability. Some of the darkest aspects of the Metroid Prime series are contained to Samus’ scan logs of her environments.
Original mature-rated titles on Nintendo consoles are few and far between, but they typically turn out to be standout entries in the horror genre. Eternal Darkness is one of the most creative spins on survival horror, and it’s a tragedy that it remains locked away as a Gamecube-exclusive. Players can recklessly hack and slash their way through evil monsters in Eternal Darkness, but the game heavily pulls from the works of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe, which gives adults who are fans of cosmic horror more to latch onto with this game and its themes.
Skies of Arcadia was one of the biggest and best RPGs back on Sega’s ill-fated Dreamcast, but thankfully, the GameCube was able to help bring the challenging title to a larger audience with their updated Skies of Arcadia: Legends. The GameCube RPG embraces a cute-looking aesthetic that appeals to a younger audience, but there’s a mature story where Vyse and his humble sky pirates try to prevent a corrupt empire from dooming the world with ancient weapons. Younger players might make it through Skies of Arcadia, but the density of this adventure is better suited for adults who want to properly experience the rich world and understand the heroes’ complex struggles.
The survival horror genre has been able to reach a terrifying level of immersion, but the original Famicom system’s Sweet Home helped establish the basics of horror gaming and would become an important influence on Resident Evil.
There may be simplistic controls and graphics in this murder mystery game, but Sweet Home still holds up, and it’s full of many secret horrors to discover. Sweet Home is at its best when players solve its entire mystery and properly comprehend the morbid events of the game.
Geist is a harrowing sci-fi shooter that throws together a lot of ideas, not all of which come together, but the end result is one of the more unique shooters for the GameCube and a rare mature-rated game. As far as shooters go, Geist isn’t the best that the genre has to offer, but it’s the game’s approach to a futuristic dystopia, spirit possessions, and contrasting gravity that all give it its charm. There’s a lot to appreciate in Geist, and adults may be better able to connect the dots and pull separate the good ideas from the shoddy controls.
The Fatal Frame survival horror series has never found the same acclaim as the Resident Evil and Silent Hill games, but it’s remarkably consistent in terms of its quality and is still churning out new and horrifying sequels. Nintendo has turned into an odd home for the later Fatal Frame entries, and both Mask of the Lunar Eclipse and Maiden of the Black Water are thoroughly frightening. The fifth and latest entry, Maiden of the Black Water, unpacks heavy subject matter as it looks at depression, suicide, and human sacrifices, all while pulling from actual haunting Japanese folklore.
Captain Rainbow is one of the weirdest and most entertaining games on Nintendo’s Wii, but it’s its many eccentricities that kept the title from being localized outside of Japan. The obscurity of Captain Rainbow feels oddly appropriate in a way, since the quirky title looks at a low-tier superhero’s attempts to improve his reputation by solving the problems of forgotten Nintendo mascots. Mimin Island is full of former Nintendo heavyweights, which gives the game a fun and self-aware sense of humor. The game is meant for younger audiences, but many of the jokes that tie back to classic NES icons will only resonate with adults.
The sprawling Xenoblade saga has made its way across various Nintendo consoles until it’s finally ended up on the Switch in its purest form, Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition. Nintendo is no stranger to ambitious RPG experiences, but Xenoblade Chronicles tells a powerful story about two warring titans who go on to become the origins of a whole new world of life. Xenoblade Chronicles is very complex in terms of its gameplay and story, but there are many additional details when it comes to the series’ world-building. Children will rush through the adventure, whereas adults will take the time to savor the many intricacies with awe.
Daniel Kurland is a freelance writer, comedian, and critic, who lives in the cultural mosaic that is Brooklyn, New York. Daniel’s work can be read on ScreenRant, Splitsider, Bloody Disgusting, Den of Geek, and across the Internet. Daniel recently completed work on a noir anthology graphic novel titled, «Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Noir: A Rag of Bizarre Noir and Hard Boiled Tales» and he’s currently toiling away on his first novel. Daniel’s extra musings can be found @DanielKurlansky on Twitter.
