2001 was one of Nintendo’s biggest years ever. That’s because they launched two systems. This might be the last time that has ever happened unless one wants to count multiple iterations of a single system like the 2DS and XL versions of the 3DS. The point is this was the year of the GameCube and Game Boy Advance.
This means that not only do these systems celebrate twenty years in 2021, but so do a lot of their games and or series. This could mean a number of things to look forward to from Nintendo this year. Some honorable mentions that didn’t make the cut include  Mega Man Battle Network, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Wario Land 4, and Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader.
10 Paper Mario
Paper Mario released for the N64 in 2000 in Japan and on February 5, 2001 in North America. This was the spiritual successor to Super Mario RPG from the SNES. This series has its fans and it’s not like this or any of the other games are bad, they just have big shoes to fill from their collaboration with Squaresoft that not everyone gels with. Needless to say this is still a huge anniversary for this Mario spinoff.
9 The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle Of Seasons And Oracle Of Ages
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages released for the Game Boy Color on February 27, 2001 in Japan and later in May for North America. This was the first Zelda game Capcom got contracted to work with Nintendo. Despite some setbacks in that this was going to be a trilogy, Nintendo was satisfied enough to get their help on several other collaborations. The best and most underrated game they worked on might be The Minish Cap.Â
8 Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon released for the Game Boy Advance on March 21, 2001, in Japan and a few months later in June for North America. This game continues what Symphony of the Night started.
It moves a bit slower, literally, as walking is just plain creaky. Plus it’s a literal dark game thanks to there not being a backlight on the GBA. It had a questionable launch but has since gone on to be well remembered.Â
7 Animal Crossing
Doubutsu no Mori released for the N64 on April 14, 2001 in Japan. That was the Japanese name for Animal Crossing, or Animal Forest as this better translates to. While the West did not get this version, it was remade for the GameCube and finally did get brought over in 2002 for North America. Even though that’s the case it should still be celebrated this year.Â
6 Golden Sun
Golden Sun released for the Game Boy Advance on August 1, 2001 in Japan and a few months later in November for North America. Nintendo has very few first-party RPGs under their belt that aren’t about Mario or Pokemon. This series got a few cracks at the bat, reviewed well, but has since been lost as of 2010’s Dark Dawn on DS. For this 20th anniversary, now would be a good time for a collection, or better yet a revival.Â
5 Advance Wars
Advance Wars released for the Game Boy Advance on September 10, 2001 in North America. This was the first game in the series that came over to the West. It started back on the NES, or Famicom in Japan, in 1988 via Famicom Wars. Funnily enough Japan would not get this title until 2004 which turned the tables. This is another series that has been dead since the DS.Â
4 Luigi’s Mansion
Luigi’s Mansion released for the GameCube on September 14, 2001 in Japan and a couple months later in November for North America. This was not the Mario launch game fans were expecting. This made some snub their noses at it but to those that tried it, they appreciated the different take for this series. It eventually spawned two sequels with the latest coming out in 2019 via the Switch. History has been kind as of late to poor old Luigi.Â
3 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Gyakuten Saiban released for the Game Boy Advance on October 12, 2001, in Japan. Western fans better know this as the Phoenix Wright series. That’s right, before it came to the DS in 2005 this was a Game Boy Advance series. The DS game was an enhanced remake and worked better with the adventure game format what with the touch controls and all.Â
2 Pikmin
Pikmin released for the GameCube on October 26, 2001, in Japan and a couple of months later in December for North America. Pikmin is a series that has never really gotten its due.
The three main games have reviewed well but these positive marks never transferred much into sales. While this series lies dormant quite often it thankfully never truly goes away.Â
1 Super Smash Bros. Melee
Super Smash Bros. Melee released for the GameCube on November 21, 2001, in Japan and about a week later in December for North America. For most fans of this series, this is still considered the ultimate gaming experience. Fans are so dedicated that they even reworked code and created online tournaments which Nintendo keeps shutting down. If they really want to win back fans, they should remaster this classic on Switch.