Gold Medal Games: Picking the best sports games in Nintendo's multi-decade history

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Pilotwings (1991)

What does it get right? When we talk Nintendo air sports—a grab bag category of events that includes straight piloting, skydiving, and more esoteric events like “flying a rocketbelt we would dearly like to someday have exist”—there’s really only one game (series) in town: Pilotwings. There’s a mild irony, though, in the fact that, of the three extant Pilotwings games, it’s the one operating in glorious, Super Nintendo-powered Mode 7 pseudo-3D that wins out over its more technologically advanced brethren. The original Pilotwings lacks the exploration focus of its successors, with no ability to fly to your heart’s content. But what it lacks in sightseeing, it makes up for in precision—and the sheer joy of seeing your flight instructors’ eyes bug out of their heads when you execute a perfect dive.

Is Waluigi in it? No responsible government would ever allow Waluigi access to even a light aircraft, let alone experimental rocketbelt technology.

Interesting also-rans: Wii Sports Resort is the outlier in this little list, not carrying the official Pilotwings branding. That is, it didn’t, until Nintendo looked at the game’s free-flying tour of Wuhu Island, looked over at its upcoming 3DS hardware, and said, “Hey, we can make a Pilotwings out of that!” The result, 2011’s Pilotwings Resort, is never quite the killer app for the 3DS’ stereoscopic 3D that Nintendo clearly wanted it to be, but it is a pretty fun way to kill 10 minutes flying around a digital island.

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport: Pilotwings (SNES, 1991), Pilotwings 64 (N64, 1996), Wii Sports Resort (Wii, 2009), Pilotwings Resort (3DS, 2011)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball (1994)

What does it get right? Baseball is inherently ill-suited to a video game, if only because it’s all about everyone just doing their one thing as good as they can. There’s no way to make a video game like that fun without putting you in control of the entire team, which means the best way to make it work is to lean into that artificiality—which is something that longtime Seattle Mariners star Ken Griffey Jr. did so well on his first foray into video gaming.

The stadiums are wrong, the players don’t look real, and pitchers have an unrealistic level of control over the ball, but it’s fun, and the stylized graphics have aged a lot better than the attempt to be more realistic in its sequels. Also: While the game has the rights to use the real MLB teams, it does not have the rights to use the real players, so the developers replaced everyone with themed replacements. Griffey’s Mariners are all Nintendo employees, the Mets are famous punk rock musicians, and the Brewers are all superhero secret identities, which is legitimately hilarious. Why be Jeff Kent when you can be Joey Ramone?

Is Waluigi in it? No, even with the phony player names. (Waluigi wasn’t born yet.)

Interesting also-ran games: The original NES Baseball made an extremely strong showing in this category, reducing the sport into its most basic elements while still making room for some nice little pixel animations and a pretty speedy pace. The same cannot be said for the Game Boy port, which is almost exactly the same but it moooooves reeeeaaallly slllllooooow. Then again, baseball isn’t always a high-octane sport, so maybe that one is the most accurate take on it after all.

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport: Baseball (NES, 1985), Baseball (Game Boy, 1989), Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball (SNES, 1994), Ken Griffey Jr.’s Winning Run (SNES, 1996), Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. (N64, 1998), Ken Griffey Jr.’s Slugfest (N64, 1999), Mario Superstar Baseball (GameCube, 2005), Wii Sports (Wii, 2006) Mario Super Sluggers (Wii, 2008), Mario Sports Superstars (3DS, 2017)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (2006)

What does it get right? Look, we weren’t expecting to feature a stylus-driven, Square-Enix-developed Mario sports title on this list, either. But Hoops is a surprisingly robust package; no NBA Jam, to be sure, but a fast-moving, high-scoring take on basketball that manages to make an asset out of its unorthodox control scheme. Also: Where else are you going to get to see Final Fantasy’s Black Mage execute a pick and roll?

Is Waluigi in it? Verily, you have not lived until you’ve seen an 8-foot-tall man who looks like he smells like an airplane bathroom execute a dunk.

Interesting also-rans: We’d love to know how many TVs got sent to flatscreen heaven by the dribbles, shots, and other robust, Nunchuck-heavy motion controls required for Wii Sports Resort’s spin on b-ball.

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport: Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (3DS 2006), Wii Sports Resort (Wii, 2009), Mario Sports Mix (Wii, 2011)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Wii Sports Resort (2009)

What does it get right? Rolling a bowling ball is one of those intuitive motion-to-result things that the early days of Nintendo’s motion-controlled Wii thrived on, the sort of setup where you could hand the Wiimote to anyone and see their face light up at the ease of knocking down some pins. God knows how many Wiis Wii Sports sold with its spin (heh) on bowling alone; Wii Sports Resort gets the edge here by taking that base gameplay and adding a few new modes, but either game is a triumph of making a sport anyone can play into a video game sport that, well, anyone could play.

Is Waluigi in it? Look, if you want to make a Waluigi Mii, that’s between you and whatever God you’re actively trying to spite.

Interesting also-rans: We would love, for sheer perversity if nothing else, to tell you that Nester’s Funky Bowling—which carries the double oddities of being one of the few titles ever produced for the quickly abandoned Virtual Boy, and the only video game to ever star the Nintendo Power mascot—was some kind of hidden gem. But, no: It’s really just a very standard video game bowling game where you hit buttons to line up and then power your shot (while trying not to sear your retinas, natch). Kickass soundtrack, though.

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport: Nester’s Funky Bowling (Virtual Boy, 1996), Wii Sports (Wii, 2006), Wii Sports Resort (Wii, 2009)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Super Punch-Out!! (1994)

What does it get right? The Punch-Out!! games were never really about boxing, at least in the sense of accurately reflecting what boxing is like. Instead, they were more like what we now think of as “rhythm games,” putting more of an emphasis on watching for patterns and waiting for sound or animation cues to let you know when to attack and when to block. The NES game is an undeniable classic, but the sequel’s huge SNES character sprites are simply too beautiful to resist.

Oh sure, the characters themselves aren’t as memorable as some of the more iconic Punch-Out!! opponents from the NES game or the arcade classic—but also, a lot of those characters were either bizarre racist stereotypes (an Italian boxer named Pizza Pasta? Are you out of your goddamn mind, Nintendo?) or … problematic real-life boxers. To be fair, though, Super Punch-Out!! does have more than its share of racist stereotypes. They just look a lot nicer than they did on the NES.

Is Waluigi in it? No, unless Pizza Pasta has a brother out there somewhere, and that brother has an evil counterpart.

Interesting also-ran games: Is it fair to doom a game to obscurity simply because of the system it came out on? If that system is the Virtual Boy, the answer is “Yes.” Still, Teleroboxer is much cooler than it has any right to be, putting you (“virtually”) in the head of a robot boxer against other robot boxer opponents. The animation and art are bizarrely nice, but the actual gameplay is less nice. There’s also Arms, if it still counts as boxing when everybody has stretchy noodle limbs and weird dragon/saw hands.

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport: Boxing (Game & Watch, 1984), Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (NES, 1987), Super Punch-Out!! (SNES, 1994), Teleroboxer (Virtual Boy, 1995), Wii Sports (Wii, 2006), Punch-Out!! (Wii, 2009), Arms (Switch, 2017)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Ring Fit Adventure (2019)

What does it get right? Ring Fit Adventure, Nintendo’s first fitness title for Switch, is an intriguing testament to how far virtual exercise games have come since the days of the NES Power Pad. Using two accessories—the “Ring-Con” (a small hoop which holds one Joy-Con and is positioned like a steering wheel) and a leg strap (which holds the other Joy-Con and detects players’ walking/running)—gamers adventure through a fantastical world of levels designed to make them sweat. Yes, you’re running through a rotation of more than 40 exercises and yoga poses, but you’re also fighting enemies in a sprawling and at least semi-compelling narrative that lets you use your Joy-Cons in surprising and satisfying new ways. Ring Fit Adventure isn’t the best workout video game on the market (that award goes to VR delight Beat Saber), but it’s the closest Nintendo has come to making a fun fitness title that doesn’t fat shame. Yeah… Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus, and Wii Fit U didn’t age well.

Is Waluigi in it? No, but you just know Waluigi and Ring Fit Adventure antagonist Dragaux would seriously vibe. (He’s a purple dragon.)

Interesting also-ran games: There’s something almost charmingly dystopian about Stadium Events/World Class Track Meet–one of the most ’80s games ever. For those unfamiliar, the NES Power Pad closely resembled the electronic mats for later games like megahit Dance Dance Revolution. For World Class Track Meet, players would bounce back and forth on the electronic mat, literally jogging in place to move their avatar across the screen. The end result is almost comically masochistic–even for a fitness title.

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport Stadium Events/World Class Track Meet (NES Power Pad, 1987), Super Team Games (NES Power Pad, 1989), Dance Aerobics (NES Power Pad, 1989), Wii Fit (2008), Wii Fit Plus (2009), Wii Fit U (2013), Ring Fit Adventure (Switch, 2019)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Super Play Action Football (1992)

What does it get right? Advancing players’ offensive lines along a bottom-left-to-top-right diagonal, Super Play Action Football might seem counterintuitive in its design. But ultimately, this offbeat approach to the sometimes limited football gaming space evokes the same watching-live-TV feel for SNES that made some Madden NFL iterations into megahits.

Unlike its predecessor Play Action Football (which released two versions, for Game Boy and NES, in 1990), Super Play Action Football captures not just the rules and structure of football as a game–but also the energy and spirit of big stadium sports. When starting out in Nintendo’s best (if buggy) football title, you choose from three leagues/gameplay modes: high school, college, and NFL. From there, you can either customize your high school team with your preferred name/colors/mascot; select a knockoff college team (hilariously, Nintendo wasn’t able to secure the rights to real team names for the game, so think “Fluke” instead of “Duke”); or choose to play one of the just 28 real NFL teams that existed back in 1992.

Then comes the technicolor cyclone of goofy animations, the funky jazz soundtrack underscoring every play, and the never-ending bark of “READY, SET, HUT HUT HUT!” You’ll choose your offensive and defensive strategies back in the locker room, hopelessly sprint up and down the field mid-game, do opponent research the rest of the season, and otherwise enjoy the ins-and-outs of a virtual football experience that actually feels like game day.

Is Waluigi in it? No, but he plays QB in Mario Sports Superstars.

Interesting also-ran games: We’d be remiss to report on Nintendo’s football history without breaking out the Tecmo Bowl franchise. Regrettably, the beloved nine-game series isn’t eligible for consideration in this ranking, since it wasn’t developed by Nintendo and doesn’t include any Nintendo characters. Still, if you’re looking to scratch your NES nostalgia, listen to the slapping soundtrack for Tecmo Super Bowl (1991), composed by regular Nintendo contributors Keiji Yamagishi and Ryuichi Nitta. It’s a classic that’ll take you and your 20-player team all the way back.

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport NES Play Action Football (NES, 1990), Play Action Football (Game Boy, 1990), Super Play Action Football (SNES, 1992), Mario Sports Superstars (3DS, 2017)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Mario Golf: Super Rush (2021)

What does it get right? It’s simply a better version of golf than what people play in real life, thanks to the inclusion of a mode called “Speed Golf.” Unlike regular golf, where everyone stands around waiting for their turn to whack the ball while trying not to fall asleep because it’s so goddamn boring, Speed Golf has everyone go at the same time, and counts not only how many strokes you take to get to the hole, but how long it takes you to get to the hole. You have to move your character to your ball before you can hit it, and there are goofy Mario obstacles along the way that you have to avoid in order to make sure you don’t lose time. Plus, since your opponents are all doing this at the same time as well, they can try to push you out of the way or distract you while you’re running to your ball.

It’s not the best Nintendo version of the sport: It’s the best version of the sport, period—and one that you can easily replicate in real life, provided you don’t mind getting kicked off your local golf course when the people in charge see you pushing your fellow players into roaming Goombas or Thwomp traps.

Is Waluigi in it? Yes, and like a lot of the characters in Super Rush, he has a fresh new golf outfit. If you thought Waluigi was a snack before, wait until you see him in tight purple pants and a trilby.

Interesting also-ran games: The 1985 NES game Golf almost took the top spot solely for sentimental reasons. The game was programmed by a young Nintendo developer named Satoru Iwata, who later went on to rise through the company’s ranks and become its CEO, overseeing Nintendo as it once again became the biggest thing in the world after the release of the Wii and the various versions of the DS. Though he died from cancer in 2015, before the Switch was released, he was reportedly instrumental in early designs for the system. What does this all have to do with Golf? Well, until some soulless fun-hater at Nintendo caught on, every Switch could access a secret copy of Golf by setting the Switch’s internal calendar to the date of Iwata’s death and using the motion-sensing Switch controllers to imitate a hand gesture that he would use in his “Nintendo Direct” presentations—making it a sweet tribute to one of the most important figures in Nintendo history.

There are also the role-playing, game-inspired Mario Golf for Game Boy Color and Mario Golf: Advance Tour for the Game Boy Advance, both of which are good—but we’re here to talk sports, not RPGs.

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport: Golf (NES, 1985), Golf (Game Boy, 1990), NES Open Tournament Golf (NES, 1991), Kirby’s Dream Course (SNES, 1995), Mario Golf (N64, 1999), Mario Golf (Game Boy Color, 1999), Mario Golf Toadstool Tour (GameCube, 2003), Mario Golf: Advance Tour (Game Boy Advance, 2004), Wii Sports (Wii, 2006), Wii Sports Resort (Wii, 2009), Mario Golf: World Tour (3DS, 2014), Mario Sports Superstars (3DS, 2017), Mario Golf: Super Rush (Switch, 2021)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Ice Hockey (1988)

What does it get right? It’s tempting, when comparing Nintendo’s NES sports output to its later games, to overemphasize the importance of simplicity. Let Ice Hockey put the cold, hard lie to that idea: One of the most frenetic titles in the little grey box’s sports library, Ice Hockey asks you to manage not just the on-the-ice action, but also your team compositions and formations (albeit fairly simplistically, by having you choose light, medium, or heavy players for each position). The ensuing chaos is a blast to play, encouraging twitch reflexes and sports strategy in equal measure.

Is Waluigi in it? Do we sense a certain “Waaaaaah!” vibe from Skinny Hockey Man?

Interesting also-rans: Unfortunately, Mario Sports Mix’s take on the sport of kings (who also like to ice skate) lacks any of the energy of either Ice Hockey or many other Mario Sports titles; the end result is more slapdash than slap shot.

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport: Ice Hockey (NES, 1988), Mario Sports Mix (Wii, 2011)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (2003)

What does it get right? The most interesting 21st innovation in Mario Kart’s venerable history wasn’t the shift to two-wheels, but to two people per kart: With 2003’s GameCube-exclusive Double Dash!!, a series that often devolves into “more tracks, forever,” Nintendo actually found a way to make its core gameplay more exciting. Double Dash!! might not have quite the track variety of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (although we’ll stump for the massive Wario Colosseum any day of the week), but its ability to pair two different drivers (and players) together for increased trackside chaos makes it the crown jewel title of Nintendo’s crown jewel racing franchise.

Is Waluigi in it? Don’t turn around, dear reader; Waluigi may be right behind you (preparing to throw a red shell at your enemies).

Interesting also-rans: Land-(ish)-based racing is the single biggest entry in Nintendo’s whole sports catalog, courtesy of Mario Kart, F-Zero, and a few other, smaller franchises. With apologies to Captain Falcon (and the Uniracers crew), though, we’ll stump here for the Excite series, especially the massively underrated ExciteTruck and ExciteBot for the Wii. Aside from simply getting “steering by turning the Wiimote” as right as Nintendo ever did, both games also emphasize exploration and expressive play over sheer speed, transforming each of their tracks into big, dynamic playgrounds for racers to flip and spin their way across.

(Slightly edited) list of all the Nintendo games with this sport: Excitebike (NES, 1985), R.C. Pro-AM (NES, 1988), F-1 Racing (Game Boy, 1991), Super R.C. Pro-AM (Game Boy, 1991), F-Zero (SNES, 1991), Super Mario Kart (SNES, 1992), Stunt Race FX (SNES, 1994), Uniracers (SNES, 1994), Mario Kart 64 (N64, 1997), F-Zero X (N64, 1998), F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (GameCube, 2001), Mario Kart Super Circuit (GBA, 2001), Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GameCube, 2003), Kirby’s Air Ride (GameCube, 2003), F-Zero: GP Legend (GameCube, 2004), Mario Kart DS (DS, 2005), ExciteTruck (Wii, 2006), Mario Kart Wii (Wii, 2008), ExciteBots (Wii, 2009), Mario Kart 7 (3DS, 2011), Mario Kart 8 (Wii U, 2014), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch, 2017)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Duck Hunt (1985)

What does it get right? This is an interesting one, because Duck Hunt is so simple that every other “shooting” game Nintendo has ever made is just an updated version of the same concept—there’s a target, you point at it, you shoot it—but none of them have the personality or lasting appeal of Duck Hunt. Part of that is because of that stupid punk-ass dog, snickering away when you do a bad job. Like he could do so much better. Hey, dog! You’re a dog! Why don’t you climb out of the TV and laugh at my face if you think you’re so much better?!

The other part of Duck Hunt’s success is the NES Zapper gun, which used a combination of CRT TV technology and magic to allow you to interact with targets on the screen decades before the Wii was invented. Plus it had that satisfying CLUNK when you pulled the trigger. Every other shooting game Nintendo has made is about pointing a remote at the screen and hitting a button, which is also what you do when you want to change the channel. Video games should be more fun than changing the channel.

Is Waluigi in it? No, but a certain strand of his smug asshole DNA can be found in that damn dog.

Interesting also-ran games: Link’s Crossbow Training, a rare appearance from the hero of the Legend Of Zelda series in a sports game, is definitely “interesting” and definitely an “also-ran.” It utilized the Wii Zapper controller, which was just a plastic shell to put your Wiimotes in and was not as fun or cool as the NES Zapper. Plus, just on a conceptual level, Link’s crossbow never showed up in any real Zelda games, so what was he training for?

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport: Duck Hunt (NES, 1985), Wii Play (Wii, 2007), Link’s Crossbow Training (Wii, 2007), Wii Sports Resort (Wii, 2009)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Super Mario Strikers (2005)

What does it get right? Ignoring its bizarre steampunk apocalypse visuals—which only got weirder and more hardcore in the sequel—Next Level Games’ Super Mario Strikers is a surprisingly solid iteration of video game soccer. Games move fast, the “team captain” concept makes the Mario characters the stars of the show, and it’s aggressively tactile—nowhere clearer than when you’ve just curb-stomped poor Luigi into an electric fence with an especially nasty tackle.

Is Waluigi in it? Yes, but it’s not until Strikers Charged that he achieves his true form: A flower-loving whip pervert whose every move is accompanied by a twanging banjo tune. Amazing. No notes.

Interesting also-rans: Speaking of Strikers Charged, it’s a profoundly odd game; if Strikers took place in a world where Mario and his friends were a little too into soccer, the sequel takes place in a full on foot-based apocalypse. (Also, giving each captain a charge move that switches the defender to a Wiimote-based shot-blocking game does the title’s pacing no favors.)

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport: Soccer (NES, 1987), Super Soccer (SNES, 1992), Super Mario Strikers (GameCube, 2005), Mario Strikers Charged (Wii, 2007)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Wii Sports (2006)

What does it get right? A lot of Nintendo sports games throw a ton of “game” on top of the existing sport, and while this sometimes works out extraordinarily well (see: golf), the tennis mode in Wii Sports proves that you don’t always need it. Arguably the best sport in the Wii Sports canon, tennis is the perfect summarization of the appeal of the Wii: You swing the remote and your character, who is probably a cartoon “Mii” version of you, swings their racket. It’s beautiful in its simplicity, another thing that Nintendo has always been good at, in addition to creating wacky Mario-themed versions of stuff (see, again: golf).

Is Waluigi in it? No, but see below

Interesting also-ran games: Mario Tennis on the N64 and Game Boy Color was Wii Sports’ only real competition in this category, with the two versions of that game still having a lot of fans … partially because they’re the first appearance of a certain purple freak named Waluigi. Look: Wario needed a doubles partner to compete against Mario and Luigi, so it only makes sense that he’d be friends with the evil counterpart to his nemesis’ brother.

Anyway, the Game Boy Color version of Mario Tennis had role-playing game elements like the portable Mario Golf games. It was cool—but not as cool as Wii Sports.

We also need to bring up Mario’s Tennis for the Virtual Boy, which was included with every console in the U.S., just like Wii Sports. Also like Wii Sports, it was basically an advertisement for the things the system could do, which in this case meant faux-3D VR effects and the console’s eye-burning color palate. It probably holds up as well as any Virtual Boy game, but it’s historically significant for basically inventing the Nintendo sub-genre of Mario sports games. Without it, we wouldn’t have most of the games on this list!

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport: Tennis (NES, 1985), Tennis (Game Boy, 1989), Super Tennis (SNES, 1991), Top Rank Tennis (Game Boy, 1993), Mario’s Tennis (Virtual Boy, 1995), Mario Tennis (N64, 2000), Mario Tennis (Game Boy Color, 2001), Mario Power Tennis (GameCube, 2004), Mario Tennis: Power Tour (Game Boy Advance, 2005), Wii Sports (Wii, 2006), Mario Tennis Open (3DS, 2012), Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash (Wii U, 2015), Mario Sports Superstars (3DS, 2017), Mario Tennis Aces (Switch, 2018)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Mario Sports Mix (2011)

What does it get right? The best thing you can say about compilation pack Mario Sports Mix’s version of the sport of sand and spikes is that it functions pretty well as a game; that puts it heads and shoulders above NES Volleyball, its only real Nintendo-made competition. The game’s 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 take on volleyball is a little simplistic, and the presence of “super moves” dings it on authenticity, but at least it gives you a little more to do than just watch your pixelated players shake their digital booties while the shadow of the ball floats slowly across the sand.

Is Waluigi in it? Complete with a backpack that somehow turns him into the Doctor Octopus of the Mario Sports universe—truly, a horrifying thought.

Interesting also-rans: Interestingly, Next Level Games, the team that scored soccer success with its Mario Strikers franchise, was at work for a while on Mario Spikers, a game that would have combined Mario, volleyball, and wrestling. (Nintendo apparently killed it for being “too violent.”)

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport: Volleyball (NES, 1986), Mario Sports Mix (Wii, 2011)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: Wave Race 64 (1996)

What does it get right? Deciding which Nintendo water racer is best really pares down to deciding which Wave Race is best. Thankfully, that isn’t too tricky to suss out, since Wave Race 64 is so clearly the supreme outing in this jet ski-tastic gaming trilogy.

Nintendo broke solid ground with the pea-green brilliance of the original Game Boy Wave Race, debuting a rudimentary but still effective tide mechanic that added textural intrigue to a series of otherwise basic, top-down race tracks. Nintendo then took that slippery push-and-pull feel and applied it to the second-person for Wave Race 64, which also added colorful animation, a killer surf rock soundtrack, and a hammy announcer for a better, beachier vibe on the Nintendo 64. Wave Race: Blue Storm did that too for GameCube, but (like so many remakes of this era) made its so-called improvements a little too sleek to be likable–then failed to bring any original ideas to the table. All told, Wave Race 64 is the sunniest Wave Race, with enough tactile fun going for it to merit a rain-or-shine revisit.

Is Waluigi in it? No, but we all know he’d absolutely smash this shit.

Interesting also-ran games: Wii Sports Resort doesn’t let you race jet skis, but it does offer wakeboarding (or the speedier “power cruising” mode) as an even wackier alternative for the digital aquatic sports enthusiast. You just hold the controller horizontal like you would grip the end of a towline for wakeboarding or water skiing from a boat. Then you guide your Mii around, over, and/or through waves while trying to make sure you don’t wipeout. It doesn’t nail water physics quite like Wave Race 64, but it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re playing Wii Sports Resort.

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport Wave Race (Game Boy, 1992), Wave Race 64 (N64, 1996), Wave Race: Blue Storm (GameCube, 2001), Wii Sports Resort (Wii, 2009)

Best Nintendo version of the sport: 1080° Snowboarding (1998)

What does it get right? Snow, for one thing. Different kinds of snow make your character’s snowboard in 1080° react differently, there’s a nice little trail left behind as you go down a mountain, and there’s a distinct scraping sound effect from your board sliding across icy snow crystals. It also has a cool and complex trick system that the developers clearly put some thought into, and there’s a nice array of unlockable snowboarders and snowboard designs.

All of that would be standard in a post-Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater world. But get ready for 1080° to drop the mic like it just recorded an extremely sick menu song: It actually predates Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. That series gets a lot of credit for creating a whole genre of video games, and while snowboarding is not as cool as skateboarding (and 1080° is, honestly, not as good as THPS), it still gets credit for a) being pretty fun and b) being something of a pioneer in it field.

Is Waluigi in it? No, but the selectable snowboarders have so much ‘tude that he’d fit right at home in the ski lodge menu screen.

Interesting also-ran games: Nobody really remembers or cares about Slalom for the NES, but it was the first game developed for the NES outside of Japan, and the first game made by brothers Tim and Chris Stamper. Don’t know them? They went on to found a studio called Rare, which created Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie, Diddy Kong Racing, GoldenEye 007, and also GoldenEye’s far superior spiritual sequel, Perfect Dark.

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport: Slalom (NES, 1987), 1080° Snowboarding (N64, 1998), 1080° Avalanche (GameCube, 2003)

Best Nintendo one-off sports event: Mario Sports Superstars - Horse Racing (2017)

What does it get right? We’re suckers for animals in general, but we’re especially suckers for animals in video games–and the horses of Mario Sports Superstars steal the show in a big way. We’ll admit: With clunky, repetitive mechanics and fairly limited gameplay, horse racing isn’t really the best part of Mario Sports Superstars, an eclectic grab-bag of events for the also-eclectic 3DS. But it sticks out as an unusual, quirky swing for Nintendo that’s not only excruciatingly adorable, but captures the spirit of what these types of miscellaneous sports games ought to be. It’s a playful use of iconic characters within the inherently playful sports subgenre that makes gaming feel light-hearted and freeing. Plus, you feed the horses carrots. It does not get better than feeding a horse a carrot.

Is Waluigi in it? You bet your ass! It takes a while to unlock him as a playable character, but when he gallantly ventures off on horseback for you the very first time it is so worth it.

Interesting also-ran games: Ah, how nice it is to bask in the joyous simplicity of Ball. Nintendo’s inaugural Game & Watch title, Ball tasked players with juggling pixelated balls in a manner not dissimilar to Brick Breaker. It’s just a really neat little game, simple yet satisfying—two hallmarks of Nintendo’s sports legacy for the last 42 years and counting.

List of all the Nintendo games with this sport Ball - Juggling (G&W, 1980), Pro Wrestling - Wrestling (NES, 1987), Wii Play - Billiards (Wii, 2007), Wii Sports Resort - Fencing, Frisbee, Cycling (Wii, 2009), Mario Sports Mix - Dodgeball (Wii, 2011), Mario Sports Superstars - Horse Racing (3DS, 2017)