You heard me air my complaints about Nintendo's business practices, but now, let me talk about them in a positive manner.
There's no denying it. Most of Nintendo's first party games are still good fun to play, and lately, I have been wanting to give some of their more recent game releases a try.
To start, I played through Super Mario 3D Land and it's Wii U sequel last year. For those who don't know, Super Mario 3D Land is a game that combines the linear aspects of the old-style SMB games while introducing a free-roaming play style introduced in Super Mario 64. This allows the games to have a bit more depth and challenge, and can also create far more immersive environments. Both of these games have brought a new gameplay experience that breaks the monotony of the previous "New" SMB releases games, and the Wii U sequel is by far the most original Mario title in many years and it's not just a simple MissionPackSequel. I still await a proper "New" SMB sequel in the form of a veggie-throwing platformer similar to SMB2 or a proper sequel to Super Mario Galaxy, but these games will do just fine.
Second game I played last year is StarFox Zero. It's had it's share of criticism for Miyamoto's decision to include mandatory motion controls with the Wii U GamePad. To aim, you have to move the gamepad, and you must focus on both the main screen and the gamepad to play through the game properly. I was able to adjust to this control and have lots of fun. Many others hate it and wished they had a more traditional control scheme. They also decry that it's a rather weak effort story wise. It's another reboot of the StarFox franchise, taking elements from StarFox 64 while changing things up a bit. I do agree with the latter point of the story being a rehash in parts, but I still had a lot of fun.
Third is Yoshi's New Island for the Nintendo 3DS. Chronologically, this game takes place right after SMB2: Yoshi's Island and right before Yoshi's Island DS. Much like the first one, you guide Baby Mario through the game using various colored Yoshis, while throwing eggs at enemies and question clouds to obtain items and stars. There are also the collectables to achieve 100% completion. First time I played, I wasn't too impressed as I felt the design of the game started to get way too childish compared to the SNES classic. Recently, I took another try at the game, and it's starting to grow on me. Many of the level secrets are well hidden and some of the levels are a bit challenging. It's a decent game so far.
Fourth is one I have been occasionally playing on and off... Animal Crossing New Leaf. My town is slowly improving and I plan on investing a bit more time in it this year. An update was recently released called "Welcome amiibo". This lets you use various amiibo figures and cards to unlock new content and potentially invite new villagers to move into your town. It's an obvious money making strategy, but I do eventually plan on trying it out. I need an additional NFC reader for my own 3DS since it's the original release model. I have no current plans to acquire a "New" 3DS XL.
And now, my current game I'm playing through is Mario Kart 8 for Wii U. So far, it has the best graphics of any Mario Kart game and the first to have DLC. They released a free Mercedes-Benz DLC featuring three types of cars, along with Zelda and Animal Crossing DLC with characters and courses based on those two franchises. Believe me, it's highly amusing having Isabelle driving one of those Mercedes-Benz DLC cars.
As for other Nintendo franchises, I have the itch to try the newer Zelda games and possibly get Super Smash Bros for the 3DS. People do say wonderful things about the newer Zelda games, but the only games I completed are the NES original (first quest only) and IIRC, Zelda 2. I think. I played through a bit of A Link to the Past on SNES, but lost interest. I'm thinking of playing through A Link to the Past first, or getting Majora's Mask 3D.
I haven't forgotten third party titles. Some third party games Wii U games I want are DuckTales Remastered, Shantae Half-Genie Hero, Sonic Lost World, and Snoopy's High Flying Adventure. Yooka Laylee was coming to the Wii U, but it's being moved over to the Switch. Most of the retail Wii U discs are games actually worth playing, unlike the Wii which was flooded with shovelware and cheap motion-control games. As for 3DS third party titles, I have my eye on "Pinball Arcade: The Williams Collection" and maybe Rayman 3D.
Now, I leave you with the results of mixing Mercedes-Benz with Animal Crossing...