Nintendo games aren’t exactly known for being all-out power fantasies, featuring tight and refined gameplay that is meant to engage the player without exhausting their senses. It’s this amazing approach Nintendo takes for most of its titles that make its first-party offerings such major gaming achievements in their own right.
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That being said, there’s no denying that certain video game protagonists definitely need to escalate in power just to maintain a steady sense of progression across games. After all, it makes no sense for players to be stuck with the same game mechanics for decades, and some evolved systems mandate that the protagonist also gains a realistic power boost of their own. Here are some of Nintendo’s most iconic protagonists who got a massive power boost to make things more exciting in sequels.
7Link (The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past)
Link plays a heavy role in one of Nintendo’s most popular action-adventure series,The Legend of Zelda. The character has been through several transformations of his own and is easily one of the most recognizable figures in gaming history, with his popularity increasing quite a bit with the advent ofBreath of the Wild.
Of course, one of Link’s strongest portrayals was in the legendary gameA Link to the Past. Not only is he able to use extremely powerful equipment and weapons, buthe’s also able to take on multiple powerful enemies single-handed, including one of the most powerful incarnations of Ganon in the series.
6Mario (Super Mario Odyssey)
Mario is everyone’s favorite Italian plumber,appearing in several legendary video gamesthat have become quite popular in their own right. One of the more recent video games to come out and show just how deceptively powerful this character can be isSuper Mario Odyssey, and his team-up with Cappy was wildly successful for all parties involved… including the player themself!
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InSuper Mario Odyssey, players can assume the role of most interactable objects and enemies as long as they manage to throw their hat at it. This allows Mario to take on the role of his most iconic enemies, along with a T-Rex that ends up being one of the most enjoyable set pieces in aMariogame in quite some time.
5Samus Aran (Metroid Dread)
Samus Aran is another iconic gaming protagonist who needs no introduction. Her reveal as a woman served as a massive reveal during a time whenmales were considered to be the de facto protagonists of most action-heavy games.
Nintendo has slowly ensured that Samus goes through a power creep that justifies most of the effective abilities she gets in the series. The latest game shows Samus at her strongest, turning her into a unique hybrid form who has human, Chozo, and Metroid DNA in her. This allows her to access a suite of interesting abilities, although it does also debilitate her at certain points in the story when she simply isn’t able to control her powers properly.
4Pit (Kid Icarus: Uprising)
After remaining dormant for the longest time,Kid Icaruswas revived courtesy of Pit’s appearance inSuper Smash Bros. The popularity this character received after this cameo appearance paved the way for Nintendo to develop anotherKid Icarusgame for the Nintendo 3DS that would offer Pit a wealth of power-ups to make controlling him a blast.
From receiving the power of flight to being able to use multiple powerful bows,controlling Pit inKid Icarus: Uprisingis a blast. Palutena’s blessings have clearly served him well, and fans who want to check out more ingenious third-person shooters should definitely giveKid Icarus: Uprisinga shot.
3Kirby (Kirby And The Forgotten Land)
Kirby is one of the cutest Nintendo protagonists around, with this pink blob being instantly recognizable even if his games aren’t as mainstream as some of Nintendo’s other offerings. That being said,Kirby and the Forgotten Landis the best way to get into his gamesand understand the draw ofKirbygames.
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Kirby’s power to inhale and emulate the power of his enemies is taken to a whole new level in this game, courtesy of some clever and innovative design. Not only can Kirby utilize new copy abilities that have never been seen before, but he can also control larger objects to an extent after swallowing. This is definitely inspired bySuper Mario Odyssey’s mechanics and serves as a great way to make Kirby both powerful and engaging to control.
2Bayonetta (Bayonetta 3)
Bayonetta isa stylish protagonist who needs no introduction, with her quick and frenetic combat style rewarding beginners to the series. Meanwhile, masters of her combat can utilize impressive combos and moves to decimate their opposition in style. The games are quite approachable, and nowhere is this more apparent than the thirdBayonettagame.
Not only does Bayonetta have access to her suite of iconic abilities along with a large variety of diverse and powerful weapons, but she can also summon monsters and assume different forms to augment her effectiveness in both exploration and combat. All of this makes the third game’sBayonettathe strongest she’s ever been, and players will definitely experience that for themselves as they slice, dice, hammer, crush, smash, chomp and straight-up obliterate their enemies across the games.
1Sheik/Princess Zelda (The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time)
Ocarina of Timeis one of the bestZeldagames around, with the title still being played extensively to this day. The time-traveling story coupled with the amazing use of music makes for a great time that fans simply can’t get enough of. One of the biggest draws ofOcarina of Timewas its portrayal of Princess Zelda, who was fairly powerful, if somewhat helpless, in her earlier incarnations.
Princess Zelda is more than just a damsel in distress inOcarina of Time. She has an alter ego by the name of Sheik who aids Link throughout his journey, teaching him powerful abilities while also displaying the wealth of Sheikah training she received since childhood. There might be other powerful iterations of Princess Zelda, butOcarina of Timeclearly features the most battle-ready one of them all.
