Nintendo Franchises That Could See Game and Watch Units After Zelda

It’s 2021 and Nintendo is still makingGame & Watchsystems. Last year, the company unveiled a limited-editionGame & Watchhandheld to commemorate the 35th anniversary ofSuper Mario Bros.,andThe Legend of Zeldawill receive a similar treatment when a specialZelda-themed system arrives later this year. Each handheld comes packed with a few hits from the early days of each franchise, along with some fun extras like a digital clock, and even some classicGame & Watchgames.

These new systems allow Nintendo to kill two birds with one stone: Paying tribute to the company’s legendary library of games, while also keeping the Game & Watch — one of the pioneers of handheld gaming — in the public consciousness. When consideringhow well theSuper MarioGame & Watch sold, and assuming theZeldahandheld puts up similar numbers, it wouldn’t be shocking if there were a few more on the way. Nintendo is hardly lacking in fondly remembered retro titles, many of which would work well as standalone Game & Watch units.

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Donkey Kong

This is an easy one. As one of the most well-known video games of all time, the originalDonkey Kongwould be the perfect series to get its own Game & Watch system. This 1981 classic marked the first time players were introduced to iconic characters like Mario and Donkey Kong, both of whom would go on to be some of the biggest names in gaming.

Metroid

DespiteMetroidand its sequel,The Return of Samus,both receiving far superior remakes inZero MissionandSamus Returns, respectively, the original releases still have charm. A Game & Watch handheld that includes the original versions of the first twoMetroidgameswould be a great way to celebrate the origins of this franchise. Considering this year marks the 35th anniversary of the series, bringing back classicMetroidandThe Return of Samuswould be perfect for a Game & Watch system.

Punch-Out!!

Punch-Out!!hasn’t had a new entry since 2009, and that’s a shame. Fortunately, the franchise hasn’t been completely forgotten, as series protagonist Little Mac currently represents the franchise in theSuper Smash Bros.games. That said, the games themselves haven’t seen much love in more than a decade, so a Game & Watch handheld proudly featuring the iconic boxing game might be a good way for Nintendo to do just that.

Kid Icarus

TheKid Icarusgames' 21-year hiatus was broken with 2012’sKid Icarus: Uprising, but the series has since retired to dormancy yet again despite, the newfound popularity of characters such as Pit and Palutena. The original game and its sequel,Of Myths and Monsters,are fondly remembered as solid 2D platformers. Having both games available on a single, dedicated system would be a welcome way for the series to break its long-standing silence and new fans could give it a try.

Mario Bros.

Mario Bros.shouldn’t be confused withSuper Mario Bros., as the latter has seen all manners of sequels, spin-offs, and the like. The former has received relatively little attention outside of previously being included as a packed-in extra with theSuper Mario Advanceseries ofSuper Mario Bros.re-releases.

Despite not being as popular as theSuper Mario Bros.games, the originalMario Bros.still deserves recognition for introducing some of the most iconicMarioelements like pipes, the POW block, enemies like the Koopa Troopa, and of course,Mario’s brother Luigi.