Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
I don't usually do reaction videos here on RoXolid Productions, but when I saw this recent article cross my feed, I just had to hit record and talk about it. The team over at GameRant (specifically Dalton Cooper) recently went through and ranked all eight of Nintendo's mainline home consoles from worst to best. While I actually agreed with a few of his takes, there were others that I thought were just way off base. The one that genuinely hurt my retro-gaming heart? Seeing the legendary original NES ranked all the way down at number seven—and they didn't even use the correct aspect ratio for the image in the article!
That inspired me to sit down and put together my own definitive list. Today, we are ranking every single Nintendo home console from worst to best.
đź”— Read the original GameRant article here: gamerant.com/all-nintendo-consoles-ranked
📉 MY NINTENDO CONSOLE RANKINGS:
8 - Nintendo 64 (N64)
Coming in at the bottom of my list is the Nintendo 64. While it has some absolute classics, it lacked any form of backwards compatibility out of the gate, which was a massive bummer. People still make jokes about the three-pronged "Trident" style controller to this day, and it really felt like Nintendo cut a lot of corners on the system's overall hardware design compared to the competition.
7 - Nintendo GameCube
At number seven is the GameCube. The insistence on using proprietary mini-discs meant that larger games often had to be split across multiple discs. Furthermore, the system couldn't utilize standard CDs or DVDs for media playback like its rivals. The only real backwards compatibility it offered was through the Game Boy Player add-on.
6 - Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Ranking the original NES sixth in my rankings absolutely hurts me to my Gen X core. There are so many iconic games with incredible adventures and unforgettable 8-bit soundtracks. However, the system hardware itself was just not very robust. The VCR-style pop-down/pop-up pin connector design led to a massive amount of games not reading properly. Plus, we completely missed out on most of the hardware upgrades that the Famicom received over in Japan.
5 - Nintendo Wii
What I love about the Wii first and foremost is that it truly expanded gaming to people who weren't traditional gamers. Titles like Mario Kart Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 were fantastic experiences. Plus, the early models were natively backwards compatible with GameCube discs, and the legendary Virtual Console let me play NES, Super NES, N64, and other classic systems all in one place.
4 - Nintendo Wii U
Number four for me is the incredibly misunderstood Wii U. The biggest problem was that people didn't realize this was actually next-generation level hardware at the time. The Wii U finally brought Nintendo into the HD era with HDMI out, it natively played the entire backwards-compatible library of the Wii, and it featured a robust Virtual Console that included NES, Super Nintendo, and even TurboGrafx-16.
3 - Super Nintendo (SNES)
I can't believe that I'm putting my favorite system of all time at number three, but the competition is just that fierce. The library on the Super Nintendo is absolutely second to none. The Sony sound chip inside the console produced phenomenal audio that still holds up. It also gave us the Super Game Boy, allowing us to play Game Boy games on the big screen. To top it off, it features the absolute best controller Nintendo has ever produced.
2 - Nintendo Switch
The original Switch comes in at number two because it truly changed the industry. The hybrid design allowed you to play massive, console-level games on the go. While Joy-Con drift is definitely a glaring issue that holds this system back from perfection, the massive library and the addition of the Nintendo Switch Online service (bringing NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, and N64 games to the system) makes it an absolute powerhouse.
1 - Nintendo Switch 2
I mean, you had to see this coming, right? The Switch 2 takes the number one spot because it takes everything the original Switch does, does it in brilliant 4K, and adds even more legacy systems to its digital library. Having GameCube games available backwards through the Nintendo Classics line is a dream come true, and it plays almost the entirety of the original Switch library flawlessly. Now, I would just love to see them bring systems like the TurboGrafx-16 over to the Classics line!
👇 I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
These are just my personal rankings, but I want to know yours! How do these consoles rank for you, and which Nintendo system is your absolute favorite overall? Leave your thoughts and your own lists down in the comments below!
Make sure to hit that SUBSCRIBE button for more gaming discussions, reviews, and retro content!
#Nintendo #NintendoSwitch2 #NintendoSwitch #RetroGaming #SNES #NES #GameCube #NintendoWii #WiiU #N64 #GameRant #ConsoleRanking #GamingCommunity #NintendoClassics
I don't usually do reaction videos here on RoXolid Productions, but when I saw this recent article cross my feed, I just had to hit record and talk about it. The team over at GameRant (specifically Dalton Cooper) recently went through and ranked all eight of Nintendo's mainline home consoles from worst to best. While I actually agreed with a few of his takes, there were others that I thought were just way off base. The one that genuinely hurt my retro-gaming heart? Seeing the legendary original NES ranked all the way down at number seven—and they didn't even use the correct aspect ratio for the image in the article!
That inspired me to sit down and put together my own definitive list. Today, we are ranking every single Nintendo home console from worst to best.
đź”— Read the original GameRant article here: gamerant.com/all-nintendo-consoles-ranked
📉 MY NINTENDO CONSOLE RANKINGS:
8 - Nintendo 64 (N64)
Coming in at the bottom of my list is the Nintendo 64. While it has some absolute classics, it lacked any form of backwards compatibility out of the gate, which was a massive bummer. People still make jokes about the three-pronged "Trident" style controller to this day, and it really felt like Nintendo cut a lot of corners on the system's overall hardware design compared to the competition.
7 - Nintendo GameCube
At number seven is the GameCube. The insistence on using proprietary mini-discs meant that larger games often had to be split across multiple discs. Furthermore, the system couldn't utilize standard CDs or DVDs for media playback like its rivals. The only real backwards compatibility it offered was through the Game Boy Player add-on.
6 - Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
Ranking the original NES sixth in my rankings absolutely hurts me to my Gen X core. There are so many iconic games with incredible adventures and unforgettable 8-bit soundtracks. However, the system hardware itself was just not very robust. The VCR-style pop-down/pop-up pin connector design led to a massive amount of games not reading properly. Plus, we completely missed out on most of the hardware upgrades that the Famicom received over in Japan.
5 - Nintendo Wii
What I love about the Wii first and foremost is that it truly expanded gaming to people who weren't traditional gamers. Titles like Mario Kart Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 were fantastic experiences. Plus, the early models were natively backwards compatible with GameCube discs, and the legendary Virtual Console let me play NES, Super NES, N64, and other classic systems all in one place.
4 - Nintendo Wii U
Number four for me is the incredibly misunderstood Wii U. The biggest problem was that people didn't realize this was actually next-generation level hardware at the time. The Wii U finally brought Nintendo into the HD era with HDMI out, it natively played the entire backwards-compatible library of the Wii, and it featured a robust Virtual Console that included NES, Super Nintendo, and even TurboGrafx-16.
3 - Super Nintendo (SNES)
I can't believe that I'm putting my favorite system of all time at number three, but the competition is just that fierce. The library on the Super Nintendo is absolutely second to none. The Sony sound chip inside the console produced phenomenal audio that still holds up. It also gave us the Super Game Boy, allowing us to play Game Boy games on the big screen. To top it off, it features the absolute best controller Nintendo has ever produced.
2 - Nintendo Switch
The original Switch comes in at number two because it truly changed the industry. The hybrid design allowed you to play massive, console-level games on the go. While Joy-Con drift is definitely a glaring issue that holds this system back from perfection, the massive library and the addition of the Nintendo Switch Online service (bringing NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, and N64 games to the system) makes it an absolute powerhouse.
1 - Nintendo Switch 2
I mean, you had to see this coming, right? The Switch 2 takes the number one spot because it takes everything the original Switch does, does it in brilliant 4K, and adds even more legacy systems to its digital library. Having GameCube games available backwards through the Nintendo Classics line is a dream come true, and it plays almost the entirety of the original Switch library flawlessly. Now, I would just love to see them bring systems like the TurboGrafx-16 over to the Classics line!
👇 I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
These are just my personal rankings, but I want to know yours! How do these consoles rank for you, and which Nintendo system is your absolute favorite overall? Leave your thoughts and your own lists down in the comments below!
Make sure to hit that SUBSCRIBE button for more gaming discussions, reviews, and retro content!
#Nintendo #NintendoSwitch2 #NintendoSwitch #RetroGaming #SNES #NES #GameCube #NintendoWii #WiiU #N64 #GameRant #ConsoleRanking #GamingCommunity #NintendoClassics
