SG Roundtable: Our favourite “Nintendo-likes” (Patreon Request)

It’s time for another Source Gaming Roundtable and in this edition we have been asked by our super Patreon MR. JBRPG to share our favourite “Nintendo-likes”. These are the games that are clearly inspired by titles from the big N, whether the inspiration is unapologetically ripped on or the ties are more subtle to the games that influence them. Anything that feels like a tribute to anything Nintendo basically. Metroidvanias also count for this but given just how many of them there are on the market, we decided to give that its own article later on. For now, let’s see what the team had to say:

Pizza Tower [Wario-like]

Over the years we’ve seen new indie games appear that are spiritual successors to beloved classics. Some of them might even show up on this list! The thing with these types of games is that they seem to come in cycles. We had a wave of games celebrating Castlevania, a wave celebrating Sonic the Hedgehog, and most recently a resurgence of games celebrating 3D platformers and Paper Mario-likes (sometimes even together, Demon Turf). One such celebration that has cropped up this year though is the Wario-like, specifically the beloved GBA title Wario Land 4. Something about that games design, speed, and odd presentation (especially in the music department) appealed to players and in 2023 we saw the launch of Pizza Tower, a game that not only celebrates Wario but elevates what that franchise started.

I’ll come out and say it, Pizza Tower is in the running for my game of the year, competing alongside juggernauts like Tears of the Kingdom and Pikmin 4. I love everything about Pizza Tower from its kick-ass soundtrack to the pure sense of speed and precision the game has when on the way to mastering it. It’s all just good fun, but what makes Pizza Tower a great Wario-like is how it took the formula set up by Wario Land 4 and elevated it. Pizza Tower is faster and every level has some kind of unique gimmick to it that keeps the game feeling fresh. The animations are top-notch, mirroring a style reminiscent of Ren & Stimpy but also the occasional grossness of Wario. Best of all, Pizza Tower is incredibly replayable, pushing players to get better and better as they cut down on their time through a level while trying to get every collectible. Wario Land 4 had hints of this in its design but it never fully capitalized on it, even when Shake It came out years later and continued the formula. Pizza Tower does live up to the potential that Wario Land 4 had and that’s why it’s the best of the Wario-likes.

Crusader of Centy [2D Zelda-like]

I’ve always had a love for “clones” of popular games. Some people show disdain towards what they see as imitations or “knock offs” of their beloved franchises, but when I look at a game that takes inspiration from a series I already adore, I just see more for me to play. I love this concept so much, in fact, that I already wrote about it previously. As you can see, I tackled a few clones of 2D Zelda titles in this prior article, but that series has so many other clones to discuss! One such clone is now readily, legally, playable for the first time in decades due to the June 2023 update to Nintendo Switch Online. I’m speaking of Crusader of Centy (or Soleil as it was known in European markets).

Now, the Sega Genesis (and Sega in particular, going back to games like Golden Axe Warrior on the Master System) was no stranger to Zelda-likes. A Link to the Past was, after all, a console defining title for the Super Nintendo. Centy, though, is probably the most blatant from a presentation standpoint. Landstalker is another fantastic Zelda-like on the system which was also released in the same Nintendo Switch June update. One look at Landstalker and you see a grittier, more “realistic” take on the Zelda formula. Not so with Crusader of Centy. Centy has bright colors and cheerful sprites and one could very easily mistake any background from the game from one from the actual Zelda series at a quick glance. The ambiance and general overhead action and puzzling are something fans of Zelda will be quite familiar with. That’s not to say, however, that Centy doesn’t have its own flavor.

Crusader of Centy is a title where the player takes control of a young boy unfortunately named Corona, who, upon his 14th birthday, inherits his father’s sword and begins the trials of manhood, as one often does in these sorts of games. The title has puzzles, dungeons, and towns, just like you would expect from a 2D Zelda-like. It does differ in some key ways, however. First of all, you have a dedicated jump button! As a result, platforming is a much larger part of this game than it is in any 2D Zelda (even those with items such as the Roc Feather). Another key difference is that this game has a dedicated overworld map – think something like Super Mario World. So, the world isn’t interconnected in quite the same way as in Link to the Past, but new areas will need to be unlocked and revisited during your time with the game. Most important, however, is the fact that Corona loses his ability to speak with people but gains the ability to speak to animals (because video games). Because of this, the player gains animal companions that act as power-ups and abilities.

Centy isn’t perfect, the controls and hit detection feel a bit off, for example, but it really helps exemplify why I like “game clones”. If a game can take a formula and playstyle that I like, but tweak it and present it in a way that makes it feel unique and fresh while playing on that initial sense of familiarity, then it’s a win in my book.

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling [Paper Mario-like]

As I played through the original Paper Mario for the first time, I thought to myself, “The Origami King was a good game, but this just blows it out of the water!” Last year, as I played through Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling, I thought to myself, “Paper Mario was a fantastic game, but this just blows it out of the water!” In retrospect, I wouldn’t go that far, but Moonsprout Games’ homage to some of Mario’s greatest stories did so much right for me (I haven’t played The Thousand-Year Door yet, so we’ll keep the comparisons to the Nintendo 64 original). In place of a silent protagonist and his near-static partners, we’ve got a trio of phenomenal heroes, all of which wonderfully complement each other and the world around them. Stand-ins for Mario’s iconic action commands and badges are accounted for, in most cases expanded upon and made their own. Moreover, the Mushroom Kingdom might have its fair share of optional content, but Bugaria’s wealth of side quests, hidden bosses, and postgame challenges will encourage players to explore every corner of its overworld.

Admittedly, Bug Fables wears its inspiration on its sleeve, but I really like the way it unites much of what people missed from classic Paper Mario with traditional RPG features to yield something wholly unique. There’s just enough darkness and intrigue to set itself apart from its inspiration, unnecessary but much-appreciated distractions like a card minigame and little arcade, not to mention its outstanding soundtrack and fleshed-out world; I could sing my favorite indie game’s praises for as long as anyone’s willing to listen. But I’m not claiming it’s better than Paper Mario at everything, as the difficulty’s not as welcoming as most would like from this sort of game, some of the plot’s most important revelations are oddly restricted to side missions, among other small complaints, but that’s not enough to distract me from how much I love this game. Oh, and since Bug Fables regularly goes on sale for around half its usual price, if you’re curious to see what all the buzz is about (I’m sorry), I’d highly recommend it!

Crash Team Racing (and its successors) [Mario Kart-like]

The glut of racing games based on different licenses you’ll often see pop up every other year can all be traced back to the original Mario Kart, which is more or less the codifier for the mascot racer. As far as quality and enjoyment go, your mileage (heh) may vary. There are only a handful of genuine competitors in quality (if not overall audience reach), and this entry is about Crash Team Racing, based on Crash Bandicoot. It hits the marks of your average Mario Kart derivative in powerup, weight class (or rather speed class) and track variety better than most, but is truly distinguished from the bunch by 1) a Diddy Kong Racing-esque adventure mode with a simple excuse plot (outrace an alien and prevent both the globe from becoming a concrete parking lot and everyone else his slav-I mean minions), and 2) an actual skill factor. There’s no rubber-banding AI to cheat you out of a win (so getting hit by the Blue Shell equivalent is not an instant loss) and shortcuts are heavily precision and speed-based to reward execution; at top-level play the game transforms into something else entirely.

CTR was popular enough to become its own side-series of kart racers with new and differing mechanics every time; to further strengthen the connection, the Crash racers and Mario Kart have employed similar new gameplay mechanics across entries. Crash Nitro Kart was using anti-gravity tracks 11 years before Mario Kart 8 did, while Crash Tag Team Racing had its own take on Mario Kart Double Dash’s 2-in-1 racing gimmick two years later. As of this writing, one thing that Mario Kart still doesn’t do in comparison is the execution-based speed retention that CTR: Nitro-Fueled (the remaster of the original) perfected from the original game, making it so that you can keep an ultra turbo boost going for an entire race (which is required for the uber-difficult staff time trial ghosts). Time will tell if Mario Kart decides to take a shot at this kind of racing; at least, once they’re done milking content for 8 Deluxe.

Rivals of Aether [Smash-like]

While calling it a Smash-like is true due to the obvious mechanical references to Super Smash Bros. Melee, I think it’s best to start with some history. DanFornace, the creator of Rivals of Aether, created a small fan-game called Super Smash Land that brought the fun of Smash Bros. to the Game Boy. One of the characters of this fan game was Vaporeon, who’s gameplay was what then led towards Orcane’s moveset in Rivals of Aether.

At this point, while Rivals of Aether has defined itself as its own strongly appreciated juggernaut within the indie scene with several spin-offs and an upcoming sequel that takes the game to 3D graphics, Rivals at its core is still a love letter to Smash Bros. The mechanical references to Melee aren’t the only reason why, but the way Rivals carries itself in several aspects are obvious references to its inspiration. Live Streams called Rivals Directs to showcase the newest series updates and upcoming characters; featuring crossover characters that are arguably very important to the history of Indie Games with Shovel Knight and Ori; and Sandbert.

However, the reason why I and so many people love Rivals isn’t just because of how it is a Smash-like that fans of the series can easily pick-up. Rivals of Aether features more offensive, fast-paced gameplay that attempts to fully delve into the competitive aspects that Nintendo doesn’t do with Smash Bros. Furthermore, it features stellar community support thanks to the Steam Workshop function, allowing for the fanbase to create over thousands of fighters to choose from: many being original characters that have now become part of the official roster and many being dream come true fighters like Kris (DELTARUNE), Sol Badguy (Guilty Gear), or Ronald McDonald (MUGEN). While my hours in Smash may triumph over my hours in Rivals by thousands, there are many instances where I’ll find myself looking to play Rivals instead because of these factors.

UNDERTALE [EarthBound-like]

Perhaps an easy answer, but a fair one. The relationship between UNDERTALE and EarthBound is something we all know by this point; the former was an unapologetic homage to the latter, with some of its content even coming partially out of fan projects. Both are quirky, zany, creepy, and operate in this weird space between winking self-awareness and naked sincerity. But while it does have the chunky sprite art and eccentric characters, some of UNDERTALE’s best features are stuff that would be impossible—or at least challenging to implement—back in the mid-Nineties. The crazy JRPG / bullet hell genre mixup would be technically possible but hard to sell. Moral choice systems had already existed for many years, but they were largely limited to somewhat niche PC games, not the accessible SNES era to which the game harkens back. And some of its creative decisions are responses to EarthBound, not just iterations on what it did. That’s what I love about it: it’s not a successor or a derivation or an attempt at a replacement, but the start of a dialogue.

Genshin Impact [Breath of the Wild-like]

I specify Breath of the Wild in the title over Zelda in its entirety, because it’s not Zelda, it’s Breath of the Wild. As someone who openly does not like the new formula their once favorite franchise has taken, it might surprise you to know that I love Genshin Impact. Genshin has the wall climbing, gliding, and shrines of the newer open world Zelda, but here’s something it has that the duo of new games bearing the Zelda title do not have: an active plot with characters who develop over the course of the story and things that happen. I care about a lot of the characters in Genshin Impact in a way I haven’t cared about any Zelda character since Skyward Sword. I like them, I hate them, they actually make me feel emotions because they have character.

It makes a lot of other improvements on the formula as well. You have four playable characters at all times that you can swap to at will so combat is fast and fluid and exciting. You can climb in the rain. Seelies which are this game’s Koroks not only reward you with treasure for solving their puzzles but also subtly guide you through the overworld. It feels designed and polished in a way that Breath of the Wild does not.

I always say that the Breath formula would have gone over a lot better with me had it not been a Zelda game, but rather a new IP, and Genshin Impact proves that because- I don’t know how many hours I have in the game since it doesn’t tell you- uh, I’ve played this game a lot. I played it nearly every day up to the end of the Inazuma expansion. The fact that this game gets updated every year with a new open world that is the size of a whole game is astounding. I know it’s a gacha game, and that makes a lot of people hate it on principle, but I love this game, and it makes me happy. I’ve been trying to get back into it recently since I became a fan of the franchise that it’s an AU of, Honkai. It’s safe to say that miHoYo kinda saved my life with these games.

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair [Donkey Kong Country-like]

Everyone knows I’m a big Donkey Kong fan, right? I’ve written about the franchise extensively—one of my latest articles is a review of the gorilla’s most disappointing game—and adore the Donkey Kong Country side scrollers. It’s been nearly a decade since Donkey Kong’s last entry, the stellar Tropical Freeze, and I’ve been hankering for a new one.

One way I’ve been trying to scratch that itch is by playing some Donkey Kong Country knockoffs. Some of them, like Kaze and the Wild Masks and Marsupilami: Hoobadventure, are perfectly serviceable. Others, like JUJU, are not. But one Country-like, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, rises above the rest. Given the talent behind it, that’s not too surprising: developer Playtonic Games is composed of former Rare staffers, who made the original Country trilogy. Impossible Lair also embraces Retro Studios’ contemporary Country titles, inheriting their tag system. Now, Impossible Lair never reaches Country‘s highs; its level design is good but not groundbreaking, and you can tell Playtonic had a tighter budget.

But it’s still the only game to successfully scratch that itch. A weird, whimsical personality powers Impossible Lair that none of those other knockoffs captured. Impossible Lair features a few cute nods to Donkey Kong (didja know that Yooka took swimming lessons from Enguarde?). And Impossible Lair doesn’t just emulate Country, but actually evolves its formula! Rare’s first two Country games employ simple maps, their third features an explorable but mostly empty overworld, and Impossible Lair expands that into a Zelda-esque experience complete with puzzles and secrets. Had Rare made a fourth Country back in the day, I imagine this is the direction it would have gone.

It’s a good game and an exciting redemption after Impossible Lair’s disappointing predecessor. I’m eager to see what the team’s been working on since.