Saw this thread and wanted to share some of my favorite Nintende-esque games for PC, and all the games I've listed here are free of cost as well.

The Adventures of Square (Native via GZDoom)
This is a cartoon-ish FPS game made in GZDoom, and I think it really captures that mascot platformer vibe that was prevalent in the 90's and early 2000's. It's a standalone mod so it doesn't require any original doom data files to run. Currently only episodes 1 and 2 are finished, with the episode 3 release TBD. This has to be one of my favorite doom total conversions, alongside the Golden Souls trilogy which was already mentioned here, and Ashes 2063 (although that one doesn't really fit the whole "Nintendo" theme).


Sonic Robo Blast 2 (Native)
3D Sonic fangame made in a heavily modified Doom engine. The gameplay is more similar to classic 2D sonic translated into 3D than more of the official modern games, and it actually plays really well IMO. The game has a development history going back 20+ years, but it received an update around 2020 that completely redid the graphics, levels and music. There's also a kart racing mod of this with online and splitscreen multiplayer called Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart, which is arguably even more impressive.


You Have to Win the Game (Native)
Retro PC styled metroidvania with simple but challenging gameplay. It has a really cryptic feel to the exploration and puzzle solving, similar to the first Zelda and Metroid games. Also comes with a neat CRT filter


Princess Remedy in a World of Hurt (Wine)
Cute stylized RPG about healing creatures from wacky ailments. This one is pretty short, beatable in around 1hr if I remember correctly. When you enter into a battle, the game turns into an arcade style top-down shooter, which is pretty unique and fun.


Hero Core (Wine)
This is one of my favorite games from the old yoyogames sandbox days, and it's an earlier game from developer that made Princess Remedy. It's another metroidvania with super simple monochrome pixel graphics (which I personally think really adds to the atmosphere of being on an alien planet). It recently got an update with a new game plus mode, so I've been meaning to return this one eventually.


AIR RPG (Wine)
Super short and sweet NES-styled metroidvania with rpg mechanics, and another favorite from the yoyogames sandbox days. Also has an awesome chiptune soundtrack.

Quoting: Smoke39

Quoting: Linux_RocksSince Commander Keen was mentioned, we can't forgot about Jazz Jackrabbit or the sequel. There's also a source port for them too.

Looks like OpenJazz is only for the first game. For JJ2, there's Jazz 2 Resurrection.

Oops, thanks for the heads up. Glad to know about the other source port now.

A great Metroid-like:

Environmental Station Alpha:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/350070/Environmental_Station_Alpha/

A great (Super-)Metroid clone, at an almost GB Color-like graphical fidelity. Really nice music too.

Last edited by wvstolzing on 30 April 2024 at 5:11 pm UTC

Nina Aquila: Legal Eagle (Native)



Nina deserves a mention here I think. Hybrid Visual Novel & 2D adventure game. Part mystery and crime scene investigation, part court room drama. Mini-games include tokyo drifting and trading-card battles.

Inspired by Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (or so I'm told, it's still on the wishlist!)

Since we are talking about Nintendo-esque games, I gotta throw some things into the mix:

Slime Rancher (Native)
Cute, casual gamer friendly and generally quite good.

Indivisible (Native)
It is far from perfect, but it is charming, has great voice acting, and is Nintendo-player friendly both in gameplay and difficulty.

Castle of Illusion (Proton)
A remake of an old sega mega drive (sega genesis for americans), and it is really good.

DuckTales Remastered (Proton)
Another fantastic remake, this time the NES classic Duck Tales.

Garden Story (Proton)
Gets quite repetitive, especially if going for all achievements, but it has a bucket full of charm.

Shantae (Proton)
This is a serie of games, the most polished is by far "and the Pirate's Curse", but all of them are charming, and fun.

While I was thinking about alternatives to Metroid, I remembered:

Supraland (Proton)
This game is a 3D FPS Metroidvania - as you progress through the game, you and your weapon gain new abilities. It also comes with an adorable cast of characters.

If you're looking for Animal Crossing vibes, check out:

A Short Hike (Native)

Keep the suggestions coming!

Last edited by Talon1024 on 7 May 2024 at 2:59 pm UTC

I forgot to mention a great Pokémon alternative, I don't think it has been mentioned yet but I'm half-blind so I dunno.

Monster Sanctuary (Native)
It's good fun and has lots of fun monsters. You build a team of three for battling, and are rewarded for combos and synergy. As in Pokémon it is a Metroidvania-lite where you get new powers to allow you to go to new places or find secrets.

And our boy Liam put down a review on steam that simply reads:

Quote"Honestly, it's great. One to pick up if you love monster catchers."