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Mario vs Zelda vs Pokemon

Which of these franchises is the best?


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Out of the three biggest Nintendo franchises, which one is your favorite?

In my opinion, even if the best Nintendo soundtrack comes from Zelda while my favorite Nintendo character is a Pokemon, Mario is my favorite Nintendo franchise. This is true, even when you only count the main series (i.e. Super Mario World, Super Mario Sunshine) and not the spinoffs like Mario Kart and Paper Mario or other related series like Donkey Kong. But the spin-offs are great too. Not to mention, but they make Mario more than just a platformer series. And the soundtrack in each game is good too.
 
My favorite of these three series is Pokemon. I've been a fan of the series since it first came out over here back with Red and Blue, and while I dropped the series from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald until HeartGold and SoulSilver due to peer pressure and feeling like I was too old for it, it has been a big part of my life for most of it. Pokemon games are one of the only video game series that I still follow these days, and unless they get too boringly easy then I hope to continue to do so into the future.

That said, I don't care about anything outside of the main series of Pokemon games. None of their side games interest me unless you are able to get something to use in a main series game for playing it.

Mario is definitely a stronger series with generally good main series releases and occasionally strong side games, but yeah, Pokemon just means more to me personally. Meanwhile, I've never been big into Zelda but I can recognize what people like about the series.
 
zelda's my favorite. i adore all 3 but i'm the least wild on pokemon since i've only played pearl and that was when i was little and was bad at video games so i didnt finish it aha. i love mario too, and odyssey looks beautiful, but zelda still wins! i just love the characters and stories and aesthetics and the music is gorgeous.
 
My favorite series of the three is Pok?mon. I started playing Pok?mon when Yellow came out and I would watch the show all the time. I also have a bunch of Pok?mon plushies because they are cute. I don't like Sun/ Moon games as much though. My second favorite series would be Legend of Zelda. Princess Zelda is my hardest and favorite cosplay I have made. Her outfit from Twilight Princess is just so fancy and beautiful. I also really love Breath of the Wild.
 
Pokemon is my favorite of the three. I love them all (though I was introduced to Zelda much later), but Pokemon is my only love that hasn't budged since I was eight years old. My second favorite is definitely Mario. I played all the original NES/SNES games on my parents' old systems, and that's what introduced me to Nintendo- but I wasn't ever quite as passionate about it as I've always been about Pokemon. I haven't played as much Zelda but it's definitely lovely and well-made and I 100% see its appeal as a series!
 
I don't care for Pokemon at all, I've played a few games and they've all been pretty meh. So for me the only relevant comparison is Mario vs Zelda.

Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda on the NES is where it all started for me so I love both franchises. But i generally think Zelda is better than Mario. There's always gonna be exceptions though. I think Super Mario Odyssey is better than Breath of the Wild and Super Mario World for the SNES is better than anything that has come from the Zelda-franchise ever. But overall, I don't think there is any franchise in gaming that has had such a high level of consistancy in quality as Zelda.
 
Zelda is my favorite. I only prefer simulation games like Animal Crossing over it.
I don't really care for Mario, but I'm getting Odyssey sometime because it's supposed to be super good.
Pok?mon is alright, I tried Moon and enjoyed it but I don't have any desire to go back and play it or any more Pok?mon games. Maybe sometime I'll pick another one up though.
 
For me personally, Pokemon is number 1, Mario is number 2, and Zelda is 3rd. I've always found the Zelda series to be just OK personally.
 
Zelda all the way. I like Mario games, but I don't feel the need to replay them except for the ones which don't really have levels like Mario Kart. I finish a Pokemon game, sometimes catch shinies then I don't play them for a while. Zelda is one game which I can actually replay or play for a while.


(lmao ironic because i have diancie as my username but yeah)
 
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P-O-K-E-M-O-N Pokemon!

I've loved Pokemon from who knows how long! When I was younger all I did was look up Useless triva and stuff bout it!
Seriously I know the typing and weakness's of every Pokemon.

I loved all of the latest Pokemons equally, I spent over 200 hours on them!

Altairia is one of my favs!
 
Zelda is my first favorite, Pokemon is a close second, then Mario is a distant third.

Zelda is just a really good mix of combat, exploration, collecting, interesting dialogue with interesting characters, and puzzle solving. I've loved Zelda ever since I played Link to the Past on some hotel's game system while on vacation. It can be a bit repetitive with the 3 dungeons - uh oh something bad happens - ~3-5 more dungeons that are bigger and badder - underwhelming final boss? - jk real final boss. Despite that, the Zelda franchise is quite good at throwing new stuff in to make it interesting (masks in MM, sailing in WW, etc...) I have fond memories of pretty much all the Zelda games, and I replay them fairly often.

I do enjoy Pokemon, really I do, but turn based fights really aren't my thing so I get sick of Pokemon games quicker than Zelda games. Another issue I have with it is that it is so tedious to get some Pokemon. I can be so pumped to start a game of Pokemon, until I remember it takes hours to find 'mons that aren't the generic Rattata, Weedle, Zubat, etc... which ultimately makes me put the games down and never finish them. They have been getting a bit better about this in Gens 6 and 7, though, so credit where it's due.

I just don't really have any fond memories of Mario games. I've owned several, but not many, and they've never been my favorite games ever. The newest Mario game I played was Super Mario Sunshine, which I didn't like because all the levels were too similar. Never been a fan of the Mario Parties or Mario Karts. It's weird because I like platformers; I just feel that franchises like Banjo-Kazooie and Sonic do it better than Mario.
 
At first I thought it would be hard to choose between pokemon and zelda but when I though about it, I always obsess about the new zelda game but have no problem waiting some time to get a new pokemon game. So, yeah, team zelda here!
 
Pokemon has amazing characters, amazing stories, amazing music, amazing Pokemon

So ye, pokemon
 
Nothing like getting a brand new main series Mario game. Pok?mon and Zelda pretty much have annual releases so they?re less special to me
 
Although I play and like all three franchises, I personally enjoy Pokemon the most. Nothing gets me more excited than a new Pokemon game! c:
 
If solely for the mainline installments, I'm torn between Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda. Since they're both awesome on their own, deciding which one rules is like deciding which child is your best.

Super Mario is known for its consistent and engaging level design, while experimenting with new gameplay elements that complement very well with the platforming genre and staying accessible to players of all age. The Legend of Zelda as a whole is perhaps the most daring when it comes offering a radically different experience for each installment, despite retaining its core gameplay mechanics throughout the franchise and encouraging exploration.

At this point, I'd have to resort to my genre preference to choose which franchise I appreciate the most. I chose Super Mario, since platforming is my jam.


I ignored Pok?mon, since I don't have much experience outside of its first generation and have an aversion to the RPG genre for decades.

While I admit I liked the premise of training a newly-caught monster in order to achieve your own goals, what put me away from the franchise is how its gameplay flow remained nearly unchanged for the overwhelming majority of installments. Far too often, it plays out like this: trek through route, defeat the gym's leader, rinse and repeat for 7 more times so you could finally compete on the Elite whatever team. Pok?mon could've easily benefited a lot just by altering this aspect alone while retaining its gameplay mechanics, as seen in Pok?mon Sun and Moon to a certain extent.
 
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Honestly, I'm unsure.
Of the 3, Mario has the least unique lore mostly, but is stronger as a series. I play fanmade stuff mostly of Mario.
Pokemon was my absolute favorite for years, and it has levels of depth beyond where I'd previously noticed, but I feel kinda less into it right now.
Zelda is just incredible, mostly, but I feel like a bunch of the games since Skyward Sword were kinda just empty.
 
Mario then Zelda then Pokemon. actually both the Mario and Zelda franchises are waaaay above Pokemon for me, I like Pokemon but to me it's just not on the same level at all. HOWEVER, I'd put Metroid way above everything else.
 
This poll needed a ?can?t decide? option!

Really, I think I love all three.
Mario is the game series I played most. I love the main games (Sunshine, Galaxy, etc.) as well as the Paper Mario series and Mario Kart. The other spin-offs were great too.

Zelda is amazing! My first was Wind Waker, which is just awesome. Twilight Princess is my favorite. They?re all classics. Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword, Link to the Past. The music is spectacular (I?ve been to the symphony twice!).

Pokemon, well, bigest time waster ever XD It?s enjoyable though and fun training and catching the Pokemon. The battling is great and it feels endless.

So, I can?t decide.
 
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