1. Fire Emblem
I cannot believe I almost forgot this series. I don't usually think of "Nintendo" when I think of it, but this is definitely my favorite of their works. From the original English release for the GBA, I have adored this series. It's had some hit and misses, but overall has been a hit, and has reached its highest mark thus far with Fire Emblem Awakening. With fantastic mechanics, great worlds, and utterly brilliant characters, this series is one that I cannot wait to see the next installment of.
2. The Legend of Zelda
This game has a huge array of fantastic titles. I remember so many of the games fondly. I really enjoyed the 3D games when I played them, but the 2D games had a more lasting impact on me (though I would like to get a decent version of Majora's Mask at some point). A Link Between Worlds was absolutely my favorite in the series, and I cannot wait for their next foray into the series.
3. Metroid
This series was one of my favorite platformers. I even enjoyed Metroid Fusion, even if I was one of few to do so. The Prime series was one of the best mechanical overhauls I have ever seen to a series. It made a huge translation, while still keeping true to everything I wanted out of the series.
4. Mario
Honestly, I don't like most Mario platformers. The only one I really loved was Super Mario World. But oh my gosh, did I play the heck out of that game. I still play my GBA cartridge. A perfect file with all exits opened by Mario, one with them all opened by Luigi, and a third with them alternating, and only the final exit left to claim with Luigi (just so that I can watch the cutscenes at any time).
However, special mention must be made for the RPGs. I never got to play the original Super Mario RPG (and Nintendo are still jerks who won't release their stellar SNES games for the 3DS E-Shop), but Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was an absolutely stellar game for the Gamecube. I dearly wish that they had continued with those mechanics, as I feel that Super Paper Mario was a step backward in almost every respect (earning its place as one of the worst sequels I've ever played).
5. Kirby
Kirby Superstar was another platformer I really enjoyed, and I spent a long time doing everything in that game. From hunting down the hidden treasures, to fighting the arenas, to facing off against Meta Knight. It was a fantastic multi-part adventure. Also, I really, really liked the way you could combine powers in Crystal Shards for the GameCube. Exploding Shuriken Kirby was just totally frelling awesome. Plus, Super Smash Bros. was modeled almost directly off of Kirby Super Star, so that's another reason to love the big puffball.
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