The Best Nintendo Exclusives of 2025: Switch 2 Crowns a New King
With 2025 now closed, we can calmly review which Nintendo exclusives performed best during the year. The final picture is quite clear: it has been a very strong year for the company, with several major launches, a very promising start for Switch 2, and a very interesting mix of new bets, big returns, and heavyweight remasters.
At the top of the ranking, there are five games that, by score, impact, and conversation, have earned the right to be considered the best exclusives of 2025. We're talking about Donkey Kong Bananza (91), Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 (88), Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition (87), Mario Kart World (86), and Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster (84). These are the titles that best summarize Nintendo's year and also make clear the high average level of its catalog.
Donkey Kong Bananza, the Big Winner of the Year
If there's a proper name that defines 2025, it's Donkey Kong Bananza. Its 91 places it as the highest-rated exclusive of the year and, moreover, turns it into one of the first major flags for Switch 2.
That's no small feat, because Nintendo needed a title capable of staking its claim on the new console, and Donkey Kong has delivered better than expected. The most striking thing about its success is that it didn't rely solely on the saga's name, but on the way it reinvented Donkey Kong in three dimensions.
The critical reception has been especially positive regarding its leap to 3D, something many players watched with curiosity but also some caution. In the end, the result was exactly the opposite of the initial fear: Nintendo managed to bring the character back into the spotlight with an ambitious, visually stunning adventure with its own personality. Bananza hasn't been just a good game in a notable year. It has been one of those launches that help build the initial identity of a console. That's why its score has more value than the number alone suggests: it didn't just come out well, but with enough strength to become an immediate reference in the Switch 2 catalog.
The Five Exclusives That Define 2025
After Donkey Kong Bananza, the rest of the top 5 also paints a very clear picture: Nintendo had variety and quality in very different genres. Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 earned an 88 and proves that there are classics that still compete at the highest level even many years later. The collection brings together two of the most important 3D platformers in Nintendo history, and that shows both in the design and in the way they still captivate the eyes and hands.
In third position is Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition with an 87, and it's surely one of the most special games of the year. Not so much for surprise, since the value of the original was already known, but because this definitive edition has allowed it to reach many more people and reclaim itself as one of the biggest, densest, and most absorbing experiences in Nintendo's catalog. It's a huge title, one of those that demands time, patience, and a desire to get lost in its world.
In fourth place comes Mario Kart World with an 86, a score that fits perfectly with what is expected from the saga: very high quality, enormous accessibility, and multiplayer potential that extends its lifespan far beyond the first weeks. It's not a game that needs to reinvent anything to be important. Its mere presence already elevates any console's catalog.
Rounding out that leading group is Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster, which with its 84 confirms another trend of the year: the weight of JRPGs in the best of Nintendo 2025. Although it starts from a classic base, the remaster has served to put a very beloved adventure back in the forefront, with a combat system that still works very well and a structure that remains very appealing to fans of traditional Japanese role-playing.
Xenoblade and Bravely Default, the Kings of Longevity
Beyond the score, there are two games on this list that deserve a special mention for a very specific reason: they are the ones that can offer the most hours of play among the year's standout exclusives. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition and Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster clearly stand out in that area and very well represent the value of a long, deep game designed to stay with you for weeks.
In the case of Xenoblade Chronicles X, we're talking about a gigantic adventure. It's one of those RPGs that seem endless, with enormous scale, lots of side content, and a constant feeling of being in a world that wants you to explore it thoroughly. For players seeking an absorbing experience with longevity, it's one of the most generous titles of the year.
Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster plays in a different line, more classic and focused on turn-based combat, but it also offers considerable duration. The main story already has weight, and those who want to squeeze systems, progression, and additional content find another game very easy to get value from in hours.
Together, they probably form the strongest pair of 2025 for those who especially value longevity.
A Very Solid Second Block, Very Dependent on Personal Taste
Below the top 5, there's another group of exclusives with scores very close to each other and a fairly simple reading: they are all good at what they do, and here it depends much more on the genre you like best.
This block would include Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (79), Pokémon Legends: Z-A (79), Hyrule Warriors: Age of Exile (79), Kirby Air Riders (78), and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (77).
What's interesting about this group is that we're not dealing with mediocre games by any means. On the contrary, they are titles that move in a quite solid range and can fit perfectly as priority purchases for certain types of players. If you like exploration and first-person action, you'll probably look first at Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. If Pokémon is your thing, you already know where your interest lies. And if you prefer a musou, an arcade, or a classic 2D platformer, you also have very clear options.
It's a block where the score matters less than affinity with each saga.
The difference between a 77 and a 79 doesn't change the underlying conversation: all five are competent games, recommendable in their field, and capable of holding their own space well within the 2025 catalog. Here, the choice is marked less by overall quality and more by the type of experience each one seeks.
Tamagotchi Plaza, One of the Catalog's Big Flops
Not everything in the year was brilliant, and if there's a game that stands out at the opposite extreme, it's Tamagotchi Plaza. Its 43 leaves it not only as one of the worst exclusives of 2025, but directly as one of the worst games in the catalog. And that idea is worth emphasizing, because we're not just talking about a one-off disappointment in a strong year, but a really low score even in broader terms.
When a game drops to that level, it stops being in the "weak title" conversation and enters the clear failure one. In this case, moreover, its position is even more exposed by contrast with the rest of Nintendo's 2025 catalog, which has generally been quite solid. While other exclusives have stood out for ambition, duration, or design quality, Tamagotchi Plaza has stayed on the exact opposite side.
That makes its case especially striking. In a year where Nintendo has placed several games above notable and launched a new console with considerable strength, having such a poorly rated exclusive stands out even more. It's not just one of the worst of the year: it's one of those titles that's hard to separate from the conversation about the weakest in the overall catalog.
A Strong 2025 for Nintendo
Looking at the whole year, the general reading for Nintendo is positive.
Donkey Kong Bananza has become the great reference for Switch 2, Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 has proven the relevance of two giant classics, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition and Bravely Default Flying Fairy HD Remaster have reinforced the weight of JRPGs, and Mario Kart World has fulfilled its role as an immediate must-have.
That quintet forms the strongest group of the year and, barring personal nuances, it's hard to argue that they aren't the true protagonists of 2025.
Then there's a very even second block with recommendable and quite different proposals, and also a clear stumble with Tamagotchi Plaza.
But if you take the big picture, the conclusion is simple: Nintendo closed 2025 with a varied, strong exclusive catalog and several games that will continue to spark conversation for a long time.
