Nintendo franchise with the most complex lore

Nintendo is a single company. For decades, they've been pioneering gaming, creating some of the world's most famous franchises in the process. Older consoles are chock-full of classics, and the Switch is still growing a healthy catalog of titles even years after its release.

Most Nintendo titles released today have a fairly straightforward story to follow, but with so many expansive franchises and respective games under their belts, it's no surprise that some Nintendo titles have accumulated a fair amount of lore over the years. . Switching between writers, directors, and gameplay philosophies means that some games' worlds become too complex to map, or their timelines start to look more like ambitious rollercoaster diagrams than timelines. This Nintendo series in particular has a wealth of intricate lore to keep up with.

5 fire emblem

How do each game's iconic heroes interact?

that fire emblem The series is known above all for its charming and iconic characters. It may also be intended to dethrone the SSBU's fighter roster, but that's an article for another day. But what really makes the protagonists, comrades, love interests, and enemies shine are the stories and settings they engage with. Certainly in some titles the characters are doing the heavy lifting, while in others such as three housesA complex and engaging narrative will keep players coming back for more.

complex personality fire emblem All of this is found in the way the game interacts. establish a relationshipDespite being a relatively bland story, it opened a huge can of worms with the emblem system. manifestation of the past fire emblem Heroes and protagonists can be recruited into player groups. These older characters have memories of their original counterparts, but are they illusions? Or soul? If all of these games exist in the same world or plane, how does this emblem have a memory of all the potential story paths it could have taken the player down? This feature unravels the tight, isolated nature of other FE games into something vague and complex. establish a relationship.

4 Kid Icarus

Open Stories and Knowledge

Pit, a long-time beloved Nintendo character, fell out of favor and fell into obscurity, while other, more successful franchises took center stage at Nintendo. Even today, Kid Icarus Despite being a very solid, open-ended game that allows players to capture emerging angels, the series isn't the first thing that comes to many people's minds when they think of Nintendo's Gallery of Heroes.

Kid Icarus: Rebellion was one of the best games on the 3DS, but its open-ended nature left many fans confused about the nature of Angel World. How strong is Palutena? Is Icarus the source of her power, or just her most trusted angel? What do aliens do? revolt Does it fit the story of this world inspired by Greek mythology?

3 golden sun

A captivating fantasy title that raises many questions

that golden sun The series has frequent references in top titles on all consoles. Whether on the GBA or Nintendo DS, these JRPGs strike the perfect balance of immersion and engaging gameplay with detailed, intricately written settings that spark the imagination. However, the third title in the series raised some questions about the nature of this world. golden sun.

The relationships between many of the magical concepts in this game are unclear. Psynergy, alchemy, and the lighthouse that controls them are essential parts of the game, but how do they interact? The lighthouse can unseal alchemy, but how was the magic of alchemy sealed in the first place? There is a lot of frankly esoteric knowledge behind Psynergy and Alchemy. golden sunAnd the wealth of writing on these topics asks players a lot.

2 Xenoblade Chronicles

Build incredibly dense knowledge and worldview

Xenoblade Chronicles builds a tremendous amount of lore and world-building across its three main entries, and the incredibly novel nature of this setting in particular has made the game a hit among legions of JRPG enthusiasts. Throughout the series, every game has something to love, but this dense narrative has many complex stories within it.

The deaths of Bionis and Mechonis and how these two gods shaped the world. Xenoblade ChroniclesAnd the essence of the legendary Monado sword has all expanded in very interesting, yet ambiguous directions. Xenoblade The universe has seriously accumulated profound knowledge during its lifetime.

1 The Legend of Zelda

A timeline of epic proportions.

Since 1986, The Legend of Zelda This series has become very popular with Nintendo fans around the world. A sense of adventure and exploration combined with a high-stakes high fantasy story was the perfect recipe for a watershed title across all platforms. In almost every game, there is no shortage of difficult dungeons or beautiful worlds for players to explore.

The games have a habit of non-linear releases, with some entries having a timeline that separates Link's identity as an adult, while others have timelines where he is a child and he is the defeated hero. Nintendo won't reveal where new open-world releases fit into this complicated timeline, and revisiting new remake titles will only add another layer of confusion to the mix.