Just as comics have the dynamic duo Batman and Robin, games feature pairs such as Mario and Luigi, Sonic and Tails, and, of course, Pokémon Trainers and the Pokémon themselves. But have you ever imagined these characters taking top billing in games and enjoying adventures of their own as the great stars they are? Well, it happened! Many times, in fact, and those are the games I will discuss in this article.
Tails Adventure
Let us begin with Tails, the incredible immortal fox friend, inventor, and technologist from the Sonic series.
Tails is highly skilled at building and repairing mechanical devices. This is demonstrated often in the 3D-era games, but it was an almost hidden detail in the classic Mega Drive titles, to the point that it was really explored only in the game manuals.
Almost a SEGA metroidvania.
The thing is, this inspired SEGA, which ended up creating a game of Tails' own for its Game Gear handheld. This is a major exploration game with many wild challenges to tackle and many areas to revisit across a large, highly interconnected island map. The story takes place between the main games, and here Tails does not use the spin jump but rather his inventions, ranging from bomb attacks to remote-controlled bomb carts (in fact, he uses a lot of bombs in this game). There are also intense flying moments and many sequences in which we use vehicles such as submarines. It is an interesting game. It could get a new installment today, and I still find myself lamenting that SEGA did not release this game for the Mega Drive. Imagine how fantastic that would have been.
Knuckles' Chaotix
The little red guy was not forgotten either. He got his own game, though in a truly classic style, where Knuckles joins a team called the Chaotix to once again stop Dr. Eggman from stealing the Chaos objects, which in this case are Chaos Rings.
It is a Sonic game, just without Sonic.
The honest truth is that this game is more of the same. It has excellent graphics that use the 32X's capabilities, but it was not good enough to remain memorable. The detail of entering stages through a kind of roulette wheel suggests that the game was made in a hurry or simply released without applying new ideas.
But it is not entirely bad. It is fun to play, even if you have never heard of it.
Luigi's Mansion
This game is controversial, mainly because of an accusation that it stole gameplay concepts.
Here, Luigi ends up inside a mansion while searching for his missing brother. Inside, he encounters a bunch of ghosts, and do you know how he handles them? Simple: by using a "vacuum" weapon to suck up the ghosts.
Now, in the Nintendo 3DS port, we can play the campaign cooperatively with a green copy of "Green Mario."
Despite the clear Ghostbusters reference, the game is very competent, especially as a dynamic way to play a "Mario" game.
The game even received a very good sequel on Nintendo 3DS, and a third game has already been announced for Nintendo Switch. So we can already get excited, right?
Super Princess Peach
Yes, this is a role-reversal game. For anyone who believes Nintendo does not innovate, here it shows that it can go too far.
Believe it: this game manages to be good.
The game's premise is simple: Mario has been kidnapped, and this time she needs to save him, which is where things get interesting. Peach is accompanied by a magical umbrella that she uses to attack and interact with the environment. It is used extensively to solve puzzles and rescue Toads, but the best is yet to come: Peach is highly emotional in this game, so much so that she has special abilities that vary with her mood—anger, sadness, passion, and joy—each with different effects. Anger, for example, covers Peach in fire and makes her nearly invincible.
Wario Ware
This game is a classic in its own right. Its pace is difficult for any other game to match. The franchise centers on a variety of characters from Wario's universe who face adverse situations, and to solve their problems, we complete small rhythm minigames.
This game is especially unique because of the wide variety of gameplay styles available across Nintendo's consoles and handhelds.
This game manages to be the largest collection of minigames in a franchise, surpassing even Mario Party.
When it first appeared on the Game Boy Advance, the idea was simply to input the right command or act on impulse with the buttons. But since the Nintendo DS, Wii, and Wii U, we have seen the gameplay change through the use of an accelerometer, motion sensor, the Wii U's asynchronous screen, and so on. The experience is far too unique to be compared with other minigame collections in the genre. I highly recommend it.
Pokémon Dash
There is a legend in gaming that every successful brand and character must get a racing game. It has happened to Sonic, Mega Man, Crash, Mario... But did you know it has also happened to Pokémon?
This was one of the first games I discovered on Nintendo DS. It is basically a racing game that uses touches on the screen to run and steer the Pokémon. Very simple.
What if Pokémon Dash were released for mobile phones today?
The gameplay is quite varied. At certain points in a race, you need to grab balloons and fly from island to island. Next, we need to pop balloons and tap the screen successfully to ensure the Pokémon lands safely. It is absolutely wild, which is why I say it takes a long time to get used to playing. It would be a good game to port to today's mobile phones, and we know it would be successful.
Honorable mentions:
Diddy Kong Racing
We know Donkey Kong is a supporting star who emerged from Mario's world, but he also has his own partner, and Diddy managed to star in a racing game that can be better than Mario Kart on a Nintendo console.
Many consider it better than Mario Kart.
The game is quite bold: you race on the ground, fly in airplanes, and travel over water as well. There is also a story mode for people who are "Forever Alone" like me.
I know there are other characters who received games of their own, and perhaps I will make a part two in the future. Before that, however, I am leaving the comments open for you to say which of these games you enjoyed most.
