Gaming is known for having space games like Halo, Mass Effect, and Deadspace that feature alien races. There is a lot of creativity that goes into games set in space but sometimes it’s even more fun to look at games that don’t travel to space for their setting. When you think of Nintendo, you don’t generally see yourself playing a gritty space game where aliens are threatening the earth. Nevertheless, Nintendo has, whether people notice or not, created some fantastic alien tales in its franchises. Let’s take a look at the invaders in a few of the Nintendo franchises we love!
1. Zelda Majora’s Mask
When playing Majora’s Mask you have to go to Romani Ranch to retrieve your kidnapped horse at the game’s mid-point. Here you will meet a young girl named Romani who is practicing shooting weird balloons with her bow. You soon find out from her that aliens keep stealing their cows and she asks you to meet her in the barn at midnight to help save the ranch. If you meet her you will be thrown into an alien killing game until dawn to defend the ranch from being raided by the creepy visitors. If you refuse or fail however, you will return to find cows missing and Romani seemingly drunk, dazed, and confused the next morning.
Source:Google images-Meeting Romani for the first time
2. Pokémon
If you are an older fan of the Pokémon series you may have gotten to watch the old anime, too. In the anime (and some references in Blue/Red/Yellow/Green as well as Sapphire/Ruby/Emerald) you are told that certain pokémon didn’t always live on earth. When Ash gets to Mt. Moon in the anime he is told by a scientist that Clefairy are aliens; then in a later episode he actually encounters Clefairy that have been stealing items to build a spaceship that will take them home. In the game there are the mysterious, other-worldly moon stones, and in the 3rd generation it’s revealed that Deoxys is in fact an alien that crashed into the earth.
3. Paper Mario Thousand Year Door
X-nauts and Lord Crump are the main enemies in the second Paper Mario game. They live in a fortress on the moon and even kidnap Princess Peach and keep her locked up there. These little guys run around blindly loyal to their overlord Crump, and they pick several fights with Mario to no avail. There is even an in-game TV series based on the X-nauts titled Starship X-naut and a tv show with a heartbroken X-naut called The Grodus Chronicles. What do they want you ask? DOMINATION OF MUSHROOM KINGDOM OF COURSE!
Source: official map-The Island in Hoenn where the space center operates.
4. Metroid
One of the most known flagship females in gaming is alien hunter Samus Aran who was born on the alien planet K-2L. In all of the Metroid games, Samus hunts down and destroys alien threats with her various weapons. She travels via her ship to different locations in the galaxy to fight bizarre creatures to earn a living. The most notable alien is the Metroid itself which sucks the life out of anything its creepy little jelly-like self can get its hooks on. There also is a space pterodactyl named Ridley, which is pretty sweet in and of itself.
5. Kirby
Everyone knows how cute Kirby is: he’s pink and super chubby! But most people assume he’s just in a fantasy world when in reality he is an ALIEN! Kirby is actually from a race of star warriors (according to the anime) and lives on planet Pop-Star with his friends. His vehicle of choice is even a shooting star that goes at speeds of a race car. In the game Kirby 64, he travels to different worlds to defeat an invasion of evil alien creatures and save his home and friends from being swallowed into darkness.
Source: smash Boards- Samus with her laser pistol/
There are also a lot more little references in Nintendo games like the U.F.O Gulliver ends up with in the Animal Crossing games. Nintendo loves filling its games with neat little easter eggs and surprises for you to interact with. There are also debates as to some characters’ human origins, which can be pretty fun to look into in your free time. Also, if you want a cute space-themed game, be sure to check out Pikmin and Super Mario Galaxy for some adorable fun!
What’s your favorite Nintendo themed alien event? Let us know in the comments below or on your favorite social media site!
Xenoblade is what first comes to mind for me. While it took me 100+ hours to beat and some grinding, it was a great game.