Nintendo franchises with the most complicated history

Nintendo is a monolithic company. They have been pioneers in gaming for decades, creating some of the most iconic franchises in the world. Their older consoles are full of classics and the Switch is still growing with a sizable catalog of titles even years after its release.

Most Nintendo titles released today have a fairly straightforward narrative, but given the wide range of franchises and so many games in each, it's no surprise that some Nintendo titles have amassed a significant amount of lore over the years have. The switching between writers, directors, and gameplay philosophies results in some games having worlds that are too complicated to depict, or schedules looking less like schedules and more like ambitious rollercoaster charts. These Nintendo series in particular have a wealth of complicated backstories to keep up with.

5 Fire emblem

How do each game's legendary heroes interact?

The Fire emblem The series is best known for its engaging, iconic characters. Maybe also to oust the SSBU fighter list, but that's an article for another day. However, what really makes the protagonists, their comrades, love interests and enemies shine is the story and setting in which they are involved. Certainly in some titles the characters do the main work, while in others, such as Three housesA complex and captivating narrative keeps players coming back for more.

The complicated nature of Fire emblem lies in the way all of these games interact. EngageDespite being a relatively monotonous story, it managed to open a huge can of worms with the emblem system. manifestations of the past Fire emblem Heroes and protagonists can be recruited into the player's party. These earlier characters have the memories of their original counterparts, but are they illusions? Or ghosts? If all of these games exist on the same world or level, how do these emblems have memories of every possible story route the player could have taken them through? This one feature unfolds the narrow, isolated nature of the other FE games into something vague and complicated that can't really be fixed Engage.

4 Child Icarus

Open stories and lore

For a long time, the popular Nintendo character Pit fell out of favor and remained hidden while other, more successful franchises took center stage at Nintendo. It is still today Child Icarus The series isn't the first that comes to mind when many people think of Nintendo's gallery of heroes, although there are some very solid open-ended games that allow players to pick up the aspiring angel.

Kid Icarus: Uprising was one of the best games for the 3DS, but its open-ended nature has left many fans confused about the nature of Angel World. How strong is Palutena? Is Icarus a source of her strength or just her most trusted angel? How do the aliens get along? Uprising Do you fit into the lore of this world inspired by Greek mythology?

3 Golden sun

A captivating fantasy title that raises many questions

The Golden sun There are entries in the series that are often among the top titles on any console. Whether it's GBA or Nintendo DS, these JRPGs offer the perfect balance between immersive, immersive gameplay and a detailed and intricately written setting that stimulates the imagination. However, the third title in the series raised more than a few questions about the nature of this world Golden sun.

The relationship between many of the magical concepts in this game is unclear. Psynergy, alchemy and the lighthouses they control are integral parts of the game, but how do they interact? The lighthouses can unseal alchemy, but how was the magic of alchemy sealed in the first place? There's a lot of frankly esoteric lore behind psynergy and alchemy Golden sunand the abundance of writings on these topics places great demands on the player.

2 Xenoblade Chronicles

Incredibly dense knowledge and world building

Xenoblade Chronicles has a tremendous amount of lore and worldbuilding spread across the three main entries, and the incredibly novel nature of this setting in particular is what makes this game so popular with so many JRPG enthusiasts. There's something to love in every game in the series, but these dense narratives contain a lot of complicated lore.

The death of Bionis and Mechonis, how these two gods shaped the world Xenoblade Chroniclesand the nature of the legendary Monado sword are all expanded in some very interesting but unclear directions, and the Xenoblade The universe has seriously accumulated some profound lore over its lifetime.

1 The Legend of Zelda

A timeline of massive proportions

Since 1986, The Legend of Zelda is an extremely popular series for Nintendo fans around the world. The sense of adventure and exploration combined with a high-stakes, high-fantasy story was the perfect recipe for turnaround titles across all platforms. Almost every game has no shortage of difficult dungeons or scenic worlds for players to explore.

The game has a habit of non-linear releases and a timeline that splits Link's identity into an adult in some entries, a child in others, and there is also a timeline in which he is a defeated hero. Nintendo doesn't reveal where the more recent open-world releases fit into this convoluted timeline, and retcons on new remake titles just add another layer of confusion.