Do You NintenKnow: A Monthly Nintendo Trivia Series

Below is a set of clues for games that have a notable US release date anniversary (5, 10, 15, etc.) in the current month. See if you can figure out the title before clicking on the blurred image to find out if you were correct! Head down to the comments when you’re finished and reminisce about the personal memories that were dredged up. Remember that these are going by the release date in the United States. Have fun!

May 1987

The debut NES game in a long-running series where you fight your way through stages of enemies using both your main weapon and sub-weapons. Movie monsters make appearances as bosses. Interestingly, hearts don’t regain health…you need to search the walls for that!

May 1997

Really a collection of 4 games in 1, this Game Boy title is the first in a series that looks back on Nintendo’s handheld video game history. The games are available in their original form along with updated versions featuring characters from the Mario games.

May 2002

This GameCube RPG centers around the princess, Katia, as she tries to rid the land of an all-consuming black fog. The gameplay features card-based battles fought in real-time. Developed by an anonymous, unknown studio named FromSoftware.

A spin-off of the second game in the series, this GBA title acts as a prequel to the entire series. The development team would eventually be absorbed by Square and create Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, so you can guess what type of game this is. The name is something like “Strategy Shrek”.

May 2007

The first game in the series for DS sees you utilizing the system to its fullest capacity by exploring and mapping a mysterious dungeon in first-person view. Use the stylus along with pre-made symbols to fill in your map. Yuzo Koshiro is the composer which is always a nice bonus.

The family-friendly Wii got a port of this game in the brutally violent series which featured the ability to create your own “finishers”. The Wii version of the game did not feature online, unfortunately. Besides the usual fighting action, there was a kart racing minigame featuring a deformed, cartoonish style of the classic characters. Toasty!

May 2012

Make a racket with the Mushroom Kingdom friends on this 3DS title. Mii characters are available to use and feature customizable skills depending on their gear. This is also the first title in the series to feature simultaneous online play.

May 2017

A remake of the second game in the series, this 3DS title features the usual tactical action along with dungeon crawling elements. Gone, however, are the weapon triangle and marriage system that had become part of the series since the original game did not contain them. Sorry, weebs.

Bonus

Since this is the first month, this is a cheat to get a few more questions in that already had their anniversaries.

Still debated as maybe the best game in the entire series, this legendary SNES title returned to the style of the original game and established many series staples including items, music, and the most recognizable weapon. The pink hair didn’t continue, however. Released in April 1992.

This character made its debut on the Game Boy in April 1992. It only had a few of the powers that would eventually be gained as the series continued. In contrast to the first bonus question, this character actually turned pink in future titles. Maybe there’s a correlation??