Top Mario and Zelda Titles Highlight Fan-Favorites Which Nintendo Quietly Pulled the Plug On

Published 07/24/2022, 12:59 PM EDT

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Nintendo has made both amazing games and amazing childhoods for their fans. This love towards their customers is immeasurable. However, sometimes the company takes away some precious memories by haphazardly closing down units. This compares to nothing when the company chose to shut down well-made and enjoyable fan remakes of their games.

There are a number of fan remakes in the market for almost every game, but Nintendo is not one of them. The company literally abolishes any or all fan remakes just to maintain its market value. Here is a list of such fan-made games that Nintendo chose to shut down.

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1. PokeNet

This was a 2009 fan remake of the classic Pokemon Global and Pokemon Online, but with additional MMO features. The game allowed players to connect on the internet and share Pokemon as well as conduct online tournaments. The main feature that attracted a lot of players was the chatting system that was integrated into the game. It allowed players from different localities to connect on one game over the LAN and have some fun time. The game was developed by a team of programmers, mappers, musicians, writers, and graphic artists from around the world.

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Unfortunately, Nintendo decided to shut the game down in order to save its public image. As many fans got upset, Nintendo made it clear that making any second copy of their games might land the creators into trouble. Over the course of years, Nintendo even sent a number of DMCA notices to other creators to shut down remakes. Although Pokemonium was released by the same developers a few years later, there is no sign of the game whatsoever now.

2. Super Mario 64 HD

Mario has some of the most fan remakes in gaming history. Mostly because of its simple gameplay and easy-to-understand mechanics. Super Mario 64 HD was also the same for its developers. Their love for the original Super Mario 64 was enough for them to try and make a fan remake of the game. With its smooth graphics and crisp mechanism, Super Mario 64 HD very soon became popular among fans.

But Nintendo was totally against the idea and a few months after its release, it got the game shut down for good. This was neither their first Mario fan game to get shut nor the last. Games like No Mario’s Sky, Super Mario Bros. Commodore 64 Port, and Dreams – Mario Assets are some of them.

3. Zelda 30 Tribute

A fan remake of the original Legend of Zelda on its 30 years of completion, Zelda 30 Tribute, was one of the games that fans got really upset about when Nintendo banned it. Especially because of how popular the game became just after the days of its initial release.

The game got support from Legend of Zelda fans as they thought it was one of the nicest ways to give tribute to their favorite game. But neither did Nintendo celebrate the anniversary, nor did they let fans indulge in the fun.

The game was banned within weeks of its release. But surprisingly the game was too popular to get banned and thus it was made available to fans on a separate fan-made website. It is still available for fans to play today.

4. AM2R

Another Metroid Remake 2 or famously known as AM2R was one of the saddest cases of them all. The game was one of the best remakes of the classic Gameboy Metroid and was considered an original remake by many fans. The game was a polished and crisp upgrade of the original Metroid and was an instant hit. Many fans played the game for hours without even realizing that the game was made by a fan.

But then Nintendo laid its eyes on the game and soon it was banned for good. The company got a lot of backlash from fans and to make matters worst Nintendo launched a sequel of their own. Surprisingly though the sequel became an instant hit but left a scar in the hearts of many. Although, the fan remake was so popular that even after the ban many recovered the copies and uploaded them online. Players can still find the game on the internet.

5. Zelda Maker

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A classic remake of the Mario Maker, Zelda Maker was a one-of-a-kind thing. Just like its original inspiration, Zelda Maker was a fan remake of sprite base building and terraforming type of game. It was popular among many young fans as the game allowed them to design their own maps and stages while also completing the missions on hand. It was so popular that Nintendo had to send a notice to the creators to stop it from further downloads.

But the creators took another route instead. They changed the sprites and the music to make it into a totally different game. They even changed the names of the characters and renamed the game to ‘Runiya‘, while turning it from a fan remake to a Zelda-inspired game. After this Nintendo had no option but to leave the game alone. The game is still available on the internet and can be enjoyed by players.

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What do you think about the list? Suggest us more such games down in the comments below.

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Written by:

Shivaditya Ghoshal

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Shivaditya Ghoshal is an eSports writer at EssentiallySports. He holds a Bachelor's in Computer Applications and is currently pursuing his Master’s in Commerce from Lucknow. He has a passion for video games and follows all the latest releases and trends in the industry.
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Edited by:

Manaal Siddiqui