Nintendo has never been known for its horror games, and on the contrary, has always been known for being family-friendly. But throughout the years, quite a few great horror classics have made their way onto Nintendo consoles, with several exclusives that cannot be found anywhere else still to this day.
Looking at the Switch, Nintendo’s most recent home console has had more horror titles than any other console before it, with an impressive selection of both old and new games. But instead of looking at the wide array of 3rd party games available on the hybrid console, today’s list will instead be focused on games that started as–and continue to remain–exclusive to Nintendo consoles since their inception.
The Nintendo GameCube actually has quite a few great survival horror titles available for it. Both Resident Evil Remake and Resident Evil 0 originally launched as exclusives for the system and, up until a few years ago when they were HD remastered, remained so. One game that still remains exclusive to this day, however, is Luigi’s Mansion, which in many ways feels like a kid-friendly version of Capcom’s titular survival horror series. Starring the green plumber, Luigi’s Mansion takes place in a haunted mansion, where Mario’s younger brother must utilize the Poltergust 5000 in order to suck up boos Ghost Busters-style.
Like most of Nintendo’s first party titles, the game oozes charm and creativity at every corner with fun gameplay combined with some spooky atmosphere that borrows heavily from classic survival horror games. The title was ported over to the Nintendo 3DS about two years ago,with some added features, but the GameCube version arguably remains superior in some ways.
The PlayStation 2 has often been dubbed as the go-to console for survival horror, and it’s easy to see why. The console features an impressive line-up of classic titles, from Silent Hill to the lesser known Siren and Haunting Ground. But many horror fans often forget that one of the arguably greatest horror titles of all time is actually available exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube: Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. Developed by Silicon Knights, Eternal Darkness features a Sanity meter, a feature so unique that Nintendo went so far as to patent it. Upon losing their “sanity,” the player starts experiencing more and more frightening effects through the course of the game, sometimes even breaking the fourth wall.
Even outside of its sanity effects, Eternal Darkness is a fantastic game. From its extremely ambitious story spanning over a thousand years and a dozen playable characters to its terrifying atmosphere, Eternal Darkness is a masterpiece and earns its spot as one of the greatest psychological horror games of all time, right up there with Silent Hill 2 and Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Recently rumored to be brought back in some shape or form for the Switch, fans can only hope that Nintendo has something new in store for this rare horror gem.
Fatal Frame, a series that originally started off on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, became an exclusive Nintendo franchise when the Japanese company acquired full rights to the series in 2012. But upon the acquisition of the series, Nintendo seemed hesitant in releasing the games on any of its consoles outside of Japan, with Fatal Frame 4 releasing on the Wii, but exclusively in the PAL region. Luckily for North American fans, the series’ fifth installment made its way onto Wii U consoles in 2014. Fatal Frame: Maiden of the Black Water sets itself apart from the rest of the franchise by making excellent use of the Wii U gamepad, with the player holding it up in front of the television screen by using it as the camera obscura. The game plays great, and can be extremely scary at times.
Releasing exclusively for the Wii U has been both a blessing and a curse for Maiden of the Black Water. On one hand, the game utilizes the gamepad well and actually feels like it enhances the gameplay, but on the other hand it makes the game very unlikely to ever get ported to the Switch. Because of this, the game will likely fade into obscurity and is unlikely to get played by many fans of the genre. Here’s hoping that a sixth installment is in the works for the Switch.
While most horror fans cite classic games like the original Resident Evil as being the grandfather of the survival horror genre, Clock Tower actually came first, one year prior. Clock Tower has no combat of any kind, and it features extremely limited point-and-click gameplay. The Super Famicom also holds the game back by having fairly basic graphics, but none of these set backs stop Clock Tower from being an excellent survival horror game.
Starring an orphaned girl named Jennifer, the player wanders a mansion, attempting to escape from the clutches of the Scissorman, a killer that utilizes a giant pair of scissors. In many ways, the game’s rudimentary graphics and gameplay enhance the title by making the player feel more helpless and less in-control of Jennifer. The game features multiple endings (eight in total), which was very uncommon back in the day of its release. Clock Tower spawned several sequels, a remake for PS1, and even inspired new horror games like the recent Remothered series; however, the original Super Famicom game was never re-released in any form and remains an exclusive.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 improves upon the original in many ways, and is a truly thrilling experience from start to finish. It’s true that it’s not technically “horror,” but the game’s relatively spooky atmosphere makes it perfect for playing during Halloween season with family. This is especially true given its addition of an optional second player with Gooigi’s introduction makes the game all the more fun.
All of these titles remain exclusively available on Nintendo consoles to this day, with plenty of other third party horror games also available across all Nintendo platforms. With Halloween quickly approaching, these games should be the perfect fix for Nintendo console owners.
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