With the summer holidays around the corner, if you’re not much of a beach-goer and you’d rather relax indoors, then here is a list of games to complete 100%.
Breath Of The Wild
The newest instalment in the ever successful Zelda franchise is truly one to appreciate. The world of Breath of the Wild is enormous and you’ll need plenty of holiday time to explore it to the full. The number of side quests and things to do – I would even try to count them. But I’d love to complete them all. Challenge yourself to collect every weapon and every item of clothing. Who knows what reward will be in store for you?
Pikmin
A charming franchise which differs from the typical Nintendo range, Pikmin combines timed levels as in Mario and open world exploration like Zelda and Yoshi. Take your pick of the three main titles and try to collect every ship part, earthly object or giant fruit – there’s plenty to keep you occupied.
Professor Layton
Agruably one of the best puzzle games to date. With memorable characters and a charming world, this series has six main titles all of which have wonderful story lines. The more puzzles you complete, the more unlockables you get. My personal favourite is ‘The Curious Village’.
Super Mario Sunshine
The main Mario 3D platformer for the Nintendo GameCube (all those years ago), this game was not what fans had expected and as a result received mixed reviews. To me though, it was as fun, bright and sunny as the game’s tropical setting leads you to expect. With 120 shine sprites to collect, it’s not the most rewarding experience but totally satisfying to know you’ve done it.
Super Mario 64
The 3D platformer of 3D platformers. The game that set the standards for all 3D games, this classic is such that if you haven’t completed yet, you’ve got to try it out now. This title also has 120 stars to collect and (spoiler alert) a somewhat useless reward; but also a much-loved cameo as well. For me, the red coin hunts were the most difficult, but all the more satisfying to win.
Yoshi’s Island
An SNES classic, this game is the opposite of a typical Mario game but with familiar faces. It has unlimited time and puts emphasis on exploration and collectathons. The game’s charming art style aged well and with solid gameplay and controls, this is one to give a shot at completing 100%. Collect five flowers, 20 red coins and 20 stars in each level to achieve full bragging rights. I recommend the Gameboy port of this title as it has slightly improved graphics and throws in a few extra levels for you to have a go at.
Super Mario 3D World
The home console successor to the popular 3DS title Super Mario 3D Land, the Wii U sequel is an enormous game with over 90 levels to play through and the completionist quest is not to be trifled with. There are four characters to choose from right off the bat (spoiler alert: plus one extra unlockable character). Each level is considered fully complete only when all of the three green stars have been collected, every character has completed and at least one character has hit the top of the end flag pole. The game rewards you when completing a certain section of this quest and there would be some serious bragging if you can say you’ve done it all.
Paper Mario Color Splash
The widely welcomed sequel to Sticker Star, this Wii U title was one of the last titles for the console, and it turned out to be better, cleaner and funnier than the rest. A fun little game with a wonderful world built into it.
Cooking Mama
Out of line with with my other nominations but especially fitting for less experienced gamers. This adorable game has quite a few instalments, mainly on Nintendo’s hand helds but also on some home consoles. You complete by finishing to a gold standard the mini-game for each recipe. Real world cooking was never so much fun.
Yoshi’s Woolly World
This 2016 title was long awaited by Yoshi fans – a full 20 years on from ‘Yoshi’s Story’ for the Nintendo 64. This game is as brilliant as it is beautiful. It is a massive collectathon with accurate controls worth-it rewards. Without the completionist quest the game isn’t the most difficult, but going the whole distance is much more challenging…and rewarding.
