With only a few days now left in the year, the book is about to be closed on 2011 – one of the biggest anniversary years Nintendo's ever had. This past span of 12 months has lined up with more major milestones for more big Nintendo brands and products than any previous year, and we've celebrated each and every one of them as they've come along. Now, in case you missed any of our coverage, here's a quick and easy second chance to check out the best of our 2011 anniversary articles.

First up, the 10-year mark – these are the big games and products that first went on sale back in the year 2001, so they all hit double digits in their ages throughout 2011. Nintendo had a major console launch that year with the GameCube, so our anniversary coverage focused on it – along with the best games from its launch lineup, including Cube classics Luigi's Mansion and Super Smash Bros. Melee. The Game Boy Advance also turned 10 this year, but we didn't have to just look to the past to appreciate it - since several of its best games were re-released this year as free downloads for 3DS owners.

- The Final Days of the N64
- Before the GameCube Arrived
- IGN's GameCube Launch Memories
- The 10-Year Mortgage on Luigi's Mansion
- Remembering Star Wars Rogue Squadron II
- Remembering Wave Race: Blue Storm
- Remembering Pikmin
- Super Smash Bros. Melee - The Perfect Launch Title
- We Demand Game Boy Advance Games on the 3DS eShop
- Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors, Behold Your 10 GBA Games



Stepping back five years further into the past we find good old 1996, the year that Nintendo launched its third home console - the Nintendo 64. Its 15th anniversary this past September inspired us to wax nostalgic about the greatness of Super Mario 64 and the system itself, while a couple of classic N64 titles from 1997 and 1998 also brought back memories of the machine when they got new remakes on the 3DS - Star Fox 64 3D and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D:

- Nintendo 64: Launching a Legacy
- Returning to the Nintendo 64 Era
- The Genius of Super Mario 64
- Star Fox 64 3D Review
- Star Fox 64: The Past and Present
- Why Star Fox 64 Needs a Sequel
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D Review
- Ocarina of Time: Remaking a Masterpiece
- The Final Days of the N64



Flipping back yet further into Nintendo's history brought us back to 1991, when Nintendo launched its second home console. (They were pretty locked on that five-year rotation for awhile, you see, which is how 2011 ended up having the planets align with so many big anniversaries.) We took some time to celebrate the Super Nintendo Entertainment System turning 20 years old with perhaps the biggest feature given to any of the anniversaries this year, a full Top 100 countdown of the system's greatest games. (Among several other articles, of course.)

- The Top 100 Super Nintendo Games
- Happy 20th Birthday, Super Famicom!
- Super Mario World vs. Super Mario Bros. 3
- When Metroid Went Super
- Why the SNES is the King of RPGs
- SNES Games to Revisit, Remake and Reimagine
- Yoshi: Evolution of a Dinosaur



Turning back the clock to 1986 finally hits a year when Nintendo didn't launch a new piece of hardware, as the 8-bit NES had debuted in America in late 1985 -- but the rollout of new
franchises on that industry-reviving mid-'80s machine did fuel two big anniversaries this year. The Legend of Zelda's 25th anniversary made news all year long with tons of different game releases and special events put on by Nintendo, while the Metroid series flew in under the radar with a 25th birthday that only seemed to be celebrated by the fans (with little to no fanfare from Nintendo itself.)

- Hyrule's Most Wanted
- The Legend of Zelda's 25th Anniversary
- What's Been Lost in The Legend of Zelda
- Zelda's 25th Anniversary Inspires Announcements
- The Zelda Symphony Concert Series Kick Off
- Aonuma Never Beat The Original Zelda
- Nintendo Releasing Incredible Zelda Artbook
- An Epic Year for The Legend of Zelda
- In Honor of Metroid's 25th Anniversary
- The Best of Metroid
- Why Metroid Worked
- What Metroid Did for Women in Gaming
- Six Things You Didn't Know About Samus Aran



Last of all is the 30-year mark, a lofty age reached this year by two of Nintendo's biggest names - Mario and Donkey Kong. Most of Mario's fanfare came around late last year, when the first Super Mario Bros. game turned 25. But Mario himself had been around for years before that, debuting in 1981 as Jumpman in the original Donkey Kong arcade game. We had a bit of love to show for both gaming's jumpiest plumber and grinningest ape throughout 2011:

- The Many Faces of Donkey Kong
- 10 Things You Didn't Know about Donkey Kong Country Returns
- Which Kong is King?
- Donkey Kong 3DS Virtual Console Review
- The Graphic Evolution of Mario
- A Visual Timeline of Mario Games




And that's all! Hope your 2011 is winding down well, and make sure you jump back online to check out everything we here at IGN have planned for you in 2012. It's going to be another great year for Nintendo fans!

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