The best Rockstar games available on Nintendo consoles

Rockstar games is best known for its Big Theft Auto series, though the Take-Two subsidiary has plenty of other great titles to its name. Sadly, most of these never made it to Nintendo consoles due to how subpar some of the more recent titles were, but there are one or two notable exceptions.

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The best Rockstar games on Nintendo consoles tend to be Switch ports of classic games released decades after the originals. However, there are also a handful of less demanding Rockstar titles that were available on previous Nintendo platforms, including the Wii, DS, and even the Nintendo 64.

7 Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

An exceptionally rare example of a well-executed handheld spin-off

Most consider Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars the best handheld is GTA game of all time, at least when it comes to titles developed with portable devices in mind. Released in early 2009 for the Nintendo DS, it sees players take control of Huang Lee, a Triad member trying to reclaim his father’s stolen sword. The gameplay is solid throughout and the story is fantastic, although the visuals aren’t quite as good as some of the other great Rockstar games that have made it to Nintendo consoles.

6 Silicon Valley Space Station

An out-of-the-box strangeness with unique game mechanics

Silicon Valley Space Station

Systems

Developer

DMA design

Published

October 1, 1998

Strictly speaking, Silicon Valley Space Station was developed by DMA Design, the studio responsible for the very first GTA game. However, when DMA Design eventually merged with Rockstar (which was formed after Take-Two Interactive GTA's publisher, BMG Interactive), it seems fair to call it a Rockstar game. Released in 1998 for the N64, this futuristic platformer had players controlling an intelligent microchip and using it to hijack a series of robotic animals to solve puzzles and prevent the untitled space station from colliding with Earth. It's a hugely underrated Rockstar game, and one that's still worth checking out today; if only for how unusual it is.

5 LA Black

A groundbreaking detective game with ultra-modern graphics

The motion capture technology used during the development of LA Black was groundbreaking for its time, leading to some of the most realistic facial expressions in video games on the market. Unfortunately, the graphics looked a little dated when the game came to the Nintendo Switch over half a decade later, and the gameplay didn’t fare much better. Fortunately, the story and writing hold up well, as do the many cases and investigations that players must solve.

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4 Rockstar Games presents table tennis

A surprisingly good sports simulation with impeccable ball physics

Rockstar Games presents table tennis

Systems

Developer(s)

Rockstar San Diego, Rockstar Leeds

Published

May 23, 2006

Quite a few eyebrows were raised when it was announced that Rockstar San Diego would be developing a table tennis game. What should have been a fairly dull affair on paper, however, turned out to be one of the best sports simulation games of its time, with the title's advanced physics and fast-paced gameplay proving to be a hit with many players. Like many other Rockstar games, it also has an excellent soundtrack, perfect for those long rallies against fierce rivals.

3 Bully

A controversial classic that still stands the test of time

Bully was the very first release from Rockstar Vancouver, which was founded after Take-Two Interactive acquired Barking Dog in 2002. The game was built using the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas engine and lets players wreak havoc in an open-world sandbox, though that's mostly where the similarities between it and Rockstar's flagship franchise end. Players take on the role of Jimmy Hopkins: a delinquent high school student struggling to fit in at the prestigious Bullworth Academy. It features some innovative ideas and a fairly enjoyable story, even if some of the minigames players are forced to participate in feel a little lacking.

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2 Red Death Salvation

A bittersweet taste of the Wild West

Some players were a little disappointed with the amount of effort Rockstar put into the PS4 port Red Death Salvation. For hardcore Nintendo fans who missed out on the original release, the Switch port wasn’t all that bad, despite the high price tag and low framerate. The game itself remains one of the best open-world games of all time, transporting players back to 1911 and the decline of the American frontier. It’s aged well, all things considered, and can still be a lot of fun to this day. That said, those coming straight from the game’s 2018 prequel may need some time to get used to it, as there’s a noticeable difference in quality between the two titles.

1 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition

Three influential works of art for the bargain price of one

Given that Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is essentially three games in one, it already has a pretty significant advantage over any other Rockstar game playable on Nintendo consoles. The fact that those games happen to be three of the most influential open-world games ever certainly helps, too. Whether or not these truly are the “definitive” editions of the 3D trilogy is certainly debatable, but it would be nearly impossible to argue that these fan-favorite titles aren’t still a lot of fun to play.

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