Nintendo R&D2

Nintendo R&D2 at a Glance

Nintendo R&D2 was a Japanese development team founded in 1970 that operated until 2003. They are responsible for creating 16 titles on PlayPile, serving as the developer for every single entry while never taking credit as a publisher. The group worked across a wide variety of platforms, with their output heavily skewed toward handheld systems. Six games appeared on the Game Boy Advance and four on the Wii U, while they also released three titles each for Arcade machines and the Satellaview. Their reach extended to older hardware like the Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System as well. The team covered many genres but focused primarily on platformers, which accounted for eight of their projects. They also developed four arcade games, four adventure titles, and smaller numbers of sports, puzzle, shooter, racing, role-playing, strategy, and turn-based strategy games. Their production was steady over time with two games in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, six in the 1990s, and six in the 2000s. This timeline shows a period of low activity early on followed by a significant increase in output during their later decades. Quality varies across their catalog. The average rating for nine games tracked on IGDB sits at 70.6 out of 100. Three titles are rated great with scores over 80, five fall into the good range between 60 and 79, and one is mixed. Their highest rated work includes Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 from 2001 which earned a 90/100 score. Other highly rated entries include Yoshi's Island from 2002 at 80.4/100 and Super Mario World from 2001 at 80/100. Radar Mission from 1990 scored 73, and Super Mario Bros. 3 from 2003 received 72.7. Their most recent releases show a similar pattern with Mario Bros. from March 2001 sitting at 60.1. Historical records note that this division often handled system software and technical support. They returned to direct game development in the 1990s where several designers began their careers. The team is perhaps best known for launching the career of Eiji Aonuma who created Marvelous: Another Treasure Island while working there.

Release Timeline

Rating Distribution