10 Nintendo Games That Took FOREVER to Come Out

10 Nintendo Games That Took Forever to Come Out

Nintendo tends to give its developers plenty of time to work, and these games are the proof. Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at Nintendo games that went through long development periods before finally releasing.

“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (2017)

The “Zelda” series is no stranger to delays, but the wait for “Breath of the Wild” was one of its longer ones. Development began directly after “Skyward Sword” was released in 2011. The team already intended to make something that challenged the traditional conventions of “Zelda.” And things like that take a while. It was first announced at E3 2013, with an in-depth look coming the following year, and a release date of 2015. Unfortunately, it would be delayed twice, once because the scale behind the team’s ideas grew, and once due to problems with the physics engine. It didn’t hit store shelves until 2017, alongside the Switch. Since this promised new ground for the series, the four-year wait felt especially long. Although, as we’ll see, some franchises have it far worse.

“Bayonetta 3” (2022)

“Bayonetta 2” proved that the franchise was in good publishing hands, so excitement for “Bayonetta 3” was through the roof. The game was announced with a very brief teaser at the 2017 Game Awards. But development would be a struggle. Platinum originally went big, toying with a semi-open world, before scaling back to something more linear. Updates were scarce, until a September 2021 Direct, when we finally got a good look at the game. From there, the wait wasn’t much longer; we got one more trailer in 2022, before the game launched that October after around five years of development. Although it didn’t reach the peaks of its predecessors, it was still good to see it release.

“Animal Crossing: New Horizons” (2020)

Although the public wasn’t aware of “New Horizons” until two years before it came out, it was actually in development for much longer. According to the game’s director, Aya Kyogoku, work began in 2012, soon after the Japanese release of the 3DS’ “New Leaf.” That game was a pretty big hit, so coming up with new ideas to make the core loop just different enough to please old fans and newcomers, many of which it would turn out to have, took time. The game was announced during a 2018 Nintendo Direct, with a release planned for 2019. But it was delayed until March of 2020 in order to avoid crunch. It turned out to be the perfect game at the worst time, with many players flocking to it during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Metroid Prime 4: Beyond” (2025)

The “Metroid” series wasn’t in a great place in 2017, which is why it was so exciting to hear of “Prime 4’s” announcement at that year’s E3. Development had started the year before, with Bandai Namco in charge instead of original trilogy developer, Retro Studios. Of course, that didn’t last long. In early 2019, Nintendo announced development had started over, with Bandai Namco out and Retro back in. After that, it seemed Nintendo learned its lesson about announcing anything until it was more complete. “Metroid Prime 4” was absent from every event until 2024, when a trailer at last gave us a look at the new game. Nintendo was more forthcoming with trailers and gameplay leading up to its release in late 2025, nine years after development had started.

“Kirby’s Return to Dream Land” (2011)

After “Kirby 64” was released in 2000, Nintendo mostly kept the series on handheld outside of the non-traditional “Epic Yarn” on Wii in 2010. There’s a good reason for that. A new console game entered development in 2000. While the franchise thrived on Game Boy Advance and the DS, this went through three different iterations that were all scrapped. One, which was shown off at E3 2005, was similar to “Kirby 64” but featured multiplayer, and was canceled when that proved too difficult to implement. It then became a 3D adventure, then a side scroller with a different art style. After this third version was canceled in early 2010, development restarted once more, when things finally began to stick. It started as a solo platformer, before Nintendo revived the multiplayer angle of the game’s original incarnation. “Return to Dream Land” released in 2011, eleven years after development began.

“Pikmin 4” (2023)

The development of “Pikmin 4” is a little bit shady. In 2015, Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed it was coming, and “very close to completion.” He stated it was still in development the following two years. But unless he was referring to the 3DS spin-off “Hey! Pikmin,” which was released in 2017, his assurance that the game was close to done was premature by quite a lot. With no concrete information, a lot of people gave up on it ever releasing. We didn’t get a definitive confirmation until 2022, when Nintendo finally revealed it. It was released the next year to strong reviews, a supposed eight years after Miyamoto first mentioned it.

“Tomodochi Life: Living the Dream” (2026)

The first “Tomodachi Life” was a big hit, becoming one of the 3DS’ best-selling games. So, the prospect of how else you could customize a life full of silly Miis was one Nintendo clearly wanted to follow. A sequel entered development in 2017, with the Switch bringing far fewer limitations when it came to the game’s scale. The team wanted to focus on user-generated content, and how it could be included in different ways. Because they kept coming up with different ways for the Miis to use your creations and your phrases, this complex social web hidden underneath the simple visual style took up a huge chunk of development time. “Living the Dream” was announced in 2025 and released the next year, nine years after it entered development.

“Star Fox 2” (2017)

The way the original “Star Fox” replicated a 3D perspective was quite impressive in 1993. But with actual 3D gaming on the rise just a couple of years later, Nintendo was worried that its sequel might not seem so great. Despite the game being nearly complete and set to release in August of 1995, Nintendo chose to shelve it. It wasn’t until over two decades later that “Star Fox 2” saw the light of day. Nintendo released the Super NES Classic Edition in 2017 with 21 built-in games, including “Star Fox 2” for the first time. Although it wasn’t something many were clamoring for, it was still very cool to see the game get released, despite obviously being pretty dated.

“Mother 3” (2006)

Of the Nintendo games that have only seen a Japan release, “Mother 3” is by far the most commonly requested to get an official translation. Yet even in Japan, it took a while to come out. It first entered development in 1994, the same year the second game, “Earthbound,” was released. Work started on the Super Famicom, before the rise of 3D caused it to switch to the Nintendo 64. It swapped again to the 64DD, the Japan-only disc-based peripheral that famously bombed, which then caused development to switch back to the base console. Fans got their first look at it in 1999, when it was called “EarthBound 64.” But it was then canceled in 2000, so that Nintendo could use more resources for the upcoming GameCube. Development restarted once again in 2003, before releasing on the Game Boy Advance in 2006, twelve years after development started.

“Metroid Dread” (2021)

The “Metroid” series makes its second appearance, though with a much longer development cycle. Nintendo began working on a follow-up to “Metroid Fusion” for the DS in 2005, and announced “Metroid Dread” the same year. The initial plan was to build on the predecessor’s antagonist, SA-X, by having something that hunted Samus throughout the game. But the team struggled implementing this with the handheld’s hardware. Development started again in 2008 and a prototype was produced, but this too was abandoned as it didn’t meet expectations. “Dread” was thought to be abandoned as the series received other games and spin-offs over the years. But in 2021, it resurfaced during a Nintendo Direct, with the robotic E.M.M.I. filling the role of relentless hunters. It was out only a few months later, and quickly became one of the most popular entries in the series.

Which Nintendo game do you feel you waited the longest for? And was it worth it? Share your thoughts in the comments, and we’ll see you next time!