1. The Legend of Zelda:
Probably my favorite gaming series of all time. I've played and beaten every single official game in the franchise (with the exception of Triforce Heroes, which I refuse to play in single-player/online because **** that), and there's several games I've also either fully 100%, beaten more than once, or beaten with certain ridiculous challenging conditions. Standout titles? Honestly all of them. I can't choose favorites because I like just about every game for different reasons. Every game has their own unique strengths and weaknesses, which is also a reason why the series is so unique as a whole. The vast majority of games follow a similar structure to the point you could describe them as being identical if you simplify them enough. But they're each ridiculously different in excecution. I just love this series, man.
2. Super Mario Bros:
Been a huge Mario fan since I was a kid. But I'm mostly referring to the mainline platformers, as I'm not that interested in the spin-offs beyond a casual "I guess I might check that game out" type of attitude, with the possible exception of Mario Kart. Either way, the Mario platformers are absolutely some of the best in the industry, and they almost always provide an experience that no other game can match by the time they're released. I like both "types" of Mario games, but I'm more of a fan of the 3D, exploration-based games like 64, Sunshine and Odyssey. Here's a bit of a contradiction though, cause I'd say my favorite Mario game is Galaxy.
3. Metroid:
Metroid, man. This is also a series I've played to death. I think the only game I haven't beaten at least once is Prime Hunters. Oh, and the original, which I find borderline unplayable today. Love the rest of the series though. Super Metroid is still to this day probably the finest examples of a well-designed Metroidvania, with its interconnected world and the powerups that naturally guide you through it without limiting you to one path alone. I think this is the only Nintendo franchise I prefer in its 2D form than its 3D. Don't get me wrong, all 3 Prime games are also fantastic, but there's simply something special about the 2D games that the Primes just can't capture. I'd say Other M actually came close in some ways, but it fell flat in so many others that they'll probably never try a similar style ever again, which I think is kind of a shame, 'cause it had a lot of untapped potential ruined by completely moronic decisions.
4. Mega Man:
I'm actually more of a recent fan of this thing. I've obviously known the series most of my life, because who the **** becomes a gamer without at least hearing about Mega Man. But I only truly started exploring the series... Wait it was 7 years ago what the **** that's not that recent. Aaaaaaaaaaanyway, the thing is, I played every game in the classic, X and Zero series in a matter of months when I previously hadn't "truly" played any of them. It was an amazing ride and, no joke, I think it changed me as a person. Might sound a little bit dramatic when I say it like that, but it's true. I knew I was interested in game development since I was in high-school, where I spent a ton of time making ****ty games in my free time. But Mega Man is the series that actually made me way more passionate about game design in general due to its simple but imaginative levels, and extremely well-crafted boss battles that are still absolutely ****ing golden as reference material for battles in any kind of genre. Shortly after playing Mega Man, I created my own fan-game, which was the first game I actually managed to complete. And it was actually mildly successful, which is something that surprises me to this very day, haha. Either way, that game just told me that I ****ing have what it takes and it kickstarted my game development journey.... Though after four years of success I got into a bit of a hole that's gonna be difficult to get out of, haha. Hahaha... Haaaa... Hawww. this is my dream damnit I'm not gonna give up.
5. Pokémon, I guess?:
Yeah, I got kind of a weird relationship with Pokémon right now. It's the series I wish I still loved as much as I did when I was a kid. And oh, boy, I've tried to love it. I've played the first three generations to death, and that was probably the peak of my interest. I took a break with gens 4 and 5, mostly because I got a DS waaaaaaaaaaaaaay to late into its lifetime, and also because Pokémon Battle Revolution was the ****tiest pile of dissapointment I've ever had the displeasure of playing, and it just temporarily killed my interest in the series. I got back into the series with XY, because it seemed to be a pretty decent improvement over the old games. And it was!... Graphically. Otherwise, it was the same at its best. I got Sun afterwards, because it seemed to be making bold changes to the formula, but every single change it made was for the worst, and the game got way too ****ing tutorial heavy to the point that 90% of the story was explaining gameplay mechanics and I just can't deal with that ****. Sun remains unfinished in my shelf, and for now, I'm done with the series until they manage to create a game that seems to be an actual evolution to the classic formula. Having a game that actually lets you play it would be nice too. Let's Go actually does seem to have a few interesting ideas and some massive QoL improvements, but a remake is not what I'm looking for. I want Pokémon to grow. The next generation might save the series for me, but if it doesn't... I might just stop giving a **** about it.
These pharagraps got longer and longer so I'm gonna leave it at that, haha.