The gaming world has had plenty of good days, especially recently. With games largely being released on Fridays, the schedule sometimes ends up offering up multiple really good games at a time. That day may have also had good games come out in the past, making it a sort of holiday for gamers. Among all of those, November 21 seems to stand out the absolute most.
November 21 Should Be a Gaming Holiday
Since it’s a Friday, plenty of new video games were released today. These include:
- Speed Demons 2
- The Winter Witch
- Dream Spectra
It’s too early to totally rule anything out, but none of the gaming titles released today appear as if they’ll be remembered in the future. Most of them are just normal games, so it would be a surprise if 2025 added anything to November 21’s legendary status.
That’s just fine, though, because today is still the best day in gaming history because of these games:
- Super Mario World – 1990
- F-Zero – 1990
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – 1991
- Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest – 1995
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – 1998
- Pokémon Gold Version – 1999
- Super Smash Bros. Melee – 2001
- Pokémon Ruby Version – 2002
- Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga – 2003
- Super Mario 3D World – 2013
- Pokémon Omega Ruby – 2014
Those are just Nintendo titles since the source is a Nintendo fan account, but there are other exceptional games that came out on this day. Either way, the above list is still a wildly impressive lineup for one day in gaming history. The other non-Nintendo games are:
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Tomb Raider III
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4
- Silent Hill 3
- Left 4 Dead
- Final Fantasy VIII
Even games like Donkey Kong Country, Diddy Kong Racing, Pokémon Colosseum, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp came out today but didn’t make it into that tweet. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out, too! It is one of the most impressive days in video game history. You could only pick a handful to play and still come out having played some of the best games ever put out.
The reason this is such an impressive day largely comes down to a few games. Super Mario World is the best 2D platformer in Nintendo’s catalog, according to some (not me, though, I’d give the nod to Yoshi’s Island). A Link to the Past is almost solely responsible for the future of the Zelda franchise, and Ocarina of Time ushered it into the 3D age. It’s also the highest-rated game ever on Metacritic.
Ocarina of Time revolutionized gaming. Super Smash Bros. Melee is one of the best fighting games of all time. A Link to the Past reinvented and revitalized one of the longest-running franchises in this industry. And those are just a few of the games released on November 21.
It’s been a while since an impactful game has been released on this day, and it certainly doesn’t look like 2025’s going to change that. However, its positioning near the holiday season and in the range that several franchises, namely Call of Duty, consistently release, it would not be a surprise if it continued to add to its legacy in the future.
Conclusion
November 21 has an insanely good back catalog of games released. Nintendo has been carrying most of this, but it is really interesting that they picked this day over and over again to release some of their best and most important titles. If this day was removed from the annals of history, it’s very possible that gaming today would either not exist or be entirely different.
