Ports of Entry: Nintendo R&D1

This only lists games developed by Nintendo's R&D1 development team and those predating it. Other Ports of Entry posts will cover Nintendo's other teams.

Unknown lead platform:

 

Dr. Mario

First released for NES and Gameboy on 7/27/1990.

Released for VS. arcade system in 1990.

Released for Playchoice-10 arcade system in 1991.

There's not much information to suggest a lead platform, and it's quite possible that there isn't one, the game concept being simple enough to be implemented independently by separate teams. The NES version is the basis of both arcade versions, though this is to be expected as they both use Famicom-based hardware.

It does seem a bit more probable that Dr. Mario's color-matching gameplay was born out of the NES than the 4-tone Gameboy, but this is speculation.

Tetris 2

First released for NES on 9/21/1993.

Released for Gameboy on December 1993.

Ported to SNES on 7/08/1994.

 

Select chronology: 

 

Arcade era:

Title	Date	Contemporary ports
Laser Clay Shooting System	1973
Wild Gunman	1974
EVR Race	1975
Space Fever	1979
Sheriff	1979
Radar Scope	1980
Donkey Kong	1981	1982 ports to Atari VCS, ColecoVision, and Intellivision by Coleco
Donkey Kong Junior	1982	1983 ports to various consoles
Popeye	1982	1983 ports to Atari 8-bit computers and various consoles
Mario Bros.	1983-3	1983 ports to Atari 2600 and NES
Donkey Kong 3	1983	1984 port to NES

 

Famicom era:

Title	Date	Contemporary ports
Baseball	12/7/1983	1984 port to VS. arcade system
Tennis	1/14/1984	1984 port to VS. arcade system
Pinball	2/2/1984	1984 port to VS. arcade system
Wild Gunman	2/18/1984
Duck Hunt	4/21/1984	1985 port to VS. arcade system
Golf	5/1/1984	1984 port to VS. arcade system
Hogan's Alley	6/12/1984	1984 port to VS. arcade system
Urban Champion	11/14/1984	1984 port to VS. arcade system
Clu Clu Land	11/22/1984	1984 port to VS. arcade system
Excitebike	11/30/1984	1984 port to VS. arcade system
Balloon Fight	1/22/1985	1985 ports to PC-88 and Sharp X1 by Hudson Soft
Ice Climber	2/4/1985	1985 ports to VS. arcade system, PC-88, and Sharp X1
Wrecking Crew	6/18/1985	1985 port to VS. arcade system
Metroid	8/6/1986	1987 port to PlayChoice-10 arcade system
Kid Icarus	12/19/1986

 

4th gen:

Title	Lead platform	Date	Contemporary ports
Alleyway	Game Boy	4/21/1989
Super Mario Land	Game Boy	4/21/1989
Tetris	Game Boy	6/14/1989
Tetris	NES	1989-11	Mobygames lists as a distinct game from the GB version
Dr. Mario	???	7/27/1990	Simultaneous released for NES and Gameboy 1990 port to VS. arcade system
Metroid II: Return of Samus	Game Boy	1991-11
Mario Paint	SNES	7/14/1992
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins	Game Boy	10/21/1992
Tetris 2	???	1993	Same-quarter releases on Game Boy and NES 1994 port to SNES
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3	Game Boy	1/21/1994
Super Metroid	SNES	3/19/1994
Wario Land II	Game Boy	1998-3	1998 revision with Game Boy Color support

 

Gameboy Advance era:

 

Title	Date
Wario Land 4	8/21/2001
Metroid Fusion	11/18/2002
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!	3/21/2003
Metroid: Zero Mission	2/9/2004