The best gifts for Nintendo gamers

Looking for the best Christmas gifts for Nintendo gamers? You'd think choosing for the gamers in your life would be simplicity itself, but that's often not the case. Of course there are always games to be bought, or even a lovely New 3DS (with faceplates), but what do you do if none of those are an option? You come here and find an outstanding collection of gifts that any Nintendo lover will enjoy, in a range of prices that can accommodate any budget. It is, of course, the thought that counts, but showing off your gift-giving savvy is awfully fun, too.

• Last minute gift? Don't miss the amazing Nintendo cartridge soaps for only $15.59/£12.41 from Firebox.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Link Action Figure

Good Smile Company makes what may well be the greatest action figures ever conceived. The Figma line of figures include incredibly detailed models of classic characters with tons and tons of accessories. They even include different faces for variable action scenarios! Their Link figure for A Link Between Worlds is perfect. The regular model comes with the Master Sword and Shield, while the Deluxe edition comes with a bunch of Link’s signature items like the hookshot and bombs.

Buy it US: $33.85 on Amazon
Buy it UK: £49.99 on Amazon 

NES Classic 

This one’s a long shot, we know, but if you can manage to grab one of these (and can bear to part with it), it’s the perfect gift for the Nintendo lover in your life. 30 games crammed into one super itsy plug-and-play box, it’s nostalgia that fits in the palm of your hand. Not every game included is worth shouting about (you can check our list here to see how they rank), but even a few minutes with them is enough to take you back to those days when you sat around in pajamas, unwrapping gifts with your family. We can’t be held responsible if your brother still totally cheats, though (which he does).

Buy it US: $59.99 from Amazon
Buy it UK: £49.99 from ToysRus

Retro Game Flasks

If you're of legal age to drink alcohol, there's a good chance you remember the joy of blowing into NES cartridges to get them to work. Inkwhiskey has the perfect gift for nostalgic retro gamers who enjoy getting sauced now and then with its line of Retro Game Flasks. Designed to look like NES carts, these flasks hold your favorite libations while sporting parodic game covers with so-bad-they're-good puns like Drunk Hunt, Bottle Toads or Fine-Ale Fantasy. Top off their wish list with one of these - or check out Inkwhiskey's other products, like Triforce-shaped ice molds, Warp Pipe shot glasses, or a Zapper-inspired bottle opener. 

Buy it US/UK: $20.00/£15.78 from Ink Whiskey

The Art of Fire Emblem: Awakening

This massive, hardcover book does justice to the incredible artwork of Fire Emblem: Awakening in ways that the compact 3DS never could. It’s a seriously beautiful thing that belongs on every Nintendo fan’s coffee table, packed with original art from one of the best games on 3DS. As well as lovely pictures, it also has all the dialogue from every possible romance combination, fan surveys on their favourite characters and detailed concept art that explains the why, what and how of Fire Emblem’s meticulously detailed world. It’s handsome and effortless, in a Chrom-in-the-morning-breeze kind of way.

Buy it US: $25.46 from Amazon
Buy it UK: £22.78 from Amazon 

Professor Layton Revoltech Action Figure

Okay - you’d have to really love Professor Layton to drop this much money on a posable figure, but then what’s not to love? It’s as if someone’s taken the ultimate aspirational English gentleman and broken him down into the constituent parts: cup of tea with saucer; notebook of cunning puzzles; spare you-jumped-your-place-in-the-queue disappointed face. He’s a smartly-dressed island of calm in an increasingly stressful world. An effigy of chill. And if that doesn’t swing it for you, you can always use the figure to make your own Professor Layton action movie. “Every puzzle has an answer...and the answer is guns.” 

Buy it US: $122.86 from Amazon
Buy it UK: £106.05 from Amazon 

Nintendo 64 Cartridge Soap

Who hasn’t looked at Pierce Brosnan’s chiseled face on the front of the N64 Goldeneye cartridge and wondered what it’d be like to bathe using it? Nobody writing this gift guide. That perfectly reasonable dream becomes a reality, thanks to these snazzy cartridge soaps from Firebox. There’s a selection of N64 classics, recreated as zesty, skin-softening cosmetics, so you can clean yourself using Donkey Kong 64 if that’s how you chose to live your life. Now all you need is a soap dish shaped like an N64.

Buy it US/UK: $15.59/£12.41 from Firebox

Mario Question Block Light

Did you realise that all the blocks in Mario are actually members of the Mushroom Kingdom, cursed to spend an eternity trapped in stone? That’s perhaps not the best thing to mention when I’m encouraging you to buy a Question Block that will live next to your bed, silently watching you sleep, but on the plus side: look at it. It’s beautiful. As well as being pleasingly chunky, it has a satisfying, bouncy on-off mechanism, so you just need to reach out and punch it to light up your life. Will you be liberating one of the trapped Mushroom people every time you smack it? Sadly not. But the soothing glow will help you forget the dark truth behind the bricks. 

Buy it US: $34.99 from Amazon
Buy it UK: £19.99 from Amazon 

The EarthBound Handbook

This unofficial EarthBound handbook is a labour of love, filled with tiny details to enchant every Earthbound fan. It’s a hardcover book celebrating Shigesato Itoi’s curious and charming SNES classic, presented as a travel guide for tourists discovering the world for the first time. It even comes with an ‘Odoreality’ smell card - honestly, that’s a thing - which lets you engage all your senses while exploring one of the most important games ever made. Grab yourself a copy of this, fire up the game on Virtual Console and ease yourself into a warm, comforting bath of bubbly nostalgia. Lovely. 

Buy it US/UK: $32.00/£25.49 from Fangamer

Super Mario Bros. World 1-1 Pin Set

"Nintendo is woven into the very fabric of my being, and will forever hold a very special place in my heart!" you want to declare with the full power of your voice, but as that would be a bit awkward in the middle of the grocery store,  you instead rely on this selection of really gorgeous pins to deliver the message for you. The enamel finish renders these iconic images from that most Nintendo of games, Super Mario Bros., readable from clear across the room, and they're part of the highly collectable Pinny Arcade series, if you're into that sort of thing. If you're feeling a little subversive, you can pick up the Luigi pin instead.  

Buy World 1-1 US/UK: $34.99/£27.48 from Penny Arcade
Buy Luigi US/UK: $15.99/£12.72 from Penny Arcade

The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia

Sometimes, you can judge a book by its cover. This lovely hardcover volume contains everything Legend of Zelda fans could want in an art book. Skyward Sword fans in particular will find lots to love, as reproductions of art from that game are the focus of the entire first section. There’s also an impeccably detailed chronology, and even a manga from artist Akira Himekawa that tells the early stories of Hyrule. Whether you’ve got a Nintendo newbie on your gift list or a hardcore Zelda fan, this can fit the bill. Besides, with the companion volume coming out next year, you’ll have the perfect present for the 2017 holiday season locked down way in advance.

Buy it US: $24.78 from Amazon
Buy it UK: £23.60 from Amazon 

Looking for even more Christmas gifts? 

The best gifts for PS4 gamers
The best gifts for Xbox One gamers