Nintendo has no shortage of characters from royal backgrounds. When most people think about Nintendo royalty, many of the princesses of different video game series come to mind. There’s Zelda from The Legend of Zelda, Peach, Daisy, and Rosalina from Super Mario, and tons of different princesses in the different Fire Emblem games.
There are also well-known kings from the series’ mentioned, like King Dedede from Kirby. However, princes don’t get nearly as much focus as other members of royalty, even though there are several great ones. The best Nintendo princes deserve a lot more attention, as they’re some of the most memorable characters in gaming.
10/10 Prince – Animal Crossing
While not a prince in the literal sense, the Animal Crossing villager Prince can still be considered a Nintendo prince. He’s a Lazy frog villager that has been around since the first Animal Crossing game and has appeared in all of them except for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and Wild World.
His birthday is July 21st, making him a Cancer. His favorite colors are white and yellow, and he likes Active and Simple style clothing. The inside of his house is made to look like he’s going stargazing.
9/10 Prince of Cannok – Dragon Quest 2
The Prince of Cannock is one of three playable characters in Dragon Quest 2: Luminaries of the Legendary Line. He’s a descendant of the legendary hero Erdrick and the game follows him and his cousins as they journey to defeat the main antagonist of the game, Hargon.
The Prince of Cannock is able to use both weapons and magic while his cousins are only able to use one or the other. Interestingly, Luminaries of the Legendary Line marks the first time a Dragon Quest protagonist couldn’t use magic.
8/10 Prince Dreambert – Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Dreambert is the prince of the Pi’ilo, an ancient species believed to be extinct prior to his rescue in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. The survival of his species was hidden away by the villain Antasma, who used the Dark Stone to entrap them in a Nightmare Chunk.
After being freed from the Dream World, Dreambert becomes a guide for Mario and Luigi on their journey to rescue Princess Peach. He asks the two of them to return the favor by helping him to rescue the remainder of the Pi’ilo along the way.
7/10 Prince Fluff – Kirby’s Epic Yarn
Prince Fluff only appears in two games in the Kirby series: Kirby’s Epic Yarn and its later remake, Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn. He is the ruler of Patch Land, a planet made up of seven separate parts that have been separated by a sorcerer who plans to take over Dream Land.
Prince Fluff and Kirby are basically twins, except Prince Fluff is light blue with brown eyes and orange feet. He wears a golden crown made of felt to indicate his royal status. Interestingly, even though he’s a prince, there’s no mention of a king or queen of Patch Land.
6/10 Prince – Prince of Persia
While the Prince of Persia series is on other consoles, several of the series’ games are on Nintendo consoles, making the Prince from Prince of Persia a Nintendo prince, technically. Regardless, the Prince from the Ubisoft re-imagined series is the youngest son of the king of Persia. In the Prince of Persia trilogy, he starts off as arrogant and eager to prove himself to be a skilled warrior and a worthy ruler in the future.
The prince’s arrogance leads him into trouble and over the course of the three main Prince of Persia games (Sands of Time, Warrior Within, and The Two Thrones) he learns humility and takes on more responsibility for his actions as he considers what it truly means to be a good ruler.
5/10 Zagreus – Hades
Zagreus can also be considered a Nintendo prince as Hades came out on the Switch as well. He’s the game’s protagonist and the son of Hades, making him the Prince of the Underworld. Throughout the game, Zagreus tries to escape the House of Hades and the Underworld as he felt that he never belonged there.
He’s met with a lot of opposition from various sources that are employed by his father to keep him from leaving, even if it means killing him. Luckily, he doesn’t stay dead long and despite all his failed attempts he still remains cheerful, friendly, and dedicated to his goal of escape.
4/10 Prince Sidon – The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Prince Sidon makes his first appearance in Breath of the Wild. He’s the younger brother of the Princess to the Zora and the Zora Champion, Mipha. Despite her dying 100 years before the start of the game, Sidon remembers his sister and thinks back on her fondly.
Sidon has a very zealous personality, and he’s a skilled spearman, swimmer, and archer to boot. Sidon assists Link with fighting the Devine Beast Vah Ruta and also shows up in the game’s musou spin-off Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity.
3/10 Prince Ralis – The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Prince Sidon isn’t the first prince of the Zora to be shown in the Zelda franchise. That honor goes to Prince Ralis from the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Prince Ralis travels to Hyrule Castle to ask for Princess Zelda’s help in saving Zora’s Domain after it freezes over.
When he falls ill, Link protects the caravan that he’s in on the way to Kakariko Village to be healed. Ralis plays a very important part in Twilight Princess as he gives Link the Coral Earring, which is needed in the young hero’s quest to reach the Snowpeak Ruins and retrieve the Mirror Shard that’s located there.
2/10 Dimitri – Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem: Three Houses has a lot of characters who are all someone’s favorite. However, the best prince in the game is Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, the prince of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. He was the only survivor of the Tragedy of Duscur which took a toll on him and left him with survivor’s guilt.
Dimitri is the house leader of the Blue Lions. He changes from a chivalrous and cheerful person to someone cold and ruthless after the time skip. If players choose the Blue Lions, and they play as female Byleth they can achieve one of Dimitri’s best endings.
1/10 Chrom – Fire Emblem Awakening
There are many princes in the Fire Emblem franchise and Chrom is one of the most notable. He is the main protagonist of Fire Emblem Awakening and is the prince of Ylisse. He’s a descendant of Marth the Hero King, who is also the protagonist of the first Fire Emblem game.
Chrom’s popularity has seen him make appearances in several other Fire Emblem games including Fire Emblem Heroes and Fire Emblem Warriors as a playable character. He’s also one of the eight Fire Emblem characters to make it into Super Smash Bros and is voiced by Matthew Mercer in English.