Nintendo’s landmark deal with DeNA will see classic characters such as Mario and Link appear in new mobile games for smartphones and tablets for the first time. But which games would you like to see make the leap from Nintendo’s 41 years of video gaming?

We’ve put our heads together and come up with a list of the top 10 games we’d like:

The Legend of Zelda

Zelda’s been one of Nintendo’s best since its first release in 1986. The hack and slash, puzzle solving dungeon-crawling platformer has confused, confounded and infuriated gamers for years, but it’s the Game Boy variants such as a Link to the Past we’d like to see on a smartphone.

The pick up and play gaming combined with the 2D graphics would suit the mobile experience, if DeNA can get the control scheme accurate enough.

Mario Kart

Many an hour has been spent battling it out with friends and frienemies across the virtual race track. Mario Kart from the Super Nintendo era would be perfectly suited to a smartphone, while Sega’s Sonic and Sega All-Stars racing games on Android and iPhone have proved 3D racers work just as well.

With tilt controls, wireless multiplayer and racing in bite-sized three minute chunks, Mario Kart would be an instant buy on smartphones for the commute. Just please don’t make it pay-to-win.

Nintendo’s F-Zero racing series could also work well, but good luck with twitch controls on a smartphone.

Super Mario Bros.

Platformers could be tricky. Nintendo’s legendary Super Mario series has been the pinnacle of platforming for decades, predicated on keen controls and the need for precise timing. Mario on a smartphone would be excellent, but only if touchscreen controls could capture the accuracy of the classic Nintendo joypads.

Sega has proved it can be done with ports of classic Sonic games as well as its new Sonic 4 series, so let’s hope DeNA can do as good a job with our little Italian plumber friend.

Super Smash Bros.

Everyone loves a fun beat-‘em-up and Super Smash Bros is probably the best from the last 15 years from Nintendo’s stable. Often frenetic, its short battles, simple arenas and multiplayer gaming could be well suited to a smartphone or tablet. Although we can see many smashed screens after frustrated hurling of smartphones onto the floor. Perhaps the game would have to come with a Wiimote style strap?

Donkey Kong

Starring another one of Nintendo’s platforming greats, Donkey Kong Country would be great on a smartphone. Its controls were never quite as precise as Mario’s, which could help the big ape make the leap to the touchscreen more easily than Nintendo’s figurehead.

Pokemon

We can’t think of a game more suited to the smartphone. Pokemon, with its turn-by-turn gaming and its collect-‘em-all attitude it would be an instant hit on the smartphone as it was on the Game Boy.

It doesn’t need complex controls and a touchscreen interface for battles, and wandering around in the virtual game world could be very satisfying. Build in a bit of wireless multiplayer battling and we can see the trains, buses, trams and tubes of Britain turned into battle arenas. Just please wear earphones.

Wii Sports

Wii Sports proved that motion gaming could appeal to the masses. The smartphone already has almost all the sensors packed into it that the Nintendo Wii’s motion controller did in 2006, so there’s no reason a spot of Wii tennis, golf or bowling couldn’t work. Perhaps played on a tablet using smartphones as the controllers?

Metroid

One of Nintendo’s most acclaimed series, Metroid definitely deserves a mobile outing. Similar to Mario, players will need accurate controls to make sure Samus Aran survives, but a 2D version similar to the Game Boy releases could do well.

GoldenEye

First-person shooters have struggled with the leap to the touchscreen smartphone, primarily because of the lack of solid controls. Nintendo’s GoldenEye from the heady days of the N64 could fare better because of two simple facts. One, it was a fantastic game, and two, it relied on auto-aiming, meaning all the player had to do was vaguely line up the bad guy and fire, the computer took care of the rest.

Touchscreen virtual joysticks are fine for moving around and as precision isn’t needed for GoldenEye, it could be great.

Star Fox

The classic on-rails space shooter Star Fox could be a perfect fit for a smartphone, with relatively straightforward controls that a virtual joystick and on-screen buttons could replicate.

Something akin to the Nintendo 64 version, known as Lylat Wars in the UK where it was a particular favourite, would work well especially on the larger phablets and tablets.

• Nintendo: NES to smartphone, it’s been about one thing – control