I would say Legend of Zelda is my favorite Nintendo franchise, given how 2 of my top 5 favorite games (Majora's Mask, Breath of the Wild) are from the Zelda series, I enjoy most of the games in the series and generally I do get excited every time a new Zelda game comes out. I'd say Pikmin follows it close behind as my 2nd favorite. Love all the games, but man, really wish we had Pikmin 4 out right now. Metroid is my 3rd favorite, and used to be my favorite at one point but, uh, yeah, really sucks what's happened to the franchise after Other M came out. Really hope Prime 4 ends up reviving it big time.
If we put Animal Crossing on the shelf for a second:
The Legend of Zelda series will always hold a special place in my heart. I watched my brother play when I was younger and Majora's Mask is one of my favorite games. I also love Paper Mario, Fire Emblem, and Donkey Kong.
I'm going to have to go with Mario franchise. I've been a Sonic fan most of my life, but the decline in game quality has really made me appreciate the Mario series more. I've poured (and still continue to pour) a lot of hours in Mario Kart and Mario Party games. I also really loved Super Mario Odyssey and Super Mario 3D World. Probably my two favorite story games in the series, but I need to go back and play both Super Mario Galaxy games again before coming to a conclusion!
Animal Crossing, Pokémon and Zelda in that order. I mostly like Mario for the games but from a franchise perspective I don't think about it much. The others, comparatively, have a lot of depth you can get lost in.
I’d say overall favorite is Pokémon but ever since the 3DS games I’ve felt like the series has declined in quality. I’d probably say that these days my favorite Nintendo series is a tossup between Animal Crossing and Zelda
Mario Kart and Mario Bro's games. I would watch my older cousins play Mario kart on the game cube (double dash) and Super Mario 64 (probably my favorite ever). I've always loved the Mario world. I had super Mario Bro's on my game boy but I was pretty young so I could never beat world 2 haha and had Mario Kart on my DS lite. I was STOKED to get a Wii for Christmas when it came out and I would play Mario kart for hours. Still love all the versions that get released.
Also love the Splatoon series. Play countless hours
Animal crossing of course. Wouldnt be here otherwise haha
It's a strong tie between Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing. My first LoZ game was Ocarina of Time on the Game Cube. I've played the 3ds version as well. I also played Wind Waker (Game Cube), Majora's Mask (3DS), and Spirit Tracks (DS). I was interested in playing BotW, but I think I'll hold out for a few months.