Ya know what rocks? Video games. Well, most of them, at least. Nintendo has been in the gaming industry since the very beginning and has continued to be an overwhelmingly dominant force in producing and publishing some of the highest quality games around. It would be unrealistic to expect top-notch quality from every single Nintendo release, but a game is sometimes split down the middle of being loved and hated.
Since the days of the NES with weird sequels like Super Mario Bros. 2 and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Nintendo has crafted and released some pretty divisive games that still continue to be debated upon to this day.
10 Star Fox Zero
2016 marked Star Fox’s return to glory with the Star Fox Zero on the Wii U. Fans had been anticipating a new true entry in the series ever since Star Fox 64 in 1997, and this game had a lot riding on it. Upon release, the Star Fox fanbase was completely pulled apart by it, with some absolutely despising it and others accepting its flaws.
The main complaints come from the game’s control scheme, which is pretty difficult to get the hang of and is overly complicated and frustrating, which is surprising for a game released in 2016. Looking past the controls shows a decent enough video game, but the Star Fox fanbase wanted so much more.
9 NES Remix
Having NES games be showcased in a minigame format similar to WarioWare was quite an ingenious concept, but some players were disappointed by some aspects of the experience. The premise of these minigames are simple enough, but some of them end up feeling boring or like they were just a bad idea.
NES Remix 2 fixed a bunch of issues from the first game by adding more NES games and having crossover minigames between the available games, but some fans were unimpressed enough with the majority of the gameplay to write off the entire experience as an overpriced marketing campaign for the Virtual Console.
8 Fire Emblem Fates
After Fire Emblem: Awakening single-handedly brought the series back from the depths of hell, fans were understandably excited for the newest releases in the series. They came in the form of a Pokémon-like dual release, having identical gameplay but different stories.
These games receive a lot of flack for their sub-par stories when compared to other Fire Emblem games, especially when factoring in Revelation. These games also have some weak characters, unnecessary censorship, and the difficulty balancing between the two games is pretty polarizing. These are some fan-favorite picks for some, but others will place them in the same vein as Shadow Dragon.
7 Hey! Pikmin
“Where’s Pikmin 4?” has become a meme at this point, and Hey! Pikmin was definitely a catalyst for it. Upon its reveal as simply, “Pikmin 3DS” fans were hoping for a new mainline entry to make its way to the handheld system.
What we were eventually greeted with was a puzzle-based platformer, which didn’t sit well with a lot of fans. Those willing enough to give the game a fair shot found a decently entertaining and charming experience, but many were frustrated to the point of not even giving it a glance.
6 New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
“New” is quite a bit of an understatement by now, as the New Super Mario Bros. series has really only been “new” since its debut on the original Nintendo DS. Poor naming schemes aside, The Switch has made sure to give the most popular Wii U titles a new home on a far superior console, and New Super Mario Bros. U was an obvious choice.
This package includes New Super Mario Bros. U with all DLC, New Super Luigi U, and some additional gameplay tweaks. These features are all quite nice and will be enjoyed by fans of the original, but nothing here warrants a $60 price tag, especially when considering how similar every game in this series is to each other in the first place.
5 Banjo-Tooie
Looking at Banjo-Kazooie’s sequel based purely on content, Banjo-Tooie blows it out of the water with the sheer amount of new additions it brings. New gameplay mechanics, gigantic worlds, and a great story continuation should be enough to craft a truly excellent sequel.
However, some of these changes add up to an experience that lacks a lot of what made the first game so great. The most common complaint comes from how the bigger, interconnected worlds create a lot of backtracking and feel far more barren compared to the more intricate, self-contained worlds of the first game. It isn’t a bad game by any means, but fans are divided on its unique inclusions to the series.
4 Super Paper Mario
When you have a game that is widely considered to be an absolute stellar JRPG and an amazing game in general, creating a follow-up title becomes a tricky task. The Thousand-Year Door is, without a doubt, the most popular and well-received game in the Paper Mario series, and Super Paper Mario had a lot to live up to.
Nintendo made an extremely bold decision to scrap the main gameplay style from the first two games in favor of a platformer with RPG elements, and this stark change turned away a lot of players. The paper-based puzzles and gameplay elements are handled by switching from 2D to 3D, making for some fun and creative sections, but since we’re still at a lack of a traditional Paper Mario title since 2004, this game gets some serious flack.
3 Metroid: Other M
Following the massive success of Metroid Prime’s 3D action-adventures through space to obliterate aliens as the strongest female protagonist around, Metroid: Other M decided to try something different, and we all know how that goes.
The gameplay now has a greater focus on more linear close-quarters combat with a sideways Wii remote, which is an odd control scheme for this type of game. The gameplay isn’t the main problem that fans have, however, as the story is seen as a slap in the face to Samus Aran’s character and Metroid as a whole, bringing her down from an unstoppable solo bounty hunter to a frail, emotional character that needs the support of those around her.
2 Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Brawl was, and still is, one of the most beloved games in the Smash franchise. However, this doesn’t stop it from being one of the most controversial fighting games of all time. Most of the issues with this game are due to Super Smash Bros. Melee becoming an accidental treasure trove of sheer competitive potential.
Brawl, on the other hand, is way more casual compared to Melee, and fans of Melee were instantly turned away by how much slower the game felt. Not only this, but features like tripping were extremely anti-competitive, and the fanbase for Brawl was split into those who loved the more casual, family-friendly feel of the game, and those who despised its unbalanced and slow mechanics.
1 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
There doesn’t really seem to be any sort of middle-ground when it comes to Skyward Sword, as Zelda fans either absolutely adore the game or pretend that it never existed. Skyward Sword made sure to take full advantage of the new Wii Motion Plus and build upon Twilight Princess’s motion-based combat, and it was extremely hit-or-miss.
Besides gameplay issues, fans were keen to point out the more linear nature of the game compared to others, where Skyloft provides barely any free exploration when compared to titles like The Wind Waker. It seems like every aspect of this game, from its grand story to questionable design choices are loved by just as many as they are hated.
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