Which Nintendo series has been handled the WORST?

[andymcc]

Even though the Prime games aren't for me and I didn't like Samus Returns very much, I can acknowledge the Prime games are good and the GBA Metroid games are excellent.

When's the last time Star Fox was good?

Earthbound's current state is probably due to its creator-- not Nintendo.

 

[Aku]

I don't know why everyone forgets always about Pikmin, but I think that is an indicator about Pikmin being the one.

 

[mael]

Metroid being on that list because of Metroid Other M makes sense.
It's Fzero, it's always been Fzero.
Like someone somewhere at Nintendo is interested in making more Star Fox and even releasing old finished Star Fox games.
Fzero? You're gonna get that SNES launch title and you'll like it.
It's hard to get to an Fzero game than to get to a goddamn Mother game!
And we are absolutely never getting anything new out of Fzero since Mario Kart pretty much took its place.

I don't know why everyone forgets always about Pikmin, but I think that is an indicator about Pikmin being the one.

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Pikmin got a recent rerelease that sold fairly well.
It's slow but it's getting new, awesome content and as long as Miyamoto is here we'll always hear about how the next Pikmin is in development.
Star Fox or Fzero are happy SSB exists because else no one would remember about them these days.

 

[Deleted member 12352]

Tough call between Star Fox and Paper Mario.

 

[Hailinel]

I think there's a distinction between "poorly handled" and "not handled" that needs to be made. F-Zero and Earthbound simply haven't been handled. They're basically retired franchises as of right now. It sucks to hear, as a fan of both, but it's true. Maybe they'll come back some day, when the time is right. But right now, they're done.

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And Mother is, legitimately, considered done. The series is Shigesato Itoi's baby and brainchild. He considers Mother 3 the finale, and unless he changes his mind, the trilogy is all that will exist. And there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[Deleted member 24052]

F-Zero. I feel like a great F-Zero racing game would be a lot of fun on the switch.

 

[a glitch]

Golden Sun is/was handled so badly it didn't even make this poll

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Doesn't the last game ended on a cliffhanger or something? You know, just as one extra 'fuck you' from Nintendo before they pretended it didn't happen.

I feel like Advance Wars should get a mention. Japanese gamers had to wait over a year before they could play the first two, and the last one never got released in Japan. Despite the fact the games were all made in Japan.

 

[Derachi]

And Mother is, legitimately, considered done. The series is Shigesato Itoi's baby and brainchild. He considers Mother 3 the finale, and unless he changes his mind, the trilogy is all that will exist. And there's nothing wrong with that.

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I feel like Mother 1 + 2 not being the NSO service and Mother 3 still not being in English yet means that a remade Mother trilogy is Bound (haha) to happen eventually. But yeah, as for NEW Mother games, they're done.

 

[Nairume]

Of these, it's F-Zero by far. They have a simple concept that doesn't really require a lot of thinking outside of the box to keep justifying new entries. It also has sold well in the past and is a well regarded series that they also have multiple possible partners to help in development. That they don't do more with it is weird.

Star Fox is something that is frustrating that they don't do more with it, but I also get why they don't. The classic kind of Star Fox is something that is a short incredible experience, but is...well....short. Even with branching paths, it'd be insanely hard to justify something like SF64 unless they bloated the hell out of it with a ton of content that most players will never end up seeing. At this point, you either get a weird experimental but fully funded Star Fox or you can get a lower budget eshop traditional Star Fox (which would also lose Star Fox's appeal as something that pushed technology back in the day).

Metroid has long gaps between releases, but that's really nothing new for the franchise. Outside of a couple missteps, they've treated the series perfectly fine. It's also not like they aren't actively doing things with it.

I don't even get why Donkey Kong is an option? They do fun stuff with it and then occasionally they twist things up.

I guess Yoshi has never really got back to the greatness of YI, but it's not like they haven't at least still made good stuff.

Mother is over because the creator wants it to be over. Is it really mishandling it if they are following in Itoi's wishes? Or are we talking about how Mother 3 never got localized, even though it's painfully obvious why isn't happening.

Finally, Paper Mario isn't really being mishandled. They followed player feedback, decided to go back to the drawing board, and have largely gone down a path that the developers like and consumers (outside of an extremely vocal minority and one incredibly obnoxious muppet) are seemingly fine with.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Overall, Star Fox. In the last decade though, Metroid.

 

[Garlador]

Overally, Star Fox. In the last decade though, Metroid.

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Kind of my take, though Samus Returns was a nice return to form (no pun intended).

 

[ghostcrew]

Star Fox without a doubt.

They didn't treat F-Zero badly. They just stopped making them after three entries(!) on the GBA. Every F-Zero game is great and what it should've been.

The just started making shitty Star Fox games at some point. Baffling. Star Fox Adventures? Zero?

 

[Tab]

Isn't Earthbound just because the creator is done with it? That doesn't strike me as mismanaged. F-zero is also basically just shelved as well, though not for the same reason.

Personally I think Metroid is the answer here, not Starfox. If anything Starfox has gotten more chances than I think it deserves conceptually, just because of Miyamoto's affinity for it.

Metroid has been mishandled for quite some time at this point, what with the seeming development hell of Prime 4, and weird decisions like Federation Force. I guess Samus Returns is a minor bright spot for the series recently, but still. Having to completely reboot development on a title under a different developer, to the point you felt the need to publicly apologize Is just outrageous to me.

 

[MrSaturn99]

Having replayed Star Fox Adventures recently, it's still stunning how little foresight Nintendo had in reskinning that as a Star Fox game; as you pointed out, it reaps no benefits from the property, and so we're left with an awkward Frankenstein of Rare's worst habits and shoed-in characters/Arwing segments. What a disaster.

It's no guarantee that Dinosaur Planet would've been a winner, but man, their unfettered vision could've been a real treat.

 

[louisacommie]

Zelda


No unique newcomer in smash since 2001

 

[mopinks]

where's Chibi-Robo

 

[fiendcode]

Wars

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

Kind of my take, though Samus Returns was a nice return to form (no pun intended).

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Yeah, it was a very fun remake of my favorite in the original trilogy. It's just mind boggling that it isn't on Switch yet. They basically released it on a platform that was starting to die. It deserves to be played my more people.

 

[carlosfilho]

F-Zero was just forgotten (or abandoned) by Nintendo but had great games, Mother is considered done, they're not examples of mishandling. Star Fox, on the other hand...

 

[bounchfx]

for me, star fox by far. F Zero has been neglected but when it's used it's great. Star fox they ignore and then also come out with surprisingly meh titles. There's SO much potential for a modern SF game that it gets me upset just thinking about it Lol

 

[vinnygambini]

Glory of Heracles

 

[Mediking]

It's the Mother/Earthbound series. It should be wayyy bigger. The potential for that series is huge. Give it Animal Crossing graphics and BAM!

 

[justiceiro]

The only crime of star fox is not being what fans want. But it's alive, and being used as much as it can, so, fine by me.

Paper mario on the other hand, is constrained by limitations that Nintendo itself created out of spite from takeda, so yeah, that one.

 

[DevilPuncher]

Everyone says Star Fox, which I agree with to an extent, but I don't think Nintendo's mismanaged a franchise as poorly as Golden Sun. The series could've legit been their first-party Final Fantasy.

 

[SmittyWerbenManJensen]

I don't even like Star Fox, but I voted for Star Fox because it has such a cool premise that just never lands for me. It deserves better.

 

[raeaburame]

I'm of the opinion that Kirby as a character is much more popular than the ~2 million his games sell, I think Nintendo not pushing Kirby like they do Mario, Zelda, Animal Crossing and Splatoon is a long term mistake in IP usage. Of the series listed in the poll, i would say Donkey Kong is the only one that that deserves/could achieve more critically and commercially that it does currently.

 

[Exellus]

I don't know how anyone could say anything but Star Fox.

Back on Nintendo 64 it was literally one of THE biggest titles on the system, and everyone was super hyped about bigger, better star fox games in the future.

Instead, Nintendo uses every entry for wild "experimentation".

I don't mind experimentation, but use a new IP for that.

 

[Crushed]

F-Zero is just a series they stopped making. They should have kept making them, yes, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

Star Fox legitimately keeps screwing up over and over again in completely different ways every single time, so it gets my vote.

Metroid had a hiatus in the 90s, then a spate of fantastic games, then a bomb, then another hiatus, then a mediocre spinoff and a good game, and there's (at least one) another game in development. Metroid fans' perception of the series is incredibly warped.

I have no idea why Donkey Kong and Yoshi are even on the list. Like I guess Yoshi platformers are consistently Okay I Guess, but that's been true for every almost Yoshi game.

Mother is finished. It's over. It's done. The guy who wrote the games and is the reason why the series even exists and is a big deal simply considers it over and obviously nobody at Nintendo feels like there's any real benefit to stepping on everyones' toes by making one without him. Sure the localization stuff is a mess, but that's a complicated issue.

Paper Mario has gone in a weird direction that obviously a lot of people don't like, but outside of Color Splash they're reliable sellers that IS can keep making. It would be way more worthwhile to point a finger at Nintendo's horrible handling of Mario & Luigi and how that lead to a company going under.


golden sun was never good

 

[Lagamorph]

Star Fox got lumped with the control abomination that was Star Fox Zero, so it 'wins' by default.

 

[Catalyst]

What about......Mario Party?

The 9th and 10th entries had a gimmick no one asked for, the 3DS ones were mediocre, and they tried to revive the old style on Switch but fell flat on their faces since it had boring boards and a lack of content/online.

 

[T002 Tyrant]

Eternal Darkness. At least Smash has Earthbound characters.

 

[J_ToSaveTheDay]

Star Fox. Most of the games aren't that good IMO, even though Star Fox 64 sticks out in my mind as an all-time classic.

 

[Zippedpinhead]

Mother/Earthbound

At least every Metroid game and Star Fox game has been released outside of Japan.

Heck F-Zero has been handled worse than Metroid/Star Fox, they at least TRIED to release recent star Fox games. Nintendo just keeps making BAD Star Fox games. at least that series' fans have new content to complain about.

Sure, Metroid hasn't had a new release in a decade, but neither have F-Zero or Earthbound. Metroid even has an announced game in the pipeline from a named developer.

F-Zero, last release in the series didn't come westward. stuck in Limbo ever since

Mother/Earthbound - First game was fully translated and benched due to timing and cost of Carts, third title never escaped Japan. Constantly teased and denied. And honestly, why are these titles only released on SOME of the digital platforms? Earthbound Beginnings wasn't in the NES classic, can't buy it on the 3DS eShop or pay it on Switch online. Earthbound IS on the SNES classic and the 3DS eShop but also isn't on the switch Online. Why?

 

[mute]

It is probably Star Fox off that list but there are plenty of other series that haven't lived up to their potential for sure.

As much as I miss F Zero it went out on the highest of high notes.

 

[mopinks]

Everyone says Star Fox, which I agree with to an extent, but I don't think Nintendo's mismanaged a franchise as poorly as Golden Sun. The series could've legit been their first-party Final Fantasy.

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first party Lufia at best

 

[Garlador]

Eternal Darkness. At least Smash has Earthbound characters.

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Heh.

 

[zeitgeist]

Star Fox hasn't really been mishandled. It's just that the franchise has peaked.

On rails space shooters seem to get ignored by the masses now and that Starlink game flopping is proof.

Flying through hoops isn't special anymore.


I voted for Metroid because it has all the ingredients for success but never seems to be the huge blockbuster it should be.

 

[Deleted member 19702]

1) Star Fox.

Nintendo completely dropped the ball with the franchise and after Star Fox 64 the series became a guinea pig for failed experimental tests with mediocre reception, they never truly tried to evolve the franchise faithful to it's roots. It's a shame because there's such potential with it if properly managed.

2) F-Zero.

This is a big offender because the games are widely considered one the best racing games of all times. It was shafted because of the sales underperforming of the mediocre GBA spin off titles.

3) Metroid.

Another series widely considered to be one of the most influential of all time. All it's games were constant 1M sellers but Other M sales, another mediocre effort with terrible reviews and reception, convinced Nintendo to pull off the plug from the franchise for many years.

4) Golden Sun.

Again, another franchise with a solid legacy and fanbase shafted because of one bummer with mediocre reception. Camelot at this point is a Mario Sports developer.

5) Advance Wars.

I don't get why this got shafted hence the series always had great reception and a solid userbase. GBA and DS are fondly remembered it by Nintendo fans. Some say IS is too busy right now with FE to work with the series but I don't actually buy this.

6) Racing / Sports titles (1080, Wave Race, Excitebike)

I'll never understand why those games were this long absent considering Nintendo was trying to appeal to the casual crowd for quite a while and those franchises are very appealing to this audience.

 

[RXM027]

Either Star Fox or Metroid. Star Fox nudges it out for me, as that series is all over the damn place, and Nintendo can't decide what they want it to be.
Federation Force was such a colossal misstep that it single-handily puts Metroid at number 2 for me. Why was that, of all things, supposed to be the follow up to Other M? At least the series is getting back on track, albeit really slowly.

 

[Luke88]

If Nintendo released new Earthbound games, like one for each console, after Undertale blew up I think it could easily sell 4/5M units per game.

 

[AppleBlade]

I say Metroid because F-Zero and Star Fox were always destined to be niche titles due to the genre's they reside in. On the other hand, I can imagine a world where Metroid is one of the biggest franchises in gaming. I also can imagine multiple routes to this. Nintendo could have leaned on the exploration and narrative aspects of Metroid and have made it a top tier story-based experienced or they could have focused on the shooter elements and made it the premier Japanese shooter that integrates gameplay touches that only Nintendo can to make a unique shooter, possibly even be a force in the online multiplayer arena with unique modes or objectives the way Smash reinvented fighting games or the way Splatoon is soon unique from other shooters.

 

[Le Dude]

From the list probably Star Fox

personally, (it it counts as first party) Endless Ocean

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Endless Ocean could reeaaaally use a follow up on Switch.

 

[Deleted member 19702]

What's the lession you learn with most Nintendo's mismanaged franchises? Don't want to play mediocre received, bad spin offs or experimental stuff running away from it's formula? You better buy it, no matter what, or say goodbye to your lovely franchise! Nintendo does really has an awkward perception of failure.

 

[Kneefoil]

I love Star Fox, but... It's Star Fox. Every new game is basically a tech demo for a new piece of tech Nintendo's using at the time, half the time to their detriment. The exceptions to this are Adventures and Assault, and one of those two games is so different that it has barely the right to be called Star Fox. The other one's just a really middling game.

I guess there was that Starlink thing with some sort of Star Fox story, but I never really heard anything about it after it came out.

 

[Dolce]

I don't know why everyone forgets always about Pikmin, but I think that is an indicator about Pikmin being the one.

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Pikmin has gotten 3 mainline games and a spinoff. It's definitely not mismanaged. Not every franchise needs a new entry on every single console.

What's the lession you learn with most Nintendo's mismanaged franchises? Don't want to play mediocre received, bad spin offs or experimental stuff running away from it's formula? You better buy it, no matter what, or say goodbye to your lovely franchise! Nintendo does really has an awkward perception of failure.

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That's not true at all. Nintendo has continuously made games in franchises that don't sell gangbusters. Metroid has literally had this happen for decades now. New Horizons has sold twice as much as every single Metroid combined and yet New Horizons is being made. Pikmin wasn't lighting the world on storm and we got another. Xenoblade and Fire Emblem were both niche and even at their height aren't insane sellers.

The reality is as I keep saying Nintendo can't make sequels to everything. That's why they start to outsource. Nintendo has continuously made new IPs for decades and new experiences and they can't do that while also making sequels to every game they ever made.

Sometimes developers shift around and there's no passion for an IP. Sometimes IPs have their time and then die. That's fine! There's nothing wrong with that.

 

[Lobster Roll]

On rails space shooters seem to get ignored by the masses now and that Starlink game flopping is proof.

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I still think that Chorus is going to be a sleeper hit game for people who are looking for that kind of experience.

Personally I think the answer is Earthbound / Mother. Not only should Mother 3 be available for download on Switch, they should really explore the space of that universe and introduce a new game. It's an extremely unique series that exists in the semi-traditional turn-based space while offering characters, enemies, locations, and themes that are wholly unlike anything else out there. They've got multiple characters in Smash, so they clearly respect the franchise. However, it feels like Mother has a mountain of untapped potential to me.

 

[Hailinel]

3) Metroid.

Another series widely considered to be one of the most influential of all time. All it's games were constant 1M sellers but Other M sales, another mediocre effort with terrible reviews and reception, convinced Nintendo to pull off the plug from the franchise for many years.

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No they weren't.

 

[mopinks]

just to make the case for Chibi-Robo:

- the first game released in the dying days of one of their least successful consoles
- the DS followup was a WALMART EXCLUSIVE in the US, for some reason
- they gave the first one another chance with a Wii port, but it never left Japan
- the second DS game, an honest-to-goodness sequel to the first game, also never left Japan
- they took a few years off and then came back with a weird (but cute) eshop-only AR game
- Zip Lash

but they did make an amiibo. that's something

 

[Dizzy Ukulele]

Star Fox has been handled the worst. The character is popular but it's not a genre Nintendo believes in. So they gave it to Namco who failed and then they got Platinum in on the act who somehow also failed.

F-Zero was handled really well until it wasn't handled at all.

 

[Ridley327]

What's the lession you learn with most Nintendo's mismanaged franchises? Don't want to play mediocre received, bad spin offs or experimental stuff running away from it's formula? You better buy it, no matter what, or say goodbye to your lovely franchise! Nintendo does really has an awkward perception of failure.

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Which one does this apply to outside of Star Fox? F-Zero could not have held the line any more as far as the kind of game it is on all the platforms it has released on, and it's dead. This wouldn't even make sense to accuse Metroid of, since its first hiatus came off the heels of Super, which seems to be a game folks like, and they literally announced two traditional Metroid games less than a year after Federation Force came out.