5 Worst Nintendo Franchises Ever

Nintendo is a beloved developer and publisher for a good reason. Not only does the Japanese gaming giant chase innovation with its consoles, but it’s also been a great incubator for fan-favorite series. That said, they can’t all be the best, so we’ve put together our list of Nintendo’s worst series.

Before diving in, it’s important to note that we didn’t want to make this easy by going with forgotten franchises like Fossil Fighters or Nintendogs. To make this list, the series has to have released a game in the last decade and have at least three games under its umbrella. With those caveats outlined, here are our picks for the worst Nintendo series.

Mario Party

Let’s ease ourselves into this list with Mario Party. Look, if you’re enjoying a few beverages with your buds, Mario Party is a great time. However, it’s important to note that having fun with friends doesn’t mean you’re playing a good video game. You just like your friends! Don’t let Nintendo trick you.

Mario Party is filled with groan-inducing mechanics and mini-games that will leave you both frustrated and in the early stages of carpal tunnel syndrome. There isn’t a single person on the planet who plays Mario Party by themselves. And if you’re the exception to the rule we just made up, we hope to never meet you.

Star Fox

The first two Star Fox games are legitimately good, if a little dated, though we could do with fewer of Peppy’s constant catchphrases. However, Star Fox 64 came out in 1997. The second Jurassic Park movie came out that year, and that franchise has gone on to release four more mostly successful films with a fifth on the way this summer.

Star Fox, on the other hand, has mostly languished. Nintendo has tried to appease fans with a few bad spin-offs, and we did finally get Star Fox 2 in 2017; however, the publisher has essentially shoved the series into the back of the linen closet, like that ratty quilt your grandma knitted for your fifth birthday in ’97.

Fire Emblem

Let’s be clear, Fire Emblem sells very well and routinely reviews even better; however, the dating sim mechanics make this a “masterpiece” that’s easy to skip. It’s not as easy as it used to be when Advance Wars was cranking out high-quality strategy for Nintendo without the extra fluff, but if you want a pure tactical game, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is the way to go.

It’s also worth noting that Fire Emblem is currently trending down. Three Houses was a series high point, but we still can’t get over how creepy it is to date your former students. We don’t care about your time skip. Engage received middling reviews, partially because of how bad the plot was. Still, the strategy gameplay is some of the best in the series. Hopefully, Fire Emblem takes the memo and puts the focus squarely back on gameplay with whatever comes next.

Kirby

Kirby released a couple of good games in the early 90s and has been coasting on its cuteness ever since. Nobody played Kirby 64, and if they did, they quickly realized how stale its gameplay is. Epic Yarn received solid review scores on the Wii, but again, those scores were boosted by how cute the yarn gimmick was.

Even Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which is the most ambitious game fans of the series have ever received, felt overly simplistic once you figured out the best powers. It’s not a bad game, and that final boss battle is one of the wildest things Nintendo has ever put into a game, but it still felt like the first outing in a series. It’s not something you’d expect out of a franchise with more than three decades of history.

Yoshi

Outside of Yoshi’s Island, there has never been a good Yoshi game. Nintendo has tried to Epic Yarn-ify the series by upping its cuteness in Woolly and Crafted World, but we weren’t fooled twice, much less thrice.

Look, if you need to entertain someone under the age of 10, any of the Yoshi games will probably do it. Nintendo has been clear that the Yoshi series isn’t about best-in-class gameplay or innovative level design. You know you’re getting mediocre at best, but it’s going to look phenomenal. Which, to be fair, is a description we’d be happy to hear about ourselves in our personal lives. Good for you, Yoshi.