When you’ve been around as long as Nintendo has, there are bound to have been some pretty darn intense highs and lows in your business career. From their humble beginnings as Hanafuda card makers 129 years ago, they’ve risen to become one of the big three; a force to be reckoned with in the gaming industry.

Well, I suppose opinions will differ on that one. Often, their reputation for fearless innovation is equally seen as their being out of touch with the competition. Eschewing conventional gaming trends for gimmickry. Sometimes, this way of thinking pays dividends, as in the case of the Wii and DS, and other times… well, a Virtual Boy or Wii U is spawned from the depths of Satan’s clogged underworld toilet instead.

As of right now, though, things are looking pretty darn good for Nintendo. Their latest system, the hybrid handheld that is the Switch, is performing pretty darn well. This year has been a little sparse compared to 2017, release-wise, but the system’s likely to finish it on a high note with the likes of Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate hitting stores.

It’s always a bit of a mixed bag in this industry. Gamers have long memories, and an ability to be both super dedicated and super snarky. One person’s incredible is another person’s incredibly overrated, after all.

On that note, strap yourselves in and let’s check out some Nintendo titles from both sides of that argument. Detective Pikachu, Super Mario Party, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido… there’s something for everyone right here.

30 WAY OVERRATED: The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild

I hear you, friends. I definitely do. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is an excellent game, and a welcome evolution for the series to have taken. It’s a title you can sink many hundreds of hours into, and while there are some legitimate qualms to be had (why does EVERYTHING degrade and break), it’s a super impressive and enjoyable title.

The most liberating Zelda title we’ve ever had? Absolutely, in my eyes. Impressive as open world titles go? Probably not. As we see more and more vast, ambitious titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 arriving, we see how the whole exploration and survival thing in Link’s adventure pales in comparison.

29 UNDERRATED GEM: Detective Pikachu

That’s right. Many of us were largely unaware of the existence of Detective Pikachu, until the movie trailer hit the internet in a vicious wave of realistic Pokémon that we were completely unprepared to handle. What the heckola is up with that Mr. Mime? Do the makers of this movie not care if anyone who saw that ever sleeps again?

We’re getting a little off topic, though. The important thing is that Detective Pikachu is also a 3DS game from earlier this year, a point-and-click sort of adventure starring a gravely-voiced Pikachu.

Does that sound like an offer you can’t refuse? That’s because it is.

28 WAY OVERRATED: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Again, don’t go running away with the false impression that I’m just throwing needless shade here. I’m a huge fan of the Smash Bros. franchise, and there’s no doubt that I’m going to be all over this one on its arrival. From everything we’ve seen so far, it’s going to be vast package; perhaps the biggest game Switch will see in its lifespan.

Even so, though, we’ve been completely saturated with Smash-related content. Recent Nintendo Directs (including the E3 extravaganza) have been dedicated to the game, with other upcoming Nintendo titles thrown in as a bit of an afterthought. Let’s just calm ourselves down a little.

27 UNDERRATED GEM: Sushi Striker — The Way Of Sushido

For all that Nintendo Switch has achieved so far in its lifespan, there’s one thing the most ardent of supporters can’t deny: it sure as heckles took its sweet time building up a head of steam. The big-ticket item on launch was Breath of the Wild, which wasn’t exclusive to the system, and it wasn’t until Super Mario Odyssey arrived that things really took off.

In the wake of all of that, there were some quirky titles that didn’t get the attention they maybe should have.

Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido is a bright, brash and addictive puzzler, in which players engage in ‘sushi battles’ by matching colored plates and throwing them at their opponents.

There are some light RPG elements to it, and it’s all very addictive and enjoyable, but the game was let down by its premium (that is to say, full retail) price tag.

26 WAY OVERRATED: Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee

I’ve got to admit, I was a little conflicted here. Depending on your viewpoint, Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee would fit snuggly on either side of the overrated/underrated argument, but I’m going to go with the latter.

Why? Because the mere mention of the Pokémon name carries such weight. Let’s Go is definitely a placeholder until the much-ballyhooed ‘Real Pokémon’ game arrives next year (more on that later), but it’s still being hyped to within an inch of its life by Nintendo. It’s one of their big holiday 2018 releases, for better or worse, and it’s being treated as such.

25 UNDERRATED GEM: Grim Fandango

Ah, yes. Grim Fandango. Here’s another game that has only recently become available on Nintendo systems (the remaster is available on the eShop right now), and it’s another that you won’t want to miss out on any longer if it’s passed you by so far.

The point and click adventure may be a genre that’s fallen by the wayside of late, but the story of Manny the Underworld travel agent is one that you must experience. The journey is unforgettable, as are the characters you’ll meet along the way. The puzzles can be a little obtuse, but this title deserved all of its critical acclaim and none of its woeful sales record.

24 WAY OVERRATED: Kid Icarus: Uprising

This one’s going to be a little controversial too. After all, Kid Icarus: Uprising isn’t a straight-up bad game by any stretch. It was a welcome return from a long-forgotten series, was packed with content and one of the most visually impressive titles in the 3DS’s repertoire.

A TPS/rail shooter was not what I was expecting from Uprising, either, so that was a bold move too. The issue was making all of this work on the 3DS, which required a complex control scheme that made it really darn difficult to play. So much so, the game was bundled with a stand to make it a little easier. For left-handed players like myself in particular, it was not a good time.

23 UNDERRATED GEM: Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Speaking of insubstantial party games, this is probably what a lot of us were expecting on hearing of the Mario/Rabbids collaboration that was coming to the Switch.

The game that finally resulted, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, proved many of those naysayers wrong. Those that opted to give it a chance, anyway.

It’s a brilliantly ridiculous game, there’s no doubt about that. However, it’s also much deeper than you’d expect. It’s a turn-based strategy game akin to X-COM, and there’s a good amount of content here for fans of such. It’s not without challenge, either, with some deceptively fiendish stages on offer.

22 WAY OVERRATED: Starlink- Battle For Atlas

With the Switch’s second anniversary coming up in a few months (it launched in March 2017), you’d probably expect that a lot of Nintendo’s biggest IPs would have found their way on to the system now. Or, at least, have been announced as in development. You’d be totally right on that score, with Pokémon, Super Mario, Zelda, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart, Smash Bros., Fire Emblem, Metroid Prime and a whole lot more already available or on the way.

One franchise we haven’t seen get a game of its own is Starfox, but it does feature in the Switch edition of Ubisoft’s Starlink: Battle for Atlas. It’s an interesting open-world space exploration affair, that sees you traveling the star system to make and develop your crew. The USP is the toys-to-life element, which sees you piloting the craft you yourself have built.

On Switch, you have exclusive access to an Arwing, Fox McCloud and several themed missions. Reviews have been mixed, though, and this isn’t Starfox Switch.

21 UNDERRATED GEM: Luigi’s Mansion 3DS

Living as we do in the age of the port, remake, HD remaster and all of those shenanigans, it’s no longer surprising that a decade-old title can become current again super darn fast.

Luigi’s Mansion is, technically, a seventeen-year-old game, but here it is freshly released for the 3DS.

While Luigi’s My First Resident Evil title was darn fun and a cult favorite, it wasn’t exactly what you’d call essential purchase material on the GameCube’s launch. It was entirely unlike anything Nintendo had really done before, though, and it’s great to see the original return for 3DS. Not to mention its sequel, Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, and the upcoming third in the series for the Switch.

20 WAY OVERRATED: Super Mario Party

Before Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee arrived, as I say, 2018 has been quite quiet for big, hype-heavy Switch releases. Particularly from Nintendo themselves. Before the Kanto adventure, the last one was Super Mario Party, which launched early in October.

It’s another AAA Switch title that feelings have been decidedly mixed about. In terms of overall content, it’s tough to say where it stands in the Mario Party pantheon. Side modes such as River Survival and Partner Party made their debut, but there’s some debate as to whether they’re worth the lack of boards in the main mode, Mario Party itself.

19 UNDERRATED GEM: The World Ends With You

Here we are again, heading back off to the world of the brand-new-except-not port. The World Ends With You is an action RPG from Square Enix and Jupiter, which first arrived on the DS back in 2007. It became something of a cult favorite for its visuals and soundtrack, but never really made the impact it deserved.

Last month, it was released on the Switch as The World Ends With You: Final Remix, an enhanced port that surely tempted many of the game’s fans into double dipping. If you’ve never played before, this is an excellent opportunity to get on board as well.

18 WAY OVERRATED: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Now, I can appreciate Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Don’t go thinking that I can’t, friends, because you’d be way off. Mario Kart is one of my very favorite series from Nintendo. Spontaneously deciding that a random stranger in an online race is your ‘rival’ after something they did to you, then trying to pay them back in kind for the rest of the session, is one of the greatest pleasures I find in online gaming.

Mario Kart 8 is a great game, yes, and the enhanced port is one of the most popular games on the system. Again, though, we’ve seen it all already for the most part.

17 UNDERRATED GEM: Wandersong

Another string to the Switch’s ow is its vast repertoire of indie titles. If that’s the sort of thing you’re into, you can enjoy acclaimed indie games on the go, and that’s a huge draw for some. Big-ticket items like Darkest Dungeon and Hollow Knight are right there, on the go or on your TV as you please.

Another gem you may not be so familiar with is Wandersong, a puzzly/action title starring a bard. They travel the land solving problems and puzzles by singing, flipping through a song wheel to use each composition’s special effect.

It’s a whimsical and surprisingly affecting game, and one that you shouldn’t miss out on.

16 WAY OVERRATED: Dark Souls Remastered

As we all know, Nintendo may have a reputation for creativity and innovation, but they’re also known for something else: being totally lacking in their responses to third-parties. As a result of this (and the lack of raw tech specs of their systems), many multi-platform games have passed Nintendo’s systems by.

In a lot of ways, then, the Switch is left trying to play catch up. This leaves Nintendo fans to enthuse about something that many other gamers have been playing for some time, as with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Doom. Dark Souls: Remastered is another example, long delayed on Switch and lacking in performance when compared to other systems when it did arrive.

15 UNDERRATED GEM: WarioWare Gold

For a lot of Nintendo fans just now, it’s all about the Switch. This makes perfect sense, as the system is the flavor of the month and all, but the 3DS is gradually fading away, for the most part.

It’s understandable, sure (the handheld has been doing the rounds since 2011), but it’s always sad to see the releases get more and more sporadic. One 3DS gem you may have missed this summer was WarioWare Gold, a sort of compilation entry in the unhinged series. Anyone with an appreciation of the microgame formula should definitely check it out.

14 WAY OVERRATED: Fortnite: What’s The Best Way To Play?

Steady on there, friends. I’m not here to comment on Fortnite itself (which isn’t my personal cup of tea, but is clearly a worldwide phenomenon for a reason), but rather the port as a whole.

It’s always great to see a popular title or series make its way over to Nintendo for the first time, but it’s often inevitable that concessions will have to be made to do so.

Fortnite isn’t the most taxing title for a system to handle, but nor is this the greatest and most impressive take on it. The biggest deal here is the playing-on-the-toilet functionality, which is quite a challenge with a desktop. Performance is an issue, though.

13 UNDERRATED GEM: Ōkami

Ōkami is one of those games that just needed another chance to get a fair shake. Freshly released for the Nintendo Switch in its remastered form, it’s one that fans of quirky action adventures and unique aesthetics should definitely look into.

It originally released twelve years ago for the PlayStation 2, before making its way to the Wii in 2008. Not achieving the sales success it deserved on either platform, it resurfaced again as Ōkami HD in the years that followed.

It casts the player as the Sun God Amaterasu in wolf form, as she platforms, puzzles, and battles (Zelda-style), in a beautiful cel-shaded and Japanese-culture-infused world.

12 WAY OVERRATED: Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Now, true enough, it’s tough to label an entry in the Paper Mario series as overrated. These games have never really been rated in the first place, not to the extent that the Super Mario games themselves are.

They’re still a big deal, though, which is why Paper Mario: Sticker Star is considered such a controversial one. This 3DS title got the worst reception of any of these snarky 2d games, as it implemented a number of odd decisions (backtracking and the like) that went against the grain of Paper Mario as we know it. There was quite a lot riding on this, for series fans.

11 UNDERRATED GEMS: Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call

Most long-running franchises have a string of spin-offs to their name. We know it, we’ve made our peace with it, it kind of comes with the territory. RPG legend Final Fantasy is no different, and one of the more intriguing side-entries was Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and its sequel, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call.

The latter was released for the 3DS in 2014, and expanded on the original’s curious premise (a rhythm game with RPG elements, exclusively featuring music from the series and starring its characters).

Unfortunately, this completely new Final Fantasy experience was not for everybody, and some who enjoyed the first didn’t know there was a sequel.