One thing Nintendo is not afraid of doing is experimenting: taking what gamers love and attempting something different. Sure, there are the Nintendo classics like Super Mario 64 or A Link To The Past but Nintendo has attempted to create spin-off franchises.
Some of these became successful like the Yoshi series but they've also created spin-offs that not many know about. Not only are they typically unknown but they tend to be stranger titles that make gamers go wide-eyed with excitement and confusion.
10 Tetris Attack - SNES
Yoshi became quite the mascot after Super Mario World: this resulted in games like Tetris Attack. For those expecting a straight-up clone of Tetris with a Yoshi skin will be surprised as this comes closer to the match-three-items games seen on mobile.
In many ways, Tetris Attack is ahead of its time with colorful sprites, fun gameplay, happy music, and multiple characters to choose from. With a friend, Tetris Attack makes for a fun time at house parties.
9 StarFox Adventures - GameCube
Every person hoping for that great sequel to StarFox 64 was met with disappointment. Rather than the dogfighting game that StarFox was known for, Nintendo decided to make the next StarFox game into a Legend Of Zelda clone.
Fox McCloud on an alien dinosaur planet trying to save another fox named Crystal could have been a great idea. Unfortunately, it just made fans wish they had gotten a true StarFox title rather than a watered-down Zelda.
8 Yoshi's Cookie - NES/SNES
Another puzzle game featuring everybody's favorite green dinosaur. This time, the player must line up rows of cookies to win the game. Fairly simple but fun enough to keep fans entertained. It featured both a solo and VS mode for friends to compete, much like Tetris Attack.
Even though fans rarely remember the game, Nintendo brought the cookies back in several Mario RPGs over the years, including the Paper Mario games. It was received overall as just an okay puzzle game.
7 Zelda's Adventure
The 2D animated Zelda games for the Phillips CD-I are infamous for being awful but many forget that there was a third game. This one used live-action FMV and "realistic" sprites in a more traditional overhead Zelda game. Sounds like a decent idea, right?
Well, it was botched by hilariously awful voice acting, ugly graphics, and a user interface so broken, it was somehow worse than a game for the NES. Though not as bad as the other CD-I games, it is mostly just a strange misfire.
6 Kirby's Avalanche - SNES
Sega Genesis players were gifted with the addictive Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine as an exclusive. Two years later, Nintendo decided to make their own exclusive with the same kind of puzzle game: this resulted in Kirby's Avalanche.
Kirby's Avalanche is without a doubt, a clone of Mean Bean Machine; the sprites for the beans are nearly identical, the mechanics are the same, and it does nothing new but add Kirby characters. On the plus side, it is just as fun as its competitor.
5 Mario Is Missing - NES/SNES
Luigi's first starring role and it happens to be in one of the most disappointing Mario games ever made. From the title and the setup, every gamer is going in expecting an epic adventure in which Luigi must save his older brother.
That is not the case: it is an educational game and not a fun one like Math Blaster. Instead, it is a tedious and boring trek across the globe learning about geography and that somehow saves Mario from Bowser.
4 Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Where did Wario come from? This was the game that introduced him to the bizarre Nintendo universe. It was an exclusive title for the Nintendo GameBoy and is often considered a much superior sequel to the original.
It featured new worlds that hadn't been seen before in the main Super Mario series at that point as well as new power-ups. It wasn't the deepest of Mario games but it provided a fun handheld experience for those needing Mario on the go.
3 Super Princess Peach - Nintendo DS
Finally, Nintendo gifted the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom with her own game. It is a more standard platformer with very beautiful sprites but what makes it strange is Peach's abilities.
Along with her living umbrella named Perry, Peach can attack enemies and solve platforming puzzles with powers that stem from her emotions. Anger, sadness, calm, and joy. So it's like a predecessor to Pixar's Inside Out. It was met with a mixed reception at launch but it does have a fanbase who considers it a fun underrated title.
2 Link's Crossbow Training - Nintendo Wii
This is a strange case as the game is actually one of the best selling Zelda games ever made but not long after its release, it faded into obscurity. Link's Crossbow Training was exclusive for the Nintendo which used the Wii Zapper.
The game is an on-rail shooting gallery that is repetitive but addictive enough to keep one entertained. It also features a great soundtrack with many new renditions of classic Zelda themes.
1 Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland - Nintendo DS
Did anybody ask for Zelda's creepy NPC Tingle to get his own game? No. Yet somehow he got two of them for the Nintendo DS and these were definitely not in the same vein as The Legend Of Zelda games.
Both are strange RPGs that introduce even weirder characters and mechanics. Both feature so many different gameplay elements that it's difficult for them to establish their own identity. Combined with weird, even creepy visuals and it is a game that is worthy of being forgotten.