Nintendo elicits many different reactions depending on the type of gamer you are talking to. It can go from admiration to disdain, with nostalgia often part of the equation. You can think that Nintendo is a revolutionary company, or you can think that their products too often lean towards the childish end of the scale. The one thing everyone agrees on is that the Japanese giant always puts the time to make sure that the quality of their games is equal to none. That is to say, Nintendo rarely misfires.

But when it does, it does so spectacularly.

When a company has been around for so long, even an impressive average can leave place for some stinkers. We managed to single out thirty games published by Nintendo which are so far below their usual standards of quality that you would think they were products of an overzealous fan’s fever dream. Their penchant for innovation can often be taken so far that it becomes distorted.

This list contains Nintendo’s worst mistakes. These are all games that have either been developed or published by the Big N. These anomalies are guilty of various crimes: mistreatment of beloved characters, inane premises, boring concepts, or simply general mediocrity. As you will come to realize by the end of this list, even a revered company such as Nintendo is capable of birthing atrocities every once in a while.

30 Do The Mario

Every few years, a new fad is born and takes the world by storm. In the early to mid-2000s, it was the turn of Dance Dance Revolution. You could not set foot in a multiplex theater without hearing the electronic beats of a DDR machine somewhere. Not one to be left behind, Nintendo decided to partner up with Konami for a special project, exclusive to the Gamecube: Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix, a game which allows you to shake your rump to hits such as “Wrecking Crew Bonus Stage” and “Yoshi’s Cookie Theme”. To make sure that you know what you are getting into, the main villain (at first) is Waluigi, a character usually relegated to being Wario’s tennis partner. Even for DDR regulars, the track list made it hard to get into it.

29 This Isn’t What I Had In Mind When I Asked For More Metroid

With the beloved Metroid series soon celebrating its 30^th anniversary, Nintendo was sure to release something to show that it was listening to the fans. After all, most of them had been disappointed by the last release, the much-maligned Metroid: Other M. This is why everyone was especially baffled when the next announced game was Metroid Prime: Federation Force, a 3DS game which causes more hand cramps than fun, and which only mentions Samus in passing. As a spin-off, the game focuses on the Galactic Federation Marines, a gang of soldiers which are definitely not Samus and are about half as cool. Focusing on shooting instead of anything else which made Metroid successful over the years, Federation Force was a commercial failure which forced Nintendo to go back to basics. Indeed, they released the much better Samus Returns next, and hopefully we will never hear from the Federation Marines ever again.

28 It’s The Thought That Counts

After many years of fans salivating at the idea of Mario and Sonic finally coming face to face to determine who was the ultimate platforming hero, Sega and Nintendo teamed up to offer… Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games. Sure, they would eventually face off for real in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, but in the meantime, you had to settle for “who can throw a javelin the farthest?” The multiple discipline are accurate representations of the sport they imitate, which doesn’t mean that it makes for an exciting game. Compared to the usual wackiness from Mario sports games, this simply doesn’t measure up. The original was bad enough, but the nature of Mario & Sonic means that we have to suffer through another substandard title every two years. It’s only fair that as penance, we one day get an actual platformer crossover.

27 Couch Potato Pikachu

Pokémon might be a franchise that is usually aimed at a younger audience, but it manages to hold the attention of older gamers because of its addictive nature and its simple yet complex battle system. Pokémon Channel for Gamecube took away the excitement of the battle to ask you to do something completely different: watch TV with Pikachu. Maybe the success of Pokémon Snap got to Nintendo’s head, but there was no way watching television could be as surprisingly deep of an activity as photography. In Pokémon Channel, you get to choose between a variety of programs devised by Professor Oak, some of which actually attempt to act like a game and not just like a contemplative activity. I would say that this is one of the most ill-advised Pokémon spin-off attempt, but this list has a few more to show.

26 Keep On Walking

If you feel like you have watched too much TV with Pikachu, you might want to get back in shape. Well, do I have the game for you! Personal Trainer: Walking is a game that comes bundled with two pedometers. You take one of these with you everywhere so you can track how many steps you walk in a day. Once you get home, you upload this data to your game, and then… you look at graphics that tell you how much you have walked. If you are so inclined, you could upload your data to a leaderboard to see how much you walked when compared with total strangers. And… that’s about it. It’s a totally pointless game that was looking to cash in on Nintendo’s sudden popularity with casual players, the same people who were super into Brain Age and other games that were supposed to benefit your health.

25 The Never-ending Struggle

Have you ever played Nidhogg? It’s a simple PC game which is exciting because of the constant struggle of two players trying to make it past their opponent to their respective goal. It’s a game of constant back and forth and reversal of fortune which should be experienced by every gamer. If you strip Nidhogg of its fun, then you get Urban Champion. It’s one of Nintendo’s early releases on NES, and it’s a very simple game: You try to punch someone continuously so they keep tumbling back, until one of you falls into a manhole. You have two, that’s right, TWO types of punches available, and sometimes, the police might pass by to force you to break it off. That’s about it. Luckily there were some other games available at the NES’ launch, or it might have sent the gaming world back into a crash worse than 1983.

24 A Waste Of Plastic

When the Wii was released in 2006 along with its revolutionary controller, most people noticed how well it could be used to point and shoot things on screen. With any luck, we could have seen a revival of the lightgun genre which was so popular in the arcade. Instead, Nintendo’s sole effort was Link’s Crossbow Training, a game which only exists to sell you the Wii Zapper peripheral. The Zapper is nothing but a plastic shell to house your Wii remote and the accompanying nunchuk, and somehow, this makes aiming even harder than it would be without the expensive plastic toy. As for the game, you take down enemies with arrows, but the whole thing is too simple and is done in about an hour. A Duck Hunt revival would have been a more appropriate use of resources.

23 A Remake Of A Remake

When Nintendo first released Star Fox for the SNES, it struck gold by simultaneously creating a new franchise and proving that their 2D console had some more juice left in it. It followed that by releasing Star Fox 64, which was basically a retelling of the original, but with fancier graphics. When that became an even bigger hit, Nintendo tried for years to improve on the formula, to no avail. So what’s left to do? That’s right! They released Star Fox Zero, which is more or less Star Fox 64, but with even fancier graphics. If you count the 3DS update of Star Fox 64, that’s the fourth time that the same game is released under different monikers. The difference is that Star Fox Zero has clunkier controls, and that it was upstaged by its own companion release, a tower defense game called Star Fox Guard.

22 Are You Scared Yet?

Having successfully scared a whole generation with the dark and manipulative Eternal Darkness, Nintendo pushed their luck by backing a game called Geist. It was developed by N-Space, a company usually known for porting games to portable consoles and for original titles such as Hannah Montana: The Movie and Mary-Kate and Ashley: Magical Mystery Mall. Intrigued by the concept, Nintendo splurged to make Geist a Gamecube exclusive, and then pushed it as the next big thing through Nintendo Power. The big gimmick in Geist is that you can possess people and object, which can help you control enemies, but which also leads you to becoming a faucet, or even a bowl of dog food. While aiming for scary and mysterious, they landed on ridiculous and laughable. Somehow, the two companies have not collaborated since.

21 Cats And Dogs Living Together, Mass Hysteria

If you were really into expensive Tamagotchi, or if you enjoyed petting your touchscreen with a stylus, you might have enjoyed Nintendogs for Nintendo DS. The game was very successful commercially, and even ended up winning a bunch of awards, even though it was only a game about communicating with a virtual dog through a microphone. When the 3DS was released, they obviously needed a sequel, which is why they came up with Nintendogs + Cats, which is the same game as its predecessor, but with felines added. I get that the virtual animal does not need any real treatment and will still be waiting for you even if you abandon it for years, but it’s hardly a game, and the few activities included get tiresome quickly. As a pet owner and a gamer, let me tell you: You’re better off with a real cat.

20 There’s Literally Nothing Funky About This

The Virtual Boy was a failure by itself, but it doesn’t mean that its entire library was bad. After all, it did allow people to experience virtual reality at a time where it was not yet widespread, and it gave people the opportunity to live their wildest dreams, albeit in red and black only. You could pilot a spaceship, or you could go boxing against robots. Nintendo also thought you might want to go bowling in this virtual reality, since bowling is an activity that is so hard to do in real life. Nester’s Funky Bowling is just like the real thing, except that the visuals also make you feel like you have a concussion if you play for more than fifteen minutes, and that it controls worse. If you want to know why the Virtual Boy was discontinued so quickly, look no further.

19 Why Would I Want To Do Any Of That?

With the Switch, Nintendo successfully rebounded from the disappointment known as the Wii U. While their last console was a mess because of a marketing strategy which failed to explain its innovations, the Switch showed exactly what it was made of in the few weeks and months leading to its release. Once it was out, the console was pushed to the front with a premium title like Breath of the Wild. On the other hand, we also got 1-2-Switch. Nintendo had bet on the quirky title to showcase everything the console could do: it features motion controls, and plays just as good on a television as it does in standalone mode. However, it also asks you to pretend you are milking a cow, or eating a sandwich, or shaving, which is basically WarioWare but without the personality. There’s no real winner when people are playing 1-2-Switch.

18 A Serious Downgrade

Most people who played Donkey Kong Country on SNES loved it. It would make sense then that those same people would be craving for a portable version of the game. As a Game Boy exclusive, Donkey Kong Land was similar to its big brother in name only. While it does feature Donkey and Diddy, the game only has scaled-down approximations of the original’s levels. It’s also problematic because the graphics are so ugly that you cannot distinguish your character from the background. In fact, it is proposed that you use the Super Game Boy accessory to fully appreciate the game. Since Donkey Kong Land’s only advantage is its portability, why not just buy Donkey Kong Country at that point?

17 That’s Not How You Play Football

If you love American Football, then you might want to stay away from 10-Yard Fight. One of the first games released on the NES, it was one of Nintendo’s lesser titles which would quickly be relegated to bootleg “50-games-in-1” cartridges that could be found in flea markets. It plays like a more competitive version of Red Rover, where both teams move in a single pack during kickoff, and where the computer is so easy to cheese that mostly every other play results in a touchdown. Judging only from this game, you would think that the only way Nintendo is aware of American Football is by a second-hand description from someone who only saw ten minutes of a game on TV in a foreign language.

16 The Shameless Cash-Grab

For a while, Nintendo had a good thing going with the Mario Party series. Eventually, fatigue set in, but Nintendo tried to keep the party going by branching out with games such as Wii Party and, eventually, Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival. It is indeed a board-based game like its brethren, but with a few marked differences: First of all, it’s boring. It plays like Mario Party on sleeping pills. Second of all, adding more characters requires buying more Amiibo, most of which are sold separately. It’s not even compatible with the Amiibo you might have bought willingly because of Super Smash Bros. Instead, you have to play with “iconic” characters such as Isabelle the poodle and Mable the hedgehog. Honestly, you’re better off playing an invigorating game of Sorry!

15 Not-So Greatest Hits

If you are tired of the Animal Crossing version and would rather be disappointed by the real thing, then you should try Mario Party: The Top 100. Available only on 3DS, it’s a riff on the usual Mario Party formula which focuses on the minigames. If you want to play with the standard rules, there is only one board available. You might think that it’s a good thing, since the minigames are usually the star of any Mario Party, but it’s not. A bunch of minigames without context lose their meaning. Why would you bother competing with your friends if you cannot steal a star or betray all of them to snatch victory at the last second? On top of it all, the 3DS’ design paired with Mario Party’s nature means that it’s a serious strain on the console’s flimsy joystick. Stay away from this at all cost.

14 Easy Rider

Mario Kart might be the most popular racer, and it might also be the most fun in multiplayer mode, but when it comes to a good challenge, nothing beats F-Zero. If, by any chance, both of these series are too much for you to handle, then there is Kirby Air Ride. It’s a racing game which features nothing but Kirbys of different colours (except for two unlockable characters later in the game) and which basically plays itself. Your character moves automatically through the tracks, and all you have to do is steer around the obstacles and press A every once in a while. The A button does everything: it attacks your enemies, it helps you brake, or it activates boosts. It is so uninspired, it’s the game that made Kirby’s creator Masahiro Sakurai give up and leave to work on different projects.

13 Swiping Simulator

Speaking of uninspired racing games, here’s Pokémon Dash for Nintendo DS. Released during the system’s launch window, it was devised as a way to showcase the console’s touchscreen. Problem is, that’s about the only thought that went into it before slapping the Pokémon name on the packaging. You cannot choose any other Pokémon but Pikachu, because he's everyone's favorite, right? You control your Pikachu by continuously swiping your stylus across the touchscreen, and there’s not much else in terms of gameplay. The exhilarating action moves at a speed so slow that it could be described as a bit like molasses flowing down a gentle hill on a very cold day. Thankfully, Mario Kart DS would be released soon after to bring some real racing action to the portable system.

12 From Puffball To Golf Ball

You might be under the impression that Kirby’s Dream Course is a good game because it was included on the much-hyped SNES Classic, but don’t be fooled. Kirby’s Dream Course is only on there because Nintendo thought it was bad form to include more than one Donkey Kong Country game. As for Dream Course, it’s like golf, except that Kirby serves as the ball, and that you have to solve various physics puzzles on the 3D courses before going for the hole. I think I might have accidentally made it sound interesting, but it’s just a repetitive variation on a game which gets more exciting the closest you get to retirement. There is not nearly enough variety to make good on the concept.

11 A Whole Lot Of Shaking

One sign that a game might not be of the utmost quality is when the same project is scrapped and redone many times before completion. There might be exceptions to the rule, but most of the time you will end up with something like Daikatana or Duke Nukem Forever. While it was not as anticipated as these two, Donkey Kong Barrel Blast is a game that was first imagined as a Gamecube title which would have been compatible with the bongo controllers. When the bongos did not catch on as expected, the game was shelved only to re-emerge as a Wii exclusive. Instead of hitting bongos, the players now have to shake the Wiimote and nunchuk controllers as if they were banging an imaginary drum. It’s a neat little workout for your arms, but it does little to distract you from the dated visuals or from the lack of interesting tracks.