Nintendo isn't a company that prides itself on being on the cutting edge of technology, at least not in the last few console generations. They value fun, unique experiences that everyone can enjoy. This doesn't necessarily mean that their games age any quicker than their industry counterparts, but that's definitely true in some cases.
Fun will presumably never go out of fashion, but technology and culture change with ever-increasing rapidity, and video games are evidence of this. With the revised Switch seemingly close to being released (or at least announced), certain games will become outdated instantaneously, as the new hardware shows fans what Nintendo games can look and play like.
10 Pokémon Rumble U Came & Went With A Whimper
It's hard to believe Pokémon Rumble U came out in the same year as Splatoon. Its heavy use of the Wii U's NFC technology and the necessity to collect Pokémon figures to utilize it ties it to a specific point in time.
Anyone encountering it in the present day would be forgiven for thinking it's a mobile game, of which there are many that look and play a lot better.
9 Sonic Boom: Rise Of Lyric Was Outdated When It Came Out
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric wasn't a good game when it released, and with time its inadequacies have only become more glaring. The graphics were outdated upon release, looking more like a PS2 game than that of a seventh generation console.
The gameplay was slow, the controls were subpar, there were glitches and severe frame rate issues, the list goes on. Rise of Lyric has to be one of the worst Sonic games ever made, and one that has certainly not got better with age.
8 Star Fox Zero Doesn't Feel Like A Modern Game At All
Star Fox Zero only came out in 2016, five years ago at the time of writing, and yet it feels like a game that could have released for the GameCube (except in HD). The characters were the same ones fans had been seeing since the very first Star Fox game instead of being freshened up for a new audience.
The unintuitive control scheme which tied the player to inept motion controls and the lack of a traditional twin-stick aiming option are oversights that games these days wouldn't (or shouldn't, at least) abide.
7 Wii Fit U Didn't Have Enough Stamina To Last Long
Since the release of Ring Fit Adventure, the Wii Fit series has been made to seem every bit as old as it is. Wii Fit U is lightweight in comparison to Ring Fit, which can have you working up a sweat within minutes.
The game was a mildly spiced-up version of previous entries and featured a lot of overlapping content, holding it back from being a more modern title. The series outstayed its welcome with this one.
6 It's Rough Going Back To Old Link In Hyrule Warriors
Hyrule Warriors might not seem as dated if it wasn't for the release of Breath of the Wild. Having seen the updated Link (complete with blue tunic instead of green) and then going back to green tunic Link, a stereotypical depiction of Princess Zelda, and fighting against generic enemies from previous games, makes it seem old.
Despite being colorful it looked washed out, and the AI's lack of intelligence really shows up nowadays. And the definitive edition released on the Switch four years later, despite adding lots of new content (including Link's blue tunic), failed to modernize the game much.
5 The Wii U Helped To Date Fatal Frame: Maiden Of Black Water
With western audiences having waited a decade for a new Fatal Frame game after Fatal Frame III: The Tormented on the PS2, the Wii U entry didn't exactly blow people away.
Stilted voice acting, janky controls, wooden characters all make the game look unrefined six years after its western release. The use of the Wii U gamepad as a Camera Obscura was innovative at the time, but given how dated the Wii U seems in 2021, it no longer feels contemporary.
4 There Are Better Ways To Create Digital Art Than Playing Art Academy: Lessons For Everyone
For a game that released in 2012, Art Academy: Lessons For Everyone doesn't seem that much more advanced than Microsoft Paint, which released some 27 years earlier.
As interesting an idea as it was, it's hard to imagine anyone hankering to go back and draw on the small 3DS screen, especially the original version, when there are tablets with much bigger screens to create digital art and which can easily be shared with others.
3 Pokémon X/Y Aged Itself By Being Too Formulaic
Although it added some new features such as the ability to change your outfit, ride a Rhydon, and roller skate, these didn't amount to the overhaul the 2D Pokémon games needed at the time.
As a result, Pokémon X and Y isn't a big divergence from the games of the generation that preceded it, making the game seem older than it really is. Pokémon gamers had seen this all before, and the graphics were bland compared to games like Kid Icarus: Uprising and Ever Oasis.
2 1-2-Switch's Novelty Wore Off Quickly
1-2-Switch was created to showcase the Switch's functionality, which Switch owners have long since grown accustomed to. While the proof of concept game may have been fun for a time when it was released alongside the launch of the Switch back in 2017, the novelty wore off quickly.
It has nothing more to offer than its selection of hit-and-miss (mostly miss) mini-games/tech demos, and that lack of depth hampered its replay value. It wouldn't have been so bad as a free pack-in for the system (or at least a budget title), but it didn't have nearly enough to it to justify it being a separate, full-priced game.
1 Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training For Nintendo Switch Was An Outdated Concept
The Dr. Kawashima boom started with Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training for the Nintendo DS in 2005. Said to increase mental ability, it was subsequently proved that the games do little to improve cognitive function. Even if there are people interested in the kinds of activities found in the game, there are countless apps that can do the same thing and are easily accessible on smartphones and other devices.
Despite only being released in 2019, gimmicks like using the infrared scanner to play rock, paper scissors still couldn't change the fact that the Switch incarnation was a generation too far for the series.