Nintendo makes some of the most popular video games in the world. People often associate Nintendo with such titles as Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda. It has even produced some fine RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Golden Sun. However, players often overlook some games even on the most popular Nintendo consoles.
Whether they're part of a mainline Nintendo series or if they're playable on a Nintendo console, there are many games fans consider underrated. Some JRPG series have obscure entries on Nintendo consoles, while other games flew under players' radars due to bigger titles overshadowing them or the fact that they were released onto an underperforming console.
10 Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
(Wii U, 2014)
The Donkey Kong Country series was a pillar for platforming games during the Super Nintendo days. Donkey Kong 64, even with its brand of awkward gameplay, has stayed on many fans' minds years later. Fewer fans discuss Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, likely because it began on the Wii U, which was a commercial flop.
Tropical Freeze has DK fighting a group called the Snowmads: invaders who freeze over Donkey Kong Island and blow away the Kongs. Joining DK are Diddy, Dixie, and Cranky as they travel through various levels. The game is back to the old side-scrolling Country style with 3D visuals. Players looking for a solid platformer should track down the Switch version.
9 Pokémon Puzzle League
(Nintendo 64, 2000)
Pokémon isn't a franchise that fans normally associate with the word "underrated." It's one of the biggest franchises in history, after all. However, fans often overlook Pokémon Puzzle League, which Nintendo developed solely for Western audiences.
Pokémon Puzzle League is one of the few to feature the characters from the anime. It even has voice acting. Players play as Ash and battle trainers through a puzzle battle similar to Tetris Attack. Instead of blocks, though, gamers fight Pokémon battles by matching shapes. Because it's a puzzle game and not a typical Pokémon adventure, however, many fans overlooked it. It's an overall fun (and slightly addicting) game where players fight rivals, Gym leaders, Elite Four members, and even Mewtwo.
8 Final Fantasy V
(Super Famicom, 1992)
Most Final Fantasy titles are well-known and have gained great acclaim, especially after the success of Final Fantasy VII on the Playstation One. Many games in the series have come since, but one that was both overlooked and revolutionary for the series was Final Fantasy V.
The fifth entry proved to be vital for the job system that would become a staple of JRPGs. In addition, Final Fantasy V introduced the active time battle gauge, which determined when party members could act in battle again. With innovative features and a decent story, Final Fantasy V was a stepping stone to what the Final Fantasy series would become. Sadly, it missed its chance on the SNES, and when ported to the PlayStation, Final Fantasy VII overshadowed it greatly.
7 Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels Of The Starry Skies
(Nintendo DS, 2009)
Dragon Quest, or Dragon Warrior as it was once called in the West, was a trendsetter when it came to RPGs. RPG fans consider Dragon Quest XI masterful, and Dragon Quest VII and Dragon Quest VIII got high praise as well, even as they were rereleased for the 3DS. Dragon Quest IX, however, is an overlooked entry for the Nintendo DS.
Dragon Quest IX has players take the role of an angel who has fallen to Earth. Along with a decent story, players can form a custom party full of job classes and even change the player character's job class. The game is the same Dragon Quest fans love, just handheld. During the time of the game's release, people were more focused on Dragon Quest VIII on the PlayStation 2 or Dragon Quest IV, V, and VI, which were also on the Nintendo DS.
6 Stella Glow
(Nintendo 3DS, 2015)
In the world of JRPGs for the 3DS, especially standalone ones, Stella Glow stands above the rest. Players must stop a witch from crystallizing the world while forming relationships with other characters, who are colorful and extremely likable.
Time in Stella Glow moves between Free Time and Battle Time. During Free Time, players explore the world and become better acquainted with the party. These relationships determine the main character's strength in battle. Certain story aspects can even change depending on the player's choices. There were plenty of other great RPGs on the 3DS, like Shin Megami Tensei IV and Bravely Default, so Stella Glow flew under the many gamers' radars.
5 Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards
(Game Boy Advance, 2002)
Yu-Gi-Oh! is one of the world's most popular card games and anime series. Naturally, there would be many video games featuring the series and its characters. Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards gives players the experience of a Yu-Gi-Oh! RPG, which fans rarely get today.
Players take the role of one of Yugi and Joey's friends as they participate in the Battle City tournament. Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sacred Cards has a great progression system where winning duels increase the player's duel score, which allows them to put stronger cards in their deck. Players didn't want an RPG experience out of Yu-Gi-Oh!, and many fans may have gotten frustrated with the duel score system at the time.
4 Go! Go! Hypergrind
(GameCube, 2003)
Go! Go! Hypergrind was a collaborative effort between ATLUS (Persona) and animation studio Spumco (Ren & Stimpy). In Go! Go! Hypergrind, Spumco holds auditions for a skateboarding cartoon. Several cartoon hopefuls attempt to impress the judges by doing tricks mixed with cartoon violence.
To pull this off, players must do cool skate tricks while also hurting the character in environmental hazards. This brought a unique spin to the skateboarding genre. Go! Go! Hypergrind is a wacky marriage of cartoon violence and extreme sports that fans didn't know they needed. Perhaps the game was a bit too bizarre for extreme sports enthusiasts.
3 The Wonderful 101
(Wii U, 2013)
Developed by Platinum Games and directed by Hideki Kamiya, The Wonderful 101 involves a large superhero team and their fight against invading aliens. It was one of the few third-party games to truly embrace the Wii U's gamepad. Like Tropical Freeze, this game had origins on the Wii U, which was a commercial failure.
The Wonderful 101 uses the "Unite Morph" system. In this system, heroes combine into objects used to defeat the invaders. Drawing a shape on the Wii U gamepad allows the heroes to take various shapes on the battlefield, like a giant fist or a gun. Along with using the Wii U's gamepad beautifully, the game features a vibrant cast with excellent voice acting.
2 Chibi-Robo!
(Gamecube, 2005)
Chibi-Robo!, a game from the mid-2000s, took the platformer genre and added a few neat twists to it. It featured a household robot named Chibi-Robo, who did chores around the house for a strange family. Games like The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and Super Mario Sunshine also came out in the mid-2000s, overshadowing gems like Chibi-Robo.
In Chibi-Robo!, the player must earn Happy Points by doing chores to become the best Chibi-Robo in the world. The points allow the Chibi-Robo to earn upgrades, including a stronger battery, as Chibi-Robo runs on electricity and has limited energy to perform tasks.
1 Geist
(GameCube, 2005)
Geist was an innovative horror game in the mid-2000s that was one of the few M-rated GameCube titles. It involved a counter-terrorist agent becoming a ghost and trying to save his friend and fellow agent from an evil corporation.
In Geist, players must use the main character's ghostly abilities to fight and solve puzzles. Geist seemed more appropriate for adult audiences, and many adult players chose either the PlayStation 2 or Xbox during that console generation. Geist has some cool ideas, and it's a shame it's not on modern consoles.