Top 5 most over-hyped Nintendo games

Mario Jumping

Originally published September 26th, 2007

As gamers get bombarded with Halo 3 coverage this week (deserving or not), MSNBC has compiled a list of what they believe to be the five most over-hyped video games: Halo 3, Madden, Daikatana, Enter the Matrix, and Pac-Man in that order.

The list got me thinking, “What are the most over-hyped Nintendo games?”

Here’s my list (do share yours):

  1. Super Mario Bros. 3. And you thought Halo 3 marketing was bad — Nintendo coerced Universal Pictures to release a 100 minute commercial for the game in the form of 1989’s The Wizard. Luckily, both the movie and Mario 3 were bodacious.
  2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I love me some Link. I like him better than Mario. But man I’m tired of seeing and hearing Ocarina of Time regarded as the greatest game of all time for nine years running. Surely it doesn’t take a decade to crown new greatness?
  3. Killer Instinct. Despite paid advertisements suggesting otherwise, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter II, and Eternal Champions this game is not. Cool graphics, though.
  4. Pokémon Red, Blue and Green. This is the greatest selling game (20 million sold) of all time, on any platform, excluding bundled games. Can someone please tell me why?
  5. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Despite GameSpot’s inconsistency when docking points from sequel games, Jeff Gerstmann’s 8.8 (and controversial) assessment of Twilight Princess was a spot on score, even calling the game “great.” Rating something less than a nine doesn’t have to mean it isn’t worth your time, your money, or your gamer love. It all depends on what you think a review score should be.