Has Nintendo lost its mojo?

I always remember these three reviews when I hear metacritic doom and gloom

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AJUMP23 said:
I would get a fat bonus if I was. I think their sales illustrate mojo is fine. In a consumption based society.
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The Switch has perfomed very well has loads of great games, And the Switch 2 seems to have continued in the same vein and at the moment is selling at a faster pace. If this is Nintendo losing their mojo, I would love to see their sales if they ever found it. But as I said before some members of Gaf prefer it when Nintendo have a more quirky console that does not sell all that well. Nintendo have simply tried to cater for a wider audience and of course the core hobby gamers do not like that, as they feel they speak for everybody.......... Which as usual is very far removed from reality.
 
LakeOf9 said:
  • Pokemon Legends ZA: 78 Metacritic
  • Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment: 78 Metacritic
  • Kirby Air Riders: 78 Metacritic
  • Metroid Prime 4 Beyond: 80 Metacritic
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Pokemon Scarlet/Violet: 72 Metacritic
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity: 78 Metacritic
Kirby: Air Ride: 61 Metacritic
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: 90 Metacritic

Only title that sticks out is Metroid, the rest are the same or better.
 
Guys we should have an official OT for this, Nintendoomed 2026, keep it up to date with all the Hot Firey takes from people who don't even like Nintendo games and haven't played them in years
 
Topher said:
So much for the mythical <insert platform name> metacritic bump
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There's definetly a bump tho. If you read 5 out of 5 scores on MP4 reviews, they call the open world 'outdated', game too hand-holdy etc.
The reviews read more like a 71 and that's where the bump comes in. I know you'll disagree but read the consensus of the high-scoring reviews yourself.

And the platform bump definetly affects all 3 (nintendo, Sony, and even Microsoft given their fan websites) and why Sony/Nintendo games are often nominated for goty when they wouldn't if it was random steam game.

Case in point; Astro Bot would have an 86 and no nominee if it was made by a random company and dumped on steam.
 
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Danny22 said:
There's definetly a bump tho. If you read 5 out of 5 scores on MP4 reviews, they call the open world 'outdated', game too hand-holdy etc.
The reviews read more like a 71 and that's where the bump comes in. I know you'll disagree but read the consensus of the high-scoring reviews yourself.

And the platform bump definetly affects all 3 (nintendo, Sony, and even Microsoft given their fan websites) and why Sony/Nintendo games are often nominated for goty when they wouldn't if it was random steam game.

Case in point; Astro Bot would have an 86 and no nominee if it was made by a random company and dumped on steam.
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That's stupid. The game clearly excels in many other areas. The music, graphics and art direction, performance, exploration, gameplay, bosses and puzzle-solving.

The NPC characters don't stick around Samus and are brief encounters in each area and the desert serves as a hub from going from one area to the other and doesn't seem to do anything else of much interest does not warrant the score to go a low "70 or else anything higher is a bump"

A bump would have been ignoring the problems it does have and still giving it a 90.
 
MP4 is a bit of a letdown - having followed some ass western trends - but the Japanese in house developed games like MKW and DKB were great games with great scores. I think you gotta be mentally challenged if you think main in house series like Zelda and Mario wont be absolute bangers.
 
They (Nintendo, Sony, MS) have all lost it IMO.

Nothing great about the Switch 2, Xbox isn't doing anything game wise, Gamepass is really it, and their play anywhere thing. Sony really let me down with the PS5, and they don't seem to know how to properly support their devices (PSVR2) by releasing games. Weird huh?

I remember having a good time with all companies, just not so much anymore. MS has kept me with play anywhere, as accessing my games from my Legion Go is nice. Sony has practically lost me. I play my games remotely too, but the bastards can't even do that as well as MS(I have to use a third party app).

Nintendo....I noped out on Switch 2. I liked Xenoblade. I guess that's it really. They still have good games, but they just aren't as appealing as they used to be(to me).
 
Do we know what Yoshio Sakamoto is working on? The next "2D" Metroid? And if so, with whom? In-house or with a second-party/third-party?

I know that Fumi Hayashi is Sakamoto's designated successor (and he directed Metroid Dread and was assistant director for the Samus Returns remake). So he will most likely direct the next "2D" Metroid as well. But I hope Sakamoto is involved.
 
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The games are decent and ~78 metacritic is still a decent score but I do think the reviewers and some poeple have kind of woken up to some of these Nintendo games not being that special/innovative anymore.

Take your Pokemon Legends ZA example with 78 metacritic.

I think it's deserving of that score, maybe even lower, and when I try to think of any reason to give it a higher score the only thing I can think of is "it's pokemon". There isn't really anything innovative or different in it, nor is there really any more effort in gameplay, animation, sound, graphics that I would say stands out and tells me to give it higher than 78, which isn't a bad score. Same with MP4. If somebody asked my why would this score higher I can only think of "It's Metroid".
 
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There is a trend indeed. But as long as their customer buy their consoles and games, I wouldn't worry for Nintendo.

It seems reviewers are realizing Nintendo games are becoming brain dead easy for the most part. Which is the main problem I have with their games since the Wii era and Skyward Sword in particular which was a boring game overrated by reviewers back then. Nowadays those games aren't just overrated in the same way.
 
Hudo said:
Do we know what Yoshio Sakamoto is working on? The next "2D" Metroid? And if so, with whom? In-house or with a second-party/third-party?
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I don't think so, but I think it's safe to assume he's involved with the next 2D game and that it's being worked on by MercurySteam.
 
As a dude who consider most of their games super overrated, they did not have much mojo to lose to begin with.

But i would never trust reviews, just buy the game if you are interested and check by yourself.

Remember the media scored veilguard an 85...

People still buy their games en masse so i don't think they care.
 
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When will people stop using Metacritic as a measure of anything... It just doesn't work in reality.
All of their games continue to sell in huge numbers; people continue to buy them. Sales, by the way, are only growing.
As of September 30, 2025, Mario Kart World has sold 9.57 million copies worldwide. This pace is faster than Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's first year on the market.
As long as people buy their games, they'll be fine. And as we can see, their sales are absolutely fantastic.
 
Nintendo has released 4 flops in a row, Switch 2 is being outsold by PS5 in Spain, Sony went all in on GaaS games and is releasing sequels that look just like sequels, they are woke now and releasing on PC, plus they only release like 2 games per year. MS gave up on consoles. Xbox is a 3rd party software company, the consoles are no more. PC gaming is doomed, look at all the price increases for hardware parts.

That's it, videogames are over, pack it up, we are done.
 
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Tiago Rodrigues said:
Nintendo has released 4 flops in a row, Switch 2 is being outsold by PS5 in Spain, Sony went all in on GaaS games and is releasing sequels that look just like sequels, they are woke now and releasing on PC, plus they only release like 2 games per year. MS gave up on consoles. Xbox is a 3rd party software company, the consoles are no more. PC gaming is doomed, look at all the price increases for hardware parts.

That's it, videogames are over, pack it up, we are done.
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A few Nintendo games got the reviews they deserve instead of being the usual 90+, I don't see any problem here.

I know for sure that I will enjoy Prime 4 (despite its flaws), but all the games listed in OP look absolutely mid to me. But it's not like previous games rated 90+ sometimes aren't mid either, as far as I am concerned. Open-worlds collecathons, filled with fetch quests, tedious repetitive tasks are certainly overrated right ? Truth is Nintendo aren't exactly releasing masterpieces one after another, even if Nintendo, fans and the press would like us to believe so.

That Breath of the Wild world and design needs to die as well. Can't stand it. Was okay-ish in BoW, but started getting old as soon as the first KT beat'em up released (and god it was unplayable on Switch 1). Pokemon is trash. Last good games are on 3DS. Kirby Riders looks like complete jank, who wants to play this ? 78 is way too high for this shit. Mario Kart World sucks as well. Odyssey and Donkey are glorified collecathons. Wonder is absolute nonsense and unbearable. Dread is the worst 2D Metroid after the 3DS remake.

First Party output was MUCH better on Wii U.
 
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LakeOf9 said:
  • Pokemon Legends ZA: 78 Metacritic The Pokemon Company
  • Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment: 78 Metacritic Omega force or something worse, IDK
  • Kirby Air Riders: 78 Metacritic Sakurai's fan project
  • Metroid Prime 4 Beyond: 80 M Ok, that's on them…
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Nahhh… they'll be fine. The only people that reviews Mario and Zeldas are Mario and Zelda fans. And when that isn't like this, like when Sterling and Jeff Gerstmann did, they are booed in favour of the main opinion that all that Nintendo shits is gold.
 
LakeOf9 said:
They dragged out the Switch 1 for with years, and they still couldn't get their ducks in row for the launch year of the successor?
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The system is selling better than they expected though. The cross gen and upgrade packs are working to bring in people and have them potentially buy older games they missed, etc. Or in my case get upgrades so my kids can enjoy the better versions. For Switch 1 they had Odyssey ready instead of DK and Zelda was held hostage as a cross platform. Both of those games were supposed to be mid/late gen WiiU but the system failed. It wasn't that they got their ducks in a row as much as they salvaged a failure and threw everything they had at the launch in a hail Mary.

It looks shitty compared to Switch 1, but they did drop DK near launch and a new MK and now Metroid. If you were Nintendo wouldn't you consider the Switch 2 launch plan successful?

Personally, I will be very disappointed if there is no new Mario next year, but it is looking likely. They did the Galaxy duo this year and an update to Wonder next spring. I am thinking they would think that is enough Mario with the movie also out. What else could they drop? A monolith game? A Zelda remake?
Comandr said:


Watch this trailer. I double dog dare you. It is incredibly unclear what this device is for someone not really familiar with game consoles. No one knew wtf the Wii U even was. The console itself is in the background under the TV, but it looks shockingly similar to a Wii, and even when the person going to use it goes to pick up the gamepad, they put down a fucking Wii Remote. In this whole presentation they never say it's a brand new console, never show off the console itself. A huge number of people thought it was some sort of attachment or add-on for the Wii itself, including Jimmy Fallon who famously went on interview with Reggie asking just that.

The Wii U failed because of a spectacular lack of vision, a solution looking for a problem, and being much too late to the HD era. Let's not forget, the Wii U was also sold out during its launch. The people that did realize it was a new console, snapped it right up, because yes, it too stood on the shoulders of giants.

Those people quickly realized their mistake. That's the crux of this argument.
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I didn't quickly realize my mistake. I bought the WiiU and Mario at launch thinking I would eventually get a new Zelda and 3D Mario. That did happen but it took a while. It wasn't obvious that the system was not going to recover from the poor launch until maybe Mario 3D world didn't lead to more sales.
 
I dont think anyone should care for scores, metacritic and awards since the press is moved by how many pronouns you use and/or how many gifts and early access do you provide, quality its not their main concern at all.

Having said that.. Nintendo games are overrated as fuck and coming down to earth to a 80 baseline seems about right for what they seem to deserve.
 
Futaleufu said:
What was the last 100% original game they published? Arms? Splatoon?
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RingFit Adventure

Rat Rage said:
Mario Kart suddenly needs mechanics like open world and battle royale, dumbing down the whole Mario Kart experience.
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I mean they went above and beyond everything in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, they had to take a different road for the next one to be really something different. And it is definitly different. You can play both games withouth thinking "oh this is just the new iteration".


cireza said:
First Party output was MUCH better on Wii U.
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You have selective memories. The Wii U had very good games amont a steady release of mediocre games.

- Mario Tennis Ultrasmash is arguably the worst Mario Tennis ever
- Animal Crossing Amiboo Festival was garbage
- Mario Party 10 is straight up not fun at all
- Star Fox Zero was awful
- I don't even know what was supposed to be Star Fox Guard
- Wii Sports Club, Wii Fit U, Wii Party U are in the same category of super meh "Wii-something" games
- Dr Luigi bring nothing to the table
- New Super Mario Bros U was the 4th iteration of the NSMB which was already dated after the Wii episode.

And it didn't even have a sandbox 3D Mario game, rather a 2D Mario in a 3D environment, and the real big Zelda game came at the end of the console's life.
 
It's been a surprisingly, even shockingly weak slate compared to the absolute bangers they put out for Switch og.

About DK Bananza being the saving grace…

I do fear that maybe the old school has finally given way to a less stellar new school at Nintendo. It was a real eyeopener when Astrobot was the most EAD game in a decade.
 
Baemono said:
You have selective memories. The Wii U had very good games amont a steady release of mediocre games.
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You are simply confirming that Nintendo have always released mid games. Except that on Wii U, there were a few genuinely great games. Which hasn't exactly been the case since the Switch in my opinion.

Mario 3D Land is the most fun I had with a 3D Mario game and it is a focused, well crafted experience. Not a fucking collecathon.
The 4th New Mario game is still way better than the nonsense that is Wonder.
Bayonetta 2 was awesome. Tropical Freeze was awesome. Xeno X is the best Xeno by far. Hyrule Warriors is the best of the series by far, and it was an excellent and fun game. Mario Kart 8 is much better than the travesty that is World. Tokyo Mirage was great fun as well. Splatoon was a great surprise and super fun.
Even Nintendo Land was a fantastic first game, we had so much fun in the asymetrical multiplayer games... Infinitely better than that wheelchair shit and paid interactive manual.
I don't know, games were just much more fun.
 
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First of all, u gotta remember ninny games dont get usual 20-30 brownie points in thier metacritic review score coz of being woke, that many western AAA devs get, and even more importantly- its sales that matter, and here nintendo rocks, especially with their staple moneymaking series- pokemon ;)

On top remember games made for switch2 have usually budget much smaller size, often much lower from ps4 top blockbusters made by western devs- for the simple reason there is way lower graphical fidelity and most of their devteams are japanese and smaller teams, they get reasonable to low salaries compared to lazycats western devs who are overpaid af in comparision.

And guess what- when game has decent but manageable budget of say 50m usd its much easier for it to be profitable/commercial success vs western AAA blockbuster like for example AC:S with well over 500m usd budget(2h+ of endcredits, lool)- sales targets are way different too coz of that.
 
Pokémon ZA - not a main game, so they don't care that much
Hyrule Warriors - it's a Dinasty Warriors game. That's it
Kirby Air Ride - it's actually pretty fun, but remember that is from a franchise that never got the best appraise ever
Metroid Prime 4 - I guess we need more time to it
Drag vs Drive and Switch 2 tour - tech demos (not fair to charge I would say)
Mario Kart World - Ocarina of Time was launched and after that no Zelda beat it, and it's fine. Chances are that Mario Kart 8 will be the same. World still is a great game, but we probably won't get a sequel that surpasses 8. People need to accept that
 
Danny22 said:
There's definetly a bump tho. If you read 5 out of 5 scores on MP4 reviews, they call the open world 'outdated', game too hand-holdy etc.
The reviews read more like a 71 and that's where the bump comes in. I know you'll disagree but read the consensus of the high-scoring reviews yourself.

And the platform bump definetly affects all 3 (nintendo, Sony, and even Microsoft given their fan websites) and why Sony/Nintendo games are often nominated for goty when they wouldn't if it was random steam game.

Case in point; Astro Bot would have an 86 and no nominee if it was made by a random company and dumped on steam.
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While I can appreciate that you are saying that this is a first party bump that applies to all three, too often it is just warrior rhetoric trying to downplay scores because someone is a fan of one platform and not another. Regardless, I still don't buy the bump theory. You think the MP4 reviews read more like a 71 than what it is, but that doesn't mean anything to anyone but you. Plenty of people, such as myself, believe Astro Bot deserves every bit of the high review scores and awards that it received. I played AC Shadows and thought that game was far worse than its metacritic score. Was the score wrong or was it just that my personal opinion simply didn't jive with it? Clearly the latter. So all this subjectivity can be applied whether the game is first party or not.
 
Topher said:
While I can appreciate that you are saying that this is a first party bump that applies to all three, too often it is just warrior rhetoric trying to downplay scores because someone is a fan of one platform and not another. Regardless, I still don't buy the bump theory. You think the MP4 reviews read more like a 71 than what it is, but that doesn't mean anything to anyone but you. Plenty of people, such as myself, believe Astro Bot deserves every bit of the high review scores and awards that it received. I played AC Shadows and thought that game was far worse than its metacritic score. Was the score wrong or was it just that my personal opinion simply didn't jive with it? Clearly the latter. So all this subjectivity can be applied whether the game is first party or not.
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You realize, you just tried to inject a note of common sense into the Neogaf discussion. It's like trying to talk to a crowd of screaming people. :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
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