10 Most Overlooked Nintendo Games Ever

There’s no denying the impact Nintendo has had on gaming. Outside of its hardware legacy, they’ve been home to an impressive set of franchises that push their consoles even now, spanning across Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Fire Emblem, Super Smash Bros, Kirby, Animal Crossing and more.

There’s very few people who haven’t heard of Nintendo in some capacity and many of their games became big hits. Not every game can reach this status of course and most developers have a few titles which fell into obscurity, Nintendo being no exception. Whether they were original games that got lost in the spotlight or the quirky spin-offs that only the dedicated fanbase remember, there remain a wide number of games worth revisiting.

Many of these listed titles have been digitally re-released through the Switch Online Service or Virtual Console on Wii U/3DS, making them more accessible than ever. So if another Mario adventure won’t cut it right now, here are some games you might not have been aware of.

Another Code came as one of CING’s enjoyable DS ventures, though it never reached the acclaim that their other franchise Hotel Dusk found. Known as Trace Memory in North America, it’s a point-and-click adventure, one of the earlier DS releases back in 2005 that made use of the DS touchscreen and microphone for puzzle solving.

Focused on Ashley Robbins, Another Code sees her in the care of her aunt after parents Richard and Sayoko went missing 11 years previously and presumed dead. Receiving a card two days before her 14th birthday, coming packed with device known as the “DAS” that's programmed only to work with Ashely, it contains a message from Richard, asking her to visit Blood Edward Island.

It received praise for its hand-drawn artwork and how it utilised the DS features, proving to be an engaging story but was often criticised for its puzzles and short length. Despite this, it became successful enough to warrant a Wii sequel called Another Code R: A Journey Into Lost Memories but after CING’s bankruptcy in 2010, it’s doubtful we’ll ever see the series return