Topic: Most underrated Nintendo console (excluding Wii U)?

Metroid 4 and Zero Mission and 3 Metroidvania games which each got progressively better....that and Minish cap are the main things I went back to GBA for in the DS era (still need to beat Minish cap)

GAMECUBE breathes harshly...

Oh, uh sorry. I'm a touch sensitive about this question. The gamecube was such a great system...honestly the only issue I think it had was using the mini discs due the the compression. It was the second best system from a technical perspective and it had decent 3rd party support and a load of hidden gems. I'm still working on finishing my GC wish list. Also that black lunch box was really durable. I dropped mine down concrete steps when moving into my dorm room freshman year (this is back in 03) system still works and only got a few scratches.

Second would be the Wii from a library perspective. The Ps2 had tons of shovelware but that is never brought up on conversations about the system unless it is used as a plus (since gamers from all walks of life could find something to play). I feel the same about the Wii. The library was really awesome on that system and I always feel like that part of it gets ignored in favor of the "my grandma bought one" argument.

N64 and Gamecube are both very underrated...yet I think the Wii U will trump them both around 2018 when it finishes. I played Red Steel 2 on the wii...a game that was built around motion controls. It was mildly fun until I developed tennis elbow after a couple of days play..

Seriously though, great games become so because of things like level design, brilliant AI and inventive gameplay mechanics. I also played Mario Galaxy 2 and quit after about an hour because I became sick of the 'waggling' and the wii-mote 'pointing' rubbish ...Input devices are supposed to enhance a gameplay experience, not replace it.. I'm sorry...that's how i feel.

I just don't want to wave my arms around like an idiot in front of the tv screen. Motions controls destroyed Nintendo games for me, and i'm bewildered as to why Miyamoto thinks people would want to wave the gamepad around like a fool in his 'Project Giant Robot'. experiment.. I just don't get it. That sort of thing is the opposite of fun to me...

I also think that Nintendo 1st party games were weak during the wii gen. due to hardware stagnation. Games like Star Fox are only now appearing because the technology is allowing them to take the game into interesting, NEW territory. None of the wii 1st party efforts were on par with earlier efforts.

To me, the Gamecube and the Wii are the most underrated. We all know the N64 is awesome as hell but a lot are hating on the Wii. Granted I really didn't get much on the Wii because it doesn't seem to have much of the games that I want to play besides, Shake it, Metroid Prime Trilogy and some few other games in mind. But I still had fun time with it. But the gamecube had a LOT of great games but there, it failed because of its.....design?

GameCube hands down. You still find comments everywhere that the original Xbox was the most powerful hardware of that generation and the fact was that PS2 was the most popular console of the time. But Microsoft only posted theoretical numbers, the games told a different story; and Sony got it's lead by being the cheapest DVD player out not by creating ground breaking games. (reference link: http://www.purevideogames.net/blog/?p=479)

The reality was the GameCube had the most power but was handicapped by the proprietary disc format. Most multiplat games were developed for the vastly inferior PS2 since it was the best selling, but any exclusive GameCube game at the time blows the competition away.

Wii. That console gets such a bad rap, and it had amazing games. From fad, to lolgamecubeducttapedtogetheramirite, to whatever stupid dudebro insult was relevant at the time.

I'd say the n64, the gamecube and the wii...N64 coz it had 2 of some of the best games ever (mario 64 and zelda ocarina of time), the gamecube because it had the best mario kart ever(mario kart double dash), one of the best mario games ever(mario sunshine), Luigis mansion and I also grew up with it. The wii because ppl slated it for it being crap despite it giving a different way to play and I loved the games on it. People play the same way all the time now...Nintendo actually works hard and tries to think differently and yet when they release great consoles(including the wii u) they get slated by the stupid media press when I personally think nintendo has always released the best consoles(including handhelds). It's always favouritism...why do u think nintendo never got much 3rd party support? The Ps vita is a fail due to sails and it hardly got any criticism and the wii u is all criticism...

None. They're all pretty hyped outside of the Virtual Boy - and good luck trying to prove a system with 2 good games is worth a damn anymore...

The GameCube may have been under-appreciated back when it came out, but nowadays it's nowhere near underrated. Personally I'd say the Wii because so many people wrote it off whether because it was under-powered, the motion controls, or the abundance of shovelware.

The Gamecube hands down.

Is it just more or does the N64 seem underappreciated given all of it's innovations, first analog controller, popularized local multiplayer, first rumble support, first console to "really" get 3D right (yeah I know the PSX and Saturn had some decent titles in 1995 and 1996, but they paled somewhat to the N64's fall 1996 lineup)................plus it was the console that really laid the groundwork for 3D platformers and console first person shooters, third person action-adventure titles (Zelda: OOT), kart and arcade racers, party games.

Sure, it had a small library, but it was a a lot of quality despite the lack of quantity.

so you've never owned a gba? ...or these are really the only game you had on the system? why do you have a fire emblem ikon and no mention the 2 fire emblem titles on the system?

Underrated is a confusing and vague term. You get people saying that bands like Radiohead are "underrated" because people tend to whine about Radiohead in reaction to them being popular and critically acclaimed. Or you could argue that Coldplay is underrated because despite their popularity people tend to 'unjustly' complain about how mediocre they are. Perhaps you'd go the other way and say that The Drones are underrated because despite the critical acclaim they don't really sell as good as you think they should.

Really the only thing you're saying is that you like something more than other people do. In which case I'd say that the SNES is the most underrated Nintendo console purely because I think without question it's the best console they've made. And I know that some people think Nintendo's other consoles were better like the N64, Gamecube, Wii or NES. In my mind everyone should be putting the SNES up the top, some people don't and I don't really have particularly strong opinions about the others. Which IMO makes it the most underrated.

Wii is misjudged the most. The Wii gets spoken of like it didn't have loads of the best and most memorable games of last generation but it really did.

Unless you mean 'most underrated in its time' which was clearly the gamecube. It was accused of being less powerful than PS2, having no 3rd party support and its ports always seemed to score lower than the PS2 version for no real reason. The GC has the most forgotten classics of any console I've owned (except possibly the Saturn or Dreamcast).

The Gamecube really isn't underrated at all. Underrated doesn't mean Best Library. Almost everyone lists it as one of their favorite consoles.
If anything, the GBA is underrated. Nobody seems to ever mention it. And it had a crazy good lineup of games that nobody remembers.

By the mainstream: SNES
By gamers: Wii

I agree with the OP that Wii has a strong case for being the most underrated Nintendo console. There are many exclusive games to play on the console that cover a broad range of genres and can appeal to all age demographics. Far too many people write off the console entirely, which is a real shame.

But it's also worth talking about the Game Boy Advance Micro. This console took a lot of criticism for not being backwards compatible (although extremely few people were still playing GB/GBC games by this time) and some people complained that it was simply too small. But that was the point: GBA Micro brought new meaning to the word "portable" and supported a huge library of high-quality GBA games. Today these beautifully designed little consoles are fairly expensive because of how poorly they sold, especially if you are trying to track down extra face plates.

GBA Micro might not have been perfect for everyone, but it was (and typically remains) arguably the most under-appreciated piece of Nintendo hardware in my opinion.

To be fair...ALL NINTENDO CONSOLES HAVE BEEN WRONGLY CRITISIDED AND UNDERATED SINCE THE N64...my reason is because the n64 was sadly unappreciated despite having One of he best mario games of all time (mario 64) and some other great games e.g zelda ocarina of time and mario kart 64... The GameCube was highly UNDERATED AT ITS TIME ALTHOUGH WE REALLY APRECIATE IT NOW due to so many classics and how enjoyable they were e.g mario kart double dash and super mario sunshine...the wii was really badly critisied even tho it was the second best selling game console of all time and it offered a new way to play and by far it had more exclusives and enjoyable games...the gba micro was slated for its design which I thought it was awesome for it being super portable...AND THE WII U IS SADLY THE MOST UNDERATED CONSOLE BECAUSE IT HAS SO MUCH MORE POWER IN GRAPHICS AND TECH AND ITS MUCH MORE CHEAPER THAN SONY AND MICROSOFT INCLUDING THE GAMES AND THE GAMEPAD IS AWESOME AND ITS THE ONLY BACKWARDS COMPATIBLE WITH 4 CONSOLES (gba, snes, nes and wii) in the whole gen which is really disappointing to sony and Microsoft... NINTENDO BY FAR IS THE MOST INNOVATIVE, ENJOYABLE AND DEFINETLY DIFFERENT(in an awesome way)TO ALL OF THE OTHER CONPANIES AND ITS NEVER GOT THE LUCK THE OTHER COMPANIES GOT... ITS THE FAVOURTISM FROM THE MEDIA SADLY

If we judge by under-appreciated in its time, it has to be the GameCube. The difference between the GameCube and the Wii (also under-appreciated in its time) is that the GCN had no real drawbacks.

We can say that some games really did abuse the motion controls on the Wii. Some games used it properly, to enhance gameplay, or add a little bit of extra touch to the game, some games used and abused it. I'll give an example: I did not like Skyward Sword. I found it to be waggle-heavy. The controls are unresponsive, and it seems to be motion based for the sake of Wii Motion +, not because the motion actually adds to the game itself.

On the other hand, The Godfather: Blackhand Edition, was THE definitive version of the game. The motion controls weren't excessive, and they added a little bit of extra immersion that the 360 and PS3 versions simply did not have.

This is why I think the GameCube is the most underrated console Nintendo has released. Because one CAN argue that the Wii had flaws, but who can really argue that the GCN had flaws? MAYBE the disc format, but that's a real reach.

The GCN was the ultimate gaming machine. The controller was perfect, it had more than adequate power (I remember playing Harvest Moon for PS2 and for GCN, and the load times for the PS2 version were at least 3-4x as long as the GCN version), and some of the best games for any console ever.

Baten Kaitos
Battalion Wars
Killer 7
Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron II
Metroid Primes
Resident Evil Zero, REmake
Animal Crossing
Eternal Darkness
Smash
Double Dash
Chibi Robo
Wind Waker and Twilight Princess

I could go on and on, but I think I've said enough. The fact that most of the best games on GCN were GCN exclusives makes my points even more obvious. It was critically and commercially under-appreciated, despite the fact that it had very few flaws, if any. Plus, the WaveBird.

Is pretty long-winded and biased.