Topic: Biggest waste of time playing a Nintendo video game?

I would like to know what is the Nintendo game or IP that you feel is the biggest waste of time, and I don't mean a lot of content or padding although padding is related to the question. I mean that you're not really enjoying it that much despite you playing it for some reason, and if you ever wonder why you aren't playing something else, for instance, an old favourite that really is a blast.

I'm going to choose Animal Crossing (IP).

Animal Crossing: City Folk. A barely different version of Wild World, which was already a disappointment compared to the original. Probably put 20+ hours into it before realizing "wait, what is the point of this?"

Isn't that the same as this thread?

https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/nintendo-switch/games_you...

Starfox Zero is the one I tried to like as much as I could. Star Fox is one of my favorite Nintendo franchises and I’m generally not to please but this game really rattled me as a fan. By Zoness I was basically forcing myself to play it and by the time I beat I immediately sold it. I just felt let down by what was essentially a worse and lazier retread of Star Fox 64, a game that was both already remade and is, itself, a remake. There are worse Nintendo games but this is one of those games that I hated the most. I guess I tried to beat just so I could say I beat all the Star Fox games, but I still felt really empty and sour over it. I want a new Star Fox still, but I really also really hope they let the stupid game go

Yes I used this as an excuse to rant about Zero again

@kkslider5552000 The first one I played was the original one, and I wondered many times why I was playing it, but I also find the latest Switch entry boring. The 3DS game, because the 3DS is so convenient for playing anywhere and because New Leaf is packed with fun features, was more enjoyable.

@Megas75 I also forced myself to beat it. The game is not good, it isn't anything special nor anything that older games in the series haven't done better, but the controls are atrocious and what I hated the most. When I beat the game, I only felt relief.

Mario Kart World. I did so much of the open world but I wasn't having fun.

Not really about the games themselves being a waste of time, but in 2022 and 2023 I wasted a lot of time on Shiny Hunting in both Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Pokemon Scarlet. If I recall correctly, I caught about 3 boxes worth of shinies across both games, but I only ever used 7 of those on my various teams, so most of them were caught and sent permanently to the boxes. Now I only shiny hunt Pokemon if it's a Shiny I really want to use on my team (recent examples being Gallade in Z-A and Naganadel in Ultra Moon). But yeah, I regret spending so much time on all those unnecessary shinies.

@Tasuki This is sort of different because it's more about games (or parts of games) that we stuck with, even in spite of them not being worth our time.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is probably the best example I can think of. While I did like it at first, I ended up not liking it in the end... the game's pacing was just awful. It felt like the game was never going to end, lol... it didn't help that the game's load times were pretty lengthy, as well.

I didn't like Paper Mario: The Origami King too much either, for similar reasons. There were some parts that I just did not care for, and I really disliked the boss fights. I would say Sticker Star as well, but I gave up on that game early, after the second world. I hated that game's sticker mechanic.

I'd have to say that...Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition was. I just couldn't get into the dang combat mechanics as much as I would've liked...

Plus...call me a heretic...but also Paper Mario: TYD (Switch). I did play through most of the chapters...but then upon starting the 6th chapter...I just lost the motivation to continued onward...I had more fun with Super Mario RPG...

@UpsideDownRowlet That's one thing I liked about Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon...mostly Ultra Sun. It made getting shinies much more easier without the added frustration. The Ultra Worm Ride was the best with it. Had about 30 shinies in total in Ultra Sun. Only to not get a single Shiny Legendary or Ultra Beast...which doesn't bother me much...

@UpsideDownRowlet Yeah, this is about feeling that you were wasting your time while playing certain games or parts of them, whether you beat them or not, whether they were long or short. I try to beat the games I start, but that doesn't mean that I'm always having a good time. I chose Animal Crossing because of boredom and feeling that the experience was pointless and shallow. The already mentioned Star Fox Zero is not a long game, but it was one of the most frustrating experiences. I beat it, but I didn't enjoy anything about it, just like @Megas75.

Pokemon is a very good example, because these games are focused on collecting, although I no longer try to get everything. I got most of the creatures in Ruby (GBA), but I thought it's more fun just playing them not obsessively. On the other hand, I complete all the 2D and 3D platformers that I play 100%, because it's part of the fun and the gameplay is more straightforward. It's just this level or collectible is more difficult, but it's right there, it's the next thing on your way.

@D-Star92 @DanijoEX-The-Kumiho I haven't played Mario & Luigi Brothership, but I felt similarly playing Xenoblade Chronicles 1. I was not enjoying the gameplay as much as I hoped. The side quests are hollow and pointless and the story seemed to never end, although the cutscenes were nice. However, I loved Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U). The combat was improved, the side quests were much more interesting, there were quality of life features and the story was weird and interesting.

This one seems much more purposefully inflammatory. Or at least the title does...now that I look you're right that the description in the first posts are somewhat similar but in practice the 'recently dropped' thread also includes things like 'I liked this game but I'm done with it now' as opposed to purely negative things.

I've seen enough takes on this, on this specific forum even, to say that after replaying it via the Definitive Edition that in hindsight, Xenoblade 1's story is kind of dramatically better in its 2nd half imo. I don't think its first half is bad even remotely in terms of story but it is one of those JRPG things where most of its most interesting story developments happen much latter and also does have some more mediocre moment in its first half. I always knew that but in hindsight I think the difference in quality between its first and 2nd half is a little more dramatic than I remembered it being at the time.

Similary both X and 2 do have a real notable learning curve for their combat compared to 1 that's annoying to get into (though I think its worthwhile since the combat is even better in those games when you do figure them out fully)

Stadium Events

Also known as World Class Track Meet for the NES here in Murica.

How many people eventually ceased actually running on the Power Pad and just used their hands instead?

Sorry, but you're completely wrong and I'd gently ask you to ignore it if you don't want to stay on topic. The idea is much more deeper than what you think. It was something I was feeling that I wanted to share, but if you don't like it, you are free to ignore it. I also disagree with your description of the other thread, because not everything is as simple as you suggest, and many players drop games for many reasons, not surprisingly negative, some. Moreover, I seldom drop a game.

@kkslider5552000 The first part of Xenoblade Chronicles 1 is by-the-numbers RPG. There are some very interesting characters and events later on. The exploration is extremely slow and boring, the side quests are meaningless and the combat is way too chaotic, although of course one eventually finds what works best like staying behind, using certain arts, while you watch a mess of huge numbers popping up. The second game, X, fixed the combat pretty much, made exploration more fun and introduced quality of life features. I know that not many like the story of X and that's fine, but I loved it. It's weird and unexpected.

@DanijoEX-The-Kumiho It's a shame that the variety of Pokémon in Ultra Wormholes is small. When I started finding the same shinies repeatedly, I lost the motivation to continue.

@Banjo- Ah gotcha, it's been a while since I played that game... I think I made it near the end in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but there's just one boss I was never able to beat. I think Xenoblade X is my favorite in the series too, I got the Switch version with one of my game vouchers. I guess this kind of pacing was expected for me with many other RPGs like Final Fantasy, but I didn't expect a Mario game of all things would have sluggish pacing. I think Dream Team was pretty long, too...? But it's been ages since I played that.

@D-Star92 The Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario series are inconsistent, so I understand that they can feel like a waste of time sometimes. I remember that Superstar Saga was very funny when I played it on GBA and that Partners in Time for Nintendo DS (that I did not drop) was very boring and, actually, it was removed from the remastering business for 3DS. Bowser's Inside Story (DS) is cool, but I haven't played the newer ones nor the newer Paper Mario titles.

I think that the problem with some of these Mario games are that they are all samey RPGs following the same rules and with simple stories, but with one unique gimmick that is not always that good. If you haven't played Superstar Saga and you feel like trying it, there is a 3DS version.

Sonic Team Racing. I thought I'd love this game because I loved Sonic Racing Transformed so much but basically I got no pleasure from playing it at all. I kept going back to it thinking I would gradually enjoy it more but I just didn't like it. The gameplay mechanics didn't work for me. It just didn't feel right to me. However I'm the sort of gamer where highly reviewed games sometimes don't work for me and badly reviewed games do which is why I try to buy Switch games on physical cartridge only because I know I may not like them despite the reviews and need to sell them on.

I wouldn't exactly call it a "big waste of time" since it was still okay, but after having played through the Future Reedemed expansion/DLC of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, I was quite disappointed with it. The main game was excellent, and I especially liked its six protagonists, so I was expecting the DLC to continue their story and deepen our understading of them, just like similarly titled Future Connected expansion had done with Xenoblade Chronicles 1. But instead we go a prequel story which didn't feature any of player characters from the main game, whose story was a fanservice-y continuity w*** that tried to tie together the plots of all the previous Xenoblade games, and whose battle and RPG mechanics had also been simplified compared to the main game. Like I said, it was still okay enough for me to play through the whole DLC, but it was definitely a big disappointment and felt like a waste, since it didn't progress the story and characters of the main game in any way.