For the longest time, Nintendo has been at the forefront of developing and publishing games that are simple to understand and play. That's not a slight against this legendary developer at all — in fact, it's the impressive manner in which most Nintendo games manage to integrate an impressive amount of depth in their titles with what seems to be mostly simple gameplay that has turned this company into a household name in the video game landscape.
That being said, Nintendo has definitely not shied away from creating certain games with stories that are so incredibly convoluted at times that fans will have no idea as to what's going on at times. Keeping this in mind, here are ten Nintendo games that have the most needlessly complex and hard-to-understand stories around.
10 Devil's Third
One of the most reviled games in the Wii U's library — a collection that is already sparse enough as is — Devil's Third serves as a template of what not to do when developing a video game.
The combat and characters are abysmal enough as is, but it's the story that is truly one-of-a-kind when it comes to being disastrous. By trying to use the Kessler syndrome theory as a "smart" plot device, the plot just transforms into one of the many glaring negatives of this title.
9 Perfect Dark
Unlike Devil's Third, Perfect Dark is actually a brilliant game that deserves all the plaudits it has received up to now. Serving as a spiritual successor of sorts to the legendary GoldenEye 007, Perfect Dark ends up doing justice by its predecessor and then some.
The game is set in 2023 with everything from aliens to a full-on galactic controversy that can be hard for gamers to wrap their heads around at times. However, the brilliant combat and memorable characters help gamers distract themselves from the convoluted story and enjoy the game for its strengths.
8 Metroid: Other M
Given the popularity of the Metroid franchise and the incredible characterization of Samus Aran — easily serving as one of the greatest female characters in video game history — people were hotly anticipating Metroid: Other M, a game that would bring Samus' character to new heights.
However, upon release, gamers were incensed at the horrible characterization of Samus, essentially turning her into a weak-willed soldier who couldn't do anything without the go-ahead of her superior — who happened to be male, just to put the icing on this terrible cake. This horrible personality defect, coupled with a complicated and rather annoying story, has turned Metroid: Other M into a title that most people would prefer to forget entirely.
7 The World Ends With You
With the sequel to this legendary title finally being announced, it's a given that more and more people would be more than willing to try out The World Ends With You, a game that is easily one of the most unique titles in the DS library that has been constantly re-released ever since due to its cult status.
However, keep in mind that the story is long and quite complicated, with all the pieces finally falling into place as the player goes through the final chapters of the game. However, the gameplay, characters, and setting of this title more than make up for an initially slow story that invariably picks up over time anyway.
6 Terranigma
A hidden gem for the SNES that has remained criminally underrated for the longest time, Terranigma is easily one of the greatest action RPGs of all time and deserves a second wind through a remake, remaster, or anything else along the same lines.
There's no denying that the story and concept of this game's world are incredibly complex — featuring a hollow world with two faces — but players who stick with this game will slowly but surely understand the brilliant nature of this game's plot and instantly fall in love with it... after understanding it properly, that is.
5 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Out of all the games in The Legend of Zelda series, most people consider Twilight Princess to be the most story-heavy of the lot, with a rich world, multi-faceted characters, and a complex storyline that will keep players hooked all the way to the very end.
However, some might argue that this story is a bit too complicated for some, especially in the context of a Zelda game that has always prioritized the idea of simple yet engaging stories across most of its titles. However, players who decide to get invested in the complex world of Twilight Princess will definitely find themselves enjoying one of the more emotional rides in the series.
4 Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem is a series that has consistently proven to be one of the greatest strategy RPG franchises of all time, and the latest game in the series is no exception to this golden rule.
While the politics present in the continent of Fódlan and the complex — albeit impressive — branching narrative might be hard to grasp in the early going, Fire Emblem: Three Houses' narrative is engaging enough that its complicated nature never serves as a deterrent. In fact, some people would argue that it actually contributes to the worldbuilding of this game in the best way possible.
3 Octopath Traveler
At a glance, Octopath Traveler might seem like a fairly simple JRPG, with the eight individual narratives being cliched and simple enough for fans to wrap their head around it easily.
However, it's after players enter the post-game that they realize just how intertwined the narratives really are, with the introduction of Galdera as the true final boss after a bunch of exposition on text proving to be as confusing as it is incredibly frustrating, due to this God being infuriatingly hard and the last save point being present at a completely unreasonable location.
2 Xenoblade Chronicles
Of course, it would be impossible to talk about convoluted narratives in Nintendo games without mentioning what is perhaps the most popular JRPG on this platform — Xenoblade Chronicles.
To be fair, all three games in the series can feature on this list due to their incredibly complicated narratives... but the worldbuilding and characters present in this title more than make up for a story that can be quite hard to understand at times.
1 Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity
The announcement of Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity had players in a frenzy, with the idea of exploring the universe of Breath of the Wild once again being incredibly alluring for many.
However, while the game is great in its own right, one has to admit that the story is unnecessarily complicated for no reason. Time travel wasn't a necessary aspect that needed to be included in the universe of Breath of the Wild, so the fact that time traveling is a central part of the storyline in Age of Calamity certainly docks some points from the overall quality of this title.