Wario’s Woods (NES version)

It took me a bit to understand why "Wario's Woods" registers as the definition of middle of the road. It's a competent puzzle game with a unique mechanic of Toad running around and trying to thwart the plans of the title character, and there have been plenty of classics on the NES built on far less. The game, however, lacks soul. It is mechanically sound but far from satisfying, something that feels like it's a whole draft away from being special. On a console that is also home to "Yoshi's Cookie" and "Tetris", "Wario's Woods" is far behind the curve.

5