History YMMV / Wolfenstein3D

** To a lesser degree, Grettel Grosse can feel this way, due to being a re-skin of Hans Grosse. The level has plenty of cover, and your experience fighting Hans makes it easy to shoot-and-hide repeatedly until she dies. Just be careful not to die to the [[KaizoTrap surprise party behind the exit door]]. The Mac-family port also replaced her, with a Death Knight in this case.

* CultClassic: The UsefulNotes/{{SNES}} port that is. While it won't be scoring high marks for its low framerate and resolution, there are SNES gamers who still remember the SNES port as their first version of ''Wolfenstein 3d'', potentially before getting curious about playing the original DOS release. It helps that the censorship gave the game a certain charm due to bizarre elements like Mutant Rats, and Staatmeister being the replacement for Hitler. The main visual change for Hitler was that the mustache was shaved off, and he's a generic TakeOverTheWorld villain.

* NarmCharm: The UsefulNotes/{{SNES}} removes the references to Nazi Germany and turns the plot into a generic TakeOverTheWorld plot where Staatmeister has mutant rats guarding his bases along with officers who seem casual about their job, half-heartedly yelling "Stop!" or "Halt!" and letting out a hilariously throaty "''[=OoOHH=]!''" when killed, which is simply recycled and pitch-adjusted down for stronger enemies (and sounds even ''funnier''). The giant rats have stereotypical cheese wedges to eat, which you can pick up for health. All the bosses, save the Ubermutant, let out a hammy "Comin' for ya!" when alerted and Staatmeister himself comes across like a generic James Bond villain in a typical secret lair. Finally, the removal of the blood and gore further lightens to tone.

** The [[UsefulNotes/ThreeDOInteractiveMultiplayer 3DO]] port is also a neat way to experience the game, inheriting the perks of the Mac port and is perhaps a rare gem of a game on the console. The controls might take a moment to get used to but they'll let you move nimbly through the levels and respond to hostiles swiftly. The resolution once again is much better than in the [=DOS=] port (though it still lacks directional spites), the soundtrack was replaced with crisp [[UsefulNotes/CompactDisc CD Audio]] by Todd Dennis, and the release also the contains remakes of the original six [=DOS=] episodes, in addition to the abridged level set featured in the Mac port.

* MemeticMutation: The idea of a villain called Staatmeister has become a potential meme itself as an example of lightening the tone of a game to meet content restrictions on a media platform (As Per Arne of Encylcopedia Obscura hilariously put it: "''Novon vill recogneisse me wissout my trademarck mustashe!''"). Staatmeister's giant guard rats further reinforce this.

* NightmareFuel: A given, as this was a game that takes place during UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust. Throughout the levels, you'll see piles of bones or puddles of blood/urine on the floor,[[note]]the latter colored blue for in the final release[[/note]] bloodshed on the walls, decayed corpses inside of jail cells and even full skeletons of murdered captives in cages. All the above makes taking down Hitler one-on-one all the more satisfying.

** The biggest thing that makes this game hard to appreciate is how there is no variety in the environments beyond what texture is applied to the wall -- every single room is made up of walls of fixed lengths at 90-degree angles and a single universal height, making it very difficult to tell where you have and haven't been if it weren't for the enemies you killed lying on the floor. With how basic the game is, it may be hard to appreciate that there was once hardware that actually ''struggled'' to run this. Notable the Super Nintendo and more basic [=IBM=] compatibles that lacked advanced features (like a math co-processor) could have difficulty rendering this game at an acceptable frame rate.

* UnderusedGameMechanic: The ''Spear of Destiny'' prequel and its mission packs each have you battle a demon in order to prove that you are worthy of wielding the titular spear (which you've already collected at that point). Wouldn't it be more interesting if you actually ''used'' the spear, which is a holy relic with many religious affiliations, to fight those demons? Apparently the people behind the motion comic tie-ins to the [[VideoGame/Wolfenstein2009 2009 game]] thought so, since they depict B.J. as using the spear to kill the Angel of Death. More recently, the FanRemake of ''Wolf 3-D'', ''VideoGame/BrutalWolfenstein3D'' made the spear a usable weapon in it's final level of the Spear of Destiny Campaign.

* UnderusedGameMechanic: The ''Spear of Destiny'' prequel and its mission packs each have you battle a demon in order to prove that you are worthy of wielding the titular spear (which you've already collected at that point). Wouldn't it be more interesting if you actually ''used'' the spear, which is a holy relic with many religious affiliations, to fight those demons? Apparently the people behind the motion comic tie-ins to the [[VideoGame/Wolfenstein2009 2009 game]] thought so, since they depict B.J. as using the spear to kill the Angel of Death. More recently, the FanRemake of ''Wolf 3-D'', ''[[VideoGame/{{BrutalWolfenstein3D}}]]'' made the spear a usable weapon in it's final level of the Spear of Destiny Campaign.

* UnderusedGameMechanic: The ''Spear of Destiny'' prequel and its mission packs each have you battle a demon in order to prove that you are worthy of wielding the titular spear (which you've already collected at that point). Wouldn't it be more interesting if you actually ''used'' the spear, which is a holy relic with many religious affiliations, to fight those demons? Apparently the people behind the motion comic tie-ins to the [[VideoGame/Wolfenstein2009 2009 game]] thought so, since they depict B.J. as using the spear to kill the Angel of Death.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: Naturally, being the game that more-or-less set the template for the first person shooter genre, it's a given that the game has fallen victim to this. In fact, it's a common complaint of newer reviews (especially the GBA):
** The biggest thing that makes this game hard to appreciate is how there is no variety in the environments beyond what texture is applied to the wall -- every single room is made up of walls of fixed lengths at 90-degree angles and a single universal height, making it very difficult to tell where you have and haven't been if it weren't for the enemies you killed lying on the floor. With how basic the game is, it may be hard to appreciate that there was once hardware that actually ''struggled'' to run this. Notable the Super Nintendo and more basic [=IBM=] compatibles that lacked advanced features (like a math co-processor) could have difficulty rendering this game at an acceptable frame rate.
** The other thing is the fact that ''Doom'' came out only one year later and basically took every innovation this game made and improved upon it in just about every way, on top of introducing innovations all of its own, which can make this game feel very underwhelming by comparison - ''VideoGame/DoomII'', another year later, even outright brags about it by having a secret level that perfectly replicates the first level of ''Wolf 3D'', with a new secret room attached that shows off all the things ''Doom'' can do with its environments that ''Wolf 3D'' couldn't. While ''Doom'' isn't free from this reaction either, most people can agree that it helped work out a lot of the kinks in ''Wolfenstein'''s concepts and holds up much better.
** Even among fans of "classic"-style shooters, it tends to suffer, due to its wonky pseudo-stealth elements and emphasis on {{Hitscan}}. Of course, ''Wolfenstein'' came out long before FPS designers had realized the difficulties hitscanner enemies tend to impose.

* MemeticMutation: The idea of a villain called Staatmeister has become a potential meme itself as an example of lightening the tone of a game to meet content restrictions on a media platform (As Per Arne of Encylcopedia Obscura hilariously put it: "Novon vill recogneisse me wissout my trademarck mustashe!"). Staatmeister's giant guard rats further reinforce this.

* MemeticMutation: The idea of a villain called Staatmeister has become a potential meme itself as an example of lightening the tone of a game to meet content restrictions on a media platform. Staatmeister's giant guard rats further reinforce this.