People were back in the Wii days because it was part of a slew of similar design to limit the gap between skilled and unskilled players, and a general emphasis of the casual experience usually at the cost of the dedicated core. Like, NSMBW was easy in level design, offered loads of powerups frequently, had the safety bubble which was super easy to cheese, and offered loads of one ups (which doesn't affect difficulty at all, lives are archaic, but it FEELS easier) the bubbles alone are a great accessibility feature, but the game was already kind of slogged down to appeal to the casual crowd. Andnthats just one of many games (hello tripping)

Most people have moved on, especially since Nintendo has been using it as an opportunity to explore greater difficulties than they wouldve otherwise. Some people still have the sour taste in their mouth from when Nintendo pretty up front said "hey were designing these games for your grandpa more than we are for you", but I think most people are no longer categorically against them.

We do see people who are against individual implementations though. I think this one seemed too automatic, for instance, which left people hesitant until seeing it in action.

Personally, I really dislike how Casual and Phoenix mode work in Fire Emblem. Great ideas, hugely necessary too- making the least accessible Nintendo game more accessible is huge. But locking you into Phoenix mode for the rest of your campaign? Not giving any lasting penalties to unit loss in casual mode is also a bit of a misstep. I think having them sit out a round or pay a gold fee, for instance, would discourage recklessness enough without being too punishing

But yeah in general I think people appreciate the easy modes, they just dislike how specific ones (tripping) are implemented