Super Mystery Dungeon was one of the only games I remember playing where I just could not bring myself to continue playing it, I wasn't enjoying it when I was trying to get into it. I only have vague memories of it because of how long it's been and how little I played but I remember discussing with a friend how I'd been playing for hours and was wondering when things were going to pick up, and they told me I was still in the tutorial. The only thing I confidently remember about SMD was thinking it was insane to keep trying to force myself to play through a tutorial I wasn't enjoying that lasted several hours long.
I think Gates to Infinity gets a really bad reputation because it's not as good as Explorers, which I think most people seem to say is the best Mystery Dungeon, to which I'd agree. I don't think the story in Gates to Infinity was great (I think there were a lot of Nintendo games especially on the 3DS that just felt "off" in the mid 2010s and while I can't quantify exactly what that is I strongly get that vibe from GtI's story) but I think it's one of the best Mystery Dungeon games in terms of gameplay. I enjoyed things like levelling up moves and developing your home base, and the gameplay in dungeons felt really well-paced. I've gone back to it a couple times and always found myself enjoying playing it.
I beat Rescue Team for the first time earlier this year, I played the original Blue on DS because it was most convenient, and I really enjoyed it. But as someone who grew up playing Explorers it felt really lacking without the things Explorers improved upon, like not requiring you to buy friend areas, a much expanded inventory and selection of items, and a much more varied spread of dungeons that made for a much longer game. I felt like the ending moments of Rescue Team came way too fast and things like the introduction of Sky Tower felt like they were just suddenly happening without anything to connect them to the rest of the plot because they wanted to have some cool moment at the end of the game where they include Rayquaza.
As for hunger specifically, I can't say I've ever had any problems with it? It could become an issue in longer dungeons (Explorers is guilty of this, having some required story dungeons be 20 floors or more) but I think it's a necessary mechanic to stop the player from just sitting around in the same floor/dungeon farming enemies over and over. Eventually you're gonna run out of Apples and you're gonna have to get a move on. But if you remembered to bring some food into dungeons with you (like you always should, never leave home without your Reviver Seeds) I don't think it should ever end up being an issue.
