Your 2 cents are pretty accurate and the 2 main reasons why people don't like the game and it's not that they don't specifically think it's a bad game, but it's a bad game in comparison to what we've had before, as in mainly masterpieces. I'd rate it a 7/10 but when 6, 7, 8, 9 and 12 are 9.5/10...

That's because a lot of franchises did not evolve well. think resident evil 5-6/FFXIII/Silent Hill/Tekken/Ace Combat/most platform games (except Mario) etc.

Final Fantasy XIII easily

NSMB2 was pretty divisive. Some people really hated it for some reason. I didn't quite see why. Seemed pretty identical to the other 3 games to me. Struggle to tell them all apart to be honest.

And RE5 is the second that comes to mind. A lot of people were mad at this game for killing the horror aspect of Resident Evil. That's surely true. But they then skim over the fact that it was actually a pretty good game on its own.

Tekken as an example of franchises not evolving? It's pretty much the only 3D fighter left and sells millions each iteration. 

FF XIII (Never played it, so I can't comment)
Skyward Sword (Absolutely love it to pieces! My favorite game of all time!)
Super Mario Sunshine (People love it for being fresh, new, and swimming through new waters - pun completely intended, for a Mario game, and thought it did it very well.
People hate it for not feeling like a Mario game, and for being what they thought was underwhelming after coming off of 64. And hated collecting all the Shine Sprites and just getting a postcard to show for it.
Personally, I liked it and found it more enjoyable than 64. But I still haven't bothered going after all the Shine Sprites, because they are a pain in the ass!)
Sonic Heroes (People love it for being the first 3D Sonic game that really emulated and brought the Genesis styled of gameplay and presentation to 3D. People hate it for having so much padding with having to beat it 4 times and collecting all the Chaos Emeralds just to reach the Last Story. Personally, thought it was ok.)
And I'll say that I find that Sonic Adventure 2 has also become very divisive as years have gone by.
There are people who still call it the best 3D Sonic game ever made, and people who call it incredibly overrated and a mediocre 3D Sonic game.

Well the sales are certainly not the issue because some in the list did sell well, I remember people liked tekken 6 but complained aswell. it is one of the worst reviewed Tekken games aswell. Tekken 7 can be great but we are talking about last gen.

Metal Gear Solid 2. Liked and hated by many of the series fans.

Most in the Tekken fanbase will happily agree Tekken 4 is the worst (I'd hope) and that Tekken 3 and 5 are the best. 6 was good just not great like the other 2.... but I get ya.

With older game series it becomes increasingly hard to please the fanbase while appealing to new consumers, this is why changes in gameplay can be hated by some and loved by others.

Back in the day, Mario 2 (US) and Zelda 2 would have been prime candidates. Now they're generally accepted by the fans.