Top 10 Ruined Video Game Franchises
There have been many great video game franchises. However, there are some that have either been going on too long or have had crappy sequels that have ruined the franchise for good.
It's hard to believe this franchise fell as quickly as it did. It's not like Crash Bandicoot became a hit-or-miss series like Sonic. After its first four games, Crash never had another good game. The 20th anniversary of Crash Bandicoot would have meant something if the franchise had good games after the first four.
If game developers (apart from the franchise's creators) couldn't make a good Crash game 15 years after the first four, I guess this once-great franchise will never make a comeback. The most ruined series in history.
Sonic the Hedgehog, trademarked Sonic The Hedgehog, is the title character and protagonist of the Sonic the Hedgehog series released by SEGA, as well as numerous spin-off comics, five animated shows, and an animated OVA. Sonic the Hedgehog is already dead. When is this franchise ever going to be saved, just like Sonic Colors did? Well, sadly, the answer is that... it's too late. This franchise has horrible spin-offs, games with bad controls, and Sonic 06 has a completely pointless story.
I'm going to say it NOW! Sega is the reason why Sonic the Hedgehog has gone from popular hedgehog to a pile of dirt. I wish I could stop hating Sonic, but it's all Sega's fault. If anyone else could take him off Sega's hands, I would choose either me or Nintendo.
Back in the day, it used to be considered an absolutely great series. Now, it's known for annoying 12-year-olds and rehashing to the max.
Today, hackers can always win in this video game franchise. Activision doesn't seem to care.
I think this franchise was ruined because of Nuts and Bolts. Also, I didn't like the fact that they changed the characters' designs.
After the disastrous Nuts and Bolts, Rareware was shut down for good. So no chance of redemption as far as I can see.
They should go back to their roots, get back to what made the games great: good gameplay, excellent story writing, and epic music. Care more about those three things than graphics.
This franchise has taken such a drop in quality that even hardcore fans are doubting Square Enix.
How many Final Fantasy games are there? I mean, it's too much of a downer.
This franchise fell way too quickly. Some claim that what ruined this series was Vectorman 2 being released around the same time as the PlayStation 1 and Nintendo 64. I think that's a big misconception, considering that side-scrolling games were still being made after the 3D consoles came out.
I think the main issue with this franchise was that Vectorman 2 lacked the same appeal as the first game. Vectorman 2 is one of the most disappointing games I had ever played.
Just my opinion - Pokemon Sword and Shield is horrible and a disappointing sign for the future of Pokémon games. I'd say I had a blast with every generation before 8, but Sword and Shield were awful, like Game Freak just doesn't care anymore.
It's been going downhill for me with this franchise since X and Y, and it hit absolute rock bottom with Sword and Shield. Black 2 and White 2 were the last games where Game Freak put heart, soul, and care into the series. Now, it's all about making as much money as possible while doing as little as possible.
Halo 4 left a horrible taste in the mouths of even the casual Halo fans with small maps and a subpar story.
Basically, anything that came after Halo 3. The series is dying slowly for me.
The Newcomers
Konami ended the franchise and started eFootball. We all know how that went.
Spyro is a series of platform games which primarily features the protagonist Spyro the Dragon and his friend, Sparx the Dragonfly. Spyro was great until Skylanders turned him into a statue among many others. He was used as a marketing point and then discarded once Skylanders became popular enough to stand on its own.
I agree. Activision may have used him, and now he's treated like a toy (a toy that is garbage). I say Activision should give this franchise to Sony.
While Skylanders did improve the purple dragon's reputation, Enter the Dragonfly left a bad taste in the mouths of most Spyro fans.
The sequels have been losing quality. And now with the AC: Unity fiasco, one has to wonder if the series might go down in flames.
Rayman has had good entries. It's just that Ubisoft no longer cares about him. We got absolutely nothing for his anniversary - nothing! Would it be so hard to just do The Art of Rayman?
Ubisoft literally announced a new Rabbids mobile game on the day of Rayman's anniversary. Crash Bandicoot's been treated way better than this poor little thingamajig.
Still waiting, hoping for Rayman 4...
Origins and Legends were good and fun, but not the Rayman games I wanted.
This series was good until Sticker Star.
Pac-Man is like the Felix the Cat of video games. He wasn't the first video game, but he was the first video game star who started to get old and tried to mimic other popular characters at the time. At this point, the poor little yellow ghost-muncher is on life support.
Namco isn't even allowed to use Ms. Pac-Man anymore, so instead of trying something new, like the Pac-Man World series, Namco just keeps giving him cameos in other games and re-releasing the original arcade game. "Holy moly! I can play Pac-Man on my modern console for the 20th time!" At least Pac-Man Museum+ is coming out. Hopefully, that will do well, and Namco will realize they can do more with the Pacster.
The first game was brilliant back in 1998. However, the sequels were severely overrated. Although there were some improvements to the gameplay, the storyline in the Metal Gear saga became more and more ridiculous, resulting in an over-convoluted mess. The series overall is severely overrated.
Progressive drop in quality with every sequel after the first one.
Hideo Kojima is a supremely overrated hack.
The cutscenes are too long, and the story and dialogue just get worse and worse.
Mega Man, known as Rockman in Japan, is the title character and the protagonist of the Mega Man series by Capcom. This series was my favorite until Capcom ruined it. I used to have fun with everything in the games, and after Mega Man 10, I was excited for a new official game... but it never came out! Instead, it was canceled, which then led to the end of the franchise.
Oh, Capcom, how we used to love you... Please release a new game for the 30th anniversary.
This franchise used to be amazing! However, after Mega Man 10, things went downhill for the series - going from the great old Capcom to the new, less impressive Capcom. After Mega Man 10, the series just vanished! Street Fighter X Mega Man was merely a fan game promoted by Capcom. More Mega Man games were canceled. And OH MY GOD, DO NOT REMIND ME OF Street Fighter X Tekken Mega Man... Why, Capcom, why?
Then, in 2015, we finally got an announcement for a new Mega Man game, but wait... it's another collection! Nobody wants that. At least it had Amiibo compatibility. After Keiji Inafune left Capcom, he made Mighty No. 9, but... it wasn't great, although I liked it! It seems the series will never see the light of day again at this point. Let's hope Capcom does something good for the franchise's 30th anniversary, besides the new TV show.
God of War 2016 just isn't God of War... The series is ruined because of it.