Worst Video Game Spin-Off Games

Sometimes a spin-off game for a good character or franchise doesn't pull off at all. Here's a look at some of the biggest gaming spin-off failures to date.
The Top Ten
1 Mario is Missing! - Super Mario Bros.

The first game where you play as Luigi. Unfortunately... it's a mundane educational game that lacks any fun or interesting value. It's mundane, tedious, and downright unnecessary. When you're playing a Mario game... education isn't something you'd expect nor want in it. Which takes away the fun aspects of the series for a game that isn't even worth a dollar.

2 Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero - Mortal Kombat

A spin-off game dedicated to one of the most popular characters in Mortal Kombat. What could possibly go wrong? Well, for starters the controls are asinine and feel dysfunctional. That, and the terrible fighting mechanics, thrown in with narrow platforms that require utter precision to land, and bad looking cutscenes make for an insufferable game. It's a shame cause Sub Zero is a good character but this game... just doesn't deliver at all.

3 Hey You Pikachu  - Pokemon

One of the most annoying games in existence. A game that involves a microphone that allows you to talk to Pikachu. It was something different... but nothing anything I'd call good or decent. Half of the time Pikachu ignores you making the mic seem pointless to use. On top of that it just bland and undercooked. As a game... it's really not enjoyable half the time.

4 Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival - Animal Crossing
5 Mario Teaches Typing - Super Mario Bros

Who thought this was a good idea? Mario and educational games don't mix together well. I get that it's supposed to teach kids typing but as a whole, it just feels mediocre. Not the worst one on the list so far but definitely not a good one either.

6 Pokemon Channel - Pokemon

A boring TV simulator game. You'd have more fun watching actual TV than playing this. Not the worst spin-off on this list but one worth noting. Also Hey You Pikachu... is arguably so much worse. Still not a good game though...

7 Bomberman Act Zero - Bomberman
8 Mortal Kombat: Special Forces - Mortal Kombat

Once again... this game sounds good but doesn't feel good. One of the most annoying, repetitive, dull, and boring Mortal Kombat games to date. It doesn't have a lot of soul or effort put into it. Jax also sounds pretty terrible, I'm convinced that the voice actor for Jax just didn't give a damn about trying. Which honestly doesn't surprise me at all.

9 Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine - Sonic the Hedgehog

For a game dedicated to Robotnik/Eggman, you think you would be building robots, or making traps for Sonic, something along those lines. But instead... we have a Dr. Mario clone that feels pretty heinous. It looks bad... and in general, isn't very worthwhile. It's so average... that it just plain hurts.

10 Resident Evil Survivor - Resident Evil
The Contenders
11 The Umbrella Chronicles - Resident Evil

It has a good concept, but again it butchers the concept very easily. It feels too generic and mundane for a Resident Evil game. It lacks what made the series good, to begin with. Often coming off as forgettable and tedious to sit through. Definitely a game worth skipping if you ask me.

12 Tony Hawk: Ride - Tony Hawk Pro Skater
13 Shadow The Hedgehog - Sonic the Hedgehog

A spin-off centering on Shadow sounds good in paper. But the execution was pulled off poorly. The game feels sluggish, almost nonresponsive at times. To top that off the levels also feel very poorly made. The soundtrack is decent enough but the actual gameplay is beyond average. The different routes you can take seem promising but are more complicated than necessary. It doesn't help that the controls feel delayed and clunky. It was an experiment that didn't quite succeed in the slightest.

14 Metal Gear Survive - Metal Gear

Want an extra save slot? Give us your money please!

15 New Super Luigi U - Super Mario Bros

Not as bad as the other spin-offs on this list but it is pretty lazy. Just a re-colored version of Super Mario Bros U except with Luigi on the cover. It was made for the "year of Luigi" which arguably didn't make him come off as memorable. The Luigi Mansion games' are a lot more memorable and better than this half-assed re-skin of a game.

16 Mario Teaches Typing 2 - Super Mario Bros
17 Sonic Free Riders - Sonic the Hedgehog

I just KNEW someone would submit this game to the list. Honestly gotta say I'm not disappointed. One of the worst games from the Kinect era, and the Xbox era as a whole. It deserves every bit of negative press it got and more.

18 Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures - Pac-Man
19 Street Fighter: The Movie - Street Fighter
20 Saints Row: Gat out of Hell - Saints Row
21 Soulcalibur Legends - Soul Calibur
22 Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

To be fair, the concept of this game is not a bad idea. Vincent had little screen time in the original game compared to the rest of the crew, and playing as him sounds fun. RIGHT? Well, no. The gunplay is pretty annoying, and melee attacks? Get used to hearing annoying grunts for about 10 hours. In addition, the game's story is so confusing (not that Final Fantasy games haven't been for the past few years), many of the characters are bland (looking at you Weiss), and the gameplay is horrendous. The only saving grace is probably the cutscenes, and even those aren't that good.

Horrendous controls, an extremely confusing story, and a lot of annoying characters. Playing as Vincent, one of the coolest characters from Final Fantasy VII, should be fun right? Well, get used to the monotonous gameplay.

23 Pokémon Dash - Pokemon
24 Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash - Super Mario Bros
25 Fallout 76 - Fallout
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