Favorite "Dead" Franchise

[Wolf Kanno]

Obviously in an age of reboots and mining the past for today's profit, nothing stays dead forever if it was any good at all, but what's a franchise you love that hasn't had a new installment within the last five years and nothing in the works either?

[Fynn]

First one that comes to mind is Breath of Fire. Used to be one of the most interesting RPG series out there. The world wasn’t ready for the incredibly unique fifth installment, so then we got a crappy mobile game in Japan and nothing else. The series didn’t even get to go out with a bang.

[Vermachtnis]

Breath of Fire immediately popped into my head when I read this. I loved Dragon Quarter. It was good medium between survival horror and RPG. And IV is one of my favorite games.

Kid Icarus. Uprising came out in 2012. And before that Myths and Monsters came out in 91. So we'll probably see a new one 2033.

[krissy]

zone of the enders

[Rocket Edge]

Dungeon Keeper. Nothing else has come to replicating the addictiveness in a RTS game over the years. I bought a game that was supposed to resemble it called War for The Overworlds in 2015 but it couldn't capture the same magic. Who knows, we might see a DK3 one day!

[Vyk]

Elder Scrolls!

What if there was only only one in the series? Because I want another Bloodborne

But actually the first thing that came to mind was Dragon Force. Not sure there's anyone left in the industry who could do it though. Or a traditional Shining Force. Same with that. And on that note maybe also Golden Sun

[Spuuky]

Bloodborne is really part of Dark Souls though.

And hey, TES has released "new" games constantly! Skyrim VR, Skyrim SE, Skyrim on this new platform, Skyrim on that new platform.......

[FFNut]

I miss Breath of Fire dearly. II being in my favourite of all times list. I also miss the Starfox series. I haven’t seen a new game since the GameCube.

[JJ Strife]

What if there was only only one in the series? Because I want another Bloodborne


Same, but I more or less consider them just the same series. So I'd technically like a Bloodborne 2 or Sekiro 2, but I mostly just need the next game in this series. And preferably not one I need to buy a PS5 for yet! Lol.

[WarZidane]

Ar Tonelico/nosurge. Probably my second-favorite RPG franchise, with my absolute favorite soundtracks, and it's dead in the water (barring a re-release, but yeah nothing's dead if we count those as "new" installments)

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Suikoden

R-Type

Bloody Roar

Virtua Fighter

Dark Cloud

Contra (it's basically moved to mobile)

Space Quest

[Aulayna]

Well according to purists, Final Fantasy has been dead since like X, so I'll go with that.

[Spuuky]

RIP Final Fantasy

Although really it is two different series, one dead (ending with 5 or 6) and one alive (starting with 6 or 7).

[sharkythesharkdogg]

I think it's in three phases personally. I feel it had its second transition between 9 and 10, but I can see the argument you're making.

[JJ Strife]

I think it's in three phases personally. I feel it had its second transition between 9 and 10, but I can see the argument you're making.

Lol, I divide it up as

FF1- FF3 (the experimental starters)
FF4-FF10 (the classics)
FF11-FF15 (the modern reinvention)

And I love both of the 2 latter categories. Don't give much of a hoot about the first.

[Lord Golbez]

I'd agree with that grouping, except I'd use a less neutral, more critical word than "modern."

As for the topic, I'd definitely have to go with Suikoden for number one. Other major ones include Breath of Fire, Chrono, and Wild ARMs.

[Fynn]

I’d still group 1-3 with the second category. They may not have aged as well as 4-6, but they’re still immensely enjoyable and set the stage for later games.

But tbh claiming that FF is in any way dead is absolutely ludicrous.

[Example]

Tenchu, Klonoa, Forbidden Siren, Ape Escape, Star Wars Battlefront (and I mean the REAL Battlefront, not the EA garbage) honestly way too many for me to count.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Tenchu is a good one I forgot about. Ape Escape too.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

I think it's in three phases personally. I feel it had its second transition between 9 and 10, but I can see the argument you're making.

Lol, I divide it up as

FF1- FF3 (the experimental starters)
FF4-FF10 (the classics)
FF11-FF15 (the modern reinvention)

And I love both of the 2 latter categories. Don't give much of a hoot about the first.

I can also see the line being drawn between 10 and 11/12 as that's when the gameplay took its most drastic turn in a good while. I personally don't care for the "MMO-ification" of single player RPGs, but it is what it is.

I personally find a game like FF World closer to what the mainline FF games used to be and in my mind how the series continues. Some form of turn-based/ATB system is important to me.

[Vyk]

What if there was only only one in the series? Because I want another Bloodborne


Same, but I more or less consider them just the same series.
I'm not sure how you guys justify that
They don't have connected lore, I highly doubt they take place in the same universe. They're not even spiritual successors. To me that's like considering Saga Crono and FF games to basically be in the same series. Same studio and same genre. Soulsborne are all from same studio and same genre. But that's the only common threads. Just curious how you guys parse this

[Spuuky]

The game design is identical (well, I haven't played Sekiro). To turn Bloodborne into Dark Souls 2.5 all you would have to do is change the outfits some characters wear and the names of the stats, and that's it basically. I mean, Final Fantasy 7 and 8 have basically nothing in common at all except "RPGs made by Square-Enix" and a few shared enemy names and skill names but people don't pretend they are different series, I would say they have less in common than Bloodborne and DS3 do.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Maybe it's just the difference between product families and product lines?

I always relate things to cars, so bear with me.

You have Ford's product line that has a my Crown Victoria. It also has the F150, the Mustang, etc. They all share some things in common because Ford reuses components and designs across all platforms in that line-up where it makes sense financially. So like the FF7/FF8 example, while there are similarities, they're not trying to be the same product. They're different products reusing assets where they can.

Then, also from Ford, you had the Mercury and Lincoln family or brand with their own product line.

Mercury had the Grand Marquis, and Lincoln had the Town Car, which are both essentially the same car as my Ford Crown Victoria. The three cars are far more similar to each other than any other vehicle in their own product line. The cars were marketed to slightly different customers, but the product was very, very much the same outside of cosmetic/customer interface differences.

Maybe in that way it's relates to how playing CT feels like playing FFs made around the same time with an ATB system and other similarities.

Meanwhile, newer FF's that are in the same FF line don't feel as related. Basically the studio is just tweaking what works/what R&D has already created, and offering it as a different product/family of products.

[remy5623]

Jak and Daxter is the first thing that came to mind. I loved The Lost Frontier, so I'm extra sad that it was that which killed the series. I would also have said Crash Bandicoot a few months ago, but not anymore :). So glad it's coming back!

[Iceglow]

Oh man, so many games come to mind. In no particular order:

Actual series:

Front Mission (the last installment was a shitty 3rd person Mech-warrior wannabe. Give me a full FM3 style tactical JRPG with shit loads of customization)

Parasite Eve (SE developed horror survival game with JRPG elements being British I got only to play the second game but it rocked)

Colony Wars (best console space combat sim out there FACT)

Oddworld (Abes Oddessy, this has had a few sequels but I think it is dead now. Oddworld could also be substituted for Gex enter the Gecko, Tombi or Kloana)

Breath of Fire (Owned 4, played 3 courtesy of an emulator and played Dragon Quarter. Didn't appreciate V in it's time but loved 3 and 4)

Suidoken (I have Suidoken 5 for PS2 and fucking loved it a JRPG where you literally got to sail around like a bloody pirate and fight not only traditional JRPG battles, Tactical RPG ship combat but also 1 v 1 stylized duels in one game with a fairly good story and a huge, I mean huge ensemble cast of playable characters in the form of the 108 stars of destiny to recruit from and from everything I read this was one of the weaker entries in a long standing series).

Valkyrie Chronicles (I think has been stopped I came late to this picking up some of them on PC, bloody good games)

Ogre Tactics (One of the best PSP tactics series outside of FFT)

Onimusha (Samurai resident evil essentially - YES)

Tenchu Stealth Assassins (Ninjas enough said)

Wild Arms (Not as good as it's JRPG cousins but I recall having a lot of fun in Wild Arms 2)

Alundra (Some say it is a poor man's Zelda. I say nay. Alundra 2 was a bit of a departure but I recall the first being unforgiving as hell and loving it all the same)

Dark Chronicles (Yes, yes and yes)

Dino Crisis (Dinosaur Resident Evil - Yes!)

Ridge Racer (Arcade driving Classic)

Driver (classic action scenes from every tv and movie made in to a game with a unique story line)

The Getaway (I liked this because it was very GTA but not whilst also being set in actual London so I could use actual knowledge to navigate)

Mass Effect (not andromeda but a real sequel to the beauty of 1 - 3)

Vampyr Masquerade (good fun detailed action RPG vampire game)

Some interesting ones that stood alone at the time but need sequels:

Vagrant Story (I know this is technically part of the Ivalice setting but I want more Vagrant Story games because fuck me this was the first ever game to get 40/40 from Famitsu magazine and was well deserved)

The Bouncer (Square's ill fated high graphics Streets Of Rage tribute act was actually quite enjoyable if a little slow and clunky in the combat controls but seemed to be heading for and deserved a sequel imho)

Ring Of Red deserved a sequel (Valkyrie Chronicles meets Mechwarrior what wouldn't I love about this game?)

[Psychotic]

Bully, even though there was only one game. What a masterpiece.

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Bully, even though there was only one game. What a masterpiece.

I feel you, but I don't know how they'd make a sequel now. There's plenty to work with if it were done correctly. I just don't know if climate would be particularly receptive of some of the humor and themes any more.

As much as it was exaggerated for entertainment, I think a lot of the ways it poked fun of and stereotyped people fell into that tween/young adult mentality. So it worked, and I liked the game. It felt like it was self-aware of the humor, and used it to poke fun of the idea of finding these things funny. I just don't know how much of it would fly now.

[Iceglow]

Bully, even though there was only one game. What a masterpiece.

I feel you, but I don't know how they'd make a sequel now. There's plenty to work with if it were done correctly. I just don't know if climate would be particularly receptive of some of the humor and themes any more.


We need to remember that this is a title made by those behind Grand Theft Auto - since when has "will this fly" been a factor in their decision making lmao

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Since it's been 7 years from GTA 5's release. A lot has changed, and people dumping millions of dollars into a triple A game are aware of the risks of popular opinion/backlash/cancel culture on both sides of the culture war. They may be damned if they do, damned if they don't.

Create a game that's viewed as too politically correct or supposedly pushing a liberal agenda with its choice in one of the main characters, and you'll get endless backlash from conservative gamers like Last of Us 2 did. Interestingly enough, none of those gamers made a big stink about making crass jokes towards transgendered NPCs in GTA5 and/or beating them to death.

Create a nuanced LGBTQ character like Last of Us 2, and you get an outcry from one type of gamer. Put little to no nuance into your representation of those people in a game, and get backlash from different gamers.

I know which ones I'd care more about upsetting.

[Psychotic]

I think you're doing Bully a little bit of a disservice there sharky, in that it was surprisingly progressive. It was the first game I ever played with an LGBTQ main character and it wasn't played for laughs. You could just go around making out with boys, or girls, or both, or neither, and it was no big thing. The school was also diverse - especially considering it was a private school - and students weren't just pigeonholed. You had black students who were nerds, greasers and spoiled rich kids, and not just jocks.

I do agree that the stereotypes are a little dated, having borrowed heavily from the 80's John Hughes era of jocks, nerds, preps, etc. and that it might be hard to pull off today. I guess today's equivalent is your Netflix Teen meme drama, and as those are more serious and tackle issues such as gender identity, that wouldn't really be something to parody.

As far as GTA/The Last of Us goes, I actually remember the endless rage and threats to boycott on GameFAQs because the main character of GTA San Andreas was a black man. I guess some things never change! GTA itself as a whole has though, shifting away from mob and gangster movies and into being something more like a South Park lite. "Ooh, isn't modern life vapid and empty!" I think, if any franchise could get away with it, GTA could, keeping in mind that it satirises all comers and not just any one side.

I have a somewhat cynical view of TLOU2 and its controversy. It should go without saying but I'll say it anyway, the people getting upset about Ellie, Abby and Lev are hateful and pathetic, and I think some self-reflection about their insecurities is something they urgently need. I actually think that Naughty Dog knew exactly what it was doing though, and deliberately wanted to stoke controversy to push sales of their game. I might be wrong, and I also might be skewed because I think the writers think their game is a lot deeper and more clever than it actually is. To be fair though, regardless of their motivations you're correct that they are on the right side of this, and more diverse casts in gaming media is something that must be strived for.

[Aulayna]

Oh man, so many games come to mind. In no particular order:

Oddworld (Abes Oddessy, this has had a few sequels but I think it is dead now. Oddworld could also be substituted for Gex enter the Gecko, Tombi or Kloana)

Valkyrie Chronicles (I think has been stopped I came late to this picking up some of them on PC, bloody good games)

Vampyr Masquerade (good fun detailed action RPG vampire game)



Good news for you:

Oddworld and Vampyr the Masquerade are both getting sequels, and Valkyria is still going as a franchise :)

[sharkythesharkdogg]

If you think I meant to discredit Bully, I think I either didn't explain myself well or there was a misunderstanding.

For the record, I think Bully is the best open(ish) world game Rockstar ever made. Then probably Vice City or San Andreas. They really haven't done a lot in my mind that expands on how the games play, they've just added more stuff. I get that most of the humor was tongue-in-cheek. It felt to me like it was making fun of the stereotypes versus really making fun of certain types of people with those stereotypes. I just don't know if making fun of it in that manner would make certain people rage now.

Then you have things like Cook's Crush quest where you help the lunch lady acquire items for her date with one of the teachers that includes sedatives, because he doesn't really know there's even going to be a date. Implying some things that aren't considered things to laugh at anymore. The lady is unhinged, the situation is crazy, and it's played for laughs.

Did I laugh at the ridiculousness at the time. Yes. Would I laugh now? I really don't know. I think so given the right set up. I don't even know if it's objectively bad to laugh at a joke like that. It's fiction, but it's also making fun out of a dark scenario.

Regardless of whether or not I'm aware of what 70's and 80's coming of age/teen movies and shows inspired the humor and world, and regardless of whether or not the game knows it's making fun of those things, I just don't know how some of it would be received currently.

[Lea Monde]

Shadow Hearts, Suikoden and Legacy of Kain :(

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

Ironic considering the thread title, but Dead Island. Maybe????

Apparently Deep Silver still sends a winkie face to people on twitter who say it's dead:

https://www.gameinformer.com/2020/12/03/dead-island-2-is-still-in-development-confirms-deep-silver

But Dead Island 2 was announced 6 years ago, so.

[Quindiana Jones]

I'd like Squenix to fully abandon Deus Ex, and for Arkane to magically snatch it up.

[Loony BoB]

This is tough because so many franchises don't die so much as they just change or get 'revamped' in some way that loses their initial appeal. But for genuinely dead ones? This is probably my list...

Favourites
Portal - Astonishing that this doesn't have another game yet. Bizarre.
Left 4 Dead - if you aren't counting Back 4 Blood as a sequel (it basically is, but still just annoyed that L4D never got a #3).
Warcraft - The RTS, that is.

Honourable Mentions
Gauntlet
Magicka
Burnout
Destruction Derby
Twisted Metal

Really hard to say overall.

[cheesesteak]

I was actually just thinking of this recently. Mine:

FEAR
Dead Space
Chrono
Parasite Eve
Dino Crisis
Earthworm Jim
Deus Ex

Darkstalkers might as well be considered "dead", but its characters will likely still get milked by Capcom in various other games. So not sure if that counts for the franchise itself being dead.

And also, thank the video game gods for bringing Perfect Dark and STALKER back from the dead. :jess:

edit:
way late edit, but I never knew SE canned future DX games until Mankind Divided became profitable (which I presume was never). So...RIP DX. It's been added to the list.

[Wolf Kanno]

Darkstalkers is pretty much dead. I mean up until MvC3 they had been re-using the same sprites from the original games for all the characters that appear. The producer of the SF series had been hoping to resurrect the franchise but could never generate enough interest. Granted, at least Capcom acknowledges Darkstalkers exists unlike say... Breath of Fire that almost never gets any lip service in any of their games.

[cheesesteak]

Darkstalkers is pretty much dead.
:cry:

[BG-57]

Suikoden was the Marvel movies of video games: each title worked as a standalone story, but playing through all of them showed interconnected characters and story arcs. By starting over in a new world, Tierkris abandoned that.
Legacy of Kain was an epic storytelling with an enviable VA cast, but I doubt they could finish it now without Tony Jay as the Elder God.
Ar Tonelico was a great premise, where magical music was the ultimate power in settings of enormous towers over vast wastelands. Qoga was far too fanservice-y though.