Great games, generic names

[RageBurner]

Inspired by a comment by @Raziya The Seeker on the First Person CRPG thread, I started to think that sometimes simple titles can hide real gems, game wise.

The one that comes to mind immediately for me is Puzzle Quest, as it is admittedly super generic sounding (and is not everyone's cup of tea), but back in the early 2000s, after its humble beginnings on the DS and later PSP, ended up coming out for a lot of platforms and started the whole match 3 RPG craze.

It later got expansions (the first locked to 7th gen consoles and the second to the Switch, at least officially) that add a ton more characters and content, making for a pretty compelling package if you like the formula. Thankfully dedicated fans backported the expansions back into the PC version for everyone to enjoy, and, at least as far as I'm concerned, it is a blast to play.

The franchise went on to receive both sequels and spinoffs, but none could reach the same heights as the original, in my humble opinion.

PSA: Stay away from Puzzle Quest 3, it's a mobile cashgrab of the worst kind. If you want to have fun with this, get the first game and get the fan backported expansions.

So what about you guys? any awesome games with terribly generic titles?

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

I mean…


Dragon Quest.

Sounds generic as all get out, but it’s the FATHER of all RPG series, has banger after banger after banger, is a life changing series for most who give it their time, and commanded the gaming industry in Japan every time a new entry dropped for the third, fourth, and even fifth generations of gaming. When it drops, even now, RPG fans listen and bow their heads in respect.


Its name is also the most generic fantasy game name I’ve ever heard. So much so that it was changed to Dragon Warrior overseas for its first several entries as a way of getting more eyes on it.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 6:22 AM

Another one: Flower. A beautiful PS3 title about controlling a petal through the breeze to restore a world that’s lost its color and life.

Its title is literally just NOUN.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 6:23 AM

And, I hate to be that guy…

Mega Man. He is a man and he is special, therefore he is Mega.

Rock Man doesn’t help things.

Why yes, your honor, that is, in fact, a rock man. He is a man who rocks.

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

The name "Yakuza" did the Ryu Ga Gotoku games no favor in the west. I remember a lot of people just assumed Yakuza was another game riding GTA's coattails based purely on the name before the series broke through over here.

 

[TamagotchiTamaHero24]

The name "Yakuza" did the Ryu Ga Gotoku games no favor in the west. I remember a lot of people just assumed Yakuza was another game riding GTA's coattails based purely on the name before the series broke through over here.

I remember thinking that for years! It took other people giving the series a shot to get me to turn around on it.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 6:29 AM

OH MY GOD! HOW DID I FORGET TO BRING UP SHINOBI!?

It is THE best series for being a ninja! Full stop! PISS OFF, NINJA GAIDEN!

And yet, unless you’re a dedicated SEGA fan, you’re lucky to have ever given it a shot. It’s such a tragedy. Here’s hoping the new title is able to massively boost the audience for this series, because WOW does it deserve it!

 

[WarpKaiser]

FATHER of all RPG series

Maybe JRPGs but without Wizardry, you don't have either Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy.

it was changed to Dragon Warrior overseas

The change was due to Dragon Quest was already copyrighted in the US.

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What is a generic title seems to me a very subjective topic. What about single word titles like Doom or Thief? Or Japanese games with random English words like Metal Gear Solid? Can these be considered generic?

 

[RageBurner]

The name "Yakuza" did the Ryu Ga Gotoku games no favor in the west. I remember a lot of people just assumed Yakuza was another game riding GTA's coattails based purely on the name before the series broke through over here.

A pretty fair assumption, to be honest, given no further context. I too thought that until I did play it.

 

[King Koopa's iconKing Koopa]

Definitely a lot of 80s games like Gauntlet and Centipede.

 

[TotzOnGaming]

Legend was quite the Gem.

 

[RustySK]

Thief!

With that game series the simplistic title is extra tragic to me in that the setting, story and gameplay are so damn interesting, in-depth and engrossing and the only thing they could come up with for the title was "Thief".
I mean, sure, you steal things in these games, but that's oversimplifying things a tad.

If I remember correctly, the working title was "Dark Camelot", since the game was originally set in a twisted version of the King Arthur saga, but when they removed the Camelot connections, all they were left with was a shrug.

 

[RageBurner]

What is a generic title seems to me a very subjective topic. What about single word titles like Doom or Thief? Or Japanese games with random English words like Metal Gear Solid? Can these be considered generic?

I just proposed the thread theme; it is in fact very subjective and that's the interesting part.

 

[RanmyakuIchi's iconRanmyakuIchi]

What is a generic title seems to me a very subjective topic. What about single word titles like Doom or Thief? Or Japanese games with random English words like Metal Gear Solid? Can these be considered generic?

Doom is an interesting example as it's a generic name that became so iconic that it inspired a trend of FPS games having a simple, single edgy word title.

 

[RageBurner]

Doom is an interesting example as it's a generic name that became so iconic that it inspired a trend of FPS games having a simple, single edgy word title.

True! Blood and Quake come immediately to mind.

 

[WarpKaiser]

I just proposed the thread theme; it is in fact very subjective and that's the interesting part.

Well, generic is the opposite of unique. So I guess Metal Gear Solid is less generic than lets say, Doom.

Doom is an interesting example as it's a generic name that became so iconic that it inspired a trend of FPS games having a simple, single edgy word title.

Yes, especially if you compared with other similar sounding titles: Doom, Dune, Loom and Boom.

 

[UnDubious]

Even games media basically presented Yakuza as more or less a GTA clone for years. When I got around to playing the first one it dawned on me after a while that it was basically an action RPG with brawler combat instead, nothing at all like GTA.
There's a game on the Master System called "The Ninja" that's pretty good. It was okay to have a super generic name in the '80s because gaming was still pretty new.

 

[DeadVoivod]

FIFA

 

[E0N]

Triangle Strategy
Infinite Undiscovery
Gun
Resident Evil
Devil May Cry
Skate

 

[RageBurner]

Resident Evil

The Japanese title is even more generic, now that I think about it. Monster Hunter too, as much as I love it, it's really plain and self descriptive to a fault.

 

[Elwiwi]

Super Mario

 

[Omegapunch's iconOmegapunch]

Persona.

 

[RageBurner]

Super Mario

Made worse by the guy's full name being Mario Mario.

 

[sysuah]

Bit surprised no one mentioned Kingdom Hearts yet (before they ignore all the naming conventions), when I first saw the box art, I always wonder what this game is about, I wondered if this js Disney's attempt to target the anime audience because what is Goofy and Donald doing next to these anime characters before noticing the Square logo, i thought at first this is like an RPG card game that Disney collab with Square but it's just your run up the mill action RPG beat em up

 

[WarpKaiser]

Resident Evil

I disagree.

The Japanese title is even more generic, now that I think about it. Monster Hunter too, as much as I love it, it's really plain and self descriptive to a fault.

Yes, Bio Hazzard is very generic. It was already register in the US (many such cases) and they have to changed to Resident Evil which is a more fitting title in my opinion. It could mean the t-virus on your system or it could mean the inhabitants of the mansion. The fact that it was called Resident Evil instead of Evil Resident makes it more unique and compelling title.

Super Mario

Sounds more like a bootleg Mexican Superman.
-Miren ahi arriba en el cielo! es un avión? es un ave? es Super-Mario!

 

[Bonkers225]

Final Fantasy. It's Final, but we're on 16. So when is the final?

Virtua Fighter. Sounded great in the early 90's with the 3-D, Virtual Reality, etc. Now in 2025, not so much.

Front Mission. Well, atleast it sounded better than Back Mission.

 

[MegaHiro91]

Mega Man. He is a man and he is special, therefore he is Mega.

Rock Man doesn’t help things.

Why yes, your honor, that is, in fact, a rock man. He is a man who rocks.

I don't mind the name myself, but your reasoning is the same reason I hate the name Superman. He is a man... and he has super powers... therefore Superman. Like, wow, how long did you think of that one??

As for Dragon Quest. Sure the japs have a boner for dragons, but I don't mind this name.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 10:38 AM

Bit surprised no one mentioned Kingdom Hearts yet (before they ignore all the naming conventions), when I first saw the box art, I always wonder what this game is about, I wondered if this js Disney's attempt to target the anime audience because what is Goofy and Donald doing next to these anime characters before noticing the Square logo, i thought at first this is like an RPG card game that Disney collab with Square but it's just your run up the mill action RPG beat em upView attachment 41505

What has that got to do with the name though? The threat is called "Great games, generic names" not the other way around. Gameplay wise Kingdom Hearts is nothing special sure, but what it had going for it was, as you point out yourself, that it was a crossover. Goofy and Donald being together with these anime characters made you stop up and look, meaning the concept of the game clearly wasn't THAT generic.

As for the name, if we are to stay on topic. Everyone I talked to back than accidentally called it Kingdom OF Hearts. Which makes sense. It is a kingdom of hearts. Kingdom Hearts, makes no grammatical sense... but that is again what makes it stick out. You remember it because it is unconventional.

 

[MrMann]

The name "Yakuza" did the Ryu Ga Gotoku games no favor in the west. I remember a lot of people just assumed Yakuza was another game riding GTA's coattails based purely on the name before the series broke through over here.

i remember in ps3 era when they said 5 wasn't going to be released in the west, end of the series basically and fans rallied to get at least a digital release, as that was cheaper for SEGA. Looking at it now is baffling, just how well known it is. Even the ancient japan spin off made it.