Weird, unsuccessful franchise reboots

[Gorse]

I find these things so unbelievably interesting. Post reboots of game franchises that never went anywhere, and discuss why you feel they were unsuccessful. I'LL START:

The game that made me think of this thread was The Legend of Spyro, a very strange, unreasonably-earnest relaunch of Spyro the Dragon for sixth-generation consoles. I never played any of the three mainline games that it birthed, but I was very aware of them at the time, and I actually did have the GBA version of the first one.

It was such a weird game – unlike the older handheld Spyro games, which replicated the 3D PS1 games quite well through an isometric interface, it was, of all things, a side-scrolling beat-em-up. It played like a licensed game of a Nickelodeon show or something. There was a fucking TON of very serious, detailed dialogue and text, which for a Spyro game I felt was out of place.



I have no idea at all what they were thinking with these games. Were the kids of America crying out for a serious, mature take on Purple Dragon and his talking insect friend? Just look at how they redesigned this poor bastard:

​

I think I'm going to be sick. If anyone has ever played any of these games, and especially if you like them, please feel free to discuss in as much detail as you can muster, because they absolutely baffle me.

 

[RanmyakuIchi's icon RanmyakuIchi RanmyakuIchi]

Fairly low hanging fruit, I know. It wasn't the worst playing game, but it lost a lot of the goofy charm that people like about the mainline series.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Lunar: Dragon Song was hyped up to the point when its damn English name was chosen by fans on the largest fansite... But it was so poorly made as to permanently shut down the entire thing.

 

[LiberoVulpesLiberoVulpes's icon]

SimCity (2013), so bad it killed SimCity, per usual it was EA meddling, but the worst thing they added, was the always online thing.

 

[Gorse]

SimCity (2013), so bad it killed SimCity, per usual it was EA meddling, but the worst thing they added, was the always online thing.

My best friend paid full price for this thing on launch day. What a dope! Whenever I asked him about how it was, he got really reserved and spiteful.

 

[PaleFolklore]

The often (and rightly so) forgotten 2009 remake of Bionic Commando.

 

[OmegaPunch's icon OmegaPunch OmegaPunch]

Nothing will disappoint me more than Breath Of Fire VI and all of the mobile Ridge Racer games.
They were horrible games that entirely missed the point of why their respective franchises were so beloved, and were only made just to make a quick buck.

 

[PaleFolklore]

Nothing will disappoint me more than Breath Of Fire VI and all of the mobile Ridge Racer games.
They were horrible games that entirely missed the point of why their respective franchises were so beloved, and were only made just to make a quick buck.

Indeed. BoF's case is still a painful memory for me.

 

[OmegaPunch's icon OmegaPunch OmegaPunch]

Indeed. BoF's case is still a painful memory for me.

I mean, did Capcom really think an MMORPG was a great way to revive a dead franchise?
And I didn't even feel like a mainline title!
It's a spinoff, more than anything.

 

[Cu-Neo]

I still remember the Altered Beast reboot that has for some reason, that only Sega knows, the most detailed transformations of 2005

 

[Clippy]

Breath of Fire V was so far removed from the series' roots that it might as well be a reboot and it was BAAAAAD. No wonder Capcom didn't give a damn about VI. They gave in to the mobile gaming hype and it's not like they were risking a still-breathing-good-franchise.

 

[BlueShell]

I never played this game to be fair but I think the main issue is kinda obvious. The main takeaway from this thread Is that mid-late 2000s were a weird time for established gaming series that tried to stand out by making stuff edgier with mixed to laughable results.

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

Mega Man Le-OH WAIT

 

[RageBurner]

Breath of Fire V was so far removed from the series' roots that it might as well be a reboot and it was BAAAAAD. No wonder Capcom didn't give a damn about VI. They gave in to the mobile gaming hype and it's not like they were risking a still-breathing-good-franchise.

Yeah. I know there are some that like it, but one of them I am not. As for my entry:

I know this and its sequel have its supporters, but again, I'm not one of them. I don't like God of War style games and I don't need one video games' most seminal franchises masquerading as one.

 

[Jeff]

I know it has a few fans that like it, but the controls are awkward, the colors are muted, soundtrack is not good, uses the 2003 4Kids turtle voices instead of the 87 turtle voices, and it doesn't play like the arcade classic.

 

[ciro64]

I find these things so unbelievably interesting. Post reboots of game franchises that never went anywhere, and discuss why you feel they were unsuccessful. I'LL START:

The game that made me think of this thread was The Legend of Spyro, a very strange, unreasonably-earnest relaunch of Spyro the Dragon for sixth-generation consoles. I never played any of the three mainline games that it birthed, but I was very aware of them at the time, and I actually did have the GBA version of the first one.

It was such a weird game – unlike the older handheld Spyro games, which replicated the 3D PS1 games quite well through an isometric interface, it was, of all things, a side-scrolling beat-em-up. It played like a licensed game of a Nickelodeon show or something. There was a fucking TON of very serious, detailed dialogue and text, which for a Spyro game I felt was out of place.



I have no idea at all what they were thinking with these games. Were the kids of America crying out for a serious, mature take on Purple Dragon and his talking insect friend? Just look at how they redesigned this poor bastard:

​

I think I'm going to be sick. If anyone has ever played any of these games, and especially if you like them, please feel free to discuss in as much detail as you can muster, because they absolutely baffle me.

I believe Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex and Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly did unrepairable damage to the platformer genre. Imagine making a half-assed and a shitty sequel to two of the most successful platformer franchises and go like "Are we out of touch? No, it's platformers that are wrong"

 

[Viviana Santos]

 

[thanonyx thanonyx]

Dino Crisis 3

Who in God's name thought having dinosaurs on a spaceship 500 years in the future with absolutely ZERO connections to the first two games was a good idea. Oh, and the camera sucks big hairy donkey balls to boot.

 

[NotReallyHere]

The often (and rightly so) forgotten 2009 remake of Bionic Commando.

Beat me to it!

I actually had a fairly good time playing that one around the time it originally released. Picked it up for about $10 at a local secondhand store. For that price, it was... fine? Although I will always maintain that it felt much more like a Spider-Man game than it ever felt like Bionic Commando...

 

[Nidstang]

Mega Man Le-OH WAIT
View attachment 39248

Mega Man Maverick Hunter would have been. A cancelled edgy FPS Mega Man that was in the works.

 

[What's His Face]

It had potential. But...well...

Post automatically merged: Mar 9, 2025

Mega Man Maverick Hunter would have been. A cancelled edgy FPS Mega Man that was in the works.
View attachment 39285

That design, though...

 

[Gorse]

Mega Man Maverick Hunter would have been. A cancelled edgy FPS Mega Man that was in the works.
View attachment 39285

I would have loved to play this. A Mega Man X FPS is pretty much all I need, ever.

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

View attachment 39284

It had potential. But...well...

Post automatically merged: Mar 9, 2025

That design, though...
View attachment 39287

she kinda-
WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT ON THE RIGHT

Post automatically merged: Mar 9, 2025

Mega Man Maverick Hunter would have been. A cancelled edgy FPS Mega Man that was in the works.
View attachment 39285

Good riddance tbh. I noticed some of Inafune's cancelled projects were ugly as sin like Mega Man Universe.

 

[Deean]

View attachment 39284

It had potential. But...well...

Post automatically merged: Mar 9, 2025

That design, though...
View attachment 39287

I rather play the Sega Ages 2500 version of Golden Axe than Beast Rider

 

[UnDubious]

I beat the PS2 Altered Beast a couple years ago, it could have been good. It just wasn't polished at all, to the point of really hurting the action (and the final boss was trash). Probably because it was the first Sega of China game and they didn't have enough experience.