What game do you consider the peak of a franchise?

[Max]

What was the game that squeezed the most potential out of a franchise?
For example Banjo Tooie (Xbox 360), that had everything, collectathon, mini games, playing as banjo or kazooie, stop n' swop, big maps, etc.

 

[Bakuma1997]

Crash Bandicoot 2: Sorry Warped fans, but the attack thing being mandatory for the 100%, no, not an optional 10X% the true ending kinda kills it, especially since CSB lets you get 100% with good ol trial and error, also i loved all the vehicle sections minus the bike ones, but i get why people feels they are unwanted

Megaman (Classic): Megaman 7, best rival character in @fake-kun ... i mean Bass, best levels, a neat transition from 8 to 16 bits in the basic Megaman formula, 8 is good but fells more like watering soda, 9 and 10 are basic NES games and 11 is a great return to basics that did it right but is still a notch low compared to 7

Pokemon: Black and White, yeah, i will parrot a lot of comments from positive reviewers but listen, the story is peak (granted, i would like for Ghetsis to legitimally believe what he preached instead of the "Hur Dur i am evil but i fake being good" cliche he ended with... oh well) The "Save the world of the meanies of turn" takes the front instead of being a subplot (The Elite Four is POSTGAME) and i legit liked the Unova Dex when it debuted

Resident Evil 4: The perfect Balance between the cheese of Resident Evil and a actually good writen plot, the OG controls may aged, but the ports (And later Remake) make short work of that issue, and lastly the story being self contained makes it feel like a Epilogue to 3's Finale feel

 

[SpcDaicon]

Final Fantasy X is defenitefly the peak of post pixel era.
I know many people would say VII but X takes the cake.

Mega Man Battle Network 3.
The peak of the first trilogy. Unfortunetly 4 and 5 weren't as good but 6 is very close.

 

[SecretStrategist]

*Super Mario Bros. 3: The unique atmosphere of each world, the amazing power-ups, and the overall battles against Bowser and the Koopalings.

*Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles: The debut of Knuckles, the amazing music, and the epic adventure on Angel Island with its colorful stages.

*Kirby Superstar: With its tagline of "8 Games in One", you get a strong variety of Kirby games to play from, whether its hunting for treasure in an underground cave, racing against King Dedede, battling against Meta Knight and his crew of the Halberd, or journeying in outer space to stop the sun and moon from constantly fighting against each other (and later, having to fight and battle against an insane megalomaniac), you're bound to have a fun and memorable time.

*Mega Man X: Although it's the first game, I still consider it to be the best of all time when it comes to the "X" sub-series (with X4 being a close second) thanks to its simple yet effective gameplay and awesome music.

 

[moonbits]

Halo 3
Unreal Tournament 2004
Metal Gear Solid 2

 

[WannabeSaint]

Assassin's Creed 4 after that the franchise went downhill

 

[Mahan_Native]

Travis Strikes Again : No More Heroes: many people may disagree, but for me TSA is the peak of No More Heroes franchise. the story in TSA it's pretty nice and i love the Kill the Past stuff in this game, the artstyle is really awesome. it's a love letter to both past Grasshopper games and indie games and shares a lot of his problem through out a development of video game.

Persona 2 Eternal Punishment: to this day Persona 2 Duology in general is the best thing i experienced in Persona games; the gameplay isn't the best one, but the atmosphere, the characters, the writing and it's themes are pretty beautiful and amazing.

Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver: Soul Reaver is a magical journey filled with hatred, regrets and agony. easily the best game in the legacy of kain franchise.

 

[Stare best girl]

Shin Megami Tensei: SMT Strange Journey(the original one) because brings back the original Dungeon Crawler exploration from SNES trilogy but improved and designed to be challenging with a unique combat system that isn't a Press-Turn variant as well one of the best stories in the Megaten franchise and of the entire mainline plus a top-tier OST

Metal Slug: Metal Slug 3 is easily the best of the entire franchise because to its alternate routes system and being very challenging plus the Final Mission is easily another Metal Slug game in 6 acts

Xeno metaseries: Xenosaga 3, brings a simple and very fun combat in both on-foot and mecha, even more deep mecha customization than the one saw in Xenogears, a story that tries to combine the stuff planned from the original Episode 2 with stuff that is likely were planned for the original Episodes 3-5 and does very well, the OST was entirely composed by Yuki Kajiura, oh and don't forget the minigame HaKoX!

 

[qw90700]

Avoided writing about series that has few game and if for me the best game in the franchise was the first game I avoided mentioning it:

Metal Gear Solid 3
GTA SA
Final Fantasy 6
Pokemon Ultra Moon
Devil May Cry 2
Need for Speed Carbon
Call of Duty 3
Fallout 2
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Medal of Honor Underground
Test Drive Eve of Destruction
Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus
Silent Hill 2
Splinter Cell Double Agent (PS2 version)
Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain
Guitar Hero 5
Tony Hawk's Underground 1
Resident Evil 3
Kaido Racer 1
Assassin's Creed Syndicate
The Elder Scrolls Oblivion
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Hitman Blood Money
Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet
Unreal Tournament 2004
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Way of the Samurai 4
Metal Max 3
Dragon Quest IX
Saints Row IV
STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
Just Cause 4
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
Zelda Wind Waker
The Revenge of Shinobi
Contra Force

 

[Ikagura Ikagura]

For Ys it depends of the fans but as Classic goes Ys IV the Dawn of Ys is the quintessential bump action game as it's a natural evolution of I & II (despite the downer that Wanderer from Ys and Mask of Sun were) but then Ys V came in and the franchise never got any real sequel for almost a full decade.

For modern Ys I hesitate between The Oath in Felghana since it's a great game under the Napishtim Engine but since it's a remake does that count? Lacrimosa of Dana could be seen as it for the whole franchise (and alas, IX and X are a bit of a downer).

Phantasy Star easily peaked with the fourth episode: the End of the Millennium since it's the culmination of I and II (III being more of a side story) and a legit great JRPG on the Genesis (if not the 16-bits, not too afar from FF VI nor Chrono Trigger). But for the modern Online franchise I'd say PSO Blue Burst since it got the most content and is the easier game to get online even today. PSU onwards fell a bit (with some exceptions like Zero and Portable 2/2 Infinity).

Doom imo peaked with Doom II if you take fan made wads into account.

Borderlands 2 simply because it improved upon the first and 3 and 4 don't vibe with me.

Avoided writing about series that has few game and if for me the best game in the franchise was the first game I avoided mentioning it:

When the first game is the peak... isn't it a bit sad?

 

[throughdarkness]

I am old and stuck in the golden age of 1990's games, I apologize in advance.

Castlevania Symphony of the Night - I think this is the peak of the series. The transition into something new like the open castle RPG format was unexpected and novel at the time. The movement was fluid and enjoyable from beginning to end and the castle was full of mystery with a ton to be discovered. It's one of the few games that I still discover new things about even after back-dashing though it 10+ times. I have played many video games in my life and not once have I played one that had the passion put into it like this one did. There are things they programmed into it that most people will never see in their playthroughs. Like throwing peanuts up in air to catch them in your mouth, or the rare chance of being petrified in your true vampire form. They programmed in a system of familiars, some that seek out hidden switches (of which there are only a couple in the whole game, its not even a main game mechanic). In fact you can play through the entire game twice and not even know familiars or spells exist at all. The sheer nerd effort they put in is staggering and it makes me sad that we probably will never see anything like it again with DLC corporate culture today.

Actually, I wish I could pick two because I feel that Rondo of Blood and SotN go hand in hand and they both should be in that spot together. Rondo perfected the level based limited moveset format and expanded upon it with a lot of cool secrets, multiple endings, characters, a save file system, and a polished aesthetic. Not to mention it is the direct predecessor to SotN, a vastly different experience.

Super Mario World - This game just barely nudges 3 to take the peak spot. It finally established a consistent aesthetic/theme for the franchise. The world map made the game seem enormous at the time, open world and adventurous. There were secrets packed everywhere and I remember not being able to stop playing it until I found every single one. The switch palaces were ingenious and the special world had real challenge for those that were looking to for it. It didn't hold your hand and I distinctly remember being stuck in forest of illusion for ages because it made you find a secret exit to continue.

Final Fantasy VI - This game has it all and it has a ton of it. The writing was well done and, like Mario World set an aesthetic, it set in unforgettable characters and themes that nearly every game following would reference in one way or another. The soundtrack isn't just great of SNES, I think it stands on its own against every game in the series that followed, rivaled only by perhaps Final Fantasy VII. The villain is awesome, the vast party options are awesome, and the world literally gets destroyed as part of the story, totally transforming everything into a bleak decay. It was so damn epic back then.

Lastly - Super Metroid, it's the best and you should go play it.

 

[Samatonic Samatonic]

Virtual Cop 2, House of the Dead (till 3).

 

[dem6n dem6n]

Dark Souls III
Halo 3
Call of Duty 4
Resident Evil 4
Final Fantasy XII
Diablo 2
Ocarina of Time
Counter-Strike: Source
GTA 4
Metal Gear Solid 1
Breath of Fire 2
Jak 2
Onimusha 1
Tenchu 1
Mario Kart Wii
Red Dead Redemption 1
Fallout 3 (NV is close tho)
Oblivion
Mario Party 3
Fable: Lost Chapters

 

[99nereids]

perhaps a hot take (or maybe a cold take lol) but morrowind is peak elder scrolls to me.

• No reliance on full voice acting so scripts are much longer and detailed.
• Was developed before the first lord of the rings movie released so the setting and art direction look way more unique and original than later games. (or at least takes inspiration from less obvious sources i.e. Nausicaä & Dune)
  • Consequently makes the world more interesting to explore since in general it offers more than your typical western-fantasy forest or mountain settings.
• has the best modding community out of any elder scrolls game. there i said it. (tho daggerfall's is a close second)
• Michael Kirkbride

 

[throughdarkness]

perhaps a hot take (or maybe a cold take lol) but morrowind is peak elder scrolls to me.

• No reliance on full voice acting so scripts are much longer and detailed.
• Was developed before the first lord of the rings movie released so the setting and art direction look way more unique and original than later games. (or at least takes inspiration from less obvious sources i.e. Nausicaä & Dune)
  • Consequently makes the world more interesting to explore since in general it offers more than your typical western-fantasy forest or mountain settings.
• has the best modding community out of any elder scrolls game. there i said it. (tho daggerfall's is a close second)
• Michael Kirkbride

The best memories I have with Elder Scrolls was on rainy days exploring Morrowind. Peak Bethesda.

 

[Sunnyside]

Dynasty Warriors 8 - The last entry with the classic combat system. Also the best iteration of the stage-based formula. Koei finally gave all 80~ characters a unique moveset, then trashed all of that hard work for DW9.

F Zero GX - Peak not only in the franchise but also a serious contender for best racing game. Shame it's a dead series now. But hey, the silver lining is Nintendo would never be able to match GX's quality in a new entry.

Gameboy Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - The most fun I've had with a Zelda game. Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess never grabbed me. Finished them all but felt underwhelmed. Link's Awakening however is a game I've replayed multiple times and still love. But I hated the Switch remake. The Oracle games were the last Zelda games I enjoyed.

Mario Golf World Tour - More courses than any other entry in the series, especially after adding the DLC. And they're all top quality. Probably the best casual golf game ever made.

Metroid Prime - I love Super Metroid but it doesn't have the scan visor. Far more exploring than shooting in this entry. And even though I generally dislike games with a heavy focus on exploration, this one clicked. I love the world of Tallon IV. The scenery, the soundtrack, everything. They really knocked the atmosphere out of the park.

Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate - Option Paralysis: The Video Game. You will never run out of things to do. Eventually I want to give every weapon a shot. I'm happy this game exists. I can always revisit it when Capcom inevitably disappoints me with the latest Monster Hunter.

Picross 3D: Round 2 - I'm a big fan of Picross games. But eventually you get so good that the majority of puzzles in the 2D entries become too easy. The first Picross 3D on the original DS solves this issue. The puzzles are much more challenging in 3D. And the sequel on 3DS is even better. The cafe vibe is super charming too. Also has a very underrated soundtrack.

Soulcalibur 2 - The 3rd game ran worse. 4 and 5 are best left unspoken about. And 6 is good but in my opinion supers don't belong in Soulcalibur. I don't like reversal edge either. It's just cinematic rock paper scissors. That leaves 2 as the peak of the franchise.

I'll echo previous posts by also mentioning Mega Man X, Sonic 3 and Knuckles, Pokemon Black/White, and Crash Bandicoot 2.

 

[Skeleben]

Not to say I hate every game that came after it, some of them are actually pretty sick imo, but I definitely think the peak of the Pokemon mainline games was Heart Gold and Soul Silver. I just think none of the sequels have hit that level of quality. Although I did play Soul Silver when I was like 8 so I definitely think nostalgia plays a big part in my feelings.

 

[χKai]

Megaman X2. I will not elaborate.
(I've already done so in other threads)

 

[Lokgamer]

Silent hill 2 was the narrative peak of the franchise and Silent Hill 3 was the horror peak

 

[Esidemoken]

Super Mario World from the classics and from the 3D I would say Mario Galaxy 2.

Castlevania Rondo of Blood from the classic style and Order of Ecclesia from the metroidvania saga.

RE2 Original.

Silent Hill 1.

Zelda Minish Cap of the classic style and from 3D Twilight Princess.

 

[ThunderBoy]

Ace Combat 7
God of War 3
Metal Gear Solid 3
Need for Speed IV High Stakes
Castlevania Symphony of the Night
F-Zero GX
Grand Prix 4
GTA San Andreas
Assassin's Creed Black Flag
Metal Slug 3
Super Mario World
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Wipeout 2097
Call of Duty 4

 

[Pinballbuzzbro]

Contra Hard Corps
Literally the best of everything before and after it in the franchise. Has the balls to the walls action of 3 without the mediocre gimmick stages, has a variable level of difficulty with the american and japanese version differences meaning p much anyone can get into it unlike the strict bullshit 4 pulled, it has the best music, best weapons, best like. everything. I genuinely don't think it's possible to top it and it hasn't been topped by any subsequent entries.

Batman: Arkham Origins
A best-of for the whole Arkham trilogy and the superhero genre as a whole (continuing my Insominac Spider-Man smear campaign teehee). The atmosphere of Asylum, the tight gameplay loop of City, the varied open world like Knight, as well as having it's own strengths like having actually GOOD boss fights and not making Bruce look like a sociopath unlike City and Knight. Literally everything in it is top notch and how it's seen as the "black sheep" of the series will forever baffle me.

DOOM (2016)
Combines the best elements from every aspect of the franchise as well as some other ID games. The fast pace of doom 1, the scale of DOOM II, the snappy weapon feel of 64, and elements from 3 such as bringing back it's Hell Knight design (aka the best one) and focusing more on the fucked up corporate atmosphere. Eternal is really good too, but I hated the boring ass exposition all the cookie cutter god characters were constantly shoving down Doomguy's throat and it's lineup of enemies and weapons isn't nearly as tight IMO. 2016 just has that perfect harmony with all of it's mechanics that only a few other games have achieved.

Gradius Gaiden
The creativity of previous Gradius games is upped to the logical extreme in this game. Every level is so full of life with lush colors and interesting setpieces and the music is some of the best in the series to boot. Combine that with the fact it has easily the most levels and content in a Gradius game ALONGSIDE the Treasure-style continue system and you have a game that absolutely perfects the series' formula IMO. Gradius V is good too, but I can't stand how garish and ugly that game looks and it lacks the creativity previous games had IMO.

 

[qw90700]

Dude I forgot to mention Ace Combat 3!!! Japanese version is the real game while English version is demake version. It feels like the difference between the original Resident Evil 3 and its remake BS without any graphical change per se lol.

 

[Muftie2809]

Thunder Force - Thunder Force V
I think this is the best of Technosoft can do in the series. Not because the first time the series implementing 3D aspects in most scenario, but because how few things gets reworked entirely in balance, like how CRAW was actually rechargable (or disposable if I remember correctly). The flow of the game is also goes really well, even though, I never finished it before due to difficulty. Either way it's really fun to play.

Castlevania - Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Even though it's not my favorite games in the series, I think it suits here because how Konami tries to make players to get used to control 2 characters at a time. The game is not too difficult, and just some puzzles here and there...

Metal Slug - Metal Slug 6
While the and the graphic is not the best the devs could do, but I think the gameplay is gets pushed to its limit, by introducing many things into the game like unique skills on each characters, and new mechanic where you can hold up to 2 weapons (and also can be thrown as well). The actual gameplay itself can be rather punishing, specially on the hard difficulty, but it gives some sort of satisfaction as well when the game is finally completed.

 

[Pinballbuzzbro]

Thunder Force - Thunder Force V
I think this is the best of Technosoft can do in the series. Not because the first time the series implementing 3D aspects in most scenario, but because how few things gets reworked entirely in balance, like how CRAW was actually rechargable (or disposable if I remember correctly). The flow of the game is also goes really well, even though, I never finished it before due to difficulty. Either way it's really fun to play.

Castlevania - Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Even though it's not my favorite games in the series, I think it suits here because how Konami tries to make players to get used to control 2 characters at a time. The game is not too difficult, and just some puzzles here and there...

Metal Slug - Metal Slug 6
While the and the graphic is not the best the devs could do, but I think the gameplay is gets pushed to its limit, by introducing many things into the game like unique skills on each characters, and new mechanic where you can hold up to 2 weapons (and also can be thrown as well). The actual gameplay itself can be rather punishing, specially on the hard difficulty, but it gives some sort of satisfaction as well when the game is finally completed.

DUDE A FELLOW THUNDER FORCE V AND PORTRAIT OF RUIN FAN??? HELL YEAH dab me up dude

I love Thunder Force IV as much as the next guy but i always felt that game's visuals were a double edged sword. Yeah they look beautiful and hold up to this very day but. they're also kinda too pretty IMO, like it can become genuinely hard to see what's coming at you or what's shooting you among all the hyper-detailed foreground and background and stage environments, and for some reason only a few of the bosses do the shoot em up thing of flashing white or making a noise to signify you're hitting them, the rest have zero signifiers that your shots are even doin' anything.

V looks way WAY uglier by a LONG shot but that works in it's favor IMO. Everything is much more legible and EVERY boss flashes white to signify you're dealing damage. It results in a much funner fairer experience imo. Also like how it actually builds upon the bleak ending of IV with the Rynex, typically games of the era never acknowledge their previous game's conclusions especially if it's an unhappy one.

Also shoutout to Portrait of Ruin for having the best story and extra content in the whole Castlevania franchise IMO. Like how charismatic and silly Jonathan and Charlotte are amidst the sea of stoic gruff dudes in big coats the series typically features.