Every now and then there will be one game franchise that is so revolutionary/entertaining/mind-blowing etc. that the makers just won't stop at one. That next sequel features some improvements, and will sell even more than its predecessor. The next one doesn't have much to offer, other than that it's part of the series. Then the next game is just a clone of the previous one with new characters (maybe). It stays like this until the 7th installment, and by this time people are already getting sick of the previously revolutionary/entertaining/mind-blowing etc. game.
This sort of thing has been happening a lot especially recently. Companies even resort to remaking the game that started it all, in the hopes of calling back the tired fanbase, instead of just letting it go and working on something new. Sometimes, game series don't even live as long as seven installments--some games really lose their charm after two or three instances.
So, in this post I am going to list some game series that should die, unless they somehow manage to make it fresh again. It isn't comprehensive, feel free to add.
1. Super Mario Bros. -- no, not the platforming series, they actually need to make more of that. What needs to die are the spinoffs like party games and sports games. There's just WAY too many of them. The problem is many people would still buy these games because they have Mario in them. Nintendo needs to go back to making real Super Mario games and stop, excuse me for the term, whoring out the little guy.
2. Sonic the Hedgehog -- I'm sorry, but the horde of new characters need to be killed off. Silver? Facepalm. They need to stop trying to create 'deep' stories around the blue guy unless they do it really well, which I don't really think is possible because 1) what made the game popular back then is the exploration + speed aspect and 2) it's a game featuring talking animals. Not that I have anything against talking animals. Also how come some of the characters have clothes on while others do not? And Sonic's legs are getting too long.
3. Mortal Kombat -- Well it's pretty much dead already, lets just hope they don't come up with a new one. Blood and gore is so cliche nowadays.
4. Guilty Gear -- Mostly because the first true sequel is going to suck. Many of the old standbys were killed off or written out, and it's just an entirely different game now (it really sounds a lot like Dynasty Warriors).
5. Mega Man X -- The last one was X8 and it was quite a while ago, so this is also pretty much dead. But it better STAY dead. X4 was the last good game, and it wasn't as good as X3. Megaman Legends needs to be revived however.
6. Games whose titles start with "Sim" -- Do anyone actually still find these entertaining?
7. Final Fantasy VII -- not Final Fantasy in general, but FFVII. It's just getting ridiculous. They're not making games in this series to give us games. They're just milking Advent Children dry. Dirge of Cerberus was a horrible game, and I heard Crisis Core is mediocre. The character designs are sickening, and you can easily tell what the target demographic is with it.
8. Disgaea -- I'm going to be honest here. The first one was great. It was cute, funny, and really quirky, although for an SRPG it didn't really require much strategy. The second one was so-so. Not much has changed, except for a few tweaks and balancing so that you can't easily overlevel your way through the game. The third one however isn't looking too good. It's for the PS3 first of all, and they're using the same graphics engine as 1 and 2. There's some new stuff but nothing really exciting. Of course, this is just based on the previews, but seriously those low-res sprites should go. Also, having Laharl appear in every game is a bad sign.
That's it for now, I have to go, feel free to contribute.
The bright colors, the detail on the scales...this is perhaps the best Lizardman design ever, especially since the previous ones are so bland and cliche. I never really liked playing as him but he's so well-designed and fancy that I'd have fun beating people with such a fancy-looking character. He also seems to be designed after the Jesus Christ lizard.
