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We've all heard of the concept of milking a franchise. It's one thing to point fingers at a publisher and observe how they make their business decisions based on making a quick buck off a popular franchise. It's another thing to watch as that franchise withers away as all the creative juices get sucked out of it. Gamers get bored, the development team would rather tie nooses around their necks than work on yet another sequel, and the publishers who hoped to milk the franchise for all its worth only end up with a sinking ship.
It's not a pleasant sight for anyone to see. A franchise needs the proper care and attention to remain a force for many generations. It's nice to see how after many ups and downs, series such as Zelda, Final Fantasy, Castlevania, Street Fighter, and Metal Gear are still alive and kicking. They've been given enough time between releases and freshness to their gameplay to make them exciting with each new iteration. But, then there are video game series gone wrong. They start off successful but go down the drain as they're squeezed dry.
We take a look at some franchises that aren't being given the appropriate amounts of time in between sequels. They need to take a break before gamer fatigue sets in.
Gary Green said: You’ll be forgiven if you haven’t heard of the Ar Tonelico trilogy. The previous two games arrived so late in the PS2’s life-cycle that they simply went unnoticed. While most were tinkering with their shiny new PS3s, Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia and Ar Tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica were being ‘returned to sender’ by your local Game stores. Luckily, you won’t need to have played them to understand and appreciate this third and final chapter, Qoga (pronounced k-yoga) tells the story of a racial war between humans and Reyvateils, a breed of biologically produced female cyborgs capable of reproduction, while still having a digital mind.
Oh my god. I kinda wish this would get a remaster on PS5, it would be awesome. One of my favorite games on PS3.
That and 3D Dot Game Heroes. It's a shame that some stuff is stuck on PS3.
This could be fun as they make great tables. Go big or go extinct. Prime your senses for a neural handshake and step into the cockpit of a Jaeger. It is on you to cancel the apocalypse when Pacific Rim Pinball comes to Pinball FX on May 16.
Gary Green said: We have a juxtaposition of 2D and 3D visuals, flashy turn-based combat, quirky anime characters with cheeky dialogue with plenty of partial nudity; Yes, this is a Compile Heart JRPG. Whilst the engine is borrowed from Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2, Mugen Souls is more of a Disgaea spin-off. It’s not a strategy RPG as such, it merely sits within Disgaea’s ever-expanding universe (Multiverse? Netherverse? Your guess is as good as mine). You won’t find cameos though, since Mugen Souls is a franchise which aims to stand on its own two feet.
Return RE to its roots, set people to exploring a mansion or something similar which is filled with zombie and the like - a long with limited resources - and bring back the series from the COD clone its become.
Though doing it more ala Uncharted or Tomb Raider, with no invisible walls, being able to climb over things which looks like it can be climbed over, and it would be better.
As for Uncharted itself, I suspect that The Last of Us is going to replace it for a while. That or ND will use TLoU's engine to put out an Uncharted.
I have a few problems with this list.
New Super Mario Bros. I will give them since they really don't change a whole lot with those games. But how does Mario Kart not keep its formula fresh? Mario Kart 7 is a largely more polished and engaging online experience when compared to Wii and especially DS. I don't remember seeing customizable Karts, hang gliders or underwater sections in any previous Mario Kart game. Granted they brought back the coin system, but that had not been used for almost four generations.
Also why list the Lego games when an original open world Lego game with voice acting and a full on original story is coming out THIS MONTH?
I'm not sure I'm comfortable with them listing Uncharted or Resident Evil either. Uncharted is fine and Resident Evil makes changes... I'm just not sure they're very good ones.
Rachet and Clank
Halo
God of War
Gears of War
Uncharted
Forza
Killzone
Call of Duty
A$$ Creed
Battlefield
Dead Space
I agree with all but Uncharted and Mario Kart. Uncharted was meant to be almost episodic. It's great just to turn off and play those games to marvel at the cinematic beauty and accessible gameplay.
Mario Kart needs 1 game per console release. Mario Kart 7 was probably the best. If I get a Wii U I would hope for an equally excellent title
I don't really count spinoff games on handhelds by different developers as main entries into the series
New Mario games will always come. Don't hold your breath
Only ones I agree with are Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed. Market is getting way to saturated with those games.