After waiting years, or even decades, it can be an amazing feeling to see a franchise return with a good game. For example, 2025 was a big year for reviving the Ninja Gaiden franchise, complete with two new games—Ninja Gaiden 4 and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound — and a remaster, Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, with all three receiving good reviews.
6 Decent Games That Are Remembered As Franchise Killers
Can these franchises ever make a comeback, or did the following games kill off any potential of a return?
That’s the dream for fans and developers, but not every franchise can come back with a bang, especially if they release a game that’s so bad, it upends the entire brand. These franchises may return with a cool new game someday, but for now, their fates are sealed because of one bad game.
Dino Crisis
Beyond Extinction
- First Game: Dino Crisis (1999)
- Disastrous Game That Spelled The End: Dino Crisis 3 (2003)
Dino Crisis debuted on the PS1 in 1999 as a Jurassic Park-like version of Resident Evil. The first two games on PS1 were widely praised, seemingly opening up the door for yet another huge horror franchise for Capcom, but then the next generation of consoles saw a dip in the franchise.
Dino Stalker was released in 2002 as an on-rails light gun spinoff, which not too many liked. However, since it had a different name and it was a spinoff, it didn’t hurt the brand too much. On the other hand, Dino Crisis 3, released on the original Xbox in 2003, was a huge blow for PlayStation fans. The game was critically panned in most gaming magazines and early websites at the time for having poor camera angles and weak gameplay overall, which killed the franchise right then and there.
Duke Nukem
All Out Of Bubblegum
- First Game: Duke Nukem (1991)
- Disastrous Game That Spelled The End: Duke Nukem Forever (2011)
Most gamers may not know this today, but Duke Nukem started as a side-scrolling shooter for MS-DOS computers in 1991. While that game was fine, the series would explode a few years later with Duke Nukem 3D in 1996, also for MS-DOS computers. It provided something fans of Doom and Wolfenstein 3D were missing: humor.
The titular Duke was popular because of his catchphrases, and the games were beloved for their action and scantily clad women. For several years in the 90s, Duke was king, and even the ports and remasters received well by critics. What didn’t review well was Duke Nukem Forever, a sequel that took over a decade to develop. When it was released in 2011, no one thought it was worth the wait, thanks to poor humor that did not age well and a disappointingly short campaign.
Final Fight
From Brawling Champion To Dud
- First Game: Final Fight (1989, Japan)
- Disastrous Game That Spelled The End: Final Fight: Streetwise (2006)
Final Fight premiered in arcades in 1989 in Japan and a year later in North America as a big new beat ‘em up franchise. The trilogy was met with praise from fans who went to arcades and spent their quarters like there was no tomorrow. On consoles, there was a cuter version called Mighty Final Fight, along with eventual ports of the main series.
Game Franchises That Might Have Already Peaked
Despite still being great, these franchises have probably released their milestone games already.
Things were going well until Capcom decided to rebrand the series as a fighting game in 1999. Debuting in arcades was Final Fight Revenge, which fighting game fans did not like mechanically. That was one instance where the series died, but it would be revived in 2006 with a 3D brawler on PS2 and Xbox called Final Fight: Streetwise. That was the final nail in the coffin, as it is still regarded as one of the worst games on either system thanks to its unsatisfying brawling mechanics.
Genji
A Promising Samurai Series Cut Short
- First Game: Genji: Dawn of the Samurai (2005)
- Disastrous Game That Spelled The End: Genji: Days of the Blade (2006)
The Genji series was very short-lived, which is unfortunate because there was a lot of promise with the first game. Genji: Dawn of the Samurai is the series’ debut title. It was a short but fun samurai action game that was exclusive to the PS2 in 2005.
In 2006, Sony was preparing to launch the PS3, and alongside it would be a sleeker sequel called Genji: Days of the Blade. Unfortunately, the preview for the game was already met with criticism after the “giant enemy crabs” debacle on stage at E3. Bad demos are nothing, as games can recover from those, but unfortunately, the final product was just as poorly received, mostly due to the slower combat and a heavy emphasis on quick-time events.
The Getaway
London’s GTA
- First Game: The Getaway (2002, Europe)
- Disastrous Game That Spelled The End: The Getaway: Black Monday (2004, Europe)
Grand Theft Auto was huge on the PS2 in 2001, leading to many GTA copycats, including Sony’s own The Getaway series. It debuted first in Europe in 2002, followed by its North American launch a year later. Thanks to the more mature story, its London setting, and novel gameplay perspectives, it was another promising start, but the sequel, The Getaway: Black Monday, dampened that momentum.
Gangs of London was a PSP spinoff and an attempt to right the ship, which it wasn’t able to do, meaning that plans for The Getaway 3 were canceled. Interestingly, the series technically lives on today via a loosely associated TV series called Gangs of London, which debuted in 2020.
Lost Planet
Starship Bloopers
- First Game: Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (2006, Japan)
- Disastrous Game That Spelled The End: Lost Planet 3 (2013)
The Lost Planet series debuted as an Xbox 360 exclusive in 2006 in Japan, then called Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, which received a Western port a year later. Horror and shooter fans alike loved it, as it was more about action with terrifying vibes rather than another puzzle-heavy horror game from Capcom. After this, it didn’t seem like Capcom quite had a grip on where the franchise should go. Lost Planet 2 was more like Monster Hunter, as it focused on multiplayer and slaying giant enemies. The sequel did receive some praise, although not as much as the original game.
5 Game Franchises That Changed Genres And Got Way Better
Through small or big genre changes, these major video game franchises emerged better and stronger from their transition.
The third entry received worse reviews. It switched things up again and became a more heartfelt story about a father trying to earn money for his family back home. Prior to this, Japan got an exclusive spinoff on 3DS and PS3 called E.X. Troopers, which was like a hyper-stylized anime take on the franchise. Sadly, thanks to poor reception for the series in the West, neither version left Japan, and the franchise as a whole died.
Medal Of Honor
Can’t Emulate Call Of Duty
- First Game: Medal of Honor (1999)
- Disastrous Game That Spelled The End: Medal of Honor: Warfighter (2012)
Before Call of Duty and Halo, the Medal of Honor series was the premier military first-person shooter franchise on consoles. Medal of Honor debuted on the PS1 in 1999. Fans loved the World War 2 setting, leading to many sequels. Medal of Honor: Frontline is often regarded as the best in the franchise, which debuted on the PS2 in 2002, revolutionizing how D-Day is depicted in games.
Even with Halo and Call of Duty gaining traction, EA still supported the MoH brand for many years, even rebooting it in a more modern setting with 2010’s Medal of Honor. This was the beginning of the end, even though it received decent reviews. Despite that, its sequel, Medal of Honor: Warfighter, launched with an audible thud in 2012. EA attempted to revive the brand in 2020 with Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, but due to it being a VR exclusive experience and few stellar reviews, it seems like Medal of Honor truly is toast.
Steel Battalion
Hit The Eject Button!
- First Game: Steel Battalion (2002)
- Disastrous Game That Spelled The End: Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor (2012)
Steel Battalion was adored by original Xbox fans in 2002, for those who could afford it. This mech game was expensive, as it came with a controller that mirrored the cockpit of the in-game mech. It even had an eject button, which was cool, although it would delete the current save file if players didn’t hit it before their mech exploded.
The first game reviewed very well, and while its sequel, Steel Battalion: Line of Contact, wasn’t as well-received, fans and critics alike still thought it was good overall. The brand would take a break for essentially eight years before it reawakened with the Xbox 360 title Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor. To call it a massive failure would be an understatement. Players just did not respond well to the game’s Kinect-based controls, leading to abysmal reviews, which was par for the course for most Kinect games.
Soulslike Games With Better Combat Than Dark Souls
Dark Souls is important to the Soulslike genre, but does it have the best combat? Or do these other Soulslikes have it beat?
