It’s easy to forget in today’s franchise-driven world populated with sequels and spin-offs how many great series have fallen by the wayside. Many once-glorious game series fizzle out because of unexpected financial outcomes or because the newer entries just didn’t draw the attention of fans.
But some franchises seemingly have an eternal wellspring of hope for more. Whether it’s a series that resonated with fans long after it mattered on a financial report or a cult favorite that’s fallen by the wayside without a shepherding figure, these games deserved more and better. These dead gaming franchises have countless fans desperately hoping for their return.
Wipeout
Ask anyone younger than 25 what the nameWipeoutstands for, and they’ll tell you it’s a wacky live-action game show where regular people are forced to run on an obstacle course to avoid getting yeeted into a lake. ThecorrectWipeoutis not only one of the best racing series of all time but also a generation-defining piece of art.
On top of beautifully dissing cars (or karts) in favor of ships that can blow up their opponents,Wipeoutdid Sci-Fi aesthetics better thananyother game in existence. Even navigating the menus on any of the games in the series feels like visiting a museum of the future, thanks to the game’s absolutelyout-there art styleand music picks — and we’re talking about a series that began in the ’90s. Even if we don’t necessarily need a newWipeoutgame, we need one that does what this series did in the past.
Timesplitters
We miss Goldeneye 007, we miss the good times ofHalosplit-screen, and we didn’t stop having those games because a better game kicked them off the throne to take their place. The kings just died of old age and left no heir to replace them because we just stopped getting great split-screen games.
Whereas the company behindGoldeneyechanged completely andHalomade the awful decision of moving away from local multiplayer, theTimesplittersseries just died. I’d love a new game in the series, even if the classic multiplayer mode had to be paired with someFortnite-like Battle Royale mode. It’s extremely sad that the best way to experienceTimesplittersnowadays is byfinding a fully-playable version ofTimesplitters 2inside a vastly inferior game.
Star Wars: Jedi Knight
You can argue that theJediseries survives withFallen OrderandSurvivor, but that statement might hurt anyone who grew up withDark Forces 2: Jedi KnightandJedi Knight 2:Jedi Outcast. Even though it was obviously based on a very popular IP, the series told its own story and played unlike any other game in existence. The new games are good, but the inspiration that they take from the Souls series prevents them from achieving the uniqueness of theStar Warsgames of long ago, and that’s a big step down.
It’s especially hard to accept that this series is over since it concluded withJedi Knight: Jedi Academy, a game that sold well and that many loyal fans play to this day. Raven Software has been aCall of Dutystudio for years now, and is developing the upcomingBlack Ops 6,but I can’t help but feel like the company hit its peak when makingJedi Outcast. We might never get another game that so effortlessly combines the epic action ofStar Wars, the competitive side ofQuake, and the personal duels of theSoulsseries.
Chrono Series (Chrono Trigger, Cross)
WhileChrono Crosswas disowned by many fans for doing away withChrono Triggercharacters in a rather cold fashion, both games are at least connected by their undeniable quality. Squaresoft never releasedChronoCrossoutside of the NTSC zone, so I wasn’t able to play it until long after its release, and it still felt better to play than many of the PS3 games I was experiencing at the time.
If Square Enix doesn’t want to bring backChrono Crossbecause the plot brings back sad memories, then they can just make a direct sequel toChrono Trigger.We live in the era of the multiverse, so you can just use that as an explanation for why you’re throwing awayCross— though I doubt anyone would even care to ask why since they’d be too busy playingChrono Trigger 2.
Ninja Gaiden
Ok, let’s address the elephant in the room:Ninja Gaiden 3was so bad that it’s probably the primary reason they stopped making these, but it’s not the only reason. Team Ninja noticed that theSoulsseries was getting popular, and they knew that they were good at making challenging games, so it did its own take on the Souls genre withNioh.
I loveNioh, and, despiteNG3committing the worst crime a game in theNinja Gaidenseries could commit (allowing you to chill), the blueprint for greatNinja Gaidengames exists inNinja Gaiden BlackandNinja Gaiden 2.This franchise could totally make a comeback as a high-difficulty, character-action-focused alternative to Soulslikes. It’s been a while since the last truly greatNinjaGaidengame, and we’re talking about a series that only got better with its previous re-invention. What are they waiting for?
Legacy Of Kain
Though the series’ story got asatisfying conclusionwithLegacy Of Kain: Defiance, fans know it could stand to get a new beginning. I’m stating this because we know Crystal Dynamics tried to continue the series thanks to a bunch of leaked videos of a sequel that looked absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, that project ended up canceled for reasons we’ll likely never know.
I can accept that theLegacy of Kainseries is perhaps better off left dead if it’s not going to have the involvement of series creator and writer Amy Hennig. Still, I can’t avoid feeling tempted to want it afterwitnessing a glimpseof what it could’ve been.
No One Lives Forever
The nameNo One Lives Forevermight not ring many bells among younger gamers, but it was one of the most popular shooters of the ’00s. Back then, if you asked fans of spy shenanigans and the slick ’60s retro vibe about the best FPS series,No One Lives Foreverand its sequel would show up in the conversation.
No One Lives Foreverwas one of the most innovative, slickest, and best-looking series of its day, but its day was rather short. Today, the rights of the series have fallen into some sort ofsupermassive legal blackholethat prevents you from even acquiring the game through any digital storefront nowadays. Though this situation actually somehow lives up to the themes present in the games, it sucks for an entire generation of gamers who will never get to experience this game for the first time.
There’s always hope for something, and Night Dive, the studio known for their high-quality remasters of classic games, recently claimedNo One Lives Foreverto be their“white whale.”Here’s hoping this one does get to live forever as a remaster.
Panzer Dragoon (Saga)
Panzer Dragoon Sagawas Sega’s attempt at an answer toFinal Fantasy VII, but it just didn’t sell well enough. A lot of that has to do with coming out so long after Sega had given up on the Saturn that its print run was only a few thousand. ButSagais an absolute masterpiece, and on top of the insult of never getting a re-release, fans have to deal with the injury of it being one of the most difficult games to find.
Anyone who’s playedSagaknows that the on-rails mechanics of the series made a glorious transition to the RPG format. Having RPG battles take place while riding a dragon added an incredible amount of energy and uniqueness to the gameplay.
Despite the confusing name,Panzer Dragoon Sagais a single game, not an actual series. Still, it’s part of the widerPanzer Dragoonseries — which has been mostly dead for over a decade, save for the 2020Panzer Dragoon Remake. Even if the RPG-inspiredSagadoesn’t warrant a return, surely we can bring the regularPanzer Dragoongames back. Those kinda rocked, too.
Zone Of The Enders
The originalZone Of The Enderswas one of the best titles for showing the impressive graphical capabilities of the PS2, and it was also pretty good as a game. Its sequel,Zone Of The Enders: The 2nd Runner, is a much better game in every regard and remains one of thebest mecha-action games out there.
It’s sad that Hideo Kojima never picked up the series again while he was still at Konami, and it’s very unlikely that Konami will ever revive it. Maybe we’ll get lucky if Kojima goes on a Twitter tirade about how he actually hated the series and hopes it remains dead forever.
Vagrant Story
Sadly,Vagrant Storynever even got a sequel, but it ends on the promise of a mysterious beginning, and we know that its creator was always interested inkeeping it going. What makesVagrant Storyspectacular is how it combines elements from regular Japanese RPGs likeFinal Fantasyand theTacticsgenre to create an experience that remains unique.
Despite massive critical and fan acclaim, poor sales prevented one of the best games in SquareSoft’s catalog from getting an official sequel. If you likeVagrant Story, the closest you’ll get to a sequel isFinal Fantasy XII, which uses some ofVagrant Story‘s gameplay elements to create one of the most interesting entries in theFinal Fantasyseries. Sadly,FFXIIalso didn’t sell well enough for Square to keep making similar games, so it’s likely we’ll never see anything of the sort again.
