-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
In your opinion, the franchises that went down hill this gen?
- Thread starter fluffydelusions
- Start date
KojiKnight
Member
Halo went steeply uphill then steeply downhill
Gears slowly went uphill then downhill
Fable went uphill then steeply downhill
Metroid stayed roughly consistent then went steeply downhill
Socom went downhill
Gran Turismo went downhill
Final Fantasy went slowly...then steeply downhill
Resident Evil stayed similar then went steeply downhill
PES fell off a fucking cliff.
Gears slowly went uphill then downhill
Fable went uphill then steeply downhill
Metroid stayed roughly consistent then went steeply downhill
Socom went downhill
Gran Turismo went downhill
Final Fantasy went slowly...then steeply downhill
Resident Evil stayed similar then went steeply downhill
PES fell off a fucking cliff.
Yeah, I still remember that time, we were so used to see their promises delivered. I'd want to go back to that
Holy Order Sol
Member
From what I've bothered playing, none. People do love that narrative though, last gen had it too.
Photolysis
Banned
Splinter Cell. Fuck the people at Ubisoft for tanking one of the best stealth franchises around.
The Horror the horror
Banned
A lot of Zelda mentions.
The series has stalled since LttP, IMO. With Mario, at least you can say there's been a revival with the Galaxy games (being better games than some of their predecessors). Same with Donkey Kong and Metroid. But if someone were to argue that the Zelda franchise has been gradually declining, I'd be hard-pressed to say otherwise.
The series has stalled since LttP, IMO. With Mario, at least you can say there's been a revival with the Galaxy games (being better games than some of their predecessors). Same with Donkey Kong and Metroid. But if someone were to argue that the Zelda franchise has been gradually declining, I'd be hard-pressed to say otherwise.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
I quote someone I knew at the start of this generation:
Him: "Xbox 360 is dead in 2 years."
Me: "Why?"
Him: "Final Fantasy will be out for PS3, PS3 will have the rest of the JRPGs. It's the most important genre to gaming. And JRPGs are mostly Playstation exclusive."
Roll on snare drum...
Avallon
Member
I enjoyed both Final Fantasy XIII and it's sequel. They may not have been as good as some of the previous Final Fantasy games, but I wouldn't say that the series is on a crash course like others believe.
The spinoff games were good too - Crisis Core, Dissidia, Tactics A2, etc.
I also enjoyed Resident Evil 5. I do agree that Operation Raccoon city and Resident Evil 6 were large missteps for the franchise, but Revelations also came out in this way-too-long console generation and was great.
As for Splinter Cell, Hitman, and Silent Hill, I cannot speak because I have not played those games.
iamvin22
Industry Verified
yup, uncharted series(especially 2) and infamous were great this gen. im curious if sony brings the success of last of us to PS4?!?
To be fair, the genre was effectively dead from 2001 through 2007, skipping most of the last generation altogether.
+1 Metroid (although Prime 3 was fine), Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, Paper Mario, Ninja Gaiden.
Aquamarine
Member
Honestly, I haven't seen that same deterioration in Zelda / Kingdom Hearts / Dragon Quest. I've found myself enjoying the latest titles just as much.
So what would I choose?
Deteriorated:
Final Fantasy - Given. Surprisingly, I actually like FF13 and FF13-2... but I don't think it's the right direction for Final Fantasy.
Megaman - Mostly since 2010, since Capcom seems to have abandoned it.
Resident Evil - We went from the excellent RE4 last gen to RE5 and RE6 this gen. No comparison.
Devil May Cry - DMC 1, 2, and 3 last gen...to DMC 4 this gen
GTA - GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas last gen...to GTA 4 and Chinatown Wars this gen
Max Payne - MP1, and MP2 last gen...MP3 this gen
Splinter Cell - Splinter Cell, Pandora Tomorrow, Chaos Theory last gen...Double Agent, Conviction this gen
SOCOM - SOCOM 1, SOCOM 2, SOCOM 3 last gen...SOCOM 4 this gen
Silent Hill - Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, Silent Hill 4 last gen... Silent Hill Origins, Silent Hill Homecoming, Silent Hill Downpour this gen
Deteriorated then rebounded:
Sonic - Sonic 06 was the low point of the Sonic franchise, but every new entry has gotten increasingly better. For example, Sonic Colors is in my top three all time favorites of the series.
Rayman - The Rabbids garbage was beginning to point to the end of the franchise, then the series creator Michel Ancel stepped back in with Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends and now the series is better than ever.
So what would I choose?
Deteriorated:
Final Fantasy - Given. Surprisingly, I actually like FF13 and FF13-2... but I don't think it's the right direction for Final Fantasy.
Megaman - Mostly since 2010, since Capcom seems to have abandoned it.
Resident Evil - We went from the excellent RE4 last gen to RE5 and RE6 this gen. No comparison.
Devil May Cry - DMC 1, 2, and 3 last gen...to DMC 4 this gen
GTA - GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas last gen...to GTA 4 and Chinatown Wars this gen
Max Payne - MP1, and MP2 last gen...MP3 this gen
Splinter Cell - Splinter Cell, Pandora Tomorrow, Chaos Theory last gen...Double Agent, Conviction this gen
SOCOM - SOCOM 1, SOCOM 2, SOCOM 3 last gen...SOCOM 4 this gen
Silent Hill - Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, Silent Hill 4 last gen... Silent Hill Origins, Silent Hill Homecoming, Silent Hill Downpour this gen
Deteriorated then rebounded:
Sonic - Sonic 06 was the low point of the Sonic franchise, but every new entry has gotten increasingly better. For example, Sonic Colors is in my top three all time favorites of the series.
Rayman - The Rabbids garbage was beginning to point to the end of the franchise, then the series creator Michel Ancel stepped back in with Rayman Origins and Rayman Legends and now the series is better than ever.
Before $599 US Dollar, that was my reaction too.
But yeah, Final Fantasy. The franchise was almost untouchable, at least the main ones. Then FFXIII happened, then FFXIV.
Considering AC just appeared this gen...
AHA-Lambda
Member
Are you really going to defend AC3, ME3 and DA2?
Avallon
Member
How was Sly 4?
Aquamarine
Member
The series has deteriorated this gen. We haven't gotten a single Sly title until the end of the PS3's lifespan, and it's not even by Sucker Punch.
Avallon
Member
We got the trilogy in HD. Games can't get worse if they don't exist. Sly 4 could be the best in the series for all you know. Saying the Sly Cooper franchises deteriorated this generation is just not a fair statement at this point in time.
doniewhalberg
Member
599 USD.
there are a few but none hurt more than final fantasy, I just remember when every new FF announcement was an event and even a lot of people who did not dig a lot of jrpgs would look forward to a new entry. Now the franchise is killing Square because they seem to have lost most of the people who gave a damn about the series. I still have some small hope that if versus ever comes that it will be vastly better then XIII from the information we do have of the game, but I'm expecting SE to fuck that game somehow too. I would not be surprised if they replace the lead with lighting.
I would also add Suikoden mainly because we got V last gen which was great, and now its dead.
Soul calibur, and GTA also....
Damn there have been a ton of great games this gen, but this kind of stuff also makes it very depressing.
I would also add Suikoden mainly because we got V last gen which was great, and now its dead.
Soul calibur, and GTA also....
Damn there have been a ton of great games this gen, but this kind of stuff also makes it very depressing.
Kai Dracon
Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Lol I'm not surprised at the Zelda mentions, which is a series most wracked by nostalgia, at least as much as Mario.
Saying it's gone downhill since a game as old as LttP is, for me, a big stretch. Nearing that guy who says every Zelda past Zelda 1 is designed wrong.
I couldn't say Zelda is declining at all, Skyward Sword is the best of the 3D games in most ways, and laid a good foundation for gradually opening up Zelda in terms of storytelling and characters. The portable Zeldas were all fine games, even Twilight Princess was great aside from too slow of a start.
The problem with a series like Zelda is I remain pretty supicious that if you pulled a Folger's Coffee Challenge and replaced Link with anonymous hero, changed the name, and had Zelda fans play it: they'd rave that this had the magic Zelda had "lost". And say that Nintendo should hire these guys and fire those idiots that have forgotten how to make Zelda.
We saw this when some Zelda fans played Darksiders 1, and went on about how it was a better Zelda than Nintendo could make anymore, when Darksiders 1 was just trying its best to copy Zelda almost to the last detail, and is merely a surprisingly good and competent Zeldalike. With more detailed combat sequences between dungeons.
Because most developers would wish they could make an action-adventure game as nuanced, polished, and detailed as just about any Zelda with such a high level of design in almost every detail. Very few in the world could do it. Zelda fans though... lots of people dislike the nostalgia goggles accusation, because they think it's an attempt to dismiss real criticism. Sometimes it is. But Zelda is a series people worship out of childhood memory and it's a bit suspicious that so many Zelda fans only truly like the first couple of games (whichever those are) that they played.
I would flat out state there has never been a bad, or even only "good" Zelda game. Period. (Not counting Zelda CDI, ha ha.) But the series suffers a tremendous amount of projection onto it.
Raging Spaniard
If they are Dutch, upright and breathing they are more racist than your favorite player
Rayman, Street Fighter, Monster Hunter, Naruto, Fight Night, Batman, Killzone, Burnout.
All of those got better.
One that got worse and hasnt been mentioned much is GTA
All of those got better.
One that got worse and hasnt been mentioned much is GTA
Sentenza
Member
Haha, I opened this thread expecting exactly this.
BigTnaples
Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
Well I haven't played AC3 and DA2, but yes I would defend ME3 all day long... GoTY if not for H4.
But that's not what I was referring to. This is about franchises from last gen that got worse going into this gen. Like splinter cell.
ME, DA and AC are all franchises that did not exist last gen.
Dark Octave
Banned
I finished 13 and didn't feel the need to continue with 13-2. Just like with the movie (Spirits Within) but to a lesser extent, the game is Final Fantasy in name only, which I wouldn't have a problem with if it didn't replace the traditional FF all together.
Everyone knows that SE has enough resources to keep it's original fanbase happy and cater to whoever likes this sci-fi, jpop take on the series at the same time.
Aquamarine
Member
Maybe if Sony didn't decide to release a new Sly game for the PS3 6 AND A HALF YEARS INTO THE GEN, I wouldn't claim the series has deteriorated.
That's not what the thread means though. We're talking about franchises that declined in quality not disappeared completely for the majority of the gen.
And Sly 4 looks just as good/bad as Sly 2 and 3 did. It seems there's hardly any difference between them.
Canis lupus
Member
RE and FF
m.i.s.
Banned
Agreed. Classic gaming has been the majority of my gaming time.
ironically I was surprised by he lack of Zelda mentions considering the hate it got all gen. Anyway, my main contenders are:
Final fantasy.
Silent hill
Resident evil
Fire emblem
Those get my votes.
sankt-Antonio
Banned
Why would gran tourismo 5 be any worse then 4???
Aquamarine
Member
All right well, I'll edit my list. If Sunzaru Games doesn't deliver, I'll reintroduce it.
The Albatross
Member
Rainbow Six
Splinter Cell
Madden for the first 5 years of the generation.
I'd say Resident Evil, but honestly, RE wasn't that good a series on last gen till RE4 IMO.
Splinter Cell
Madden for the first 5 years of the generation.
I'd say Resident Evil, but honestly, RE wasn't that good a series on last gen till RE4 IMO.
Avallon
Member
That is fair.
I agree with your better list.
But GTA was a milestone for open world games imo. Say what you will about the campaign; it's the online stuff that really made IV special.
N
nan0
Unconfirmed Member
How can Mass Effect go downhill this gen when all games are from this gen? It's a pretty new IP. Same with Dragon Age.
shinobi602
Member
ME3 was excellent the whole way through bar the last 5 minutes and I've played about 15 hours of AC3 so far and it's a great game, in my opinion.
Dark Octave
Banned
lol Are they saying that "nothing" is better than what we got from those series this gen?
Avallon
Member
I finished AC3. I enjoyed it from start to finish. I played on PC, if that matters.
Metroid - Although Prime 3 was great and playing 1 and 2 with the Wiimote was fantastic, but after that, no 2D games and of course, Other M
Uncharted - New franchise with a great first game, second amazing game, then the third one comes along and it was a great looking smelly turd. It just lacked the polish and wow factor the second one had and the cohesiveness of the first.
Resident Evil - This should be #1 if there was a list. RE4 was my favorite game last gen (or at least Top 3), but they couldn't repeat the magic this gen.
Uncharted - New franchise with a great first game, second amazing game, then the third one comes along and it was a great looking smelly turd. It just lacked the polish and wow factor the second one had and the cohesiveness of the first.
Resident Evil - This should be #1 if there was a list. RE4 was my favorite game last gen (or at least Top 3), but they couldn't repeat the magic this gen.