Every series has its high points and its low points, but for some franchises we seem to be stuck at the bottom of a rut with no clear way out. It's sad that some of our favourite series have taken such a nosedive, but that's just what happens sometimes.
In an effort to try and inform, entertain, and relieve some personal tension, we've tasked ourselves with highlighting our top five series of games that have dropped in quality constantly and consistently over the years. That's not to say we think these are bad IPs by any stretch of the imagination, just that they're not able to show the same amount of lustre as their past efforts did.
If you've been disgruntled in a similar manner, feel free to take to the comments and make your displeasure known to the masses.
Comments 88
"and now, The Crazy Old Man Singers!"
lol
Castlevania sure has taken a nose dive since Lord of Shadows. I miss the old Techno/metal/classical soundtracks they used to have. Order of Ecclesia was the last best one they had.
Contra and Castlevania need on here since Konami ignores them like Capcom does Mega Man.
That list is actually perfect! I would'nt change that top 5
It's called a COOKIE, Alex, not a biscuit!
-Sincerely,
some North American rube
Spyro has it even worse. Not only did Activison kill of his series, they turned him into a marketing gimmick for Skylanders when it first came out. Heck he isn't even on the front of the cover!
http://i.imgur.com/CGWej.jpg
Sonic has been sub standard since the end of Dreamcast.
Consistently to get it wrong so many times, there should be an award for that.
You know, like the Golden Razzies or something.
Nintendo could make a better Sonic game than Sonic Team could.
@mariovslink62 Very true, perhaps you could even throw Crash Bandicoot in with that also.
F-Zero (it's not much of anything anymore) and METROID!!!
Paper Mario is at very least a dishonorable mention.
Not a very Ntinedo oriented Ntineod Life video.
Lets see, in past few years alone we had
Mario Tennis Ultra Smash - 1 arena. 1 arena for a $50 game
Animal Crossing amiibo Festival. They made AC into a board game.
Metroid Prime Federation Force. Not only did they kill the Metroid name, they had to drag the "Prime" name down into the mud with it.
Star Fox Zero - still looks like it's N64 inspiration, but with tacked on motion controls nobody seems to like.
Here's a better idea - make a video of the 5 game series Ntineod has improved over the past 2 years.
Mario Kart 8 has been out for 2 years and 2 days, so that's out.
Splatoon is a new IP.
Yoshi WW was really good, I'llgive them that.
SSB was good, though I'll never forgive them for no separate save files, and releasing over $100 worth of DLC after saying there woudlnt be any
Zelda U may be good in 2017, how many years late and after Skyward Sword?
So make fun of CoD all you want, it's not making Ntineod home console games any better of late.
2D platformer, 2D platformer, wait wait wait
Resident Evil has had a decline in recent years, but could you even bother mentioning Resident Evil Revelations? Its excellent!
Ahaha, what an excellent pun! A bittersweet video and great concept. Really enjoyed watching this and hope some of these properties can turn it around. Thanks for including some positives with series that still knock it out!
Good list overall but Zelda and Monster Hunter as honorable mentions? I'm guessing they listed Zelda because of the delays to Zelda Wii U but Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and Generations are great, generally well-received games that seem to be more popular than ever, at least in the west. If anything the original Monster Hunter ain't as good as the series is now.
Wow, can't believe Star Fox doesn't make the list. It's a far bigger example than Resident Evil for me, where only 6 was really poor. 5 still has a mid eighties metacritic rating. Star Fox however went from being truly top tier gaming on the SNES and N64, to consistently being a 60 to 70 on metacritic. Even the Sonic series has Colors and Generations with 78 and 77 ratings, and Star Fox hasn't had a game score that high for 14 years now.
Paper Mario is definitely in my personal top 5 again. The first two are such amazing games, but ever since they've been ripping out everything I and a lot of people loved about those games to the point they're barely even the same genre.
It's so sad that this list is true. I used to love all of those franchises. Even CoD back when it was good, like... 10 years ago?
I thought 1 was going to be like Metroid or F-Zero
"Halo, is it me you're looking for?"
Laughed myself into a coma
The biggest factor in any of this is yearly (or close to) sequelitis- too many games with not enough change. May I add Assassin's Creed, Pokemon, Professor Layton, Inazuma 11, and maybe even Arkham? (list the 4 ofthem best to worse for proof).
I don't think Mario or Zelda suffer from this because there's enough variance in game mechanics like camera point, controller (for better and worse), and art style to differentiate them from each other.
@CreamyDream Hate to admit it, but...yeah. Admittedly, I loved 3D World, and it's honestly one of my favorite Mario games, and Mario Maker is awesome (there have been very few games that I have begged for as much as something like Mario Maker), but the thing is...Nintendo has just been doing nothing but playing it safe with Mario. It's just the same worlds, with the same enemies, and the story, They barely even try to do anything new, and don't even get me started on what they did to Paper Mario...they took a perfectly good series, and sucked out its very soul.
@HeroponRiki I think you misheard him: those were honorable mentions of series that have actually improved over the years.
I don't know that Resident Evil belongs on this list anymore. Revelations 1 and 2 were both pretty well-received, and were at least partially a return to form for the series. REmake and Zero have both received excellent HD remasters, which have sold quite well, a remake of Resi 2 is in the works, and Resident Evil 7 is rumored (again) to be a return to the series' horror roots. I think the series is bouncing back.
Paper Mario, Metroid and Star Fox belong on this list, too, I think. SF in particular hasn't had a really good outing since the N64.
@Not_Soos I'll never believe it! And While were at it, It's Harry potter and the Philosopher's stone!
That said, i thought cookies by definition were puffier and more chewy than the like of what Alex was holding. Aah, whatever, same difference.
@CreamyDream Metroid would be my pick as well. Other M was such a mis-step IMO and now with Federation Blitzball or whatever it's called, 2 strikes in a row.
As a huge halo fan please never add Halo music to cod again it makes me shiver just seeing it! Anyway Paper Mario nuff said.
I actually thought number 1 was going to be final fantasy!
But I haven't played a Sonic game since Sonic 3.
Silent Hill is the worst offender of them all.
Nintendo is not what it used to be, in fact,
Gaming in general is not what it used to be but yeah that's how life goes.
Guessing before I watch it....
1. Sonic
2. Resident Evil
3. Batman Arkham Series
4. ALL EA SPORTS GAMES
5. Call Of Duty
@HeroponRiki You misread Alex's comment before those played, that little reel was franchises that HAVEN'T declined over the years to put some happiness in an otherwise gloomy video.
I'm probably the only one who thinks this but for me it's Metal Gear. I loved the old NES ones. I just don't have the patience for 45 min cut scenes and convoluted storylines.
That list seems fair. It'll be nice if they could turn those franchises around
(goes off to eat a chocie biccie)
Mario party I disagree as they were never a stellar game in the first place.
Mega man I HUGELY disagree.
Never releasing a sequel is not the same as releasing a poor diluted sequel.
If you mention mega man you would have to mention in the same ranking games such as:
Virtua Fighter
Streets of Rage
F-Zero
Story of Thor
Shinobi
Panzer Dragoon
Basically every IP that Sega is completely oblivious to the fact that they own
@shredmeister In my opinion people just hate Lord of Shadows because it was a huge change. It had the most relatable Dracula in the series, an entertaining and fresh stoy and great art direction with beautiful graphics. Symphony of th Night has the best soundtrack by far and this was probably the weakest aspect of the game for me but it was still good. I'm not a hack and slash fan, but the gameplay was quite fun for me.
LOS2 was way weaker, but that was because some changes were done like Kojima not being involved with the project.
@DESS-M-8
EXCUSE me? Mario Party was DEFINITELY stellar in the N64 days. Not so much thereafter.
@TheDavyStar I would consider what Alex was eating to be a cookie by 'Merican standards. It can be flat and crispy yet still considered a cookie like, say, Oreo's.
And um, (cough, cough) Sorcerer's Stone.
@PigmaskFan Mario party 2 was the best one of the series but it wasn't a triple A title, it was good but it was a fan service game and not something as highly recognised as the other games in the five mentioned
And yeah, they should really make another video consisting solely of Nintendo IPs, because there's several that would be worth considering. Mario, Metroid, Paper Mario, and Star Fox would be good candidates.
@shredmeister With Konami focusing on the gambling industry, I hate to say that there will likely never be another Castlevania game! Luckily, there's BLOODSTAINED: RITUAL OF THE NIGHT by IGA (the guy behind Symphony of the Night)!!!
A few others for the list:
Paper Mario, because hey, Sticker Star was bad, Paper Jam was disappointing for a crossover and Colour Splash looks pretty dreadful in general. Thanks Miyamoto!
Yoshi, cause hey, Woolly World was probably the one truly great game in the series for a real long time now.
Wario, because hey, ever since 4, his platformers seem to have been given to everyone except Nintendo to make. World was good and Shake It was decent... Master of Disguise was a train wreck. And then WarioWare got hit with Game & Wario...
@shredmeister How did they not create more after all those stellar DS entries??? The 3DS would've been great for them, as would've been a SotN style console release...with the map and weapon selection on the gamepad...ah, someday perhaps.
@arekdougy im really hoping we get more of those. They were so fun. I know they tried to make that 3DS LoS game inspired by the DS installments but it just felt so lifeless and boring.
Sad to see Sonic as #1, but I'm glad that I'm still enjoying his games.
I would've chosen Paper Mario, and even Rayman (with all the Rabbids). But of course, above all others, in my opinon, Spyro and Crash...
I agree with all of these entries. Resident Evil and Sonic The Hedgehog are the two that really made made me sad. RIP in pasta, never forgetti.
It's sad for me seeing Sonic there remembering how big a fan me, my sister, and cousin used to be, but that poor series really starting losing me over the past 10 years or so. Advenutre 2 is honestly favorite still. The Advance series is great too.
was watching with the sound off and was a little confused by the end, but I figured this is a compilation of games that haven't declined.... before number 1.
I don't know if its nice to see or depressing that there really are so few... particularly since I would cut that list in half.
Mass Effect: The series was intended to be a modernization of Starflight, a game light years ahead of its time, from one of the most amazing developer supporting publishing houses ever: Electronic arts... Before they literally stabbed their better half in the back, sold their souls, and became the publisher equivilant of Crowley from supernatural, promising talented independent studios that things will be just like they were, but they will have all the funding power of EA, and then liquidating them before the ink dries.
Anyone who actually knows what starflight is, can pretty quickly piece together what mass effect was supposed to be, and how badly it spectacularly failed thanks to a decision from EA forcing bioware to change track (Gamers are too stupid today for starflight, make it an amusement park ride for morons and throw in some cartoon tits, the underagers will think its tops).
By now the people who have played starflight have realized what could have been with the modern technology of the ps360, and what they will now never play, and that it was supposed to be mass effect, and are probably pleading to any supernatural being who will listen for a soul trade to make it happen.... They can not un-know the knowledge I have cruelly bestowed upon them. Sorry. Not really, my hell needs company.
DOOM 2016 is amazing, but I feel this deserves a special mention... Because it almost seems like an accident. Doom 3 completely ditched what the series did, to be a slightly above average but bog standard 7th gen fps with monsters.... Doom 2016 was shaping up to be a complete CoD rip off terd... If you don't know what I am talking about google the changes in the games dev cycle, we seriously dodged a terd bullet by the skin of our teeth... And then Bethseda,was apparently AFRAID to advertise doom as DOOM, the amazing true to the roots fps people are freaking out over, and altered the game footage for marketing to look like some garbage worst generation lowest denominator pandering FPS... It wasn't until nvidia released their performance video that anybody had any clue that DOOM 2016 wasn't meant to be on this list. If you don't take anything else away from this... Be very VERY wary about how much power marketing suits who don't know jack about games have over your favourite franchises. All the franchises on this list, and all that I have mentioned here, have been changed by MARKETING TEAMS telling publishers to tell development staff how to make games that will sell more... Not the people actually making the games... And to that end, if you step back and look at the big picture, you will see these games, were all more or less ruined the same exact way.
Metroid absolutely needs to be up there, and as a Nintendo centric site, I am totally calling you guys on it. You aren't protecting Nintendo by pretending nothing is wrong, you are helping destroy it.
Zelda should be up there. Its nowhere near as downhill as metroid, and the new Zelda, from everything being said, seems to be heading in the right direction, but they said the same thing about link between worlds, and their attempt at achieving that solution completely neutered progression and world design. The game made great use of its wall gimmick, and the dungeons were fine... but that overworld was a giant bland stain on a zelda adventure.... Do we really want to wait and see if Zelda slides on down with metroid before letting Nintendo know its okay to make great adventures again even if might get lost for a little bit along the way?
Fire Emblem deserved a special mention for still knocking it out of the park after all these years 😃
@Blue_Blur
Rayman doesn't belong there because of Origins and Legends.
I realize it's stylish and popular to decry the decline of Call of Duty, but nearly every one of the last several releases has outsold its predecessor, and since 2012, Call of Duty games have outsold all Wii U releases combined several times over. How is that a decline?
(FWIW I do not care for the Call of Duty games and I have never played any of them.)
@rjejr At least half the players like the "Star Fox Zero" controls (haven't been able to try them yet myself), and at least wait until "Federation Force" releases before you start calling it terrible, as it could very well turn out to be pretty good.
For those of you claiming "Metroid" should be on the list, perhaps it should be an honorable mention, but it shouldn't crack the list itself at this point. Despite the horrible dialogue and mixed opinions on the voice acting and story, "Other M" is still a very good game with excellent gameplay and graphics, and we have no idea how good "Federation Force" will be since it hasn't been released anywhere yet.
"Star Fox" should definitely get consideration, though, as the only two games we've had in the last decade have been the disappointing "Command" and the extremely mixed reception with "Zero."
Sonic definitely takes the cake here. Don't think anyone can disagree on that.
@Ralizah I think Resident Evil 7 will determine whether the series still belongs on the list. If it really does return to the survival horror roots, then yeah it's okay to take it off the list. I'll believe it when I see it though.
Doom is listed as one of the series that improved, yet I'm pretty sure the series went downhill for a while before returning to form with the most recent game. Resident Evil may end up in the same situation.
Monkey Ball could be on that list. First two games was good and then it went downhill.
@AlexOlney "or are you simply insulted by the very notion of critcism."
I actually lol'ed. I love you Alex. Never change. (^_^ )/
A friend of mine loves Pokémon... But only generation 4 and below. The main reason he hates generation 5 is because Pidgey was "replaced" with Pidove whom he hates because it is overdesigned. He also hates generation 6 because he preferred the older graphics. However, generation 5 is my favourite...
Resident Evil Revelations 1 was pretty good, and 2 is one of my top two Resistors games.
I enjoyed Sonic Lost World more than any Sonic game since the Mega Drive.
So no. Bad list, no biscuit!
Too late...
I disagree about Mass Effect. 3 was a huge disappointment for more reasons than the ending.
Nice list.
@BulbasaurusRex "Other M is still a great".
Stop.
Just stop. Your blind frothing defense of nintendo because it is doing far more damage than good.
Other M was fantastic graphically. Other m was more than servicable mechanically. For the most part it was pretty good control wise.
But other m was a complete and absolute train wreck where it matters most for metroid. Other M wasnt just a bad game. And make no mistake about it, no matter how great the graphics were, and how servicable the controls were, none of that matters in the face of how badly other m destroyed the fundamental core of metroid.
Other M wasnt just a bad metroid game.... It was so backwards in design it was an antithesis to metroid design.
You can completely throw everything out the window for metroid except that core. You can turn it from a sidescroller to first person, you can turn samus from a hummingbird on crack zipping around into a clumsy sluggish tank, you can change the combat from a twitchy 2d shooter to some wierd lock on system where you dont even need to aim.
As long as the core is intact, the exploration and power up based progression design, the game feels like metroid.... Even if everything else is way different.
Other M disowned the core of metroid, wholly, completely, and on purpose.
In Metroid You explore a mysterious world to find a power up.
In other M you go to the blue dot on the map, following the green doors. All other doors are locked, and glow red. When you get to the dot the game authorizes a power up for you.
In Metroid aquiring a power up lets you rethink everything you have experienced with the new powerup in mind so you can use it to explore new ateas and progress the game.
In other m you follow the green doors to the next cutscene/blue dot.
Ninyendo purposefully destroyed metroid game design bevause they actually thought that the very thing that made metroid an iconic videogame legend was the barrier to entry keeping the game from selling like mario kart. That if they removed metroid game design, and replaced it with the same walk to the next cutscene design western publisher conglomerates constantly crap out, that it would then SELL, like games from western publishers.
Nintendo fully believed metroid for morons was going to be a sales titan. They checked all the same boxes as those AAAAAAAAAA ps360 games. You can go back and read the interviews right now, they are completely clueless aboit why other m didnt fly off shelves.
And the reason they are so clueless, is there are too many of you.
Thats why we have federation forces. No you dont need to play it. Anyone can see the game is designed nothing like a metroid game, and everything like a bog standard co-op arena shooter. And not a particularly interesting one at that.
Nintendo still thinks that metroids problem is that its not stupid enough to sell. Quit defending that. Nothing will get better until that happens.
Doom, Mass Effect? WTF are you doing in there in a Nintendo video? Sure they've been on a Nintendo system at least once but they are not franchises that spring to mind when I think of Nintendo.
And yes Sonic deserves number 1 but I wonder does Star Fox deserve number 2 as a franchise that ain't what it used to be? Star Fox Zero says yes.
Resident evil 6 is one of the worst AAA games I've ever played.
The last good Call of duty was number 2 on xbox360.
Even the popular Sonic games are massively overated.
Disagree with the Mario Party inclusion though, they're all brilliant bar number 8.
New Doom is INCREDIBLE. My 2 cents anyway.
@NinjaAceTrainer "Overdesigned" is such a ridiculous complaint about Pokémon designs. I hate that
I would replace Resident Evil with Fire Emblem but other than that good list.
@SouthpawGrammar
9 and 10 are hardly brilliant with the stupid everyone-in-one-car mechanic.
Wait, were the honorable mentions examples of games that have aged well, or that haven't aged as bad as the actual list?
@AlexSora89
Aged well. To get the "bad taste out of mouths" so to speak.
@KO-Cub
Good to know. As far as my knowledge of English goes, all is fine and dandy as long as it's about the written word - ears and mouth aren't exactly where I shine the brightest in the "English as a second language" department.
@Serebii I agree, except for Black Kyurem and White Kyurem. They just have too much going on, but at least there is a reason why they have so much in their designs. Calling a Pokémon overdesigned is just stupid.
I'd have to disagree with Cod. It was always a horribly forced soapie single player, and the bit I played of Advanced Warfare was passable.
Fable was also overrated from the start, and while 3 was noticeably worse, the gimmick got old quick.
@rjejr FF doesn't count, because A) it's not out yet and B) it's a sequel to another handheld game that also didn't star Samus.
If you really care that much about the mostly invisible POV character, just pretend yours is actually Samus working undercover.
@Arlo Mass Effect 3, where people complained about the game play being too mainstream but hating that the ending was pure sci-fi without the lame "riding off into sunset with lover" tired cliché.
As an avid reader of fantasy and sci-fi, especially stuff that takes risks, I loved it.
@SouthpawGrammar I'll agree with most except I always thought CoD was overrated, but fun with multiplayer with friends for a couple of hours.
New Doom has the best levels since the original (been replaying Doom 1 & 2, and aside from double barrel, Doom 2 just isn't as fun as 1).
Doom 3 was a big disappointment.
New Doom also has the best hell levels since the original as well, and the weapons are fun aside from the pistol, and it needs more zombie types. Aside from that it's brilliant.
As others have pointed out RE main series yes but don't include revelations 1 & 2.
Star Fox should be on here. After Star Fox 64, it was just a downhill battle
Should've added chibi-robo to that list. It hasn't been the same since the first game.
@BulbasaurusRex Well I don't see "half the players" of SFZ liking it an "improvement". The article is about game series that ain't what they used ot be. I'd say half the gamers not liking SFZ puts it in that "ain't as good as it used to be" category. An dconsidering how well liked th eMetroi dPRime Trilogy was, I don't see MP:FF keeping that momentum going. And the Metroid series was already going downhill with Metroid: Other M.
So while it' strue SFZ and MP:FF may turn out to be ok, I think they are sitll going downhill from their glory days, not being improved upon. I do think Zelda U will be an improvement. And mayeb Pikmin 4 as well. People don't seem too fond of the newer Paper Mario games either.
Super Mario Maker I'll count as a success, it changed up the idea of 2D Mario games while sort of spinning it off. That one is a success I think.
So, what, you aren't going to try and defend AC:aF too?
@MadAdam81 OK, MP:FF doesn't count b/c it isn't out yet, fair enough. What about Metroid: Other M? Was that an improvement or a letdown over the Metroid Prime Trilogy? I think the general consensus would be that OM isn't as good as the trilogy, therefore Metro id fits the theme of series that aren't as good as they used to be.
@Indy83 I feel the same way about Star Control 2. Still one of the best space operas in gaming history, I think. (A lot of the core points from the Mass Effect series, like the reapers, were ripped off of the lousy Star Control 3, too...)
@MadAdam81 Like I said, for me it was more than the ending. The story had a ton of weird plot holes, there were no good new squadmates, the writing was just not on-par with the other games, the character used a bunch of lame, forced jokes that constantly broke the immersion... The whole game felt rushed and like it was heavily influenced by EA jerks in suits that cared none about the series.
But it was definitely cool sci-fi action, so I can see how some people were fine with it. Not all that stuff matters to everyone.
@PigmaskFan we all love that mechanic at our place.
@MadAdam81 nice. It's strange to me that Doom 3 isn't remembered as fondly by a lot of people, I thought it was great. Had a different vibe though admittedly
I feel like Contra and Silent Hill deserve to be up there more than Mario Party but then, I don't really play Mario Party so I don't have a good idea of just how sharp the decline in quality was.
But overall, agree with this list. You guys should consider doing a Nintendo IP only version.
@rjejr Star Fox Zero is an improvement though. Considering you can basically take some elements from Star Fox 64, Assault, Command and see where in Zero the gameplay has been expanded upon.
The only argument about Zero is it's controls and it's largely an argument where the people who haven't got to grips with the controls refuse to acknowledge what they add. But what the controls bring is a very apparent improvement in the gameplay while shedding gameplay limitations that the previous entries had. There's gameplay that simply wouldn't be possible in Star Fox 64 as early as the first level yet the way people speak of Zero it's as if it doesn't do anything new or no new challenges with the new control scheme despite the fact the game is heavily designed around it and it's done with a high level of polish.
People like to pump one point they don't like up so much that they refuse to acknowledge what the rest of the game is actually like and use that one bugbear to colour the rest of perception.
@rjejr Nintendo Life, criticize core Nintendo franchises!? GASP! Blasphemy!
@Dr_Lugae "People like to pump one point they don't like up so much that they refuse to acknowledge what the rest..."
Kind of like people like to take 1 mistake I may have been wrong on - SFZ isn't a downgrade - and ignore the fact that the 1 game was only a part of a bigger trend - AC:aF, MP:FF, Mario Tennis Ultra Smash - Nintendo hasn't done much the past 2 years improving anything.
Even if SFZ is a wash - better games, unlikable controls - people still didn't like Other M too much, the response to AC:aF has been lackluster at best, the response to MP:FF was practically a riot, the response to Mario Tennis, well there wasn't really a response to that it kind of came and went and nobody cared.
@PlywoodStick I don't know, I think TW has lost his mind, Ntinedo broke him, now everything he writes sounds like I wrote it, by the time E3 is over he'll be calling them the worst company in existence. Alex loves everything though, he's the last ray of sunshine in an endless sea of gloom.
@rjejr Other M is everything I hate about modern storytelling, where 3d characters and plot are of no concern and everything is about making each moment as big, powerful, shocking and emotional as possible. Not much in Other M actually makes sense, but I don't consider it a real metroid game just like Shadow the Hedgehog isn't a real Sonic game, both are spin offs made by other companies that fell flat.
@Arlo I don't remember any plot holes, and usually I notice them to the point it upsets others (eg Force Awakens, Civil War). I'll have to see what they are, but I would have missed them because I was just that immersed in it, even more than 1 & 2.
@Indy83 Wow. I haven't played Metroid before except for Other M at a friend's house and I remember getting bored to death. Your description sounds exactly like a description of a game I would love. If they did that to Metroid then you are absolutely right in everything you said, as it's rarely seen around here, where it's OK to be blind just because you are a fan.
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