...I miss their old games...

Started by Yukari June 1st, 2014 8:37 AM
  • 1718 views
  • 30 replies
What game series do you think hae gone downhill compared the their originals? Maybe they started off good but then the games just started getting worse. Maybe the company got possessed by EA who rushed for a quick release date and forced the game out before it was finished. (That is the bane of many a video game.) Maybe no squeal could have lived up to the original. Or maybe there just wasn't enough innovation and improvement between games. For whatever reason many series have been getting worse and worse today. But that's what this thread is about! What games do you think don't live up to the originals? And why do you think they aren't as good as they used to be?

Sonata

Don't let me disappear

Age 27
Male
Indiana
Seen 8 Hours Ago
Posted March 25th, 2023
13,619 posts
10.2 Years
Pokemon, Call of Duty, Digimon, Final Fantasy, and that's about all I can think of off the top of my head.
Age 35
Male
Dream World
Seen December 21st, 2016
Posted October 8th, 2016
1,638 posts
10.8 Years
Pokemon, Call of Duty, Digimon, Final Fantasy, and that's about all I can think of off the top of my head.
Disagree on Pokémon. The mechanics in 6th gen are the best ever. World navigation is also better, with less need for HMs (although there was a setback on this with RSE remakes).

I expect most of the posts in this thread to be filled with nostalgia, but the problem is that a developer can't make the same game over and over or people would then complain the series got "stale". Which ironically is the case with CoD.


Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, the day Pokémon pulled a Dallas and jumped the shark.

Yato

Age 29
Female
Selphia
Seen December 19th, 2017
Posted February 5th, 2015
In a sense, some of the various Pokemon spin-off series. PMD2 (Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky) were fantastic (especially Sky), and while Gates to Infinity was good, it didn't live up to the PMD2. (Can't say much about the Wii games since they weren't localized, though given what I've seen, they don't seem to be as good either.) Same deal with the Stadium-esque games. They went from Stadium battles to actual plots in Colosseum and XD, then went back to stadium battles in PBR. Sure, you got character customization, but I really liked how Colo/XD had plots and made the gameplay more interesting. Hopefully something similar will come out in the future, but who knows.

Sonic also comes to mind; however, some of the latest Sonic games have been pretty good (especially Generations), so I don't know if that'd count anymore.
アズール
themeseriespair
gfx/cssgallerytumblr
3ds fcfriend safarispc
a man for flowers
Age 35
Male
Dream World
Seen December 21st, 2016
Posted October 8th, 2016
1,638 posts
10.8 Years
Sonic games.

Do I need to explain why?

I'll go with Spyro games as well as Crash Bandicoot games.
It's a shame Sega didn't know what to do with Sonic after Sonic & Knuckles. :(


Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, the day Pokémon pulled a Dallas and jumped the shark.

Sydian

fake your death.

Age 30
they/them
Georgia
Seen May 22nd, 2022
Posted November 29th, 2021
33,354 posts
15.2 Years
Actually, can I take a different take on this? When I first saw the title, I actually thought this would be about companies or developers. So my immediate thought coming into this was RareWare. Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark, and Jet Force Gemini (my personal favorite of the RareWare games!) were all amazing. Then you have things like Starfox Adventures and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. And now all they make is Kinect games, which is a waste I think...but I will give them credit for one thing. Viva Pinata is awesome. I love it and it's the only reason I keep my 360 around. Honest opinion.

It's just sad that after all those amazing games for SNES and N64, they just...make those Kinect games now. Like I said, it's a waste. I mean, they're not total letdowns thankfully, but those games I listed earlier were golden and I guess it just can't be topped? I don't know.

As far as series goes, Sonic comes to mind, but I've been beaten to the punch on that one haha.
BURY ME SIX FEET DEEP COVER ME IN CONCRETE
twitter | twitch | youtube

Dustmop

Fight for what makes you happy

Age 30
Seen November 27th, 2022
Posted September 7th, 2016
932 posts
9.2 Years
Ugh. Resident Evil and Silent Hill. :c

Capcom, what did you do to RE. What did you do.
At least SH has an excuse: the more recent SH games haven't been developed by the same people.. But I'll still blame Konami for letting those games happen. They did publish them, after all.
one series really stands out for me which got EA'd, was the entire Command and Conquer series. EA practically ruined it with their "money money money" mindset. It already started with EA rushing Tiberian Sun, but when they really took over, the series began to die. Generals offered something unique, Tiberium Wars was simply the best game in EA's C&C time because of the influence Westwood had on it by hinting to future events in their own games, but Red Alert 3 was the start of the downfall... It was too cartoonish. Then Tiberian Twilight came... and no C&C fan ever wants to talk of it not accept it as a C&C game, as it just scrapped everything C&C stood for... The nail in the coffin: Cancelling Generals 2, turning it into some F2P/P2W game and even cancelling that...

acatfrommars

Male
Seen February 5th, 2023
Posted January 9th, 2023
3,870 posts
9.6 Years
Lol for hating on EA.

The newer Sonic games are what came to my head first. Compared to the original games on the Sega Genesis, the new games just are bad. Sega needs to stop over complicating these games, and just stick to the roots.

Capcom with Resident Evil aren't doing well either. Resident Evil 4 was my favorite, and 5 wasn't bad. However, Resident Evil Raccoon City was just plain bad, and 6 wasn't much better. Go back to the original style, I haven't played any of the games before 4 but surely they couldn't be as disappointing as Raccoon City was.

The Bomberman series. The Bomberman games on the Nintendo 64 I like. The future Bomberman crap Nintendo added to the Nintendo 64. Ew, just no. Bomberman: Act Zero is one of the worst games I have ever played.

Call of Duty. Bring back Modern Warfare 2 style snipers, who cares if they were OP. Ghosts didn't live up to its hype, and despite its good story mode even Black Ops 2 was disappointing. MW3 wasn't bad, but the two games that make Call of Duty what it is today is Modern Warfare and Modern warfare 2.

Raine

Age 29
Female
Ontario, Canada
Seen December 16th, 2017
Posted October 5th, 2017
3,722 posts
9.3 Years
The only series that I've followed through with from earlier instalments would be Final Fantasy, and it's clear to everyone that the franchise has been on a downward spiral ;; Though the fateful fan in me continues to purchase their games in hopes of finding a glimmer of hope in the game, and I have with certain ones because of the introduction of new game mechanics especially in the XIII trilogy. Regardless though, the influence of the franchise has been lackluster as of current, and does not compare to it's peak.
Actually, can I take a different take on this? When I first saw the title, I actually thought this would be about companies or developers. So my immediate thought coming into this was RareWare. Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie, Conker's Bad Fur Day, Perfect Dark, and Jet Force Gemini (my personal favorite of the RareWare games!) were all amazing. Then you have things like Starfox Adventures and Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. And now all they make is Kinect games, which is a waste I think...but I will give them credit for one thing. Viva Pinata is awesome. I love it and it's the only reason I keep my 360 around. Honest opinion.

It's just sad that after all those amazing games for SNES and N64, they just...make those Kinect games now. Like I said, it's a waste. I mean, they're not total letdowns thankfully, but those games I listed earlier were golden and I guess it just can't be topped? I don't know.

As far as series goes, Sonic comes to mind, but I've been beaten to the punch on that one haha.
If you want to talk about developers then that's fine too.

Hiatus

Seen 6 Days Ago
Posted July 24th, 2021
12,283 posts
10.8 Years
Others might feel a little differently about this, but personally, I... really don't like the direction that Need for Speed is headed, unfortunately. :( Their games used to be really enjoyable. When I played their 2005 version of Most Wanted, I actually felt as if I were a part of it, and not just someone viewing events from a television screen; the storyline was this engaging. They've released another version of MW couple of years back, but this one wasn't that great. When I raced, it felt like there was no cause behind it; I was racing only for the sake of it.

Aside from NFS, another would be Yu-Gi-Oh. They haven't released any games recently as far as I'm aware, but their most recent ones--which would be Tag Force--were quite repetitive. Their previous releases weren't exactly like that; every time I played, I always got to experience something new, so to speak, whether it be big or small.
Male
Milano, Italia
Seen June 16th, 2022
Posted June 11th, 2014
7 posts
9 Years
Others might feel a little differently about this, but personally, I... really don't like the direction that Need for Speed is headed, unfortunately. :( Their games used to be really enjoyable. When I played their 2005 version of Most Wanted, I actually felt as if I were a part of it, and not just someone viewing events from a television screen; the storyline was this engaging. They've released another version of MW couple of years back, but this one wasn't that great. When I raced, it felt like there was no cause behind it; I was racing only for the sake of it.

Aside from NFS, another would be Yu-Gi-Oh. They haven't released any games recently as far as I'm aware, but their most recent ones--which would be Tag Force--were quite repetitive. Their previous releases weren't exactly like that; every time I played, I always got to experience something new, so to speak, whether it be big or small.
I totally agree with you about Need for Speed, I also played Most Wanted on my ps2 and that was an amazing game! I could stay on front of my tv for hours with that game! Then the series began to get worse, and when I tried Pro Street and Shift I really felt bad, 'cause I understood that NfS was no more the great game that I enjoyed when I was a child.
As regards Yugioh, my thoughts are the same: the stopped making yugioh games for the PSP system, the last one was Tag Force 6 I think, and they looked repetitive, 'cause every game of the series was like an update of the previous one, with obviously more cards but without important new feature. It's a pity they stopped like this, I think a yugioh game on the new PSVita would be really great..

Phantom

Uh, I didn't do it

Age 32
Female
Minnesota
Seen September 18th, 2017
Posted September 18th, 2017
1,182 posts
11.8 Years
Hmm. Metal Gear.

I loved the series, but really... it's been dragged along far enough.

Halo. Same thing.

Call of Duty... I actually like Black Ops II quite a bit. I think it's the best in the series, and I was a HUGE MW2 fan.

Shhwonk

always with the games, etc.

Male
i can't remember
Seen November 28th, 2016
Posted April 20th, 2016
102 posts
9.5 Years
Mega Man. What a pile that franchise has gone to, with Keiji Inafune (the "father" of Mega Man") leaving Capcom because the company itself has gone downhill in the treatment of its workers, from what I've read. So now, I'm not sure how much we can get from the series, other than some retro throwbacks which they've been doing, which I don't actually object to. But we haven't seen a true MM game in years, and it was easily one of the greatest series. On a good note, Inafune formed his own company (Comcept) and is working on a carbon-copy of MM with some retouches. Mighty No 9 seems pretty promising.

And Final Fantasy has also gone downhill in a way. This is more subjective than anything, as Square-Enix is still putting out great FF games and making a lot of smart moves for the franchise, but personally I would prefer the more old-school style of games like FF I to VI. Even VII to X. Eh, just my personal taste for nostalgia I guess.

Keiran

[b]Rock Solid[/b]

Age 31
New Jersey
Seen March 14th, 2022
Posted July 25th, 2018
2,441 posts
12.1 Years
Um, probably the Legend of Zelda series. I think its quality peaked between ALttP and WW. Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, TP & SS were all quite painful to play (TP was pretty decent on the Gamecube version though). ALBW was great but it's short, fairly easy, and riddled with bugs - you can literally skip entire dungeons and the entire first half of the story and it feels sloppy; a LoZ game hasn't been this broken since OoT (which can be beaten in under 19 minutes).

I'd say Pokémon, too, but the sequels have always been pretty great. The initial releases for each gen have just been...bad since DP.
Mod of Trade Corner| Pair | Trainer Information

When kings upon the main have clung to pride
And held themselves as masters of the sea
I've held them down beneath the crushing tide
Till they have learned that no one masters me

Spinosaurus

Seen May 27th, 2019
Posted June 7th, 2018
4,569 posts
14.1 Years
Why is Sonic mentioned? Generations and Color are arguably the best games in the series.
Um, probably the Legend of Zelda series. I think its quality peaked between ALttP and WW. Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, TP & SS were all quite painful to play (TP was pretty decent on the Gamecube version though). ALBW was great but it's short, fairly easy, and riddled with bugs - you can literally skip entire dungeons and the entire first half of the story and it feels sloppy; a LoZ game hasn't been this broken since OoT (which can be beaten in under 19 minutes).

I'd say Pokémon, too, but the sequels have always been pretty great. The initial releases for each gen have just been...bad since DP.
These glitches are only activated by using VERY specific methods. You'll VERY rarely ever come across something like it in a normal playthrough, meaning it's only ever seen in speedruns, where they ACTIVELY look for these kinds of glitches. Also most Zelda games, after OOT, are like this. (Majora's Mask and Wind Waker in particular come to mind.)

This is a GOOD thing. The game is still polished as hell while leaving "techniques" like that to make it a better game for speedrunning.

Luigi's Mansion. The one for the 3DS is soooooo much worse that the original one on the gamecube. In it's defense, the original was and still is an amazing game, so it'd be hard to beat or even compare to.
LM1 and LM2 suffer the same problems. Neither is inherently better than the other, it's all preferences. I don't really know where you're getting at especially when it's so easy to say a game is "so amazing and hard to top".

Keiran

[b]Rock Solid[/b]

Age 31
New Jersey
Seen March 14th, 2022
Posted July 25th, 2018
2,441 posts
12.1 Years
Why is Sonic mentioned? Generations and Color are arguably the best games in the series.


These glitches are only activated by using VERY specific methods. You'll VERY rarely ever come across something like it in a normal playthrough, meaning it's only ever seen in speedruns, where they ACTIVELY look for these kinds of glitches. Also most Zelda games, after OOT, are like this. (Majora's Mask and Wind Waker in particular come to mind.)

This is a GOOD thing. The game is still polished as hell while leaving "techniques" like that to make it a better game for speedrunning.


LM1 and LM2 suffer the same problems. Neither is inherently better than the other, it's all preferences. I don't really know where you're getting at especially when it's so easy to say a game is "so amazing and hard to top".


The thing about ALBW glitches are that they're all very easy to execute and I feel like it should have been noticed in play testing; especially considering most of them are all Tornado Rod exploits. It's not like theyre some super complex thing like wrong warping in OoT. I *do* love the exploits cause they make ALBW speedruns fun, but I think it is an example of the quality of additions made to the series. I actually accidentally executed some of the exploits in my first casual run. :/
Mod of Trade Corner| Pair | Trainer Information

When kings upon the main have clung to pride
And held themselves as masters of the sea
I've held them down beneath the crushing tide
Till they have learned that no one masters me

Spinosaurus

Seen May 27th, 2019
Posted June 7th, 2018
4,569 posts
14.1 Years
The thing about ALBW glitches are that they're all very easy to execute and I feel like it should have been noticed in play testing; especially considering most of them are all Tornado Rod exploits. It's not like theyre some super complex thing like wrong warping in OoT. I *do* love the exploits cause they make ALBW speedruns fun, but I think it is an example of the quality of additions made to the series. I actually accidentally executed some of the exploits in my first casual run. :/
Really? That's the first I've heard. Pretty much all impressions I've read never mentioned any glitches, just remarked about how polished and smooth the game is. It wasn't until I started watching the speedruns of the game that I knew about any glitches.

It's a weird oversight, but I guess I don't mind it since I love the exploits in the game lol.
Why is Sonic mentioned? Generations and Color are arguably the best games in the series.
Sonic generations and Colors are both excellent games. But most people usually think about the atrocious Sonic 06 and Shadow the Hedgehog games (Though I kinda liked the latter...) and Sonic the Hedgehog 4 parts 1&2; both of which were subpar for the series and pale in comparison to 1-Sonic and Knuckles. Generally: The newer games aren't as good as the older games. But personally I think that Sonic is starting to improve.

Spinosaurus

Seen May 27th, 2019
Posted June 7th, 2018
4,569 posts
14.1 Years
Sonic generations and Colors are both excellent games. But most people usually think about the atrocious Sonic 06 and Shadow the Hedgehog games (Though I kinda liked the latter...) and Sonic the Hedgehog 4 parts 1&2; both of which were subpar for the series and pale in comparison to 1-Sonic and Knuckles. Generally: The newer games aren't as good as the older games. But personally I think that Sonic is starting to improve.
Sonic hasn't been terrible since 2006. The only ones close to that are Sonic 4, and those were outsourced, not developed by the main team, and they're not really terrible as they are more mediocre. Everything after ranges from good (Sonic Rush, Unleashed) to excellent. (Generations, Color and the All Stars Racing games.)

Lost World had the right idea, but lacked focus. It is one game. Sonic Boom is more side project than a main game. (And we still don't know if it's even good or bad). Also, Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles are the only "excellent" games from the older Sonic games.

Sonic is just as good now as he was before, in terms of game design. He just doesn't have the same impact, but that's more due to platforming mascots dying than actually something related to the quality of the games.