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 name Wipeout stands 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. The correct Wipeout is 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, Wipeout did Sci-Fi aesthetics better than any other 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 absolutely out-there art style and music picks — and we’re talking about a series that began in the ’90s. Even if we don’t necessarily need a new Wipeout game, we need one that does what this series did in the past.
Timesplitters
We miss Goldeneye 007, we miss the good times of Halo split-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 behind Goldeneye changed completely and Halo made the awful decision of moving away from local multiplayer, the Timesplitters series just died. I’d love a new game in the series, even if the classic multiplayer mode had to be paired with some Fortnite-like Battle Royale mode. It’s extremely sad that the best way to experience Timesplitters nowadays is by finding a fully-playable version of Timesplitters 2 inside a vastly inferior game.
Star Wars: Jedi Knight
You can argue that the Jedi series survives with Fallen Order and Survivor, but that statement might hurt anyone who grew up with Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight and Jedi 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 the Star Wars games of long ago, and that’s a big step down.
It’s especially hard to accept that this series is over since it concluded with Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, a game that sold well and that many loyal fans play to this day. Raven Software has been a Call of Duty studio for years now, and is developing the upcoming Black Ops 6, but I can’t help but feel like the company hit its peak when making Jedi Outcast. We might never get another game that so effortlessly combines the epic action of Star Wars, the competitive side of Quake, and the personal duels of the Souls series.
Chrono Series (Chrono Trigger, Cross)
While Chrono Cross was disowned by many fans for doing away with Chrono Trigger characters in a rather cold fashion, both games are at least connected by their undeniable quality. Squaresoft never released Chrono Cross outside 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 back Chrono Cross because the plot brings back sad memories, then they can just make a direct sequel to Chrono Trigger. We live in the era of the multiverse, so you can just use that as an explanation for why you’re throwing away Cross — though I doubt anyone would even care to ask why since they’d be too busy playing Chrono Trigger 2.
Ninja Gaiden
Ok, let’s address the elephant in the room: Ninja Gaiden 3 was so bad that it’s probably the primary reason they stopped making these, but it’s not the only reason. Team Ninja noticed that the Souls series was getting popular, and they knew that they were good at making challenging games, so it did its own take on the Souls genre with Nioh.
I love Nioh, and, despite NG3 committing the worst crime a game in the Ninja Gaiden series could commit (allowing you to chill), the blueprint for great Ninja Gaiden games exists in Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja 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 great Ninja Gaiden game, 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 a satisfying conclusion with Legacy 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 the Legacy of Kain series 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 after witnessing a glimpse of what it could’ve been.
No One Lives Forever
The name No One Lives Forever might 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 Forever and its sequel would show up in the conversation.
No One Lives Forever was 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 of supermassive legal blackhole that 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 claimed No One Lives Forever to be their “white whale.” Here’s hoping this one does get to live forever as a remaster.
Panzer Dragoon (Saga)
Panzer Dragoon Saga was Sega’s attempt at an answer to Final 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. But Saga is 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 played Saga knows 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 Saga is a single game, not an actual series. Still, it’s part of the wider Panzer Dragoon series — which has been mostly dead for over a decade, save for the 2020 Panzer Dragoon Remake. Even if the RPG-inspired Saga doesn’t warrant a return, surely we can bring the regular Panzer Dragoon games back. Those kinda rocked, too.
Zone Of The Enders
The original Zone Of The Enders was 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 the best 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 Story never even got a sequel, but it ends on the promise of a mysterious beginning, and we know that its creator was always interested in keeping it going. What makes Vagrant Story spectacular is how it combines elements from regular Japanese RPGs like Final Fantasy and the Tactics genre 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 like Vagrant Story, the closest you’ll get to a sequel is Final Fantasy XII, which uses some of Vagrant Story‘s gameplay elements to create one of the most interesting entries in the Final Fantasy series. Sadly, FFXII also 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.
