![]() The game is also more action heavy, in an effort to attract a younger crowd that wants to be empowered right out the door. Exploration was heavily restricted to following direct paths, random encounters were eliminated, the player is unable to purchase new equipment from shops, and the weapons with the strongest stats are forcibly pushed on the player. So many key RPG elements were oversimplified. The end results were not pretty.įinal Fantasy Mystic Quest attempted to dumb down the complexities of the Japanese-produced Final Fantasy game, to make it easier for Americans to swallow. This was especially true for the early 90s era of gaming, as Japanese role-playing developer Squaresoft tried to turn its niche Final Fantasy series into a mainstream franchise for Westerners. We've seen it time and time again that whenever a company - whether it's a gaming company, movie studio, or whatever - tries to remove everything that made its product special in the first place in an effort to win over new consumers, it only ends up alienating everybody as a result. While not perfect, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge received more favorable reviews than the previous release. Critics and fans alike slammed Ninja Gaiden 3, leaving Team Ninja with much to ponder.Īn enhanced port named Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge was later released, altering many of the criticized mechanics of the original game, while adding fan-favorite additions from Ninja Gaiden 2. Ninja Gaiden fans saw the third game' streamlined approach as a shameless appeal to attract the trigger-happy Call of Duty audiences and weren't having it. Speaking of QTEs, Ninja Gaiden 3 relies on the long criticized mechanic far too much, removing the joy once found by engaging in heated combat with an effortless and unearned kill streak. enemies were shockingly dumbed down, often serving no other purpose that the be a part of the player's shameless QTE massacres. The game's revamped combat was shallow and lacked the refinement seen in previous games. enemies were nowhere present in Ninja Gaiden 3. Ninja Gaiden 3 tried to push the series forward, but ended up taking it a few steps back wit questionable game design.įor starters, the series' intense combat and intellectually aggressive A.I. ![]() Two years later, development of Ninja Gaiden 3 began without the involvement of Itagaki, leaving Team Ninja with the intimidating task of developing the highly-anticipated action game without the man credited for its success. Here are 15 video game black sheep in popular video game series.īefore the release of Ninja Gaiden 3 in 2012, series developer Team Ninja was in a tough spot. Tomonobu Itagaki, the video game designer behind the modern 3D revival of Ninja Gaiden, resigned from Tecmo in 2008 and would later sue the company for unpaid bonuses. Video games that started out as one project, but transformed into something that would be familiar and marketable to public. Highly-publicized sequels that tried to do something new and different with the series, but became too ambitious for its own good. ![]() Games that tried to appeal to a different audience, but ultimately lost the one that cared for it the most. With this list, we'll be looking at vide games that, rightly or wrongly, were generally labeled the black sheep of the franchise. ![]() There are even times where all-around good games are labeled the black sheep of the family, due to circumstances out of its control, such as the original creative team not being present for the sequel, or a game suffering severe shifts during development. Sometimes it's not the game's fault it can't live up to crazy expectations of fans. The term "Black sheep" is more derogatory than it should be. Publishers may try to hide a franchise's nasty little secret, such as Sega removing less-than-stellar Sonic the Hedgehog games from retailers, in an effort to improve the brand - but those who first experienced those disappointing sequels or spin-offs will never shake those memories away. Whether it just failed to make a long lasting impression, or single-handily killed any good will associated with the series, there will always be a black sheep in the family. No matter how many successful releases a popular vide game franchise may have during its lifetime, there will always be that one game that didn't quite hit the mark. Not every video game is gonna be a winner. ![]()
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