The last few years have seen many long-neglected franchises receive sequels or remakes. Whilst this is fantastic for the current generation of gamers, it’s perhaps those old enough to remember the original titles who benefit the most. Some fans may have been waiting decades to see their favorite titles return and so it can often be something of a dream come true. Not all fans are so lucky though.
Buried deep within gaming’s past lie a host of fantastic titles just waiting to resurface. Unfortunately, however, whilst the desire to see them return is often there from fans, the same is not always the case when it comes to developers and publishers. As the years pass by, it can become increasingly difficult for fans to hold on to the hope that the sequels they so desperately crave will ever materialize.
10 Vagrant Story
Boasting a Metacritic rating of 92, Vagrant Story is one of the highest-rated RPGs released on the PlayStation. The game also garnered a fairly sizeable fanbase thanks, in no small part, to its fantastic story and gameplay. Unfortunately, however, sales figures were unable to mirror the game’s acclaim and it was overshadowed by larger IPs.
Two decades later, and perhaps the biggest obstacles standing in the way of a sequel aren’t budgetary concerns or the lack of a market for such a game, but the sheer volume of huge RPG franchises owned by Square Enix. With Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and Dragon Quest to name just a few, the incentive to work on a sequel to Vagrant Story rather than cranking out a new Final Fantasy title likely just isn’t there.
9 The Simpsons: Hit & Run
The Simpsons: Hit & Run was developed by Radical Entertainment and was the sequel to the hugely popular Road Rage. Inspired by the GTA series, the titles allow fans to cause mischief as they drive their way around a virtual Springfield. Combining elements from both the most popular animated show and the most popular video game series of the time was always going to lead to a successful product. Consequently, a third game seemed somewhat inevitable.
As it happens, a sequel to Hit & Run was actually in development at one stage. Unfortunately, though, the project was canceled after EA obtained the exclusive rights to produce Simpsons video games in 2005. EA did release a number of games in the following years, but none of them were able to come close to matching the excellence delivered by Radical’s earlier Simpsons titles.
8 Bully
The team at Rockstar doesn’t publish a lot of games. When they do though, they’re usually exceptional – and the 2006 title Bully is no exception. Unfortunately, it’s a title that the developer has failed to revisit in spite of the game’s critical and commercial success.
When creating Bully, Rockstar played around with a lot of new ideas and the result was an experience unlike any other. Most importantly perhaps, it showed gamers that there was more to Rockstar than just Grand Theft Auto.
7 Dragon’s Dogma
Dragon’s Dogma didn’t sell or review particularly well when it released back in 2012. That hasn’t stopped it from garnering a strong and vocal fanbase though. Whilst those fans have themselves extended the lifespan of the game through the creation of mods, what they really want is a sequel. Thankfully, there is some cause for optimism.
The game’s director Hideaki Itsuno has expressed his desire to revisit the Dragon’s Dogma world on several occasions. There’s also the recently released Dragon’s Dogma Netflix show which has helped to reignited interest in the series. With momentum growing, there’s every possibility that fans won’t have to wait too much longer.
6 Skies Of Arcadia
Skies of Arcadia rarely features in conversations about the best RPGs of all time, but it really should. Released in the year 2000 on the Sega Dreamcast, Skies was a traditional JRPG with a heavy focus on exploration.
After the demise of the Dreamcast, the game was ported to the Nintendo GameCube where it achieved reasonable success, but PS2 and PC releases were canceled. Fans have been hoping for a sequel or remake for quite some time now and with other dormant Sega IPs like Shenmue, Streets of Rage, and Panzer Dragoon all receiving attention in recent years, all hope is not yet lost for those hoping to take to the skies once more.
5 Escape From Monkey Island
The LucasArts team were the undisputed kings of point and click adventure games back in the late ’80s and early ’90s. With games like Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, and Day of the Tentacle, they boast a catalog of games that any developer would be envious of. The jewel in their crown however is the Monkey Island series.
The games combined humor and puzzle-solving to create some of the best adventure games ever made. Unfortunately though, with the license to the series currently in the hands of Disney, it doesn’t seem likely that fans will be getting a new Monkey Island game any time soon. Series creator Ron Gilbert did publicly offer to buy the license back in 2018, but despite his offer and a well-supported petition urging Disney to hand it over, the series seems destined to remain dormant for the foreseeable future.
4 Chrono Trigger
According to producer Hiromichi Tanaka, Chrono Cross was never intended to serve as a direct sequel to Chrono Trigger. The game instead looked to explore different aspects of the larger Chrono Trigger world. This shows, as with an entirely new cast of characters and a very different story, it’s difficult to draw too many comparisons between the two games.
The continuation of Chrono’s story is something that fans have been longing for quite some time now. It’s one of the best RPGs ever made and undoubtedly deserves the opportunity to captivate a new generation. As with other titles from Square’s past, however, it is difficult to see the developer opting to revitalize an older franchise when there are so many active and successful series for them to work on.
3 Banjo Kazooie 2
Many people regard the Banjo Kazooie games as being two of the best 3D platformers of the ’90s. Along with games like Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, they helped to set the standard for the genre. After the release of the second game in the series then, a Banjo Threeie seemed somewhat inevitable, but it failed to materialize.
With Rare currently owned by Microsoft and many of the original development team has left the company, a third Banjo game doesn’t seem too likely now. Thankfully though fans have the series’ spiritual successor Yooka-Laylee to fill the void.
2 Silent Hill: Downpour
If one were to ask gamers to name a company that neglects its franchises, Konami would likely be a popular answer. With the company has shifted its focus towards Japan’s lucrative Pachinko market, many of the best video game IPs from the last few decades have been left to rot. Despite this, fans of the Silent Hill series haven’t given up hope.
This hope was amplified back in 2014 when P.T. appeared as a free download on the Playstation Network. The short game served as an interactive teaser for a new Silent Hill title and was very well received. Unfortunately, however, a final game never saw the light of day. Rumors of a new Silent Hill title have been popping up fairly regularly since then, but as of the moment, there has been no official confirmation that a new title is in development.
1 Half-Life 2: Episode 2
Back before Steam was a thing, Valve created some of the industry’s best games. The Half-Life series is seen by many as being their greatest achievement in this regard. Although the fantastic VR title Half-Life: Alyx did revisit the Half-Life universe earlier this year, it didn’t continue Freeman’s story. Unfortunately for fans, there’s perhaps little incentive for Valve to do so anytime soon.
Given the amount of hype that a Half-Life 3 announcement would generate, expectations for the title would be sky-high. Anything less than perfect would likely be seen as a failure by fans. Sure, it would sell well regardless, but why would Valve risk damaging the series’ reputation when they’re already printing money with Steam?
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