10 Video Games Series That Have Not Modernized Well

Video Games have come a long way since its simple beginnings as a missile simulator on a cathode ray. Nowadays, we have photorealistic graphics, motion control, HD, 3D, HDD, and all sorts of crazy acronyms with the letter 'd' in it.

Video games are a rapidly evolving medium. While this means that updated graphics and new gameplay mechanics are consistently being introduced, it also means that some games will inevitably be left behind due its inability to modernize.

Unfortunately there are some video game series that simply cannot keep up with the constantly evolving gaming industry. The following games were once well-known and renowned by gamers, but are now struggling to compete against the more popular Halos and Starcrafts of modern gaming.

Remember, in no way am I bashing any of these games, nor am I trying to say that these are bad games. What I'm trying to emphasize is that what these games provide for the modern gaming world isn't significant or creative anymore.

10. Mortal Kombat



Mortal Kombat was made famous because of one thing: the game's ridiculous amount of violence. Just about every type of fatality imaginable was in the game–decapitations, spine removal, incineration, you name it. The game's violence was even partially responsible for the creation of the Electronic Software Rating Board (ESRB). During Mortal Kombat's prime, many even considered the game to be the West's answer to Street Fighter II.

Unfortunately, MK's poor gameplay became obvious once the shock value of the all of the violence toned down. Instead of refining the gameplay mechanics, the developers of subsequent Mortal Kombat games added in sillier themes, such as friendships and “babalities.” This ultimately pulled the series further away from its roots, and many of their fans lost interest over the years.
]

9. Dragon Quest



The Dragon Quest series is like comfort food. It's simple, familiar, and has a nostalgic element to it. However, this doesn't change the fact that the game has largely remained unchanged since its 1986 origins on the Famicom. We're still hunting slimes and similar enemies using the same turn-based battle system that we have for over 20 years.

8. Megaman

The comparison slide between Megaman from his first game to his most recent game says it all.

7. Bomberman



The Bomberman games were one the greatest “same-sofa” multiplayer games during the days of the NES and SNES, and was probably the only reason why you bought a multitap. The Bomberman games of today still look and play almost exactly as they did 27 years ago. Though the series has not modernized very much, it doesn't need to. It's just as fun to blow up your friends today as it was back when you were kids.

Perhaps it's for the best if the Bomberman series were to remain untouched. We're still trying to forget that silly modernized bomberman.

6. Animal Crossing



Animal Crossing started off as a Nintendo 64 Japanese-exclusive game called Animal Forest in 2001. There were few gaming experiences similar to Animal Crossing at the time. How often are games created with no real goal in mind, in which the point of the game is simply to relax and do whatever the hell you want?

Three iterations of the game have passed, and the game looks and plays almost exactly as it did on the Nintendo 64 nine years ago. Many fans were eagerly awaiting Nintendo to fulfill the promises of a seamless online community, but were left with nothing more than the same game they've already already played.


5. The Legend of Zelda



As much as it pains me to place the Zelda series on this list, I am left with little choice after my hands-on experience with the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.

Hoping that the new Zelda game would introduce something new and fresh to the series, I was disappointed to see that the game played and felt much too identical to 2006's Twilight Princess, except now with less responsive Wii Motion Plus controls and outdated graphics. Somehow, the Gamecube game from 4 years ago looked better than the upcoming Wii game!

The Zelda “formula” throughout the years have remained unchanged as well. How many more times must we do a block pushing puzzle in order to stop Ganondorf from doing some kind of evil? Sure, the introduction of Zelda to 3D with Ocarina of Time was revolutionary at the time, but every subsequent entry in the series has been almost same game. Not enough has been added to the Zelda series lately to create a fresh experience for longtime Zelda fans.

4. Pac-Man



Pac-Man was huge at one point. He even had a song written about how addictive his game was. However, numerous attempts to resurrect this once-popular franchise with spin-offs proved to be unsuccessful, and Pac-Mac continues to be best known for his original arcade game.

3. Final Fantasy



The Final Fantasy series reached its peak in popularity during the days of the original Playstation, and was known for its cutting edge graphics and interactive storytelling. However, the modern Final Fantasy games are filled with excessively convoluted fiction, JRPG clichés (orphans saving the world again!), lack of real gameplay, and long, boring cutscenes. The series has become less about discovery and development mixed with a storyline, and has become more of an interactive movie.

2. Castlevania



After a couple of unsuccessful attempts at console-specific games, the Castlevania team stuck to making games for portable systems. The problem is, however, is that each Gameboy Advance and Nintendo DS game is basically a copy of the popular Symphony of the Night. Each game does not try anything too new or revolutionary, which eventually caused the series to become stagnant. Hopefully, the upcoming Lords of Shadow game will bring something new to the series, even though it's probably going to be a God of War clone.

1. Sonic the Hedgehog



Video gaming's favorite series to hate, Sonic the Hedgehog, takes top spot for the game series that has not transitioned well into the modern world. Team Sonic, the developers of the Sonic games, have tried everything to make the once popular mascot to look edgy and cool. They gave him a sword, a human love interest, the ability to transform into a wolf, a vehicle, and dorky friends. However, none of these games will ever recreate what made the original Sonic games so popular on the Genesis–but none of these games have the simplicity, speed, and charming graphics of the original games.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *