Gaming moves and evolves at a significantly faster pace than other media. Look back just five years and one will find that then-cutting-edge games are now quaint. As a result of this ever-changing landscape, franchises constantly innovate and reinvent themselves. While most series tend to stay in the same genre, a select few have boldly switched their mechanics entirely in an attempt to stay fresh and relevant.
The following ten franchises did just this, to varying results. Sometimes it works wonders, breathing new life into an ailing property. Other times it makes fans yearn for the older, more familiar titles. Let’s take a look!
10 Red Faction
The first Red Faction was a breakout hit on the PS2 and PC. While detailed, narrative-based first-person shooters had been around for a while by then, it was a true wonder for console owners to finally behold a story-driven shooter with such nice graphics.
Fast-forward eight years and Red Faction: Guerrilla is released. The third game in the franchise was an open world third-person shooter. The only relation the two had in gameplay terms was the heavily destructible environments. Both games are classics, and the question of which style is better ultimately comes down to personal taste.
9 Fallout
Fallout started life as an isometric turn-based RPG. Interplay Entertainment developed the first two numbered entries before Bethesda bought the rights to continue the series. When they decided took their shot at the franchise, they injected some of their Elder Scrolls DNA into it.
Player progression, quests, and exploration were still front and center, but everything was experienced in the first-person perspective and the combat played out in real time. Fallout 4 ventured even further away from its roots, feeling more like a dungeon crawler than an RPG.
8 Alien Vs. Predator
Alien Vs Predator on the Atari Jaguar was one of the only reasons to own the expensive console. Alien Vs Predator 2 kept the same gameplay and was similarly beloved. For reasons unknown, the third game turned out to be a real-time strategy title.
No-one would have been mad if it was a spin-off, like Halo Wars, but why close out the trilogy with it? There’s quite a significant different between the two styles of gameplay. Shooters are typically fast-paced and in your face, while RTS games rely more on meticulous thinking and strategy.
7 Star Fox
Star Fox games are intense space combat adventures that test one’s ability to destroy enemy ships while dodging their fire. Star Fox Adventures, on the other hand, was an action-adventure title in the vein of The Legend of Zelda.
The game didn’t start out as a part of the Star Fox series, instead being an original IP. Only late in development was the decision made to include Fox McCloud the lead, much to the chagrin of some people at Rare working on the project. While it is a radically different take on the series, it’s developed quite a cult following in the years since its release.
6 Syndicate
This gritty cyberpunk series started life as a real-time isometric tactical experience. As a four-person team, the player completed missions revolving around corporate espionage. After laying dormant for some time, the cult classic came back with a new coat of paint and new perspective.
Instead of the isometric camera, 2012’s The Syndicate was a first-person shooter. Seeing the action up close was nice, and the game itself was pretty good, but it wasn’t exactly what hardcore fans of the series were expecting. For those wanting similar gameplay to the classics, 2015’s Satellite Reign is a spiritual successor.
5 Castlevania
This isn’t going to discuss the series transition into 3D - the series remained a linear adventure title with Castlevania 64 - but instead focus on Symphony of the Night. This PS1 and Sega Saturn title eschewed the idea of simply going from point A to point B for a more Metroid-inspired design philosophy.
Players explored the castle, slowly unlocking and accessing portions of it as they gained new abilities. The change in direction was wildly successful and is part of the reason the genre is called “Metroidvania” today. A legacy package of the classic titles was recently re-released on modern hardware for new generations to enjoy.
4 Mega Man
The notoriously difficult side-scrolling action game had its heyday on the NES. Players tackled each level at their leisure, earning new weapons and upgrades with each stage they conquered. Mega Man Legends on the PS1 presented the series in a whole new way, as a three-dimensional action-RPG.
Not only was it in 3D, but the world itself looked radically different. The game wasn’t wildly successful, but earned a cult following. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like a third game in the series will ever see the light of day.
3 Wolfenstein
Many believe Wolfenstein 3D to be the first game in the series. While it was the first entry by Id Software, the debut title came out in 1981 as Castle Wolfenstein. It is a far cry from Id’s fast paced first-person shooter, instead focusing on stealth and showcasing the action from a top-down perspective.
If anything, it resembles Metal Gear more than modern Wolfenstein. The recent Machine Games entries haven’t forgotten their roots, however, as both The New Order and The New Colossus feature stealth segments.
2 Resident Evil
The original survival horror masterpiece terrified millions upon release. While it still plays well, the 2D backgrounds and infamous “tank” controls are difficult for some to acclimatize to. Resident Evil 4 remedied this by being fully three-dimensional and putting the camera behind the player. It was more fast-paced, but still boasted genuine horror themes.
Resident Evil 5, however, upped the action tenfold, with set pieces and dialogue more fitting for a summer blockbuster than the Resident Evil series. It’s still an enjoyable action game, and a super-solid co-op experience to this day, but it lost much of the series’ DNA in the process. In more recent years, efforts have been made to bring the franchise back home, with Resident Evil 7 and the Resident Evil 2 remake.
1 Metroid
Fans had to wait a whole generation before seeing Samus in her own 3D game. Metroid Prime on the GameCube did away with the side-scrolling exploration for a first-person perspective. It wasn’t like every other FPS out there, however, as players really felt like Samus Aran as they fired her cannon and turned into a morph ball.
While a different genre, the game still felt like Metroid, with its focus on exploring mysterious alien environments and progressively exploring the vast areas by collecting power-ups.
Next: Every Metroid Game Ever Made, Ranked From Worst To Best
