10 Games That TOOK OVER Their Franchises

10 Games That Took Over Their Franchises

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 10 sequels, spin-offs, and companion games that wound up taking over their respective franchises.

“Apex Legends” (2019)

“Apex Legends” was widely beloved when it first launched. While many lamented another battle royale game saturating the market, the game turned out better than most anticipated. However, it has burned some die-hard “Titanfall” fans. While developer Respawn Entertainment has stated “Apex” is a part of “Titanfall”, the lore is not what has driven some fans away. “Apex” has seen such resounding success every year both critically and financially despite not featuring any mechs like the previous games. And with that money, Respawn hasn’t shown much interest in making another traditional “Titanfall” with a campaign and everything. Sure, “Titanfall 2” still has a dedicated playerbase, but “Apex” has clearly stolen the show for better or worse.

“Persona 5” (2017)

The “Shin Megami Tensei” series has been around for quite a long time. It wasn’t until 1996 when the first “Persona” released as a spin-off of the franchise. Both series were niche for a time, games that only uber-fans of anime and JRPGs would ever be caught playing. But as the years went on with “Persona 3”, “Persona 4”, and “Persona 5” exploding into the mainstream, well, we witnessed the spin-off’s resolve. Ever since the fifth “Persona”, we have seen a remaster of “Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne” and even a brand new mainline game in 2021. Neither game made a big splash in the same way “Persona 5” did. For some reason, the mainline games just don’t capture the mainstream’s attention. And so, “Shin Megami Tensei” is left to live in the shadow of its younger sibling.

“WWE 2K22” (2022)

The Yuke’s era was super rough for WWE fans. Between “2K13” and “2K20”, the franchise has strayed far away from the arcade-y nature of previous games and started making mechanics overly complicated. When Visual Concepts brought the franchise back after the catastrophic “2K20”, many were surprised to find an incredible new wrestling game. “2K22” brought simplified controls back, letting players pull off crazy maneuvers with just a couple of inputs. On top of that, many modes were reworked with better narratives, concepts, mechanics, and more to make “2K22” feel like a massive package for WWE fans. Oh, and the character models looked way, WAY better than any “2K” game before. It’s almost like the series has been reborn with a new identity, and “2K23” further solidified that belief.

“Fallout 3” (2008)

Before Bethesda bought the IP from Interplay, “Fallout” was an RPG played from an isometric viewpoint. Action Points dictated what you could do on your turn before enemies retaliated. But when Bethesda began development on “Fallout 3”, they approached things much more differently. We’re talking first-person cameras, Action Points being less restrictive during combat, and fights happening in real-time rather than in turns. Since then, this format has been the identity of “Fallout” for several games. You can still experience the original games on PC, but they are now considered a relic from their era.

“Jackbox” series (2014-)

“You Don’t Know Jack” saw a pretty successful period in the mid to late 90’s. With its humor and clever questions incorporating pop culture with trivia, it was hard to find someone who didn’t have a “You Don’t Know Jack” game but owned a computer. Unfortunately, the series went dormant for several years before being brought back for a brand new game in 2011. The series returned once more for the very first “Jackbox Party Pack” in 2014. But as more people became attached to games like “Drawful” and “Fibbage”, developer Jackbox Games started focusing more on original games. “You Don’t Know Jack” has since taken a backseat in the “Jackbox” series with its last iteration being a part of “The Jackbox Party Pack 5” in 2018.

“Fire Emblem: Three Houses” (2019)

Now, every “Fire Emblem” can be played as its own thing. Very rarely do the games cross over with each other. However, “Three Houses” has kind of taken over almost every discussion surrounding the franchise. It's more rampant than when “Awakening” launched on Nintendo 3DS in 2013. We can understand why, though: how many games pack in three different campaigns that total up to more than a hundred hours of playtime? And there aren’t any specific “Fire Emblem” games who have gotten such a massive amount of representation in the form of guest appearances and spin-offs. Honestly, we wouldn’t be surprised if the next “Fire Emblem” follows a similar blueprint to “Three Houses”.

“The King of Fighters” series (1994-)

We suppose you could say “King of Fighters” is SNK’s own “Super Smash Brothers”. You’ve got characters from “Fatal Fury”, “Samurai Shodown”, “Art of Fighting”, “Psycho Soldier”, and many more showing up to duke it out. Thing is that those franchises have long been dormant or just haven’t had that many releases since “King of Fighters” launched. Because of that, “King of Fighters” has basically absorbed the aforementioned franchises as they all fade further into obscurity.

“Rabbids” series (2006-)

There are many fans who still hold some vitriol against the Rabbids. The maniacal buns didn’t exactly come into their own like most IPs do. Instead, they were introduced in a spin-off for Rayman titled “Rayman Raving Rabbids”, where our floaty-limbed pal is kidnapped by the bunch and forced to take part in various minigames. From there, Ubisoft started belting out new “Rabbids” games every year as Rayman slowly started getting neglected. He enjoyed a brief resurgence in 2011 and 2013 with “Rayman Origins” and “Rayman Legends”, but even then, he was cast aside as the Rabbids got more games, spin-offs, and even a TV show. Where is Rayman now? Well, he’s a raging alcoholic news anchor in “Captain Laserhawk”.

“Final Fantasy VII” (1997)

Much like “Fire Emblem”, just about any “Final Fantasy” game can be played as its own thing. But ever since “Final Fantasy VII”, we’ve noticed how no other game in the franchise is talked about the same way as Cloud and friends. FF6, 9, and X get praise, sure, but they’re never revered on the same level as FF7. We get it - the music is great, the story is captivating, and Tifa is bae. Additionally, the real-time combat introduced here would influence the later games. But given the spin-offs, “Advent Children”, guest appearances, and remakes, we wouldn’t be surprised if some players only ever play the seventh main game in the franchise.

“Super Mario 64” (1996)

We have seen Mario take on so many different genres. There’s the classic 2D platformers, the puzzle-based “Dr. Mario” games, and even a blend of the two in “Mario vs. Donkey Kong”. However, whenever Mario is brought into the conversation, “Super Mario 64” is the first to come to everyone’s minds. The game was so revolutionary for its time and captured the hearts of so many players that it's all anyone wants now. Even after we’ve gotten 3D Mario games like “Sunshine”, “Galaxy”, “Galaxy 2”, “3D Land”, “3D World”, and “Odyssey”, every conversation goes back to “64” in some way or another.

What game do you think has overtaken its franchise? Did it make our list? Let us know down in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!