10 Dead Franchises Nintendo Actually Brought Back

10 Dead Franchises Nintendo Actually Brought Back

Ty Richardson

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 10 Nintendo franchises that were surprisingly resurrected thanks to the Switch!

“Luigi’s Mansion” series (2001-)

This may sound hard to believe now, but Luigi didn’t get much attention outside of being the token Player Two character. Even after the praise the original “Luigi’s Mansion” received at launch and the years that followed, it took well over a decade for us to get the sequel, “Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon”. The second game was less than stellar, and the 2018 remake of the first game was widely scrutinized for its gyro controls. Nintendo would give Luigi one more shot with “Luigi’s Mansion 3” six years later, and good lord, was it a turnaround! “Luigi’s Mansion 3” sold gangbusters for a handful of years, selling roughly thirteen million copies within four years. If the HD remaster of “Dark Moon” is anything to go off of, Nintendo must have renewed interest in the series. Although, there’s no telling when we might see “Luigi’s Mansion 4” or a remaster of the original game.

“Pikmin” series (2001-)

The “Pikmin” series had a rocky dormancy throughout the 2010’s. Even though “Pikmin 3” launched with little fanfare on the ill-fated Wii U in 2013, Shigeru Miyamoto came out two years later to announce “Pikmin 4” was nearing completion. Then, silence. The most we saw of the IP was a spin-off on 3DS that few bothered to play as well as a “Pokemon Go” clone in “Pikmin Bloom” and a Switch port of “Pikmin 3”. At this point, many believed “Pikmin 4” might have been canceled…until it miraculously resurfaced in 2023. Within the span of nine months, “Pikmin’s” long-awaited fourth game managed to sell three and a half million copies and would become the best-selling title in the series. Perhaps this means we won’t have to wait too long for a fifth entry?

“Mario & Luigi” series (2003-)

The “Mario & Luigi” games once saw resounding success, starting with “Superstar Saga” on the Game Boy Advance and continuing with DS sequels “Partners in Time” and “Bowser’s Inside Story”. Once we hit the 3DS years, it all went downhill. “Dream Team” failed to impress anyone, neither did “Paper Jam”, and the remakes of “Superstar Saga” and “Bowser’s Inside Story” failed in revitalizing the IP. With revenue tanking, developer AlphaDream was left with no other choice but to file for bankruptcy and close its doors. Fans were distraught, believing that their favorite RPG series was truly dead. Then, in June 2024, Nintendo made the shocking announcement of a new installment! At the time of writing, not much is known about “Mario & Luigi: Brothership”. However, we do know that this will be the first game in the series to be rendered entirely in 3D and the first in the series to be made for a home console.

“Another Code” series (2005-)

While many were too busy playing the many Mario games made for DS, very few ever got to experience the “Another Code” games. Only two games were made, and they were both made for the DS only to be forgotten and stranded there for the years that followed. So, it was astonishing to see Nintendo and Arc System Works remake both games and bring their stories forward to Nintendo Switch in 2024! Not only were controls reworked along with brand new visuals, but “Another Code: Recollection” even rewrote and added scenes to make the story a bit tighter than they were back in the day.

“Endless Ocean” series (2007-)

“Endless Ocean” found itself earning the status of cult classic for those who were always playing their Wii consoles back in the 2000’s. There was something super calming about diving into the ocean and learning about underwater life. The soundtrack alone is bound to put you in a zen-like state. We’d see a sequel in 2010, although that was the last we had seen of it until 2024. “Endless Ocean Luminous” revived the IP on Nintendo Switch, and it, sadly, did not fare well in the review process. Critics weren’t too pleased with the game’s focus on exploration and basic controls and mechanics. Well, it was still cool to see Nintendo give one of their forgotten IPs another chance.

“Big Brain Academy” series (2005-)

Much like “Endless Ocean” and “Another Code”, “Big Brain Academy” didn’t get much of a chance to shine after the glory days of the Wii and DS. We got the original game on DS, the sequel “Wii Degree”, and then, there was a board game at one point. But that was all we got. So, it was surprising to see Nintendo give the IP another crack fourteen years later. “Big Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain” brought the series to Switch with a handful of games both old and new, and the focus on multiplayer led to some fun nights with friends to see who was the smartiest…er, smarter-est? Ugh, guess we need to train our brain some more.

“Pokemon Snap” series (1999-)

Once upon a time, “Pokemon Snap” was nothing more than an N64 game only millennials would cherish. Look, we couldn’t help it - there was something wondrous about riding through environments and seeing Pokemon in their natural habitats. And after decades of wishing for a sequel, we eventually thought that day would never come. Imagine how pleasantly shocked we were when “New Pokemon Snap” dropped in 2021, and it was vastly bigger than the original game! You had more locations to explore, more Pokemon to photograph, more items to use that could help you discover new Pokemon, more secret routes… It was kind of an overload in improvements, but we loved it regardless.

“Wars” series (1988-)

This series has undergone many different names, starting with “Famicom Wars”, then “Game Boy Wars” before finally becoming “Advance Wars” on GBA and “Battalion Wars” on GameCube. This turn-based strategy series saw continuous success until Nintendo suddenly stopped making them after “Days of Ruin” on DS. We didn’t even get a new game for the 3DS! Thankfully, Nintendo hired WayForward to remake the first two “Advance Wars” games, launching “1+2 Re-Boot Camp” in 2023. Not much has been said about the sales, but longtime fans were thrilled to be able to play this long-forgotten series in some capacity. And it even came with multiplayer!

“Metroid” series (1986-)

“Other M” was such a disaster in how it handled Samus as a character that it very well killed the franchise for a time. “Federation Force” really didn’t help the situation either. The awful spin-off notwithstanding, we went well over a decade before we finally got a brand new “Metroid” game. Not a remake - a NEW game. “Metroid: Dread” was the revival we were so desperate to see. This was what everyone knew the franchise as: a 2D action platformer filled with secret areas and deadly enemies to fight. Samus was back in full force, and a year and half after “Dread”, we got a remaster of “Metroid Prime”! In other words, the franchise is back and bigger than it has ever been.

“Famicom Detective Club” series (1988-)

The “Famicom Detective Club” series is one of Nintendo’s older and most obscure IPs. The reason because of its obscurity can be easily pointed to the fact that the series has only ever had two games, both having only gotten remakes in 2021 for the Switch. So, when the trailer for “Emio - The Smiling Man” suddenly appeared on Nintendo’s YouTube channel, many were confused yet intrigued. Turns out Nintendo is ready to tell another chilling and horrifying tale in the “Famicom Detective Club” series! “Emio” will be the first new title in the franchise in thirty-five years, and it launches on August 29, 2024.

Is there a dormant IP you would like to see Nintendo revisit? Let us know down in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!