Top 10 Worst Video Game Jumps From 2D To 3D

#10: “Final Fight: Streetwise” (2006)
“Final Fight” (1989-2006)

Who doesn’t love this side-scrolling beat em’ up franchise? Walk down the street, suplex some thugs , eat some juicy meat out of a barrel... ah, those were the days. Were, being the key word, because those happy moments aren’t in “Streetwise.” “Streetwise” is one of those games that tries to add too many pieces of flair on something that, honestly, didn’t need any flair at all. Upgradable moves, minigames, side missions, earning money... wait, is that Cammy? Seriously, Capcom, all we needed was the thugs and the barrel meat. While Japan did get an earlier 3D Final Fight game, considering it’s a fighting game rather than a beat ‘em up, it doesn’t really count.

#9: “Worms 3D” (2004)
“Worms” (1995-)

And here we thought you killed worms by stepping on them, or accidentally running them over in the rain. Apparently, the proper way to eliminate a worm is to get teams of them together so they can blast each other with different firearms . Of course, it works out much better if you can actually see the worm ... thanks “Worms 3D.” The main objective -- kill those wormy bastards -- stayed the same, thankfully, but the execution wasn’t the greatest since the camera would often lose focus on the worm. In a game where you take turns trying to kill each other... sight is kind of important.

#8: “Mortal Kombat 4” (1997)
“Mortal Kombat” (1992-)

This franchise took the world by storm with its incredible amount of violence... which, compared to today’s standards, doesn’t look like the catalyst to the ESRB. But take our word for it, Mortal Kombat was newsworthy with its intense gore, so you can image the hype for its 3D installment. Better graphics, new fatalities, more blood, and ... what the hell is he doing? It turns out that the transition to 3D wasn’t as great as fans had hoped, taking until 2011 to get the series back on track. Choppy gameplay, comical blood gushers, the “edginess” of said blood splattering the screen, and... that voice acting... yeah, toss it into the pit.

#7: “Megaman X7” (2003)
“Megaman X” (1994-2005)

Every Megaman fan has that one game that made them think, “Maaaaaybe the series is getting a bit too long.” That game isn’t X7. The series was getting too long before X7, but the games before it were still fun in their own way. X7 was an attempt to revitalize the series with the introduction of 3D. It failed. Miserably. Switching from 2D to 3D was a chore that forced gamers to go from unspectacular 2D sections to crappy 3D ones. X7 was so dismal that the lead character -- you know, the bot on the box -- had conveniently retired in the game, making him unplayable.

#6: “Golden Axe: Beast Rider” (2008)
“Golden Axe” (1989-2008)

Son of a... can they please stop messing with the side scrolling beat em’ ups?! We just want to go around and hit people, why is that so hard? Oh, and ride on top of ferocious creatures, we want that, too. “Beast Rider” tries to keep elements of the original in-tact, but in the end, you’d rather be playing the original, which, if you were patient, was made available on the virtual console a year later. Nothing about “Beast Rider” worked. The music was boring, the controls were bad, hit detection had issue, and you didn’t care about the story. even riding the beasts was more laborious than fun.

#5: “C: The Contra Adventure” (1998)
“Contra” (1987-2011)

Not even the infamous Konami Code is going to help you with this mess of a game. This is a prime example of not needing to change the original in an attempt to improve it, because it doesn’t need to be improved. Games like Contra were meant to be played in 2D with amazing music, various weapon upgrades, and insane difficulty. While we can get behind the 2D sections of Contra Adventure... actually, no, we can’t. We can’t because they feel like an inferior version to the run and gun classic, and the 3D third person shooter sections add spread gun to injury.

#4: “Prince of Persia 3D” (1999)
“Prince of Persia” (1989-2013)

This must be some kind of mistake. Sands of Time is a wonderful game! It took a computer game that you, essentially, had to speed run -- you only had an hour to beat it -- and turned it into a phenomenal adventure series. How could this be on this list? Wait... we’re not talking about Sands of Time? There was a game before that? Well, let’s take a look... oh, NOW we see why it’s on this list. This probably isn’t the game people wanted from the groundbreaking franchise, especially since it had been six years since a Prince of Persia had been released.

#3: “Earthworm Jim 3D” (1999)
“Earthworm Jim” (1994-99)

What happens when a toy company decides to make a video game? An earthworm gets a super suit. Playmate Toys was inspired by a certain blue hedgehog and decided to try making a video game franchise by turning a normal, everyday earthworm into a hero. With two successful, 2D platformers, and a cartoon series, it was only a matter time before they took the next step: 3D. Sadly, this is where Earthworm Jim takes a disastrous turn. A new developer and a long development cycle produced a mediocre game. And by the time it was released... we’d all played much better 3D platformers.

#2: “Castlevania 64” (1999)
“Castlevania” (1986-)

“What a horrible night to have a curse.” We wonder if this was foreshadowing to what lied ahead for the franchise. Granted, we did get a pretty cool 3D iteration later, but in the late nineties, our Nintendo 64s were deeply offended by this very first attempt at a 3D Castlevania. After choosing between Carrie, an orphan with magical powers, and Reinhardt, an heir to the Belmont clan, you set off on a truly lackluster adventure full of dull backgrounds, frustrating gameplay, a soundtrack that pales in comparison to the previous ones, and... Ghost Rider fanatics?

Before we end our downward spiral of failed 3D attempts, let’s look at some honorable -- or, shall we say, dishonorable mentions:

“Street Fighter” to “Street Fighter EX” (1996)
“Tetris” to “3D Tetris” (1996)
“Altered Beast (Arcade)” to “Altered Beast (PS2)” (2005)

#1: “Bubsy 3D” (1996)
“Bubsy” (1993-96)

To be perfectly honest, the 2D versions of the series weren’t all that great to begin with. If you could deal with the screen not showing what was up ahead, and dying from pretty much everything, maybe you’d have fun? However, if you’re curious about the series, do NOT touch the 3D game. It’s visuals look like something out of MS Paint, and it’s controls are a joke. You can’t even use the excuse of “new technology” when great 3D games like “Super Mario 64” and “Crash Bandicoot” were released BEFORE the bobcat’s 3D disaster. “What could possibly go wrong?” Everything, Bubsy. Everything.

Do you agree with our list? Which 2D turned 3D games should’ve stuck with their 2D roots? For more top tens published everyday, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.