10 Video Game Franchises That TRIED And FAILED To Make A Comeback

10 Video Game Franchises That Failed to Come Back

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re looking at video game franchises that tried to make a comeback, but ultimately failed.

“Final Fight” Series (1989-2006)

Throughout the 90s, “Final Fight” was another heavyweight under Capcom’s umbrella. The beat ‘em up franchise flourished with several entries, both in arcades and through home ports. However, it was left behind at the turn of the century. Capcom attempted to bring it into the new era with 2006’s “Final Fight: Streetwise.” And it was so poorly received, we’ve yet to ever get another one. The most it could offer was a few distracting minutes of fun before you grew bored. Gameplay and mechanics were simplistic and repetitive, which may have been fine during the days of 2D and two buttons, but not here. It also looked pretty poor even by mid-2000s standards, and the camera and enemy AI combined for a frustrating experience, to say the least.

“Thief” Series (1998-2014)

1998’s “Thief: The Dark Project” is one of the best action stealth games ever made, full stop. Both of its sequels, while not quite as strong, were still plenty of fun. However, lower sales of the third game put the series on ice for a time, until Square Enix brought it back with a self-titled entry in 2014, ten years after the previous game. Stealth was still great, but the revival did little else to make “Thief” stand out to players. In all honesty, it was a totally average and, clearly, fairly forgettable game. With lukewarm reviews and sales, it’s no surprise “Thief” failed to make a comeback.

“Golden Axe” Series (1989-2008)

Another fantastic beat ‘em up of the 90s era, “Golden Axe” stood out with its fantastical setting, enemies, and combat. It got several sequels and spin-offs, but disappeared towards the end of the decade. Like Capcom with “Final Fight,” Sega attempted to revive the series in the 2000s with “Golden Axe: Beast Rider.” And it was just about as bad as “Streetwise.” It was a dull, messy hack ‘n’ slash, with the main draw of riding beasts brought down by poor controls. It didn’t even have multiplayer, one of the biggest draws of the older games. It’s worth noting that, at the 2023 Game Awards, Sega announced plans to revive several dormant franchises, “Golden Axe” among them. Well, at least they already know what not to do.

“Banjo-Kazooie” Series (1998-2008)

Fans of “Banjo-Kazooie” have kept the bear and bird relevant through sheer force of will. But those same fans were adamantly against the one time they tried to come back. The duo starred in two of the most beloved platformers on the N64, with “Banjo-Tooie” releasing in 2000. While a couple of handheld spin-offs were released afterwards, fans waited with bated breath for what a new home release would look like after Microsoft purchased Rare. What they got was 2008’s “Nuts and Bolts,” which many hated due to a change in art style and gameplay. Re-evaluation has since improved its reputation. But at the time, it was enough to kill the franchise dead. Fans may have thought a guest appearance in “Smash” would drum up interest for another comeback, but no such luck.

“Dead Space” Series (2008-23)

As it’s one of the more recent failed comebacks, the death of “Dead Space” stings a bit more. The first two games are paragons of survival horror, but the third was criticized for leaning too heavily into action. As a result, sales were lower than desired, with publisher Electronic Arts eventually choosing to close developer Visceral Games. However, EA tried to breathe new life into the series with a remake of the first game in 2023. Developer Motive did a fantastic job, but that sadly doesn’t mean it was a financially viable comeback. Sales were reportedly low, causing Motive to scrap plans on its sequel and killing the franchise once again.

“Turok” Series (1997-2008)

Released mere months before the iconic “GoldenEye,” 1997’s “Turok: Dinosaur Hunter” kicked off an era of surprisingly great shooters on the N64. The series continued through strong sequels, until the original publisher, Acclaim, went bankrupt in 2004. Disney picked up the rights via its Touchstone Interactive branch, and attempted to bring it back with a self-titled reboot in 2008. Clearly, time had left Turok behind, as this reboot was utterly bland, from its gameplay and level design to its lead character. While reviews were lukewarm, sales were decent enough to begin work on a sequel. But it was canceled when Disney closed developer Propaganda Games. And we haven’t heard from the dinosaur hunter since.

“Star Fox” Series (1993-2017)

“Star Fox” may still be a favorite among certain Nintendo fans. But that doesn’t change the fact that it absolutely failed to make a comeback with 2016’s “Star Fox Zero.” It was the first new entry in ten years, not counting the 3DS remake of “Star Fox 64” in 2011. It faced a lot of criticism, namely for its control scheme that heavily relied on the Wii U gamepad. That console was already a sales low for Nintendo, which means even fewer players tried it than they normally would have. Since then, we’ve gotten a re-release of the canceled “Star Fox 2” and the characters showed up in the Switch version of Ubisoft’s “Starlink.” But the financial and critical failure of “Zero” has led “Star Fox” back into a life of dormancy.

“Tony Hawk” Series (1999-2020)

“Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” and its sequels provided players with hours of fun, regardless of whether you were into skating or not. However, in the late 2000s, the series grew to rely on gimmicks and peripherals, selling and reviewing worse in the process. Fans may have thought a return to roots was coming with 2015’s “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5,” but boy were they wrong. The buggy, poorly-controlled mess masquerading as a game was the result of publisher Activision trying to retain the license, and producing something quickly. Vicarious Visions did develop an excellent remake package of the first two games in 2020. But the studio was then folded into Blizzard, killing plans of a second remake bundle of “Pro Skater 3” and “4.”

“Shenmue” Series (1999-2019)

“Shenmue” is the very definition of a cult classic. Released on the Sega Dreamcast in 1999, it reviewed and sold well, but was such an expensive endeavor that it was still a commercial failure. It got a sequel two years later, which ended on a huge cliffhanger…and then nothing for nearly two decades. To be fair, the passionate fan base supported creator Yu Suzuki’s desire to continue for years. But by the time he finally got it funded and released in 2019, “Shenmue III” was a tad disappointing. Most felt it was outdated in both the visuals and gameplay departments. Since it had been such a long time, and since it was already pretty niche, sales weren’t very high either. Unless Suzuki gets a fourth funded in another twenty years, this may be the end of “Shenmue.”

“Duke Nukem” Series (1991-2011)

Franchise comebacks fail all the time. But not many are as spectacularly mismanaged as “Duke Nukem.” The FPS series blew up in the 90s thanks to Duke’s violent and sexually explicit jump to 3D. Gamers of the time thought he was the coolest dude around, which is why 3D Realms announced a sequel in 1997, “Duke Nukem Forever.” With a development period that lasted around 14 years, anything that could go wrong basically did. A lack of a plan from studio heads, severe understaffing, engine changes; it got to a point where different studios signed on to finish the work just so it could release. When that finally happened in 2011, “Forever” was seen as a relic, outdated in every aspect and outshone by most other FPSs. Naturally, that has so far been the end of Duke.

Sadly, these aren’t the only franchises that have failed to come back. What others were you sad to see go? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great gaming videos every day!