The gaming industry has gone through many consoles, franchises, and trends ever since the arcade scene transitioned into homes. Like all things, nothing ever lasts forever, and things are constantly changing on a dime. For example, whoever thought that physical media would die out for games, but now that is slowly becoming a reality. Also, the connectivity between players has changed from the couch to online, which is a positive.
The 10 Most Visually Stunning Video Games of the 20th Century, Ranked
Though these games are a few decades old, they are still visually among the most charming games of their time.
Let’s take a look at some specific game examples that spelled an end to their franchises in one way or another. Maybe the end of these gaming eras wasn’t a bad thing, but they certainly are important enough to discuss.
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
Final Fantasy 9
The PS1’s Swan Song For Traditional Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy 9 ended the PS1’s connection to mainline Final Fantasy on a high note, also serving as the last classic example of what the franchise became known for over a decade. Set in a bustling fantasy world with warring kingdoms, unique races, and airship technology, it all felt alive.
The party system featured four characters, each adhering to classic Jobs like Black Mage, Thief, and Dragoon. There were lots of mini-games and a world map that connected everything. It’s easy to rank Final Fantasy 9 as a perfect representation of what the series is all about: harrowing adventures in a diverse fantasy world.
Halo: Reach
Bungie Moves On From Halo
Bungie first became popular with the Mac crowd with their Marathon series, but then things evolved when they teamed up with Microsoft to launch their next hit, Halo: Combat Evolved, alongside the original Xbox. The Halo games soon became the blueprints for how first-person shooters should be on consoles, and it’s all thanks to Bungie.
Their final game in the franchise, Halo: Reach, was a prequel set before the first game, which was based on a beloved novel that fans grew to love. Fans knew the ending was going to be tragic going in, if they read the novel, just like it was known this could be Bungie’s last Halo game before they moved on to Destiny and 343 Industries took over Master Chief duties.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
Hideo Kojima’s History With The Series And Konami Dissolves
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
- Released
- September 1, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Action, Open-World
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain bridged the gap between the prequel games starring Big Boss and the original Metal Gear, although things weren’t exactly completed as the game’s overall production was cut. This was in part due to Hideo Kojima feuding with Konami, which then led to him leaving after being with the company since 1986, with Metal Gear being his baby.
He may have threatened a hundred times that the next title would be his last, but it never came true until Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain launched in 2015. Even though things got cut, the game overall is a masterclass in stealth gameplay.
Star Fox Adventures
The End Of Rare’s Golden Era
Rare had a long career developing random titles mostly for the NES, but they seemingly leveled up when they eventually made Donkey Kong Country for Nintendo. It helped form a solid bond between the two companies, bringing exclusive hits like more Donkey Kong games , Banjo-Kazooie, Perfect Dark, and GoldenEye 007. Then, in 2002, Microsoft bought out the company, leading to Rare finishing up some last-minute projects for Nintendo and canceling others before moving on.
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These JRPGs got a second chance at life thanks to remasters.
One of the biggest examples was Star Fox Adventures for the GameCube, which had a diverse reaction at the time, but was ultimately seen as a good game. Rare’s output after this wasn’t necessarily bad, but for longtime fans, they certainly saw a decrease with Microsoft over Nintendo’s partnership.
Resident Evil 0
The End Of Classic, Tank Control Resident Evil
Resident Evil 0 was a prequel to the events of the first game, starring Rebecca Chambers on a train that eventually leads to the Spencer Mansion, where the franchise started properly. Alongside her convict partner, Billy Coen, players controlled either character with classic tank controls and limited inventory space.
Enemies were mostly zombies, but other mutants were lurking about, along with a hive mind of leeches. After this, the series evolved its controls, got away from zombies, and changed the overall design to be more action-oriented, starting with Resident Evil 4 just a few years later.
The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Closing The Gap On Major Motion-Based Titles
Nintendo ushered in a new age of control with the Wii in 2006. Thanks to its massive success, Sony and Microsoft soon took note and launched their own motion-based peripherals for the PS3 and Xbox 360 to limited success.
By 2011, the motion craze was already dying, and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword was the last major first-party release from Nintendo that focused on motion controls, which some would argue was not the best decision. Thanks to it splitting the fanbase mostly due to its motion controls, this is probably what got Nintendo to stop thinking about using motion controls in their major franchises.
Rock Band 4
The Plastic Instrument Music Phase Is Over
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Lyrics
- Genre(s)
- Rhythm
Rhythm-based music games existed before Guitar Hero, but it certainly started a new movement. It led to sequels, a spiritual successor via Rock Band, and several other copycats.
The plastic instruments faded once and tried to come back for one last gasp of air between Guitar Hero Live and Rock Band 4, and while the latter example was thought to be better, neither reignited the genre. It was a craze that dominated parties for a good decade, thanks to the impressive amount of songs, but now landfills are probably piled high with their remains.
Astro's Playroom
The Last Game From The Legendary Japan Studio
When it comes to first-party Sony developers for their consoles, none was more legendary than Japan Studio, in all of its iterations from the PS1 to the PS5. Some examples include The Legend of Dragoon, Shadow of the Colossus, Ape Escape 2, LocoRoco, Puppeteer, and so many others. Their last major release was Astro's Playroom, which was a launch game for the PS5, along with aiding in the development of the Demon’s Souls remake, also for the launch.
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In 2021, they were absorbed into Team Asobi, thus ending the iconic studio. Team Asobi is also a great developer, and with the help of key team members, they helped make Astro Bot even better than Astro’s Playroom as a concept, but not seeing that Japan Studio logo pop up in a PlayStation game will be sad.
Starlink: Battle for Atlas
The End Of Toys-To-Life
The toys-to-life genre began with Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure in 2011 and was an immediate hit. After several sequels, other companies took notice and tried to cash in on the success. Skylanders, Disney Infinity, and Lego Dimensions all found success in their own ways, but eventually all of them fell.
That said, Ubisoft was a little late to the party, but they decided to try anyway with Starlink: Battle for Atlas, a spaceship shooter featuring several ships and campaigns to buy. While the Switch version was cool thanks to the Star Fox tie-in, it didn’t find a big audience. Technically, the idea of toys-to-life still exists within Amiibo, but they’re like a whole other sub-category.
Puyo Pop Fever
Sega’s Last First-Party Game On A Console Puyo Pop Fever
- Developer: Sonic Team
- Publisher: Sega
- Released: February 24, 2004 (Dreamcast Version, Japan)
- Genre: Puzzle Game
In the 90s, the rivalry between Nintendo and Sega was magnetic, and it lasted for a good while with both companies competing with their hardware and software against each other. However, after the failure of the Sega Saturn and Sega Dreamcast, Sega sunset their hardware business in favor of becoming a third-party developer and publisher.
The Dreamcast was discontinued in 2001, just three years after it launched, but games were still coming out for it. As a first-party game, Puyo Pop Fever will forever be known for Sega’s last major release on the console in 2003, which was also released on other platforms. Puyo Pop Fever, at least, was a good game to note on, as its puzzle-based gameplay ranks up there with some of the best.
10 Most Polarizing Games Released Since 2010
Explore the games that have had fans talking and arguing since the dawn of the 2010s in this collection of the most polarizing titles.