Whether its a remake, a sequel, or a port, recognizable titles sell — and publishers love multi-entry franchises. That's why we get yearly Call of Duty, Madden, and other titles too. Yet, sometimes, seemingly popular franchises go dark. Whether that's because the series goes into a different direction, or interest seems to dwindle, there are dozens of sequels that players are still waiting to play.
As the years pass by, however, we've slowly lost hope in seeing another entry in these popular series, even if sometimes they do come back. Heck, Shenmue III is set to be released soon! Unfortunately, there are more of the other kind of dead franchises — the ones that never released another title. We're going to focus on that today. Here are 10 Gaming Sequels We Wish We Had But Never Got.
10 Lost Planet 4
Lost Planet was an interesting franchise from the minds at Capcom that started out as a third-person shooter taking place on an ice-planet. Pitting players against the cold and alien life forms, this franchise made a name for itself for its unique setting that impacted gameplay and some fantastic boss battles.
Unfortunately, after a poorly received third entry in 2013, it doesn't look like Capcom has any interest in bringing the Lost Planet franchise to current or next-generation consoles. Which is a shame too, because modern platforms could probably allow for some truly fantastic enemy designs.
9 Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow 3
Konami's Castlevania franchise really struggled when transitioning to 3D. With multiple attempts on the Nintendo 64 and onward, it felt like the franchise only worked in 2D. That's not necessarily a bad thing, especially these days where sidescrollers are much more accepted by players again, but the publisher tried to make a full-fledged 3D Castlevania title with Lords of Shadow — and it worked.
Putting players in the shoes of Gabriel Belmont, players can hack and slash their way through hoards of monsters in an attempt to revive his wife. It was so popular, in fact, that Konami made a sequel in 2014, letting players take control of Dracula himself as he takes on Satan between the medieval and modern eras.
Unfortunately, this one wasn't as well-received, essentially putting the nail in the coffin for a possible third entry in the franchise. Still, it was an interesting experiment in the history of Castlevania.
8 Mega Man Legends 3
When most gamers think about Mega Man, they think of fast-paced side-scrolling shooting action that relies on player memorization and reflexes throughout increasingly difficult stages in which players can choose the order of. Yet, for a brief period of time, Capcom experimented with a plethora of different genres. One of which was a story-driven 3D action-adventure.
The franchise was universally praised for its unique take on the series, and at the beginning of the millennium, Mega Man was one of the great jumps to 3D gameplay alongside Mario and The Legend of Zelda. Yet, despite its near-universal praise, Mega-Man Legends only spawned two titles and a prequel.
7 Earthbound 64
Despite its cult-classic status among the gaming community, only one title in the Mother (or Earthbound) series made its way across the pond. While it didn't really set the world on fire in terms of sales, Nintendo began plans to make the next entry in the series. It would be a fully-3D RPG on the Nintendo 64, that was later planned for the console's disc drive before getting canceled outright. There were talks of bringing the title to the GameCube, but that never happened either.
Things get a little dicey regarding the status of the game depending on who you talk to, however. Some say Mother 3, which released on the Nintendo DS in 2006 but never launched in North America, is the final version of the original concept, while others don't necessarily agree. Still, a 3D Mother game would have been really interesting.
6 Sonic Adventure 3
Some fans consider Sega's Sonic Heros or Sonic The Hedgehog (2006) as the unofficial Sonic Adventure 3. While we're willing to accept arguments based on the former — mostly due to the timeframe of the game's release in relation to Sonic Adventure 2 — we will not accept any evidence for the latter. While good games have been released since then, the Sonic Adventure franchise is widely considered by many players as the last great run for Sega's mascot, and it's a shame we never got a trilogy.
With fun (albeit sometimes clunky) gameplay, and an addicting simulation side-mission that allows players to upgrade adorable little creatures known as Chaos, Sonic Adventure as a series was the first time players got to experience grand storytelling in a Blue Blur's game. Now, however, too much time has probably passed to revive this franchise.
5 Dead Space 4
When looking at the biggest games of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 generation, few franchises were as impactful as Visceral Games' Dead Space. As a truly terrifying horror title, the series slowly morphed into something more action-oriented as EA tried to make the game appeal to a larger fanbase. The culmination of this occurred in the third entry. This really turned fans off, and not much has been heard about Dead Space since.
A fourth entry would be more than welcome, putting players back in the shoes of Issac Clark in a dark, claustrophobic space-horror just like the first game. Or, a full-fledged reboot could be interesting too.
4 Warhammer 40K: Space Marine
Despite starting out as a board game franchise, Warhammer40K has a rich history in the video game industry, and no title fits better in this media-space than Space Marine. Taking notes from Gears of War, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine is a third-person shooter where players take down hoards of sci-fi bad guys whilst a chainsaw-based weapon. The game was fun, dumb, and the story — which puts players in the shoes of Space Marines after Orks invade a planet known for weapons production — is engaging enough to keep players interested.
Yet, despite the title being well received, it doesn't look like a sequel will ever happen. Released in 2011, Relic Entertainment's shooter hasn't been spoken about much. But we'd love to see something regarding this title in the future.
3 Star Wars: Republic Commando II
Star Wars: Republic Commando is a fantastic squad-based first-person shooter, that puts players in the shoes of the leader of an elite clone trooper squad in the middle of the Clone Wars.
Taking players through familiar locations like Kashyyk and Geonosis, Republic Commando blended both the cinematic and video game worlds perfectly, creating a one of a kind experience that only Lucas Arts could deliver. According to rumors, there were plans to give the franchise a sequel, but for one reason or another, plans fell through.
2 Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic III
You'll be hard-pressed to find a Star Wars RPG better than Knights of The Old Republic. With fantastic storylines, players could choose to walk down the path of the light or dark, giving the protagonist vastly different move sets, while also impacting relationships with other party members.
With the first title developed by BioWare and the second by Obsidian, both games were made by the best in the business, but there was never a true sequel. Sure, players were treated to an MMORPG in Star Wars: The Old Republic, but for long-time fans of the series, it felt unfair that one of the best single-player experiences of a generation was turned into a more multi-player focused adventure.
1 Half-Life 3
Of course, this is the number one entry. There was never any doubt that Half-Life 3 is the gaming sequel we want but will never get. Valve is in on the joke too, constantly alluding to the possibility of it happening — on April Fool's Day. What makes this more frustrating than any other game in this list is that the previous title in the franchise clearly sets the stage for another game.
Gordon Freeman's story deserves an ending, but it likely will never happen. With that said, the new rivalry between Valve and Epic means having exclusive content on PC storefronts could be more important than ever. Perhaps, this is Valve's ace in the hole.