What new concept on a franchise left a significantly negative impact for you?

[hwarang]

Be it story, gameplay or whatever -

Disclaimer: based on your opinion.

My example:

Trails Series - The introduction of the "mechas" in Cold Steel just ruined my excitement for the rest of the series. I'm hoping for it to be contained in the CS arc but I can't see how that will be possible. Honestly fucking ruined the series for me. After Trails in the Sky 3rd, I was looking forward to some epic worldbuilding and whatnot but then I encounter this dumbass trope in an otherwise awesome franchise.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Everything to do with sleeping worlds and dreams in Kingdom Hearts (introduced in Dream Drop Distance). It doesn't make sense and it just adds another complication to a lore that is already too complicated.

 

[Tohsaka]

Be it story, gameplay or whatever -

Disclaimer: based on your opinion.

My example:

Trails Series - The introduction of the "mechas" in Cold Steel just ruined my excitement for the rest of the series. I'm hoping for it to be contained in the CS arc but I can't see how that will be possible. Honestly fucking ruined the series for me. After Trails in the Sky 3rd, I was looking forward to some epic worldbuilding and whatnot but then I encounter this dumbass trope in an otherwise awesome franchise.

Click to shrink...

Without wanting to spoil anything, the mechs become extremely important from here on, so if they're a deal breaker you're not gonna like what's coming.

 

[BriGuy]

Open-world Zelda. It's just not want I want out of the series. Wide-linear is fine, but BotW was so big it felt meandering and pointless.

 

[Z-Beat]

The C-virus in RE6. You had so many viruses/parasites/sentient fungi to choose from, you didn't need another.

 

[Deleted member 35077]

The revelation that Xenmas always knew that nobodies can always grow new hearts after a while, in DDD. KH series don't have great final boss villains, but Xenmas was an exception and that reveal ruined him for me.

 

[night814]

Children in Fire Emblem, they come so late that they are completely irrelevant

 

[Kerozinn]

Open World mirrors edge catalyst

 

[eddiemunstr]

RE4 changing to an action game is always the first that comes to mind for me. Sure i still enjoyed the game , but it really just felt like a case of them going "hey look at all this cool new stuff we got for you" while behind your back they are secretly throwing away all your old stuff. It always bugged me that they just went from classic style RE to action re4 style without any attempt to mix the new with the old.

 

[Quinton]

MGSV focusing on incidental storytelling (which was handled terribly too).

FF13 taking inspiration from Western titles in strange ways, leading to a game I scarcely recognized by brand. The corridors aren't even the worst thing; it's more this constant "campaign-like" forward march and hyper-intensive character focus at the expense of other narrative elements.

Xenosaga II choosing a duller color pallet, a woeful attempt at more realistic designs, and a more mundane overall experience. (Credit where credit is due: MOMO's camera angles in XS1 were fucking disgusting and they gave her shorts or something in 2 instead?)

The Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2 had this bizarre attempt at, like, macabre sexualization going on with its designs and a more rote story relative to everything else in its franchise. It was clearly intended to be more of a "crowd-pleaser" and I'm pretty sure it backfired dramatically.

The voiced protagonist in Fallout 4 wrecked that game hard. I still enjoy what I've played of it to an extent, but man, that was not a good idea on Bethesda's part. Modernization doesn't always mean the same thing from franchise to franchise, and forcing a shallower mentality onto series ill-befitting it can cause real damage.

 

[Ragnarok Flames]

adding CoD shit to Halo.

 

[Deleted member 8861]

Zero Time Dilemma introducing a whole bunch of deus ex machinae that a) didn't go anywhere, b) made everything seem like a tepid joke.

Particularly the "Team" mechanic, which basically meant the main cast was separated into groups of 3 that never changed throughout 90% of the game.

 

[Deleted member 35077]

Continuing on, it is pretty much this video.

 

[GamerJM]

The fact that every Criterion racing game from Burnout Paradise and onwards (since they also developed the NFS games afterwards) was open-world made me lose interest in them completely.

The most obvious example is probably the removal of leveling up/experience in Paper Mario.

 

[Deleted member 51539]

Ni No Kuni 2 removed the Pokémon Familiar combat and killed my excitement for it.

Fallout 4's voiced protagonist and Mass Effect/Telltale style dialogue

 

[Deleted member 52442]

Master Xehanort

Spoiler: KH3 Spoilers

being a good guy

 

[nsilvias]

trying to kiseki the story inn ys 8. it made the game longer then it had any reason being.

 

[Meffer]

Be it story, gameplay or whatever -

Disclaimer: based on your opinion.

My example:

Trails Series - The introduction of the "mechas" in Cold Steel just ruined my excitement for the rest of the series. I'm hoping for it to be contained in the CS arc but I can't see how that will be possible. Honestly fucking ruined the series for me. After Trails in the Sky 3rd, I was looking forward to some epic worldbuilding and whatnot but then I encounter this dumbass trope in an otherwise awesome franchise.

Click to shrink...

I felt it really showed what the past civilization could do. I thought it was cool as hell.

 

[Salacious_Rhino]

RE4 changing to an action game is always the first that comes to mind for me. Sure i still enjoyed the game , but it really just felt like a case of them going "hey look at all this cool new stuff we got for you" while behind your back they are secretly throwing away all your old stuff. It always bugged me that they just went from classic style RE to action re4 style without any attempt to mix the new with the old.

Click to shrink...

I always felt that RE4 did a good job mixing the two and then RE5 went off the rails. But after finishing RE2 remake, fuckin hell is that the perfect mix of old and new.

 

[Altera]

Everything about MGSV. That was my favorite game franchise at one point and MGSV just ruined it for me.

 

[Brakke]

Fire Emblem is a strong contender here. Children are kind of a cute idea but mostly pointless and the story is contrived all the way to hell to make them "work." Later, rubbing waifus is a hard pass from me. Even the castle-development stuff was mostly lame busywork.

 

[Betty]

That Cortana was somehow the 'key' to ending the Covenant conflict, as was retconned into the story of Halo Reach.

At no point does Cortana do anything that makes her pivotal in any way, all her actions could be just as easily have been done by any other AI.

 

[OwOtacon]

Valkyria Chronicles 2 having a high school setting took that series down a direction that even moving out of that setting couldn't save it from.

 

[jon bones]

Getting off your skateboard and running around in THPS.

Really broke up the flow of the levels & game.

 

[Detective]

Prometheans.

 

[bluehat9]

Everything about Hot Shots golf ps4. No unique playable characters, no more draw/fade, just straight power over everything. Overall more stupid stuff to do that wasn't golf (drive the cart, fish, look for coins to buy things). I missed the weird swing they had from Out Of Bounds too.

 

[Xita]

When Pokemon games started coming out yearly worldwide. I still enjoy the games and I love that everyone get's to experience it at the same time but I can't help but feel like they could really use more time in the oven with all the features that end up being cut, the lack of postgame and the technical issues. Hoping the same doesn't happen for Gen 8 since they had more time.

 

[Evolved1]

Futuristic shit in my military shooters like Ghost Recon. God what I would do for a military shooter without fucking radar and drones and enemy highlighting and thermal... the genre is fucking ruined. It is dead.

 

[Zacmortar]

The C-virus in RE6. You had so many viruses/parasites/sentient fungi to choose from, you didn't need another.

Click to shrink...

You can be assured its never gonna come back, considering 7 and Rev2s are both based off Ouroboros/T instead

 

[kurahador]

"Here's a magic weapon which came out of nowhere that can wipe out the Reapers created by the race that got wiped out by Reapers" --- Mass Effect 3

 

[Z-Beat]

You can be assured its never gonna come back, considering 7 and Rev2s are both based off Ouroboros/T instead

Click to shrink...

7 is the E-virus if I'm not mistaken

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

The Etrian Odyssey "Untold" games REALLY worried me with their "story" modes, awful DLC, and Grimoire systems.

I'm so glad to say I was wrong about the series going to shit as EOV and Nexus have been amazing.

 

[Evolved1]

Everything about Hot Shots golf ps4. No unique playable characters, no more draw/fade, just straight power over everything. Overall more stupid stuff to do that wasn't golf (drive the cart, fish, look for coins to buy things). I missed the weird swing they had from Out Of Bounds too.

Click to shrink...

Oh wow, great post. They screwed this up so bad I've blocked it from memory. Hot Shots is a top 5 franchise for me, but this was so disappointing. I still keep my PS3 hooked up just for World Tour.

 

[Conor]

Sprinting in Halo. I don't mind halo 5 multiplayer, but I miss the classic halo formula. I think changing it was entirely unnecessary and they haven't nailed making good maps with all these new traversal machanics. Halo 1-3 were full of classics but 4 and 5's maps have been mostly forgettable.

 

[Fenrick]

The capture and combat balance in Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee. Capturing became the most efficient way to level up, and I just didnt find it as entertaining as battling. It's the only pokemon game I put down without finishing.

 

[Estizzle]

A lot of the changes they made with Pokemon Let's Go to introduce it to a broader audience. I get that it was obviously not intended for me, but it still sucked to hear it was a main series RPG that dumped competitive mechanics in favor of motion controlled catching, a broken candy system, and only 153 Pokemon.

 

[Psychonaut]

Most changes made in Pokemon Sun/Moon. I disliked the removal of a traditional gym structure and, while I welcome the absence of HMs, PokeRide was kind of lame.

 

[Ultimadrago]

Be it story, gameplay or whatever -

Disclaimer: based on your opinion.

My example:

Trails Series - The introduction of the "mechas" in Cold Steel just ruined my excitement for the rest of the series. I'm hoping for it to be contained in the CS arc but I can't see how that will be possible. Honestly fucking ruined the series for me. After Trails in the Sky 3rd, I was looking forward to some epic worldbuilding and whatnot but then I encounter this dumbass trope in an otherwise awesome franchise.

Click to shrink...

Regarding Cold Steel, while the execution for the reveal and subsequent showings are pretty hard to watch, making me wince so hard tears came out. Let's just say the series has alluded to them (or things like them) quite directly for longer and more frequently than you may think. That made it feel a little bit better versus when I first had to swallow it. In any case, I think the diminished character writing, most notably CS1 Rean's, is what makes that addition seem even worse than it is.

 

[eddiemunstr]

I always felt that RE4 did a good job mixing the two and then RE5 went off the rails. But after finishing RE2 remake, fuckin hell is that the perfect mix of old and new.

Click to shrink...

For me it wasnt even close to classic style. I can take or leave tank controls and fixed camera, im fine with either; and "horror" was never really a big concern of mine for the series either since it was always cheesy.

Re4 got rid of puzzles pretty much and the few that remained were incredibly simplistic and often the item needed was found in the very same room. The game also didnt have the exploration previous entries did since there was no backtracking to areas in previous chapters and the game always pushed you forward on the linear path. There was never a time you could "get lost" due to the path the game layed out, and if by some miracle you did the map always showed you exactly where the next place to go was.
My favorite thing about the series was just being dropped into the game similar to a metroidvania style game and just having to explore it. Along the way you would find items and have no idea when you would need them or what for.

Like I said though I still enjoyed the game (hell I even enjoyed 6 depite how much everyone wants to say how impossible that is), and while I dont think its anywhere near as good of a game I look at something like RE dead aim as a better attempt of trying to mix in a more action focus while not totally abandoning the old.

 

[Mekanos]

When Pokemon games started coming out yearly worldwide. I still enjoy the games and I love that everyone get's to experience it at the same time but I can't help but feel like they could really use more time in the oven with all the features that end up being cut, the lack of postgame and the technical issues. Hoping the same doesn't happen for Gen 8 since they had more time.

Click to shrink...

Didn't gen 8 have the same timeline of development as 6 and 7 (three years)?

 

[Deleted member 48813]

Open-world Zelda. It's just not want I want out of the series. Wide-linear is fine, but BotW was so big it felt meandering and pointless.

Click to shrink...

This. In my case I'd also add voice acting, I hate that it's a thing now, both in BotW and in Smash with Zelda talking in that one cutscene.
Tbh I didn't enjoy most of the new mechanics BotW added, but I'm keeping it short.

 

[BDS]

Mass Effect Andromeda. Pick any part of it.

 

[Kapryov]

Boosting in Sonic.
When it even made it to the 2D entries too, the fun in actually "earning" your speed was completely lost.

 

[SuperBanana]

Evil Cortana in Halo 5. Also putting Master Chief to the side for a new character. Just awful, stupid ideas.

 

[Chopchop]

Most of the reveals in Mass Effect 3.

The Reapers are unstoppable and they're attacking us RIGHT THE FUCK NOW... Oh wait, we just found out we've been sitting on a magic wand that can defeat them the entire time, so let's work on that. Fuck that deus ex machina shit.

The Reapers are unstoppable alien machines that are far beyond our level of technology... except their main means of actually fighting in person is sending space zombies at you. Okay.

Oh, and your other biggest threat in actual missions are hordes of random ass Cerberus soldiers because fuck making new enemy types. Okay.

 

[Estizzle]

Didn't gen 8 have the same timeline of development as 6 and 7 (three years)?

Click to shrink...

Not only that, but there were also more games developed by GameFreak between Sun/Moon and Gen 8 than Gen 5 -> 6 and 6 -> 7. Between B/W and X/Y, they released B2/W2, Harmoknight, and Pocket Card Jockey. X/Y -> S/M saw OR/AS and Tembo the Badass Elephant. S/M -> Gen 8 will see Giga Wrecker, US/UM, Pokemon Quest, LGPE, Town, and a port of Giga Wrecker to Switch.

 

[Hate]

There are mecha?

Ok buying the game.

 

[Samanosuke Akechi]

Making my favorite franchise, MGS into a boring , bland, empty open world snoozfest.

 

[Zombie]

Base building and the gutting of the dialogue systems in Fallout 4. At the time it seemed like a bad idea for the franchise given what fans of the franchise actually played the games for, and when pushed to the extreme in Fallout 76 we can see how well that's turned out for Bethesda.

 

[Deleted member 3815]

Megas in Pokémon gen 6, they added nothing to the main game.

Island trial in Pokémon Gen 7, I prefer fighting gym leaders as it allows every member of my team and fighting a tough trainer is miles more fun than fighting a wild Pokémon with artificial difficulty.

Open-world Zelda. It's just not want I want out of the series. Wide-linear is fine, but BotW was so big it felt meandering and pointless.

Click to shrink...

Agreed, Breath of the Wild is so bland and unmemorable. Plus the idea of exploring the wildness doesn't interest me as I have done that jazz in real life. I don't need it in video game form.