There are over a hundred long-running franchises that keep this industry going right now. Some of them pop out sequels every year or two, while others make fans wait a little longer. Most of these series also have several spinoffs to jump into other genres, or to give the reigns to other characters within that series.
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One of the biggest franchises of all time,Mario, is probably the greatest example of this. Mario has gone golfing, become a doctor, played tennis, and the list goes on. How have some of these other big franchises not had any spinoffs? Let’s dive into the biggest examples with a few minor caveats to give the list some wiggle room.
8BioShock
TheBioShockseries began in 2007 as an Xbox 360 exclusive before getting ported to other consoles. There are three games in the main trilogy with a new game supposedly on the way. Will the next game continue from where the last game left off or will it create a whole new timeline?
It’s hard to say but the series almost got a spinoff on the PS Vita before this. The game was going to bea tactical RPGin the realm ofFinal Fantasy Tactics, unlike the other games, which are primarily horror shooters.
7Breath Of Fire
Breath of Firebegan on theSNES in 1994in North America. It’s one of the few turn-based RPG series that Capcom ever produced. It sporadically released throughout the years on various platforms with the latest entry,Breath of Fire 6, landing in 2016.
Even though it is a numbered sequel, it’s on mobile phones and in Japan only right now. Lots of games get mobile spinoffs, especially in Japan, but, oddly, this one is numbered. Regardless of the latest entry, the series never received any big spinoffs on consoles.
6Crackdown
Crackdownbegan as anXbox 360-exclusivegame in 2007. The series has remained exclusive to Xbox consoles with the latest,Crackdown 3, releasing in 2019. That game was announced when the Xbox One was also revealed and it took almost the console’s whole life beforeCrackdown 3came out.
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The reviews weren’t kind to it either, but reviews for this entire series have never been spectacular to begin with. That last game may have put an end to this Xbox franchise before it could even think to make a spinoff.
5EarthBound
EarthBound, orMotheras the series is known in Japan, began on the NES in 1989.EarthBound, the 1995 sequel, was the first game North America ever received regarding this series. It would remain that way until the original hit the Wii U digitally in 2015, renamedEarthBound Beginnings.
There is alsoMother 3, a 2006Game Boy Advance RPGthat still hasn’t been officially released in the West. Here’s the big question. Will North American fans getMother 3,Mother 4, or aMotherspinoff first? That’s a real gamble wherein the odds are astronomical either way.
4Kid Icarus
Kid Icarushas also had a sporadic lifespan. The series began on the NES in 1987 for North America. It got a Game Boy sequel in 1991, which Japan never received. Then, over a decade later, the final game as of now released in 2012.
Kid Icarus: Uprisingwas a 3DS action game that had a split fanbase. The controls were frustrating on the handheld, but players that got over the controls were in for a treat. If Nintendo re-released the game on Switch, maybe it could find a new audience with better controls. Maybe then a spinoff could happen.
3MediEvil
MediEvil, perhaps, has a history even wilder thanMother’s release schedule. Made for the PS1,MediEvilwas released in 1998 and wasan action-adventure game. It received a sequel, also on PS1, and that was that. However, the first game did get a remake on the PSP in 2005 with plans to do the same for the sequel.
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Plans for that fell through, so the series was dormant yet again until the first game was remade a second time in 2019. Few games get the remake treatment and even fewer get remade twice, so that’s got to count for something.
2Shantae
Shantaewas one of the last Game Boy Color games to ever release. That was in 2002 and since then the series has evolved immensely. The latest entry,Shantae and the Seven Sirens, was in 2019.
Every game in the series has been ported more times than one can count, so it is a veryprevalent Metroidvania franchiseworth seeking out. As many games and ports as this series has received, it’s wild there hasn’t been a spinoff yet. The closest fans have come are the mini-games locked within each new entry.
1Super Smash Bros.
Super Smash Bros.is kind of like a spinoff of every Nintendo franchise under the sun. It combines famous series likeThe Legend of ZeldaandPokemonfor a truly wild fighting game. Every entry since it debuted in 1999 has beena fighting game. Fans have dreamed of the possibility of getting something beyond this genre though.
What if it got theKingdom Heartsaction RPG treatment instead? Imagine a spinoff game wherein Mario and Link could fight Goombas side by side. Now that would be epic!
