Summary
Video game franchises generally stick within one main genre. Whether it be first-person shooters, fighters, or role-playing games, most fans prefer that their favorite franchises not change genres too often.If a game franchise does experiment with other genres, it’s usually in lesser-known one-offs rather than in main games.
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Still, there are times when video game franchises take a risk and make a sudden shift in genres despite potentially alienating their core audience. Sometimes these risks ended in failure, but sometimes they ended in massive successes and huge steps forward for the franchise. Here are some video game franchises that successfully switched genres.
10The Legend Of Zelda Went Open World
The Legend of Zeldaseries initially looked very similar to an RPG, with a top-down camera and puzzle-based dungeons. Later games would expand the game’s scope and feature more areas and maps, but the game would always feel limited in its exploration.
Breath of the Wildchanged all that with its release in 2017, transformingZeldainto an open-world adventure game where players could explore freelyand craft items and weaponsfrom whatever they picked up. The change was a massive success, and the follow-upTears of the Kingdomfollowed closely in the vein of its predecessor to similar success.
9Mega Man Jacked Into The World Of RPGs
By the dawn of the 21st century,Mega Manas a franchise was well-known for branching off into alternate storylines, starting with theMega Man Xseries in 1993. In 1997,Mega Man Legendsserved asMega Man’s first foray into genres outside of its 2D sidescroller origins, featuring 3D environments and action-adventure gameplay.
Mega Manfurthered its experimentation with the release ofMega Man Battle Network, a tactical role-playing game that combines deck-building with RPG elements and exploration. TheBattle Networkseries was extremely popular, spawning a number of sequels and its own follow-up spin-off series inMega Man Star Force.
8Castlevania Blends Action-Adventure Into Its Platformer Origins
The originalCastlevaniagames were actually quite different from what they are hailed as now. Initially linear level-based games in which characters fought through enemies until they arrived at the stage boss, the franchise as a whole would shift with the release ofSymphony of the Nightin 1997.
Unlike its predecessors,Symphony of the Nightwas much more non-linear, letting players explore the castle freely as they searched for key items needed to progress the game. This change in focus is what eventually led toCastlevaniabeing the second parent of the Metroidvania genre.
7The Shining Series Goes To Strategy And Back
Compared to monoliths likeFinal FantasyandDragon Quest, theShiningseries is really only known to hardcore RPG and retro fans. The series first started as a standard dungeon crawler calledShining in the Darkness, with players directing their party through a labyrinth in order to save a kidnapped princess.
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WhileShining in the Darknesswas relatively well-received, the franchise decided to take a left turn with its second gameShining Force, which was a tactical RPG similar toFire Emblem. The game was incredibly successful, receiving several sequels. While the franchise itself has reverted to standard RPGs, theShining Forcegamesare considered RPG classics.
6Metroid Morphs Into A First-Person Shooter
TheMetroidfranchise originally gained fame as a sidescrolling adventure game, being instrumental in the creation of the Metroidvania genre. The main entries in the series remain in the same vein, including the most recent entry,Metroid Dread.
However, theMetroid Primesubseries takes the franchise in a completely different direction. While the game is still largely action-adventure, the player takes on a first-person perspective, making it a lot closer to shooters likeDoomorHalo. TheMetroid Primeseries are just as, if not more, popular than the main series, with the fourth game being highly anticipated.
5Fate Goes From Visual Novel To Hack And Slash
Fate/stay nightinitially started as a visual novel published by Type-Moon in 2004. Its unique premise and worldbuilding drew the attention of fans, and a strong anime adaptationturned it into a mainstayin the anime industry.
Despite its popularity in the anime sphere,Fate/stay nightcontinued to develop as a video game franchise. While initially staying within the visual novel sphere,Fateeventually branched out to other genres, withFate/Extrabeing the franchise’s first attempt at an RPG.Fate/Extellawould introduce the franchise to the action RPG and hack-and-slash genres, with the new gameFate/Samurai Remnantcontinuing in that vein.
4Dynasty Warriors Goes From 1-On-1 to 1-On-1000
Dynasty Warriorsand its various subseries have generally defined hack-and-slash games for the modern era. Moving down dozens of foes with a single character gives a special kind of thrill that normal action games don’t have, and clearing maps of swarms of enemies is always satisfying.
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Surprisingly,Dynasty Warriorsdid not start out as this kind of game. The originalDynasty Warriorswas a fighting game, featuring a number of historical Chinese heroes fighting each other in one-on-one combat. While some later entries did feature some kind of one-on-one combat in the form of duels, the franchise generally did away with this gameplay starting with the second entry.
3Final Fantasy Goes From Turn-Based To Action
Final Fantasyis a hallmark of the JRPG sphere, being one of its earliest and most famous examples. The franchise has evolved steadily over the years, going from turn-based to the iconic ATB system, though it has always stayed firmly-rooted in RPG fundamentals.
Recent games, however, have seen theFinal Fantasygames take a different track, withFinal Fantasy 15featuring real-time active combat for the first time in the main series.Final Fantasy 16goes even further on the action, pulling the franchise further away from its turn-based roots.
2Yakuza Goes Retro With Turn-Based Combat
TheYakuzaseries has slowly become one of the biggest video game franchises in the world, and it only seems to be getting more popular as time goes on. The series is filled to the brim with things to do, but its most striking feature is its beat-‘em-up combat system which features ludicrous and outlandish heat moves.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon, however, makes a huge change thanks to a quirk of its main character, Ichiban Kasuga. Ichiban is a huge fan ofDragon Quest, and his obsession leads him to think of every fight like an RPG. This change was somewhat controversial, but it didn’t stopLike a Dragonfrom being one of the best games in the franchise.
1Persona Shoots Into Stardom With Simulation Mechanics
ThePersonaseries started as a subseries of the much largerShin Megami Tenseifranchise, with many of its mechanics, Personas, and gameplay elements brought over.The first couple ofPersonagameswere actually quite straightforward RPGs, though they had more than enough unique elements that set them apart.
Despite this,Persona 3’s addition of life simulator elements brought a breath of fresh air to the franchise. With the ability to experience daily life to hang out with friends, rank up social stats, or grind in the dungeon, thePersonagames soon developed their own identity and shot up into stardom.
