10 Times A Video Game Franchise Changed Genre For The BETTER
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00:00 I implore you to go back and tell them to send someone just a little bit more impressive
00:10 next time.
00:11 Welcome to Mojo Plays, and today we're looking at video game franchises that successfully
00:16 pivoted to a different genre or subgenre.
00:25 Before we begin, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and ring
00:29 the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:35 Prince of Persia series
00:42 The Prince of Persia series has received a couple of reboots over the years, but 2024's
00:47 The Lost Crown saw it make its biggest shift in genre.
00:50 The original games were platformers before Ubisoft turned it into a third-person action-adventure
00:55 spectacle, but due to a crowded market and the studio's similar but more popular Assassin's
01:00 Creed, 2010's The Forgotten Sands marked the last mainline entry for 14 years.
01:06 Bringing it back as a metroidvania was a great idea, allowing it to stand out not only among
01:11 Ubisoft's catalog, but the larger gaming world.
01:14 The Lost Crown received rave reviews and breathed new life into the franchise.
01:24 Like a Dragon series
01:33 Formerly known as Yakuza, the Like a Dragon games navigate Japan's criminal underworld
01:37 and naturally feature action-adventure, beat-em-up style gameplay.
01:41 However, the series took a big risk in making 2020's Yakuza Like a Dragon a turn-based
01:47 RPG.
01:48 The change was admittedly jarring for some players, but it actually made quite a bit
01:52 of sense.
01:53 It went beyond just making it stand out among others in its genre.
01:57 It played into the franchise's signature sense of humor, with new lead character Ichiban
02:01 Kasuga perceiving fights this way due to Dragon Quest being his favorite game series.
02:07 Like a Dragon has retained action-oriented combat and spin-offs, but the main games kept
02:11 the RPG style with 2024's Infinite Wealth.
02:18 Kid Icarus series
02:20 Like many games on the NES, Kid Icarus was a platformer.
02:31 Though it gained a cult following, it didn't stand out much from the many others, but still
02:35 got a Game Boy sequel in 1991.
02:38 And then, nothing.
02:39 Not until Pit was redesigned for Super Smash Bros. Brawl in 2008 and fans started clamoring
02:45 for a return.
02:46 Smash director Masahiro Sakurai was given the reins, taking what was a simple platformer
02:51 and turning it into a third-person action/on-rails shooter hybrid.
02:55 Uprising was a quick-paced shot of adrenaline through the world of Greek mythology, and
03:00 it was awesome.
03:02 Pit was given a precocious personality and every level was more frenetic than the last.
03:06 It was far and away better than if Nintendo had stuck to the franchise's roots.
03:17 Dynasty Warriors series
03:25 Dynasty Warriors may not be for everyone.
03:27 Its focus on hacking and slashing your god-like warrior through hordes of cannon fodder enemies
03:31 doesn't leave much room for nuance.
03:34 But it can be quite appealing to switch your brain off and mow down foes with little to
03:39 no resistance.
03:40 And it's been a huge success, even getting crossovers with Zelda and Persona.
03:45 While this is what Dynasty Warriors is known for, the first game wasn't like this at
03:49 all.
03:50 No, the 1997 PlayStation original was merely a 1v1 fighting game.
03:56 It was completely fine, but we doubt its possible longevity had the series not chosen to change.
04:02 With this switch, Dynasty Warriors was able to carve out its own place in the industry
04:06 with its own subgenre, Musou.
04:14 Castlevania series
04:24 While it may not seem like that big of a divide, the differences between platformers and metroidvanias
04:29 can be monumental.
04:31 Castlevania began as a platformer series like many others, albeit with an enticing gothic
04:36 focus and a cool signature weapon.
04:38 Though challenging, most games in the series had players still go from point A to point
04:43 B in every level.
04:44 That is, until Symphony of the Night took some Metroid inspiration and reinvented Dracula's
04:50 Castle, along with the whole series.
04:52 With branching paths and some light customization in weapons and power-ups, the series opened
04:57 up in the most beautiful ways possible.
04:59 Konami has tried other angles, like with the 3D action-adventure outings, but Castlevania
05:04 is always at its best in the subgenre it helped perfect.
05:12 Duke Nukem series
05:19 Although the franchise has been dead for quite a while now, there was a time where Duke Nukem
05:24 was one of the biggest names on the planet.
05:26 But he didn't start out that way.
05:28 The first two games are platformers, following Duke as he stops a mad scientist and an alien
05:33 invasion respectively.
05:35 1996's Duke Nukem 3D, on the other hand, turned the series into an FPS giant and received
05:41 more than a dozen expansions.
05:43 It was more than just a shift in perspective, focusing much more on action, violence, and
05:48 90's attitude.
05:50 Not many talk about Duke's platforming days, however this shift in genre is still heralded
05:55 for being highly influential.
06:02 Red Dead series
06:09 With the way Red Dead Redemption and its prequel revolutionized open worlds and video game
06:14 narratives, you'd think the first game belonged to a different series.
06:18 While 2004's Red Dead Revolver is still a third-person western, it is much more linear
06:23 and much more focused on shooter gameplay.
06:25 It almost feels like an arcade release, moving from level to level, boss to boss, with not
06:31 nearly as much care given to the characters or story.
06:33 It was actually meant to be published by Capcom, with Rockstar coming to the game's rescue
06:37 after it was cancelled in 2003.
06:40 The game is fun enough, though the move to open-ended gameplay and a more realistic depiction
06:44 of the old west was clearly the best move.
06:55 Fallout series
06:56 There's no denying that Bethesda has made some mistakes with the Fallout series, but
07:04 initially it made all the right calls bringing it to a larger audience.
07:08 The first two games, under the care of Black Isle Studios, were isometric RPGs, and they
07:14 deserve as much respect as they always get.
07:16 Unfortunately though, when parent company Interplay was experiencing financial troubles,
07:21 it chose to close the studio in 2003 and cancel its planned Fallout 3.
07:26 Bethesda not only saved the series, but retooled it.
07:29 It blended the series' roots with FPS action, creating a combo that pleased legions of players.
07:35 Of course, those players' positivity has waned, particularly with the release of Fallout
07:39 76, but it was still the best call for the franchise's evolution.
07:46 Warcraft series
07:47 Blizzard's first entry in the Warcraft series gave players an engaging fantasy world with
07:56 tense RTS mechanics.
07:58 It and its sequels helped make the genre extremely popular, and profitable, on PC in the 1990s.
08:05 However, even its success cannot be compared to the juggernaut that is World of Warcraft.
08:11 The franchise's pivot to MMORPG resulted in one of the biggest games to ever exist,
08:17 a fact that still holds true 20 years after release.
08:21 With numerous expansions, plenty of loot, and the camaraderie built between players
08:25 due to its design, no game's staying power can touch what's on display here.
08:30 Blizzard deserves a lot of the criticism it gets, but we can't deny how good of a decision
08:34 this was.
08:40 Wolfenstein series
08:48 Wolfenstein 3D is often called the grandfather of first-person shooters, and for good reason.
08:54 In 1992, there weren't many other options, and its tight gameplay and violent focus made
08:59 it a huge hit.
09:00 But it's a little funny to refer to a game as the grandfather of something it didn't
09:04 start out as.
09:06 1981's Castle Wolfenstein and its 1984 sequel were top-down adventure games, focusing much
09:12 more heavily on stealth as players sneaked around Hitler's various minions.
09:16 However, the third game is one of the most important ever released, not only because
09:21 of the genre it helped establish, but also because it was fun as hell.
09:25 These days, Wolfenstein is celebrated for being an over-the-top, alternate history bloodbath.
09:30 And it's all thanks to a change in genre.
09:37 Which series do you think had the most successful genre change?
09:45 Share your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to subscribe for more great gaming videos
09:49 every day.
09:49 Thanks for watching.
09:50 [music]