2D franchises ruined by 3D sequels

[parker311]

3D is not just all the rage. 3D is the foreseeable future. It almost makes sense, until you remember how pissed off you were when you read that the sequel to one of your favorite 2D games was in full 3D.

Classic franchises have been ruined by this change-over, all too common, both because the developers wanted sales and figured no one buys 2D games anymore, or because they simply wanted to "modernize" their franchise, forcing a style of game play to work in a 3D environment. Here, they are basically forcing a square peg into a round hole, or else completely changing the game play, alienating the core audience that supported their franchise in the first place.

I as many game players, remember that watershed moment of going to pick up the sequel of my favorite game and getting pissed off at realizing beautiful 2D rendered graphics had been replaced by overly used 3D polygons. Here is a partial list, and anyone who has similar memories should contribute.

Classic 2D franchises that should have stayed 2d:

Castlevania

Contra

Sonic the Hedgehog

Newer franchises that should have remained sprite-based:

Alundra -- Alundra 2 is an ugly wart on an otherwise great franchise (spiritual prequels include Dark Savior on the Saturn, Landstalker (and LadyStalker) on the Genesis, and later Dual Hearts on the PS2.

Gex -- The original was actually a fantastic platformer, although a little stale at times. Enter the Gecko and the others have aged very poorly and had a very short shelf life.

Out of This World - Fade to Black, anyone?

Rayman -- Fully took advantage of the PSX's (sorry, PS1 now) 2D capabilities to create a very successful game commercially and critically that was marketed as the zenith of 2D game creation with its fully animated, lush visuals. The subsequent Ray(men?) have exhibited none of this because they have deviated from the entire point of the character and series.

There it is, all formatted and spell-checked for the trolls and haters. Contributions (instead of spiteful remarks) welcome.

[Auto-Fox]

Don't forget Earthworm Jim, though honestly, Earthworm Jim 3D could have been worse.

Bubsy as well, though it's debatable whether the 2D entries to the franchise were that good to begin with.

[Arkhan]

3D is not just all the rage. 3D is the foreseeable
Out of This World - Fade to Black, anyone?

There it is, all formatted and spell-checked for the trolls and haters. Contributions (instead of spiteful remarks) welcome.

You mean Flashback, not Out of this World

[Smashed Brother]

I thought that Rayman 2 was actually a great game, at least on the DC

You could add TMNT to this list. The old 2D games were fantastic games that bring back great memories, but when it transitioned to 3D? Good God, man! At least the more recent GBA game was a step in the right direction.

[goatdan]

Rayman -- Fully took advantage of the PSX's (sorry, PS1 now) 2D capabilities to create a very successful game commercially and critically that was marketed as the zenith of 2D game creation with its fully animated, lush visuals. The subsequent Ray(men?) have exhibited none of this because they have deviated from the entire point of the character and series.

If you liked the 2D outing, you should check out the GBA 2D game Rayman 3. I didn't think it was quite as great as the first game was, but it is a VERY solid overall title.

[phreakindee]

Duke Nukem 3D - simultaneously saved and killed by 3D. Duke 3D brought the franchise to new heights, and its success killed the whole thing - with the never-ending development of Duke Nukem Forever. The pursuit of constantly "better" 3D graphics just got out of control. And of course, who can forget those subpar N64 and PS1 games...

Also, how about Mortal Kombat? Or Megaman? Thankfully, neither are "Dead" but WOW were there some terrible 3D titles.

[TRM]

I actually liked the 3D Castlevania games for the N64, though I felt that the first one was rushed, and due to that, was basically revamped and expanded for the second one. No need in owning both.

[Enigmus]

Pac Man- Pac Man World was fun, PMW2 was good, PMW3 was meh, and the racing game was a cheap cash-in. Honestly, it should've stayed 2D. Championship Edition was how Pac Man should have stayed- arcade gameplay with twists and challenges to make it more exciting.

[Kaboomer]

Um, pretty much all of them Except for Mario of course.

[T2KFreeker]

Rayman -- Fully took advantage of the PSX's (sorry, PS1 now) 2D capabilities to create a very successful game commercially and critically that was marketed as the zenith of 2D game creation with its fully animated, lush visuals. The subsequent Ray(men?) have exhibited none of this because they have deviated from the entire point of the character and series.

I hate to burst bubbles here, but Rayman on the Playstation was a port, as was the Saturn release which was superior even to the Playstation version. In order to play the original Rayman with all of the animation frames and all of the parallax scrolling, you need to play it on the Jaguar, the system the game was developed on originally. You all might not like that this is true, but it is. Rayman was a Jaguar game from the beginning, period.

[Ze_ro]

The important thing is to make sequels exactly like the original, because new things are scary and I don't like things that are different.

--Zero

[Oldskool]

Super Mario Bros
Zelda
Metroid
Castlevania
Metal Gear
Contra
Rygar
Blaster Master
Rocket Knight Adventures
Punch Out
Alien Crush
R-Type
Thunder Force
Sonic
Ninja Gaiden
Splatterhouse, if it ever comes out
Kid Icarus
Bomberman
Final Fantasy
Dragon Warrior
Phantasy Star
Warcraft
Command & Conquer
Prince of Persia

Basically if it existed then, and does now or has turned 3D - then it's been ruined.

[gamedude45]

wow, no one's mentioned bubsy 3d yet.

[todesengel]

I actually liked the 3D Castlevania games for the N64, though I felt that the first one was rushed, and due to that, was basically revamped and expanded for the second one. No need in owning both.

Same here, I thought the 3D Castlevania's were ok and not as terrible as everybody makes them out to be. Curse of Darkness got really boring fast though with how the level layout was.

wow, no one's mentioned bubsy 3d yet.

I think it wasn't mentioned because nobody wants to be reminded of that game.

[Oldskool]

You just did.

[dgdgagdae]

The Monkey Island series.

[Sniderman]

wow, no one's mentioned bubsy 3d yet.

Psst. Read the second post.

I think it wasn't mentioned because nobody wants to be reminded of that game.

You too.

[Pk116]

I am not crazy about 3-D action, action/adventure, or platforming games.

[buzz_n64]

Blaster Master: Blasting Again was horrible!!! I have all the games in the series (except for the Wii Ware title) and that Playstation game is the worst.

Rocket Knight is more like 2.5D, which I really like, I think that's the way all retro revamps are going nowadays.

I don't think games series going from 2d to 3d in itself is the reason why the 3d game may suck. In most cases, in the mid and late 90's 3D models and gameplay were sub-par, especially on the Playstation, regardless if it was an original game, or sequel.

[gamedude45]

Psst. Read the second post.

ahh, thanks. I don't know how I missed that.