Black Sheeps in game series

[Jaker]

One would have to be thosse horrible zelda games that WEREN'T on a nintendo system. What are some other black sheeps for gaming series?

[Jasoco]

Star Fox Adventures. That ain't no damn Star Fox game. :angry:

[jerkov]

Some classic ones I would include are Super Mario Bros. 2, Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest, and Zelda 2: The Adventures of Link (notice how they're all the second game in the series?). All of these were pretty radical departures from the original, and it's also interesting to note that the third game in each series was pretty much a return to the form of the original game. That being said, I think all three of these are awesome games. I even still think that Castlevania 2 paved the way for Symphony of the Night and the GBA Castlevania series. I'm sure there are tons of examples, but these are the ones right off the top of my head. Too bad that almost all sequels on current consoles are basically exactly the same as the originals nowadays........nobody likes taking chances anymore, and 95% of new games are boring to begin with.

[hezeuschrist]

Final Fantasy 8. I'm spent.

[Jasoco]

I liked Mario 2. I always liked Mario 2. But yeah, I can agree. It was too different. But now after almost 15 years, it's become part of the Mario universe. So you can't blame it any longer.

[Spoony Bard]

I vote Phantasy Star 3. I love it, but its nothing like 1,2 and 4.

[youruglyclone]

Final Fantasy 8. I'm spent.

can't say how much I hate the junctioning system...but ironically it was the last one I ever played to it's end

I'm pretty sure Tomb Raider AoD is the black sheep...I mean it was so bad that Eidos lost the next game to Crystal Dynamics, but that's beating a dead horse

[kainemaxwell]

Contra Force for the NES.

[Sotenga]

The Castlevania Adventure doesn't feel like a CV game, isn't as fun as a CV game, and is more frustrating than most CV games. Hardly my favorite in the series, though it's not horrendous compared to other games. It can only warrant a status of "mediocre."

Then there's Thunder Force II, which is an outcast in an otherwise excellent series of shmups. I think I'm turned off by the overhead "search-and-destroy" scenes, and the difficulty is insane, even more so than TF IV, IMO.

Oh, and while most Batman games rule, the Genesis version of Batman: Return (or Revenge) of the Joker SUCKED. Ironically, for a system with more power, the graphics and sound were inferior to the NES version. But the gameplay... oy. It's almost like Ocean developed that game, and not Sunsoft. BURN! LOL

[Red Warrior]

Double Dragon V is a good candidate for black sheep in a series. Why this game was ever referred to as the fifth game in the series is beyond me. And I thought the game sucked to boot.

[MarioAllStar2600]

Dragons Lair 3d. I like the game and all, but its a poor excuse for a sequel.

[zmweasel]

N/A

[mr_jiggles_13]

Sonic 3d blast was so hard for me to play on the genesis and saturn.....its like a tony hawk camera angle,on a game that is best when its 2d, but i dont hate it.......sonic adventure was much better....sonic heroes sucked.....now there is a game that was making its way back up to the top (with the GBA and DX for GC) and then the card battle one and heroes sucked(IMO). i hope they make some cooler ones, like a sonic that lets you change views from 2d to 3d to fit your style of gameplay....that would be nice

[Ed Oscuro]

I vote Phantasy Star 3. I love it, but its nothing like 1,2 and 4.

That's the one I was gonna mention. Three was apparently done by a different team than the others...the lady who was in charge of the original, two, and four (interestingly enough, just "Phantasy Star: The end of the Millennium" in Japan) wasn't a part of three.

The box art and the ingame pic for Rhys, the look of the battle system, and the character sprites...all quite a shame, since the artist has some really nice stuff (in the manual, and in other places) for the game. :(

I'm starting to see that I was wrong, wrong, WRONG about calling this game "crap," just from listening to the *.gym files. Overall, this is the weakest PS title as far as music goes, but there are some tracks in there that I like better than those from most any other PS game (though I haven't tried Card Battle, yet...)

Certainly worth a look if you're into oldschool RPGs; it's just a shame that the game is so ugly.

[Dangerboy]

1. Any PSX series that suddenly started having the numbers "989" on it (Why are they called 989? They'll never "bat a thousand!" yuk yuk yuk).

2. Street Fighter: The Movie HOME Version. They take away the most original SF arcade game in years and give me SSF2T Julia edition :angry:

3. The PSX Contras, already mentioned...

4. R: Racing Evolution. It's....it's...Nam' Turismo :(

5. N64 Castlevanias....WTF?!

6. Final Fantays 8, 10, 10-2, 11 and then 12 seeing how it's 10-3. :angry:

7. Samurai Shodown III: Blades of Blood

8. Dragon's Lair Laseractive LOL
(Sorry, it doesn't exist. It just always drove me bonkers how the very Game/series that MADE Laserdisc gaming technology never appeared on the friggin Laserdisc video game system!)

Man...there are way too many to mention...

[pango]

Nekketsu Downtown Monogatari Baseball. It didn't seem to fit at all with the previous Kunio titles. It is fun though.

[E Nice]

Oh, and while most Batman games rule, the Genesis version of Batman: Return (or Revenge) of the Joker SUCKED. Ironically, for a system with more power, the graphics and sound were inferior to the NES version. But the gameplay... oy. It's almost like Ocean developed that game, and not Sunsoft. BURN! LOL

Ever see the credits? I think there's only four people, for everything.

[jerkov]

I liked Mario 2. I always liked Mario 2. But yeah, I can agree. It was too different. But now after almost 15 years, it's become part of the Mario universe. So you can't blame it any longer.

I loved Mario 2 since the first time I played it. I remember when I was a kid, waiting for Mario 2 to come out........and I thought it was awesome right from the beginning. I totally agree with with everything you said, but I'm not blaming it for anything; I'm just saying it was a departure for the series, and that a lot of the subsequent sequels stayed truer to the original Super Mario Bros. It's unique compared to the other Marios, but it is a tremendous game and a great addition to the series. I'd even venture to say it's my second favorite Mario game (right after the original Super Mario Bros.).

I can't believe I forgot about Contra Force........that's definitely a black sheep, it's a fun game but nowhere near as good as the first two Contras.

[SoulBlazer]

Wow, there's a lot of games being mentioned I love. But just because it's a 'black sheep' means you hate it, right? :)

I'm going to go with the Mega Man GameBoy games. They always seemed like wattered down and very poor versions of the NES Mega Man games, carbon copied with all the good stuff taken out.

And what about Metal Gear Solid for the Game Boy Color? I LOVE that game, and consider it one of the best handheled games EVER made, but I've never known anyone else who has played it. :o

[hezeuschrist]

6. Final Fantays 8, 10, 10-2, 11 and then 12 seeing how it's 10-3. :angry:

That's more like writing off the whole series than having a black sheep.

[KJN]

I'm going to go with the Mega Man GameBoy games. They always seemed like wattered down and very poor versions of the NES Mega Man games, carbon copied with all the good stuff taken out.
Personally I think the last three were very good, in fact Megaman V gb is one of my all time favourite Megaman games.

I'd say the first two PC games (Megaman (http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?gameid=3099) and Megaman 3 (http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?gameid=3100)) done by Hi-Tech Expressions are more fitted as black sheeps of the series.

[Zubiac666]

15. N64 Castlevanias....WTF?!



Hey! I like them pretty much.The 2nd one was great IMO.
Yeah the graphics aren't superb but the atmosphere was great.
I prefer the N64 casties anytime over the heartless and plain "LOI"

back to topic:
The PSX contras (those deserve a big WTF?)
Contra Force (NES)
Cho Aniki (SFC; why did they made a "Beat'n-Fly'n-Up" and no shmup as the other ones? :hmm: ...but ít isn't really a black sheep cause i like it :embarrassed: )

[Dangerboy]

6. Final Fantays 8, 10, 10-2, 11 and then 12 seeing how it's 10-3. :angry:

That's more like writing off the whole series than having a black sheep.

Then I nominate Square as being a black sheep amongst the companies. Where once I treasured everything they did, since PS2 they haven't done a thing right. The closest they came to a real game was Kingdom Hearts, which was ruined by shitty camera angles and confusing level areas.
The preview pf KH2 screams "Hi, we got tired of Riku Agularea and Yuna Croft, so now we'll rip off Matrix". :hmm:

When they create a FF game that doesn't involve you running in a straight line with a giant red arrow pointing you in the direction, and stop resorting to using every possible fan boy tease (You have to give a back rub as a mission, WTF?) then maybe I'll start playing their games again.

You can toss in Mortal Kombat SPecial Forces in there...but then....anything after MKII is part of the herd....MKV not included...

[EnemyZero]

how about final fantasy adventure for gb, reminded me of a meld between zelda and lufia , it was ok but ..NOT FINAL FANTASY OK!

[Ed Oscuro]

how about final fantasy adventure for gb, reminded me of a meld between zelda and lufia , it was ok but ..NOT FINAL FANTASY OK!

Sure, it was one of the Seiken Densetsu series :)

[Flack]

Double Dragon V is a good candidate for black sheep in a series. Why this game was ever referred to as the fifth game in the series is beyond me. And I thought the game sucked to boot.

Speaking of Double Dragon, I think Double Dragon for the MVS qualifies as well. I was so excited to get my Neo Geo cabinet with Double Dragon. Little did I know it was based on the movie instead of the original series. It ended up being just another crappish fighting game for the system.

[hydr0x]

how about final fantasy adventure for gb, reminded me of a meld between zelda and lufia , it was ok but ..NOT FINAL FANTASY OK!

Sure, it was one of the Seiken Densetsu series :)

exactly, Final Fantasy Adventure is not an final fantasy game, it just used the name to sell better ;) almost like SMB2 LOL

[Dire 51]

No one's mentioned Journey From Darkness: Strider Returns (Genesis) yet, it seems. A travesty of a Strider game it was, and understandably: Capcom didn't program it, instead turning it over to Tiertex. Needless to say, Tiertex couldn't program a Strider game to save their collective lives.

[Crush Crawfish]

Let's see...

1. Pocky & Rocky with becky- lack of a 2 player mode hurt this one.
2. Mega Man Soccer- need I say more? still fun, though.
3. Breath of Fire: dragon Quarter- Another good game, but it's so radically different from the previous 4 entries that it's scary!

[jaydubnb]

Metal Gear Solid 2 - Great game, but playing thorugh 80% of the game as that whiney pretty boy was quite unsettling.

[Jasoco]

Ok. This has been bothering me forever..

1 = Sheep

2 or more = Sheep

</Grammar_Nazi> :P

[ManekiNeko]

I'd tend to think of Samurai Shodown III as the black sheep of that particular series. In fact, I'd take it one step further and say that SamSho III was the point when the series jumped the shark... none of the games released after that have captured the magic of the first two Samurai Shodown titles.

And we can't forget about that 3D Fatal Fury game. It wasn't terrible, but man was that new super meter system awkward. Those polygonal graphics weren't that hot, either.

JR

[l_lamb]

Madden 64 - muddy graphics and NO NFL LICENSE!