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[Elysion]

I‘ve been thinking about MGS4 recently, and how it is to my knowledge the biggest game still stuck on the hardware it originally released on, since it never got a rerelease or remaster of any kind (unless there‘s another, more successful title I‘m overlooking that‘s also stuck on old hardware?)

But thinking about MGS4 made me wonder about other games in a similar situation – in particular standalone games that sold well, but which never got any kind of follow-up: no sequels, no prequels, no remasters, no remakes, no reboots. Throughout the decades there have been tons of games without sequels of course, but the reason is usually because they just weren’t good and/or commercially successful. However, I want to know about games that actually were successful, but which nonetheless didn’t get any follow-up for whatever reason.

The first thing that came to my mind was World of Warcraft, though it‘s technically part of the Warcraft series. And since it‘s an mmo that still gets updated continuously, the lack of a sequel doesn’t really matter that much (though I do wonder if we‘ll eventually get to see one, or if they‘ll just do expansions forever). So I don’t think WoW counts.

What is the biggest example you can think of? (emulators and games released within the last 5 years or so don’t count obviously)

 

[bitbydeath]

Still waiting on that Days Gone 2, Warhawk 2 as well.

 

[Punished Miku]

Most handheld come to mind. DS, 3DS, GBA. Entire libraries. Many Wii and Wii U games also will never survive porting.

Steel Battalion on Xbox is up there for me also. That shit was crazy.

Mario Galaxy 2. Wii Sports Resort.

Mr. Mosquito on PS2.

Panzer Dragoon Saga. Shining Force 3.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Super Mario RPG

 

[SlicedBread3]

Bloodborne possibly?

Edit: Yes I'm aware it didn't sell particularly well, but there's not a lot of other options given OP's criteria.

 

[Halo is Back]

I don't know if this was successful financially, but it was well-received by critics and loved by fans. This game was fucking fire back in the day.

 

[Gaiff]

Bloodborne?

 

[NeverYouMind]

Rockstar's Bully comes to mind.

Also, Activision's Gun.

 

[Gaiff]

I don't know if this was successful financially, but it was well-received by critics and loved by fans. This game was fucking fire back in the day.

Don't think that's what OP is really looking for. I wouldn't call this a standalone game since it's part of the Star Wars franchise overall.

 

[Gaiff]

Rockstar's Bully comes to mind.

Bully did get the Scholarship Edition which is a next-gen remaster of the PS2/Xbox game.

 

[Innoculis]

Super Mario RPG

This. I was literally thinking about this earlier today and how great it would be.

 

[Maine84]

GTA 5

 

[TintoConCasera]

I don't know if it sold a lot of units, but having another Vagrant Story could have been cool. The game is quite unique with how it's played and it's mechanics, while also looking really great on the PSX.

 

[Elysion]

Most handheld come to mind. DS, 3DS, GBA. Entire libraries. Many Wii and Wii U games also will never survive porting.

Steel Battalion on Xbox is up there for me also. That shit was crazy.

Mario Galaxy 2. Wii Sports Resort.

Mr. Mosquito on PS2.

Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if DS and Wii in particular have a bunch of million sellers that were unique one-offs, and which have become more or less forgotten by now.

 

[angrod14]

Gears of War 2 and 3.

Also, need a PS5 version of Part II for like YESTERDAY.

 

[NeverYouMind]

Bully did get the Scholarship Edition which is a next-gen remaster of the PS2/Xbox game.

It is actually in the picture. The PS2 version was like a beta test and no Xbox version materialized. It was slightly retextured for Xbox 360 and PC release unlike the Wii release, but otherwise kept mostly unchanged outside of some seasonal shenanigans and a few extra class mini-games.

I don't consider that a remaster/remake, the same way I do not consider Persona 3 Portable one. It was just a port.

 

[The Alien]

Rockstar's Bully comes to mind.

Also, Activision's Gun.

Gun....a hidden gem.
(Tho not sure how successful it was)

 

[Elysion]

Bloodborne?

That‘s actually a good choice, though it‘s still relatively recent. Do we know how much it sold?

Gears of War 2 and 3.

Also, need a PS5 version of Part II for like YESTERDAY.

Those are sequels. I‘m talking about standalone games.

 

[01011001]

It is actually in the picture. The PS2 version was like a beta test and no Xbox version materialized. It was slightly retextured for Xbox 360 and PC release unlike the Wii release, but otherwise kept mostly unchanged outside of some seasonal shenanigans and a few extra class mini-games.

I don't consider that a remaster/remake, the same way I do not consider Persona 3 Portable one. It was just a port.

well yeahy it's clearly just a port.

most "HD" ports were simply ports even tho some call them remasters.
like RE4, or Beyond Good & Evil HD.

the worst example of a game people actually usually call a remaster is Far Cry 3 Classic Edition, which literally runs lower settings than the original PC version

 

[Shakka43]

That‘s actually a good choice, though it‘s still relatively recent. Do we know how much it sold?



Those are sequels. I‘m talking about standalone games.

And MGS4 isn't?

 

[TexMex]

Bloodborne easily.

I want to also say Thousand Year Door since everything that came after is just inexplicable

 

[Airbus Jr]

Order 1886

 

[KàIRóS]

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Fortnite.

End thread.

 

[Elysion]

And MGS4 isn't?

It is, but I explicitly said in the OP that I‘m interested in standalone games that are in a similar situation to MGS4, meaning games that are not sequels.

 

[SlicedBread3]

Just realised you didn't say anything about spin offs.

So would Minecraft count?

Edit: I guess not if we're including ports to newer consoles as remasters?

 

[ByWatterson]

Jet Force Gemini

 

[jigglet]

To me it's Mario 64. It always bewildered me a straight up sequel never came out.

 

[jigglet]

Fortnite.

End thread.

lmfao i love that piece, not sure where i'd put it though.

 

[RafterXL]

People saying Bloodborne are confusing internet discussion with success. Bloodborne is no where the most successful one off game. Bloodborne sold relatively poorly compared to the other games.

 

[SlicedBread3]

People saying Bloodborne are confusing internet discussion with success. Bloodborne is no where the most successful one off game. Bloodborne sold relatively poorly compared to the other games.

Not confusing anything, it's just hard to think of other games that meet OPs criteria.

 

[Three]

If success is defined as units then
Duck Hunt or Terraria

 

[Dynasty8]

Chrono Trigger. Cross is more of a spiritual successor". A CT Remake would make Square loads of money.

 

[thatsafakewebsitebro]

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

 

[aries_71]

Beyond good and evil.

 

[01011001]

Order 1886

not only was that piece of shit game a critical flop, it also didn't sell that well, which of course it didn't, that shit was rancid

 

[Three]

Still waiting on that Days Gone 2, Warhawk 2 as well.

We kind of did get a warhawk 2 in 2012 but whether that's considered a sequel depends if you're a purist.

 

[CamHostage]

I was thinking that the PS1 library would be full of these since it was a boomtown of publishers trying anything and having unexpected hits and then sometimes something happened (studio closure, delayed greenlight, a rush to next-gen, stuff like that,) but in this Top 100 PS1 Sellers list, I'm not seeing as many as expected...

But one stood out that I thing fits this thread exactly: Legend of Dragoon. This was one of the best-selling PS1 games of all time (77 on that list,) and yet not only was there never a sequel (despite fervent fan requests) and never a remaster, there also was not really an expansion or recognition of the team who made it. You'd think, if not Dragoon 2, there would at least have been a spiritual successor on PS2, or a blank check for the creator's dream project... Nope. This was just some group in SCEJ's office assembled to rip off Final Fantasy VII as well as possible, it worked better than expected, it sold a ton, and then it's like the company forgot it existed. The game's director, Yasuyuki Hasebe*, left Sony after this project along with some other key staff. So, that may be one reason why it was left behind. However, with or without these heads, there are no reports that Sony acted appropriately to bottle this team's magic for any other game before the crew flew off in different directions as everybody went off in different directions. (A planned sequel isn't known to have even got out of the pre-production stage.) Shuhei Yoshida's rise much later in his career (long before becoming SCE WWS President, Shu was the Producer who shepherded Dragoon into existence,) gave some hope that Dragoon might get some kind of love from Sony, (even a PSP or Vita remaster would have been a significant title,) but the best it ever enjoyed was PS Classic digital releases.

(*Fun fact: LoD Director Hasebe also had a hand in this thread's previously-mentioned Super Mario RPG as Battle Designer. After working for Square and Sony, Hasebe apparently left the gaming industry and went into heading IT service companies.)

I never actually played this game (I didn't like RPGs at the time,) and the reviews or general opinion on how good of a game Dragoon actually was is mixed, but success is success. This game was a success, and has had fans for decades begging for it to succeed again. I do feel the pain of the fans who have clung to this as a "franchise" for 20 years and never got a second serving.

 

[Laieon]

Financial success be damned, I'm waiting for a spiritual successor to this beauty:

I was thinking that the PS1 library would be full of these since it was a boomtown of publishers trying anything and having unexpected hits and then sometimes something happened (studio closure, delayed greenlight, a rush to next-gen, stuff like that,) but in this Top 100 PS1 Sellers list, I'm not seeing as many as expected...

But one stood out that I thing fits this thread exactly: Legend of Dragoon. This was one of the best-selling PS1 games of all time (77 on this list,) and yet not only was there never a sequel (despite fervent fan requests) and never a remaster, there also was not really an expansion or recognition of the team who made it in contracting another game from them, be it spiritual successor on PS2 or a blank check for the creator's dream project... Nope. This was just some group in SCEJ's office assembled to rip off Final Fantasy VII as fast as possible, it worked, it sold a ton, and then it's like the company forgot it existed. Shuhei's rise gave some hope that Dragoon might get some kind of love from Sony (even a PSP remaster,) but the best it ever enjoyed was PS Classic releases.

I never actually played this game (I didn't like RPGs at the time,) and the reviews or general opinion on how good of a game Dragoon actually was is mixed, but I do feel the pain of the fans who have clung to this as a "franchise" for 20 years and never got a second serving.

Legend of Dragoon is my Final Fantasy 7. I don't know why, but it grabbed me in a way Final Fantasy never did. Lavitz is the bro-est of bros.

 

[Elysion]

Just realised you didn't say anything about spin offs.

So would Minecraft count?

Edit: I guess not if we're including ports to newer consoles as remasters?

Well, Minecraft is basically a life service game that keeps getting updates, so I don’t think that counts (same reason why World of Warcraft doesn’t count imo).

 

[Amiga]

Chrono Trigger (Chrono Cross isn't a sequel)
Jade Empire
Xenogears (Xenosaga/Xenoblade are not sequels)
Eternal Darkness
Titanfall 2 (dose it count if it is a sequel itself?)

 

[Frayed Ends of Sanity]

This might not count but I'm still surprised we haven't gotten a sequel or any talks about a Sonic Mania 2

 

[cash_longfellow]

I’m gonna say Chrono Trigger, because screw Chrono Cross. It doesn’t deserve any of those titles. Give me an actual sequel, remaster, or remake Sqeenix, you cowards lol.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

I’m gonna say Chrono Trigger, because screw Chrono Cross

Chrono Cross is a magical and spiritual experience

 

[Pasta la Vista]

Rockstar's Bully comes to mind.

Also, Activision's Gun.

Never thought I'd hear someone mention Gun, lol. Glad to see some people liked it.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

This gem by Capcom

 

[Pasta la Vista]

This gem by Capcom

Probably not successful but a very good game.

 

[kyliethicc]

knack 2

 

[CamHostage]

Would have been nice if Kinetica or Primal or 3D Dot Heroes had been hits so they could have made this list, but...

 

[BennyBlanco]