• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Developers that went downhill and later 'returned to greatness'?

Garden Warfare says your comment is hyperbolic and bad

Seems like an overreaction. And that's one game among many they put out every year.

Jade Empire seems to be loved on gaf and it came after Baldur's gate and then came KOTOR and ME and DAO. Bioware didn't really go "downhill" until the release of DA2 and the ending of ME3 but seemed to redeem themselves with DAI.

I wouldn't agree with your last statement but enough people seemed to like DAI that it could be seen as a redemption to them. Let's see how the next ME does before we talk about a full redemption though haha.
 
I had thought Sonic Team had returned to greatness (or at least competency) with Colors and Generations but Lost World has me thinking that may have been a fluke.

SNK had a pretty rough stint with Metal Slug 6 and KoF XII but Metal Slug 7 and KoF XIII were incredible improvements.
 
Monolith, maybe? They went into a bit of a slump after Condemned and FEAR, but came back in a big way with Shadow of Mordor.

Shadows of Mordor was fun for one play thorough but other than the nemesis system it was a checklist of AAA checkboxes.

AAA: The Game
 
KOTOR actually came first than Jade Empire
Whoops, you're right.
I wouldn't agree with your last statement but enough people seemed to like DAI that it could be seen as a redemption to them. Let's see how the next ME does before we talk about a full redemption though haha.

Well, in my opinion Bioware hasn't made a terrible game. I think they set the bar high from what they did from 1996-2010 that DA2 was a letdown that seemed rushed (hence the reused dungeons). But one mediocre game, and one great game with a terrible ending (that was about 15 minutes of a 90 hour trilogy) doesn't make them go downhill.

Going downhill is what happened with Square Enix from 2006-2014 with FFXIII saga being terrible, KH3 and FF Versus III being no shows, and FFXIV having to be shutdown for a year and remade into ARR.

And to say they've returned to greatness is premature. FFXV could be awful, same with KH3, and don't forget how bad Star Ocean 4 was, who's to say 5 won't suck as well?
 
Do we mean "bad games", or "games we hate"? Because if it's the latter, definitely Epic Games. Hated Gears Of War (and cover based shooters in general), but the new UT looks pretty promising so far.
 
Since when did ea return to greatness? Last i checked, their games are still shallow and stale.

Oh I don't personally think they've returned to greatness or anything, that's just how the story goes. Prior to Battlefield 3, EA was the most hated company in gaming on a year to year basis. Then they did BF3, then announced ME2, then BF4 and Star Wars Battlefront, etc. etc., and now people like them again, until they fuck up again, then we can restart the lovely cycle.
 
Since when did Rare return to greatness? They aren't even close.


To be honest the only company who fits this for me is Nintendo. Their Yamauchi era games were amazing, on both consoles and handhelds. Personally though I never liked much they did on Wii or DS. I found their sequels disappointing, and too many times games felt like they were ruined by trying too hard to incorporate whatever gimmick Nintendo was pushing at the time. Their Wii U games have been great though.
 
Since when did Rare return to greatness? They aren't even close.


To be honest the only company who fits this for me is Nintendo. Their Yamauchi era games were amazing, on both consoles and handhelds. Personally though I never liked much they did on Wii or DS. I found their sequels disappointing, and too many times games felt like they were ruined by trying too hard to incorporate whatever gimmick Nintendo was pushing at the time. Their Wii U games have been great though.

Well, as I've said, Rare isn't necessarily a good example of this, but they've definitely gotten better since the Kinect years.
 
Is this a Capcom thread?

Edit: Could be argued that they aren't completely there yet. Dragon's Dogma Online still has issues, their amount of projects in the pipeline are fewer than before, and even SB4:S could have had more content. But they are on an upswing compared to last gen.

I totally agree with this. I really felt like they were in a solid place during last gen for a while too though, they just had a rough few years. They seem go in swings like this.

Squere enix thread?

Yeah I'm not seeing this one. I don't like Kingdom Hearts and I am definitely not a fan of Final Fantasy XV so far so no thanks. I've got hope for that new Final Fantasy Pokemon game for PS4/Vita though.
 
Square as a whole drop the ball last gen. Like what the FUDGE happened? Why did FF13-2 and 3 happen? Who thought that was a good idea? Not to mention the lack of pretty much anything substantial from their Japanese studios. Glad to see so many RPGs from them coming these next 2 years. Didn't they get a new leader?
 
I would say Acclaim from the LJN era to the Acclaim-Iguana era. Sadly it wasn't enough to keep them around.
 
Sure, their fighting game divison went downhill around the time of the PS2 era but a lot of their other IPs preformed incredibly well during that time, and into the 360/PS3 era they didn't really put out any 'bad' games outside of MKvDC.

gee I dunno. I remember Blacksite Area 51, NBA Ballers Chosen One, TNA Impact, and some of their late 6th-gen stuff (NARC, LA Rush) weren't exactly well-received.

(i like blacksite though)
 
Sonic Team? Their games took a major nose dive with everything between Shadow and Unleashed (and debatably the 3D games before them depending on who you ask), then they made Colours and Generations, and people thought they were on the right track again. But then, they made Lost World and allowed Rise of Lyric to happen so...
 
Sonic Team? Their games took a major nose dive with everything between Shadow and Unleashed (and debatably the 3D games before them depending on who you ask), then they made Colours and Generations, and people thought they were on the right track again. But then, they made Lost World and allowed Rise of Lyric to happen so...

you do know that most of those bad sonic games weren't made by Sonic Team, but Sonic Team USA, which was a separate group.
 
Can't think of any.

If XV turns out good then we can say SE, but they're still ass right now and have been ever since last gen started.
 
Oh I don't personally think they've returned to greatness or anything, that's just how the story goes. Prior to Battlefield 3, EA was the most hated company in gaming on a year to year basis. Then they did BF3, then announced ME2, then BF4 and Star Wars Battlefront, etc. etc., and now people like them again, until they fuck up again, then we can restart the lovely cycle.
ME2 isn't out yet, battlefront looks to be shallow and boring and bf4 is not that great.
 
Square Enix.
If Square lives up to the promises of FFXV, KH3, and FF7 remake.

Their low points are obvious. The Spirits Within, FFXIV 1.0, and 3 FFXIII titles.
 
^ And Nier 2, and Star Ocean 5, and Project Setsuna ect ect

The midway/Mortal Kombat guys, and Square Enix. There was a 3 or 4 year lull where nothign was going SE's way in regards to output, but they've seem to have righted themselves if they can deliver on even half of the announcements they have lined up.
 
I want to say from software...but I might get a stone thrown at me.
But come one, seriously did you ever played any game before that demon souls other than the armor core demo?

They were never considered great by the masses before Demon's Souls. Having said that King's Field games are some of my favorite from old school From. Then they made garbage for 10 years or so then BAM Glory!!!


P.S. Make a new King's Field...please.
 
They were never considered great by the masses before Demon's Souls. Having said that King's Field games are some of my favorite from old school From. Then they made garbage for 10 years or so then BAM Glory!!!


P.S. Make a new King's Field...please.

Pretty sure Metal Wolf Chaos, and the Otogi games are some of the best on the Xbox. Chek yo self
 
I'm actually optimistic that RARE might be on its way to being on this list. They certainly had a downfall during the 360 era, but after MS's new focus/restructuring, i'm hopeful that Sea of Thieves will be the beginning of RARE making real games again.
 
ND for me
Crash was a Big High for me, then it all downhill when Jak came, I did not enjoy none of the titles, I preferred playing Sly and Ratchet. But then came Uncharted and TLOU and they are pretty much on the highest pedestal I can think off.
 
Capcom does not qualify as having returned to greatness unless SF5, DMC5, REmake 2 and RE7 release and are all good. They are trying, but they have yet to truly deliver.

Same with Square Enix. Until FF15, KH3, Setsuna, etc. releases and are good, their "return to greatness" is still tentative.
 
Well, the name "Rare" doesn't immediately evoke feelings of rage and disappointment in all who hear it anymore, so that's definitely an improvement.

Giving up hope and moving on is not an improvement. It's actually worse.

And lol at a Naughty Dog mention....when being at the top of the food chain = downhill.

I agree with other folks: NetherRealm.... but then again that core group carrying the MK franchise has gone through a lot of changes.
 
Square hasn't done anything yet, unless I'm forgetting a big release.


It'll be like 3-4 years into the generation before their stuff starts coming out so it's not really amazing. It's actually bad. Hopefully the games will be good though.
 
I think Bioware redeemed themselves after Mass Effect 3 and Dragon Age 2 with Inquisition and their updates to The Old Republic.
 
Hopefully Game Freak when they come to do gen 7.

Sonic Team? Colors and Generations were a pretty solid return to form.

But now they're back to making garbage again.

I wouldn't count Sonic Team, since they co-developed Advance and Rush trilogy on Nintendo handheld and they weren't bad.
 
I'd say Square is doing a big turnaround ever since the merger because this is their 2016 lineup:

Project Setsuna
Dragon Quest Heroes II
Dragon Quest Builders
Star Ocean 5: Integrity and Faithlessness
SaGa Scarlet Grace (Vita only)
Dissidia Final Fantasy (Console)
World of Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy XV
Seiken Densetsu Remake (Vita/iOS/Android)
Kingdom Hearts 2.8 HD
Dragon Quest XI (I doubt it but who knows)

And we're getting this in the future:
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Nier New Project
Kingdom Hearts III
Dragon Quest X (PS4)
 
I wouldn't count Sonic Team, since they co-developed Advance and Rush trilogy on Nintendo handheld and they weren't bad.

Oh yea?... Then how about....

Phantasy Star Online -> Phantasy Star Universe -> Phantasy Star Online 2.

I'd say they qualify.
 
Giving up hope and moving on is not an improvement. It's actually worse.

And lol at a Naughty Dog mention....when being at the top of the food chain = downhill.

I agree with other folks: NetherRealm.... but then again that core group carrying the MK franchise has gone through a lot of changes.

Says someone by the name of GnawtyDog with a Crash avatar.

:p
 
Is this a Capcom thread?

Edit: Could be argued that they aren't completely there yet. Dragon's Dogma Online still has issues, their amount of projects in the pipeline are fewer than before, and even SB4:S could have had more content. But they are on an upswing compared to last gen.

Capcom is a publisher not a developer. If you are referencing particular studios , then many of them have never really gone "downhill" . Phoenix Wright,SF4,RE5,DMC4,Dragons Dogma,Lost Planet,TvC,MvC3 are all great titles. RE6,SFxT ( debatable ) are exceptions not the norm.
 
I want to say Capcom because of remasters. Hopefully, SFV turns out great. Then I'd definitely say Capcom. I'd also like Sea of Thieves to be great.
 
you do know that most of those bad sonic games weren't made by Sonic Team, but Sonic Team USA, which was a separate group.

In a thread where people are putting forward suggestions like EA I figured casting all the branches of Sonic Team under the same umbrella wouldn't be too bad. You're right, but Sonic Team hardly have a perfect track record either.

Do you want to imply that there were actually good Sonic games?

Yes, there are actually good Sonic games.
 
Top Bottom