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

did any series ever had a comeback after a really disappointing game?

Super Mario Sunshine (certainly not a total bomb, just a great game that didn't live up to incredibly high expectations) --> Galaxy/NSMB series/3D Land.
 
Even on the first page we are seeing some highly opinionated examples. MGS2 had its fans for instance. There are probably only a few that can be truly generally agreed upon.
 
Mario Sunshine was not a bad game, but it was the definition of disappointing after Mario 64. It was a system un-seller for me and many of my friends. It was one the first instances of a crushing disappointment in my very young life.


Didn't Doki Doki Panic start out as a Mario game, became Doki Doki because of a TV show tie-in, and then become a Mario game once again for the West once they realized Lost Levels wasn't fun?
 
I swear I'll never understand the Mario Sunshine hate. So much more fun than the Galaxies, in my opinion.

Also, from KOF XII to KOF XIII.
 
RedSwirl said:
Even on the first page we are seeing some highly opinionated examples. MGS2 had its fans for instance. There are probably only a few that can be truly generally agreed upon.
Click to expand...

My first post in this thread would probably have the largest percentage of people agreeing*



*If anyone besides me actually played both Wai Wai World and Wai Wai World II
 
Rm88~ said:
I swear I'll never understand the Mario Sunshine hate. So much more fun than the Galaxies, in my opinion.
Click to expand...

That is a vast minority opinion on the internet, and in real life its reputation is 100x worse. People hated this game for a reason: Disappointment.
 
I know I'm going to get a lot of slack for this but I thought VF3 was a disappointment. Sure on a graphic level was best in class...but from a gameplay level I hated it. A lot of gamers did, sales suffered as a result.

VF4 went back to what worked in VF2 and pretended VF3 never happened and I love VF to this day!
 
linkratos said:
That is a vast minority opinion on the internet, and in real life its reputation is 100x worse. People hated this game for a reason: Disappointment.
Click to expand...
It's safe to say "in real life" way more people prefer one single NSMB games over both Galaxies combined, so yeah.
 
Despera said:
How is it humanly possible for someone to prefer Sunshine over Galaxy?
Click to expand...
I liked the levels, gameplay and music much more, personally. Not that the Galaxies weren't great, but Sunshine is still probably my favorite 3D Mario game.
 
I can't believe people are mentioning sonic. It went from AAA In the 16 bit era, to shit in the mid 2000s, to ok now.
It hasn't made a great return. You need to set your standards higher.

I would suggest uncharted 2
 
DMC2 is the first one that comes to mind.

I played it recently. and yes, the internet wasn't lying It's actually a terrible game. It's shocking how much better DMC1 and DMC3 are compared to it.
 
Rm88~ said:
I liked the levels, gameplay and music much more, personally. Not that the Galaxies weren't great, but Sunshine is still probably my favorite 3D Mario game.
Click to expand...

Sunshine is definitely under appreciated. I think it was doomed from the start being the follow up to Mario 64, but looking back I think it was very enjoyable and the tropical them was a nice escape.
 
Throw me in with the tekken 4-5 camp. Tekken 4 felt like an experiment with new ideas, that never should have left the testing phase. Tekken 5 was the perfection of that idea. The trend has just continued from their. And while deus ex 2 gets an undeservably bad rap, 1 and 3 are light years ahead of it.
 
Donkey Kong Country really brought the series back after the misguided Donkey Kong 3. Stanley the Bugman? Fuck off.
 
The Crusty Juggler said:
Ratchet and Clank. Gladiator was terrible yet A Crack in time was brilliant.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about Tools of Destruction (which I loved), or is that what they call in other regions?

I enjoyed Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time very much. Maybe ACIT a little bit more than TOD.

Even Deadlock was hella fun for me playing co-op. But none can top the almighty Up Your Arsenal. :)
 
Blades64 said:
Are you talking about Tools of Destruction (which I loved), or is that what they call in other regions?

I enjoyed Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time very much. Maybe ACIT a little bit more than TOD.

Even Deadlock was hella fun for me playing co-op. But none can top the almighty Up Your Arsenal. :)
Click to expand...

I dont get the love for any of the ratchet games. They all seem like badly dated holdovers from the laziest of the n64 plarformers. But with less platforming and more repitive, kinda dull beat'em'up weapn stuff. Crack in time is ok, but mainly just for the cutscenes and clank sections
 
Sonic Colors

RZSrb.png
 
The disappointing FF12 to the great FF13. I still do not see how people hate FF13 so much. Quite a few side quests, great story, awesome soundtrack, some good characters, and IMO fun gameplay. The game is linear through 90% of the game but that did not bother me so much as many games now are linear and open world games like Skyrim can get quite boring.

Maybe I just was not as hyped for FF13 as some people.
 
Donkey Kong Country Returns after the bad DKC3 and horrendous DK64.

Though you could argue JB being in the series, I don't think it's part of the Country series.
 
Well, the new XCom game seems like a great revival for a series that was basically dead and buried. Terror from the Deep was basically a remake of the first game (but underwater); Xcom Apocalypse had interesting elements, but it was never as popular and the hybrid real-time / turn based structure put off a lot of fans. And then we got X-Com: Interceptor, a space sim / strategy game hybrid. Not crap, but not great either.

FFIX after FFVII and VIII.
 
As mentioned numerous times already, Devil May Cry 3.

You go from DMC2, which was a terrible DMC game and an average at best action game, to DMC3/SE which is still considered by many to be the best action game ever made.

DMC3's box-art should be a meme about 'developer redemption'
 
Blades64 said:
Are you talking about Tools of Destruction (which I loved), or is that what they call in other regions?

I enjoyed Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time very much. Maybe ACIT a little bit more than TOD.

Even Deadlock was hella fun for me playing co-op. But none can top the almighty Up Your Arsenal. :)
Click to expand...

Gladiator is the PAL name for Deadlocked.
 
i think F-Zero MV to F-Zero GX counts.

everyone outside the time attack circle seems to hate MV for various reasons while GX seems to be loved by everyone despite being just an FZX ripoff with prettier graphics. other games that do this get ripped to shreds but can't complain much because ripping off one of the best games in the series is actually good instead of borrowing from the bad ones.
 
Bubsy_(_3d_version_).jpg


Hahaha, sorry had to mess around a bit.

But I think I'd have to say Tomb Raider did ok. I mean after Angel of darkness the remake and Legends were pretty solid. By no means great, but not abominations by any means.

I guess I'd also throw in Lumines for me. Lumines 2 kinda sucked, the new vita one is pretty badass
 
Sklorenz said:
Final Fantasy series has done this more than any other series :p
Click to expand...

Once?

FF8 was garbage, and IX was good. The series still hasn't bounced back from the travesty that was X, although, XII was mediocre. That's pretty much a compliment compared to X. Still, I don't know if I would count that...
 
Most people would agree that the jump from Street Fighter to Street Fighter II is the biggest turnaround for any series. In general, fighting games are extremely hit or miss and alienating even to it's own player base.
 
The fact that people are hating on both Mario Galaxy games in this thread makes me want to go back in time and un-invent video games.

FUCK.

SupaNaab said:
Most people would agree that the jump from Street Fighter to Street Fighter II is the biggest turnaround for any series.
Click to expand...

Yeah this is always a good one.

I would like to nominate Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones and its comeback after Warrior Within.
 
the sonic colors and sonic generations two-hit combo brought console sonic back for me. i have faith in their next sonic project now.

nsmbw was the awesome game nsmb ds should have been.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Did you ever used games to learn new languages?
2
64
112
Euler007 replied
Tales of series publisher receives backlash in Japan after hyped up 30th anniversary announcement turns out to be neither a game nor an anime
27
325
YeulEmeralda replied
I think one way Microsoft can make a comeback
40
490
hououinkyouma00 replied
Marathon had a budget of >$200M
2 3 4 5 6
299
2K
yurinka replied
Best game ever
2 3 4
169
1K
DeaconOfTheDank replied
Top Bottom