10 Games That Revitalized a Franchise
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00:00 Welcome to Mojo Plays, and today we're looking at games that breathed new life into dormant
00:14 or dying franchises.
00:23 Before we begin, we publish new content all week long, so be sure to subscribe and ring
00:28 the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
00:31 Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
00:34 Sometimes, the best way to plan for the future is to look towards the past.
00:42 Crash had been in a slump for quite a while in the 2000s, leading to a prolonged absence
00:47 the following decade.
00:48 However, with a remastered bundle of his first three adventures, the platforming star was
00:53 thrust back into the limelight.
01:00 Not only did it remind players how great the games were, but Vicarious Visions brought
01:05 all the necessary touch-ups to controls and graphics to make it wonderful.
01:09 Its success led to a remake of Crash Team Racing, as well as a brand new installment
01:14 in 2020's Crash Bandicoot 4, It's About Time.
01:17 No matter where he ends up next, it'll be thanks to this trilogy that he appears at
01:22 all.
01:27 Tomb Raider
01:36 While Tomb Raider was by no means dormant by the time the 2013 reboot released, it was
01:41 in desperate need of a change.
01:43 Although they reviewed well, sales numbers of previous entries were down.
01:48 2007's Anniversary remains the lowest selling game in the series.
01:52 Many players were flocking to more narrative or character-driven games, and so this entry
01:58 gave them what they wanted.
02:06 The game follows a pre-fame Lara on her earliest expedition, which goes about as far south
02:11 as it possibly can.
02:12 A harsh island environment populated by a deadly cult forced Lara to fight for her survival,
02:18 focusing more on her characterization than ever before.
02:21 It earned rave reviews and sequels, and is the highest selling Tomb Raider to this day.
02:37 Prince of Persia The Lost Crown
02:47 Ubisoft's Prince of Persia series led the charge of action-adventure games taking over
02:51 the AAA space in the early 2000s.
02:54 But after it got outshone by other similar franchises, including Ubisoft's Assassin's
02:58 Creed, it disappeared following a lackluster entry in 2010.
03:02 Cut to 14 years later, and Ubisoft brought the IP back in glorious metroidvania fashion.
03:15 The Lost Crown is one of the best entries into the genre in recent years, which is actually
03:20 saying a lot.
03:22 The combat is both smooth and intense, especially in boss fights.
03:25 The trap and obstacle designs are superb, and renewed focus on Persian mythos made for
03:30 an engaging world.
03:31 Sadly, revitalization doesn't necessarily equate to high sales, which has so far been
03:37 this game's fate.
03:47 Doom
03:56 Where would the FPS be without Doom?
03:59 It's a worrying prospect, for sure, but following a somewhat divisive venture into survival
04:04 horror with 2004's Doom 3, the franchise went on ice.
04:08 That was never the intention of developer id Software, who began work on a Doom 4 not
04:13 long after the third game's release.
04:16 However, trouble behind the scenes caused development to be restarted, and word on the
04:20 sequel went quiet for several years.
04:22 When Doom finally returned with a reboot in 2016, it was quickly heralded as one of the
04:27 best FPS campaigns ever released.
04:39 Each combat encounter, no matter the size of the demon, felt injected with adrenaline,
04:44 with mechanics so fluid we simply couldn't put our controllers down.
04:49 Everyone loved it, and asked for a sequel, which we eventually got in 2020's Eternal.
05:01 Assassin's Creed Origins
05:09 At the peak of its popularity, Ubisoft made the mistake of releasing too many Assassin's
05:14 Creed games in quick succession.
05:16 The launch of 2014's Unity was not only met with backlash due to technical issues,
05:20 but impacted the sales of the next game, 2015's Syndicate.
05:25 In order to combat player fatigue, the studio chose to take some extra time and rework the
05:29 franchise for what came next, which was clearly the right call.
05:42 Origins took players to ancient Egypt, going back further and growing grander than any
05:47 other entry at that point.
05:48 It injected RPG elements into the action-adventure formula, adding variety to how you played.
05:54 Despite the fact that players would later crave a return to the series' roots, this
05:58 is exactly what Assassin's Creed needed at the time.
06:09 Fire Emblem Awakening
06:18 Three Houses may now be the most popular entry, but that never would have been possible without
06:23 Awakening.
06:24 Previously a Japan-only series, Fire Emblem came to the West after several characters
06:28 gained fame in Super Smash Bros.
06:30 However, while many enjoyed brawling as Ike or Marth, it seems most didn't care about
06:35 their roots.
06:37 Sales were at such a low point that Awakening was planned to be a possible final installment
06:41 during development.
06:43 Obviously, that didn't happen.
06:50 It received almost unanimous praise for how it brought together elements from multiple
06:54 entries, as well as made it easier for newcomers through the option to turn off permadeath.
06:59 In addition to reviewing and selling strongly, saving the series from death, Awakening also
07:04 increased sales of the 3DS.
07:13 Wolfenstein The New Order
07:22 Although 1992's Wolfenstein 3D is a historically vital piece of gaming history, the franchise
07:29 would struggle to reach anywhere close to those heights ever again.
07:32 That is, until 2014's The New Order.
07:42 By giving the game its own unique history, set in an alternate 1960's where Nazis won
07:47 World War II, it immediately set itself apart while giving players a universally despised
07:52 force to go up against.
07:54 Almost absurd in its levels of violence and dastardly villains, we all took great pleasure
07:59 in ruthlessly dismantling our enemies.
08:02 And we did so with some of the fiercest, most exciting gunplay an FPS can offer.
08:07 Naturally, it received spin-offs and a 2017 sequel, with a third mainline game currently
08:12 in development.
08:20 Mortal Kombat
08:31 Once a paragon of the arcade fighting community, Mortal Kombat struggled to innovate in the
08:35 2000's, or stand out amongst others beyond its violence and gore.
08:39 Thankfully, that changed with the 2011 reboot.
08:43 It placed much more emphasis on its story mode than many other fighters, adapting and
08:47 changing events from the first three games.
08:51 Additionally, because it was a reboot of earlier stories, the roster was also scaled back to
08:59 include only the most well-known and beloved combatants, some of whom were reimagined in
09:04 unique ways.
09:06 NetherRealm refined their core experience, cutting out the bloat to deliver a fighter
09:10 that both recaptured the glory days and paved the way for a bright future.
09:18 Metroid Dread
09:27 Before the release of Dread, the Metroid series was not in a great state.
09:31 Poorly received entries like the Wii's Other M and the multiplayer 3DS spin-off, Federation
09:36 Force, saw to that.
09:38 While a 2017 remake of Samus Returns was a nice bright spot, it wasn't strong enough
09:43 to truly revitalize the brand.
09:45 Fortunately, with Dread, Nintendo gave Samus Returns developer MercurySteam all the tools
09:51 necessary to craft a new console release.
09:53 And a damn good one at that.
10:04 It reminded everyone why the series helped birth the Metroidvania genre.
10:08 It blended classic elements with one-hit machines that hunted Samus throughout, making for one
10:13 of the bounty hunter's most intense missions.
10:16 Dread became the best-selling game in the series, and was followed up by a glorious
10:20 remaster of Metroid Prime.
10:32 Resident Evil 7 Biohazard
10:44 Resident Evil 4 might still be the best game in Capcom's survival horror series, but
10:50 it introduced a little more action, which went on to sour many fans.
10:54 By the time we got to Resident Evil 6, the scales had tipped so far towards the other
10:59 side that it barely resembled the franchise that had terrified so many players previously.
11:04 Thankfully, Capcom responded accordingly.
11:14 The seventh game brought new elements like a first-person view and a new protagonist,
11:19 but more importantly, it was downright pee-your-pants scary, from its derelict, claustrophobic
11:24 setting to the insanity that is the Baker clan.
11:28 Capcom managed to right the ship, going much bigger on horror through remakes of classic
11:32 entries and an even stronger sequel, 2021's Village.
11:37 And we'll forever be grateful for it.
11:47 What's your favorite game that revitalized the franchise?
11:50 Share your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to Mojo Plays for more great
11:53 gaming videos every day.
12:04 Cheers!
12:16 (upbeat music)