Between TV, films, and video games, it seems like every new entry into a particular medium is trying to be the next big franchise. With the likes of Assassin’s Creed, The Legend of Zelda, or Halo not looking to slow down any time soon, it makes it all the harder to bear when our favorite games don’t get the same love and attention.
While many games will get a sequel or spin-off at some point, there are plenty of games out there that, as much as players want to see them, will never get a sequel in the future, either due to dwindling interest in the original game or from the original developers having shut down since the release of their title.
10 Okami
While Okami technically did get a sequel with Okamiden, which was released four years later on the Nintendo DS, it never got the true sequel that it deserved. The story of Okami was fairly clear-cut and left little room for a sequel in that regard, as Okamiden proved, there are still stories to be told in this world that players are willing to engage with. The biggest reason why Okami is unlikely to get a sequel, however, is that the developers, Clover Studios, shut down shortly after Okami’s release, with many of its employees going on to form Platinum Games instead. While this Zelda-like title may never get a sequel, it has been re-released enough times on modern consoles to make up for this.
9 Bully
Rockstar open-world games reached new heights in the PS2 era with the release of not only Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but also the GTA-lite game Bully. While there was a lot of misguided controversy surrounding the title, largely due to many people believing that the player was the bully in the story, most who played it found it a breath of fresh air to the GTA formula and were eager to see what Jimmy got up to after finally taking Gary down. Unfortunately, Rockstar seems laser-focused on bringing the players more Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto instead, so players are unlikely to take to the schoolyard again any time soon.
8 Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy
Back before the likes of Control showed players what you could truly do with psychic powers, the PS2 era was blessed with a little game called Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy. In this game, players controlled Nick Scryer, a man with powerful telekinetic and telepathic abilities that he uses to uncover what was done to him in the past, as well as delve into the titular Mindgate conspiracy.
Psi-Ops even has a sequel bait ending, boldly proclaiming “To Be Continued” just before the end credits rolled. Unfortunately, like Okami, the developers, Midway Games, have since disbanded and the publisher, Capcom, seems unlikely to bring the game back for a sequel after such a long time.
7 Legend Of Dragoon
Even though Legend of Dragoon didn’t quite live up to the idea that it was a “Final Fantasy killer”, it was still a great RPG on the PS1 that was sadly overshadowed by the likes of Final Fantasy VII and IX. With an interactive battle system, similar to those found in the Paper Mario series, as well as unique Dragoon forms that buffed party members and brought new attacks along with it, Legend of Dragoon had the potential for great things in the future. Unfortunately, the title couldn’t escape the constant comparisons to the Final Fantasy series and Sony seems to have abandoned the game altogether.
6 Brutal Legend
The works of Tim Schafer and Double Fine are, in general, fairly bizarre while gaining a cult following from fans of his past work, such as Psychonauts, Grim Fandango, or Full Throttle. Clearly created by fans of metal music, Brutal Legend sees the player explore a vast world inspired by metal album art while controlling the world’s best roadie, played to perfection by Jack Black. However, its blend of RTS and action gameplay didn’t mix well for some players and led to the game receiving mixed reviews from many as a result. While another of Double Fine’s games, Psychonauts, is receiving a sequel soon, it seems as though Brutal Legend will be left behind and never receive the sequel it deserves.
5 Jade Cocoon 2
Taking major inspiration from the success of Pokemon, Jade Cocoon and its sequel, Jade Cocoon 2, had players take control of a Cocoon Master as they fight against the forces of evil, all the while catching Minions within cocoons to battle for them. What made Jade Cocoon stand out from Pokemon was its fusion system, which allowed the player to fuse any two Minions to form a new creature that had the appearance and abilities of both creatures. With the monster taming genre increasing in popularity in recent years, particularly with the decreased quality of recent Pokemon titles, now would be a great time to see another Jade Cocoon title, though this seems unlikely to happen.
4 Dead Space 3
A victim of EA’s dodgy business practices, the Dead Space series seems very unlikely to get any more entries following the dissolution of Visceral Games in 2017, not long after being bought out by EA. Had Dead Space 3 been a fitting conclusion to the series, this would not be so much of an issue, but as it stands, there are still reasons for the franchise to continue in the future.
Most notably, Dead Space 3 ended with something of a sequel bait of an ending, as Isaac and Carter are knocked unconscious while the Brethren Moons begin their assault on Earth, leaving room for Dead Space 4 to take place on Earth rather than in space as in previous titles.
3 Banjo Tooie
Banjo Tooie did, technically, get a sequel with Nuts and Bolts, but the majority of players, fans and non-fans alike, weren’t satisfied with the direction of the game and felt it was a poor attempt at creating a new Banjo Kazooie adventure. While developers, Rare, are still going strong and making new games such as Sea of Thieves, Battletoads, and the upcoming Everwild, it appears that they don’t have any interest in creating a true successor to Banjo Tooie and are leaving those style of games to Playtonic, a developer made up of ex-Rare employees and who are responsible for the Yooka Laylee titles.
2 Pokemon Conquest
Pokemon has had many spin-offs over the years, including the Mystery Dungeon and Rangers series, but one that never quite got off the ground was Pokemon Conquest. A strange fusion of Pokemon and Nobunaga’s Ambition, a game by Dynasty Warriors developers Koei Techmo, this title saw players engage in strategic warfare by using their Pokemon companions as the soldiers. This style of gameplay, made popular with the likes of Fire Emblem and XCOM, should have made Conquest fairly successful, but the fusion of more adult themes with the light-hearted nature of Pokemon made for a game that many simply didn’t pick up, leaving the future of this spin-off up for debate.
1 Sunset Overdrive
Insomniac Games, best known for the original Spyro The Dragon trilogy and the Ratchet and Clank series, decided to do something for Xbox for a change and launched Sunset Overdrive, a wild, fast-paced action game with many elements of Ratchet and Clank’s bizarre weapons fused with stylistic parkour gameplay. For some reason, Insomniac has yet to return to this game despite its sequel bait ending that saw Overdrive being shipped around the world, though with the latest Ratchet and Clank in development for release soon, it seems unlikely that players will get the Sunset Overdrive 2 they all want.
