8 Konami Games That Surpassed Expectations

7 July 2025

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8-konami-games-that-surpassed-expectations — 8 Konami Games That Surpassed Expectations

Summary

Konami regained its reputation after an ugly breakup with Kojima, exceeding expectations.
Silent Hill 2 and Metal Gear Solid 5 shattered all expectations to become legendary titles.
Dance Dance Revolution and Zombies Ate My Neighbors had unexpected impacts and became cult classics in gaming.

Konami is one of the most popular video game developers operating right now. The ugly breakup with Kojima left a bad taste in many players’ mouths, but the company slowly regained its reputation and is currently on the upturn, against all expectations.

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This is something that Konami is familiar with. Some of their best video games shattered all expectations to let players enjoy incredible video games that fans will remember long after going through these incredible experiences.

8 Silent Hill 2

The Remake Served As A Pleasant Surprise

ESRB: M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence

The remake of Silent Hill 2 didn’t have the highest expectations attached to it. Fans didn’t know what to make of Bloober Team spearheading this project, especially since the developer hadn’t exactly proven itself as worthy of handling such a legendary IP.

However, Bloober Team and Konami knocked expectations out of the park with their work on the Silent Hill 2 remake, which serves as a faithful adaptation of the original game. Barring the lack of a fixed camera that enhanced the original game’s cinematic tension, the remake is a step above in every way and is now the best way to experience James Sunderland’s adventures.

Shattered All Expectations To Become One Of The Greatest Video Games Ever Made

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Tag Page Cover Art

ESRB: M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language

As promising as Ground Zeroes was, its short runtime didn’t sit right with many. However, the gameplay was excellent, and fans could only hope that Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain would help unlock this unfulfilled potential.

Kojima delivered this in spades, with The Phantom Pain establishing itself as one of the greatest video games ever made. From stealth to combat to open-world design, Kojima outdid himself. Fans had no idea just how incredible this open-world game would be, making it clear just how malleable the Fox Engine is.

6 Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night

No One Could’ve Expected This Game To Become So Legendary

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Tag Page Cover Art

ESRB: T For Teen Due To Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence

The Castlevania series had its fair share of fans, but no one knew the impact that Symphony of the Night would have upon its release on the PS1. The snappy movement of Alucard, coupled with a focus on simple RPG systems and a steady sense of progression, turned this title into one of the greatest games on the original PlayStation.

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These PlayStation games blew away expectations and are today considered some of the greatest titles ever released on the blue brand of console.

Symphony of the Night made the most of the extra space afforded by the CD-ROM, adding the iconic Reverse Castle and letting players enjoy some of the hammiest voice acting in video games. All of this ensured that Symphony of the Night would co-create a whole new gaming genre alongside Super Metroid, which is a level of impact fans never expected from this title.

Kojima’s Weirdness Turned This Stealth-Action Title Into A Masterpiece

Metal Gear Solid

Released: October 20, 1998
ESRB: M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Suggestive Themes, Violence

Before the advent of Metal Gear Solid, stealth gameplay hadn’t exactly been explored in mainstream gaming. As a result, fans had no idea what to expect with this PS1 entry.

This game served as a window into Kojima’s brilliant mind, with the amazing stealth gameplay and mind-bending story standing in a class of their own. The iconic encounter against Psycho Mantis is just one of the many moments that blew fans’ minds and let them enjoy one of the best PS1 games that shattered all expectations.

4 Dance Dance Revolution

Spawned One Of The Most Popular Rhythm Game Franchises Of All Time

Dance Dance Revolution is one of the most impactful games of all time. The simple gameplay of this title sparked the onset of the rhythm game genre and turned it into one of the most popular arcade franchises in the world.

DDR‘s legacy speaks for itself, although fans at the time had no idea just how much of a legacy this title would have. The series is still going strong to this day, and it remains perfectly designed for arcades where players can go all-out as they dance to their heart’s content and try to master higher difficulties.

3 Zombies Ate My Neighbors

A Charming Run-And-Gun Title That Had No Business Being So Compelling

Zombies Ate My Neighbors

ESRB: E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Cartoon Violence

It’s a shame that Zombies Ate My Neighbors didn’t sell all that well. It didn’t seem like fans expected a lot from this title, which is puzzling given LucasArts’ stellar work on other classic games of the era.

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Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Elden Ring, and Horizon Forbidden West

The best PS5 RPGs find ways to push the console to its limits, providing players with an engrossing experience unlike anything else that came before.

Zombies Ate My Neighbors is bursting with humor and charm, with the tough yet fun gameplay being more fun to experience with a friend in co-op. This title slowly became a cult classic, with more people appreciating its muted brilliance over time.

The Pinnacle Of Hack-And-Slash Gaming

The idea of playing a hack-and-slash spinoff based on the Metal Gear series was not exactly what many were expecting from the franchise, but fans still had no idea what was coming from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Raiden’s adventures were being developed by PlatinumGames, a studio notorious for not being consistent with their releases, while intermittantly creating some of the best action games on the market.

Thankfully, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance turned out to be one of Platinum’s better titles, with the bombastic boss battles and amazing soundtrack being way better than fans expected. Cutting apart enemies to grab their spines and heal Raiden is a badass mechanic that never ceases to be engaging.

1 Parodius

A Gradius Parody That Somehow Rivaled Its Inspiration

Gradius is a legendary shoot-’em-up title that needs no introduction. Fans loved the simple yet engaging gameplay of this title, and most players assumed that Parodius would just be a phoned-in version of this series’ gameplay with a few hilarious oddities along the way.

However, the incredible charm and surprisingly riveting gameplay of Parodius turned it into one of Konami’s most memorable titles. Players who want to take things a step further can play Sexy Parodius, although the name should make it evidently clear that this title is NSFW-coded.

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