7 Forgotten Gaming Franchises That Desperately Need Sequels

I think everyone has a game series they fondly remember from days gone by. Game series that seemed like they’d go on forever back then but somehow disappeared from the public eye one day. These game series were and are awesome, but they’ve seemingly been forgotten. I’d do anything for a new entry.

7 Star Wars: Republic Commando

Obviously, Star Wars hasn’t been forgotten even though it’s not quite as popular as it was twenty years ago. That said, there are a ton of Star Wars video game series from the golden age that have just been completely forgotten about. The Force Unleashed, Jedi Knight, Bounty Hunter… but out of all the now forgotten titles, Republic Commando stings the most, specifically because it was very obvious that the game was intended to get a sequel at some point and just never did.

The game follows the exploits of Delta Squad, an elite team of clone commandos fighting behind the scenes during the Clone Wars, and was beloved by many. It features charming characters, intense action, and surprisingly robust and competent squad AI for its time. To this day, it’s still an incredibly unique Star Wars game experience that has never been replicated again. I’ve never heard a single person who played it claim to not like it.

And yet, twenty years later, we have no sequel. Republic Commando ended on a cliffhanger, with one of your squad mates missing and in need of rescue right as the Battle of Kashyyyk is starting to get underway. It was the most obvious sequel setup the gaming world has ever seen, but that sequel just never came. Sure, the story was continued in a book at some point, but I think I speak for everyone when I say a sequel would have been preferable.

Star Wars Republic Commando

Released

February 28, 2005

ESRB

T For Teen due to Blood and Gore, Violence

Developer(s)

LucasArts

Publisher(s)

LucasArts, Aspyr, THQ Nordic

6 WipEout

The WipEout series of games is a lot like F-Zero, which almost made this list instead, but since an F-Zero title was released in 2023, it’s hard to say that it’s been forgotten even if F-Zero hasn’t gotten much love over the decades. WipEout is also a retro racing game about futuristic racing with hovering vehicles that can damage each other with special weapon powerups. The main difference is that WipEout has always been 3D and trying to make the most of console graphics, and has a much stronger penchant for big-beat infused techno and trance soundtracks.

Really, it’s a lot more like a futuristic rave than F-Zero, and a lot of the tracks were even composed by well-known electronic music artists of the time, and WipEout 2097 in particular has been cited as one of the best games for the original PlayStation. Alas, the studio responsible was closed in 2012, and all we’ve gotten since then was a remastered collection of games in 2017. Well, technically there was WipEout Merge in 2022, but we don’t count that one, as it’s about being a race manager instead of actually racing. It’s just not in the spirit of the actual franchise, if you ask me.

Wipeout Omega Collection

Systems

Released

June 6, 2017

ESRB

E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence, Game Experience May Change During Online Play

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

5 Valkyria Chronicles

Valkyria Chronicles is a unique turn-based tactical combat game that takes place in an alternate Earth during an alternate World War II. One that conveniently doesn’t have airplanes, mind you, but otherwise pretty close, with anime-styled weapons, tanks, ships, and uniforms that have flair but still resemble real-world counterparts that inspired them. Gameplay generally involves commanding your unique squad of soldiers as you carry out combat missions against an invading empire.

It’s sort of like Fire Emblem, but with guns, tanks, over-the-shoulder perspective, and a lot more focus on equipment, individual strengths and weaknesses, and your tactical ability to not run a scout right in front of a machine gun nest. It’s definitely one of the more unique series published by SEGA, and I’d even go so far as to say it’s in the company’s top five. The first game in the series has been noted as one of the best games of all time. The series has sold millions of copies. It has its own manga and anime.

And yet, Sega almost never talks about it. The most recent title was released in 2018, but it’s been almost complete radio silence from SEGA since then, despite the success of the series overall. Fans really have no clue if we’re actually going to get another Valkyria Chronicles game; it’s already niche, but every year that goes by without even a hint of a sequel reduces the odds that we’ll ever get another one, especially with SEGA’s strategy this year.

Valkyria Chronicles 4

Released

September 25, 2018

ESRB

t

Developer(s)

Sega

Publisher(s)

Sega

4 Kid Icarus

You just never know which games are going to take off and which ones are going to be lost to time. Kid Icarus is a cult classic series that combines action, platforming, and adventure, and is often considered a sibling series to the Metroid franchise. And yet, Metroid actually exists in the public eye today, and no one actually talks about Kid Icarus anymore. Well, maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise; the series only ever got three games, and there was a 20-year hiatus between the second and third entries.

It’s unclear why Kid Icarus fell so far out of grace. Throughout its entire history, it was rumored to get games for the SNES, Nintendo 64, and even a revival on the Wii. But none of it ever happened. It’s funny, because people today still fondly remember characters like Pit and Palutena. It’s not like this was a niche game series that no one had ever heard of, and Pit has even made it into Smash Bros. games. Whatever the deal is, Nintendo apparently doesn’t believe another mainline entry of this classic is worth it.

Kid Icarus: Uprising

Systems

Released

March 23, 2012

ESRB

E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes

Developer(s)

Sora Ltd.

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Engine

Unreal Engine 4

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3 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

As far as video games are concerned, Pokémon is actually a lot like Star Wars. It had a golden era of video games where the franchise was pumping out all sorts of unique spin-off titles, most of them well-liked by fans, but at some point, the guys in charge just stopped making any of them. Honestly, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon could just as easily be replaced with Pokémon Ranger, Conquest, or Colosseum.

But Mystery Dungeon in particular stands out because it actually got a lot of entries for a spin-off series, with 11 entries total, though admittedly, that’s including remakes and the typical Pokémon gimmick of having two slightly different versions of the same game. Still, Mystery Dungeon was arguably one of Pokémon’s most popular spin-off series. It got its own anime episodes, its own manga, and it’s the only spin-off for Pokémon to get a remake of an entry and release in pairs just like the mainline games.

Despite all of that, the last entry that wasn’t a remake was Super Mystery Dungeon in 2015, and fans are constantly disappointed to hear not a whisper about another game any time a Nintendo Direct comes around. It could have something to do with licensing, considering that the Mystery Dungeon series is actually its own game separate from Pokémon, but since the fans are never told anything, there’s no way to know for sure.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX

Systems

Released

March 6, 2020

ESRB

E For Everyone Due To Mild Cartoon Violence

Developer(s)

Spike Chunsoft

Publisher(s)

Nintendo, The Pokemon Company

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2 Vanquish

I’m not sure what it is about SEGA and publishing an absolute banger game series that proceeds to never get attention ever again, but the company seems to really enjoy it. Vanquish is one such game that came out in 2010 as one of the most fun third-person cover shooters ever made. At the very least, it has some of the most fun movement options I’ve ever seen in the genre.

In fact, Vanquish introduced all sorts of novel concepts to the cover shooter genre, including the rapid dynamic movement, fast-paced bullet hell style of enemy fire, and even beat-’em-up elements. I still think about the boost-sliding of that epic combat suit the main character wears 15 years later. It truly was ahead of its time. Now the story itself isn’t anything too special, though it isn’t terrible either. But Vanquish still stands out as an incredibly unique shooter, and nothing has offered a similar experience since it came out in 2010.

This is yet another game that was set up to have some sort of sequel, so it irks me even more that said sequel never actually saw the light of day.

Vanquish

Released

October 19, 2010

ESRB

m

Developer(s)

Platinum Games

Publisher(s)

Sega

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1 The Dept. Heaven Series

Admittedly the most niche franchise on this list, I still can’t help but miss it dearly for how unique the entire franchise was. The Dept. Heaven series is a collection of unique and genre-defying fantasy games developed by Sting Entertainment. These games had a lot of great things going for them that set them apart from most other JRPGs from 2002-2011, and even many JRPGs today. Unconventional settings, imaginative mechanics, and intricate narratives highlight each and every game in this franchise.

Rather than traditional sequels, each installment explores a new world, gameplay system, and cast, sort of like the Final Fantasy franchise. Granted, in Dept. Heaven, they are all loosely connected by overarching themes of conflict between heaven, hell, and the mortal realm. The titles are numerically labeled according to their episode number, which actually has nothing to do with their release dates. The episode numbers are actually about how unique and original the entire experience the devs believe the game is.

That’s a bit crazy, because even their Episode I, Riviera: The Promised Land blew most other JRPGs out of the water in terms of unique mechanics. Then again, Knights in the Nightmare, Episode IV, somehow combined chess, bullet hell, turn-based tactics, and shoot-’em-up into an actually cohesive and awesome experience, so maybe the devs were on to something.

Unfortunately, this incredibly unique franchise has had effectively nothing happen for it in over ten years, and I don’t think another entry is very likely to happen. That said, Sting is still an active studio, so the chances may be low, but they aren’t zero. I’ll stop hoping for a sequel when I’m gone from this world.

Knights in the Nightmare

Released

June 2, 2009

ESRB

T For Teen // Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes

Nintendo Switch Release Date

April 7, 2022

The unfortunate reality is that dozens, even hundreds, of gaming franchises that once meant something to a lot of people are dead or forgotten these days. The Legend of Spyro, Patapon, Kingdom Under Fire, Nintendogs—I think every gamer has a cherished, underrated and unappreciated game series dear to their heart, and we all hope that somehow, someway, our beloved game franchise may experience a resurgence. For now, though, emulation remains the best way to go back and enjoy these forgotten games from a bygone era.