Games/Franchises That Can't Get Right

For this thread I wanted to see what games or franchises people thought have great potential, but some issue holds them back from AAA or even AA status. Games that have great concepts and maybe even gameplay but have a roadbloak preventing them from becoming popular. Obviously I make the assumption that some games are unredeemable, if you don't agree don't derail the thread, make your own.

For an example I will go first:

The Game:

I am going with Armored Core For Answer.

The Reason:

The Armored Core series has been a game that has historically fallen short (in North America at least) of its true potential. Every game has had the best Mech gameplay period and I will take that against anyone, however, the games suffer from some very fundamental interface issues on the Menus. Nothing really flows or is apparent to any user who just picks up the controller and browses through the menus. People are supposed to learn the game and not the Menu. This problem could be easily solved with some interface work. The next big problem is that the game keeps trying to bound the SP and MP together, which is a fundamentally bad idea, because though you may have people who enjoy both, there will undoubtedly be plenty of people who prefer one or the other and the MP guys lose out because to be fully effective they have to completely finish SP or download a save file. Yet another easy fix, simply give universal part list to online play regardless of SP status (seperate AC lists, obviously allowing export from SP, but no import). And one more final easy fix: voice chat in multiplayer... add it... it will help community and I don't think I need to cite the history of online games and voice chat to prove it. These are the three biggest flaws of every Armored Core game and they can be addressed with some basic fixes.

Too Human. Take out the analog combat, the long ass death scenes and add in some balance to the game and it would have been a lot better.

Too Human. Take out the analog combat, the long ass death scenes and add in some balance to the game and it would have been a lot better.

Legendaryscmt

Truth

Lair. No explanation necessary.

1. this the shocker right here. elder scrolls: game of the year potential every year and it can still be waaaay better if bethesda want it 2 be.

2. dragon ball z games: almost all terrible but has potential 2 be a great game.

3. wwe games: self explanatory. never gon be good without a great story mood.

4. super hero games: again, self explanatory.

5. fable: the potential 2 be the best rpg game out here if its ever done right. problem is... its never done right.

simpsons games idk just something about them thats just not right in there GTA style...idk what it is.. I may get alot of backlash from this but I would also like to say the tekken series I think it could be a heck of alot more then it is in its current state. Also Mortal Kombat they need to overall that series completely.

simpsons games idk just something about them thats just not right in there GTA style...idk what it is.. I may get alot of backlash from this but I would also like to say the tekken series I think it could be a heck of alot more then it is in its current state. Also Mortal Kombat they need to overall that series completely.

Santesyu

[QUOTE="Santesyu"]

simpsons games idk just something about them thats just not right in there GTA style...idk what it is.. I may get alot of backlash from this but I would also like to say the tekken series I think it could be a heck of alot more then it is in its current state. Also Mortal Kombat they need to overall that series completely.

AD216

Tekken series always gets it right, it just failed lately with Tekken 6 even though its still a great game.

[QUOTE="AD216"][QUOTE="Santesyu"]

simpsons games idk just something about them thats just not right in there GTA style...idk what it is.. I may get alot of backlash from this but I would also like to say the tekken series I think it could be a heck of alot more then it is in its current state. Also Mortal Kombat they need to overall that series completely.

RadecSupreme

Tekken series always gets it right, it just failed lately with Tekken 6 even though its still a great game.

Crash Bandicoot: Because Naughty Dog don't work on it

Spyro: Because InSominiac aren't working on it.

Sonic: Sonic Team can't seem to get any Sonic game right.

Crash Bandicoot: Because Naughty Dog don't work on it

Spyro: Because InSominiac aren't working on it.

Sonic: Sonic Team can't seem to get any Sonic game right.

chocolate1325

I'd like to point a finger at the Disgaea franchise. The games are all pretty great, but admittedly extremely niche. TBSRPGs don't hit a huge market in the first place, but that isn't the fault of Disgaea. The problem with Disgaea is that it just tries too hard. There are so many things to do, and so many modes and systems to learn that it's just overwhelming for the average gamer. It's like circuit overload, honestly. I think they would serve the entire franchise better if, in their next installment, they would dial it back a little bit. Take the game back to its roots (the majority of the combat came from La Pucelle: Tactics) and streamline it a bit. Also, learn to balance your own game, so you don't end up with 1 combination that completely outclasses everything else -.- It sucks to know that if you're using any combination besides XYZ, you're doing it wrong.Greyfeld

So Disgaea having a lot of things to do is a bad thing, and it needs to be dumbed down?

I have to disagree with that.

[QUOTE="Greyfeld"]I'd like to point a finger at the Disgaea franchise. The games are all pretty great, but admittedly extremely niche. TBSRPGs don't hit a huge market in the first place, but that isn't the fault of Disgaea. The problem with Disgaea is that it just tries too hard. There are so many things to do, and so many modes and systems to learn that it's just overwhelming for the average gamer. It's like circuit overload, honestly. I think they would serve the entire franchise better if, in their next installment, they would dial it back a little bit. Take the game back to its roots (the majority of the combat came from La Pucelle: Tactics) and streamline it a bit. Also, learn to balance your own game, so you don't end up with 1 combination that completely outclasses everything else -.- It sucks to know that if you're using any combination besides XYZ, you're doing it wrong.Yandere

So Disgaea having a lot of things to do is a bad thing, and it needs to be dumbed down?

I have to disagree with that.

[QUOTE="Yandere"]

[QUOTE="Greyfeld"]I'd like to point a finger at the Disgaea franchise. The games are all pretty great, but admittedly extremely niche. TBSRPGs don't hit a huge market in the first place, but that isn't the fault of Disgaea. The problem with Disgaea is that it just tries too hard. There are so many things to do, and so many modes and systems to learn that it's just overwhelming for the average gamer. It's like circuit overload, honestly. I think they would serve the entire franchise better if, in their next installment, they would dial it back a little bit. Take the game back to its roots (the majority of the combat came from La Pucelle: Tactics) and streamline it a bit. Also, learn to balance your own game, so you don't end up with 1 combination that completely outclasses everything else -.- It sucks to know that if you're using any combination besides XYZ, you're doing it wrong.Greyfeld

So Disgaea having a lot of things to do is a bad thing, and it needs to be dumbed down?

I have to disagree with that.

Those are mostly features your supposed to stumble across while playing the game, it's the players fault that they resort to looking at guides.

[QUOTE="Greyfeld"][QUOTE="Yandere"]

So Disgaea having a lot of things to do is a bad thing, and it needs to be dumbed down?

I have to disagree with that.

Yandere

Those are mostly features your supposed to stumble across while playing the game, it's the players fault that they resort to looking at guides.

3d sonic

Anything Sonic related post 1994.

[QUOTE="Yandere"]

[QUOTE="Greyfeld"] Disgaea having a lot of things to do is a good thing. Disgaea having systems so completely complex that you're probably not going to be able to understand anything outside of the main story unless you go out of your way to look up FAQ sheets and walkthroughs is a bad thing.Greyfeld

Those are mostly features your supposed to stumble across while playing the game, it's the players fault that they resort to looking at guides.

Well it's found by people that go through that whole process, so I don't see why anybody else can't find it out on their own.

[QUOTE="Greyfeld"][QUOTE="Yandere"]

Those are mostly features your supposed to stumble across while playing the game, it's the players fault that they resort to looking at guides.

Yandere

Well it's found by people that go through that whole process, so I don't see why anybody else can't find it out on their own.

Lair. No explanation necessary.

DarkyC

Dynasty Warriors and subsequent spinoffs, desperately needs a graphical facelift and stop the milking with the empire releases.

Disgaea, again needs to make the jump to HD graphics and let go of the stale last gen formula.

Gran Turismo.

It lacks damage and the AI sucks.

ANY racer that has damage and decent AI is better than GT.

Gran Turismo.

It lacks damage and the AI sucks.

ANY racer that has damage and decent AI is better than GT.

Rikusaki

which is why rfactor rules the woooooooooooooooooooooooooorld

/can't wait for rfactor 2

Anything Sonic related post 1994.

Renegade_Fury

Anything Sonic related post 1994.

Renegade_Fury

Even though the game did score well, I'm still going to say the Fable series. It has the potential to be absolutely epic if it wasn't so incredibly shallow. There is so much to do but none of it has any depth. Imagine if it had a combat system with more than single button presses, real economies for the town that affect how they develop based on how you manage your properties, people that did more then laugh or run away from you or better yet decisions that were more complex than save the village or burn it to the ground. The series really feels like its just one great dev away from being one of the finest games ever created.

Sonic, but this next one that is in 2D looks to be on the right track. I haven't played a good Sonic title since Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast. That and Madden. Madden 10 was a big step forward on the next gen consoles, but the controls still aren't as responsive as I would like. I hear that they are implementing the tight controls of FIFA soccer, and if they do that, well I think it will be amazing!

Sonic, but this next one that is in 2D looks to be on the right track. I haven't played a good Sonic title since Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast. That and Madden. Madden 10 was a big step forward on the next gen consoles, but the controls still aren't as responsive as I would like. I hear that they are implementing the tight controls of FIFA soccer, and if they do that, well I think it will be amazing!

godzillavskong

[QUOTE="DarkyC"]

Lair. No explanation necessary.

Respawn-d

sonic is one of the worst franchises in gaming. otherwise, it seems prince of persia is seriously stumbling. i really enjoyed the last game but i know most people hated it, and before that the sands of time sequels were pretty meh. they cant seem to recapture the awesomeness of sands of time.

Rare's franchises. They seem to be obligated to make sequels to their franchises, but if they could bring them back in a "Unique" way. That philosophy had ruined a great franchise in many people's minds, so you could see why I have my justified doubts.

[QUOTE="godzillavskong"]

Sonic, but this next one that is in 2D looks to be on the right track. I haven't played a good Sonic title since Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast. That and Madden. Madden 10 was a big step forward on the next gen consoles, but the controls still aren't as responsive as I would like. I hear that they are implementing the tight controls of FIFA soccer, and if they do that, well I think it will be amazing!

AD216

Yet Madden devs still have learned some fundamentals of football, but I'll skip that rant for now.