Are There Any Franchises Whose Mainline Series Switched Genre?

[JCHandsom]

The only one that springs to mind right now is Resident Evil 4, I guess? That was a pretty drastic shift from where the series was in 1-CV, in terms of perspective and tone and what was added, and now it seems like the series is undergoing similarly dramatic shifts with RE7 and REmake 2. The new God of War also springs to mind as a dramatic shift, although that one seems like less of a dramatic shift. I have a hard time pinning down game genres with conventional terminology (like CoD shares the FPS genre with Portal technically) so this is partly a call for more precise genre definitions.

 

[jschreier]

Zelda has switched genre quite a few times, as has Metroid.

 

['3y Kingdom]

Many, particularly in the 8-bit era. Castlevania 1 -> 2 and Zelda 1 -> 2 are notable examples.

 

[Orayn]

Touhou went from Arkanoid clone to vertically scrolling shooter after the first installment.

 

[OhMyZach]

Grand Theft Auto went from top down vehicle combat to open world third person game.

 

[sredgrin]

Fallout, more or less

 

[Captain of Outer Space]

Jak and Daxter went from platformer to open world game with the sequel.

Metroid turning into a first person adventure shooter for the Prime games.

 

[Berordn]

Puyo Puyo comes to mind, but I'm not sure if that counts as it's more of a situation where the spinoff eclipsed the original series.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

Resident Evil comes to mind.

It's probably the greatest move to keep the franchise alive unless it's competition

 

[EdgeXL]

Castlevania has shifted genres several times.

 

[Maximum Spider]

Kinda wish more games had the chance to try something like this. I understand the risk, though.

 

[JCHandsom]

Grand Theft Auto went from top down vehicle combat to open world third person game.

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Fallout, more or less

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Both really good examples, and interestingly a similar shift towards a more close up, intimate display of fidelity and detail.

 

[TreIII]

Puyo Puyo comes to mind, but I'm not sure if that counts as it's more of a situation where the spinoff eclipsed the original series.

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I'd say it counts. Much like how Persona started out as a spinoff, but now could very well be considered the "main series" for the MegaTen series.

 

[Deleted member 43872]

The first Dynasty Warriors was a 1-on-1 fighting game.

 

[tunnel visionary]

Star Fox started out as a 3D rail shooter, then it became a rail shooter with dogfight sections, then it became a third person action-adventure, then it became a mix of all three, then it became a rail shooter + dogfighter again.

 

[macindc]

Assassin's Creed has slowly morphed over time from a stealth action/adventure game to an open world RPG.

 

[Maximum Spider]

The first Dynasty Warriors was a 1-on-1 fighting game.

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In Japan the hack n' sash games are considered a new series/offshot I think. Other countries just kept the name because it was the same thematically.

 

[elenarie]

Warcraft is probably the best example here. From RTS to MMO RPG.

 

[JCHandsom]

Castlevania has shifted genres several times.

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Metroid turning into a first person adventure shooter for the Prime games.

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It's interesting because what the mainline series for a franchise is can change over time, like Prime became the mainline Metroid franchise after Super, and Castlevania has an even less clear lineage of 1-4, Igavanias, Lords of Shadow 1-2 and now ???

I'd say it counts. Much like how Persona started out as a spinoff, but now could very well be considered the "main series" for the MegaTen series.

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Good example of the above

 

[AwkwardWizard]

Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie -> Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
3D Platformer -> Physics-based Puzzle Racing Adventure game (?)

Though, I would make the argument that Banjo-Kazooie was always an Adventure franchise and that Nuts & Bolts was an attempt to make next-gen Adventure gameplay with emergent solutions.
Banjo-Kazooie was initially inspired by The Secret of Monkey island, and though the game changed from being about pirates (Project Dream), I feel that Banjo-Kazooie was essentially a point-and-click game built around a gamepad:

• funny characters
• quests
• collecting odd items to exchange
• puzzles

Platforming was just a way of getting around (and of course some Jiggies were just platforming challenges)

 

[Deleted member 1413]

I'm not sure changing camera/perspective changes the genre (re: Metroid Prime)
Other M was basically a character action game, tho

 

[Deleted member 249]

Zelda would be the best and most obvious example, I feel.

 

[Odeko]

Fallout and Castlevania come to mind

 

[ashtaar]

My first thought as assassins creed action / stealth to full on action rpg
Fallout is a good choice crpg > action rpg > fps with rpg elements
Prey fps > immersive sim

 

[KushalaDaora]

Does Persona 1/2->Persona 3/4/5 and Drakengard->Nier counts ?

Monster Rancher shifted from monster raising sim into JRPG with the (godawful) EVO.

 

[hanshen]

Duke Nukem. Side-scroller to FPS.
Heroes of Might and Magic arguably becomes the mainline series of Might and Magic after the RPG series is discontinued. Although it seems like Ubisoft is not making more Heroes games also.

 

[UltraMagnus]

I mean Final Fantasy I guess? They're not really the turn based RPGs they started off as.

Stylistically they've also basically gone from pretty strict mideval fantasy to J-Pop infused sci-fi.

 

[BadWolf]

Tomb Raider.

 

[CaptainK]

SteamWorld Tower Defense (real-time strategy), SteamWorld Dig (Metroidvania), and SteamWorld Heist (turn-based strategy). Quite an interesting franchise so far.

 

[TripaSeca]

Metal gear.
From genre defining stealth military whack to Survive.

Honorable mention to acid series.

 

[Cameron122]

Fallout went from CRPGs to Action RPGs

 

[BadWolf]

Metal gear.
From genre defining stealth military whack to Survive.

Honorable mention to acid series.

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Survive is just a side game though. MGS has had plenty of side games in other genres.

Mainline series has always been stealth.

 

[Deleted member 34949]

Guilty Gear went from a fighting game to a weird RTS kinda sorta MOBAish game in Guilty Gear 2: Overture. Went back to fighting games again with Xrd, but Overture is very much a mainline game.

ToeJam and Earl is another one, going from a top down roguelike, to a 2d side scrolling platformer in the sequel.

 

[Evilisk]

The first Dynasty Warriors was a 1-on-1 fighting game.

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IIRC the original game isn't considered part of the same series in Japan.

It's why the numbering of the games in the West is different compared to Japan (e.g. Dynasty Warriors 9 is considered Shin Sangokumusou 8)

Touhou went from Arkanoid clone to vertically scrolling shooter after the first installment.

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Was gonna post this.

Though Touhou's also dipped into being a Vs shooter / Twinkle Star Sprites clone with Touhou 3 and Touhou 9.

 

[JCHandsom]

Does Persona 1/2->Persona 3/4/5 and Drakengard->Nier counts ?

Monster Rancher shifted from monster raising sim into JRPG with the (godawful) EVO.

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I'd say Nier is a separate franchise from Drakengard that happens to have some Easter egg ties. Like, as important as Ending E is to Nier when you know about it the actual cause of the end isn't really what mattered so much as the detail of what it did.

 

[LewieP]

Panzer Dragoon went from on rails shooter to RPG.

Quake went from single player level based FPS to multiplayer arena based FPS. Unreal did the same.

 

[Orayn]

I think Falcom could provide some very strong examples depending on what you count as a series or a genre change.

Dragon Slayer has been:

1. One of the first top-down "action RPGs" ever made (Original)
2. A side scrolling RPG with more adventure and puzzle game elements (Xanadu, Romancia, Sorcerian)
   1. Xanadu becomes even more of a platformer/action game with Faxanadu
   2. It becomes a dungeon crawler of sorts with Xanadu Next and Tokyo Xanadu
3. A fairly early example of a Metroidvania while still using a lot of the same action-RPG elements (Drasle Family AKA Legacy of the Wizard)
4. A top-down RPG again, only now turn-based (Legend of Heroes and its direct sequel)
   1. Legend of Heroes expands into MULTIPLE ENTIRE JRPG SUB-FRANCHISES that have a gaggle of spinoffs with the "Trails" series
5. An RTS (Lord Monarch)

 

[chandoog]

Dino Crisis 1 went from a pure survival horror to an acade-style point-based shooter in Dino Crisis 2.

Resident Evil went from a survival horror to an survival-action game between REmake/Zero to RE4.

 

[Deleted member 37233]

Heroes of Might and Magic arguably becomes the mainline series of Might and Magic after the RPG series is discontinued. Although it seems like Ubisoft is not making more Heroes games also.

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It's sad. I loved HOMM until VI.
III, IV and V are great (I never played I and II), but VI and VII are pretty awful. But at least the franchise lasted longer that the RPG series...
I'll hope some day Ubisoft puts actual effort and money into creating a new game in the franchise again.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Dino Crisis 1 went from a pure survival horror to an acade-style point-based shooter in Dino Crisis 2.

Resident Evil went from a survival horror to an survival-action game between REmake/Zero to RE4.

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The correct answer. If anyone ever wants to experience a true 180 of genre. Play DC1 and then DC2.

 

[Rhaknar]

SteamWorld Tower Defense (real-time strategy), SteamWorld Dig (Metroidvania), and SteamWorld Heist (turn-based strategy). Quite an interesting franchise so far.

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whats this now?

 

[gforguava]

Police Quest went from an adventure game, to a weird FMV SWAT simulator, to a RTS, to a tactical FPS.

 

[Deleted member 34949]

Parasite Eve went from a straight up RPG to a survival horror game with RPG elements in 2, then went full on 3rd person shooter for The 3rd Birthday.

Kinda wild when you think about it.

 

[Captain of Outer Space]

It's interesting because what the mainline series for a franchise is can change over time, like Prime became the mainline Metroid franchise after Super, and Castlevania has an even less clear lineage of 1-4, Igavanias, Lords of Shadow 1-2 and now ???

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I recall hearing that Castlevania 64 was supposed to be the mainline future of the series while Symphony of the Night was the risky spin-off.

 

[Wilsongt]

Shining Force.

Great TRPG series to subpar hack and slash.

 

[Cactuar]

Not really a genre shift, but Street Fighter to Street Fighter 2 was such a major gameplay shift it created a genre.

 

[Wace]

Dune

 

[Datajoy]

Metal Gear went from Tactical Espionage Action to Tactical Espionage Operations.

 

[hanshen]

It's sad. I loved HOMM until VI.
III, IV and V are great (I never played I and II), but VI and VII are pretty awful. But at least the franchise lasted longer that the RPG series...
I'll hope some day Ubisoft puts actual effort and money into creating a new game in the franchise again.

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Honestly at this point I just want them to put HOMM3 back on ipad again.

 

[Real]

NBA 2K went from a sports game to a gambling game.