Top 10 Black Sheep of Popular Video Game Franchises
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6. Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest (SNES)

It took a while for Japanese RPGs to find an audience in the West, and many of the early Final Fantasy games never made it out of their homeland. This problem was thankfully averted when Square released Final Fantasy IV for the Super Nintendo (albeit under the name Final Fantasy II). Unfortunately, Final Fantasy V didn't make it to the West, and the next Final Fantasy game released in America and Europe was the thoroughly dumbed-down Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest. This game was designed to be a simpler RPG to ease new players into the genre. Instead, it was a short, simple, and ultimately forgettable substitute for a proper RPG. Thankfully, a few years later Final Fantasy VII would prove to everyone that RPGs could be blockbuster material, reducing the need for Baby's First RPG.
5. Devil May Cry 2 (PS2)

The first Devil May Cry was one of the PS2's earliest successes, an over-the-top beat-'em-up oozing style with every frame and bearing a single-player difficulty level so high it inspired tournaments. Devil May Cry 2, not so much, since series director Hideki Kamiyo was not involved. The new team instead created a disappointing game that added bigger levels at the cost of the complex combat system and the hearty challenge - the two biggest selling points of the original. Worse, the endearingly flamboyant Dante was kept silent for most of the game, and he was forced to share his spotlight with the widely reviled Lucia. Anyone complaining about the recent Devil May Cry reboot DmC should remember this game, then kindly shut their trap.
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Neil Kapit
Neil Kapit is a freelance writer, cartoonist, and "La Li Lu Le Lo" agent based in Los Angeles. His work can be seen on www.therubynation.com. |
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