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Jan 02, 2024

10 Unfinished Video Game Trilogies That Were Cut Short

These video game trilogies never got the ending they deserved. The AAA gaming industry thrives on sequels. As SVP of Marketing & Customer Experience Tony Key of Ubisoft has stated, "We won't even

These video game trilogies never got the ending they deserved.

The AAA gaming industry thrives on sequels. As SVP of Marketing & Customer Experience Tony Key of Ubisoft has stated, "We won't even start if we don't think we can build a franchise out of it." While many decry this attitude for disregarding the merit of self-contained stories and taking a risk on a new idea, sequels can add further refinements to quality titles.

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Unfortunately, there are many potential gaming franchises that were robbed of the sequels that they so richly deserved. Whether it's due to financial underperformance, creative differences, or other external forces, these gaming trilogies never managed to reach their intended conclusion.

Nights Into Dreams was a cult classic on the Sega Saturn. Despite fan demand, Yuji Naka refused to develop a follow-up. However, after Naka departed from Sonic Team, Takashi Iizuka led the USA team's development on a second Nights title. Journey of Dreams would see a release on the Nintendo Wii and build upon the 2.5D flying gameplay of its former title.

Reviews were considerably more mixed with praise towards the visuals and core gameplay, but complaints leveled at the game's story and intrusive platforming sections. Iizuka has expressed interest in a third title, but Sega has yet to commission it.

Sega and High Voltage Software's Conduit titles aimed to deliver a solid FPS experience to a platform that was desperately lacking it. Many critics regarded the two games as the few Wii exclusive shooters aside from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption to successfully crack the code.

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The second game in the series ended with an absolutely ridiculous cliffhanger where a mecha suited Abraham Lincoln emerges through a portal and tells the player that he's "here to help." Unfortunately, a third game has yet to come out and give any explanation for this utterly nonsensical conclusion.

Junction Point's Epic Mickey titles aimed to make the eponymous mouse as important in the gaming scene as he was in other mediums. Players were put in control of the famous mascot as he unwittingly stumbles into a realm of forgotten characters. The main gameplay gimmick was the use of paint and thinner to redeem or destroy enemies.

They also incorporated several moral choices that would determine Mickey's reputation in the wasteland. While outlets praised the games for their ambition, they found fault with the combat, camera, and design. Low sales of the second title put the kibosh on a sequel and even a kart racing spin off.

Loom was a unique LucasArts graphic adventure that eschewed common tropes in the genre such as inventory based puzzles and deaths. While it was criminally short, its spell-based gameplay helped set it apart. As its cliffhanger ending suggests, Brian Moriarty had plans for further entries that would center around the different factions Bobbin encountered on his quest.

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Forge would have seen Rusty Nailbender being guided by a ghostly Bobbin while The Fold would have capped off the trilogy with Fleece the Shepherd. Unfortunately, as Moriarty stated, "I was busy with other projects, and nobody else felt strongly enough about the games to make a commitment."

Capcom Studio Production 8's Maximo titles were solid action platformers that nailed the feeling of the 8-bit games of yore. Critics who complained that video games during the sixth generation were getting too easy got more than they bargained for with these Ghost 'N Goblin-esque adventures.

Unfortunately, while these titles received positive reviews, they didn't rake in the sales numbers to keep this Western Capcom division afloat. The canceled third game would have shifted towards an Arabian Nights setting and seen Maximo becoming forcibly fused with the Grim Reaper.

Ron Gilbert's Maniac Mansion was the first LucasArts title to be powered by their custom engine called SCUMM (script creation utility for maniac mansion.) It paved the way for further graphic adventure classics from the studio such as Monkey Island and Fate of Atlantis.

Gilbert would depart from the company shortly after; leaving the sequel in the hands of Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman. Day of the Tentacle leaned towards a zanier art-direction and tone with wonderful character animations and visual gags. Dan Connors of Telltale stated a sequel to Tentacle could be feasible, but the company went bankrupt before such plans could be realized.

Two years after the massive success of Devil May Cry, Hideki Kamiya's team once again delivered a red-hot kick to action games with Viewtiful Joe. Players were put into the role of the eponymous Joe who ventures forth into Movieland in order to save his girlfriend Sylvia. The sequel would see her getting a V-watch of her very own and joining in as a playable character.

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The games incorporated a lively cel-shaded art direction which evoked both Japanese sentai and American superhero comics. While the ending to the first game hinted at a trilogy, it seems that Capcom has hung up the V-watch for good.

The Mega-Man Legends subseries deviated from the typical formula of the classic and X titles with a fully polygonal adventure. In stark contrast to the earlier side-scrolling entries, Legends had a larger emphasis on narrative with fully voiced in-engine cinematics. A distinct anime art-direction helped these early 3D titles stand the test of time.

After two numerical installments and a spinoff, the series went dormant for several years. It wasn't until 2010 that a third entry and another project called Mega-Man Universe were announced. Unfortunately, Keji Inafune's departure meant the cancelation of both of these projects.

Bioware's Knights of the Old Republic allowed players to interact with a galaxy far, far away in a manner that previous games couldn't. It was another quality RPG from the studio that featured their high caliber writing and robust mechanics. The sequel would be handled by Obsidian Entertainment of Fallout New Vegas fame.

It featured a darker, and morally ambiguous narrative with far more impactful moral choices. While the studio was eager to work on a follow-up, Jim Ward of LucasArts elected to have it developed in-house. Unfortunately, following a troubled development period and the company's acquisition from Disney, a third entry is still in carbonite.

The Half Life games are some of the most ground-breaking, and important FPS titles of all time. Each title pushed boundaries in storytelling, game design, and hardware. However, Valve was well aware of the massive time gap between their releases. To alleviate this problem, the company elected to release the third installment episodically.

The idea was that developing it piecemeal would decrease the amount of time players would have to wait. Unfortunately, after two episodes, the series went radio silent. Half Life Episode 3 remains one of the biggest examples of gaming vaporware: topping even Duke Nukem Forever and Beyond Good & Evil 2.

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Webster's Dictionary defines Patrick Arellano as a Games Lists Writer based in California. He'll talk your ear off on the topics of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Columbo, and the filmography of David Lynch.