10 Awesome AAA Games That Never Got a Sequel

Grim Fandango

Considered Tim Schafer’s finest masterpiece, Grim Fandango’s release back in 1998 on PC received critical acclaim. Such critical acclaim that it’s currently sitting at a 94 on Metacritic. For those who haven’t heard of Grim Fandango before, let us give you a quick overview. There are some shady goings on in the Land of Dead and it’s down to you to help out Manny, the travel agent at the Department of Death, and solve the mysterious goings on. Its gameplay was great fun, it had stellar writing, and a beautiful art direction for its time. Heck, the game was so popular that it’s even been remastered for current-gen systems.

Yet, unfortunately, Schafer has never decided to return to the Land of Dead. This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, though, as many of his creations have been one and done cases. Regardless, what we wouldn’t do to get our hands on another Grim Fandango title that makes use of the technology of today while maintaining the quick wit and perfect execution of the original.

Pokemon Snap

If you say Pokemon to people, the first thing they’ll likely jump to is battling the cuddly creatures or catching a beloved Pikachu. Yet, there was one Pokemon game that, no matter how much noise fans make, just seems doomed to never receive a sequel. Pokemon Snap, the 1999 N64 classic guided players through a variety of different stages in a little cart as Pokemon appeared, ready for you to snap a quick photo of them.

The real fun came in trying to get the highest possible score on one photo, though. If you could catch a Pokemon in a particular pose, or, for example, a Meowth chasing a Pidgey as in the photo above, you’d get bonus points. Despite being a great spin-off title, and Pokemon still being relevant almost 20 years later, Snap still is without its sequel.

With so many more Pokemon to now stuff into worlds, mobile and handheld platforms to put it on, and plenty of potential new stages, a Pokemon Snap 2 seems such an obvious move. Alas, we’ll just have to stick to Pokemon Sun and Moon’s Poké Finder feature instead.

Catherine

Catherine was one hell of a surreal and unique experience that came to the 360 and PS3 back in 2011. Cutting a long story short, Catherine tells the story of a man named Vincent who cheats on his girlfriend Katherine with a girl named Catherine. However, after having horrible nightmares of falling and other weird visions, Vincent starts to fear that the rumors of these kinds of dreams leading to death are true. Yep, we told you it was surreal and unique.

Despite being pretty out there, Catherine’s excellent combination of abstract storyline and enjoyable puzzle-based gameplay made for one unforgettable and quite emotional experience. As we continue past the three-year anniversary of the current generation and we’re inundated with remasters and annual franchises, it sure would be nice to have something as out there as Catherine make a long-awaited return.

Lost Odyssey

Lost Odyssey is a JRPG that tells the story of Kaim, an immortal guy who has been alive for over 1000 years. Unfortunately, he doesn’t remember his past and he has no idea where his future will lead him. That’s where you come in. You’ll guide Kaim and a bunch of other characters on an adventure to not only discover Kaim’s past but uncover their destiny in the process.

Lost Odyssey was so huge in size that it was stretched across four Xbox 360 discs. Its narrative was excellent and it delivered some solid turn-based RPG combat, too. For some reason, Kaim and co. never got a sequel, despite receiving a positive reception from critics and players alike.

The Legend of Dragoon

Releasing back on the PS1 back in 1999, The Legend of Dragoon follows the story of Dart as he sets out on an adventure to free his closest friend Shana and keep her safe. However, on the way he discovers that he has inherited the power of the Dragoon, a knight who fought in an ancient battle for the survival of humans. Dart must use this newfound power to protect not only Shana, but the rest of the world as the war starts over once again.

The Legend of Dragoon was one of those epic RPGs with a powerful fantasy story, a great cast of characters, and an innovative combat system that made it stand out from the slew of RPGs at the time. With The Legend of Dragoon’s Producer, Shuhei Yoshida now President of Sony’s Worldwide Studios, he has the power. Though, admittedly it’s probably a long shot.

Altered Beast

Altered Beast has been on an absolute ton of platforms via ports and remasters. Despite its huge popularity among gamers, the 1998 beat ’em up has never seen a true successor in the form of a sequel. Set in ancient Greece, players took control of a centurion resurrected by Zeus in order to rescue his daughter Athena. Oh, and as the title suggests, you’ll have the ability to transform into beasts such as a werewolf via handy power-ups littered throughout levels.

Side-scrolling beat ’em ups have fallen to the wayside in recent years as gaming worlds have expanded and more mechanics have evolved from these basic beginnings. Still, it’d be great to see what SEGA could do with this classic in the form of a sequel with the resources available to them today.

Skies of Arcadia

Skies of Arcadia saw you embark on a magical journey as you followed the story of a band of Air Pirates on their quest to find treasure high up in the skies above Arcadia. Yes, it’s another RPG, but Skies of Arcadia was so far ahead of its time in a sense. It gave you the ability to customize your ship, made use of the Internet to help you along on your quest, and had unparalleled storytelling that made the characters and the whole journey so damn memorable.

Though Skies of Arcadia did get remade for the GameCube in 2003 due to its overwhelmingly positive reception from critics and players alike, developer Overworks never went on to send the group of Air Pirates out for another adventure. Considering just how much video game worlds have grown in size since 2000, we can’t imagine how grand a new Skies of Arcadia would be. Unfortunately, for now, it looks like that’ll just be a mere pipe dream.

Vanquish

One of the more recent titles to have been snubbed a sequel, PlatinumGames’ Vanquish was an all-out action shooter. Players assume the role of Sam, a government agent in a bad-ass futuristic battle suit that makes it incredibly easy to chain attacks and movement in one fluid dance through levels. It was one of the most satisfying shooters to play, despite its somewhat cliche characters and dialogue.

While PlatinumGames is currently hard at work on Scalebound and putting the finishing touches to the upcoming NieR: Automata, it’d still be great to see Vanquish make a return to our consoles sometime soon. Though, it seems highly unlikely that’ll be anytime soon.

Alan Wake

Alan Wake is a thriller where your enemies can’t just be shot with your gun. Set in an idyllic small town in Washington, players assumed the role of Alan Wake, a bestselling horror writer who’s going through a bit of writer’s block. In an attempt to jump start the creative juices for his next bestseller, Alan and his wife escape to the small secluded town, but soon find the nightmares he is writing about are coming true.

As such, Alan Wake’s story becomes imperative to the gameplay and the story, and it all blends together to make for one unforgettable and unique ride. Those enemies that Alan has crafted up in his mind can’t simply be shot, you’ll need to weaken them with a blast from your flashlight first. Oh, and that flashlight needs a constant supply of batteries. Just to up the ante even more.

Alan Wake’s release in 2010 on the 360 and PC was received positively by both critics and players. While there has been no confirmation that there would be a sequel to Alan Wake, developer Remedy Entertainment did put a little Easter Egg in its 2016 title Quantum Break. Just a reference? Perhaps. But fans will be clinging to this as a suggestion that a sequel could come further down the line.

Bully

Bully was something a little different from what developer Rockstar normally released, but a game that remained within the same confines of what you’d expect. Players assume the role of schoolboy Jimmy Hopkins at Bullworth Academy, and it’s down to you to decide how young Jimmy spends his time here.

Bully opens up a ton of different options to you, bike racing, skateboarding, flirting with girls, pulling pranks on other bullies. You name it, it’s in Bully. The GTA heritage was certainly prominent here, but it was just diluted a little to achieve that Teen rating. That doesn’t mean it won’t have you laughing at its crude humor, though.

Unfortunately, developer Rockstar Vancouver hasn’t revisited the 2006 classic regardless of the solid 87 it’s got over on Metacritic. In fact, they’ve been pretty silent since it released Max Payne 3 back in 2012. If they’re due another release soon, we seriously hope we get to revisit Bullworth Academy.