Nintendo Franchises That Were Killed Off Too Quickly

Key Takeaways

• Some Nintendo franchises like
  Wario Land
  and
  Star Fox
  have faded away after successful games.
• Fortune Street
  didn’t continue due to poor marketing despite adding unique gameplay elements.
• The popularity of games such as
  Ice Climber
  was not leveraged by Nintendo to create new sequels.

Nintendo has many franchises in its lexicon that still get new entries, from The Legend Of Zelda to the Mario universe. However, for every successful franchise that the company keeps vitalized with sequels, prequels, reboots, and spin-offs, others are not so lucky for various reasons.

Over the decades that Nintendo has developed and published games, sometimes a franchise starts and manages to make a name for itself, but much to the dismay of the fans, it gets sidelined. Sometimes these franchises last a few games before they end, while others were meant to be the start of the new franchise but never got a single follow-up.

10 Wario Land

Wario Was Once Nintendo’s Definitive Anti-Hero

After appearing as the main villain in Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins, Wario took over the handheld games and became the star of Wario Land. The series thrived on the Game Boy and other handheld consoles with multiple sequels until the final game, Wario Land: Shake It! for the Nintendo Wii.

Nearly every Wario Land game received a warm reception with high ratings and praise from gamers, but after Wario Land: Shake It!, the series seemed to vanish under Nintendo’s nose. Wario has since been reduced to simply being an addition to Mario games like Mario Party or Mario Kart, much like his partner Waluigi.

9 Earthbound

The Beloved RPG That Inspired Many Other Games

Over many years, Earthbound has become an iconic part of the SNES library as it gave fans a contemporary/sci-fi RPG, unlike most games at its time. It was unfortunately reduced to being a cult gem because the original marketing was too focused on advertising that the game was gross and would disgust players, when in fact it was nothing like that.

Earthbound was instead a complex RPG about children trying to save their world from an alien invasion. It was technically the second game in the Mother series, but Mother 1 and Mother 3 were Japanese exclusives. Despite Earthbound being a beloved classic these days, the series never continued past Mother 3, other than characters appearing in Super Smash Bros. games.

8 Ice Climber

Nintendo Keeps Bringing Them Back, But Not In Their Own Games

Another regular of Super Smash Bros. games, the Ice Climbers, got their start in the action-based platformer simply titled Ice Climber. The object of the game was simple: climb to the top of a mountain in each stage while fighting enemies. This concept could been expanded upon with more gameplay mechanics and level designs.

Considering the rise of challenging platformers such as Getting Over It and Only Up, as well as the advancement of climbing mechanics in games, Ice Climber in the modern age of gaming could be Nintendo’s take on the niche subgenre. However, the Ice Climbers are another example of a solo outing that managed to be featured in other Nintendo franchises, but never really took off on their own.

7 Banjo-Kazooie

The Bird And Bear Ruled 3D Platformers

In the late 90s, when 3D platformers were taking the world by storm, Banjo-Kazooie was created by Rare, and it became an instant hit on the Nintendo 64 with an equally enjoyable sequel. Unfortunately, Banjo-Kazooie fell apart when Rare was purchased by Microsoft. The third game, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, went in a radically different direction and was unsuccessful.

Ever since the third game, Banjo-Kazooie has been a dead franchise. So much so, that some of the original developers went on to make a spiritual successor, Yooka-Laylee. The characters of Banjo and Kazooie did make a grand return in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but many fans hope to see the bear and bird return to their platforming adventure again.

6 Star Fox

Fans Deserve The Chance To Fly An Arwing Again

In the world of space combat games, Star Fox has always been a strong balance of fun and challenge. Star Fox has a strong title for the SNES, Nintendo 64, and a few games on handheld. Sadly, the franchise has struggled to recover from the third game in the series: Star Fox Adventures for the Nintendo GameCube.

Rather than a space flight game, Star Fox Adventures was closer to an action adventure in the same vein as The Legend Of Zelda. Fans weren’t happy, and ever since, Star Fox has rarely had a new entry. The latest game, Star Fox Zero for the Wii U, flew under the radar. Since then, Star Fox has been neglected, apart from Nintendo’s exclusive content for Starlink: Battle For Atlas.

5 Fortune Street

If Mario Party And Monopoly Were Spliced Together

The Mario universe is filled with various party game spin-offs, such as the Mario Party games, Mario Kart, and many sports-related titles that all have sequels. However, Fortune Street remains a solo entry. This title took a board game idea similar to Mario Party, but closer to Monopoly, with property management starring Mario characters crossing over with Dragon Quest characters.

In Square Enix’s Fortune Street, players can not only buy properties like in Monopoly, but there is also the stock market to add more variety and strategy when playing with multiple people. It was far more difficult than other Mario spin-off games, but that was part of its charm. Unfortunately, the lack of marketing led to Fortune Street failing financially, and it never got to be a proper franchise.

4 Punch-Out!

The Boxing Games Were Always Knock-Outs

During the NES era, Punch-Out! was a major hit for the system and provided many memories for gamers as a nice homage and parody of Rocky movies. It featured famous boxer Mike Tyson as the final boss, which also boosted its sales, with over two million copies sold back in 1988. A more obscure sequel was also made for the SNES.

In 2009, Punch-Out!made quite a return on the Nintendo Wii with a reboot that added 3D visuals that added to the well-animated characters. It also featured motion controls that were still fun and loyal to the original. The reboot was a big hit on the Wii with 1.3 million copies sold. With the Joy-Cons on the Switch, it would seem ideal to bring Punch-Out! back, but that has not happened.

3 Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem

Could Have Been The Next Big Horror Franchise

Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem was Nintendo’s answer to famous horror titles such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill, with many praising it for its unique meta ways of toying with the player. Throughout the game, reality would change and even play tricks by making it seem like the television was turned off or settings were being changed, combined with the physical threats in the game.

There were plans for a sequel for the Wii U, Xbox 360, and PS3, but the developers at Silicon Knights were hit with budget cuts and staff cuts until they were forced to close down. Especially after their previous game, X-Men Destiny, was a critical and financial failure due to said cuts. Eternal Darkness 2 has since been just a dream fans wish would come true.

2 StarTropics

Revolutionized Open Worlds Before They Were Popular

During a time when open-world games were an almost alien concept, StarTropics was far ahead of its time. The player can explore freely, talk to NPCs, gain knowledge, and tackle dungeons in any order. In many ways, StarTropics was like The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild with its structure, showing it would work in the modern age.

There was a StarTropics sequel known as Zoda’s Revenge: StarTropics 2 for the SNES, but that one is even less known than the first game. Ever since, Nintendo seems to have forgotten the existence of StarTropics, while loyal fans still hope for the day that the game is remade for the Switch or a new surprise sequel is announced.

1 The Legendary Starfy

Starfy Could Have Been The Cutest Nintendo Mascot

• Developer: Tose
• Release Date: July 10, 2008
• System: Nintendo DS
• Genre: Action-Adventure Platformer

Internationally, gamers were introduced to The Legendary Starfy on the Nintendo DS in 2008. This was actually the fifth game in a franchise that had existed in Japan since 2002, but never released outside of it. The aquatic fantasy adventures of a talking starfish mix simplistic level traversal akin to Kirby games with spinning attacks like Crash Bandicoot.

The Legendary Starfy was considered a gem for the DS, even if it wasn’t the most original game ever made, with some hoping to see the franchise continue all over the world. Instead, Starfy was reduced to a power-up in Super Smash Bros. The Legendary Starfy suffered from low sales and the series has yet to make a comeback, even in Japan.