Iconic games that haven't had a proper spiritual successor

[J1M]

As time goes on, publishers die or fall out of touch with their core audience. This leads to an opening for others to fill a specific niche with a spiritual successor.

Some notable examples:
Mega Man -> Shovel Knight
Magic: The Gathering -> Hearthstone
Harvest Moon -> Stardew Valley
Advance Wars -> Wargroove

Harvest Moon was a particularly interesting case. The series was continued, but it devolved into something with such poor production values it was hard to believe it was a real product.

I'm interested in discussing iconic but neglected games that are ripe for a spiritual successor. Below is my list to get things started. If someone finds an appropriate spiritual successor it will be added to the list.

Metroid Prime (FPS/metroidvania/exploration/shooter)
Ogre Battle (area control/party combat without direct input)
Pikmin (RTS/puzzle/exploration)
Starfox (rail shooter)
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes (puzzle)
Peggle (plinko/pinball)
Deus Ex (conspiracy/immersive sim)

(Even though the recent Deus Ex games have been interesting, as prequels they can never capture any of the conspiracy vibe from the first game because of the nature of a prequel.)

 

[vota DC]

Birthright the Gorgon's Alliance (RTS/turn based strategy/pseudo real time tactics)

 

[new fucking guy]

Black & White

 

[Nano]

Black & White

Also from Lionhead: The Movies.

 

[Master]

Max Payne and Fear. Still waiting for that Bullet Time 3.0.

 

[Valestein]

This is a good spiritual successor to the 2D sonic games, and has some pretty challenging boss fights (I died like a 100 or so times in my first run).




The music is ace too.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Myth series, unique enough that nobody dared to make something like that.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

PSI-5 Trading Company (1985): Assume command of a space freighter, pick crew members to fill the postions of Weapons, Scanning, Navigation, Engineering and Repairs and fly your cargo to its destination while keeping an eye out for pirates and other ne'erdowells. The gimmick is that you as the captain are restricted to issuing orders - everything else is up to the (computer-controlled) crew. Don't let its age and clunky UI fool you - this game can get really hectic at times and calls for considerable micromanagement.

Though technically not 'iconic' this is a game I would love to see remade with modern-day technology. The closest thing to a spiritual successor to this game is Star Trek: Bridge Crew (2017) though there are enough differences to keep them seperate.

Werewolves of London (1987): You control a poor soul who's been cursed with lycanthropy, and the only means to reverse it is to hunt down and kill the eight relatives of the ones who inflicted the curse. Stalk your prey through the streets of London while waiting for night (as you can only kill when the curse takes control) while also avoiding the coppers who will devote more and more manpower to apprehend you as you kill more people. Careful planning and timing are crucial here.

Originally released on the Amstrad CPC, this game has a cult following among Amstrad fans as its surprising depth and gameplay elements seem a bit out-of-place on a meager 8-bit platform. I'm having a hard time pointing to a game that could be called its spiritual successor, but I can name a lot of games that have elements of it. Imagine a mission in a Hitman game where you have to remain undetected during the day while locating your next target, then transform into a nigh-unstoppable killing machine at night to murder your prey.

 

[Swigen]

Twisted Metal

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

x-com and elite 2.

 

[The Fish]

Darklands.

Harvest Moon -> Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley pales in comparison to Rune Factory 4. Forget harvest moon and stardew, a proper successor to rune factory 4 is what we need.

Edit: Vagrant Story as well.

 

[Astral Rag]

Teresa House Guest

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

Alpha Centauri. It was attempted with Pandora and Beyond Earth. Neither suceeded.

 

[Circuit the Short]

Birthright the Gorgon's Alliance (RTS/turn based strategy/pseudo real time tactics)

This. Sovereignty: Crown of Kings is the closest thing, but it's not that good.

 

[Night Goat]

Came here to say Myth and Black & White, but also Arcanum, Freelancer and any FPS that lets you carry more than two guns at a time.

 

[vota DC]

Isn't black and white the spiritual successor of both Populous and Dungeon Keeper? Populous you are the good god that is supposed to make win his worshipper (you can act bad but you will lose), Dungeon Keeper you are evil and slapping improve production, Black and White is in the middle?

Also does Warcraft 2 has a spiritual successor? Warcraft 3 has very little to do. Even Warcraft 1 is more similar to 3 than 2. Armies of Exigo is more similar to a Warcraft 2 spiritual successor, still it is mostly Warcraft meets Starcraft, a real Warcraft 3 would have a deep naval system.

Not sure if there are new old style rts like Dark Reign where artillery acts as real artillery.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

Z
Nether Earth
Dark Colony
Half-Life
Unreal
Heart of Darkness
Big Nose: Freaks Out!

Myth series, unique enough that nobody dared to make something like that.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Tehdagah]

Mega Man and Shovel Knight are pretty different

 

[Lady_Error]

The original Uncharted Waters 1 & 2 from KOEI:



I have no idea why nobody ever did a remake or something even remotely similar. Pirates was not nearly as good as this game.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Came here to say Myth and Black & White, but also Arcanum, Freelancer and any FPS that lets you carry more than two guns at a time.

Doom 4 lets you carry all the guns. Just like the old ones did.

 

[sser]

Freedom Force, or even a proper sequel.

With all the cape stuff being worth billions now, the advent of nostalgia-fueled Kickstarters, and the resurgence of RPG/strategy games' popularity I thought someone would have come out and done it already.

 

[Circuit the Short]

Freedom Force, or even a proper sequel.

With all the cape stuff being worth billions now, the advent of nostalgia-fueled Kickstarters, and the resurgence of RPG/strategy games' popularity I thought someone would have come out and done it already.

This?

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Freedom Force.
Tactical superhero themed game where there's lots of environmental damage could be improved by modern tech.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Freedom Force, or even a proper sequel.

With all the cape stuff being worth billions now, the advent of nostalgia-fueled Kickstarters, and the resurgence of RPG/strategy games' popularity I thought someone would have come out and done it already.

This?

Doesn't really seem to do physics based stuff which was most of the fun in FF.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Crimson Skies

There was attempt to make one couple of years back.
Not nearly as good as CS.