Summary
It’s no secret that games whichperform poorly commercially and criticallycan have disastrous effects on the developers who made them. Unfortunately, the games industry has seen more than a few companies forced to shut down completely due to a game not reaching the expectations that had been set for it, but on the other hand, there have been other titles which ended up saving the developers from going under. Considering many of these developers knew that these games would be their final shot at making their mark on the industry, a lot of them feel like true passion projects which go above and beyond to provide a fun experience for players to jump into.
In fact, many of these games tend to be seen as the best in their respective series, and are fondly remembered by players for allowing these franchises to continue on after they released. Below are among the biggest examples of games which managed to save their developers from fading into obscurity, which are all ranked based on their overall quality and fun factor.
While the titleFinal Fantasyusually relates to the characters within the games who are desperately trying to save the world from destruction, it also refers to the situationSquarewas in back in the late 80s. With Square on the brink of bankruptcy, and iconic developer Hironobu Sakaguchi spearheading one final project,Final Fantasywas the developer’s last attempt to win over a sizable audience, and it goes without saying that the legendary RPG turned out to be a massive success, at least in Japan.
The immense popularity ofDragon Questat the time had allowedFinal Fantasyto stand out as an exciting alternative, and though the gameplay can seem a little basic by today’s standards, it’s still credited for ushering in many staple RPG mechanics which we see today. Luckily for Square,Final Fantasydid well enough to continue on, with there now being 16 mainline entries and a plethora of spin-offs for players to enjoy.
The creation of the firstDead or Aliveactually follows a very similar story to the originalFinal Fantasy. Tecmo, who are known today as Koei Tecmo, were facing deep financial struggles in the 90s, with many of their niche arcade anddating simulator gamesfailing to take off. In one final ditch attempt to create something that could reach the masses, Tecmo took a page out of Sega’s book and decided to create their own 3D fighting game.
It’s important to note that Sega’s 3DVirtual Fighterwas truly groundbreaking in the fighting game genre, considering everything before that game had been restricted to a 2D side-scrolling format. As a result, Tecmo made the clever decision to jump on this trend, allowingDead or Aliveto stand out as an innovator which has gone on to enjoy a very celebrated legacy, with the series remaining popular even today.
Sonicfans will be well aware that the mid-2000s to the 2010s mark a pretty rough period for the franchise. With games likeSonic Boom,Sonic Forcesand the infamousSonic 06all being regarded as disappointing by many fans, it became clear in the 2020s that if Sonic Team didn’t come out with another smash hit, their days in the industry would be numbered. With reports coming out thatFrontierswould be their last attempt at restoring faith in the fan base, many people were eager to see what exactly they would cook up for their latest entry.
Thankfully,Sonic Frontiersis an excellent game which manages to incorporate elements of the classic entries while also doing something completely new. With giant open areas to explore at a blistering speed alongside the short but enjoyableCyberspace Levels,Sonic Frontiersfeatures a ton of content to keep players engaged from beginning to end. It also seems like Sonic Team decided to get a little more ambitious and dark with the story this time around, and it certainly paid off considering how many people connected with it. Fans only need to listen to the track named One Way Dream to get an idea of how the developers were feeling when creating what very well could have been their finalSonicgame.
While it may be hard to believe these days, there was once a time when Bethesda was close to shutting down for good due to the mixed reception they had received from their games, specificallyDagerfall.ThoughDagerfallwas far from a bad game, it also launched with a ton of technical issues and bugs, which ultimately caused many fans to question whether Bethesda could truly be called the leaders of the RPG genre, considering it felt like they were beginning to lag behind some of their competition.
Bethesda themselves have admitted that ifMorrowinddidn’t perform well, it’s very unlikely that theElder Scrollsor even the developers as a whole would have been able to continue. The game’s gorgeous open world,satisfying skill progression system, and variety of interesting NPC characters all came together to create a game that felt truly immersive and fun to play. It’s hard to think of a world where games likeOblivionand especiallySkyrimnever existed, but this would have become a reality ifMorrowindhadn’t resonated with players as much as it did.
Fire Emblemhas always been a rather unique first-party Nintendo franchise. While it’s nowhere near as popular as the likes of Mario or Zelda, it still has an extremely passionate fan base that always shows up anytime a new entry is released. The obscurity of Fire Emblem ended up being more of a detriment than a blessing in the early 2000s, though, as the brutal difficulty of the games made it very hard for newcomers to jump into the series.
This primarily applies to thepermadeath system, which meant any units killed in combat would be out of the game for good, and considering the games were already hard enough, even a simple mistake would result in someone losing their life. Intelligence Systems were told that ifAwakeningdidn’t sell well, then they would no longer be able to continue making games under the Nintendo brand, which is why they went all out when developing this game. With the option to choose between turning permadeath on or off, alongside a brand-new partner system where units can team up on the battlefield to help one another, it ensured the difficulty was still there, while also making the game much more accessible, helping it reach the mainstream and ensuringFire Emblemwould continue on for many years to come.
Atlus’s endless creativity as developers has often been a big reason why theirmodern RPGsare so beloved by fans of the genre, but this didn’t always work in their favor. BeforePersonabecame a household name, Atlus was releasing dark, gritty, and challenging dungeon crawlers, such as theDigital Devil Sagaduology, which did a poor job at drawing in new fans. With the first two Persona games only receiving moderate popularity in Japan, director Katsura Hashino has admitted that Atlus was most likely going to disappear ifPersona 3didn’t perform well enough.
Of course, the rest is history, as while many people creditPersona 4for ushering this franchise into the mainstream, it was reallyPersona 3that started off this trend.Persona 3’smix between being a regular High School student in the day and traversing dungeons with party members at night created a unique dynamic that hadn’t really been seen before. Despite the vibrant and stylish aesthetic, it also featured an incredibly emotional story that resonated with many people who played it. Considering the game was remade in 2024, it’s clear Atlus holds a lot of admiration for this iconic JRPG, especially considering it was literally the game that allowed them to continue their journey in the industry.
Though it wasn’t made clear whenNier Automatawas first released, the lead developer ofPlatinum Games, Hideaki Kamiya, has since revealed that the developers weren’t exactly in the best spot during that specific period. With the incredibly ambitiousScaleboundbeing canceled in 2017, alongside the character action genre taking a sudden dip in popularity,Nier Automatacame out at just the right time to breathe new life into Platinum Games by providing what many consider one of the best action games ever made.
The hack-and-slash gameplay ofNier Automatais a ton of fun, especially thanks to the wide selection of skills and abilities that 2B can learn throughout a playthrough. What really elevates the game to a whole new level though, is its story. The game’s plot incorporates many fascinating philosophical ideas and concepts into its storyline, and when fused with the general quirkiness of developer Yoko Taro, it’s no wonder whyNier Automatahas become so beloved. Thankfully, the game managed to sell like hotcakes and received a lot of critical success, allowing Platinum to continue making games that would revolutionize the action genre, much to the delight of fans around the world.
