Throughout many years of video game history, there have been stellar spinoffs of popular games, some which even rival the originals. Persona, for instance, is a more accessible and arguably enjoyable take on the Shin Megami Tensei series. The Pokémon series alone seems to get a spinoff every year or so, with popular titles like Pokémon Unite and the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series.
Additionally, theMario Kartgames have become a phenomenon with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe selling over sixty million copies worldwide. Here are ten of the best spinoffs throughout gaming history.
10Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
A musical love letter to Final Fantasy fans.
The music of the Final Fantasy games is some of the best you’ll hear in the industry with classic tracks by Nobuo Uematsu and Yoko Shimomura, just to name a few. Theatrhythm Final Bar Line compiles the mass majority of the Final Fantasy soundtracks and places them in an entertaining music-rhythm game. You pick the heroes from the series you love and place them in a party, taking out monsters and memorable antagonists from the franchise to the beat. It feels satisfying to see the party members strike their foes as you perfectly time your button presses.
The characters are placed in a cute art style and the environments they battle in are directly inspired by the games they come from. Final Bar Line is a fantastic spin-off that fans of video game music and Final Fantasy should check out.
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line also includes tracks from other Square Enix titles like Nier and The World Ends With You if you get the DLC.
9Far Cry: New Dawn
An underrated entry in the long-running series.
Far Cry New Dawn
Set in a post-apocalyptic version of Far Cry 5’s Hope Country, New Dawn is a refreshing take on Ubisoft’s open world franchise. First off, the visuals are stunning taking on a purple color scheme throughout the game. The imagery is engaging and truly pulls you into this adventure. What also will pull you in are the weapons. You have this cool saw launcher that can blitz through enemies with its sharp blades, the cool punk-rock inspired Punk Bat and the funny unicorn flamethrower among other tools at your disposal.
The crafting system is also fun to utilize. It’s also a shorter experience than most mainline Far Cry titles, telling a more compelling story instead of having too much bloat. Give this game a go! It received anext-gen updatethat lets it run at faster framerates.
8Halo: Fireteam Raven
A fun trip to the arcades.
Halo: Fireteam Raven is the highlight in modern arcades today. Featuring a massive four-player set-up, the sci-fi action is played on a turret-like system. You’re shooting down foes with this awesome set-up as you compete against your fellow Spartans for the highest score. There’s somewhat of a story to be found here as you play a side squad and see Master Chief pop up every once in a while, but the main attraction is the light-gun-esque gameplay.
You’re blasting down the iconic vehicles of the sci-fi series like Banshees and the like. There are even pistol sections that have you take down the Unggoy. The action is so intense that it made me a Halo fan and had me try Halo Infinite, which I also adored.
7Forza Horizon 5
One of the best racing games around.
Forza Horizon 5
The Horizon series trumps whatever Forza Motorsport can offer, as it features a thrilling open world, stellar arcade racing gameplay and gorgeous environments to explore. The fifth entry in the series can be argued as the best. It features a variety of environments to explore within the Mexican landscape. It has deserts, jungles, cities, ruins, beaches, canyons and even a snow-capped volcano. The seasons also change as you progress through Forza Horizon 5, offering a well-rounded driving experience. The cars look beautiful as well. “These are the best-looking cars in any racing game to date, and the environments are beautiful,” said our review.
Forza Horizon 5 has content for days too, as you unlock new cars and upgrade them, or take on plenty of side missions to keep the cash flowing in. It’s one of the best racing games out there, despite being almost four years old at this point. Hopefully, Xbox releases a new Horizon game soon, but it’s cool thatPS5 owners can finally check outwhat they’ve been missing.
6Pokémon Snap
A pleasant ride for photography nerds.
Pokemon Snap
Pokémon Snap is everything a video game spinoff should be. It establishes a new, engaging way to interact with the world we know and love. Instead of battling these pocket monsters, we’re taking pictures of them as research for Professor Oak. You’re taken on a tour of each environment, similarly to a theme park ride. The fun in Pokémon Snap comes when you have to interact with the pocket monsters and the biome they’re from. For example, if you throw an apple at a Charmeleon and knock it into a pool of lava, it turns into a Charizard. There are many interactions like that and they will all thrill Pokémon fans as the world feels more alive.
Those who like taking the perfect picture will also have fun framing each monster into the frame, and it can sometimes be tough as they move around quickly. As you progress through the game, you’ll gain all manner of new tools that can help you. This encourages exploring prior levels for new interactions and photo opportunities.
5Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
It’s a shame they didn’t get more adventures.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Side characters Chloe and Nadine received their first and only adventure together inUncharted: The Lost Legacy. It’s a standalone adventure that doesn’t star Nathan Drake, instead featuring a blockbuster ride with the two ladies as the protagonists. They play off each other well and the writing is stellar as usual in the Uncharted series. The Lost Legacy takes the series to new heights as it features a more open-world concept.
You’re riding off in a car, finding secrets around the map, and as the story unfolds, you’ll learn more about the mystery that Chloe and Nadine are trying to uncover. The Lost Legacy features a few incredible scenes, especially towards the end. And as always from the Uncharted series, the third-person shooting gameplay is top-notch. It’s sad that Chloe and Nadine never got a sequel. It’s annoying how Naughty Dog drops a beloved franchise and moves on.
4Mario Party Superstars
Prepare to lose your friends.
Mario Party Superstars
Get ready because the next three entries are spinoffs of the Super Mario series. The first is Mario Party, but we’ll talk about Superstars as it’s a compilation of everything we love about the franchise. It brings back beloved mini-games from the past few decades with new and old boards that fans have loved since Superstars' release. “Mario Party Superstars is a worthy compilation of all of the series’ greatest hits,” saidour glowing 4/5 review. “It has a great selection of minigames with plenty of different ways to enjoy them.”
One of the many fun mini-games in Mario Party Superstars is Bumper Balls, which has these beloved Mario characters running on a ball trying to knock each other off. It’s a simple concept, but it can be entertaining, especially if your friends are competitive. Super Mario Party Jamboree is another solid entry on the Nintendo Switch.
3Donkey Kong Country
We jungle grooved to this game’s soundtrack.
Donkey Kong Country
Nintendo fans went bananas for this SNES game when it first launched in 1994. The graphics were unreal at the time with 3D models rendered into the 2D platformer. It’s is much more than that, though. This Rare-developed title has tough-but-thrilling platforming gameplay. One of the best levels has you jumping on a cart and jumping between broken parts of the track. Riding a rhino is also thrilling.
The music is stellar. The composer David Wise created a compelling soundtrack with songs such as, “Gangplank Galleon,” “Stickerbush Symphony,” and the iconic theme song that is still referenced today by Nintendo. This is also the first time we met the fan-favourite Diddy Kong in a video game, acting as DK’s sidekick.
2Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Still the best Mario Kart game…
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the quintessential Mario Kart game with many tracks and characters to choose from, despite the launch of Mario Kart World this year. You don’t have to bother with an unnecessary open world and get into the action immediately with your friends offline or online. Despite the original game launching on the Wii U a decade or so ago, it still looks stunning to this day. The colors and art design of each track truly pop on screen.
Additionally, the game has wonderful orchestral music that takes on a jazzy tone. It truly feels like a celebration of the karting series we know and love. It also references other Nintendo series like The Legend of Zelda and Splatoon with the characters being included and their environments translating remarkably well to the Mario Kart format. There’s even a few F-Zero courses thrown in there. It’s a remarkable spinoff series that somehow has outsold the original platforming adventures Mario has by a large margin. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, for instance, has sold nearly 69 million copies worldwide.
1Persona 3 Reload
Everything you want an RPG to be.
Persona 3 Reload
The Persona series is a remarkable spinoff of the weaker, more mature Shin Megami Tensei series. Persona 3 Reload, in particular, is a wonderful entry in this series. The remake of the PS2 title has engaging turn-based gameplay that has you utilize the power of the Personas you capture. The combat is more exciting, thanks to the spectacular visual flair the title has. Even the menus of the game are stylish; that’s hard to do.
Addiionally, Persona 3 Reload features an engaging story that’s easy to relate to. Shin Megami Tensei titles usually have a tough difficulty, and an even tougher exterior when it comes to their darker storytelling. The Persona series does a great job of having you relate to the characters and getting to know them better through the social link system. Socializing also provides buffs for your characters in combat.
