10 Fatal Video Games That Killed Popular Franchises

10. Alex Kidd In The Enchanted Castle

The fifth game in the Alex Kidd franchise, Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle was a huge commercial failure, and resulted in the death of the entire franchise. Previously, Alex Kidd had enjoyed a modicum of success, and was arguably the closest thing SEGA had to an actual mascot. In the 1990s, SEGA's direction changed, and Alex Kidd was soon abandoned in favour of more contemporary characters, like Sonic the Hedgehog.

Arguably, this change was prompted by the failure of Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, which was heavily criticised for its floaty controls and random, unpredictable mechanics, including an irritating rock, paper, scissors minigame that appeared frequently throughout the levels, and involved no skill whatsoever. The game was also criticised for being shallow, consisting of only eleven stages, and a handful of unique enemies.

Ultimately, Enchanted Castle became the penultimate entry in the franchise, and after a brief attempt to revive the series with Alex Kidd in Shinobi World, it was finally put to rest in 1990. Since then, Alex Kidd has been featured sporadically as an unlockable character in multiple SEGA games, including Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing and Sega Superstars Tennis, but has never been given another shot at his own game.