10 Great Video Game Franchises People Simply Abandoned

10. Tenchu

Besides Metal Gear Solid, Tenchu is remembered fondly as the other absolutely banging stealth game of 1998. Lightning then struck not once but twice with sequel Tenchu 2 (oddly enough), as did the leap to PS2 with Wrath of Heaven in 2000 and 2003, respectively.

It looked like things were going well for Rikimaru and company, with a slew of spin-offs and handheld titles over the intervening years bolstering the coffers.

That is, until Tenchu Z flipped over the shark in 2006.

Making a predominately solo stealth experience multiplayer was the first nail. Then, removing any real connection to the main series albeit a tenuous link or two, was the second. The writing was on the scroll by this point.

Before FromSoftware struck gold with its Souls series, it was floundering with Tenchu. The fans saw it commit seppuku with a puzzle game and middling Wii-and-PSP-only titles, and did nothing to save it.

One could argue that Sekiro is the spiritual successor, just for something to keep that glimmer of a Tenchu revival alive. But as the realists know, Tenchu's dead and buried.