8 Great Video Games That Inspired EVEN BETTER Ones

4. Harvest Moon Inspired Stardew Valley

Farming sim Stardew Valley was styled from the outset as a fan-produced homage to the Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons franchise.

Developer Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone felt that the series had declined significantly since the turn of the century, and so set about producing his own game, as you do. The game ultimately released to rave reviews and gangbusters sales in 2016.

Basically, Stardew left its inspiration dead in a ditch - it refined and expanded upon the original farm sim formula so successfully, while retaining the cozy charm that made Harvest Moon such a hit in the first place, that it basically made the new Story of Seasons games feel totally and utterly redundant.

As of this past February, Stardew Valley topped a mind-boggling 50 million copies sold, and with ConcernedApe still continuing to update the game, it's safe to say that it has far surpassed the achievements of the very IP that brought about its creation.