10 Great Video Game Sequels NOBODY Asked For

With the dual screens and emphasis on stylus-based gameplay of the Nintendo DS, it was always going to be a struggle to find inventive ways to bring beloved pre-existing franchises to such an obscurely designed handheld system.

Mario 64 DS was a launch title that showed how that character could make the leap gracefully, but Nintendo's other masterpiece was a lot harder to make work. The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass was what came of such efforts, wielding clunky controls, frustrating level design and polarizing visuals.

However, the magic of Zelda was not lost, and while it has its issues, Phantom Hourglass is delightful. Its perfectly balanced difficulty, charming story and quirky characters make the game truly shine, and though it's restricted by its hardware, Phantom Hourglass is a relative success both critically and commercially.

The Zelda franchise has a tendency to bring an all-new experience with each new entry, so it was puzzling when Phantom Hourglass turned out to be an immediate sequel to The Wind Waker. People always ask for a new Zelda game, but not usually like this.

The Wind Waker doesn't need a sequel, and few were chomping at the bit to return to its world, but Phantom Hourglass does so with the utmost respect for what came before.