10 Iconic Video Game Features Needlessly Cut Out Of Sequels

7. The Timer - Dead Rising 4

Dead Rising 4 is the black sheep of Capcom's zombie franchise. Despite a marketing campaign playing on nostalgia fans had for the original game's protagonist, Frank West, the developers totally undermined their own angle by tearing out everything that made it so beloved in the first place - including Frank's original voice actor.

The most controversial change was removing the countdown timer, which had acted as the backbone of every release before it. Though Dead Rising has always been a sandbox experience, it's differentiated itself with the timer it places on players, establishing a unique rhythm in the balance between total zombie freedom and sticking to a schedule of missions. This (along with the specific save game areas), ensured each release had something of a survival-horror edge to it, and a real learning curve that needed to be mastered to achieve the perfect ending.

Without it, Dead Rising 4 became just another open-world game lost in a sea of open world games. The sequel had other problems, for sure, but by taking out the timer, the charm and drive that defined the previous games was lost, and a key part of what made the series so unique went along with it.