10 Iconic Video Games You Had NO IDEA Were Originally Sequels

Originally: Super Mario multiplayer shooter

Nintendo doesn’t often create new IPs anymore, mostly sticking to its tried-and-true legacy characters for guaranteed first-party hits. However, Splatoon was a rare modern attempt that managed to find its audience - essentially Nintendo’s take on the sweaty online multiplayer shooter, but lathered in the charming, family-friendly polish fans expect from the company.

The original prototypes, though, were playing it much safer. Early in development, Splatoon was essentially going to be another competitive Mario multiplayer spin-off, with the famous plumber serving as the default character during initial testing.

The team was excited about how the competitive gameplay was shaping up, but as development progressed, Mario began to feel like an odd fit for the setting. They wanted to replace him with something fresh and original - new characters to match their new style of gameplay. Eventually, they landed on the idea of humanoid, squid-like creatures who looked like ocean-dwelling skater kids, which neatly explained why everyone was splattering ink everywhere in the first place.

While Splatoon isn’t as iconic as Nintendo’s biggest milestones, it does hold the honor of being one of the company’s few modern IPs to truly stick the landing and carve out its own niche among Nintendo’s evergreen fanbase.