10 Video Game Franchises That Never Got Better Than The First Instalment

3. Sonic The Hedgehog

The Franchise: In his heyday Sonic felt like the edgier alternative to Mario. Favouring speeding through levels over bashing his head into blocks, he experienced all the super-stardom a video-game character could get in the mid-nineties. With a plot even simpler than Nintendo's plumber (get the rings to stop the bad guying taking over), his games all centred on the same ideas; get some speed, do the loop-the-loop and avoid spikes. Despite a distinct dip in popularity, the series continues to chug along happily; although few games hit home with fans, the dimension mash-up of 2011's Generations served as a refreshing reminder of what the series could do. Why The First Was Best: Like Sega, the company that gave life to the blue hedgehog, Sonic feels more than a little past it. Generations was a lot of fun, but its main strength was drawing on the nostalgia of the original 2D adventure. Unlike Mario, who, if anything, was improved by his three dimensional adventures on the Nintendo 64 and beyond, Sonic is really at his best when playing it flat. Many of the predominantly 2D games feature 3D Special Stages that feel a little undernourished, while their platforming just feels like a continuation of the original, offering little new. There's a reason the first one is still getting ported (you can get it on iOS and Android) while the sequels are pretty much forgotten.