10 Video Game Spin-Offs That Insulted The Fans

For a long time, Final Fantasy games tended to be standalone stories. Final Fantasy VII, admittedly way after its original release, changed that with a string of additional material that explored its world after fans repeatedly expressed interest to see more. However, the first side-game in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII made many regret that original hope.

A spin-off should absolutely mix things up but how Square-Enix ventured so far from the JRPG style of Final Fantasy for Dirge of Cerberus is enough to make your head spin. One of the all-time greats of the roleplaying genre and its sequel is a third-person action shooter with arcade elements?

The problem isn’t necessarily the departure of style so much as the fact they had never done this sort of thing before. As such, Dirge of Cerberus’ gameplay was lacklustre at best. Its linear, chapter-based progression hardly allowed it to grow the FF7 universe, which was the entire reason fans had desired a spin-off in the first place.

Vincent Valentine - Final Fantasy VII’s equivalent to notorious edgelord Shadow the Hedgehog - takes centre stage in a story that never really gets off the ground. Instead, Dirge is by name and by nature, lost in the mammoth shadow of the original’s legacy.