8 Video Game Franchises That Made Their Mark With Sequels

2. Metal Gear

Metal Gear Solid was a landmark video game release, considered by many gamers to be the greatest game of 1998 alongside The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. For the then relatively unknown franchise, Metal Gear Solid was a huge step forward in many respects. The previous two entries, Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, were originally released for the MSX, with the former getting a modified port on the Nintendo Entertainment System in late 1987. Originally titled Metal Gear 3, director Hideo Kojima decided to name the third entry into the franchise Metal Gear Solid, due to the relative obscurity of the first two games. For Kojima, this was a fresh start on a new platform with a new perspective. Whilst many games in the late nineties didn't fare well in the transition from 2D to 3D, Metal Gear Solid was not one of them. Metal Gear Solid was a massive critical and commercial success that became the cornerstone for the franchise and a massive pioneer in the stealth genre. The series has since grown into one of the most iconic in gaming history, with its most highly anticipated game to date, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, set to launch later this year. It's certainly come a long way in the past twenty-seven years, and whilst its origins can be traced back to the original Metal Gear, it was Metal Gear Solid that made Metal Gear a massive smash hit, as well as a gaming icon.