Recently, I started to think about old games, specifically how some of them will get another shot at life after a few years away and it made me think about all those series that have not had that.

To be clear when I say another shot at life, I don’t mean via a remaster or a remake, but I mean a from the ground up, original entry in that series. A prime example is F-Zero, that series saw a number of games released over the first 14 years of its life, with F-Zero: GP Legend being the last one to release in the West. But then it went 19 years before it got a new game, or really any game.

So with that in mind, I wanted to have a look through the big publishers to see what series they are leaving behind. There are a few conditions for this list:

1. There must be at least 2 games in the series, so one off titles are not included.

2. There must be at least 2 console generations between the last game and now, so if a game was released on PlayStation 4, but there is no entry on PlayStation 5, that does not count.

3. We are not including Game of the Year, Deluxe, Complete or any other word used to describe a re-issue of the game with DLC or other extra content.

4. Finally, remakes and remasters do not count, they must be original.

So let us take a look at PlayStation, who have a decent line up of games that are forgotten.

Ape Escape

First Release: June 1999 | Last Release: December 2010 | Total Number of Games Released: 10

In 1999 people went ape for the first game in the series, as Ape Escape delivered to games a fun and unique game, which was also the first game that required the DualShock controller.

While the series has only had 4 mainline entries, the Apes have found their way into countless other games over the past 25 years and while the main games were fun because of the catching mechanics, the other games have their fans. Some of the spins offs were exclusive to Japan, but we did get one outside of the country, but those spin-offs were still sticking to the series roots, the party games were another story though. The last game released for the series hit PlayStation 3 and used the Move controller, putting players into an on-rail shooter game. Fans of course were treated to a fun Ape Escape themed stage in the 2024 title Astro Bot, which was bananas.

Buzz

First Release: October 2005 | Last Release: October 2010 | Total Number of Games Released: 14

In 2004 PlayStation released Singstar on PlayStation 2 and that really kicked off the accessories for games race, which PlayStation doubled down on just a year later with Buzz!, a quiz series that came with four controllers with a giant red button, so people could buzz in when they knew the answer.

The series had 14 main entries released over its 5 year run, but there was also a spin-off series called Buzz! Junior, which also released a handful of games in the same years. The controllers were popular enough that they were released along side games made by other companies and of course, Xbox tried to make their own version. Most games had themes, like pop music or Hollywood movies, the last game on PlayStation 3 had lots of packs players could buy, making it a more flexible quiz experience.

Jak and Daxter

First Release: December 2001 | Last Release: November 2009 | Total Number of Games Released: 6

After making a smash with Crash Bandicoot and long before Nathan Drake stole the show, Naughty Dog brought a pair of heroes to the PlayStation 2 with Jax and Daxter. The games had three entries created by the team at Naughty Dog, but the remaining three games were all done by different developers.

Most of the games are considered story based platforms, like your Mario and Spyro and often have Jak and his pal Daxter attempting to find or save things, with Daxter being less help than Jak may prefer. The fourth game really steered things into a new direction, it was still story based, but it opted to wrap events around a sport of combat racing. The fifth game was the outlier of all the games as it focused only on Daxter and acted as a bit of a prequel for the character. Finally, the last game was set many years after the events of the fourth game and tried to apply a darker tone to the series, it was also the only entry to release on multiple platforms.

Motorstorm

First Release: December 2006 | Last Release: February 2012 | Total Number of Games Released: 5

The MotorStorm games are a thrilling series of off-road races that showcase a variety of vehicles, each with unique advantages and challenges. The tracks are designed with diverse terrains that can either boost or impede a vehicle's performance.

At the heart of the series is the "MotorStorm Festival," a convergence of off-road racing aficionados. The festival's ethos is one of unrestricted competition, allowing racers to select any vehicle for any event, promoting intense and ruthless racing. The events are distinctive in that they permit an eclectic mix of vehicles to compete simultaneously, making each race unpredictable and exciting. In what can be considered a weird progression for the series the first two games were made for PlayStation 3, then the third was made for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, before heading back to the PlayStation 3 for the fourth game, with the final on PlayStation Vita.

Resistance

First Release: November 2006 | Last Release: May 2012 | Total Number of Games Released: 5

After shooting aliens with some inventive weaponry and before they donned red and blue spandex and swung around New York, Insomniac created another shooting series, this time shooting aliens who were invading Earth.

Set in a divergent 1950s universe, the Resistance series unfolds a gripping narrative where Earth has fallen under the dominion of the Chimera, a formidable alien race. These extraterrestrial conquerors bolster their ranks by abducting humans and mutating them into monstrous warriors. Players step into the boots of the valiant human resistance, battling to reclaim our planet from the clutches of the Chimera onslaught. Sadly with Insomniac seeming content to play around within the Marvel worlds and Ratchet and Clank, odds of a new entry in this series is unlikely.

Forbidden Siren

First Release: March 2004 | Last Release: October 2008 | Total Number of Games Released: 3

Also just known as Siren in other parts of the world, the Forbidden Sire series was the next creation from Keiichiro Toyama, the creator of Silent Hill and it brings together multiple storylines across various eras, centered on a group of characters who converge in the enigmatic town of Hanuda.

The second game tells the story of several characters who become trapped on Yamijima, an island off the coast of mainland Japan, with the third game being another take on the first games story, this time focusing on a film crew. Speaking of film crews, when the second game released, a movie based around it also released. But the series was not just located to the tv screen, as there was also a manga series and while it didn’t get a proper ending, a new manga series kicked off in 2018. All three games have their fans, but they were usually scored in the average bracket for reviews.

Sly Cooper

First Release: January 2003 | Last Release: March 2013 | Total Number of Games Released: 4

This seems to be a trend here, but developer Sucker Punch long before they took people back to feudal Japan and gave people powers, they let people become a thief, well a racoon thief.

The series follows the adventures of Sly Cooper, an anthropomorphic raccoon and master thief, along with his two partners in crime, Bentley the turtle and Murray the hippopotamus, all of whom are pursued by Sly's love interest, Inspector Carmelita Fox. The Sly Cooper series takes place in a fictionalized version of the real world that's populated by anthropomorphic animals, with film noir and comic book motifs as well as the presence of super-science and magic. While the first three games were created by Sucker Punch, the final game was done by another studio, who also did the work on bringing the first three games to PlayStation 3.

Socom U.S. Navy Seals

First Release: July 2003 | Last Release: April 2011 | Total Number of Games Released: 10

I remember vividly when the first SOCOM released, it was the first game from PlayStation to come with a headset for talking online, as it was the first game to use the new network adapter.

The series ended up with 10 games across 3 platforms and while some game shad their own stories, most were continuing adventures of the Navy Seals. The last game in the series was SOCOM 4 and was a sequel to Combined Assault, but between those two games a batch of PSP titles released. The games were 3rd person shooters, where military tactics played a big part in the game, the included headset in the first game let you issue commands to your in-game squad, as well as talk online with mates, which further fuelled the military fantasy.

Syphon Filter

First Release: July 1999 | Last Release: December 2007 | Total Number of Games Released: 6

The Syphon Filter series was lead by Bend Studios, and was one of the first true action stealth games and one that told a continuous story, with the core gameplay for each entry being a 3rd person action-stealth game, which Gabe Logan, use weapons and gadgets to stop the bad guy and save the world.

The 3 original PlayStation titles released over a period of three years, though the last release had to shift its date and modify its cover art after the 2001 September 11 attacks. The third game is when Bend Studios took the lead and after a break between 3 and The Omega Strain, the series delivered a second trilogy. In a weird move the last game Logan’s Shadow, was ported to PlayStation 2, three years after its PlayStation Portable release. The creator of the series has said too, that with the release of Logan’s Shadow, the story he envisioned is complete and that no new games are likely to happen.

This Is Football

First Release: December 1999 | Last Release: February 2010 | Total Number of Games Released: 9

It seems all the console makers love their own sports series, Xbox had Golf, Nintendo had Baseball and PlayStation had Soccer. Released over 11 years, the series saw 3 developers make 9 games, but the quality of them varied quite a bit.

The series started out a bit different to other soccer games of the time, as they focused more on the management side of things, before letting you take to the pitch. The pitch action was what you might expect, but the management was quite deep for its time, which may explain why the last one went full management. It was also the only release in the series that landed on PlayStation 3, but it was also woefully received, which may also explain why the series was abandoned. For much of its life the series never seemed to pass into the realm of beloved like certain other soccer games.

Twisted Metal

First Release: January 1996 | Last Release: March 2012 | Total Number of Games Released: 10

Twisted Metal is a series that was seemingly everywhere for a while and then it just vanished, though I suppose one could argue that it made a come back with the recent TV series, but this is about the games and boy were there are a lot of them.

The gameplay is pretty straight forward, the games take players into the world of demolition derby, but rather than just driving into other cars, players are given guns, missiles and mines to blow away the competition. Players could jump into multiplayer matches, or undertake the story of each game, which just let them meet the games many twisted characters. Each game in the series has a unique storyline, yet they all center around the infamous "Twisted Metal" tournament, an annual vehicular combat event. The first two games released on PlayStation and PC, really making this the first PlayStation series to release on multiple platforms.

Warhawk

First Release: December 1995 | Last Release: May 2012 | Total Number of Games Released: 2

I am sort of cheating here, as technically there is only one game in this series with the PlayStation 3 game being a remake, but I will get to why in a bit. The games let you jump into a futuristic plane, take off and take down enemies across the games many stages.

As for why I am cheating, the PlayStation 3 game being a remake is true, but its also only multiplayer which the original PlayStation game never had. It is better to think of it as one single game split into two parts, single player on PlayStation and multiplayer on PlayStation 3. The reveal of the game will never not be funny, but it gave players an idea on what to expect, sadly that was the last time we have seen the series, though it did get a spiritual sequel many years later.

White Knight Chronicles

First Release: February 2010 | Last Release: June 2011 | Total Number of Games Released: 3

The White Knight Chronicles game has a brag attached to it, as it was the first game made by Level-5 for PlayStation 3 and within it and the two sequels, players got to enjoy a RPG within an all-new world.

What made the sequel impressive is that players could import their character from the first game, along with their equipment and cash, which was a rare thing at the time. The PlayStation Portable title White Knight Chronicles Origins was actually a prequel to the first game, story wise and also never released in North America. The three games offered mostly the same gameplay, with battles taking place in real-time but the twist here was that players could prepare for battles by entering into a menu, giving them a chance to try out different setups before the fights began.

Wipeout

First Release: September 1995 | Last Release: February 2012 | Total Number of Games Released: 9

No not the TV series, but the racing series that was first created for many platforms, before becoming a PlayStation exclusive. The games were racing titles that had you blasting around in futuristic vehicles all while listening to some electronic beats.

While the first game hit PlayStation, PC and Sega Saturn and the 3rd game was exclusive to the Nintendo 64, the series became PlayStation exclusive with the 4th game, Wipeout 3 or Wip3out as it was known in some places. The final original racing game did flip things about, placing the camera above the action. While there was a mobile game released in 2021, it has you take on the role of a manager of a team, rather than a racer, so we have excluded it from the list.

Dark Cloud/Dark Chronicle

First Release: September 2001 | Last Release: September 2003 | Total Number of Games Released: 2

While known as different names in most of the world, the series Dark Cloud was a pair of RPG’s from Level-5, with both games being very popular both among players and critics alike.

Dark Cloud masterfully blends the dynamics of action role-playing with the strategic aspects of city-building games. It narrates the tale of a band of adventurers uniting to confront the Dark Genie, a malevolent force that has decimated numerous villages. At the heart of the story is Toan, a young boy bestowed with the Atlamillia, a magical gem, by the fairy king Simba. This powerful artifact empowers Toan with the extraordinary ability to restore the ravaged lands. Both games made use of procedurally generated dungeons, to keep players on their toes, which was something many enjoyed.

MediEvil

First Release: October 1998 | Last Release: September 2005 | Total Number of Games Released: 3

Another one where I am cheating, Medievil was a series of action games where players took control of Sir Daniel Fortesque, when he is resurrected after his defeat and given another chance to be the knight he always hoped he would be.

The reason for the cheat is that the PlayStation Portable title Medievil Resurrection is a re-imaging of the original game, it is not a direct remake though, so we are letting it through based on those rules. The first game was going to be remastered for PlayStation 4, before being changed to be a remake, so there is clearly a bit of life in the old bones. The games all played out a bit like The Legend of Zelda, giving players large locations to explore and plenty of foes to fight. While this is the last game in our list, it ranks up there as one beloved series that many want to see resurrected, see what we did there.

So that is PlayStation, the company has plenty of modern day hits, but they have just as many in their history that we feel could do well in the modern day gaming landscape.

Did we miss any series from the company, if so let us know in the comments below.