Video game spinoffs are a fickle thing, with many franchises throwing their recognizable characters at a completely different gameplay format to varying success.
Quite a few went completely off the rails, fell into obscurity, or got a strangely large amount of hate despite all being pretty decent games that are good in their own right.
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This list is some of the best spinoffs that got too much hate, fell into obscurity, or are generally underrated and underappreciated, and worth taking a look at.
I’ll only be going over one game per franchise, so even though series like Pokémon or Mario have a few hundred spinoffs, I’ll choose the one I think is most underrated.
10Mega Man Zero
What I’m Fighting For
Mega Man Zero isn’t the most unheard-of spinoff series, but everything the Mega Man series did in the 2000s sorta fell into obscurity, which unfortunately includes this.
These games were incredible, having you take control of Zero with an awesome leveling system and more melee-focused combatthan a typical Mega Man game.
It’s one of the best action combat platformers you’ll find out there, which makes it a big shame it lives in the shadow of Mega Man X and doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.
I’d especially recommend the first game, as the later ones removed that leveling system, which is such a cool piece of player expression that I can’t help but love it.
9Mario’s Picross
Paint By Numbers
Picrossis one of those under-appreciated franchises that has some of the objectively best game design out there, yet it never gets the same love that Tetris gets.
That relative lack of recognition combined with a barely acknowledged Game Boy exclusive release leads to Mario’s Picross being a pretty obscure game, despite being great.
It doesn’t have much to do with Mario in particular; he’s mostly just used as a backdrop for the Picross puzzles that’ll jog your brain and make for a fun time.
I’ve spent a few hundred hours in Picross, and I can firmly say this version is great despite being made 30 years ago, and it’s still worth playing nowadays.
8Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory
Necessary For The Lore
Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory
Kingdom Heartsis a series that has almost no spinoffs, as every game in the franchise is more or less an RPG that is crucial to play to understand the plot, so it depends on your definition.
This does not apply to Melody of Memory, however, as it’s a Theaterhythm-styled Rhythm game where you control three different characters and make them battle to the beat along a road.
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For some god-forsaken reason, this game has crucial plot points that will be necessary to understand Kingdom Hearts 4, so it still gets actively talked about among KH fans.
Aside from that, though, this game went pretty under the radar and gets a lot of flack despite being incredibly solid, mechanically unique, and featuring a massive amount of great music.
7Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon
A Puzzling Roguelite
Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon
Shovel KnightPocket Dungeon is a matching puzzle game, roguelite, and adventure game mixed into a lovely chaotic brew, and it’s such an effortlessly awesome time.
It’s a unique puzzle game, as you slash into enemies of similar types to chain together massive attacks and clear out the entire board, being mindful of your HP.
I particularly love the OST, Jake Kaufman cooked with snazzy, jazzy, and incredibly energetic remixes, making it an experience I just can’t put down.
Pocket Dungeon got decent critical reviews, but many fans perceived it as a low-effort mobile game, which is sad since if you give it a chance, it’s a high-octane and great game.
6Metroid Prime Pinball
Funny, but Not Bad
A pinball game in an overtly gritty first-person shooter series is about on par with how ridiculous aFinal FantasyVR fishing game is, and yet, it works surprisingly well.
Of course,Metroid PrimePinball is a game that fell into obscurity for being what it is, but it’s a damn good pinball game, better than the boards in any recent Sonic game, for some reason.
It has you bouncing up through some really neat set pieces, collecting items, and probably not using the included DS Rumble Pak that was hardly used outside this game.
It’s got great pinball physics, too, with just about every shot I wanted to make accurate enough, and the Metroid Prime aesthetics work surprisingly well, on top of the inexplicably incredible soundtrack.
5Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
Let The Slime Rain
Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
For an incredibly charming and unique take onDragon Quest’smost iconic little dude, Rocket Slime has you shlorping and pulling yourself around, bouncing and carrying a bunch of junk.
It’s hard to describe the main gameplay loop, as it’s primarily about exploring different areas, such as dungeons or forests, and boinging your way through enemies.
You use your stretchy slime body to dash into things, throw stuff all around, and collect materials or throw stuff back at bosses, which is especially hectic during mech fights.
It’s got a pretty fun story, and charming pixel art, and it’s just an enjoyable time that fell into obscurity and never left the DS, despite getting relatively favorable reviews.
4The Legend of Zelda: Cadence of Hyrule
Under The Radar
Cadence of Hyrule
Nintendo pulled aSonic Mania-type move, letting indie developers work on one of their biggest franchises, and yet I haven’t heard anyone talk aboutCadence of Hyrulein the last 4 years.
It’s a sick rhythm roguelike, just like Crypt of the Necrodancer, with one of the best soundtracks ever, and agreat combination of Zelda puzzlesand exploration with dungeon crawling.
It’s still great even if you turn off the rhythm mechanics entirely, playing more like a strategy game where you must carefully consider your next move and use your items effectively.
I think it’s frankly absurd how incredible this game is, how fun it is to even the most rhythmless among us, how it’s a budget Nintendo release on the Switch, and yet no one talks about it anymore.
3Pokémon Rumble
Brawling Through Obscurity
For some reason,PokémonRumble is sitting at a Metascore of 59, despite being a fun brawler where you take your silly creatures through gauntlets of enemies.
I find this game way more engaging than the average beat ‘em up mashfest, as it’s got you evolving Pokémon, changing your stats, and making the best build possible.
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It’s like an excellent fusion of a proper Pokémon RPG and the immensely satisfying gameplay of just slamming into enemies over and over until they die.
This series went downhill really fast, which is why I’m exclusively talking about the WiiWare Pokémon Rumble, which is great, as long as you can get a hold of it nowadays.
2Sonic and the Black Knight
Dare To Fight
Sonic and the Black Knight
Sonicgets a ton of flack no matter what he does, and no time was that more prevalent than in the late 2000s, right after Sonic 06 was released, with every Sonic game after getting panned to hell and back.
Sonic and the Black Knight was no exception, though it might have seemed fair, given it’s a follow-up to thegenuinely terrible Secret Rings, but on its own, it’s great.
It has Sonic in a story about King Arthur, slashing through every inch of anything in front of him, with every upgrade and ability you unlock making this slashing feel better and better.
It’s got its fair share of unnecessary Wii gimmicks, but it’s backed up by a great story, incredible music, and a pretty great style that makes this one of the best Sonic spinoffs to date.
1Persona 4: Dancing All Night
Set It Free and Dance
A final rhythm game spinoff that got overlooked and is genuinely great,Persona 4: Dancing All Nightis the onlyPersona dancing game worth a damn, and it’s awesome.
If you want to spend more time with the cast of Persona 4 that you have already spent a hundred hours with, it has some lovely character interactions, and it’s all wrapped in a pretty fun story.
It feels like an extension of the game it’s spinning off of, with the story and vibes being on point, really solid gameplay, and the music being incredibly good, as you’d expect with a rhythm game.
It’s unfortunately hard to play, nowadays, as it requires either owning a Vita or dropping a bunch of money on a collection of all the dancing games just to play it on PS4. Thanks, Atlus, very cool!
