Ninja Gaiden began as a franchise in 1988, in both arcades and consoles like the NES. Since 2015, the series was long thought to be dead, but it came up for a surprise revival in 2025. Ninja Gaiden fans were met with a remaster via Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, a brand new 3D action game via Ninja Gaiden 4, and a classic 2D action platformer via Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound.
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It’s been a great year for Ninja Gaiden fans, but not every series can be as successful years after being gone for so long. Can these seemingly dead franchises ever come out of the shadows like Ninja Gaiden did, or are they doomed to obscurity? Let's go through a variety of genres to keep things varied.
While these games are not officially dead, they haven't seen any action for a very long time.
Strider
The Missing Ninja
- Developer: Capcom
- Publisher: Capcom
- Released: April 1989 (NA)
- Platform: Arcade
The Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden franchises got revived in 2025, but Strider, another ninja series, has been forgotten. Based on a ninja manga from 1988, Strider hit the arcade scene in 1989, featuring swift ninja action.
There were a few games in the 90s, followed by a long wait until the 2014 reboot, Strider, which was a Metroidvania. As good as it was, it never led to any more sequels, but the character, Strider Hiryu, does make playable character appearances in fighting games occasionally.
Resistance
A Challenge To Halo
Resistance: Fall of Man
- Released
- November 17, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Insomniac Games
- Genre(s)
- FPS
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 3
The Resistance series is what Insomniac followed up their Ratchet & Clank franchise with. Resistance: Fall of Man was a launch game for the PS3 in 2006, featuring an alternate take on World War 2 wherein aliens invaded.
There were three main games and two portable spin-offs, with Resistance: Burning Skies being the final note in 2012 for the PS Vita. Only one game is playable on the PS5, without resorting to the streaming service, which is the PSP game, Resistance: Retribution. That’s at least something, and it is emulated well.
Kid Icarus
What An Angel
Kid Icarus
- Released
- December 19, 1986
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo R&D1
- Genre(s)
- Platformer, Action
Kid Icarus premiered on the NES in 1987 in North America, which was a vertical action platformer starring an angel character named Pit. This was followed up by Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters on the Game Boy in 1991, which was a more horizontal adventure, but it largely played the same.
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Then, fans had to wait until 2012 to play another game, but it was worth the wait as Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS is the best game in the series. That has been it, aside from Pit appearing in Super Smash Bros.Games along with other characters from his franchise.
Parasite Eve
Hot Flashes
Parasite Eve
- Released
- September 9, 1998
WHERE TO PLAY
Parasite Eve was released for the PS1 in 1998, and it was like Resident Evil combined with Final Fantasy. Players explored New York City as a detective looking to stop a deadly virus from spreading, and the battle system was a hybrid between action and turn-based combat.
The second game, also on the PS1, was more directly action-based, as was the third game, which took on a new title, The 3rd Birthday. That was a 2011 PSP title in North America and beyond the first two games getting digital ports during the PS3 era, Square Enix has largely ignored the franchise since then.
Breath Of Fire
The Original Dragonborn
Breath of Fire
- Released
- April 3, 1993
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Breath of Fire is a turn-based RPG series from Capcom, and for a while, it was their Final Fantasy. The original title was released for the SNES in 1994 in North America. The last console game was Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter for the PS2 in 2003 in North America, which was the fifth entry, and the actual last game was Breath of Fire 6: Guardians of the White Dragon.
That was a 2016 free-to-play action RPG released in Japan only for PC and mobile devices, which shut down in 2017. Beyond that, 2023’s Street Fighter 6 had some inspired costumes and characters, like Katt from the second game, but there have been no inklings of a new Breath of Fire game for ages.
Zone Of The Enders
Super Fighting Robots
Zone of the Enders
- Released
- March 28, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Animated Blood, Animated Violence
- Developer(s)
- Konami
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Hack and Slash
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2
Zone of the Enders was a slick, fast-paced mech game produced by Hideo Kojima for the PS2 in 2001. It sold well enough to get a GBA tactical RPG, two anime seasons, and a full sequel, also for the PS2, called Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner.
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The two main games were remastered in 2012 via Zone of the Enders HD Collection, and the second game was remastered further in 2018 via Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner MARS, which included a VR mode. Sadly, there were plans to make a third game around the first remastered collection, but it was canceled.
Ridge Racer
Riiiidge Racer!
Ridge Racer
- Released
- November 30, 1993
- ESRB
- E for Everyone
- Developer(s)
- Namco
- Genre(s)
- Racing
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation (Original)
Before Need for Speed, Forza Motorsport, and Gran Turismo, Ridge Racer was THE premier racing franchise from Namco. It all began in arcades in 1993, before the console debut in 1995 on the PS1 in North America. There are countless titles spread across almost every console that followed the PS1, and they are all mostly praised.
With all franchises, though, sometimes things must come to a close. Ridge Racer Unbounded was the final console game in 2012, while the last actual game was a mobile racer called Ridge Racer Draw & Drift in 2016.
Fat Princess
Sony Could Never Figure Out The Genre
Fat Princess
- Released
- July 20, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Tactical
- Platform(s)
- PSP, PlayStation 3
Fat Princess is an anomaly because it seemed like Sony could never figure out what they wanted the franchise to be. The titular first game was released digitally on the PS3 in 2009, which was a novel capture-the-flag-style multiplayer experience. The flags were replaced by large princesses, and to make it harder for the other team to steal their princess, players could feed them cake.
There was a PSP version released in 2010, followed by two odder 2015 releases. Fat Princess Adventures was a dungeon crawler, while Fat Princess: Piece of Cake was a puzzle game. Besides some cameos here and there, that was about it for these hungry princesses.
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