![]() The Razewing Rathalos, as depicted in ancient murals. Even the beating of its wings is enough to level entire cities – a true weapon of mass destruction in monster form. The legend tells the story of the Razewing Rathalos, whose incredible power when unlocked has the ability to bring about the destruction of the entire world. On the isle of Hakolo, its peaceful inhabitants who live and work alongside monsters all know of the prophecy referring to the Wings of Ruin, an ancient tale that speaks of calamity leading to widespread destruction. Featuring a multitude of monsters, crisp animated visuals, and a deep story of ruin and redemption surrounding a loveable cast of characters, is this the Monster Hunter spin-off we’ve been patiently waiting for all this time? Well, don’t be quick to judge this story by its cutesy cover, because Wings of Ruin is possibly the most engaging storytelling experience the entire series has to offer. Its emphasis on storytelling and forgiving difficulty allowed it to stand out dramatically from the rest of the Monster Hunter games, and was an enjoyable experience for series veterans and newcomers alike.įive years later, the next chapter in the story unfolds on Nintendo Switch and PC, with the sequel, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin. This cute, approachable spin-off combined many iconic monsters with simple combat mechanics and a monster-collecting/battling style of gameplay that was unashamedly similar to Pokémon. However, that all changed in 2016 with the worldwide release of a game by the name of Monster Hunter Stories for Nintendo 3DS and mobile. And the commonality between all of these games? We didn’t get a single one in the West! Well, there are actually a tonne of Monster Hunter spin-offs, most of which you’ve probably never heard of! There’s the Monster Hunter Diary series for PSP and 3DS which follows Felyne characters on their own journeys, Monster Hunter: Phantom Island Voyage and Monster Hunter Explore for iOS/Android, and even an arcade card game called Monster Hunter Spirits. So what about Monster Hunter? The series once massively popular only in Japan is now finally finding its footing in the West. Pokémon has Pokémon Pinball (among hundreds of others), Persona has the Persona Dancing games, Dragon Quest has Dragon Quest: Monsters. While these are some of the most popular examples, other games end up as quite odd alternatives to their source material. What do these four all have in common? They’ve all had spin-offs popular enough to become series of their own. ![]() Take for example platforming games like Super Mario, Donkey Kong, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Crash Bandicoot. It is likely that SEGA will be looking more broadly at its back catalogue with regards to remakes, but with Sonic fans clamouring for a modern platform release of Sonic Unleashed (outside of Xbox’s Backward Compatibility program) amongst other things, it feels like this is an area in which SEGA’s stated goal of expanding Sonic’s brand could fit quite well.Every popular videogame series deserves a spin-off, there are almost no exceptions. Sonic was not specifically mentioned as a future focus for this new endeavour, but it did state that an example of this strategy would be the upcoming Sonic Origins – a compilation of classic 16-Bit Sonic titles to be released on modern platforms. Noting the release of the Hollywood Sonic movies, the upcoming Sonic Prime on Netflix and SEGA’s own Sonic Frontiers, the company will use these projects as a means to further expand Sonic’s brand awareness globally.īeyond Sonic, SEGA Sammy also announced a focus over the next year on “multiple” remakes and remasters on top of its planned schedule of new titles in already-established franchises. SEGA also revealed in its report that it aims to spend the next fiscal year (April 2022 through March 2023) “strengthening user engagement” in its core franchises, with the Sonic series specifically mentioned as an area of focus. In the fiscal year 2021 (from April 2020-March 2021), the franchise had sold 4.4m units by comparison. SEGA Sammy has reported that the Sonic the Hedgehog game series has sold a total of 5.8 million units worldwide in the past fiscal year (ending March 2022), an increase of 30% over 2021 on the back of new release Sonic Colors: Ultimate.ĭuring the Japanese corporation’s annual business and shareholder meeting, SEGA CEO Haruki Satomi shared details of the Sonic series’ sales performance over the last two years.
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