Video Game Spin-Offs That Are Better Than Their SourceGame - Features

A lot of popular video game series receive sequels, but only in rare instances do popular video gameseries earn a spin-off title. Like a random mutation, these series often contain elements of theoriginal property, but are often different enough that they can't be included as part of the mainseries. Here are some of the best video game spin-offs in gaming history.

Donkey Kong Country

The Spin: In 1981, Donkey Kong was the king Kong in the arcades where it swallowed quarters bythe metric ton. It also helped Nintendo establish itself as a major player in the video game market.However, Nintendo wasn't going to rest on its success, and Donkey Kong was eventuallyovershadowed by Mario and Nintendo's later console work. Then, in 1994, Rare decided to resurrectthe giant ape in his own platforming adventure.

Why We Like It: The original Donkey Kong was a great game back in its day, but anyone who spentmore than a couple quarters on the game knows that its incredibly challenging. Donkey KongCountry continues in the spirit of challenging games, but it immersed players in a giant tropicalworld that was inviting in spite of its difficulty. Donkey Kong jumped, rolled, and fired himself out ofbarrels as he fought alligator-like Kremlings in a quest to retrieve his banana hoard. It didn't hurt

that the game used an advanced pre-rendered 3D graphics system to achieve a look that was nearlyunmatched in the day. Rare managed to craft a platforming adventure that was different enoughfrom Nintendo's other major platforming series.

World of Warcraft

The Spin: The real-time strategy genre has blossomed into a massive playspace filled with some ofthe biggest brands on the PC, but back in the early '90s the genre was almost non-existent. BlizzardEntertainment helped pioneer the RTS formula with Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. Not only was thefirst Warcraft a polished strategy title in its own right, it also introduced a lot of gamers to theconcept of multiplayer RTS. Ironically, Blizzard would take its Warcraft world and blow it up into anonline space that would eventually unite millions of players at the same time.

Why We Like It: It's hard to talk about MMOs without mentioning WOW these days, and that'sdeserved because Blizzard's massive online world not only attracted one of the largest audience ingaming, it also did a lot to improve the formula. WoW threw out the MMO rulebook and simplified alot of overburdened systems, making it easier for players to level up and receive great gear whilegiving them an abundance of activities to undertake in a massive world.

Mega Man X

The Spin: Mega Man was a series about a futuristic society populated by both men and machines, sohow did Capcom choose to expand on this concept? They took it even further into the future. Playerscontrolled X, a Reploid created by the original Mega Man creator Dr. Thomas Light. However, X wasa new kind of robot capable of free will. In traditional Mega Man fashion, X hunts down a series ofrogue Reploids and steals their abilities.

Why We Like It: The original Mega Man series is highly revered and a great series in its own right,but Mega Man X introduced a few exciting new elements to the series. The plot was a bit darker,and more mature, centering on robots' abilities to govern themselves. The controls further refinedon Mega Man's solid platforming, and X was given the ability to dash along the ground at any time,wall jump, and even dash and jump at the same time. X also uncovered capsules scattered across thelevels that permanently upgraded his armor and cannon, which is something that the original MegaMan never had.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

The Spin: The Far Cry series has long been a franchise of change. What started out as a first-personshooter with state-of-the-art A.I. set on a tropical island has evolved into a massive open worldwhere players can sneak through the bush, hunt wild animals, and firebomb enemy bases with afriend. However, one of Far Cry's most memorable adventures was actually a bit of a detour for theseries.

Why We Like It Better: While marketed as an expansion to Far Cry 3, Blood Dragon was astandalone product and didn't even require players to own the original game to play. Players jumpedbehind the robotic arm of a military cyborg named Sergeant Rex "Power" Colt, and romped around aretro-futuristic open world filled with prehistoric-looking lizards and minions wearing Daft Punkhelmets. The game was a satire of '80s action films and pop culture, and everything from itssidesplitting story to its laser weapons ooze retro charm.

Super Mario Bros.

The Spin: We started this list with Donkey Kong, so why not end it here? Donkey Kong Junior was adirect sequel to Donkey Kong, which had you playing as Donkey Kong's kid, who navigated aminefield of traps in order to save his old man from the clutches of an evil trainer. This series wasspun off into Mario Bros. (not Super Mario Bros.), which let you play as that monstrous villain for thefirst time. In this odd kind of fighting game, Mario and his brother Luigi had to fend off a series ofcreatures strolling through New York's sewer system. Years later, Nintendo repurposed thischaracters for the NES Super Mario Bros. that we all know and love, so in some ways Nintendo'siconic platformer is really a spin-off of a spin-off.

Why We Like It Better: Even if you've never touched a video game controller, chances are that youstill know the Super Mario Bros. The old Mario Bros. arcade game is still fun, but it feels like anarchaic minigame compared to the epic Super Mario Bros. platforming franchise that Nintendo hasbuilt on its back. Not only is Mario's supremely polished platforming still entertaining today, theMario brand has continued to inspire new spin-offs. Titles like Mario Kart, Luigi's Mansion, and themore recent Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker might not exist if it wasn't for the original Super MarioBros., making Mario look something like gaming's version of a hydra - you can't kill him because hekeeps spawning new games.

Spin-offs are here to stay. This week, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker released for the Wii U, butCaptain Toad was actually featured as a minigame in Super Mario 3D World back in 2013. Check ourour review of the game here.