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Doomguy needed a lot of work.
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00:00Sometimes a video game franchise needs a change. Maybe the story of the series had hit a natural
00:05stopping point, or the gameplay of the previous version just didn't mesh with today's gaming
00:09market. Or maybe the series hadn't been seen in ages and needed to come back in a big way.
00:13This is where the reboot comes in, a way for developers to switch up a long-running or well-known
00:18franchise so a new batch of people can be introduced to the series. And we're looking
00:22at the best of the best of the best today, as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are the
00:2610 Best Gaming Reboots Ever. 10. Hitman 2016
00:31Hitman as a franchise is best known for its wide open levels and fantastic variety on how best to
00:37eliminate your targets. And this is exactly what was delivered when Blood Money came out in 2006,
00:42and it immediately became a fan favorite. This was then followed up a few years later with Absolution.
00:47This was a game that only had a handful of open levels, replacing most of them with linear sections
00:51where you barely had any choices on how to proceed through them. Despite the title being solid enough,
00:56it just didn't feel truly like a Hitman game. IO Interactive decided to rectify their previous
01:00mistakes, however, by rebooting the series completely in 2016. Starting a brand new story
01:05of Agent 47 and Diana Burnwood dealing with a huge assassination conspiracy, Hitman 2016 released
01:11huge, sprawling levels filled to the brim with NPCs, weapons, and multiple ways to eliminate your
01:16targets. With an episodic release schedule, fans of the series praised the game, and that praise
01:20caused two more sequels to be released. Luckily for us, 47's reboot put him right back on track.
01:259. Mortal Kombat 2011
01:28Fighting games in general were in a pretty rough spot in the 2000s, and the best example for how
01:33much of a dire state the genre was in was the Mortal Kombat series. With games like Deadly
01:37Alliance, Deception, and Armageddon, the franchise was firmly set in a 3D arena fighter style of
01:42gameplay. Filled with weird and rather rubbish characters sometimes, and a rather shallow moveset,
01:47compounded with a story that ultimately killed most of its cast without entertaining the long-time
01:51fans of the series. Mortal Kombat desperately needed a change, which is where the 2011 reboot
01:56came in. Taking the game back to its 2D fighter origins, the plot and the roster of the game was
02:00an altered version of the first three titles. With deep movesets, better-than-ever fatalities,
02:05and fantastic side content, I mean, let's face it, getting jump-scared in the crypt was the best
02:09and worst thing, the reboot brought the series back to prominence. And with two more games after this,
02:14Mortal Kombat is looking better than ever.
02:168. Doom 2016
02:18High-octane, hyper-violent, rip-and-tear, roaringly fun, Doom 2016 was exactly the shot
02:24of adrenaline the franchise needed. After the first two games that helped create and define
02:28the first-person shooter genre, and after all the million different versions of those two games,
02:33Doom 3 came out in 2004. The game was a reboot in and of itself, and it was a horror game that
02:38had the player step into the shoes of someone other than Doomguy, making the player a bit more
02:42vulnerable than they might have been used to. It was different, but definitely successful.
02:46The developers then decided to follow this up with Doom 4, which promptly went into development
02:50hell. 12 years later, and what came out of the other side of this was Doom 2016, another reboot
02:55that recontextualized the first two games and put players back behind Doomguy's helmet,
02:59as he glory-killed his way through this fun, action-packed shoot-'em-up. It was critically
03:04and commercially successful, and reminded fans why the franchise was so bloody special. It later got a
03:09sequel with Doom Eternal, and it's likely we'll see another game sooner rather than later.
03:137. New Super Mario Bros
03:16Now, it might be hard to imagine now, but there was a very long period of time where there was
03:20no new 2D Mario platformers. And don't get me wrong, there's been a lot of great 3D Mario games,
03:25but where were the 2D games? After the success of Super Mario 64, Nintendo put more focus on the
03:30plumber's 3D adventures and spin-offs, only having re-releases of Mario's past 2D games on the Game Boy
03:35Advance. And the original Super Mario Bros. series was thrown to the wayside. That is,
03:39until 2006, when new Super Mario Bros. released on the DS. A game that brought Mario back to its
03:45roots while giving him that 3D moveset, wall jumps, triple jumps, and ground pounds were all available
03:50as Mario went through world after world to find Bowser Jr. and the kidnapped Princess Peach. The game
03:55did incredibly well, and as such, got a slew of follow-ups throughout every Nintendo system
03:59afterwards. Games for the Wii, 3DS, Wii U, and Switch came with the same formula. And while fans may be
04:04getting a little tired of them, it's still definitely nice to have the classic Mario still around.
04:096. Donkey Kong Country Returns
04:11When you really look at it, Donkey Kong as a series is a bit strange. It went from being one of the
04:16most iconic games ever in its debut, to a few weird games and spin-offs with DK Jr. and his
04:21adventures with math, back to being one of the most iconic games ever with Donkey Kong Country,
04:25and back to more weird games and spin-offs with a bongo controller. Going back to that last part,
04:29the last Donkey Kong Country game of the original trilogy came out in 1996, and afterwards the Big
04:358 was floating around in a kind of mediocre limbo. Rhythm games, puzzle games, cameos in Mario
04:40sports and party titles, it was all over the place. There was no consistent quality. However,
04:44in 2011, a truly great DK game finally appeared, Donkey Kong Country Returns, which brought the classic
04:50platformer into the 21st century, modernizing the whole thing while holding onto the core of the
04:55series' appeal. One of the best platformers in the modern era, this and Tropical Freeze were
05:00definitely special. 5. Prey 2017
05:04Some reboots are just gameplay changes or story changes, but Prey decided to hit the full reset
05:10on everything. Prey 2017 has almost nothing to do with the original game, because after the original
05:15title, Prey 2 was in the works for the longest of times, which looked to continue the first game's
05:19story. However, it had an incredibly rocky development, with the rights of the franchise
05:23eventually getting handed over to Bethesda. After they tried their hand at making it,
05:27they decided that it would be much simpler to cancel Prey 2 entirely, and instead of focusing
05:31on a sequel, they would focus on a reboot so that they could just do their own thing.
05:34And for the most part, it worked out. Prey 2017 was considered one of the best games of that year,
05:39with its completely original story and gameplay as you fought off shape-shifting aliens,
05:43and the space station that you explored was fully realized and meticulously detailed.
05:47It might not really resemble the original, but still, it is a fantastic game by itself.
05:524. Ninja Gaiden 2004
05:55Now, I know I complain a lot about the difficulty of this game, but damn do I love it. Back in the
05:59good old days of the Nintendo Entertainment System, or the NAYAs, Ninja Gaiden was a game
06:04where you controlled a ninja named Ryu Hayobusa, and hacked and slashed your way through tough-as-nails
06:09challenges. But back in the not-so-good, but still-pretty-good days of the original Xbox,
06:13Ninja Gaiden was a game where you also controlled Ryu, and hacked and slashed your way through tough-as-nails
06:17challenges, but in 3D. Rebooted in 2004, Ninja Gaiden was introduced to a whole new console
06:23generation. Created in a way to focus on Western audiences, the game shined with its difficulty
06:28and violent combat, which was as deep as any other character action game at the time. With
06:32the story being a prequel to the other games, it also inspired its own sequels, and several
06:37versions of this were made as it was eventually ported over to multiple platforms. This reboot
06:41introduced a new but faithful direction for the series, and we're all the better for it.
06:453. Tomb Raider 2013
06:47Tomb Raider is one of the most iconic franchises in gaming history, and as such, Lara Croft
06:53is one of the most iconic characters in video games. Lara's original run lasted all the way
06:57from 1996 to 2008, and while the highs were revolutionary, the lows were, well, pretty
07:02dismal. As a franchise, releases were all over the place, with Lara fighting dinosaurs,
07:07dealing with mutants, chasing after Egyptian gods, being dead, investigating death cults,
07:11and more. At a certain point, there was just no way to keep the games at a consistent quality,
07:15and if Tomb Raider was going to survive, it needed a reboot. So reboot they did.
07:19Following a younger, less experienced Lara Croft as she gets stranded on an island,
07:23you see how she comes to rely on herself whilst fighting off against a violent Solari brotherhood,
07:27and also trying to avoid gruesome deaths however she can. It was a smash hit, making the reboot a
07:33series with two more games to follow, and it's nice to know that this landmark series can adapt.
07:372. God of War 2018
07:40Now, this game is a bit weird for this list, because while it is definitely a reboot,
07:44it's also a sequel. However, it's so incredible that the rules definitely can be bent a little
07:48here. God of War 2018 set off to do something that many people thought was impossible,
07:53turn Kratos into a real, sympathetic character. In God of War 3, Kratos was a rage monster,
07:59barely showing any other emotion during the entire story. However, by the time that he showed up in
08:03God of War 2018, he was more reserved, his anger below the surface, as he had to learn how to be
08:07a real father to his son. With the reboot changing gameplay significantly from previous titles,
08:12the third-person over-the-shoulder angle made combat feel more close and personal,
08:17whilst the double-teaming dynamic between father and son as they explored Norse mythology was utterly
08:21charming. The game is a perfect example of blending the old with the new, and it resulted in one of the
08:26best games ever made.
08:281. Fallout 3
08:30Now, I know that I'm going to get a lot of flack from the purists out there, because let's face it,
08:35Fallout 1 and 2 are exceptionally good games. But if we're looking in terms of what makes a
08:39successful reboot, and that is critical praise and commercial sales, then you cannot deny the
08:44juggernaut that is Fallout 3. Plus, without this, we wouldn't have got the best game in the series,
08:48Fallout New Vegas. So, let me just have this one. So, when Bethesda hoovered up the rights to the
08:52series, they decided to change things up significantly, with the isometric view of Fallout 1 and 2
08:57now becoming first-person, and turn-based combat morphing into real-time shooting, with vats
09:02letting you pause and nail specific shots. Placing players in an open-world map of a
09:06nuclear-ridden Washington, D.C., you were simply just trying to find your dad, who was also played
09:10by Liam Neeson of all people. And this game took off, propelling Fallout into a household name and
09:15further solidifying Bethesda as a top name in the video game industry. For a while, at least,
09:20until Fallout 76. If any other developer needed a lesson on how to properly reboot a franchise,
09:24they should probably take a few notes from Fallout 3. And there we go, my friends. Those were the 10
09:29best gaming reboots ever. I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about
09:33it down in the comment section below. If you want to chat to me further, you can do so over on Twitter
09:36at RetroJ, but the O is a zero. Or you can swing by my Instagram page, which is Retro40K, where I do
09:42all my painting stuff. And it'd be great to see you over there. But before I go, I just want to say one
09:46thing. Hope you're treating yourself with love and respect, my friend. Sometimes, we can all do with that
09:50personal little reboot to get that positivity flowing again. So, make sure you're taking a break,
09:54yourself, and just going at your own pace, alright? You're a massive ledge, and you deserve the best
09:58things in life. As always, I've been Jules. You have been awesome. Never forget that,
10:02and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.
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