Best game franchise?

Deltamatic · Post by **Deltamatic** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 6:20

Inspired by the "Best Game Ever" poll.

Post by **Levellass** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 10:30

Keen. He's never go-karted with Mortimer (Even in a mod) and he hasn't had several terrible TV shows like Sonic.

Galaxieretter · Post by **Galaxieretter** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 15:43

Kings Quest?

Try Baldurs Gate!

Tir allur; For Shar!

This is a quote I got from somewhere else.

"Why would you play a Sonic game? Because it's fun.
Why would you play a Mario game? Because it's fun.

So why would you play a Commander Keen game? Well, why do you think?
IT'S COMMANDER KEEN, bitch!" (Part one.)

Levellass wrote:and he hasn't had several terrible TV shows like Sonic.

Several?!

ZidaneA · Post by **ZidaneA** » Sat Dec 19, 2009 20:32

Levellass wrote:Keen. He's never go-karted with Mortimer (Even in a mod) and he hasn't had several terrible TV shows like Sonic.

What you say?

Deltamatic · Post by **Deltamatic** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 0:25

Odd, I can't edit the poll options. Otherwise I would've added Baldur's Gate.
From what I've seen, Keen is the best among those choices. *votes* But I should get Curse of Monkey Island soon, which may sway my opinion in the future on this subject from what I've heard of it.

TerminILL · Post by **TerminILL** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 0:55

COMI is in my opinion the best in the series (contrary to all the people who think it sucks because Ron Gilbert wasn't involved). The ending is a bit tacked-on, but the game was the pinnacle of the series' humour, IMKO.

Lava89 · Post by **Lava89** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:17

Haha, thanks for posting that ZidaneA

I'd say only half of the Sonic TV shows have been bad; Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog being the best (and funniest) and SaTAM was pretty cool. Whereas I never bothered with Sonic Underground (siblings?? com'on!) and I was appalled by Sonic X.

It's hard for me to compare Keen to other, similar franchises because of the fact that we haven't gotten any truly official Keen games since 1991.

On one hand that's a good thing because there hasn't been a cheapening of the franchise; for instance we haven't gotten a dozen party games pumped out (kinda like what Levelass pointed out). Not to mention the fact that if Keen ever went 3D we'd get a whole new split in the Keen fanbase who liked the originals over the 3D ones versus the people who embrace both new and old Keen games. Also, for many, the old games are preserved in our memories and we don't have potentially bad games made in the future to disrupt that.

It can be a bad thing because it can lose relevancy; for instance any glitches in the original games or outdated gameplay techniques are never resolved in future sequels and we'll never see how Keen deals with current game development features (such as 3D or multiplayer) or how the series would try to bring in more gamers being that the platformer genre is dying off. It can also cause people to forget about the series.

Genius314 · Post by **Genius314** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 2:45

Commander Keen isn't really a franchise... it's just a series.
There weren't any spin-off games, or merchandise, or shows or movies.

Rule of thumb: If it hasn't been on a cereal box, it isn't a franchise. (Now quick, someone find me a picture of Sonic on a cereal box!)

Lava89 · Post by **Lava89** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 3:40

Do Sonic Spaghetti O's count?

Genius314 · Post by **Genius314** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:26

Lava89 wrote:Do Sonic Spaghetti O's count?

YES!
(Also... do they still sell those Where's Waldo Spaghetti-o's??)

TerminILL · Post by **TerminILL** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 5:47

I'mma have to say Zelda. Classic Zelda. Esp. the Game Boy and Game Boy Color offerings (GBA and DS, you are shameful failures now get out of my sight).

Roobar · Post by **Roobar** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 12:30

Mario is definitely the most popular franchise from these (tons of great games) and Keen can't compete with it, as well as with the others. If someone take this franchise and start making quality games like New Super Mario Bros for Wii or Bionic Commando Rearmed, then we can compare it to the others. Unfortunately, those guys who hold the rights are not smart enough to make use of the Keen universe, which is sad.

VikingBoyBilly · Post by **VikingBoyBilly** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 17:02

The Mother games. They've retained a high level of popularity that's nearly on par with the big ones (in Japan at least), and yet the closest it's come to selling out is the appearances in Super Smash Bros. and Kirby Superstar. No bastardizing tv shows, no spin-offs, very few toys and commercials (I think the air freshener and the mr. saturn plushie is all there is for merchandizing). All there is is the 3 main games. It's all canon, and in the 20 years it ran, it never jumped the shark or sidetracked in any way.

Genius314 · Post by **Genius314** » Sun Dec 20, 2009 19:16

VikingBoyBilly wrote:The Mother games. They've retained a high level of popularity that's nearly on par with the big ones (in Japan at least), and yet the closest it's come to selling out is the appearances in Super Smash Bros. and Kirby Superstar. No bastardizing tv shows, no spin-offs, very few toys and commercials (I think the air freshener and the mr. saturn plushie is all there is for merchandizing). All there is is the 3 main games. It's all canon, and in the 20 years it ran, it never jumped the shark or sidetracked in any way.

I agree 100%! (Okay, maybe only 98%...

)

Toomuchsparetime · Post by **Toomuchsparetime** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 21:32

POLL IS BIASED

If you posted it on a Mario forum, Mario would be voted the best.

If you posted it on a general gaming forum, Mario would probably be voted the best.

Hell, if you posted it on a Twilight forum, Mario would probably still be voted the best.

Keen's franchise is effectively dead. Mario's is still alive and kicking after all these decades. And at least Monkey Island still gets remakes that don't suck!

Keen games > Mario games though

Public Commander Keen Forum

Best game franchise?

Which of these computer and/or video game franchises do you think is the best overall?

Best game franchise?