History FollowTheLeader / Videogames

** After 2008's ''Videogame/StreetFighterIV'' successfully resurrected the series following a downturn in the late 90s, several other 2D fighting game franchises were eventually revamped with similar TwoAndAHalfD graphical styles, such as ''Videogame/TheKingOfFighters'' with ''Videogame/TheKingOfFightersXIV'' , ''Videogame/SamuraiShodown'' with its 2019 relaunch and the aforementioned ''Guilty Gear'' with ''Videogame/GuiltyGearXrd''. Even the ''Mortal Kombat'' series, which had already transitioned to 3D graphics years earlier in ''Videogame/MortalKombat4'', pivoted to 2.5D starting with ''Videogame/MortalKombat9''.

* The massive success of Capcom's ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' resulted in a massive glut of fighting games; big-name arcade manufacturers rushed to produce such knockoffs as Creator/{{Irem}}'s ''VideoGame/SuperiorSoldiers'', Konami's ''VideoGame/MartialChampion'', Namco's ''VideoGame/KnuckleHeads'' and Sega's ''VideoGame/BurningRival''. ''VideoGame/KnuckleBash'' was developed because the Creator/{{Toaplan}} staffers were told to make a fighting game, though it became a BeatEmUp instead. This continued well into the [=PlayStation=] years and switch to 3-D gaming. Indeed, Creator/{{SNK}} made itself a major player in the arcade market by imitating and refining the formula.

** After 2008's ''Videogame/StreetFighterIV'' successfully resurrected the series following a downturn in the late 90s, several other 2D fighting game franchises were eventually revived with similar TwoAndAHalfD graphical styles, such as ''Videogame/TheKingOfFighters'' with ''Videogame/TheKingOfFightersXIV'' and ''Videogame/SamuraiShodown'' with its 2019 relaunch. Even the ''Mortal Kombat'' series, which had already transitioned to 3D graphics years earlier, pivoted to 2.5D beginning in ''Videogame/MortalKombat9''.

* ''[[VideoGame/AdventureQuizCapcomWorld Adventure Quiz: Capcom World]]'' was the first of a wave of board-game-style trivia quiz games that Creator/{{Capcom}} and other companies great and small produced in every popular theme to flood Japanese arcades in the early 1990s. The high fantasy-themed ''VideoGame/QuizAndDragons'' was one of the very few to be localized, though Saki from the pseudo-DatingSim ''[[http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/quiznanairo/quiznanairo.htm Quiz Nanairo Dreams]]'' would [[MarthDebutedInSmashBros make her Western debut]] as an AssistCharacter in ''VideoGame/{{Marvel Vs Capcom|Clash Of The Super Heroes}}'', and as a playable fighter in ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom''.

** ''Mario's VideoGame/{{Picross}}'' helped speed up the amount of nonogram games to soon follow, mostly in Flash form.

* The huge success of ''VideoGame/AoOni'' (it also got a movie and novelization) led to the boom of the "Oni Game" genre (4-ish people trapped in a ClosedCircle with a PaletteSwap of the aforementioned Oni as the [[ImplacableMan implacable stalker]]), and the UsefulNotes/RPGMaker ExplorerHorror Game genre (which itself has been helped along more recently by titles like ''VideoGame/{{Ib}}'' and ''VideoGame/TheWitchsHouse'').

* The mainstream success of ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and ''VideoGame/Persona4'' led to a lot of [[EasternRPG Eastern RPGs]] with {{Animesque}} artstyles, RelationshipValues with party members, LevelUpAtIntimacy5 and time-management systems. It also led to Relationship Values being added to several EasternRPG franchises that didn't previously include them. ''VideoGame/Persona5'' also started a trend of turn-based [=RPGs=] dropping scrolling menus and instead mapping each action in combat to a separate button., ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel Trails of Cold Steel III]]'' being one example.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' greatly spurred the development of {{Platform Game}}s for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem and later consoles. Surprisingly few took it as their primary model, though the Japanese marketing for ''VideoGame/AtlantisNoNazo'' wasn't too subtle about which game's coattails it was trying to ride on. Some computer games imitated ''Super Mario Bros.'' more brazenly, most notoriously ''VideoGame/TheGreatGianaSisters'', which was withdrawn under pressure of Creator/{{Nintendo}} almost immediately after it was published (maybe the makers should not have written "the brothers are history" on the cover of the C64 version...) Ironically enough, it got a remake on the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS of all platforms and several sequels on Nintendo consoles afterwards.

** ''VideoGame/Magi Haqi'' (''VideoGame/Wizard101'')[[note]]Ironically, Taomee had the rights to publish ''Wizard 101'' in China.[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' inspired a few modern air combat games combining over-the-top scenarios and an unrealistic flight model. Examples include ''VideoGame/AirForceDelta'', the ''VideoGame/{{Sidewinder}}'' series (released in the west as ''VideoGame/BogeyDead6'' and ''VideoGame/LethalSkies'') and more recently, ''VideoGame/{{HAWX}}'' and ''VideoGame/VectorThrust''.

* Back when the C64 was still kicking around, the arcade conversion of ''VideoGame/{{Gauntlet}}'' resulted in a [[http://user.tninet.se/~lrv840n/gauntletstyle/gauntletstyle.htm large number]] of similar games to appear, including ''VideoGame/{{Dandy}}'' (actually a {{reformulated|game}} version of the dungeon crawler for UsefulNotes/Atari8BitComputers that inspired ''Gauntlet''), ''VideoGame/{{Druid}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Gothik}}'' and ''[[VideoGame/IntoTheEaglesNest Into the Eagle's Nest]]''. Some "Gauntlet clones" were better as they had an objective while ''Gauntlet'' was mainly aimed at making players want to keep inserting more coins: ''VideoGame/{{Avenger}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Ranarama}}'' focused more on adventure than action. Though ''Gauntlet'' was never converted to the UsefulNotes/BBCMicro, similar four-player games titled ''VideoGame/{{Dunjunz}}'' and ''VideoGame/WhiteMagic'' were produced. There were also a few imitators in the arcades: Creator/{{Konami}}'s ''VideoGame/DevilWorld'' and Creator/DataEast's ''VideoGame/{{Shackled}}''.

* ''ViceoGame/SuperSprint'' inspired a wave of top-down racing games from UK companies. Creator/{{Codemasters}} found success on 8-bit formats with ''VideoGame/BMXSimulator'' and ''VideoGame/GrandPrixSimulator'', while Leland produced the UsefulNotes/{{Arcade Game}}s ''[[VideoGame/IvanIronmanStewartsSuperOffRoad Ivan "Ironman" Stewart's Super Off-Road]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/DannySullivansIndyHeat Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat]]''. Other British imitators included ''VideoGame/RallyCrossChallenge'' and ''VideoGame/SuperCars'', the latter featuring large scrolling courses instead of the single screens that ''Sprint''-likes can usually be distinguished by. Creator/{{Sega}}'s ''VideoGame/RoughRacer'' (1990) was one of the last and least successful ''Super Sprint'' imitators.

* The great wave of "''VideoGame/{{Breakout}}'' clones" actually followed the release of ''VideoGame/{{Arkanoid}}'', in whose wake came UsefulNotes/{{Arcade Game}}s like ''VideoGame/{{Gigas}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Quester}}'', and on European 8-bit computers ''VideoGame/{{Batty}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Krakout}}''. One game, ''[[VideoGame/SorcerersMaze Sorcerer's Maze]]'', is a Breakout clone made for the [=PS1=]. It was given a misleading title in order to fool gamers because it's [[NonIndicativeName another Breakout clone]].

** After taking note of the success of ''VideoGame/MarioParty'', Creator/{{Sega}} came out with the AlternateCompanyEquivalent ''VideoGame/SonicShuffle''; funnily enough, Hudson Soft developed both games. Other similar multiplayer "party" games include ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}} Party'', ''VideoGame/CrashBash'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Monopoly}} Party''. Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} also has their own free, online version called ''VideoGame/BlockParty''.

* The [=PS2=] era had a lot of light hearted games have suddenly DarkerAndEdgier sequels. It would seem that it started with ''VideoGame/JakII'', the much darker and edgier sequel to ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'', which turned Jak from a happy mute hero into a voiced gun toting AntiHero. Its success apparently set off a chain reaction with everything from ''VideoGame/{{Prince of Persia|TheSandsOfTime}}'' to ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' to ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'', though the last one was already edgier than the other examples here to begin with, but ''VideoGame/RatchetDeadlocked'' fits the trend.

* The use of isometric projection. Nobody's sure whether ''VideoGame/QBert'', ''VideoGame/{{Zaxxon}}'' or ''VideoGame/AntAttack'' got there first (''Ant Attack'' might have been the first to actually use the word "isometric"), but what people are certainly sure of is that ''VideoGame/KnightLore'' is the one that blew it apart into the behemoth it became, inspiring a slew of similar games from the crud (''VideoGame/MoleculeMan'', ''VideoGame/{{Return of R2}}'') to the self-recycling (''VideoGame/Alien8'', ''VideoGame/{{Pentagram}}'') to the sublime (''VideoGame/HeadOverHeels'', ''VideoGame/GetDexter'') to the just plain weird (''VideoGame/{{Movie}}'', ''[[VideoGame/SweevosWorld Sweevo's World]]'').

** ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany 2'' and ''VideoGame/Battlefield3''

** ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}} 2'', which even has customization in single player.

** It goes back full circle in the late 2010s, though. With the respective series having lost its magic and mainstream tastes starting to grow tired of the "modern shooter" genre, ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' would be one of the major factors in turning people towards the genre's roots of fast-paced, lateral movement and guns-blazing combat. Many FPS games released around that timeframe would follow suit.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' fans believed the 2010 ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' game did this, although technically it's the other way around, Infinity Ward being formed from people who worked on the early [=MoH=]'s. And besides that, [=MoH=] '10 is set in UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror, in Afghanistan, while ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' is set in Ultranationalist Russia.

** After 2008's ''Videogame/StreetFighterIV'' successfully revived the series following a downturn in the late 90s, several other 2D fighting game franchises were eventually revived with similar TwoAndAHalfD graphical styles, such as ''Videogame/TheKingOfFighters'' with ''Videogame/TheKingOfFightersXIV'' and ''Videogame/SamuraiShodown'' with its 2019 relaunch. Even the ''Mortal Kombat'' series, which had already transitioned to 3D graphics years earlier, pivoted to 2.5D beginning in ''Videogame/MortalKombat9''.

** Once ''VideoGame/{{Mortal Kombat|1992}}'' made the scene, many of these knockoff fighters began featuring over-the-top gore and/or DigitizedSprites (including, somewhat ironically, ''VideoGame/StreetFighterTheMovie'' in the latter group). Some of the lowlights of this trend included ''VideoGame/SurvivalArts'', ''VideoGame/TimeKillers'', ''VideoGame/KasumiNinja'', ''VideoGame/ShadowWarOfSuccession'', ''VideoGame/WayOfTheWarrior'', ''VideoGame/TattooAssassins'' and the UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} game ''VideoGame/CapitalPunishment''.

** ''Videogame/MortalKombat1992'' gave rise to a number of BloodierAndGorier fighting games with violent finishing moves, such as ''Videogame/SamuraiShodown'', ''Videogame/KillerInstinct'', ''Videogame/EternalChampions'', ''Videogame/PrimalRage'' and ''Videogame/{{Bloodstorm}}''. It also started the trend of fighting games that used digitized human actors instead of hand-drawn sprites, with ''Videogame/StreetFighterTheMovie'', ''Videogame/WayOfTheWarrior'', ''Videogame/JackieChanTheKungFuMaster'' and the unreleased ''Videogame/TattooAssassins'' being a few of the more notable examples.

** The ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' series is seen by many to have paved the way for a whole subgenre of {{doujin}} fighting games with similar mechanics.

* ''Videogame/MortalKombat'' itself gave rise to a number of BloodierAndGorier fighting games with violent finishing moves, such as ''Videogame/SamuraiShodown'', ''Videogame/EternalChampion'', ''Videogame/PrimalRage'', ''Videogame/{{Bloodstorm}}'' and the aforementioned ''Killer Instinct''. It also started a trend of fighting games that used digitized human actors instead of hand-drawn sprites, with ''Videogame/StreetFighterTheMovie'', ''Videogame/WayOfTheWarrior'', ''Videogame/TheKungFuMasterJackieChan'' and the unreleased ''Videogame/TattooAssassins'' being a few of the more notable examples.

** After ''Videogame/StreetFighterIV'' successfully revived the series following a downturn in the late 90s, several other 2D fighting game franchises were eventually revived with similar TwoAndAHalfD graphical styles, such as ''Videogame/TheKingOfFighters'' with ''Videogame/TheKingOfFightersXIV'' and ''Videogame/SamuraiShodown'' with its 2019 relaunch. Even ''Mortal Kombat'', which had already transitioned to 3D graphics years earlier, adopted a similar 2.5D approach beginning in ''Videogame/MortalKombat9''.

** After ''Videogame/StreetFighterIV'' successfully revived the series following a downturn in the late 90s, several other 2D fighting game franchises were eventually revived with similar 2AndAHalfD graphical styles, such as ''Videogame/TheKingOfFighters'' with ''Videogame/TheKingOfFighterXIV'' and ''Videogame/SamuraiShodown'' with its 2019 relaunch. Even ''Mortal Kombat'', which had already transitioned to 3D graphics years earlier, adopted a similar 2.5D approach beginning in ''Videogame/MortalKombat9''.

** ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' popularized the 3D fighting game, and spawned its own horde of imitators, such as ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' and ''VideoGame/BattleArenaToshinden''.

* The [=PS2=] era had a lot of light hearted games have suddenly DarkerAndEdgier sequels. It would seem that it started with ''VideoGame/JakII'', the much darker and edgier sequel to ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'', which turned Jak from a happy mute hero into a voiced gun toting AntiHero. Its success apparently set off a chain reaction with everything from ''VideoGame/{{Prince of Persia|TheSandsOfTime}}'' to ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' to ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'', though the last one was already edgier than the other examples here to begin with, but ''VideoGame/RatchetDeadlocked'' fits the trend.

* Jaleco's ''[[VideoGame/NinjaJajamaruKun Ninja Jajamaru-kun]]'' series, after the first two games, abandoned its original style of gameplay in the later Famicom installments, which instead imitated ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' (''Jajamaru Ninpou Chou''), ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' (''Jajamaru Gekimaden'') and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' (''Ginga Daisakusen'').

* During the mid-1990s, the success of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' led to a glut of the MascotWithAttitude, especially in video games released on the Genesis/Mega Drive and SNES during that time. Most of them failed, either because they were just a ThemeParkVersion of Sonic himself, or because they experienced technical issues with their {{Video Game 3D Leap}}s when gaming made the move to 3D later that decade, such as ''[[VideoGame/{{Bubsy}} Bubsy the Bobcat]]'' and ''Bubsy 3D'' (though in fairness Sonic has had issues himself in that department). While some of them like ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'', ''VideoGame/JazzJackrabbit'' and the ''VideoGame/RocketKnightAdventures'' stood out and have a cult following, Sonic himself is the only MascotWithAttitude to escape from this time, due to being the {{Trope Maker|s}} and persisting as a CashCowFranchise past the trend it started. It helped that ''Sonic'' [[GrowingWithTheAudience grew with its audience]], if only for a time, to remain cool instead of stay as an immature-looking character like most of its imitators.

* In 2011, Creator/{{Nintendo}} started advertising their upcoming games, as well as associated media and events, through periodic online video presentations known as WebVideo/{{Nintendo Direct}}s. These proved remarkably popular, and other major gaming companies began developing their own versions, such [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft's]] "Inside Xbox", [[Creator/SonyInteractiveEntertainment Sony's]] "State of Play", "Creator/{{Ubisoft}} Forward", "Creator/SquareEnix Presents", and Creator/DevolverDigital's "Devolver Direct". Inversely, this is widely believed to have led to the downfall of the UsefulNotes/ElectronicEntertainmentExpo in the early 2020s, as gaming companies realized it was much cheaper, simpler, and more convenient to hype their products to a big audience on the internet through livestreams (in large part due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic shutting down E3 for three years straight).

* The huge success of ''VideoGame/AoOni'' (it also got a movie and novelization) led to the boom of the "Oni Game" genre (4-ish people trapped in a ClosedCircle with a PaletteSwap of the aforementioned Oni as the [[ImplacableMan implacable stalker]]), and the UsefulNotes/RPGMaker Horror Game genre (which itself has been helped along more recently by titles like ''VideoGame/{{Ib}}'' and ''VideoGame/TheWitchsHouse'').

* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'', which likely took some cues from ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent'', has its own following of copycats and parodies where every game always seems to take place in some sort of establishment where you have to avoid robotic animals and are only limited to using whatever you have on hand instead of just getting up and running away. Almost every game trying to ride off the success of ''Five Nights at Freddy's'' just rubs out "Freddy" and use their own name. Later such games were dubbed "Mascot horror".

* The FullMotionVideo "Interactive Movie" genre. While it had existed in more basic form using analog video controlled by a computer (I.E.: ''VideoGame/DragonsLair'',) it wasn't until the fully digital Cinepak-based CD-ROM format that it became practical as a consumer format. While it was also used to add cutscenes to existing genres, nearly all early CD titles consisted of immensely similar crosses between a BMovie and a Literature/ChooseYourOwnAdventure book. Occupying somewhere around SoBadItsGood or unplayable depending on the cheesiness of the invariably low production values, the genre has only managed to live on in the form of the VisualNovel, and there often only thanks to overlap with [[HGame adult games]].

* Much as there is the ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' clone, Japan also has the ''VideoGame/{{Wizardry}}'' clone. The games hit it off in Japan for being [[NintendoHard harder than hard]] first-person dungeon crawler [=RPGs=], and the Japanese version of the series has more than 20 entries. The games had a notable influence on the earliest ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' games, as well as ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey''. There's also the Japanese ''[[NoExportForYou Generation Xth]]'' trilogy, which is [=MegaTen=]'s more cyberpunky ScienceFantasy ''Wizardry'' cousin.