| 1 | * Any game with a SuperTitle64Advance title that gets re-released on another platform without a title change generally counts. Examples include ''VideoGame/SonicCD'' and ''VideoGame/Doom64''. Special mention goes to ''VideoGame/ShantaeAdvanceRiskyRevolution'', which was never released on the Game Boy Advance to begin with. [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell At least, not originally.]] |
| 2 | * The first ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' game, ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', was released in America after the third game in the series (''Gyakuten Saiban 3'') was already out in Japan. When it became obvious that the protagonist in the fourth game was not going to be Phoenix Wright, but a new character, Capcom changed the emphasis of the Western logos and branding to make ''Ace Attorney'' the franchise's title, while keeping the ''Phoenix Wright'' portion as a supertitle for the first two sequels. |
| 3 | * ''VideoGame/BrokenSword'' is named after the legendary Broken Sword of Baphomet from the first game and to be honest whilst it is an important plot element to the story it doesn't get a lot of screen time and is mentioned maybe about 5 times at most. Later games don't have anything to do with the sword. [[spoiler:Except the third game, which involved a different broken sword.]] |
| 4 | * ''Franchise/MegaMan'' |
| 5 | ** ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' features a protagonist named [[VideoGame/MegaManX Zero]], not Mega Man. Ironically, the manga adaptation of ''MMZ'' made this mistake about Zero, among many other errors/deviations. It was so notable that, years later, Zero's ending in ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' specifically made a point of [[LampshadeHanging poking fun at this]]. This then is averted in ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'', but Mega Man is now a ''[[LegacyCharacter title]]'' referring to people who can use the Biometal TransformationTrinket, rather than an individual. |
| 6 | *** Additionally, the Four Guardians of Neo Arcadia (Harpuia, Leviathan, Fefnir and Phantom) are reduced to three members after Phantom's death in the first game. However, in ''Mega Man Zero 2'' and ''3'', they still refer to themselves/are referred to as the "Four Guardians." |
| 7 | ** ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'' suffers this in the English versions of the games since it uses the first game's SuperMode as part of the title, which then struck but the second game -- which had the added subtitle of "tribe" -- had absolutely ''nothing'' to do with the Star Force. The Japanese title is the more sensible ''Shooting Star Rockman''; this is fixed in the [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel third game]], where the heroes form a team they intentionally named after the ability the Satellite Admins gave Mega Man in the first game. |
| 8 | * The 2007 Wii entry in the ''VideoGame/{{Cruisn}}'' series published by Creator/MidwayGames is in fact a port of the 2004 ''Franchise/TheFastAndTheFurious'' arcade game released by Raw Thrills, a company founded by ex-Midway employees led by ''Cruis'n'' creator (and industry legend) Creator/EugeneJarvis after Midway dropped out of the arcade market in 2001. The ''F&F'' arcade game is very much a SpiritualSuccessor to the ''Cruis'n'' series, featuring much of the same gameplay mechanics and a similar look and feel, while the actual use of the ''F&F'' license outside the title (and the original arcade cabinet art having a pic of Vin Diesel and Paul Walker) is mostly limited to the car selection being heavy on the import tuner type of cars (and Dom's 1968 Dodge Charger) seen in the first two films and that one course is named after the climactic Race Wars event from the first movie. When Midway ported the game to the Wii, they couldn't use the ''F&F'' name (the console license rights were held by Namco, which had released a [=PS2=] game the year prior), so they used the ''Cruis'n'' name they co-owned with Nintendo, and all ''F&F''-specific elements were removed (though, as noted, there weren't many). The one exception is that the Race Wars track wasn't renamed, making the level title an artifact of the game's origins. |
| 9 | * ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings''. In the sequel, you are no longer restricted to play as a King in the age of Crusades. Downplayed in that Kings in the age of Crusades will still be important (if you're not a crusader, you're either a target or someone that can take advantage while the crusaders are busy in the Middle East). |
| 10 | * ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}'' literally means "bullet rebuttal", in reference to how you shoot arguments down during the class trial minigames. That means that this trope applies to the half of the series that doesn't feature class trials. |
| 11 | * In ''[[VideoGame/{{Earth 2150}} Earth 2160]]'', the plot no longer takes place on Earth. |
| 12 | * The first ''VideoGame/EndlessNightmare'' is a SurvivalHorror game through and through, with you fleeing from undead and an abundance of scary moments. The second game have scary parts, but is far more action-packed where you can actually fight back against zombies and demons. Come by the third, the psychological horror elements were either downplayed or cut entirely, but the "Nightmare" title still remains. |
| 13 | * The original ''VideoGame/EscapeTheMuseum'' is about two family members, Susan and Caitlin, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin escaping a museum]] rocked by an earthquake. The POVSequel ''Escape The Museum 2'', however, centers around a third family member, David, travelling across his earthquake-torn neighborhood ''towards'' the museum to meet up with Susan and Caitlin. |
| 14 | * ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': |
| 15 | ** Many people joke that the "Final" in the title makes less and less sense as the series progresses, aided by the story that the game was meant to be series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi's last game if it didn't sell well (and especially the apocryphal but far better-known story that it was supposed to be Square's last game in general, owing to supposed financial issues). This goes even further when the title is applied to spin-offs that have no connection to the main ''Final Fantasy'' games and follow a completely different format. |
| 16 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' - the ''A'' stands for "Advance," as in the Platform/GameBoyAdvance, which is the platform the first title ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' was on. This was retained for the second game, which released on the Platform/NintendoDS, to try and distinguish the two portable-only entries as a sub-series distinct from the first title, ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics''. |
| 17 | ** The ''International'' subtitle was originally meant to be literal. For a time, versions released outside Japan were RemadeForTheExport (like ''7'' having the Ruby and Emerald Weapons exclusive to post-Japan releases), with said versions being rereleased in Japan with the ''International'' subtitle. Nowadays, it's their name for an UpdatedRerelease. |
| 18 | * ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'': While "Friday Night Funkin'" was certainly an appropriate title for the original Ludum Dare build which only had "Bopeebo" and "Fresh", the builds following the game jam begin moving away from funk music and expanding into other genres before Week 1 even ends. |
| 19 | * Several ''Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' games fall under this, due to either not having Freddy being a central character, not being "at Freddy's", or even having 5 nights: |
| 20 | ** ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2'': While the many versions of Freddy are a constant threat, the main villain of the game is actually the Puppet. |
| 21 | ** ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys3'': Aside from the name of the place (Fazbear's Fright), a suit hanging outside your door, and a random encounter with him, Freddy Fazbear himself doesn't actually show up (though his phantom does); the main antagonist role is instead taken by [[BigBad Springtrap]]. |
| 22 | ** ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys4'': The protagonist, unlike his predecessors, does not spend five nights at any Freddy's. The setting is instead a house that the Nightmare Animatronics are haunting. There is a pizzeria (or rather, a diner) close to his house, though, and plays a very important part of the between-night minigames. |
| 23 | ** ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSisterLocation'' does not take place at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, but a different facility named ''Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental''. Freddy also does not have a very big role, as he is only interacted in during the second, third, and custom nights. |
| 24 | ** ''VideoGame/FreddyFazbearsPizzeriaSimulator'' has 6 official nights instead of just 5. |
| 25 | ** ''VideoGame/UltimateCustomNight'' lacks any nights at all, as the game is basically endless. |
| 26 | ** ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysVRHelpWanted'' has levels instead of nights due to being an in-universe VR game. |
| 27 | ** ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysARSpecialDelivery'' also lacks any nights. |
| 28 | ** ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSecurityBreach'' has only one night. |
| 29 | *** The ''Ruin'' DLC for the game also takes place at daytime instead of nighttime. |
| 30 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Soul|Series}}'' series begins with ''Soul Edge'', which was then followed by ''Soulcalibur''. All the sequels afterward are titled ''Soulcalibur'' with a number. Technically this isn't an artifact title, because the weapon actually called Soul Calibur is still in the series, but [[SpotlightStealingSquad so much focus is put on Soul Edge that it just doesn't matter]]. In ''Soulcalibur II'', ''everyone'' gets a form of Soul Edge as one of their weapons, while you can count Soul Calibur wielders on one hand with fingers left over. This includes the {{guest fighter}}s [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link]], ComicBook/{{Spawn}} and [[VideoGame/{{Tekken}} Heihachi]] (who fights barehanded). |
| 31 | ** The title change was a result of Namco wanting to avoid legal issues with infamous trademark troll Tim Langdell of Edge Games, who wanted royalties due to the use of the word "Edge", and would not have his "trademark" revoked until several years after the series had established itself under its new name. This was also the reason why the [=PS1=] port of the original ''Soul Edge'' was retitled ''Soul Blade'' overseas. |
| 32 | ** The creator of the series wanted to title each game after a different sword, in a similar way to the ''VideoGame/{{Tales|Series}}'' series, but it never happened because ''Soulcalibur'' was so successful they wanted to keep the series name recognisable. Because of this, despite its high popularity when it first released, [[SequelDisplacement the original game is now incredibly obscure]]. |
| 33 | ** Similarly, ''Soulcalibur V'' director Daishi Odashima wanted to name the game ''Soul Edge 2'' in attempt to do away with this, [[PublisherChosenTitle but was shot down]]. The only feasible way ''SCV'', the ''sixth'' game in [[VideoGameLongRunners a series running since 1995]], could get away with that would be if the game was titled "Soulcalibur V: Soul Edge 2." The number of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur wielders, canonical or not, has also balanced out more evenly since ''SCII'' and not everyone is able to obtain a version of Soul Edge starting in ''SCIII''.[[note]]''III'': Soul Edge goes to Nightmare, Mitsurugi, and Tira; Siegfried, Kilik, Xianghua, and Talim get Soul Calibur. ''IV'': Soul Edge goes to Nightmare, Sophitia, Voldo, Cervantes, Maxi, Astaroth, Yun-seong, Tira, and Amy, whereas Siegfried, Seong Mi-na, Xianghua, Ivy, Yoshimitsu, Cassandra, and Setsuka receive Soul Calibur; meanwhile, Talim and Algol get ''[[YinYangBomb both swords]]'', and Kilik's Embrace of Souls is the end result of absorbing the energies of both swords into his Kali-Yuga (Zasalamel's Irkalla in ''III'' and ''IV'' is something similar). ''Broken Destiny'' (the PSP port of ''IV'') also gives Siegfried and Nightmare the [[TitleDrop Broken Destiny]], a fusion of Soul Edge and Soul Calibur similar to the Soul Embrace in ''III''.[[/note]] |
| 34 | * ''Franchise/FireEmblem'': |
| 35 | ** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'' was originally conceived as an ElsewhereFic for the Archanea series (taking place on a neighboring continent with little interaction outside of a few recurring characters), hence the lack of their own equivalent of the ''Fire Emblem''. |
| 36 | ** There is no "Fire Emblem" in the Jugdral series (''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776''). A small piece of dialogue in the former mentions a "Crest of Flames" (in Japanese, unlike the title's GratuitousEnglish) which is the title for one of the antagonistic factions, but that's as close as it gets. |
| 37 | ** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Three Houses]]'' does have a proper Fire Emblem, but like the Jugdral games, it uses the "Crest of Flames" name instead of the iconic series title. The "Ashen Wolves" DLC introduces a fourth house into the story, rendering the English title this trope to some extent, although the Ashen Wolves house is an unofficial one, and the part of the DoubleMeaningTitle that refers to the main Lords' houses- Hresvelg, Blaiddyd and Riegan- still applies. |
| 38 | ** In some games, the Fire Emblem is merely an alternate title of the MacGuffin, while most people refer to it by other names (the Sacred Stone of Grado and Lehran's Medallion for example). In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', the MacGuffin exists on all routes but is only called the "Fire Emblem" on ''Revelation'', making ''Birthright'' and ''Conquest'' fall into this trope. |
| 39 | ** A song title example from the Elibe games. The sidequest map player theme from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' is called "Scars of the Scouring", and the enemy theme is called "Legendary Inheritance", which made sense since all the sidequests had you retrieving the legendary weapons of the heroes who fought in The Scouring. Remixes were used as the sidequest themes in the prequel, ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'', but this time the sidequests barely have anything to do with The Scouring or the Divine Weapons, yet the titles haven't changed. The prequel also downplays the importance of their Fire Emblem, as it was merely used as a ceremonial item at the time. |
| 40 | * The ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars]]'' series was no longer on the Platform/GameBoyAdvance when the series moved on to the Platform/NintendoDS with its third and fourth installments, ''Advance Wars: Dual Strike'' and ''Advance Wars: Days of Ruin''. On the other hand, the Japanese version of the series reverted to the even more antiquated ''Famicom Wars'' name for its [=GameCube=] (''Battalion Wars''), Wii (''Battalion Wars II'') and DS installments. |
| 41 | * The [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] (short for Family Computer) itself was an example of this as well. As the name implies, Nintendo planned for the machine to be a multi-purpose personal computer rather than simply a game console, and released various PC-like peripherals over the course of its lifespan. This included a keyboard, a modem, a floppy drive, and a tape drive, all of which emphasized other types of applications for the Famicom besides games alone. However, the system's applications as a game console ended up receiving far more emphasis from the get-go, even from Nintendo themselves. Nevertheless, Nintendo ended up keeping the "Family Computer" moniker in Japan and even named its [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem direct successor]] the "Super Famicom" in Japan, despite that system having even ''less'' connections with actual [=PCs=]. |
| 42 | * ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'' takes place on the titular Myst Island, unlike the rest of the games in the series. Then averted in ''VideoGame/MystVEndOfAges'', where you return to Myst Island [[spoiler:in one of the bad endings.]] |
| 43 | * ''VideoGame/MetalGear'': |
| 44 | ** In the early games of the series, a major part of each game's plot involve destroying the brand new Metal Gear tank in the hands of the enemy. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' and ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' emphasizes the Patriots conspiracy in which the main characters are involved, while reducing the role the mecha has in the plot. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', a prequel to the previous games, has no mecha with the Metal Gear name, but a tank that fills its role, as well as a single scene involving the original creator of the Metal Gear itself showing his plans to Naked Snake. |
| 45 | ** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' had a bunch of unmanned giant mecha serving as boss fights, built by Huey Emmerich [[spoiler: who was plagiarizing the idea of the Metal Gear]], culminating in the titular Peace Walker. Afterwards, the player is empowered to build their own Metal Gear, [[spoiler: which serves as the FinalBoss]]. |
| 46 | ** The name Metal Gear eventually became more of a concept than the name of a something. "A ''metal gear'' to fill the role between tank and infantry", which happened to be a ''walking'' tank most of the time. By ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', any unmanned, AI-controlled weapon along the lines of ''[=MGS4=]'''s Gekko are referred to as "Unmanned Metal Gears", shortened to UMG or just UG, rather than the typical UAV or UGV as used in the real world for drones that are remotely piloted by a human operator. There's even an optional codec call with Boris where he and Raiden discuss whether [[spoiler:Metal Gear Excelsus, the penultimate boss,]] actually fits the original definition; their conclusion is that it's named the way it is both as a marketing gimmick (made by [=ArmsTech=], the same guys who developed Metal Gear REX back in ''[=MGS1=]'') and to differentiate itself from Unmanned Gears, since it's noticeably larger and has a human pilot present within it. |
| 47 | ** The NES port of ''VideoGame/MetalGear1'' left out the Metal Gear itself (the tank is still mentioned, but the player has to destroy a Super Computer that controls its activities instead of Metal Gear itself). |
| 48 | ** The meaning of the original ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'''s title is twofold: it was the third game in the series (following the Platform/{{MSX2}} games ''Metal Gear'' and ''Metal Gear 2'') and it was the first one developed in 3D (produced during the early days of 3D gaming). The former meaning is now rendered nonsensical in light of the numbered sequels released since, while the latter is redundant since 3D is now the norm. This artifact is especially apparent with ''VideoGame/MetalGearGhostBabel'', which was [[MarketBasedTitle retitled to]] "Metal Gear Solid" outside Japan despite being neither 3D (owing to being a Platform/GameBoyColor game) nor an alternate sequel to ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'' (it's actually an alternate sequel to the ''first'' game). |
| 49 | ** The "Solid" in ''Metal Gear Solid'' can also refer to Solid Snake, who's only the protagonist in three ''MGS'' games (though he was a DecoyProtagonist in ''2'') and out of those three games, is referred to by a name other than "Solid Snake" for the vast majority of the game (Iroquois Pliskin in ''2''), if not the entirety of it (Old Snake in ''4''). |
| 50 | ** Metal Gear Mk. II, Gillian Seed's robotic sidekick from ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}}'', was named as such because it was the only other Metal Gear in existence in its universe. When ''Snatcher'' was first released on PC-8801 and [=MSX2=], there was only the original ''Metal Gear'' (which is referred as the Mark I in the manual for the original versions of ''Snatcher''). The Mark II later made an appearance as a remote-controlled drone used by Snake and Otacon in ''[=MGS4=]'', only the name no longer made sense as there were several Metal Gears since the TX-55 from the first game (such as D, REX and RAY) prior to Otacon creating the Mark II. That said, it is the second thing Otacon's had a hand in the creation of that was at least named a "Metal Gear", so calling it the Mk. II (as in, his second Gear after REX) makes sense, especially when [[spoiler:it gets destroyed in the beginning of Act 4 and is replaced with a red variation named the Mk. III]]. In an optional radio conversation, Snake criticises Otacon for the bizarre choice of name, and Otacon explains that it's his attempt to remind himself of the fact that this is not the first robot he's had a hand in creating. |
| 51 | * ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' refers to the starship of the first game, which has been conquered and dismantled for at least 17 years in the last two games. At least Durandal, and sometimes even Tycho, still identify themselves by the Marathon emblem. So they're kinda trying. |
| 52 | * ''VideoGame/NetHack'' is an odd variant of this trope. It was named back in the 1980s, originating as ''Hack'', as in HackAndSlash. The Net part was added when the original author turned development over to the [=DevTeam=], who work together over the Use''net''. Both elements of the title still hold true, but in today's day and age most people looking at the title would assume it was a game about being a PlayfulHacker, rather than a high fantasy dungeon-fest. |
| 53 | * ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'' is a strange inversion, a straight example and the logical extreme all at the same time. The main characters are only called the Galaxy Angels in the third game, where before they are called the Moon Angels. Come ''Galaxy Angel II'', though, they're back to Moon Angels and their replacement main characters are the Rune Angels, so there are ''no'' Galaxy Angels. And in [[Anime/GalaxyAngel the anime]] and [[Anime/GalaxyAngelRune its sequel]], they're just Angels, and the name "Galaxy" isn't mentioned at all... [[DubNameChange except in the English version]]. |
| 54 | * ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII: Shadows of Amn'' and its expansion ''Baldur's gate II: Throne of Bhaal'' have nothing to do with the city of Baldur's Gate, taking place in two adjacent countries instead. |
| 55 | * Only the original campaign of ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' has anything to do with the city of Neverwinter. ''Shadow of Undrentide'' starts in Hilltop and never visits the city, and ''Hordes of the Underdark'' starts in Waterdeep and traverses the Underdark and the infernal planes, again never visiting Neverwinter. ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' finally returns to the title city... then ''Mask of the Betrayer'' promptly leaves it again. |
| 56 | * ''The VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead'' was named as such because it took place in a mansion. Naturally, none of the sequels feature said mansion – though the first stage in ''[[VideoGame/TheHouseOfTheDeadOverkill Overkill]]'' takes place in ''a'' mansion. Moreover, a number of other stages in ''Overkill'' take place in metaphorical houses (e.g. the fun house [Carny], the big house [Jailhouse Judgement]), although the enemies [[OurZombiesAreDifferent aren't actually dead]]. Inverted with ''VideoGame/ZombieRevenge'', where one level is called "The House of the Dead" and actually takes place in ''The House of the Dead''[='s=] Curien mansion. |
| 57 | * In the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series: |
| 58 | ** Because the original title of ''Biohazard'' had existing trademarks in the West, Capcom came up with the name ''Resident Evil'' after the mansion that [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil1 the first game]] was set in. Later games in the series are not set in residences (with the exceptions of the Ashfords' mansion and the replica of the Spencer mansion in ''Code: Veronica'' and the Umbrella Training Facility in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0''), although "Resident" can just mean "inhabitant", something that does not require a building to be - in fact, most of the games take place in open environments. The Japanese title, ''Biohazard'', references the viruses that drive the plot. Averted in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'', which takes place almost entirely in a mansion much like the first game. |
| 59 | ** In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', an unlockable bonus scenario is called "The 4th Survivor" and explains how HUNK escaped from Raccoon City, becoming the fourth known survivor of the Raccoon City Destruction Incident (alongside Leon Scott Kennedy, Claire Redfield, and Sherry Birkin). Later games in the series show that Jill Valentine, Carlos Oliveira, and Ada Wong all escaped as well, yet in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake'' the scenario is still called "The 4th Survivor" instead of "The 7th Survivor". |
| 60 | * The two ''VideoGame/TimeCrisis'' games with Richard Miller (the original and the obscure PSX-only ''Project Titan'') have a timer that starts at 60 seconds, [[TimeKeepsOnTicking keeps running in between action scenes]], and every section cleared adds a certain amount of time. The game ends if it runs out. That's where the title comes from, the constant race against time. Every game since (including the companion games ''Crisis Zone'' and ''Razing Storm'') has a timer which ''resets'' after a section is cleared, and ''also'' resets if you take a hit. Furthermore, if it runs out, you only lose one life box (and this also resets the timer). Speed is vastly less important now; it's all about recognizing enemy patterns and accuracy, and almost nobody has had time run out on them. It was completely done away with by the FPS levels of the Complete Mission in ''Time Crisis 4'', which have no time limits whatsoever. |
| 61 | * ''VideoGame/{{Lufia}}'' qualifies in America, as the character for which the series is named only appeared in the first game, ''VideoGame/LufiaAndTheFortressOfDoom''. Notably, the series is titled ''Estopolis'' in Japan. Since the first game [[SequelFirst was not released in Europe]], the European localization of ''VideoGame/LufiaIIRiseOfTheSinistrals'' renamed the Dual Blade to the Lufiasword in order for the title to make an ounce of sense. |
| 62 | * ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'': |
| 63 | ** The first two games in the series weren't '''''Shin''' Megami Tensei'' at all, but rather ''Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei'', based on a late-80s sci-fi novel. "Megami Tensei" means "Reincarnation of the Goddess", which is only a plot point in the very first title (where one of the characters is the reincarnation of the Japanese goddess Izanami). Furthermore, the "Shin" in the title is actually a pun: "Shin" meaning "new" was often appended to the titles of franchises that made the jump to the SNES in much the same way as "{{Super|Title64Advance}}", but the "Shin" in "Shin Megami Tensei" means "true." Interestingly enough, ''Shin Megami Tensei'' is more of an Artifact Title in the U.S. than it is in Japan, where most ''[=MegaTen=]'' games aren't actually prefixed with the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' name: by contrast, ''every Shin Megami Tensei'' game released in the U.S. (save for ''Jack Bros'', ''Persona 2: Eternal Punishment'', and ''[=DemiKids=]'') have been released in the U.S. under either the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' banner, or in the case of Atlus' earlier attempts (''Persona'' and ''Last Bible/The Demon Slayer''), the "Revelations" name. |
| 64 | ** [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]], debatably. Some games do have a ''resurrection'' of a ''goddess'' in their plot, such as [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/{{Persona 3}} Nyx]]]], [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} Izanami]]]], and [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Mem Aleph]]]], although one could argue that ''resurrection'' is different from ''reincarnation''. |
| 65 | ** With ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', Atlus probably realized that the series' title was an artifact and tried to make it relevant again by having one of the characters, [[spoiler:Burroughs]], be a reincarnation of the Goddess of Tokyo, a goddess which doesn't really exist in actual Japanese mythology and was just made up for the game. |
| 66 | ** ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' also features several ''Persona 3'' characters, but the cast of ''4'' greatly outnumbers them[[note]]Only Mitsuru, Akihiko and Aigis are playable, and Fuuka makes a brief appearance as an NPC, whereas all of the Persona 4 party members besides [[MissionControl Rise]] are playable[[/note]], and the main setting is from ''4'', so the title makes sense. ''VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax'', however, adds many new characters, the vast majority of them from ''Persona 3'', to the point where every party member from ''3'' (who isn't dead) is now playable... and yet it's still called ''Persona '''4''' Arena Ultimax''. By this point, ''Persona 3 & 4 Arena'' or just ''Persona Arena'' would have been more appropriate. |
| 67 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' series. Quake was a code name for the villain of the first game (who turns out to be [[Creator/HPLovecraft Shub-Niggurath]] in the end). For whatever reason, they kept the name (which was also the name of the game engine). ''VideoGame/QuakeII'', which is about humanity's war against the Strogg race of aliens, was supposed to have a different title on release, but every time they agreed on a new name it would be discovered that someone else owned the trademark, so they went with a name that they already had the rights to. It just kinda snowballed from there. Also, Quake was the name of the game's original protagonist from the game's planning stages, when the game was being developed as a side-scrolling Action RPG under the title ''Quake: The Fight for Justice'' starring an unstoppable barbarian god. |
| 68 | ** [=QuakeCon=] began as exactly what its name implies: a small local convention for ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' fans. It is still known for hosting a large ''Quake'' tournament each year, but it has also grown to be Creator/IdSoftware and Creator/{{Bethesda}}'s main trade and panel show, often showcasing trailers and demos for their many non-''Quake'' projects. |
| 69 | * The ''[[VideoGame/PanelDePon Puzzle League]]'' series was originally called that because of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Puzzle League'', in which the main story mode had Ash battling through the Puzzle League, a puzzle-game version of the regular Pokémon League. Later entries in the series do not use Pokémon, instead opting for generic motifs or ''Animal Crossing'', but the "Puzzle League" name remains. The publishers can't use "Tetris Attack" (the name of the first game released in the West) anymore because of copyright issues and because [[DolledUpInstallment it's not an actual Tetris game]], but presumably "Panel de Pon" (the Japanese title) didn't seem marketable to Westerners. |
| 70 | * ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' isn't purely guitar from ''World Tour'' onwards, as other instruments were introduced. Returns to strictly guitar play with ''VideoGame/GuitarHeroLive''. |
| 71 | * And ''VideoGame/RockBand'' isn't purely rock, now that Harmonix have been offering DownloadableContent from genres like pop, country, disco, and funk. [[BrokenBase Some people take issue with this]], but Harmonix themselves insist that the ''Rock Band'' moniker doesn't refer to the kind of music played, but the ensemble itself. |
| 72 | * ''Franchise/MortalKombat'': |
| 73 | ** Only [[VideoGame/MortalKombat1992 the first game]] in the series involves the title tournament. Future games are all about stopping the schemes of the BigBad. |
| 74 | ** ''VideoGame/MortalKombatMythologiesSubZero'' was the first of several platformer spinoffs in the franchise. However, the "Mythologies" part of the title was dropped for ''VideoGame/MortalKombatSpecialForces'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatShaolinMonks'' due to being a mouthful. |
| 75 | * ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'': |
| 76 | ** The name of the franchise itself is a bit of an inversion. For the most part, the eponymous "[[TomeOfEldritchLore Elder Scrolls]]" themselves have played a very small role in the series. More often, they are simply mentioned as the impetus behind the game's main quest and never actually appear. It isn't until ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' that one actually shows up in-game, and it is only involved in a sidequest line. ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' finally has one present during the main quest, though it's only used in one part. ''Skyrim'''s ''Dawnguard'' DLC involves ''three'', finally averting the trope, at least for the DLC's quest line. In fact, the title was only chosen because [[RuleOfCool it sounded cool]]: Someone at Bethesda Softworks came up with the term, and then the developers decided what the scrolls actually ''were for''. ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' does try to handwave it away by suggesting the Elder Scrolls can metaphorically stand in for ''history''[[note]]being perfect records of everything that has happened -- or, apparently, will happen or could have happened.[[/note]], which you certainly get involved with in every game. |
| 77 | ** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]]'', the subtitle of the first game in the series, is also an example. The original concept for the was a team based, [[GladiatorSubquest gladiator game where the player took his team from arena to arena fighting in tournaments]]. The only thing left of this in-game was some of the texts when you enter certain towns mentioning what the local fighting team is named, but the advertising material had already been produced, so they kept the title despite arenas and gladiator combat not actually being in the game in any form. They got around this by adding a TitleDrop to the intro that mentions Arena as a nickname for Tamriel. |
| 78 | ** M'aiq the Liar is a recurring LegacyCharacter who has appeared in every game since ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]''. In ''Morrowind'', many of M'aiq's comments involve [[BlatantLies game tips that were blatantly false]] and [[UrbanLegendOfZelda hints to secrets that didn't actually exist in the game]]. As of ''Oblivion'', his role shifted to a FourthWallObserver (and [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Leaner]] and ''[[BreakingTheFourthWall Breaker]]'') who acts as an AuthorAvatar for the game developers, dispensing TakeThat shots at the [[TakeThatAudience audience]] (given the ''Elder Scrolls'' UnpleasableFanbase) and is not above also [[SelfDeprecation taking some at Bethesda itself]]. Thus, his sobriquet of "the Liar" has become something of an artifact. [[note]] There are a few implications that his fourth wall observations earned him the nickname in universe instead as he notes talking to other people in a few comments he makes.[[/note]] |
| 79 | * The [[FunWithAcronyms First Encounter Assault Recon]] group is not present in ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon FEAR]] 2'', nor are the subjects of Project Origin, which was only picked as the (sub)title because Monolith didn't have the rights to the ''FEAR'' name at the time. |
| 80 | * ''Franchise/StreetFighter'': |
| 81 | ** The games games have plenty of fighting, but most of the stages aren't actually set in streets at all. [[Film/StreetFighter The movie]], on the other hand, doesn't have much fighting at all. And ''very'' few of the martial artists in the series are truly "street fighters" by the very definition. The only real examples are [[VideoGame/FinalFight Cody]] and [[VideoGame/StreetFighterI Birdie]]. |
| 82 | ** The ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Alpha]]'' series, ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIII Street Fighter III: Third Strike]]'', and ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV''. While the evil organizations are at the center of the plot, there is no actual tournament going on [[note]]in the case of the ''3S'' specifically, the tournament had mostly wrapped up by the time ''2nd Impact'' ended/''3rd Strike'' began[[/note]]; the various cast members are simply touring the world and challenging each other to fights basically everywhere while attempting to get to the bottom of it all. Conversely, the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' series appears to follow a similar trajectory from ''Super'' [[CapcomSequelStagnation onward]], but most of the cast's individual stories are linked to the tournament held by S.I.N. in the original installment. |
| 83 | ** The original ''VideoGame/FinalFight'' got its title since the game's plot involved Haggar, a retired pro wrestler who sets off to take justice into his own hands and challenge the Mad Gear gang for his "final fight." However, quite a few ''Final Fight'' sequels (''2'', ''3'', ''Revenge'', and ''Streetwise'') were released afterward, all involving Haggar being brought back out of retirement again to face newer enemies. |
| 84 | * The ''Franchise/SilentHill'' games have generally avoided this by having all of their protagonists visit Silent Hill at some point within the game -- the only exception being ''VideoGame/SilentHill4'', which takes place in South Ashfield ("a few hours' drive away"). While it's revealed that the protagonist ''has'' gone to Silent Hill in the past, he never visits it in the game, only coming as close as the woodlands surrounding the town. There are several references to the town regarding several character backstories, but none really justify the title. In fact it was originally given a completely different title, although still set in the ''SH'' universe. |
| 85 | * This almost occurred in the NES version of ''VideoGame/{{Double Dragon|I}}'', but the developers managed to work around it. |
| 86 | ** The original arcade version allowed up to two players simultaneously, taking control of twin martial artists named Billy and Jimmy Lee (hence the game's title). When working on the NES version, the programmers were unable to adapt the arcade's two-player co-op mode. Since the title wouldn't have made much sense with just one of the Lee brothers, they kept Billy Lee as the lone hero [[AdaptationalVillainy and made his brother Jimmy into the main bad guy]], showing up as the final boss right after Machine Gun Willy (the bad guy from the arcade version) is defeated. |
| 87 | ** The siblings battle was actually an event in the arcade version, but the context of the fight is different. Whereas in the NES version defeating Jimmy is mandatory to completing the game, the battle between the two brothers is an optional in the arcade version, as it only happens if two players complete the game together. The Lee brothers fight over Marian's affections, with the winner getting a kiss from her. |
| 88 | ** The later Game Boy version played this straight, as it lacks both the two-player co-op mode ''and'' the final battle with Jimmy. However, this version does feature a one-on-one versus {{minigame}} via link cable where the second player controls Jimmy (which itself was a carry-over from the NES version). |
| 89 | ** The arcade version of ''Double Dragon 3: The Rosetta Stone'' allowed up to three players simultaneously depending on the game's settings. The third player controls a previously-unseen/unmentioned Lee brother named Sonny, meaning that the eponymous duo became a trio. "Triple Dragon" apparently didn't have the same ring to it. |
| 90 | * Despite being based on the core gameplay elements of ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}}'', the [[RunningTheAsylum fan-developed]] MissionPackSequel ''Painkiller Overdose'' removes the Painkiller weapon (a weed whacker) and replaces it with the [=RazorCube=] (a cube that breaks into sharp pieces and [[SpectacularSpinning spins around really fast]]). |
| 91 | * ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark2008'': you're not alone, and it's not dark ([[IncendiaryExponent because everything is on fire]]). Made especially ironic because the fire physics are the best part of the game. Subverted slightly (but no less ironically) when an upgraded version was given the subtitle ''Inferno''. |
| 92 | ** The later entry ''Alone In The Dark: Illumination'' made it even more nonsensical, being a cooperative shooter with lots of lights. |
| 93 | * ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'' originally started as a ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' modification, but the name stuck even after Garry Newman turned it into a standalone release. Newman cited it as a mistake, stating that he should have called it "Garry's Sandbox" instead, and he has stated that the follow-up game he is developing in the Source 2 engine, which currently has the WorkingTitle of ''S&box'', will ''not'' have the title of ''Garry's Mod 2''. |
| 94 | * In Europe, the early ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' games for home consoles were released under the title of ''Probotector''. This was because the European versions of the games turned the enemies into MechaMooks and replaced the original human commandos with robotic counterparts called "Probotectors", which comes from a portmanteau of "robot" and "protector". Said changes to the PAL releases were done due to MoralGuardians, specifically the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons (known as ''Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien'' or [=BPjM=]) in Germany who to this day still issues bans (or more specifically, blacklists them from being advertised or sold to the public through the usual channels) on violent video games. When the Game Boy installment of the series, ''Operation C'', was re-released in Europe as part of the ''[[CompilationRerelease Konami GB Collection]]'', it restored the original human main character, but still kept the ''Probotector'' title. |
| 95 | * ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriorsGundam'' doesn't involve any dynasties, Chinese or otherwise, it simply got the title for being a ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}''-themed spinoff of the ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' series. The Japanese title is ''Gundam Musou'' (a play on ''Sangoku Musou'', the Japanese title of the ''Dynasty Warriors'' series). Later spin-offs would follow the original naming scheme and avert this with titles like ''VideoGame/OnePiecePirateWarriors'' and ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors''. |
| 96 | * In the original ''[[VideoGame/BackyardSports Backyard Baseball]]'', there were only three fields that did not take place in a backyard: Sandy Flats, Tin Can Alley, and Cement Gardens. In ''Backyard Baseball 2010'', only one field ''does'' take place in a backyard: the [[BigFancyHouse Webber Estate]]. See how much ''that'' has changed. |
| 97 | * ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty:'' |
| 98 | ** Interesting case: The producers of ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2'' initially wanted to drop the ''"Call of Duty"'' supertitle, but re-appended it to the game's standard packaging and press releases after they took a few surveys and realized removing it decreased brand awareness. On the other hand, in-game menus and the console/PC refer to the game without the supertitle, and the developers officially call it just ''Modern Warfare 2'' to indicate its status as a new IP. So while ''Call of Duty'' is still an Artifact Title, that only applies to the game's publicity campaigns. |
| 99 | ** ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsIII'' does not A) continue the story of previous ''Black Ops'' games, or B) revolve around deniable covert missions into a politically-sensitive conflict that must be concealed from the public (the titular "Black Ops"). While there's some of the latter, the geopolitics are for the most part discarded in favor of a sci-fi tale about rogue robotics and AI which has almost nothing to do with deniable operations. ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps4'' is both better and worse, as what little story it has does revolve around characters descended from those of previous games, but despite its numbering the game itself is an {{interquel}} between ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII Black Ops II]]'' and ''III''. |
| 100 | ** Additionally, there is the case of the ''Nazi Zombies'' side-mode, originally introduced in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar''. While the original maps were centered around Nazi Germany, and the Nazis ''were'' semi-responsible for the zombies, the maps very quickly began outgrowing the "Nazi" moniker (variety starting with locations like a Russian lunar base and the US Pentagon, eventually getting to [[SerialEscalation intergalactic alien gods and Satan]]). Although it took a while, Treyarch eventually noticed and renamed the mode to just ''"VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies"''. |
| 101 | * ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'': |
| 102 | ** Any modern game involving Mario that includes the prefix "Super" is somewhat anachronistic since, outside of the ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' series, ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'', ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'', and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'' turning from small Mario to "Super Mario" has ceased to be part of the play mechanics. The middle two games even establish that "Super" Mario is, in fact, just Mario, his default form, with Small Mario as a downgrade. |
| 103 | ** The original ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 Super Mario Bros.]]'' itself lacked the two-player co-op mode from the original ''VideoGame/MarioBros'', which is the reason why the preceding game was titled ''Mario Bros.'' in the first place. While ''Super'' has a 2-Player mode, it is of the alternating type, which reduces Luigi's role in the game to a mere afterthought (since there's no point of having a separate Player 2 character if both players have to take turns). ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels The Lost Levels]]'' would try to justify Luigi's inclusion in the game by removing the 2-Player mode and making Luigi [[DivergentCharacterEvolution an alternate character with his own characteristics]], while the 2-Player mode in ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3 SMB3]]'' allows both players to split the stages between themselves rather than having separate playthroughs for each one. |
| 104 | ** ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'': The "3D" in the title refers to it being a sequel to ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'', despite this game not being in actual stereoscopic 3D, because only its predecessor had [[Platform/Nintendo3DS such visuals]]. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Nintendo did consider adding support for 3D televisions to the game, but dropped it due to it conflicting with the game's emphasis on local multiplayer, since each player would have required a set of 3D glasses.]] |
| 105 | ** Also true of the ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' series, since [[VideoGame/WarioLandSuperMarioLand3 the first game]] was technically still part of the ''Super Mario Land'' series despite not having a whole lot in common with its predecessors. |
| 106 | ** VideoGame/WarioWare, Inc. is only part of the story in the first game, ''[=WarioWare=]: D.I.Y.'', and ''[=WarioWare=]: Get It Together!''. The series continues to use the title even though the company is only rarely involved in the plot. |
| 107 | ** In ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'', Luigi is busting ghosts in several different places, and only two of them are mansions, neither of which are his. ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion3'' features no mansions whatsoever, instead taking place solely in a [[HellHotel haunted hotel]]. |
| 108 | ** From ''VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash'' onward, many karts don't look like such at all, being modeled after train wagons, baby strollers and fancy convertible cars. In ''VideoGame/MarioKartWii'', bikes were added to the vehicle options, while ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'' added ATV options and licensed Mercedes-Benz vehicles, a company that doesn't make go-karts. ''8'' also added non-Mario characters as DownloadableContent. |
| 109 | ** In March 2013, Nintendo began to promote that year as Advertising/TheYearOfLuigi to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Luigi's first appearance in ''VideoGame/MarioBros'' Near the end of 2013, it was decided to extend the celebration into 2014. Depending on your interpretation of this event, it's either played straight or subverted (as in, it could be a literal 365-day celebration that started in March 2013 and ended in March 2014). |
| 110 | ** Played straight and inverted simultaneously with the Hammer Bros. and all their variations. They fought in pairs mostly in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' (and even then, only sometimes), but they were still called those even in ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 SMB1]]''. You do fight ''two'' of them together in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'', but only one actually appears outside the fight in that game. |
| 111 | ** ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'' was named [[SuperTitle64Advance for its system]], just like [[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii its predecessor]]. Then it got an UpdatedRerelease on the Platform/NintendoSwitch in the form of ''New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe'', rendering the "U" rather meaningless. |
| 112 | ** The "New" in the title of ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' owed to the fact that it was the first new 2D Mario platformer to be released in twelve years. After that, the ''New'' subseries became something of a CashCowFranchise; there were three games that followed (two came out in the same year, even!), plus two {{Updated Rerelease}}s of one of them, plus ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'', its 3DS port, and its sequel, plus various other ''Mario'' games that are either 2D or have heavy 2D elements... Needless to say, very little about it seems "new" anymore; if anything, the most common critique of the series is its ''[[MissionPackSequel lack]]'' of innovation compared to other ''Mario'' games. |
| 113 | ** The DS remake of ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' is called ''Super Mario 64 DS'' despite not being a Platform/Nintendo64 game or coming out for a 64-bit system. |
| 114 | * The first two ''Franchise/{{Metro}}'' games, ''VideoGame/Metro2033'' and ''VideoGame/MetroLastLight'' are titled that way, since the entirety of the game's setting ''mostly'' takes place in the Moscow Metro. The third game, ''VideoGame/MetroExodus'', only features the metro underground setting in the very first and the very last chapters of the main story (Moscow and Novosibirsk levels, respectively), since the vast majority of the story's setting is focused on the above surface of the Russian wastelands. |
| 115 | * ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' goes out of its way to defy this trope: |
| 116 | ** By the fourth mainline game, ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'', the Metroids have been exterminated by the protagonist, who to justify the game's title is now physically bonded with DNA from the last remaining Metroid. And come the end of ''VideoGame/MetroidDread'', [[spoiler:she has completely metamorphosed into a humanoid Metroid, life-sucking powers and all.]] Not that it matters much, since [[VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy half the franchise]] is a self-contained sub-series taking place [[{{interquel}} between the first two games]]. |
| 117 | ** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' and ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'' avoid falling into this thanks to the main antagonist, Dark Samus, being the eponymous Metroid Prime, having bonded with the Phazon Suit after the battle at the end of the first game. While ''Echoes'' and ''Corruption'' allude to this, it's only made explicit in the secret post-game cutscene for OneHundredPercentCompletion in the first ''Prime''. |
| 118 | ** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeFederationForce'' narrowly avoids this trope as well; despite not having the creatures be present during gameplay, the [[TheStinger post-credits scene]] does feature [[spoiler:the bounty hunter Sylux stealing one from a research facility]]. |
| 119 | ** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters'' is the only game in the series that plays this trope completely straight, lacking any form of Metroid and predating Samus herself inheriting their DNA. Instead, the plot concerns Samus fighting against rival bounty hunters in a mission to uncover the truth behind a mysterious telepathic message that promised "ultimate power". |
| 120 | * The NES version of ''VideoGame/SectionZ'' features numbered sections instead of the alphabetized ones like the original UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame. Thus the final area in the NES version is actually Section 59, rather than Section Z like in the arcade version. |
| 121 | * ''Quartet'' was originally a four-player side-scrolling UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame released in the wake of ''VideoGame/{{Gauntlet}}''; a version titled ''Quartet 2'' was released as a conversion kit for two-player cabinets, but it still featured four selectable characters. The Platform/SegaMasterSystem version, however, only has two playable characters: Mary and Edgar were kept, but Joe and Lee were removed. The Japanese Mark III version was retitled ''Double Target'' to reflect this change, but the overseas release kept the arcade game's original title. |
| 122 | * ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' is set in the Gulf of Melange, far away from the Tri-Island Area of the previous ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' games, and at no point do any of the characters set foot on Monkey Island, although it is referenced several times. The island also was not featured in ''VideoGame/{{Monkey Island 2|LeChucks Revenge}}'', although ''VideoGame/TheCurseOfMonkeyIsland'' later {{retcon}}ned this. Only to be expected when the first game, ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'', neither mentioned nor revealed the title's secret, which is repeatedly lampshaded throughout the series and was even brought up in marketing for ''VideoGame/ReturnToMonkeyIsland''. |
| 123 | * Only one of the ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' games has the player visit the FloatingContinent Ys, and only three (''[[VideoGame/YsIAncientYsVanishedOmen Ys I]], [[VideoGame/YsIIAncientYsVanishedTheFinalChapter Ys II]]'', and ''VideoGame/YsOrigin'') integrate it into the story at all. The rest feature Adol battling a great evil in a different region each time. |
| 124 | * The original ''VideoGame/ThemePark'' was ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. The title of the sequel, ''VideoGame/ThemeHospital'', made less sense. |
| 125 | * ''VideoGame/TheSpiritEngine2'' is an InNameOnly sequel to the original. It has a completely different setting -- the only things connecting it to the original are the battle system and the "choose-your-own-characters" feature, making it a ThematicSeries. |
| 126 | * [[VideoGame/DragonQuestI The first game]] in the ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' series was originally about some warrior on a quest to go slay the Dragonlord, hence the title "Dragon Quest." Future titles in the series would still have you take on quests, but the importance of dragons would further diminish to the point where they have little-to-no importance, only serving to be the typical mook you see around the end of the game. |
| 127 | * Since the second game, the ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'' series has had an artifact title. The first game takes place in Etria and the nearby labyrinth. However, all subsequent games take place in different lands (and one of them takes place in another ''world''), the second having passing references to the first only if you used a special code and ''Nexus'' (which takes place in Lemuria) referencing Etria on equal grounds as the other previous lands. This is averted in Japan, where the games are called ''Sekaiju no Meikyuu'' (Labyrinth of the World Tree). |
| 128 | * ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' was almost this, as the creators originally wanted to focus on a different puzzle aspect as opposed to more Portals, but they eventually kept the Portal puzzles in. |
| 129 | * Interesting case with ''VideoGame/{{Beatmania}}'' and ''VideoGame/PopNMusic''. |
| 130 | ** In the beginning, ''Beatmania'''s turntable produced scratches (usually), while the keys corresponded to the notes, sound effects, samples, beeps, spoken words, etc. to be placed into the background music. It was actually fairly similar to how a disc jockey would use "beats" to create a mix. Likewise, ''Pop 'n Music'' started out with almost exclusively several variants of pop music, and was intended as a casual, fun, light gaming experience for multiple players. Two types of player, specifically: 1) a boyfriend and girlfriend on a date, and 2) kids. After both franchises took off and became popular, however, branching out into different genres became a necessity, as was making more challenging notecharts (with the bar going higher and higher as players just kept getting better and better). ''Beatmania'' has long since done away with hip-hop and R&B, once the backbones of the franchise, while ''Pop 'n Music'' has covered everything to Country to Percussive to Opera to Thrash Metal to Eurobeat, and every ancient traditional Japanese music style ever. |
| 131 | ** ''beatmania IIDX'' is also an artifact title. Originally ''beatmania II'' included a larger, deluxe cabinet, which had the impressive sound system and setup (thus, "beatmania II '''DX'''"). However, the deluxe cabinet proved more popular than the normal one and quickly became the norm, so Konami just continued to ship the deluxe cabinet while stopping production of the non-deluxe cabinets, rendering the distinction obsolete. Since the logo had the "II" and "DX" close together, Konami decided [[AscendedFanon "Sure, Why Not?"]] and the game became known as "beatmania IIDX." |
| 132 | * ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon'' and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' are set in castles alright -- just not Dracula's castle (which is referred to sometimes as Franchise/{{Castlevania}}). ''Circle of the Moon'' is set in Camilla's castle, while ''Dawn of Sorrow'' is set in the castle owned by Celia Fortner's cult. The ''Dawn of Sorrow'' castle is apparently an "exact replica," but this attempt to smooth out what is otherwise a minor piece of trivia [[VoodooShark creates serious confusion]] as the castle is the {{Trope Namer|s}} for ChaosArchitecture, making any "replica" impossible (unless it's an "exact replica" in that it mimics the castle's nature; either way, it's a bit confusing). In the latter case, it is zig-zagged: [[spoiler:in [[ArrangeMode Julius Mode]], [[RogueProtagonist ex-protagonist Soma Cruz]] becomes Dracula, kills off the cult, and takes over the castle, technically making it his]]. |
| 133 | * Subverted with ''VideoGame/GodOfWar''. While Ares, the original God of War, does die in [[VideoGame/GodOfWarI the first game]], one must remember that Kratos has taken up his position afterwards, so the games are still about the God of War. Played straight however with the prequel ''VideoGame/GodOfWarChainsOfOlympus'' in which Ares is not even mentioned and obviously Kratos isn't the God of War yet. The other prequel ''VideoGame/GodOfWarAscension'' averts this as [[GreaterScopeVillain he's revealed to be behind the Furies]]. |
| 134 | * ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'': After the initial trilogy, the franchise has expanded its scope dramatically, with stories set all over its universe. As such, the titular ringworlds themselves have had little presence in the sequels and ExpandedUniverse, though one notable exception is ''Literature/TheForerunnerSaga'' (which was about the very species that ''built'' the Halos). |
| 135 | ** ''VideoGame/HaloReach''[='s=] campaign, save for a very brief glimpse in the ending cutscene (a shot for shot recreation of the opening scene of ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved''), doesn't a contain a Halo. One does, however, take place in the multiplayer setting; "Forge World" is a massive location for map editing and is on a Halo ring. |
| 136 | ** ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' also does not feature a Halo. The number is somewhat misleading as well, as the game takes place during the events of ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}''. It is, however, running on ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}''[='s=] engine. |
| 137 | ** ''VideoGame/HaloWars'' also does not feature any of the aforementioned rings. However, we do visit a Forerunner Shield World (basically a DysonSphere and the opposite of a Halo installation). |
| 138 | ** ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'' never sees the Master Chief set foot on a Halo installation, though he passes by one when approaching a nearby space station at one point. However, the plot is focused on a Shield World called Requiem. |
| 139 | ** ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' likewise almost ignores the existence of the Halos, save for TheStinger after beating the game on Legendary. Another Shield World is given attention, Genesis. |
| 140 | ** ''Halo: The Master Chief Collection'' was originally a CompilationRerelease containing all of the ''Halo'' games that have Master Chief as a playable character. Then 343 added ''Halo 3: ODST'' (where you play as a squad of [[BadassNormal Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]] instead of the Chief) and ''Halo Reach'' (where you play as an entirely different squad of [=SPARTANs=]) to the collection as DLC. Amusingly {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the latter's case, as discovering Master Chief's extremely brief cameo in ''Reach'' unlocks an achievement called "Collection Eligibility Confirmed". |
| 141 | * The ''VideoGame/IL2Sturmovik'' series was so named because it began as a detailed simulation of that one plane. As of the latest revision, the Ilyushin Il-2 is still present, but so are 228 other planes, not counting those added by [[GameMod modders]]. |
| 142 | ** The sequel takes place during the Battle of Britain but still references the original with its title ''Cliffs of Dover: Il-2 Sturmovik'', despite the fact that the title plane hadn't even had its first flight at that time. This was caused by ExecutiveMeddling wanting to emphasize the connection between the original game and ''Cliffs of Dover''. |
| 143 | * An in-game example: Several of the Ghost characters in ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}} 6'' that use Armor King have customised him to not wear armor (in fact Armor King's default 2P outfit since coming back in ''5: Dark Resurrection'' is just a pair of loose fitting pants and no shirt). |
| 144 | * Nintendo's UsefulNotes/{{Mii}}s got their name as a pun on "Me" and "Platform/{{Wii}}," the console on which they made their debut. Half of that pun now makes little sense if you use them on the [[UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS 3DS]], smartphones, and Platform/NintendoSwitch. |
| 145 | * Most unofficial fan sequels to the popular [[Platform/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] game ''VideoGame/DuckHunt'' actually do not involve shooting any ducks at all, since there aren't any there -- you now instead shoot ''dogs'' (specifically the [[TheScrappy much-reviled]] cackling retriever from the original game). |
| 146 | * The first mission of ''Creator/TomClancy's VideoGame/{{HAWX}}'' is the retirement flight of the eponymous squadron; for the rest of the first half of the game, you're a part of the PMC Artemis' "Reaper Flight." Zig-zagged later: [[spoiler:After Artemis betrays the United States and the player squadron defects, they return to active service as HAWX flight.]] |
| 147 | * ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'': |
| 148 | ** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOdyssey'' falls under this trope for the franchise. ''Odyssey'' does not have any Assassins outside of the modern day portions while the Templars or more specifically the Order of the Ancients don't even appear in the game at all instead it's the Cult of Kosmos that fills out their role as the main antagonists. The ''Legacy of the First Blade'' DLC does somewhat avert this by having the actual Order show up as the villains of the story while Darius/Artabanus has the Assassin garb and Hidden Blade but even then he is not an actual member of the Brotherhood or their ancient precursors, the Hidden Ones. |
| 149 | ** ''Videogame/AssassinsCreedValhalla'' also falls into this as the protagonist Eivor is at best a loose ally of the Hidden Ones. [[spoiler:They even end up explicitly rejecting an opportunity to join, citing their desire for personal glory contrasting with the Hidden One's MO of working from the shadows]]. |
| 150 | * ''VisualNovel/StarswirlAcademy'' got its name when it was a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fangame, and was highly anticipated at the time. When the developers got mildly ScrewedByTheLawyers and were asked to change the character's names and designs, the game became a generic DatingSim. The ''Starswirl Academy'' title, however, was unchanged. Perhaps Starswirl is too generic of a name to be trademarked. |
| 151 | * ''VideoGame/SuperSentaiBattleDiceO'' originally represented the strength of your characters' attacks by rolling dice. After it was updated to ''Dice-O Deluxe'' to go along with ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', this was changed to a spinning wheel, yet the title was kept. There is, in fact, *one* rolling die that remains in the game (one of the special move cards replicates the default ground finishing move from the original ''Dice-O'', in which your team fired a giant die at the opponents) but it isn't central to the gameplay anymore. |
| 152 | * The ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'' franchise has fallen to this. The eponymous neighborhood, being the seat of the Third Street Saints' power, holds a major symbolic value for them and is the single most-visited location in the [[VideoGame/SaintsRow1 first game]]. However, in ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'', it's captured and rebuilt from the ground up by the Ultor MegaCorp, and while you can revisit it, it is the only major 'hood you can never capture for the Saints (even after beating back Ultor). ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' doesn't even take place in the same city anymore, though one mission in ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'' takes place in [[NostalgiaLevel a VR simulation of the Row from the original games]], complete with a guy selling watches and a prostitute propositioning the Boss just like the opening cutscene of the first game. |
| 153 | * The ''VisualNovel/{{Sunrider}}'' series is named after the assault carrier that is the player's mothership and base of operations. It gets blown to smithereens at the end of ''Sunrider: Liberation Day'' and is replaced by a completely different ship in the next game. |
| 154 | * ''VideoGame/{{Torchlight}}'' starts off in the eponymous town and explores the dungeons beneath it. In its direct sequel, ''VideoGame/TorchlightII'', the town is destroyed even ''before'' the start of a new game and explores the regions ''around'' the town, but not the town itself or the dungeons beneath it. |
| 155 | * The ''VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga'' features something of a subversion: the ''VideoGame/DarkForces'' title is a reference to the first game's Dark Trooper project. Said project plays no part in the sequel, ''VideoGame/JediKnightDarkForcesII'', which ''would'' render it this trope... if not for the connotations that the term "Dark Force" carries in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' universe. |
| 156 | * The title of ''VideoGame/GuildWars'' actually refers to a series of wars which took place before the events of the original game. By the time the player character comes along, they have ended. They make sense in the context of the game since players can form guilds and engage in matched combat against other guilds, but the title is a hangover from the early days of its development when this aspect of the game was the most important. ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' is set 250 years after the original game, and guild versus guild combat is not a feature. |
| 157 | * The first ''VideoGame/{{Alundra}}'' game is centered around Alundra, but he isn't seen or mentioned in the sequel. |
| 158 | * ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series can sometimes dabble in this trope, as there are games where Zelda either never appears (''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'', the unlinked ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames Oracle]]'' games, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTriForceHeroes Tri Force Heroes]]'') or only cameos in (''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]''). However, she is still very much a central character to the series overall due to most incarnations holding the Triforce of Wisdom, with the [[IconicItem Triforce]] as a whole being an important, recurring element of the franchise's mythology and narrative. |
| 159 | * While ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfileCovenantOfThePlume'' does have a Valkyrie as a driving force of the plot, she's a background character at best, only showing up as a boss fight. All the playable characters and many of the movers and shakers in the plot are actually mortals. This is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in the BrutalBonusLevel when Hrist, another Valkyrie with the minimal role of appearing in side-scenes when you change [[MultipleEndings plot paths]] and dispensing the NonstandardGameOver, appears as an OptionalBoss. Wylfred asks what she's doing there, since he hasn't used the Destiny Plume enough to get her attention. Hrist points out [[BreakingTheFourthWall the game's not called "Mortal Profile"]] and she intends to off him and take his place as main character (as she's the only one of the three Valkyrie sisters to not have [[VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile a title of]] [[VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile2Silmeria her own]]). |
| 160 | * ''VideoGame/TwoWorlds'': Before the game was even released, in fact. The website for the original game has an outdated synopsis that challenges you to choose which of the Two Worlds you will save. This has nothing to do with the released game or its sequel. |
| 161 | * With the availability of the updated PC version of ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD'' as a digital download, and even on systems such as the Ouya which don't even have any disc drives at all, its title no longer makes sense. Sega took a swing at a HandWave by claiming "CD" now stood for "Chrono Distortion" for the HD rereleases. |
| 162 | ** Occurs in-universe as well, where it's PlayedForDrama: The BadFuture versions of PalmtreePanic, Quartz Quadrant, and Stardust Speedway lack their namesakes due to Dr. Eggman's industrialization. Palmtree Panic's signature palm trees have been replaced with palm tree shaped metal towers, Quartz Quadrant has been mined bare of quartz, and a storm hangs perpetually over the sky in Stardust Speedway blocking all of the stars. |
| 163 | * ''VisualNovel/StarshipPromise'': Some of the later-released stories involve the ''Promise'' crew only in supporting roles, or not at all. |
| 164 | * ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'': When the series was first brought over to the west, it was given the MarketBasedTitle ''Yakuza''. Series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu was only ever in the yakuza in the opening act of the first game, being exiled from his clan after taking the fall for his oyabun's murder. The games that follow depict Kiryu's attempts to live a normal, law-abiding life after walking away from the criminal underworld, with the fourth and fifth games featuring playable characters that aren't even yakuza (although they often deal with various yakuza groups). The prequel, ''VideoGame/Yakuza0'', zig-zags this: Kiryu is in the yakuza, but also on the run from them; while the deuteragonist Goro Majima is an exiled yakuza trying to get back in the good graces of his clan. That being said, the yakuza still play a heavy role in each of the mainline games, even if Kiryu himself is no longer one. The Japanese name of the series was always ''Ryu ga Gotoku'', or "Like a Dragon", emphasized with Kazuma Kiryu always wearing the dragon tattoo on his back. The seventh mainline game in the series; ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' had a plot which focused on the EndOfAnAge for the yakuza, as two of the series long standing yakuza clans the Tojo Clan and the Omi Alliance [[spoiler:both get disbanded, effectively putting an end to the yakuza]]. Then in 2022, Sega announced that, from then on, the series would be known as ''Like a Dragon'' outside of Japan, [[DitchingTheDubNames ditching its prior]] market-based title in favor of a direct translation of the Japanese title. |
| 165 | * ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity: Override'' is a case of this happening to the subtitle of a specific game in the series during development -- the game began development as a total conversion to the previous game, and as a placeholder name the mod was literally named for what it was to do, namely override the previous game data (this being 1996, the term total conversion was not yet as common). The placeholder never found a replacement even when ''Override'' became the official ''[[ThematicSeries sequel]]'' to ''Escape Velocity''. |
| 166 | * ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'' is short for the series' Japanese title, ''Bokura no Taiyou'', which means "our sun." This makes sense for a solar-powered series, and it gets a climactic TitleDrop in the first game. The nickname was already established by the time the translation came out, so the translators kept it -- but of course it makes no sense at all in English, so they added a subtitle, "The Sun Is in Your Hand." (Certain manga and anime, such as ''Literature/{{Haganai}}'' and ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', have chosen this approach as a way to give a translation without losing the recognition value of the existing name.) In order to ''de-orphan'' the title slightly, they gave the name "Bok" to a common class of {{Mook|s}} that goes by "Ghoul" in the original version. |
| 167 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Freecell}}'' in versions of Windows starting with Vista has an artifact ''icon'' -- originally, a chest-up shot of the King of Hearts was situated between the two sets of card slots at the top, and would face whichever set a card had most recently been added to (or moused over). He was nixed when Vista overhauled the look of all its games, but the icon remains. The king is dead; long live the king? |
| 168 | * While the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series generally encourages its namesake crime (stealing cars) as a means of obtaining transport to get around the map, in later games you may stop doing it altogether since you can stash cars away or use taxis or public transport to fast travel to your destination. Particularly in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', where the three protagonists all have their own default vehicles with customization options, the player has the option of respawning at a garage, the ability to roll flipped-over cars back upwards was added making it unnecessary to steal another car, and there are in-game websites where vehicles can be legally purchased (making it much less necessary to steal cars to get around). In fact, it's mandatory to use the in-game Internet to drive cars added in ''Grand Theft Auto Online'' updates for the most part, as they are not added to the game's traffic. |
| 169 | * Speaking of ''Grand Theft Auto'', the modding tool [=OpenIV=] was so named because it was originally developed for editing ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' archives and assets. And then more RAGE engine-powered games from Rockstar came in such as ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3'', ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' and ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'', making the "IV" in [=OpenIV=] less relevant. |
| 170 | * The ROM hack series ''Super Mario World 2 +'' was, for its first two games, composed of ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' {{game mod}}s. The third installment is instead a hack of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', but is still named "[=SMW2+3=]." |
| 171 | * While ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry1'' did have the main ape himself as the leading character, the next two sequels would demote him to DistressedDude while having other characters being the stars of the games. Both sequels are still named after Donkey Kong, even though he doesn't do anything. Both games are also still named after DK's home, despite them not taking place there. |
| 172 | * [[VideoGame/KingsQuestIQuestForTheCrown Only]] [[VideoGame/KingsQuestIIRomancingTheThrone three]] [[VideoGame/KingsQuestVAbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder games]] in the ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' series (out of eight) involve the titular king--King Graham--embarking on a quest, and in the first one he's still just a knight and isn't crowned king until the end of the game. The other games instead have either [[VideoGame/KingsQuestIIIToHeirIsHuman Prince]] [[VideoGame/KingsQuestVIHeirTodayGoneTomorrow Alexander]], [[VideoGame/KingsQuestIVThePerilsOfRosella Princess]] [[VideoGame/KingsQuestVIIThePrincelessBride Rosella]], [[VideoGame/KingsQuestVIIThePrincelessBride Queen Valanice]], or [[VideoGame/KingsQuestMaskOfEternity a random knight from Daventry with no connection to the royal family]] as the playable character, while Graham only makes minor appearances, including [[VideoGame/KingsQuestIVThePerilsOfRosella spending one whole game bedridden and deathly ill]], and [[VideoGame/KingsQuestMaskOfEternity another turned to stone]] (and [[VideoGame/KingsQuestVIIThePrincelessBride in one game not appearing at all]].) |
| 173 | * ''Franchise/TombRaider'': |
| 174 | ** The series was originally all about the tombs and raiding said tombs of their artifacts, but by the [[VideoGame/TombRaiderII second]] and [[VideoGame/TombRaiderIII third]] games in the series, there was less tomb raiding and more raiding in industrialized areas like oil rigs and disused subway tunnels. The fourth game, ''VideoGame/TombRaiderTheLastRevelation'', put the series back in the tombs, but all games after that went back to the mix of old tombs and industrialized areas. In the remake series, the tombs are purely optional side content, the games being almost entirely focused on more cinematic content. |
| 175 | ** ''The Last Revelation'' itself was supposed to be Lara Croft's final discovery since [[spoiler:she is buried alive in a collapsing pyramid at the game's end]]. However, since there are games that take place afterward, the title is outdated. |
| 176 | ** ''[[VideoGame/TombRaiderTheAngelOfDarkness Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness]]'' is this in a way. Core Design had intended to release the game as ''Lara Croft: The Angel of Darkness'' to emphasize the change in focusing more on Lara herself rather than tomb raiding. Eidos, presumably because of brand recognition and the fear that the game wouldn't sell as well without Tomb Raider in the name, forced Core to change it back to a Tomb Raider title. This is especially jarring in the released game, since less than a quarter of the game involves anything to do with tombs and caused much confusion among the fanbase. |
| 177 | * In Part II and III of ''VideoGame/{{Gladiatrix}}'', the titular character becomes a full-time adventurer and no longer works as a gladiator. |
| 178 | * The online game ''Into Space'' is about getting into space. The sequel, ''Into Space 2'', is about getting ''through'' space and reaching Mars. |
| 179 | * The strategy game ''VideoGame/TreasurePlanetBattleAtProcyon'' does not feature the titular planet (nor, for that matter, does it [[NonindicativeName have you go to Procyon]]). It does, however, take place in the same setting as the Disney [[WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet animated film]] with some of the characters present (your PlayerCharacter is Jim Hawkins, who has enlisted in the Royal Navy after the events of the film). |
| 180 | * ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'' was originally meant to be Rayman's [[{{Prequel}} first adventure]] and feature the birth of the limbless hero as shown in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvhwWXF-LfU first trailer]]. Those plans were scrapped during the development and the finished game ends up having [[ExcusePlot little to no plot]] with the implication that it takes places at least ''after'' the original game [[spoiler: because the Magician turns evil]]. That being said [[AllThereInTheManual the manual]] retells Rayman's birth and "Origins" can referred to the throwback to 2D platformer. |
| 181 | * While it ''does'' prominently feature the two characters, neither Edna nor Harvey are the main protagonists of ''VideoGame/EdnaAndHarveyHarveysNewEyes''. (The original German title omits "Edna & Harvey", and [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hTU-0hyZ-CA/TcPXzI4jn6I/AAAAAAAAC2o/twkv2qMesss/s1600/harveysneweyes.png it appears that the English version was once going to follow suit.]]) |
| 182 | * The "League" in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' no longer exists as it did, after realizing that the existence of a league was a detriment to the progression and lore of the champions, they retconned it out of existence, instead making it battles between bands of like-minded people in a war-torn world (which is what the league was founded for to start with, to stop the wars). |
| 183 | * Every modern and classic ''VideoGame/GameAndWatch'' remake in the ''Gallery'' series has no Time Mode and none of the manuals make any reference to it. |
| 184 | ** Some modern versions of the games in ''Gallery'' also qualify compared to their classic counterparts: |
| 185 | *** In ''Vermin'', you control Yoshi who must defend his eggs against Fly Guys, Paratroopas and Boos instead of vermin. Oddly enough, a Monty Mole will allow Yoshi to clear a miss by giving him a heart. |
| 186 | *** In ''Ball'', the character you play will juggle many items not resembling balls. |
| 187 | *** Subverted in ''Egg''. Instead of catching eggs laid by hens, Yoshi must catch cookies on a conveyor belt. If he eats enough of a type of cookie at the right temperature, he will lay an egg. |
| 188 | *** In ''Turtle Bridge'', you control Toad who must cross a makeshift bridge of Goonies across an open sky instead of turtles across a pond. |
| 189 | *** In the original ''Rain Shower'', a man is trying to keep his hanging clothes dry from a passing shower. In the remake, Mario must protect his friends from paint balloons thrown by Bowser. |
| 190 | *** The remake of ''Mario's Cement Factory'' takes place in a cookie factory. |
| 191 | * Way, way back when, the ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' series was going to be a historical RTS series, the player learning the craft of war via real-life battles. Then the whole orcs vs. humans thing came around. |
| 192 | * "UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame" is itself artifactual. Long before the first ''VideoGame/{{Pong}}'' machine was plugged in, not only had their pinball predecessors moved out of spaces specifically intended for them to bars and other retail establishments, even those spaces themselves had long stopped putting their offerings in the recessed arches that "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcade_(architecture) arcade]]" implied. Ditto for arcades themselves, although in Japan, the term ゲームセンター (''gēmusentā'' -- "game center") is used instead, as well as its contracted form ゲーセン (''gēsen''). |
| 193 | * The Select button. It's named as such because it was originally intended to be used to select options in title screens, settings and similar along with the Start button. Back then, pressing Select would move the cursor the next option. However, developers later opted for letting players navigate with the directional button. Despite this, Select was kept with its name unchanged, even though it no longer serves the function said name refers to, similar to keyboard keys such as Scroll Lock and Pause. Modern consoles tend to keep the button but name it to something that makes better sense, such as "Back" on the Platform/{{Xbox}} console lineup. |
| 194 | ** The Start button. As the name implies, pressing it starts the game, but it can also pause the game. When it wasn't simply used to start the game, it was used in conjunction with the Select button to select the game mode on the title screen. These days, the function of the Start button can be done with literally ''every other button on the controller'' (with the term "Press Start" being replaced with "Press Any Button"), and is simply used these days for pausing the game. Come the 8th generation, controllers don't even call it the Start button anymore: Sony replaced it with the "Options" button on the Dualshock 4, which serves the same purpose, Microsoft calls it the "Menu button" now, and Nintendo replaced it with the Plus button. |
| 195 | * In ''VideoGame/MediEvil2'', Sir Daniel Fortesque is resurected in the Victorian era. Granted there're still medieval elements like the swords. |
| 196 | * In the {{speedrun}}ning community, the term used to define a non-specific run (that is, one that simply aims to beat the game as quickly as possible) is "Any%". This is in reference to one of the original popular speed games, ''[[VideoGame/{{Metroid1}} Metroid]]'', which counts your item collection percentage on the end screen; "Any%" was used to denote that it didn't matter what the percentage was for the run, and it was accompanied by the extremes of "[[MinimalistRun Low%]]" and "[[OneHundredPercentCompletion 100%]]". Nowadays, "Any%" is still used as a catch-all term for basic speedruns, even for games that don't track completion percentage or don't even have good (or any) 100% requirements to aim towards. |
| 197 | * ''Prehistoric Isle 2'', the sequel to ''VideoGame/PrehistoricIsle'', is no longer set on or around any isles, has strictly contemporary settings and it doesn't seem to be a direct sequel, so it's not even a "2". |
| 198 | * The ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'' continued to be called ''Arkham'' despite only [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum the first game]] actually taking place in the titular Arkham Asylum. However, the series has come up with ways to justify this: ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' takes place in a walled-off section of Gotham, the title city, that is meant to replace the asylum; ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'' features Batman's earliest encounter with several of its future inmates and the reason it was reopened; and ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' features a self-titled villain [[spoiler:and the Knight's backstory is that he's Jason Todd and the Joker tortured him for over a year at a hidden section of Arkham.]] |
| 199 | * The ''Videogame/{{MOTHER}}'' series has an odd relationship with this trope: The Japanese title of the first game, ''[[Videogame/EarthBoundBeginnings MOTHER]]'', refers to the fact that [[spoiler:the protagonist's grandmother, Maria, [[ParentalSubstitute raised the the main villain of the game]], [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens Giegue]], from infancy, and the lullaby she used to sing him is what allows the protagonist's party to [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas repel Giegue's]] AlienInvasion at the end of the game.]] But then the sort-of sequel[[note]]The game takes place in a different setting with different characters, but features the same villain[[/note]], ''[[Videogame/EarthBound1994 MOTHER 2]]'', lacks an important central mother figure, playing this trope straight. The third game, ''Videogame/MOTHER3,'' averts it, with [[spoiler: the spirit of Hinawa, the mother of the protagonist and his BrainwashedAndCrazy twin brother, being instrumental in the final battle.]] This was averted with the localized names of the first two games, ''Videogame/EarthBoundBeginnings'' and ''Videogame/EarthBound1994'', respectively. |
| 200 | * The ''VideoGame/MaddenNFL'' series stopped using John Madden's image to promote the series since the early 2000's editions. Madden would still lent his voice for in-game commentaries until his retirement as a broadcaster in 2009, leaving only his name on the title. |
| 201 | * ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'' is a DistantSequel to ''VideoGame/{{Nier}}'' long past when the titular character was alive, [[spoiler:and depending on the ending he may have been RetGone]]. However, the ripples of his adventures are still felt in weapon descriptions, Emil, and [[spoiler: the fate of the human race]]. [[Creator/YokoTaro The games' director]] has also stated "''[=NieR=]''" was meant as a pure WordPureeTitle, and it only became the [[HelloInsertNameHere nameable]] protagonist's CanonName thanks to ExecutiveMeddling . |
| 202 | * The "Burnout" mechanic from ''VideoGame/{{Burnout}}'' (where you fill up your car's NitroBoost bar then expend it all in one straight shot, refilling it while it's draining to chain Burnout after Burnout) was absent from the series in the third and fourth installments (''3: Takedown'' and ''Revenge''). It was restored starting with ''Burnout Dominator'' and is also available in ''VideoGame/BurnoutParadise''. |
| 203 | * ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'' was about fighting the widespread pandemic of a biohazardous virus that could wipe out entire nations and trigger World War 3. However, the last two games of the franchise, Dark Mirror and Logan's Shadow, have nothing to do with Syphon Filter and instead deal with entirely different issues, with the only connections to the original trilogy being the main cast and the name. |
| 204 | * Averted with ''VideoGame/ZombiU''. Originally released as a launch title and exclusive for the then-new Platform/WiiU, the title was clearly meant to invoke SuperTitle64Advance. Three years later, Ubisoft decided to port the game to other platforms, renaming it ''Zombi'' in the process. |
| 205 | * Several games in the ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series do not feature the titular Kingdom Hearts. ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'' and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'' don't even mention it at all. |
| 206 | ** ''Kingdom Hearts coded'' was retitled to ''Kingdom Hearts Re: coded'' due to being a Platform/NintendoDS remake of a game previously released on mobile phones. However, even when the game was released as a cutscene movie in II.5 [=ReMIX=], the "re" prefix is still present in the title of the game. |
| 207 | ** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'' has a minigame called Flick Rush that is played by flicking up or down on the Nintendo 3DS' touch screen. The [=PS4=] remake changed it to use button controls, but left the name unchanged. |
| 208 | * ''VideoGame/{{Battlerite}}'' is so named because you give your character a set of upgrades, called "Battlerites", before each match. ''Battlerite Royale'' lacks this feature, but is still named after it because it takes place in the same setting and has the same characters. |
| 209 | * ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' |
| 210 | ** The ''Devil May Cry: 3142 Graphic Arts'' artbook references the initial AnachronicOrder of the first four games in its title. However, that title no longer holds true after the [[{{Retcon}} updated chronology]] later swapped ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2'' and ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4''. |
| 211 | ** In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'', "Dante Must Die" made sense because the only playable character is Dante. In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2'', the mode is renamed depending on who you are playing as (so there's a "Dante Must Die" mode and a "Lucia Must Die" mode), the same goes for ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'' and its counterparts for Dante and Vergil. ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'' however, turned this into an artifact title. You don't even start the game playing as Dante, while the Special Edition introduces Lady, Trish and Vergil, yet the mode is still named "Dante Must Die". |
| 212 | ** Devil May Cry is the titular shop that the protagonist, Dante, operates his devil hunting business out of. The shop is present in every game in the classic continuity, but ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'' features no such establishment. |
| 213 | * ''Sensible Soccer 2006'' was not developed by Sensible Software, who ceased to exist several years before this, though original designer Jon Hare did contribute the music. |
| 214 | * The Platform/NintendoSwitch gets its name for being able to "switch" between TV gaming and portable gaming, as well as switch its controllers on and off the system. While the Nintendo Switch Lite is lighter than the original, it now works exclusively as a handheld console and the controllers can't be removed. |
| 215 | * In ''VideoGame/ArcanumOfSteamworksAndMagickObscura'', the Unified Kingdom, the nation that encompasses Tarant and Ashbury, doesn't have a king and instead it is run as an oligarchical republic, headed by the Gnomish Industrial Council. The Kingdom used to have monarchs long time ago, but then the royal family mysteriously disappeared. |
| 216 | * Xbox started out as the name for Microsoft's line of game consoles (the name coming from the system's WorkingTitle, the "[=DirectX=] Box") but Microsoft has since applied the brand to their gaming efforts as a whole, even where it doesn't make much sense. This includes Xbox Live, which started out as the online service for Xbox consoles but later became available on other platforms, such as Windows [=PCs=], and even on consoles competing with the Xbox in certain circumstances, such as in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' on Platform/PlayStation4 and Platform/NintendoSwitch[[note]]Microsoft acquired ''Minecraft'' in 2014, but it remains MultiPlatform due to the GrandfatherClause.[[/note]]. In 2019 Microsoft chose to rename their game publishing branch from Microsoft Studios to "Xbox Game Studios" in spite of their increasingly cross-platform gaming efforts. |
| 217 | ** Microsoft made one exception after the Xbox rebranding - the title of the 2020 game in the ''VideoGame/MicrosoftFlightSimulator'' series, which predates the Xbox, is still "Microsoft Flight Simulator" rather than "Xbox Flight Simulator". |
| 218 | ** Platform/XboxLiveArcade was originally called such because the games distributed through it were meant to invoke the pick-up-and-play qualities of classic arcade games. However, throughout the lifespan of the Platform/Xbox360, the scope of the service expanded to include a wider variety of games, such as rereleases of older games (not always from the arcade) and indie games, many of which didn't follow the arcade design philosophy. It was probably for this reason that Microsoft chose to retire the brand around the time the Platform/XboxOne released. |
| 219 | ** The Xbox One's name was supposed to be a reference to the system's initial pitch that it would be an "all-in-one" entertainment system, covering your various television needs just as much as gaming. Under Phil Spencer's leadership, these periphery initiatives were almost all dropped to realign the brand back towards being a pure gaming one. |
| 220 | * The 1982 arcade game ''VideoGame/TimePilot'' was indeed about a time-travelling pilot, flying a futuristic jet from the 1910s to the 2000s fighting a variety of period-appropriate planes in each era.[[labelnote:*]]Well, for the most part; turns out the real 2001 was decidedly UFO-free.[[/labelnote]] The sequel, ''Time Pilot '84'', falls into this. While it played the same way, the different time periods gave way to a sci-fi landscape that varied only in color, and the enemies in every level are futuristic, effectively gutting the 'Time' out of 'Time Pilot'. |
| 221 | * The Red Dead series of games. Named as such for the character of Red Harlow in the original ''VideoGame/RedDeadRevolver''. The next two games, ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' and [[VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2 its sequel]], have nothing to do with him or anyone with the same name. |
| 222 | * ''VideoGame/TamrielRebuilt'', a modding project for ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'', began with the intent of eventually covering all of Tamriel, hence the name, but quickly scaled down to 'just' making mainland Morrowind (''Morrowind'' only covered the island of Vvardenfell and, with the first expansion, part of the capital city) while keeping the name[[note]]there ''are'' teams making Cyrodiil and Skyrim, but they are under the banner of Project Tamriel, which cooperates and coordinates closely (and has overlap in members) with Tamriel Rebuilt but is technically not the same project[[/note]]. |
| 223 | * The original ''VideoGame/TheGreatGianaSisters'' featured Giana and her green-haired twin sister Maria. ''VideoGame/GianaSistersDS'' does not contain Maria, so "Sisters" is no longer accurate. |
| 224 | * The original ''VideoGame/PotionPunch'' is a game where you open potion shops and serve potions across the continent. In the second game, however, each new location has you making new types of items, such as runes, lanterns, swords, and so on. Only the first location has you serving potions. |
| 225 | * ''VideoGame/HarryPotterHogwartsMystery'' spans the seven years before Harry went to Hogwarts, and he is only briefly mentioned and has no direct impact on the story. |
| 226 | * As a franchise that's been around since 1981, ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'' games tend to zigzag this trope, with just under half of all games having at least one level set in the titular castle. Of the [=MachineGames=] entries, only ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheOldBlood'' spends any time at all inside Castle Wolfenstein, though of all games in the series it does spend the most time there, devoting its entire first half to escaping from the castle. |
| 227 | * Some of the video games based on ''Film/TopGun'' have very little to do with TOPGUN, instead some of them involve actual missions, fighter planes, and dogfighting. |
| 228 | * While the first ''VideoGame/DeadIsland'' had a tropical island setting, ''VideoGame/DeadIsland2'' takes place in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles, which is decidedly ''not'' an island. |
| 229 | * ''VideoGame/DiabloIV'': After serving as the BigBad of the [[VideoGame/{{Diablo}} first]] [[VideoGame/DiabloII three]] [[VideoGame/DiabloIII games]] in the series, Diablo does not feature at all in the story of ''Diablo IV''. |
| 230 | * London Racer is an old, obscure game that involves [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin racing within London]]. The sequel, London Racer II? Not so much, as while the ExcusePlot still involves a London based street racing group, and there are a good number of London based tracks, there’s a slight majority of tracks within Edinburgh and the US instead. |
| 231 | * ''VideoGame/TrailsInTheSky'': [[LostInTranslation Wonky translation of "Kiseki"]] as "Trails"[[note]]It indeed means "trail", but it's aso a homophone for "miracle", which is more appropriate for the series[[/note]] aside, the "Sky" part refers to [[spoiler:the [[TheArk Liber Ark]], a [[ClarkesThirdLaw highly advanced]] floating city]] that rises into the sky as a part of the villains' plan. The third game, however, takes place in a special dimension created by an artifact, and thus barely features sky ''period'', much less anything that flies in it. |
| 232 | * The Last Stand survival map in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' was made under the scenario of [[WhatIf what would happen if the survivors called for help but no one showed up]] while an endless zombie horde would rush in and eventually kill them. The map was expanded to a two map campaign in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' where it is possible to get rescued, thus the title of the campaign no longer makes sense since it's clearly not the last stand for the survivors. |
| 233 | * The ''VideoGame/{{Glider}}'' series refers to every scenario as a "house." This made more sense in the earlier games, which were limited to indoor domestic environments and had escaping the house as the player's nominal objective, than in ''Glider PRO'', whose scenarios can and often do consist of any number of separate buildings plus various types of outdoor environments (and that's just using the built-in backgrounds). |
| 234 | * ''VideoGame/{{Duolingo}}'' fell into this with the announcement that it would branch out from language lessons and introduce math and music lessons as well. |
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