Line #62 FormulaWithATwist/VideoGames


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2	[[folder:Beat 'Em Ups]]
3	* ''Videogame/{{Battletoads}}'' intentionally invokes the TeenageMutantSamuraiWombats formula while differentiating itself by being ''[[NintendoHard punishingly difficult]]'', to the point that most people who have played it could never get past the infamous Turbo Tunnels level.
4	* ''Videogame/CadillacsAndDinosaurs'' was created to cash in on two trends: the popularity of BeatEmUp games and the popularity of ''Film/JurassicPark1993''. As such, it adapted an obscure post-apocalyptic comic book about a group of adventures in a land of dinosaurs into a unique game.
5	* ''Videogame/DoubleDragon'' sets itself apart from other BeatEmUp games by aping a ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar''-style AfterTheEnd setting, in addition to having the co-protagonists be twin brothers.
6	* ''Videogame/GoldenAxe'' was created by Sega to compete with ''Videogame/FinalFight'' in the arcades, but with the added flavor of ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian''-meets-''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''--two things that the creator [[AuthorAppeal was very fond of]].
7	* ''Videogame/StreetsOfRage'' was created by Sega directly to compete with ''Videogame/FinalFight''. ''Final Fight'' on the Super Nintendo lacked any Two-Player Co-op gameplay, which ''Street of Rage'' capitalized on by making absolutely sure that it was capable of co-op. The fact that the game (and its sequels) were developed specifically for a home console actually benefited it, as it allowed the devs to add other cool features like secret characters and a soundtrack that is still beloved to this day.
8	[[/folder]]
9
10	[[folder:Fighting Games]]
11	* ''Videogame/BushidoBlade'' was an attempt to portray the violence in a fighting game "realistically" by having each attack capable of crippling or even killing an opponent.
12	* ''Videogame/ClayFighter'' is a fighting game that is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: stop-motion clay figures fighting each other.
13	* ''Videogame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' applied the typical fighting game structure and filled its cast with a variety of monsters and supernatural creatures from various folklore, such as a vampire, a succubus, a FrankensteinsMonster, a mummy, a werewolf, a zombie, and even a [[LittleRedFightingHood Little Red Riding Hood]] expy.
14	* ''Videogame/DeadOrAlive'' pretty much codified the (often-derided) PantyFighter sub-genre of fighting games.
15	* ''Videogame/{{Divekick}}'' began as a {{Parody}} of fighting games which took the most overpowered move in most games of the genre (the DivingKick) and made a system in which it was the ''only'' attack that could be performed. The absurd, simplistic gameplay as well as the tongue-in-cheek references to both popular culture and the MediaNotes/FightingGameCommunity set it apart from other games of its type.
16	* ''Videogame/KillerInstinct'' set itself apart from the rest of its kind by embracing the ridiculously long and convoluted {{Combos}} and overzealous AnnouncerChatter (becoming the TropeNamer for [[ComboBreaker "C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!!!"]]).
17	* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' created a hyper-violent fighting game in which the appeal was to watch the characters maim and humiliate each other in intensely gory fastion.
18	* ''Videogame/PrimalRage'' is a fighter where dinosaurs (and other {{Kaiju}} monsters) fight each other over control of what's left of post-apocalyptic "Urth".
19	* ''Videogame/SamuraiShodown'' set itself apart in the market for being both a weapon-based fighting series (and thus playing mechanically distinct from other games) but also for its Feudal Japan setting, music and character designs. It went on to inspire other weapon-based fighting franchises such as ''Videogame/BattleArenaToshinden'' and the VideoGame/SoulSeries.
20	* ''Videogame/{{Tekken}}'' copied the formula of ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' and ''Videogame/VirtuaFighter'' before it, but found a middle ground between the zany and somewhat cartoonish characters of the former and the ultra-realistic fighters of the latter. While it lacked green electric monsters and stretchy-armed Yoga practitioners, it had a fighting bear, a robot, and ninja that can spin his arms like rotors. Further games in the series added more characters while mostly retaining the balance between the normal and the abnormal.
21	* At the time of its release, ''Videogame/VirtuaFighter'' [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin summed up its entire premise]] in the title: it was the originator of the 3-D fighting game SubGenre. These days, it's something of an ArtifactTitle because 3-D fighters are now ''extremely'' common.
22
23	!!! Team Fighting Games
24	* ''Videogame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle'' is a tag-team fighter similar to ''Videogame/MarvelVsCapcom'' and ''Videogame/DragonBallFighterZ'', but is also a DreamMatchGame filled with fan-favorite characters from several {{anime}}-inspired games and media, such as ''Videogame/BlazBlue'', ''Videogame/UnderNightInBirth'', ''Videogame/Persona4Arena'', ''Videogame/ArcanaHeart'', ''Videogame/SenranKagura'', ''Videogame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf'', and ''especially'' ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', the latter of which was most welcomed and unexpected as an ''[[{{Animesque}} American]]'' production.
25	* ''Videogame/DragonBallFighterZ'' is the case of the right game being released at the right time. ''Manga/{{Dragonball}}'' had a resurgence into popularity which just happened to coincide with a time in which ''Videogame/MarvelVsCapcomInfinite'' was derided as a ContestedSequel to the ''Videogame/CapcomVs'' series. Thus, the game was able to easily pull its audience from both ''Dragon Ball'' fans and disgrunted ''[=MvC=]'' fans and market itself as "Mahvel, but Dragonball".
26	* ''Videogame/TheKingOfFighters'' originated the elimination-style team battle formula that was later also adopted into the crossover series ''[[VideoGame/SNKVsCapcom SNK vs Capcom]]''.
27	* ''Videogame/{{Skullgirls}}'' is a tag-team game that allows players to create teams of between 1 to 3 characters similar to ''Videogame/MarvelVsCapcom''. Its roster (originally) was filled with nothing but cute and sexy (but [[UglyCute grotesquely deformed or otherwise weird]]) girls. As the roster expanded, male characters were also included, but the weirdness factor remained its key selling point, aside from the gameplay.
28	* ''Videogame/XmenVsStreetFighter'' started the Videogame/CapcomVs crossover gimmick, as well as the tag-team battle style that would later be utilized by a number of other games, such as its successors in the Videogame/CapcomVs series.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Metroidvanias]]
32	* ''Videogame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' put its own unique spin on the {{Metroidvania}} genre it would help define by adding RPG-like elements, such as weapons, magic and leveling.
33	* ''Videogame/Metroid1'' distinguished itself from RunAndGun and {{Platform Game}}s by requiring the player to backtrack through various parts of a massive maze, as well as attempting to locate the many secret items and passageways that allow them to progress.
34	* ''Videogame/MetroidPrime'' combined the standard Metroid formula with elements of a FirstPersonShooter and brought the genre into 3-D: a task that had originally been seen as nigh-impossible.
35	* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'' was a Metroidvania during a resurgence, but it combined the genre with SoulsLikeRPG elements. It still remains one of the most successful and inspiring 2D Soulslikes. The cute characters and (literally) dark and gothic setting and lore didn't hurt either. Those are common for Soulslikes, but less so for Metroidvanias, besides Castlevania itself. [[spoiler:One of the DLC bosses is even themed like a vampire, possibly as a homage.]]
36	* ''VideoGame/DeadCells'' is a Metroidvania game combined with a {{Roguelike}} and a SoulsLikeRPG (whew!). Like HS, it helped popularize the idea of a "Rougevania", though it wasn't first out of the gate.
37	[[/folder]]
38
39	[[folder:Platform Games]]
40	* ''Videogame/{{Braid}}'' distinguishes itself from other platformers by making use of various time mechanics that can slow down or reverse the flow of time. These mechanics also facilitate the story's hidden narrative, supplementing the game's final twist in the last level.
41
42	!!! Parkour Sub-genre
43	* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
44	** The game differentiated itself from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' and its numerous clones by focusing on speed and cool/unique ways of moving through levels instead of precision platform jumping. This take on the formula has had Sonic retroactively considered the first "{{Parkour}}" game.
45	** The game was credited with starting the "Mascot Platformer" games trend, as it was believed that Sonic's "attitude" and anthropomorphic features were the formula that made the game successful.
46	* ''Videogame/MirrorsEdge'' stood out from other games in the "Parkour" genre by explicitly embracing the entire culture of parkour (including utilizing RealLife techniques of the art), as well as shifting the perspective to First-Person.
47	* ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' is a parkour-style action/platformer game whose primary gameplay gimmick is allowing the player to use various [[TimeMaster time-based mechanics]] to traverse obstacles, solve puzzles or undo mistakes.
48
49	!!! Run-And-Gun Sub-genre
50	* ''Videogame/{{Broforce}}'' takes pride in riffing on as many Hollywood [[ActionGenre action films]] as it possibly can.
51	* ''Videogame/{{Castlevania}}'' pitted the player against iconic Franchise/UniversalHorror and Film/HammerHorror enemies and bosses, armed with a whip and other demon-slaying weapons.
52	* ''Videogame/{{Contra}}'', one of the original RunAndGun games, distinguished itself from the rest by mimicking the [[XenomorphXerox aesthetics and antagonists of the]] iconic ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' franchise.
53	* ''Franchise/MegaMan'' was instantly memorable for allowing the player to complete its stages in any order, albeit some levels are harder than others. In addition, the titular character can [[VictorGainsLosersPowers absorb the powers]] of the bosses he defeats and use them to either make the other levels or bosses easier.
54	[[/folder]]
55
56	[[folder:Racing Games]]
57	* ''Videogame/GranTurismo'' was as much a "car simulation game" as it was a racer. In addition to the cutting-edge graphics that made the cars and environments look stunningly realistic (for its time), it took great attention to detail to realistically portray the way cars would handle, forcing the player to carefully decide which of the various components and modifications to apply to win the actual races.
58	* ''Videogame/SanFranciscoRush'' changed the racing game formula by having much of its draw be the crazy physics that allowed cars to tumble through the air and even explode. A number of players didn't even bother with the actual racing and just wanted to pull off as many wacky and zany stunts as possible.
59	* ''Videogame/SuperMarioKart'' was the first MascotRacer, using cute and lovable mascot characters, along with gimmicky tracks and wacky items/weapons to stand apart from each other.
60	[[/folder]]
61
62	[[folder:Role-Playing Games]]
63	* ''Videogame/BravelyDefault'' is a turn-based battle system with the twist that characters (both yours and the enemy's) are allowed to "take an advance" on their turns, acting multiple times in a row, in exchange for putting their turn count into the negatives and needing to wait for it to return to 0 before acting again. Characters can instead "Default" to "bank" additional turns for later.
64	* ''Videogame/ChronoTrigger'' stood apart from its peers (even to this day) by utilizing TimeTravel into its plot and gameplay. For example, a side-quest involves going back in time to [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong save a dying forest]] (leaving behind a RobotBuddy from the future to see the work to completion), then traveling hundreds of years to the present day, where the robot [[TheSlowPath has been waiting to reunite with you]]. In addition to this, these same TimeTravel mechanics created the TropeMaker and TropeNamer for NewGamePlus mode, in which they could play through the game again with most of their abilities and inventory intact.
65	* ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'' and its spin-off series, ''VideoGame/{{Nier}}'' were conceived when its creator, Creator/YokoTaro, expressed confusion about how games and their players could casually enjoy death and killing. Each of his games have thus centered around themes of life and death, exploring what it means to die (and to be "alive" for that matter). This has resulted in some of the darkest, most bizarre and existentially-engaging games in the RPG genre.
66	* ''VideoGame/MoonRemixRPGAdventure'' encourages the player not to "be a hero" in the sense of fighting creatures and barreling your way through the land, but to help the locals and form bonds with them. In fact, most of the problems the player has to solve are the result of another character acting like the world is nothing but a winnable game.
67	* ''Videogame/{{Mother}}'' was created at the time that fantasy-based [=RPGs=] were taking off in popularity in Japan. However, when making [[VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings the first game]], its creator wanted to differentiate from the rest by setting its plot in a modern-ish world instead of the stock fantasy one. He also added a lot of self-referential humor and deconstructions for good measure. The changes stuck for its sequels, and in turn gave rise to a lot of imitators, including ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''.
68	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' is a role playing game with the basic twist of allowing players the opportunity to recruit any RandomEncounters into their party. Due to this, the entire game world is balanced around the idea of every party member potentially being an enemy and vice versa, so individual enemies don't have greatly inflated stats compared to yours, and battles are mostly one on one instead of fielding the entire team at once.
69	* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' chose to differentiate itself from its EasternRPG contemporaries by having the story take place in a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic]] world filled with RuinsOfTheModernAge, as well as with heavy religious themes from Christianity, Buddhism and so forth, usually with a plot centered on reincarnation or rebirth, as well as a AlignmentBasedEndings system which determines if the player sides with [[OrderVersusChaos Order or Chaos]] (or [[TakeAThirdOption neither]], since it's common that BothOrderAndChaosAreDangerous as their core members are jerks), and decide what sort of world will exist from then on.
70	* ''Videogame/{{Undertale}}'' is a RolePlayingGame by American Creator/TobyFox with EasternRPG mechanics and aesthetics, which primarily deconstructs the ability of SaveScumming. By extension, it also deconstructs other aspects such as VideogameCrueltyPotential and VideogameCaringPotential, demonstrating how much of a monster a person with the ability to do terrible things and then erase them like they didn't happen would actually be. As a consequence, the player doesn't have to actually kill anyone and can avoid violence as much as possible.
71	* ''Videogame/VandalHearts'' differentiates itself from other StrategyRPG games first by being BloodierAndGorier, and then with its Dual Turn System. In the Dual Turn System, the player and the computer simultaneously give commands to one character each, and these characters would take their actions at the same time.
72	* The ''Xeno'' series[[note]]Which includes the ''Videogame/{{Xenogears}}'', ''Videogame/{{Xenosaga}}'' and ''Videogame/XenobladeChronicles'' sub-series[[/note]] are notable for combining traditional EasternRPG mechanics with an epic SpaceOpera that focuses on using HumongousMecha in combat.
73
74	!!! Souls-Like Games
75	* ''Videogame/{{Nioh}}'' set itself apart from other ''Videogame/DarkSouls''-imitators by being set in feudal Japan, although having a western Caucasian man as its protagonist.
76	* ''Videogame/StarWarsJediFallenOrder'' moves the Souls-like formula into the ''Franchise/StarWars'' universe. Elements like "bonfires", reclaiming one's loot and progress after death, and other elements of the genre are all intact, although given no explanation about how they work within this game.
77	[[/folder]]
78
79
80	[[folder:Shooters]]
81	!!! Battle Royale Games
82	* ''Videogame/ApexLegends'' is a ''Videogame/{{Titanfall}}'' SpinOff that not only adds a sci-fi aesthetic to the Battle Royale genre, but also incorporates aspects of the HeroShooter genre as well, with a cast of distinct characters with unique abilities, strengths and weaknesses.
83	* ''Videogame/BattlefieldV'' added a Battle Royale mode modeled on the weapons and technology of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.
84	* ''Videogame/{{Fortnite}}'': Though it started as a standard Survival/Zombie Horde Mode game, ''Fortnite'' later introduced a Battle Royale mode to cash in on the success of ''Videogame/PlayerUnknownsBattlegrounds''. It then vastly overtook its predecessor in popularity, thanks to its unique aesthetic, building mechanics, and other wacky features that helped give it a unique identity, becoming the BattleRoyaleGame that defined the others.
85
86	!!! Hero Shooters
87	* ''Videogame/{{Overwatch}}'' was designed to be a more-accessible entry into the FirstPersonShooter[=/=]HeroShooter genre, by combining it with MultiplayerOnlineBattleArena mechanics. As a result, it became the most popular game in the genre by a wide margin.
88	* ''Videogame/RainbowSixSiege'' marks a massive departure from the typical ''Videogame/RainbowSix'' formula by introducing a tactical [=PvP=] shooter with a variety of Operators with their own sets of abilities and distinct personalities. What sets it apart from even other {{Hero Shooter}}s is the destructible maps, which create infinite possibilities for engaging enemies or making tactical movements through the environment.
89
90	!!! Looter Shooters
91	* ''Videogame/Anthem2019'', according to behind-the-scenes information leaked to the public, was originally designed by Creator/{{Bioware}} as a new IP but one in which they had no idea what to settle on a selling point. Initially, they attempted to distance the game as being compared with previous Looter Shooter games such as ''Videogame/{{Destiny}}'', but said comparisons became inevitable as the project crystallized. Further, the team hastily created footage of the concept and threw as many ideas in as possible, including the ability of {{Flight}}, although they weren't sure they would keep the idea. Eventually, ExecutiveMeddling forced the flight to be added permanently as the game's main selling point, and it later essentially became to be known as "The Looter Shooter where you can fly".
92	* ''Videogame/{{Borderlands}}'' is the game that [[GenrePopularizer popularized]] and basically [[TropeMaker created]] the "Looter Shooter" sub-genre by combining a FirstPersonShooter with RolePlayingGame-style progression and {{Random Drop}}s. The series still stands as unique in the genre for its [[WorldOfSnark snarky humor]] and distinct art style.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Sports Games]]
96	* ''BMX XXX'' was originally supposed to be a standard BMX-style tricks/racing game using the licensing of professional Dave Mirra. After the deal fell through, Creator/{{Acclaim}} instead shifted the game's focus onto [[HotterAndSexier nudity, graphic fanservice, and even video of real strippers]].
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Survivor Horror]]
100	* ''Videogame/EternalDarkness'' was a SurvivalHorror game based on an original CosmicHorrorStory mythos and incorporated a SanityMeter mechanic which would cause all sorts of bizarre phenomena to happen to the player character, the environment, and sometimes even the game itself. Due to Creator/{{Nintendo}} patenting the idea, it remains a unique feature even to this day.
101	* ''Videogame/FatalFrame'' has a unique combat method for the genre: the player must take pictures of the ghosts to defeat them.
102	* ''Videogame/HauntingGround'' takes the classic SurvivalHorror formula (particularly, the run-and-hide gameplay reminiscent of ''Videogame/ClockTower'') and gives the protagonist a dog as the only means to defend herself.
103	* ''Videogame/OperatorsSide'' (called ''Lifeline'' in North America) is a SurvivalHorror where the player has to guide another character around via a microphone as a playable MissionControl.
104	!!! First-Person Stealth Horror
105	* ''Videogame/{{Outlast}}'' has a video camera as the protagonist's main tool for being able to see in the dark environment, at the cost of rapidly draining the camera's battery life.
106	* ''Videogame/{{Penumbra}}'' was the first game Creator/FrictionalGames created in a sub-genre of horror that requires the hero to run and hide from enemies rather than combat them (or sometimes even look at them). This formula would later be used by many of their follow-up games.
107	* ''Videogame/{{SOMA}}'' has similar SanityMeter effects as Creator/FrictionalGames's previous titles, ''Videogame/{{Penumbra}}'' and ''Videogame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent'', but in this game, the system is contextual and the exact method and result of losing sanity depends on the enemies, environment, etc. In addition, the game is set underwater and thus numerous sections have unique mechanics while submerged.

Context FormulaWithATwist / VideoGames