History Main / GaidenGame

** The downloadable game ''Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light'' seems to also be this, not taking place in the continuities of the original Creator/CoreDesign series or the Creator/CrystalDynamics-developed games.

** There are quite a significant number of spinoffs in Touhou, as well, ranging from the fighting games (''VideoGame/TouhouSuimusouImmaterialAndMissingPower'', ''VideoGame/TouhouHisoutenScarletWeatherRhapsody'', ''VideoGame/TouhouShinkirouHopelessMasquerade'', ''VideoGame/TouhouShinpirokuUrbanLegendInLimbo'', ''VideoGame/TouhouHyouibanaAntinomyOfCommonFlowers'', ) to even more shooters (''VideoGame/TouhouBunkachouShootTheBullet'', ''VideoGame/DoubleSpoilerTouhouBunkachou'', ''VideoGame/YouseiDaisensouTouhouSangetsusei'', ''VideoGame/DanmakuAmanojakuImpossibleSpellCard'', & ''VideoGame/HifuuNightmareDiaryVioletDetector'', & ''VideoGame/BlackMarketOfBulletphiliaOneHundredthBlackMarket''), to a spinoff that doesn't fit in either category (''VideoGame/TouhouGouyokuIbunSunkenFossilWorld''), and one would imply that they're all gaiden games to the main series (Touhou 12.3, ''VideoGame/TouhouHisoutensokuChoudokyuuGinyoruNoNazoOOe'', is an ExpansionPack to ''SWR''), especially since none of them use the same gameplay system (''[=IaMP=]'', ''SWR'', ''HM'', ''[=ULiL=]'', and ''[=AoCF=]'' are 2D {{Fighting Game}}s, ''[=StB=]'', ''DS'', ''GFW'', ''ISC'', ''VD'' are {{Boss Rush}}es with unique spins on the basic formula, and '''SFW''' is a mix of both game types). However, of the twelve, ''[=StB=]'' & ''DS'' are the only ones [[ExcusePlot without an actual plot]] -- whereas the events and new characters introduced in the other games are acknowledged in some way; ''[=IaMP=]'' for example was recognized in the [[AllThereInTheManual canon books]] ''Perfect Memento in Strict Sense'', ''Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red'', and ''Silent Sinner in Blue'' (''SWR'' was made after those books came out), & ''100BM'' was a direct continuation of ''VideoGame/TouhouKouryuudouUnconnectedMarketeers'',
** ''[=IaMP=]'' boss character Suika Ibuki appears in ''VideoGame/TouhouChireidenSubterraneanAnimism'', and the game actually elaborates on some of the plot of ''[=IaMP=]'' (that is, where the oni all went). Iku Nagae and Tenshi Hinanai from ''SWR'' are both in ''The Grimoire of Marisa''. Touhou 12.8 ''VideoGame/YouseiDaisensouTouhouSangetsusei'', is a direct continuation to a chapter of a ''Touhou'' manga, ''Strange and Bright Nature Deity''. Two Ability Cards found in ''UM'' reference Tenshi (Keystone of Endurance) & the new inductee from ''[=ULiL=]'', Sumireko Usami (Psychokinesis), and even more characters would be referenced later in ''100BM'' (those being the Three Fairies, Suika, & the Yorigami sisters). Suika and ''SFW'' inductee Yuuma Toutetsu would even make history as the first ever sidegame characters to be playable in a mainline entry with ''VideoGame/TouhouJuuouenUnfinishedDreamOfAllLivingGhost'' To this day, ''Touhou'' is undergoing ContinuityCreep.

** The numbering of the four * .5 games (''VideoGame/TouhouSuimusouImmaterialAndMissingPower'', ''VideoGame/TouhouBunkachouShootTheBullet'', ''VideoGame/TouhouHisoutenScarletWeatherRhapsody'', ''VideoGame/DoubleSpoilerTouhouBunkachou'', ''VideoGame/TouhouShinkirouHopelessMasquerade'', ''VideoGame/TouhouShinpirokuUrbanLegendInLimbo'', ''VideoGame/TouhouHyouibanaAntinomyOfCommonFlowers'', and ''VideoGame/HifuuNightmareDiaryVioletDetector'') would imply that they're all gaiden games to the main series (Touhou 12.3, ''VideoGame/TouhouHisoutensokuChoudokyuuGinyoruNoNazoOOe'', is an ExpansionPack to ''SWR''), especially since none of them use the same gameplay system (''[=IaMP=]'', ''SWR'', ''HM'', ''[=ULiL=]'', and ''[=AoCF=]'' are 2D {{Fighting Game}}s, and ''[=StB=]'', ''DS'', and ''VD'' are {{Boss Rush}}es where you take pictures instead of fighting back). However, of the eight, ''[=StB=]'' and ''DS'' are the only ones [[ExcusePlot without an actual plot]] -- whereas the events and new character introduced in ''[=IaMP=]'' are acknowledged in the [[AllThereInTheManual canon books]] ''Perfect Memento in Strict Sense'', ''Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red'', and ''Silent Sinner in Blue'' (''SWR'' was made after those books came out).
** ''[=IaMP=]'' boss character Suika Ibuki appears in ''VideoGame/TouhouChireidenSubterraneanAnimism'', and the game actually elaborates on some of ''[=IaMP=]'''s plot (that is, where the oni all went). Iku Nagae and Tenshi Hinanai from ''SWR'' are both in ''The Grimoire of Marisa''. The newest Gaiden Game, Touhou 12.8 ''VideoGame/YouseiDaisensouTouhouSangetsusei'', is a direct continuation to a chapter of a ''Touhou'' manga, ''Strange and Bright Nature Deity''. Basically, ''Touhou'' is undergoing ContinuityCreep.

** ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' outdoes its predecessor even more in this regard. Setting-wise, it takes place in an AlternateUniverse, and instead of the {{underwater city}} of Rapture circa the 1960s, it's in the [[FloatingContinent flying city]] of Columbia in 1912. Instead of being a horror-leaning ImmersiveSim, it's [[ActionizedSequel a bright and action-packed swashbuckling shooter]]. It does retain a political and philosophical bend, but instead of deconstructing IndividualismVsCollectivism, it tackles themes of [[TheFundamentalist fundamentalism]], [[FullCircleRevolution mutual extremism]], as well as more personal themes like redemption and forgiveness, driven by how ''Infinite'' is also vastly more character-focused, [[ContrastingSequelMainCharacter with the playable Booker DeWitt being a major entity and player in his own narrative instead of just a blank slate]]. It also mixes the series' broader examination [[VideoGamesAndFate on the limits of free will]] with the paradigm of [[HistoryRepeats constants]] and [[ForWantOfANail variables]], which ends up being a big reason for why this is ''still'' ultimately a ''[=BioShock=]'' game.

* Back in the 1990's many PC and Amiga titles were made into a ChristmasSpecial Gaiden Game, usually released in some gaming magazine's cover disk as a present for fans. The games that got this treatment included ''VideoGame/CannonFodder'', ''VideoGame/{{Dizzy}}'', ''VideoGame/FireAndIceTheDaringAdventuresOfCoolCoyote'' (coverdisk for the Christmas 1992 issue of ''Magazine/AmigaPower''), ''VideoGame/{{Lemmings}}'' and ''VideoGame/JazzJackrabbit'' (the latter of which actually got two separate Christmas editions, the 1994 "Xmas Edition" and the 1995 "Holiday Hare"). This also happened in the 1980s with ''Moley Christmas'', a ''VideoGame/MontyMole'' game exclusively distributed with a UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum magazine with a self-referential plot.

* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' is somewhat of a Gaiden Game for ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', being set 10 years after the "present" time in the latter and retaining only a handful of characters, all of whom show up in three scenes or fewer. What really makes it gaiden, though, is the fact that, in the end, the entire point of the story is to resolve a hanging plot thread from its predecessor (see UrbanLegendOfZelda). ''VisualNovel/RadicalDreamers'' was a Japan-only text adventure Gaiden Game to ''Chrono Trigger'' released on the [[Platform/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super]] Famicom's UsefulNotes/{{Satellaview}} add-on. It was later overhauled, greatly expanded, turned into a proper RPG... and became ''Chrono Cross''.

* The ''VideoGame/OgreBattle'' series has two. ''Ogre Battle: Legend of the Zenobia Prince'', a [[NoExportForYou Japanese-only]] game for the UsefulNotes/NeoGeoPocket and ''VideoGame/TacticsOgreTheKnightOfLodis'', both of which tell the backstories of characters from ''VideoGame/OgreBattle'' and ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'', respectively.

* The aptly named ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'' is a side-story to the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight first]] ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' game, and the [[VideoGameRemake remake]], ''Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia'', also links it to the distant past of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776'', meanwhile, is one to ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar''. The two titles are generally considered full instalments in the ''Fire Emblem'' series, being the second and fifth respectively, though there are some portions of the Japanese fanbase who don't consider ''Gaiden'' to be a full ''Fire Emblem'' game. Also present are the UsefulNotes/{{Satellaview}} instalments in the series, which are briefer games focusing on small groups of the cast of the first/[[VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem third]] game doing things in the intervening time period between Dolhr's victory and the start of the first/third games; they were later remade and included as a bonus in ''New Mystery of the Emblem''.

* Because everything is better with penguins, this TurnBasedStrategy series has a platformer spin-off for the PSP called ''VideoGame/PrinnyCanIReallyBeTheHero'' starring everyone's favorite explosive waterfowl squad.

** '[[VideoGame/EndlessFrontier Super Robot Wars OG Saga: Endless Frontier]]''. While a spin-off, the back-story establishes the events in Original Generation continuity ultimately influenced the entirety of Endless Frontier. Its sequel ''Endless Frontier EXCEED'' even manages to rope in characters ''from'' the main Original Generation games.

* Similar to '''VideoGame/SailorMoonAnotherStory'' below, there's ''Anime/DragonBallZ Gaiden: Plan to Eliminate the Saiyans''. Its story has no bearing on the manga or anime, though Toei did produce a companion [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVA]].

** When Koji Igarashi took over as producer of the games (starting with 2002's ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaHarmonyOfDissonance''), he declared that the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 games (''VideoGame/{{Castlevania 64}}'' and its UpdatedRerelease ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLegacyOfDarkness''), and ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaCircleOfTheMoon'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance were side-stories to the main ''Castlevania'' storyline. The UsefulNotes/GameBoy game ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLegends'', on the other hand, [[CanonDiscontinuity is no longer part of the canon]].

** The ''VideoGame/KidDracula'' games for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Famicom]] and Game Boy were never intended to be canon, though the BigBad, Galamoth, would later appear in the regular series.

* The ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' anime franchise has quite a few Gaiden Games, most of which are spin-offs of [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam the original series]] and depict events that take place at the same time as White Base's adventures but in different parts of the world. The best-known of these include ''Rise from the Ashes'' (set in Australia), ''Blue Destiny'' (set in North America), and more recently ''Gundam 0081'' (which takes place between the original series and ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam0083StardustMemory Gundam 0083]]''). Some other games shift between this and a full-on LicensedGame -- ''Zeonic Front'' and ''[[VideoGame/GundamVsSeries Federation vs. Zeon]]'' on UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 alternate between missions totally separated from the events of the anime and missions that put you right in the middle of major battles from the anime.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty 4: VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS, in relation to the versions released on UsefulNotes/XBox360, PC, and UsefulNotes/{{PS3}}. The game features similar missions, but featuring characters from other teams operating either in parallel or in support of the teams from the main release. Every "main" release in the series from there til ''Black Ops II'' was followed by a handheld, mobile, and/or, in one case, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 last-gen version]] that acts as a side-story to the main game; the aforementioned last-gen version, for ''World at War'', is notable in that it and the DS version both included a British campaign like every other UsefulNotes/WorldWarII-based game in the series had, whereas the 360, [=PS3=], and PC version had its British campaign and associated assets cut.

* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' is somewhat of a Gaiden Game for ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', being set 10 years after the "present" time in the latter and retaining only a handful of characters, all of whom show up in three scenes or fewer. What really makes it gaiden, though, is the fact that, in the end, the entire point of the story is to resolve a hanging plot thread from its predecessor (see UrbanLegendOfZelda). ''VisualNovel/RadicalDreamers'' was a Japan-only text adventure Gaiden Game to ''Chrono Trigger'' released on the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem Super Famicom's]] UsefulNotes/{{Satellaview}} add-on. It was later overhauled, greatly expanded, turned into a proper RPG... and became ''Chrono Cross''.

** The ''Elder Scrolls Travels'' is a side-series of small, mobile phone games developed for Java-enabled devices, including the UsefulNotes/NGage. ''Travels'' consists of ''Dawnstar'', ''Stormhold'', and ''Shadowkey'', with the canonicity of each [[CanonDiscontinuity unclear at best]] (though elements of ''Shadowkey'' have been mentioned in the main series).

* ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'' has [[VideoGame/MetalSlugAdvance a canon gaiden game]] on the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, detailing a new training facility that was overrun by Morden's forces. Best of all, two of the trainees, playable characters Walter and Tyra, single-handedly take it all back.

* ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'' focuses on Chuck Green, who's trying to survive a [[ZombieApocalypse zombie outbreak]] in Fortune City Nevada, and keep his daughter from becoming a zombie. ''Dead Rising 2: Off the Record'' is this, as the main character is Frank West, TheHero from the first ''VideoGame/DeadRising'', and this version includes several new [[NonPlayerCharacter survivors]] and [[BossBattle psychopaths]], more weapons combinations, the ability to collect money from busted slot machines (in the original, slot machines could be broken, but they did not give any money), a new zone making the map bigger than in the original game, as well as new plot twists (here [[spoiler:[[SparedByTheAdaptation Rebecca Chang is only wounded]] and the villain is [[EvilAllAlong the leader]] of [[ZombieAdvocate C.U.R.E.]]]]).

** ''VideoGame/LikeADragonGaidenTheManWhoErasedHisName'' is a gaiden game that takes place in the interim between ''VideoGame/Yakuza6'' and ''VideoGame/LikeADragon8'', detailing Kiryu's exploits since the conclusion of ''6''.

* ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting 3''[='s=] Japanese name is ''ART OF FIGHTING: Ryūko no Ken Gaiden'', instead of being a numbered sequel. The game itself reflects its Gaiden status, as only Ryo and Robert return from the previous games (Yuri still hangs around as a non-playable NPC, though, and Kasumi is PromotedToPlayable) and the plot revolves around Robert going to Mexico to help out an old friend, with no real connections to the plot of the previous two games.

** There's also ''VideoGame/SonicBattle'' and the two games from the ''VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries'' (''[[VideoGame/SonicAndTheSecretRings Secret Rings]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight Black Knight]]'').

* ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}}'' is this to the main ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'' series. The two are set in a SharedUniverse (''VideoGame/LostJudgement'' notably [[LateArrivalSpoiler spoils]] the big status quo shift in ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' for those that didn't play that first) with the same setting and heavily related gameplay, but ''Judgement'' largely avoids having its story or characters intersect with that of ''Like A Dragon'', instead doing its own self-contained thing. Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio doesn't consider ''Judgment'' to be part of the ''Like A Dragon'' series, deliberately avoiding making announcements of ''Judgement'' games alongside ''Like A Dragon'' ones.

** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' may sort of count; despite the fact that it was originally meant to be the fourth game in the main series, it doesn't have a clear-cut connection with the previous three entries (which themselves were pretty closely linked together). Amusingly enough, it turned out that the ''actual'' ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' isn't all that connected to the other main series games either [[note]]WordOfGod actually stated that the prerequisite for an SMT game to be considered part of the main series is for it to "occur in Tokyo." ''Strange Journey'', despite being a strong contender for the fourth title, instead got branded as a Gaiden Game exactly because it doesn't happen anywhere remotely close to Japan. Which wasn't the case for ''SMTIV''. ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse IV Apocalypse]]'' also had a crossover DLC where the heroes of ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI I]]'', ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII II]]'', ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne III]]'' '''and''' ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV IV]]'' team up, confirming some degree of continuity which ''Strange Journey'' lacks other than some easter eggs. [[/note]]

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has had a bunch of side games. An incomplete list: the FirstPersonSnapshooter game ''VideoGame/PokemonSnap''; the PuzzleGame ''Pokemon Trozei!''; and the ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonRanger'' series. Likewise, the main series games are all Gaiden Games of each other, with references and allusions but no actual interaction[[note]] with the possible exception of the gen II games and their remakes which take three years after the gen I games and their remakes respectively, feature the region from the latter and their gyms which you can battle plus the pokemon league is the same in both regions and [[spoiler: you can battle the player character from the first gen game and their remakes]][[/note]. Mystery Dungeon & Ranger also have references and allusions but no interactions to their own series', so gaiden games that are gaiden games of each other...

** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' may sort of count; despite the fact that it was originally meant to be the fourth game in the main series, it doesn't have a clear-cut connection with the previous three entries (which themselves were pretty closely linked together). Amusingly enough, it turned out that the ''actual'' ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' isn't all that connected to the other main series games either[[note]]WordOfGod actually stated that the prerequisite for an SMT game to be considered part of the main series is for it to "occur in Tokyo." ''Strange Journey'', despite being a strong contender for the fourth title, instead got branded as a Gaiden Game exactly because it doesn't happen anywhere remotely close to Japan. Which wasn't the case for ''SMTIV''. ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse IV Apocalypse]]'' also had a crossover DLC where the heroes of ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI I]]'', ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII II]]'', ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne III]]'' '''and''' ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV IV]]'' team up, confirming some degree of continuity which ''Strange Journey'' lacks other than some easter eggs.[[/note]].

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has had a bunch of side games. An incomplete list: the FirstPersonSnapshooter game ''VideoGame/PokemonSnap''; the PuzzleGame ''Pokemon Trozei!''; and the ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonRanger'' series. Likewise, the main series games are all Gaiden Games of each other, with references and allusions but no actual interaction. Mystery Dungeon & Ranger also have references and allusions but no interactions to their own series', so gaiden games that are gaiden games of each other...

* The original ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' trilogy for the NES, along with the arcade game released alongside the first NES installment, weren't actually side-stories to anything. In Japanese, the series was originally known as ''Ninja Ryūkenden'' (Ninja Dragon Sword Legend). The use of "gaiden" in the English version is an example of GratuitousJapanese, since the developers were not sure how to localize the Japanese title ("Ninja Dragon" was considered one point, but Data East beat them to it with their beat-'em-up ''Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja'', and a literal translation was considered to be [[LongTitle too long]]). With that cleared up, ''Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword'' could be considered one to the Xbox series.

** ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' had ''[[VideoGame/BaldursGateTalesOfTheSwordCoast Tales of the Sword Coast]]'', an expansion for the first game that added three new optional dungeons that had nothing to do with the main story. The ''VideoGame/BaldursGateDarkAlliance'' games share the setting of the main games, but not the story.

* Back in the 1990's many PC and Amiga titles were made into a ChristmasSpecial Gaiden Game, usually released in some gaming magazine's cover disk as a present for fans. The games that got this treatment included ''VideoGame/CannonFodder'', ''VideoGame/{{Dizzy}}'', ''VideoGame/FireAndIce'' (coverdisk for the Christmas 1992 issue of ''Magazine/AmigaPower''), ''VideoGame/{{Lemmings}}'' and ''VideoGame/JazzJackrabbit'' (the latter of which actually got two separate Christmas editions, the 1994 "Xmas Edition" and the 1995 "Holiday Hare"). This also happened in the 1980s with ''Moley Christmas'', a ''VideoGame/MontyMole'' game exclusively distributed with a UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum magazine with a self-referential plot.