Successful video game franchises can have numerous games in their series, but sometimes companies make some odd choices in the naming conventions for sequels. The upcoming Mortal Kombat is a good example of this, as are other games such as Kingdom Hearts. For many of these, the game developers are clearly trying to do something innovative and make each new game stand out, but it can cause players a headache later on when trying to see what order the games came in and how to play them chronologically.
Consoles share this same problem of confusing naming conventions, and it will be interesting to see what the yet-unknown-name of the Switch 2 console could end up being. Historically, Xbox and Nintendo have both left many scratching their heads at naming systems and been the result of many jokes, but the games themselves don’t do much better. Though it would seem simple to just numerically order their games or give them each a different name with an obvious franchise surname, such as has been done with The Legend of Zelda titles, occasionally companies end up causing chaos with their creative solutions.
Related: 10 Best Video Game Sequels Of All Time
10 Super Mario Bros.
The Super Mario franchise started out very straightforward: Super Mario Bros was followed by Super Mario Bros 2 and Super Mario Bros 3. Though the formula deviated some with Super Mario Land, Super Mario World, and others, it still wasn’t too confusing until 2006’s New Super Mario Bros – which sounded as though it should be a remake. Eventually, the series went on to include New Super Mario Bros Wii, New Super Mario Bros 2, New Super Mario Bros. U, and New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe. There are, of course, many other games mixed in between each of these titles as well, which further adds to the confusion of why Nintendo kept essentially the exact same name.
9 Resident Evil
Resident Evil games are generally straightforward in numerical order. The only curveball developers threw for it was after Resident Evil 3 when they chose to release Resident Evil – Code: Veronica and the confusingly named Resident Evil Zero. Though it makes sense as being the prequel to the original Resident Evil, having a randomly named game and then Zero placed in between Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil 4 was odd. Not to mention all the Resident Evil remakes, Revelations, and spin-off titles.
8 Assassin’s Creed
The Assassin’s Creed franchise has mostly avoided confusing titling, other than the confusing combination of some of their games being in numerical order and others simply having a name. Due to that, and the way the series jumps around through time, it is difficult for new players to know where to start with the series or in what order to play them. This is why there are many websites that have given guides on how to play Assassin’s Creed games in chronological order.
7 Metroid
Like many franchises, Metroid started out very straightforward: Metroid followed by Metroid 2: Return of Samus. Even Super Metroid made sense as it was the version for the Super Nintendo console. From there, they began to deviate in their naming, however, with Metroid Fusion, Metroid Prime, and Metroid: Zero Mission. Due to the success of Prime, that became the main focus with Metroid Prime 2, Metroid Prime Pinball, Metroid Prime Hunters, and finally going back to do Metroid Prime 3. After more unique names, including Metroid: Samus Returns – which sounds a lot like Return of Samus.
6 Mortal Kombat
The twelfth game in the Mortal Kombat mainline series is now being revealed as a reboot titled Mortal Kombat 1, and it leaves some wondering how the naming conventions will work for future titles. As though this isn’t going to already cause a lot of confusion, there are also two games (1992 and 2011) both simply titled Mortal Kombat, and a plethora of spin-offs and adjacent titles in addition to the numbered entries, which seem to suggest the franchise doesn’t seem to know how to distinguish between its games for players at all. Additionally, there are two movies titled Mortal Kombat, which further adds to the confusion.
5 Call Of Duty
Call of Duty has released numerous games since its original debut in 2003 and its naming conventions are all over the place. Right from the start there was a bit of frustration with Call of Duty being followed with Call of Duty: Finest Hour before going back to Call of Duty 2. This seemed to set a precedent of bouncing between numbered and unnumbered games. Then, many of the named games also got sequels, which thankfully Call of Duty devs have kept straightforward, so players can easily see that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 comes after Call of Duty: Modern Warfare despite other entries being between them.
4 Final Fantasy
Due to the disconnect between some games being released in Japan and not making it to America and other confusing situations, the Final Fantasy series has created a headache for anyone trying to figure out how to get into the series, much less play the games in order. Besides the obvious naming issue of every game in the series being titled as “Final,” the series has confusing entries such as Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2, which was repeated with Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIII-2, and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.
3 Castlevania
.png)
The Castlevania franchise has been around for over 35 years and has many “eras” of series within the overall series that have produced a very expansive, but confusing, timeline for players. According to the Castlevania Wiki, Konami separated out a chronological timeline of Castlevania games based on family eras over the years. The naming of the games doesn’t help anyone who may be struggling to know which to play either, as several of the games don’t even include the word Castlevania in the title.
2 Battlefield
Battlefield as a series really does not like to follow any familiar naming convention with numbering its games. There are numerous entries in the series of Battlefield games, beginning with Battlefield 1942. The series appears to have begun with trying to name titles after the war that is represented in the game (or the year of it), but ended up just getting a bit chaotic with their naming as is shown here:
Battlefield 1942
Battlefield Vietnam
Battlefield 2
(the first fictional war)Battlefield 2142
Battlefield Bad Company
Battlefield 1943
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Battlefield 3
Battlefield 4
Battlefield Hardline
Battlefield 1
Battlefield V
(suddenly switching to Roman numerals)Battlefield 2042
1 Kingdom Hearts
When discussing game franchises with disastrous naming conventions, Kingdom Hearts is by far the worst offender. Though it is a fantastic franchise, most of the names here make very little sense. And with the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 4, the list of confusing titles may continue to grow. The names in the series have been known to include strange combinations of numbers and symbols, including:
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts II
Kingdom Hearts coded
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Kingdom Hearts χ
Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ
Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-
Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover
Kingdom Hearts Union χ
Kingdom Hearts III
Video game franchises can, of course, follow whatever sort of naming conventions the devs want them to use, but it can get confusing when keeping track of which games are a part of the same series (and which number to play them in). Thankfully, there are many guides online where people have tried to help make sense of some of these, and most video games have not been quite so confusing.
