TOP 5 Gaming Farnchises That Should Call It A Day

Most great gaming series end within one or two installments while the material is still fresh. Unfortunately not every franchise gets the same treatment. They are pounded into the ground to get the last cent of market value possible. I've compiled a short list of my own top five game series that need to retire. Remember, this is my own, personal list. Please send me any ideas of other games from your own list.

#5 Super Mario Bros.- I know what you may be thinking. Why would Mario be on this list? It's not that he has been putting out bad games. The fact is the games are nonsense gimmicks to keep the franchise going. Between random sports titles and spin-offs, Mario has left the roots of what made him so much of an icon in the gaming world: a fat plumber that crushes enemies with his own body mass.

#4 Megaman- One of Capcom's most overly abused characters, Megaman has seen more spin-off series than possibly any gaming character to date. In spite of developers' noble intentions by bringing back the classic 8-bit gameplay for download on the major consoles, the blue bomber has had a difficult time staying up to par with the current gaming market. After more than 20 sequels, the little guy in blue needs to retire his buster.

#3 Final Fantasy- What is the purpose of having "Final" in the title if there are already 13 games and counting to the series? For what was supposedly the last effort to stay alive made by Square Soft back in the day, Final Fantasy has quickly become the epitome of all role-playing games to come after it. The games are all good in their own respects though you must admit they involve the same sort of storyline and whining, spike-haired characters saving the world from some sort of evil presence. Again, I love the games but it is still the honest -to-God truth and we all know it...freakin' giant-ass swords!

#2 Sonic the Hedgehog- Few people can claim to love the little porcupine more than I do but that doesn't mean I don't think his recent games have made me regret ever picking up a controller. Now with the 2D Project Needlemouse in the works, Sega and Sonic Team are doing all they can to keep Sonic on life support for just a couple more years. Let the poor guy go down with a little dignity. Between an endless list of sidekicks and terrible game play mechanics, I don't know what keeps me coming back for more pain with each new release. I miss the pure speed of the old days, not swords. Thank you, Sonic and the Black Knight.

#1 Street Fighter/ King of Fighters- Fighting games are one of the few genres of games that can have nearly endless replay value; however, this is all lost on multiple re-releases of the same game with additional content you could have just downloaded to your system's hard drive. The Street Fighter and King of Fighters series are just a couple of the never-ending names on the fighting scene. Regardless of the game's popularity, all I see now are weird and often worthless characters (like Dan) added to the fighting rosters and even more "turbo", "super", and "ex" add-on gimmicks. Hadouken!

Thanks for checking out my list of top 5 gaming series that have past their prime. I stress again, this is my own list. If some game title isn't mentioned here that you think is worth noting, please be sure to let me know. Game on.

Honorable Mentions:
Resident Evil
Halo