History GenreShift / VideoGames

* The first ''VideoGame/AlanWake'' game is a third-person shooter and ActionThriller that describes itself as a "psychological action thriller", with a story and atmosphere loosely inspired by the works of Stephen King and David Lynch and gameplay centered around traversing environments and gunning down shadow-possessed enemies with firearms common to civilians in the rural Pacific Northwest setting, capped off with a boss battle or other action set piece. The GaidenGame ''Alan Wake's American Nightmare'' keeps that same general gameplay, but adds inspiration from a Quentin Tarantino-style action film, with military-grade weaponry and bigger enemies. The proper sequel, ''VideoGame/AlanWakeII'', marks a major genre shift from action to full-blown SurvivalHorror, with a MindScrew-y PsychologicalHorror plot and NordicNoir-style PoliceProcedural elements. Combat is much less frequent and slower-paced in favor of building a creepy atmosphere and sometimes outright encourages the player to flee or sneak past enemies, and there's also puzzles and detective gameplay, with FBI Agent Saga Anderson making deductions from clues pinned to a wall and performing criminal profiling, and Alan seeking out echoes of plotlines and locations where he can write a story and rewrite reality.

* ''Videogame/AIWarFleetCommand:'' While the game and its sequel are both RTS games at all times, they have a particular blend of survival and stealth, in that the war is so massively assymmetrical you must play the guerilla game at all times and never make the AI too angry, lest it wipe you out no matter what you have. Following the Fallen Spire questlines, however, gradually shift it towards a less stealthy, and more epic-sized space battle simulator as both sides gain massive boosts in strength; Spire refugees grant you some of the very best vessels in the game and the capability to make more of them, and the AI both recognizes the threat and finds Spiretech [[BerserkButton especially infuriating]], so it goes ''[[UnstoppableRage completely berserk]]'' and starts hitting you with the big stuff you normally see when you've [[ControllableHelplessness gone too far]] in normal gameplay.

* The ''[[VideoGame/DonPachi (Do)DonPachi]]'' features this not exactly in its gameplay[[note]]the later games play differently from earlier games, but in ways [[PublicMediumIgnorance nobody cares about]][[/note]], but in its characters and plot. The series started off as two shooters with mainly mechanical graphics for the player and enemies, much like other shmups of their time; the only characters you see are the player character (in ''[=DoDonPachi=]'''s true ending), the Colonel, and [[TrueFinalBoss Hibachi]]. In ''[=DoDonPachi=] dai ou jou'', the "mecha-loli" element starts to creep in: the player character is accompanied by one of several different Element Dolls, who make prominent appearances on the covers of the [=PS2=] and UsefulNotes/XBox360 ports. By ''[=DoDonPachi=] Daifukkatsu'', the mecha-loli trend is in full force; the Element Daughters (successors to the Dolls) appear as ''bosses'' and you'd be hard-pressed to find official ''Daifukkatsu'' art that is devoid of the Daughters, let alone features the player ships.
* ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' got an RPG spinoff for UsefulNotes/{{Java}}, which takes place after ''VideoGame/Doom3'' [[spoiler: and involves the SpaceMarine returning to UsefulNotes/{{Mars}}]].
** It also got a sequel. [[spoiler: The sequel takes place a year after Doom RPG. Monsters have invaded the moon, and several soldiers have been sent to investigate, including the SpaceMarine.]] Like ''Doom RPG'', it was released for UsefulNotes/{{Java}}, but it was also released on [[UsefulNotes/{{iOSGames}} iOS]].

** Upon the release of the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, it changed genres again, with ''VideoGame/ShiningWisdom'' becoming the first ActionRPG. From this point on, ''Shining'' would largely flip-flop between variations on the strategy and action RPG trends of gameplay, with ''VideoGame/ShiningTheHolyArk'' briefly shifting ''back'' to the ''... in the Darkness'' first-person RPG mold.

** The original ''VideoGame/MarioVsDonkeyKong'' for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance was a puzzle platformer modeled after ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong94'', but the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS sequels, from ''Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis'' to ''Miniland Mayhem'', were ''VideoGame/{{Lemmings}}''-style puzzle game that utilize the touch screen and stylus. The latest installment, ''Minis On the Move'' for UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS, is a ''VideoGame/{{Locomotion}}'' clone.

** ''Golden Axe: The Duel'', the third ''VideoGame/GoldenAxe'' arcade game (later ported to the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn).

* Like ''Doom'' before it, ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' got an RPG spinoff released for UsefulNotes/{{Java}}, which was somewhat LighterAndSofter than the game it was based on.

* The original ''VideoGame/Helldivers'' is a top down twin sticks shooter, which controls not unlike ''VideoGame/SmashTV''. ''Helldivers 2'' is a third person shooter, with the camera hanging over the player's shoulder, similair to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4''. That said, the tone of both game is very similair: As a Helldiver, you are an elite, yet expendable, soldier, who shoots alien bugs and robots, in a satirical world where you are fanatically loyal to the fascist government of Super Earth.

* The original ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'' is a RiseToTheChallenge platformer. The sequel, ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'', trades this for being a ThirdPersonShooter.

** In general, the series has toyed with adding in modern and [[ScienceFiction Sci Fi]] elements from time to time, starting with a race of moon people and a giant robot in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' (or even earlier than that, with [[BonusBoss Warmech]] from the very first game.) UrbanFantasy with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'', and ScienceFantasy with heavy CyberPunk themes in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII''.

* The cute and sweet dating sim series ''VideoGame/{{Angelique}}'' did this a few times for spin-off titles, but the best example is the RPG "Tenkuu no Requiem" which flirts with getting DarkerAndEdgier by bringing in a group of villains who aren't afraid to [[KickTheDog kick some dogs]]. (Quite literally in the accompanying RadioDrama.) This was a temporary shift though as following games returned to the series main genre.

* ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest: SWAT'' started as a first-person InteractiveMovie, then changed to isometric overhead RTS, then to a ''VideoGame/RainbowSix''-style TacticalShooter. Going back further, ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest 1''-''4'' were all Creator/{{Sierra}} adventure games. The first game was a straightforward PoliceProcedural. The second game was mostly a police procedural with more of a ''Film/LethalWeapon'' flavor. The third game was a DarkerAndEdgier tale of revenge. And ''Police Quest: Open Season'' was an even darker AuthorTract about trying to hunt a [[DepravedHomosexual crossdressing serial killer]] despite the media's interference.

** The series wavers back and forth on how fantastical its court drama is. In [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney the first game]], spirit channeling is simply a way to talk to [[SpiritAdvisor Mia Fey]] after her murder. The magatama shows up in [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyJusticeForAll the second game]], upping the fantasy factor, and by [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations the third game]], the entire final case revolves around the angry spirit of [[spoiler:Dahlia Hawthorne]] and her attempt to murder [[spoiler:Maya Fey.]] However, ''VisualNovel/ApolloJustice'' trades the spiritual for a scientific (if slightly implausible) explanation for the Perceive ability and in ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations'', the closest to unrealism is the holodeck-esque [[SchizoTech Little Thief]]. ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies Dual Destinies]]'' now runs the full gambit of fantasy and scientific (though with leaning on the latter), with the Magatama and Perceive abilities returning, a new futuristic method of therapy, a case based around a mythological demon supposedly being released from his chambers, the revelation that robots exist in this setting, and a heavy focus on space travel. It becomes fully fantastical again in ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice Spirit of Justice]]'' with half of the game taking place in a country that uses a form of spirit channeling as part of their court procedures.

* ''VideoGame/GenshinImpact'': The game starts out as a heroic fantasy adventure story about the Traveler searching for their lost Sibling. However, as the story progresses, and the Traveler learns more about the world of Teyvat, it slowly shifts into a CosmicHorrorStory. The first clue that things are not what them is in the ‘Unreconciled Stars’ Event, [[spoiler:where the Traveler learns that the skies above the world is an illusion]]. The next clue is when the Traveler learns in the Archon Quest ‘We Will Be Reunited’, that the creatures of the Abyss Order are people who were corrupted by the Abyss, [[spoiler:who once hailed from the nation of Khaenri'ah, a nation that had no god to lead it]].

* The cute and sweet dating sim series VideoGame/{{Angelique}} did this a few times for spin-off titles, but the best example is the RPG "Tenkuu no Requiem" which flirts with getting DarkerAndEdgier by bringing in a group of villains who aren't afraid to [[KickTheDog kick some dogs]]. (Quite literally in the accompanying RadioDrama.) This was a temporary shift though as following games returned to the series main genre.

* The original ''VideoGame/{{Mass Effect|1}}'' was an RPG mechanics heavy shooter. In 2 the leveling and class system were put in the background in favor of a tighter shooter experience, but 3 brought back RPG mechanics in force while tightening the combat even more. Role-playing (as opposed to RPG mechanics) remained a major form of engagement.
** The much more pronounced genre shift is in the narrative; what starts as a MildlyMilitary SpaceOpera techno-thriller espionage story in VideoGame/MassEffect1, turns full TheCaper performed during a CosmicHorrorStory in 2, and then turns into MildlyMilitary ScienceFantasy Cosmic Horror where [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu you punch out a string of mecha-Cthulhu's]] by 3.
** The Synthesis ending swerves sharply into ScienceFantasy territory. The Synthesis ending shows us that magic is literally real in the Mass Effect universe. The specific effect and mechanism of the synthesis wave are unclear, and we don't know the limits of the spell's power. What we do know is that it is orders of magnitude more powerful than any Sufficiently Advanced Technology even hinted at anywhere in the series, being able to near-instantaneously create or alter matter with infinite precision at an infinite rate on at least a galactic scale.

* For most of the series's history, ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' had consisted of [[WideOpenSandbox open-world]] [[BeatEmUp brawlers]] with light RPGElements. That changed with the eighth main series game ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', which plays like a full-blown menu-driven {{JRPG}}. Its spin-off series ''VideoGame/{{Judgment}}'' continues with its old beat-em-up combat.
** To a lesser extent there's ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza 5}}'', which has five characters, one of them instead of being a brawler is a pop idol with no combat but rather a rhythm game.

* ''VideoGame/ThunderForce'' is an arena shooter. ''Thunder Force II'' is part arena, part sidescroller. Every TF game past ''II'' is a sidescroller.

** The original ''Dynasty Warriors'' was a 1997 [=PS1=] FightingGame using characters from the ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'' storyline; starting with ''2'' for the [=PS2=] it morphed into a HackAndSlash that over time became possibly [[MorePopularSpinoff more popular than]] [[VideoGame/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms the turn-based strategy game it spawned from]] (one of Creator/{{Koei|Tecmo}}'s flagship series). This in turn spawned its own Genre Shift, the ''Empires'' standalone games (for ''Dynasty Warriors 4'' through ''6'', plus ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors 2: Empires'') that use TurnBasedStrategy between the battles, where the dynamic focused less on defeating enemy commanders and more on controlling bases, which would end up getting worked into ''Dynasty Warriors 6''.

** All three versions of ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTournamentFighters'' by Konami, which were all preceded by various ''Turtles'' beat-'em-ups such as the [[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTheArcadeGame original arcade game]] and ''[[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTurtlesInTime Turtles in Time]]'', as well as the console-exclusive ''[[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTheManhattanProject Manhattan Project]]'' and ''Hyperstone Heist'' (although to be fair, [[VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles the first NES game]] and all three Game Boy games were platformers).

* The game system in the ''Franchise/MetalGear'' series remains mostly unaltered, but the story and style subtly shift between games.

** First, you have VisualNovel/MuvLuvExtra, a harem visual novel that mostly plays out like a silly high school romantic comedy.
** Then you have VisualNovel/MuvLuvUnlimited, which transports the protagonist to a post-apocalyptic setting where humanity is threatened with annihilation, but still manages to retain much of the romantic comedy elements of Extra. Though it does [[DownerEnding end tragically]].

* ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'' mod for VideoGame/HeartsOfIron turns the game from a straight up grand strategy to something more narrative driven, with focus trees and events being read like chapters in a story as opposed to being meant to help plan your gameplay. It's especially so as the SpaceColdWar between the victoroius Nazis, Japanese and Americans renders great power warfare pointless due to nukes. In order to also emphasize that AlternateHistoryNaziVictory is an awful timeline, the game experiments with the horror genre with many of the mentioned events and focus trees taking on a sinister and disturbuing tone, especially if the player edges to nuclear warfare.

** By ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'', SliceOfLife, time management and DatingSim elements are introduced to the ''Persona'' franchise, which became a mainstay of the series and a major selling point as an "anime life" game. Story wise, ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' turns into a more [[LighterAndSofter light-hearted]] Franchise/ScoobyDoo-style murder mystery with [=MegaTen=] trappings as opposed to the focus on mortality. ''VideoGame/Persona5'' meanwhile doubles down on social commentray with its characters donning western styled pulp comic book and PhantomThief outfits coupled with more jazzy music. The formula has proved to be so popular that despite the fact that Persona 3 has aged like milk, tons of people are still clamoring for it to be ported to PC as the much better-designed Persona 4 Golden was.
** The ''Megaten'' franchise also isn't consistently a JRPG series, as best seen with Persona's spinoffs. The sequel ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' and ''VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax'' are fighting games by Creator/ArcSystemWorks. ''VideoGame/Persona4DancingAllNight'' and 3's and 5's dancing sequels are unsurprisingly rythem games.

** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' is a StrategyRPG acts very much like a {{Deconstruction}} of the Mons genre in general, and as with ''Persona'', is very much anime inspired in terms of its designs and characters, while also featuring Time Management and a VisualNovel way of conveying the story. OrderVersusChaos from mainline ''SMT'' returns.
** Even mainline games are prone to GenreShift. ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'' does away with all the sci-fi elements in the mainline ''SMT'' Games for a more lonely and darker setting, with OrderVersusChaos taking a back seat to "Reasons".

** ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'' at first is billed as a crossover between Persona 5 and ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'', only to end up being a more conventional ActionRPG that is as much as a genre shift for ''Dynasty Warriors'' as well. While DW style combat and fighting mass enemies is present, charging hordes in order to take a map is ''not'' the main focus, with players instead exploring worlds with a mixture of platforming and ''stealth'' crossed with Persona 5's typical dungeon crawling. While Time Management and Social Links are no longer a focus, players can still explore Japan for social interactions and gathering items akin to mainline P5. Crossed with the emphasis on hitting enemy weaknesses with Personas, ''Strikers'' ends up being more ''P5'' and ''DW'' meet the previously mentioned ''Raidou Kuzunoha'' games than each other.

* You can do this yourself with the extremely versatility of ''VideoGame/TheSims'', in the sense that you can alter the setting of the game world. ''The Sims 3'' in particular has mastered this trope. In that game alone, you can have your RidiculouslyAverageGuy go about averagely paying bills, get in an average amount of exercise, enjoy average family barbecues, work in an average dead end job at the ole business office, shoot the breeze with the average neighbors, go on average bowling nights, get married to an average girl and have average kids... but then you can turn your average guy into a vampire-werewolf hybrid and have him fight with your alien neighbors, get a job as a ghost hunter, become insanely muscular, have sex with every able bodied female in the world, detonate public property for fun, die and come back to life, craft a man-sized {{Ridiculously Human Robot|s}} from scratch... among other things.

** ''Golden Axe: The Duel'', the third VideoGame/GoldenAxe arcade game (later ported to the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn).

* ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' is a straight fighter, but certain minigames and modes (IE Tekken Force, Devil Within and the entirety of Tekken 6's Scenario Campaign) have translated that into a Beat 'em Up.

** Ultima IV shifted from a traditional fantasy adventure with "Kill the BigBad" as the primary goal, with a story that was more about philosophy and attaining personal enlightenment, without a primary villain. Later games had villains again, but the philosophical overtones represented by the Virtues remained an important theme throughout.

** ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon V: The Shadow Falls'', a Tradewest-developed game based on the ''WesternAnimation/DoubleDragon'' animated series, and the Technos-developed Neo-Geo game simply titled ''[[RecycledTitle Double Dragon]]'', which was based on the movie.

* The ''Franchise/MuvLuv'' franchise turns this UpToEleven.