History OddballInTheSeries / VideoGames

** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Fire Emblem Gaiden]]'' holds this distinction. While the others are completely linear games where you go from one chapter to another, this one has a map you move around on, which wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't because of the ForcedLevelGrinding you need to do every often in a while (On a series that usually has no LevelGrinding at all). Furthermore, UnbreakableWeapons is NOT {{averted|Trope}} (When the series does) and magic is CastFromHitPoints (Instead of being regular weapons that hit another defense stat). Furthermore, you face off monsters often, instead of just humans aside from some bosses/EliteMooks. And there's a weak "Villager" class that can promote to one of the "normal" base classes. Most of these ideas were recycled for ''The Sacred Stones''.

*** There's also ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' and ''[[VideoGame/Persona4Arena Ultimax]]'', {{Fighting Game}}s [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin based on]] ''VideoGame/Persona4'' (with some extra characters from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'').

*** The final ''Persona 4'' continuation/spin-off was ''VideoGame/Persona4DancingAllNight''. It's a rhythm game. The usual disappearances and fighting off shadows is involved, but with dancing.

** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' is another minor main series example with regard to theme; you're fighting to ''prevent'' an apocalypse, instead of already being in one. It's also the only mainline game to avert TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse (instead, it's set in MysteriousAntarctica) and have mostly non-Japanese human characters.

* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' is mainly a bunch of turn-based, NintendoHard [=RPGs=]. Then you have ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy'', which has an action-based battle system.
** There was also a UsefulNotes/VirtualBoy spinoff titled Jack Bros, which was a top-down action game.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' is a minor example in the main series thematically, ditching all of the {{Cyberpunk}} aspects of the first two games (your character being half-demon, there's no need for a COMP to translate or summon demons) to make it a straight post-apocalyptic fantasy game instead. It also ditched the 1st person dungeon crawling aspect, which would return in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]]''.
** The first game in the ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' series could be seen as this, due to EarlyInstallmentWeirdness keeping a lot of gameplay aspects from the main ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series (like 1st person dungeon crawling, demons as enemies instead of the series' signature Shadows, and having to negotiate with demons to get materials for fusing personae) that were excised with the second game.
** There's also ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'', a FightingGame [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin based on the 4th game]] (with some extra characters from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}''.)
** Next in the series of Persona 4 continuations/spin-offs is ''VideoGame/Persona4DancingAllNight''. It's a rhythm game. The usual disappearances and fighting off shadows is involved, but with dancing.
** ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'' is basically "''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'' [[RecycledInSpace with Persona3/4 characters]]"

* ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore: Nine Breaker'', the [[ArcNumber ninth]] entry in the ''Armored Core'' series is particularly odd duck even for an ''Armored Core'' game. It has no plot to it -- at all -- and is simply 250~ tests designed to access how well you understand the game play mechanics of ''Armored Core''. Yes, the '''ninth''' iteration of the series is an in-depth tutorial for a game engine that hasn't changed one iota from its very first incarnation. Some of the actual tests are NintendoHard, the arena is pathetic, you can buy or earn all the parts introduced in ''Nine Breaker'' in ''Last Raven'' anyway so there's no need to even play it for ''that'' and the mission where you actually fight Nine Ball, the selling of the game, is only unlocked after you've beaten every other test in the game. Why was it even released? [[TheyJustDidntCare Maybe From Software needed the money]]?

** While generally much better received than ''Gaiden'' and ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'', the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Jugdral games]] both had a number of unique features. The first, ''Genealogy of the Holy War'', had ridiculously large and sprawling levels in which multiple castles had to be captured and there were at least as many bosses in each level as there were castles, the arena was a function in your castle in which there were a given set of enemies for each level (instead of being infinite and random), each character had their own supply of money and items couldn't be traded; also, you [[{{Shipping}} paired up]] your units in the first half of the game and played as their children in the second half. Many of these units also had "[[HeroicLineage Holy Blood]]". While Holy Blood was naturally still present in ''Thracia 776'' (as it was set in the same world and had some of the same characters), everything else introduced in the previous game was scrapped and never came back. However, a bunch of other new features were added. The Build stat, determining the size of a unit, was introduced, and both Build and Movement had growth rates and could potentially increase when leveling up. Large enough units could rescue smaller allied units and could capture enemy units after defeating them, and a captured enemy could be "traded" with (read: stripped of its items) before being released (at which point they'd die)...or ''not'' released, as many recruitable enemies had to be captured and kept in order to get them to join. It also was the first game to have gaiden chapters that could be unlocked by fulfilling certain requirements, and most of these chapters were full of [[FogOfWar darkness]], as was one regular chapter. Also, some units had "movement stars", which gave them a random chance of being able to act twice in one turn, and all units except the main character had a fatigue meter that went up every time they engaged in combat or used a staff, which could only be reset by sitting out a chapter or having a certain item in their inventory, and if their fatigue exceeded their max HP, they'd be forced to sit out a chapter. Rescuing allies, fog of war, and gaiden chapters all became staples of the series. Capturing enemies, growth rates for Build and Move, Movement Stars and fatigue meters didn't, and none of these were ever seen again.
** ''Nine'' entries later, capturing enemies finally returned, albeit with ''drastically'' altered mechanics. While the capturing unit still takes a penalty to hit chance when trying to capture, the units are immediately sent to a prison back in the base when captured, where they can be recruited via negotiation or bribery, and only certain units have the ability to capture enemies. The shipping aspects of ''Genealogy of the Holy War'' also returned in ''Awakening'', though the parents remain present throughout the story.

* The VideoGame/PacMan franchise also had ''Pinball/BabyPacMan'', which was notably odd due to being a stand-up arcade machine which was half-videogame, half-pinball game. Players were required to steer Baby Pac down one of two openings at the bottom of the maze to "enter" the pinball playfield, and you ''had'' to play the pinball part in order to get any energizers in the video maze or move up to the next higher "fruit" levels. The machine became an expensive lesson to Bally/Midway in what happens when you try to please everybody, and end up pleasing nobody--the video game players found the pinball part too hard, and the pinball players found the video game part too hard, and nearly everybody who played it wound up frustrated as a result. (The fact that the videogame portion had simplistic graphics that smacked of the infamous done-on-the-cheap UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} Pac-Man port didn't help matters either.)

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 2'' is so much of an oddball even the producers generally try to ignore its existence, namely by making all games made after the second game set chronologically before it. Between a lowered difficulty and the protagonists personality change from [[MemeticBadass Badass]] [[TrashTalk Trash-Talker]] to an [[{{Narm}} unintentionally-and-hilariously-cringe-worthy]] guy. The fanbase was largely disappointed.

** Out of the other spinoffs, ''[[VideoGame/PokemonColosseum Colosseum]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonColosseum XD]]'' might qualify. While they play the most like the main games compared to ''[[VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon Mystery Dungeon]]'', ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRanger Ranger]]'', and the various other spinoffs, ''unlike'' the main games, ''all'' battles are Double Battles (with the exception of a very early battle in ''XD'', solely because you only have one Pokémon, an Eevee, to begin with during it). Also, while they're {{Spiritual Successor}}s to the ''Stadium'' games, they actually have a story mode along with tournament modes and lack a few things that ''Stadium'' had (the Gym Leader Tower, minigames, etc.).
** As far as the main series goes ''PokemonBlackAndWhite'' stand out in a number of ways. The region is based on New York rather than Japan, no Pokemon from previous generations appear at all in the main game, the game is much more story and character-driven than previous entries and [[spoiler: the final battle is against the BigBad rather than the Pokemon League Champion.]] By contrast ''Black and White 2'' are much closer to the rest of the series.

** ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheAmazingMirror'' is the only VideoGame/{{Kirby}} game to be a full {{Metroidvania}} instead of a straightforward PlatformGame the series' main games are known for. It's also the ''only'' game in the entire series where [[ArchEnemy King Dedede]] does not make an appearance.

* ''Franchise/FinalFight'' had three games of being straight beat 'em ups, then ''VideoGame/FinalFightRevenge'' was a fighting game based on characters from the first game, including a [[TheUndead zombie Belger]]. A couple of years later ''VideoGame/FinalFightStreetwise'' came out which tried to go back to its roots but with RPG elements and GTA influences. It bombed, hard.
* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' is no stranger to introducing strange and experimental gameplay aspects (''Isuka'', ''Dust Strikers'',) or undergoing a minor GenreShift from FightingGame to BeatEmUp (''Isuka'' again, ''Judgement''.) The biggest offender, though, is ''Guilty Gear 2: Overture'', a RealTimeStrategy game.
* ''Super VideoGame/{{Columns}}'' allowed you to rotate the jewels to form rows as well as columns, instead of only being able to adjust the order of the gems in the column like every other game. The AI wasn't programmed to do this, giving you a nice advantage when fighting them.
* Similar to the StarCraft example, the [[VaporWare unfinished]] ''Brave Arms'' would have been an AceCombat title that, despite taking place back in its fictional world, would have been more of a VideoGame/NinjaGaiden/VideoGame/MetalGearSolid hybrid clone than a flight simulation game.
* The last ''VideoGame/{{Dizzy}}'' adventure, ''Crystal Kingdom Dizzy'', was the only one with a sequence of separate levels. On the UsefulNotes/AmstradCPC, it was also the only ''Dizzy'' game, not counting the two MazeGame spinoffs, to use the low-resolution 16-color graphics mode. The UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}} version also ran in a more colorful low resolution than the earlier ''Dizzy'' games on that system.

* ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'' has had a few of these. Most notably there is ''Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero'' and ''Special Forces''. Both of these are action/adventure games, ''Sub-Zero'' in particular being a platform game, whereas this is a series known for its brutal one-on-one fighting mechanics. The series later branched back out into action/adventure with ''Shaolin Monks''.

* ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'' had a few of these as it accelerated towards its crash & burn in the late 90s. Most notably there was ''Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero'', which [[SoOkayItsAverage didn't work]] ''[[SoOkayItsAverage as]]'' [[SoOkayItsAverage well as intended]], and then the [[SoBadItsHorrible horrid]] ''Special Forces''. Both of these were action/adventure games, ''Sub-Zero'' in particular being a platform game, whereas this was a series known for its brutal one-on-one fighting mechanics. The series later branched back out into action/adventure with ''Shaolin Monks'', which worked out ''much'' better.

** ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFullFrontalAssault'' is a 1-2 player TowerDefense game. Like ''Deadlocked'', it also lacks a version of the RYNO.

* ''VideoGame/LunarDragonSong'' is, like the rest of the ''{{Lunar}}'' series, an EasternRPG...but it adds a bunch of experimental (i.e. [[ScrappyMechanic annoying]]) gameplay mechanics paired with a rudimentary plot and shallow characters. The other games in the series are known for old-school gameplay with well developed stories and characters.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand'' is also another odd one out from the main Mario platformer series. Instead of taking place in the Mushroom Kingdom or some other similar locale, the game takes place in some real world lookalike locations, such as Egypt and China. On top of this, all the enemies are quite new, except the famous Goomba and the Koopa Troopa (although he was called Nokobon, and had his shell ''explode'' when stomped on), the Fire Flower makes Mario throw Superballs (which bounce off surfaces at 90 degree angles) instead of fireballs, the invincibility theme taking a nod to the Can-Can, and two levels experiencing an UnexpectedShmupLevel. It also featured Princess Daisy, who had never been seen before and wasn't seen or mentioned again for over a decade. Despite the changes, the game still plays as a typical Mario game and it has been well liked by most fans. [[spoiler:It's quite telling that series creator Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto had nothing to do with this game and that it was directed by Creator/GunpeiYokoi, the designer of the GameBoy, instead.]]

** ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork 4'' is completely different in structure from the rest of the series: it's basically one long TournamentArc consisting of three {{Inevitable Tournament}}s, and it requires [[NewGamePlus at least three playthroughs]] to unlock everything, including the BonusDungeon. This isn't quite as tedious as it sounds, given the increasing challenge on each playthrough and the random elements involved, but the main plot is exactly the same each time[[note]]Not to mention that the third playthrough is largely unnecessary - the multiple playthroughs are justified because there are six bosses in each version of the game who, after being defeated, the player can perform "Soul Unison" with. The problem is, you only fight three of those six bosses in one playthrough, and in the second playthrough [[FakeLongevity it's guaranteed that you will fight one of the three you can already combine with again]].[[/note]]. ''[=BN4=]'' also has a really sloppy English translation, which wouldn't stand out in many game series, but does in this one.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' holds this status in the main ''Super Mario'' platformer series, since it eliminated the things that made [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 the first game]] popular and replaced them with new moves, like throwing vegetables at enemies or picking up enemies and hurling them at others. That and you also got to play as all four major Mario characters (Mario himself, his brother Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad) rather than just Mario. This was because ''[=SMB2=]'' was a DolledUpInstallment of [[VideoGame/DokiDokiPanic another game]], while the intended sequel fell under the NoExportForYou status until the remake included as part of ''Super Mario All-Stars'' came along (with the name changed to ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels'' to avoid confusion with the game released as ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' outside of Japan). Many of its elements are now indispensable parts of the Mario franchise.

** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'' is a strange one compared to the rest of the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series. Bowser's role is reduced to the point of having no dialogue, the game prominently features Kamek rather than his usual DistaffCounterpart Kammy, the gameplay is radically different, and many series staples such as Whackas, partners, and the Merlin family are nowhere to be found. Kersti, the local ExpositionFairy, is the only character in the game who is not from the standard Mario 'verse. It was originally going to be closer to that of ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' but Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto wanted the game to be more without a plot.

** Among the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'', there's ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters'', a GaidenGame which eschewed the exploratory single-player nature of the series for a multiplayer-driven fast-paced FirstPersonShooter (with a shorter single-player mode). ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimePinball'', on the other hand, is usually just ignored outright, since, as a SpinOff, it's ''expected'' to be different. Within the Trilogy series, there's ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'', which has an ammo count for beam weapons (it's the first and only Metroid game to do this with Hunters being right behind it) and uses the dark/light world settings like ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast''.

* ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Fire Emblem Gaiden]]'' holds this distinction. While the others are completely linear games where you go from one chapter to another, this one has a map you move around on, which wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't because of the ForcedLevelGrinding you need to do every often in a while (On a series that usually has no LevelGrinding at all). Furthermore, UnbreakableWeapons is NOT {{averted|Trope}} (When the series does) and magic is CastFromHitPoints (Instead of being regular weapons that hit another defense stat). Furthermore, you face off monsters often, instead of just humans aside from some bosses/EliteMooks. And there's a weak "Villager" class that can promote to one of the "normal" base classes. Most of these ideas were recycled for ''The Sacred Stones''.

*** ''Nine'' entries later, capturing enemies finally returned, albeit with ''drastically'' altered mechanics. While the capturing unit still takes a penalty to hit chance when trying to capture, the units are immediately sent to a prison back in the base when captured, where they can be recruited via negotiation or bribery, and only certain units have the ability to capture enemies. The shipping aspects of ''Genealogy of the Holy War'' also returned in ''Awakening'', though the parents remain present throughout the story.

* The ''VideoGame/StarFox'' series has ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'', an ActionAdventure fantasy game in the Zelda mold. The reason is because it started life as a totally unrelated game from Creator/{{Rare}}, an N64 game known as ''Dinosaur Planet'' which was to star two {{Funny Animal}}s named Sabre and Krystal. After Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto saw footage of the game in action and compared Sabre's appearance to Fox [=McCloud's=], it was taken back to be retooled into a ''Star Fox'' title, now with Fox ''replacing'' Sabre but retaining Krystal in a less important role.
* ''VideoGame/StarFoxAssault'' introduced ThirdPersonShooter elements, with so many missions based around them that there were only a small handful of the on-rails segments that the series is known for.

* It's telling of how close to the formula the ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' series has stuck that these two count as "oddball" for its unusual features:
** ''VideoGame/MarioKartDoubleDash'' is the most odd game out of the whole consumer series due to the two characters per kart concept the game was based on. Each kart has a driver and another person to use items and both characters can swap places on the fly. Each character also has their own unique items that only they can get, a ContinuityNod to ''VideoGame/SuperMarioKart'' where the AI has characters with unique items. The item tosser also has the ability to punch other players to knock them out of the way and steal their items whereas the other games that have item stealing is regulated to the Boo item. In addition, ''Double Dash!!'' is the only ''Mario Kart'' game to do away with hopping entirely and has heavier, more realistic steering and drifting compared to the cartoon-like turning physics the other games had.
** ''Mario Kart Arcade GP'' and its sequels take some pretty strong liberties too, thanks to being co-developed with Namco. Among other things, it introduces a number of items not seen in other games (such as the square wheel attack and the "broken steering wheel" attack), excludes many series-traditional items (such as the humiliation-inducing Blue Shell), there are no mini-turbos for powerslides, powersliding grants you a shield for the duration of the slide, there are coins on the track that boost your top speed, and in a single race you only get three different kinds of items--pre-selected in grand prix mode, randomly-selected if you're playing versus on a machine with no card slots, and selected by you if you're playing versus on a machine with card slots.

* ''VideoGame/MarioParty 9'' is a total game changer compared to the previous 8 games in the series. Rather than moving individually on the board, all four players move together at the same time, but most events only happen to the player who is taking their turn; this creates strategies where sometimes moving a certain amount of spaces can screw over the next player when it's their turn. Collecting stars to become the winner was a staple in the series, but the 9th installment did away with them in exchange for mini-stars, which are quite common and are not a huge game changer. The game divided the fan base predictably.

** ''VideoGame/SonicLostWorld'' throws out a lot of staples from the previous games in it's gameplay and visual aesthetics. The gameplay switches up the game mechanics by having two versions of the homing attack (both of which don't operate like how the older games controlled them) and having enemies that have various ways on how they are supposed to be defeated. The visual aesthetic goes for more stylized and simplistic designs akin to the 16-bit titles, compared to the more photo-surrealistic designs of the recent ''[[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed Unleashed]]'' [[VideoGame/SonicColors era of]] [[VideoGame/SonicGenerations games]]. The game features planetoid levels a la ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and features a lot of one-off gimmick levels that contrast with their respective zones they appear in and don't appear elsewhere in the game (a motion-control tilt-based level where you guide Sonic in a snowball and hit billiard balls for starters). The 3DS version in particular also focuses on having Sonic do several tasks to proceed through the level, such as moving objects to certain spots in order to open gates.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles'' is considered to be the oddball in the series. Since it plays more like an action/hack and slash [=RPG=] instead of the usual turn based one, many fans either hated it or loved it.
** Within the main series, there's ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' which uses a number of completely different systems (stats and spells leveling with use, for starters) than the rest of the series. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' and ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' also qualify, by being {{M|assivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame}}MORPG. ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' also replaces the entire magic system with drawing and Junctioning. Not surprisingly, all three of four games tend to be heavily {{Contested Sequel}}s as a result.
** Then there is ''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2 Final Fantasy X-2]]'', which was the first direct sequel, the only game to feature an all-female party, and was a significantly LighterAndSofter game compared to the more drama-heavy entries in the main series (especially ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' itself).

** ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankAll4One'' retains the platforming, but goes from a single-player experience to a 2-4 player co-op adventure. Instead of a {{BFG}, this game's RYNO is a suit of PoweredArmor.

** ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankAll4One'' retains the platforming, but goes from a single-player experience to a 2-4 player co-op adventure.

* ''VideoGame/RatchetDeadlocked'', unlike the rest of the ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' series, scraps the platforming elements to be entirely focused on combat and vehicles, and divides planets into missions rather than each planet being continuous. It's also the only game in the series without a version of [[InfinityPlusOneSword the R.Y.N.O.]], which is replaced by the Harbinger, its Vox Industries equivalent.
** Similarly, ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankAll4One'' retains the platforming, but goes from a single-player experience to a 2-4 player co-op adventure.

* ''VideoGame/{{X-COM}}'' was reimagined as a corridor shooter for 2001's ''Enforcer'', and then as a space battle game for ''X-Com: Interceptor''. The last is definitely one that [[BrokenBase splits the fanbase]], since it's a great space game, if not necessarily a good example of an X-Com game.

* ''VideoGame/HaloWars'', a RealTimeStrategy game amongst a family of {{first person shooter}}s. Also made by a different developer. Its oddball nature is ironic, because ''Halo'' was ''originally'' conceived as an RTS.

* ''VideoGame/RatchetDeadlocked'', unlike the rest of the ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' series, scraps the platforming elements to be entirely focused on combat and vehicles, and divides planets into missions rather than each planet being continuous. It's also the only game in the series without a version of [[InfinityPlusOneSword the R.Y.N.O.]], which is replaced by the Harbinger, its Vox Industries equivalent.

** Among the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'', there's ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeHunters'', a GaidenGame which eschewed the exploratory single-player nature of the series for a multiplayer-driven fast-paced FirstPersonShooter (with a shorter single-player mode). ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimePinball'', on the other hand, is usually just ignored outright, since, as a SpinOff, it's ''expected'' to be different.

** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'' is a strange one compared to the rest of the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series. Bowser's role is reduced to the point of having no dialogue, the game prominently features Kamek rather than his usual DistaffCounterpart Kammy, the gameplay is radically different, and many series staples such as Whackas, partners, and the Merlin family are nowhere to be found. Kersti, the local ExpositionFairy, is the only character in the game who is not from the standard Mario 'verse. It was originally going to be closer to that of [[PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor Thousand Year Door]] but Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto wanted the game to be more without a plot.

* Although it's usually rated highly among the fanbase, ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'' is this for the ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' series. Usually the game's will limit each chapter to a specific island, but the second chapter of 2 allows you to travel between three islands instead. The next two games would also continue the first game's pattern of Guybrush needing to find "A crew, a map and a ship" and some form of insult fighting, elements which are absent in the second game. There's also a story gap between both the game and it's predecessor and sequel which is never fully explored, which leaves the plot feeling a little odd too.

* ''EndlessFrontier'' and its sequel, part of ''SuperRobotWars'', is not a crossover-heavy turn-based Strategy Game, but rather an RPG with fighting game leanings featuring a mostly original cast of characters. The focus on robots is also noticeably reduced, with only a few MiniMecha showing up.

* The eighth installment, ''The Little Mermaid and the Purple Tide'', is this for the ''VideoGame/DarkParables.'' The game mechanics are, in several respects, different from the previous games; the basic gameplay remains the same, but certain things about it are just different enough to catch the notice of longtime fans. This is because it's the only collaboration in the series - all previous games were done solely by Blue Tea Games, and all subsequent games were/are done solely by Eipix.

* The ''VideoGame/MonsterRancher'' series of monster-raising simulation games has ''MonsterRancherEVO,'' a traditional [=RPG=] with dungeons and a party-based battle style that happens to use the ''VideoGame/MonsterRancher'' series monsters. Oh, and stat-raising and money-gaining are now based on your performance in a rhythm mini-game. While not necessarily a ''bad'' game, the fact that so little of it is traditionally ''VideoGame/MonsterRancher'' makes it very divisive for fans.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout|1}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' are turn-based, isometric computer [=RPGs=] made by Black Isle. While there is some grumbling about Microforte's ''Fallout Tactics,'' it is generally regarded to be a competent game that is hampered by some rather glaring continuity issues, but is still a turned-based tactical [=RPG=] using ''Fallout's'' signature SPECIAL system (though slightly modified). ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' are fully 3D [=RPG/FPS=] games available on PC and consoles, that use a heavily modified version of SPECIAL with significant changes to the system between the two games (armor, for example, works completely differently in each). Despite all of these differences, the obvious Oddball is ''VideoGame/FalloutBrotherhoodOfSteel'', a top-down, 3D action game with almost no RPGElements, [[SeriesContinuityError continuity issues]] that make ''Tactics'' look immaculate, and no involvement of any Black Isle or Bethesda staff.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' holds this status in the main ''Super Mario'' platformer series, since it eliminated the things that made [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 the first game]] popular and replaced them with new moves, like throwing vegetables at enemies or picking up enemies and hurling them at others. This was because ''[=SMB2=]'' was a DolledUpInstallment of [[VideoGame/DokiDokiPanic another game]], while the intended sequel fell under the NoExportForYou status until the remake included as part of ''Super Mario All-Stars'' came along (with the name changed to ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels'' to avoid confusion with the game released as ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' outside of Japan). Many of its elements are now indispensable parts of the Mario franchise.

*** Strangely enough, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' is both this and a subversion ''at the same time'; it plays it straight compared to the two ''Four Swords'' games, since it's a single-player installment in a trilogy that previously had much of its focus on multiplayer gameplay. However, it's a pretty standard game among the series as a whole.