Video Game Series That Need to Try a New Protagonist

Though it’s a relatively young medium, video games are old enough these days to have decades-old franchises with protagonist characters well-known to gamers. Yet, as the gaming landscape continues to evolve and many gamers cry out for innovation, it’s hard not to wonder whether stalwart franchises couldn’t do with a change of central protagonist for a breath of fresh energy.

To be clear, no game on this list has a bad protagonist. Instead, it’s about whether a new perspective character could give the franchise a new bout of energy to reinvigorate, revive, or reinterpret the source appeal of the franchise. This list is ranked by the necessity of the change, and the good that it has the potential to do for a franchise.

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8

Devil May Cry

The Devil Only Knows

Devil May Cry 5

10/10

Released

March 8, 2019

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Violence

The Devil May Cry franchise has always been an underdog, and it has cultivated a loyal fanbase for its scrappy spirit. The game began as a dismissed prototype for Resident Evil 4. Yet, despite its scrappy beginnings, the franchise has persevered through the ups and downs to today.

However, the series’ modern games have a problem with relying on old characters with increasingly convoluted backstories and in-built lore becoming inaccessible to beginners. A fresh approach, a new demon hunter, and a break from the old, could be what the series needs to bring in a crop of new players.

Les Enfants Terribles

Solid and Naked Snake are legendary. If there’s a video game Rushmore, Solid Snake is probably up there as one of the medium’s most iconic characters. Yet, after Hideo Kojima’s departure from Konami after the release of Metal Gear Solid 5, the series’ future has been in limbo ever since.

Konami is unlikely to rest on its laurels forever, and if Kojima isn’t returning, it might be a good idea to mark a clean break and have an entirely new protagonist rather than return to Snake. If for no other reason, it would help make the franchise’s infamously tangled chronology more accessible for newcomers. It’d be a difficult task, but a necessary burden to carry.

6

Star Fox

To Infinity

Star Fox Zero

Systems

8/10

Released

April 22, 2016

ESRB

E For Everyone

Developer(s)

Nintendo

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

• 

The Star Fox franchise has always been the ugly duckling of the core Nintendo IP. It never quite got the massive amount of success it should have, with many players only knowing the characters from their consistent appearances in the Super Smash Bros. games. That’s a big shame, and one that could be fixed.

While Fox McCloud doesn’t need to disappear, one way to reinvigorate the franchise might be to have a new playable character that doesn’t have decades of lore to learn. This could reboot the franchise from the ground up, and help make it the success it always should have been.

5

Dead Space

Necromorph No More

Dead Space (2023)

Systems

9/10

Released

January 27, 2023

ESRB

Rated M for Mature for Blood and Gore, Strong Language, and Intense Violence.

Publisher(s)

Electronic Arts

Dead Space is one of modern horror gaming’s biggest success stories. However, it came out just before a relative slump in AAA horror quality in the early 2010s, suffering greatly with Dead Space 3. The third entry prioritized action over scares, alienating the fanbase. Yet, with the successful remake of Dead Space in 2023, maybe the time’s right to go back.

But it doesn’t have to be with Isaac Clarke. He has become a bit of a superhero in the lore, and it would be nice to return to a ground-level working-class character who has to face the terrifying necromorph threat through nothing more than their wit and grit.

4

Metroid

Samus Is In A Rut

Metroid Prime Remastered

Systems

Released

February 8, 2023

ESRB

T For Teen due to Animated Blood, Violence

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Though it’s hotly debated in gaming fan communities, the general consensus is that the reveal of Samus’s gender in the original Metroid is one of the first narrative gaming twists ever. She has become an indelible part of the franchise ever since, and an icon of the gaming world.

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However, the franchise remains in purgatory. There’s a new entry on the way, but expectations are pretty low. Nintendo’s dark sci-fi world could benefit from fresh air, diving deeper into the mystical worlds and bounty-hunting shenanigans with a new character ready to bring new players into the fold.

3

Uncharted

Greed In The Eye

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection

Systems

10/10

Released

January 28, 2022

ESRB

T For Teen Due To Blood, Game Experience May Change During Online Play, Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence

Publisher(s)

PlayStation Studios, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Naughty Dog may be best known these days for The Last of Us, but many gamers hold fond memories of Uncharted as the franchise that cut Naughty Dog’s teeth, resulting in some of the best action-adventure games ever made. Yet, after the conclusion of Uncharted 4, the series’ future remains in limbo.

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Nathan Drake’s story seems to be finished, and it’s hard not to wonder if a brand-new treasure hunter and a clean break from the past is what the franchise needs to boldly stride into the future. The seeds for this were already planted in Uncharted 4‘s epilogue scene, so hopes are high that this might happen.

2

The Legend of Zelda

Triforce Power

Link is incredibly important to every The Legend of Zelda game. He’s the amorphous glue that binds the games together, and he’s undoubtedly iconic. But, at the risk of sounding like heresy, it’s hard not to wonder whether he’s the least interesting part of every game he’s in.

Imagining what a The Legend of Zelda game would look like with a fully voiced, fully characterized character would be fascinating. Nintendo has already experimented with this by foregrounding Zelda a couple of times — most recently in Echoes of Wisdom, with great success. But a bold new push for a completely original character could be exactly what’s needed to shake up the decades-old formula and to clean up an increasingly confused timeline.

1

Halo

Ringworld In Circles

Halo Infinite

Systems

9/10

Released

December 8, 2021

ESRB

T for Teen: Blood, Mild Language, Violence

Publisher(s)

Xbox Game Studios

It’s no secret that the Halo franchise is in a rough spot. Far from the glory days of Halo 2 and Halo 3, modern-day Halo is struggling to hold its own in the brutal world of modern gaming culture, and Halo: Infinite was broadly a disappointment. The future is uncertain for this bedrock gaming franchise.

Featuring a different player character other than Master Chief, as heretical as it sounds, might be what’s needed to reinvigorate the franchise. After all, Halo 3: ODST is one of the best games in the franchise, and it isn’t about Master Chief. A bold break and reinvention might be necessary for this gaming staple to survive in the future.

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