What does the word Konami mean to you? For many gamers it brings up memories of extremely high-quality experiences, polished game mechanics, adventurous (and sometimes misguided) game design, and a back catalog of the most highly praised video game series of all time. On the other hand, for just as many players the name also sparks images of brazen gambling, slot machines, poorly made video games, and an allegedly toxic workplace culture.
Both of these images of Konami are true, but they exist in two different periods of time. From the 1980s to the mid-2000s, Konami was at the helm of dozens of amazing video game franchises, beloved by many. But in recent years there's been a... shift in the company's main focus, which has left many of its most popular video game franchises to be left in the dust, heading or having faded from popular memory and discourse.
10 Castlevania - Latest Release In 2019
The Castlevania series is one that survived by adapting to the environment around it. Originally a "NES" hard trilogy on Nintendo's Entertainment System back in the mid to late 1980s, Castlevania evolved into a whole genre unto itself, a "Metroidvania" series, lending its namesake to half of this incredibly popular and influential genre's name. Nowadays, unfortunately, the series is pretty much non-existent, with many fans refusing to recognize the half-baked and essentially unfinished offerings Konami has released in recent years, including the poorly received Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls (2021).
When exactly the franchise began to die out and fade is debated amongst fans. Some say it died with Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia in 2008, the last true Metroidvania, others say it died with Castlevania: Lords of Shadows 2 in 2014. There is an argument to be made that the franchise has only died and faded in its original form, but lives on in name as the excellent Netflix animated series, and in spirit as the Bloodstained series.
9 Contra: Latest Release In 2019
The name Contra was originally one that exemplified the concept of "NES" hard, otherwise known as old-school video game difficulty. For better or for worse, the original Contra games pitted gamers in the 1980s and 1990s against some of the toughest challenges in video game history.
Despite this hard-as-nails reputation, Contra is not one that Konami seems to want to take seriously - the last well-received and truly recognized entry by fans was Contra 4, released in 2007. Since then the series has been left to collect dust, only being dragged out as an extremely mediocre offering in the form of Contra: Rogue Corps in 2019, which was largely ignored upon its release.
8 Metal Gear: Latest Release In 2018
This entry is more about Konami's relationship with their one-time flagship developer, Hideo Kojima. Kojima had spent most of his professional career, and indeed, much of his life, working on the Metal Gear/ Metal Gear Solid franchise, releasing games that have become synonymous with "Cinematic" story-telling in video games. Kojima is so entangled in the development and history of these games, to the point that many view Kojima as BEING Metal Gear, and Metal Gear being Kojima - it just wouldn't work without him.
This is why, after the dramatic split between Konami and Kojima in 2015, Konami has only tried to release one game in the series - the extremely poorly received Metal Gear: Survive. After this most recent attempt failed, Konami seem hell-bent on trying, as hard as possible, to get people to forget that they had anything to do with their one-time crown jewel.
7 Pro-Evolution Soccer: Latest PES Release In 2018
PES, also known as Pro-Evolution Soccer used to be one of THE biggest sports franchises on the planet with over 111 million units moved since the series began in 1995. However, in 2019 Konami decided that they wanted to completely rename and rebrand the franchise into the eFootball series.
This new name was meant to reflect the fact that Konami's main focus for the series going forward would be online competition and free-to-play elements that would eventually contribute to an in-game economy. This new direction for the franchise was not well received by critics, but in true modern Konami fashion, the company has decided to stick with the rebranding and new direction while completely ditching the original franchise that gave them so much success.
6 Gradius: Latest Release In 2011
Gradius was one of the most impressive and high-octane games one could experience in an arcade. This high level of quality eventually saw the series being ported to many video game consoles in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th generation video game consoles.
The ultimate fate of this once staple of arcades is therefore, very disappointing. The last game to officially be released in the series was Gradius: The Slot in 2011, which if you might be able to tell from the title, is more of a Slot Machine than a video game. This is one of many Konami franchises that have been deemed to be more financially stable as cheaply made slot machines rather than games worthy of being remembered.
5 Parodius: Latest Release In 1998
A very odd Konami franchise, the Parodius series began life as a parody of the Gradius series, but soon developed into one of the finest examples of what fans would retrospectively call "Cute-Em-Ups".
As a Video Game series, this franchise died off fairly early in its lifespan, in 1997. It has technically lived on, as a series of Pachinko machines, that languish pretty much exclusively in the dark, almost untouched corners of Japan's arcade centers, seemingly exactly where Konami wants them.
4 Suikoden: Latest Release In 2012
While not as big as other staples of the 1990s J-RPG boom, the Suikoden series is still very fondly remembered, seemingly by everyone except for Konami. While it is true that Konami has announced a "spiritual successor" named Eiyuden Chronicle, which is being developed by the original Suikoden team, it does feel odd that the company is refusing to name this new game as part of the Suikoden series.
It is appreciated that Konami is bringing back the original team, it does feel like the company are riding the line between playing on nostalgia to push a new game, while also hoping that this new game will overshadow the original franchise that, paradoxically, will potentially push copies of this new game.
3 Frogger Platforming Series: Latest Release In 2005
The Frogger series currently exists as a bunch of "Skill-Based-Casino" games, made to extract as much money from the player as possible. And if you believed Konami, this is the form that the series has always taken.
But did you know that Konami had a VERY different Frogger series back in the late 1990s and early 2000s? This, now largely forgotten series, was a series of quite fun, and at times challenging fully formed 3D platformers that unfortunately could not keep up with the giants of the platforming world.
2 Beatmania: Latest Release In 2002
Beatmania used to be one of Konami's biggest arcade hits in the mid to late 1990s but has faded from popular memory for one main reason. The series was never ported to ANY home console, existing exclusively in arcades. This has made it very hard for the game to remain embedded in our home-screen-focused popular culture, unlike its "cousin" from the Konami family, Dance Dance Revolution.
This lack of interest or willingness to port the franchise to home systems is made all the more interesting when it is considered that modders have managed to make the work compatible with PS1 and PS2 controllers.
1 Ganbare Goemon: Latest Release In 2005
One of the miracles of the Super Smash Bros. series is that it serves a dual purpose. It is both an excellent fighting/party game series, and it's also a kind of interactive museum/ archive that preserves old video game icons and trivia in one neat package. In many ways, Masahiro Sakurai's love for video games is what helps people remember that certain franchises even existed, putting the publishers of several fallen franchises to shame.
The release of a Goemon Mii fighter costume in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate served as a bittersweet reminder for many of the excellent Ganbare Goemon series. Bittersweet not only because the last real game in the series was released in 2005, but because the large majority of entries in this series are impossible to legally get your hands on in the West. And in a less sweet, and far more bitter sense, Konami seems completely uninterested in porting any of the previously unavailable games in this series, letting the series live on merely as a slot game.