Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. The best RPG series that probably won't come back

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Dark Messiah of Might and Magic may not be a typical RPG with a huge open world, but you certainly can't deny its originality. The production somehow unlocked the potential of the first-person camera in action games. The people responsible for it are the same people who created the Dishonored series later on. Setting this title in the fantastic universe of Might and Magic gave this adventure a certain spectacularity and chicness.

So why has a game so successful and positively reviewed by both critics and players up to this day not lived to see a well-deserved sequel? However, it is important to remember who was in charge at the time. The production was handled by Arkane Studios, but the game was published by Ubisoft. The companies' paths diverged, and the brand Dark Messiah of Might and Magic went into a limbo that no one wants to get it out of. If you want this list to provide you with sequels that have any chance of being actually produced – you won't find these on this page.

Jade Empire

While cinematography can show off a whole film genre dedicated to eastern martial arts (names like Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee should ring a bell), there are only scarce high-budget video games in such a setting. That's a shame, actually. Jade Empire, an oriental fantasy RPG drawing heavily on Chinese culture, was one of the most interesting experiments of this type.

A decent combat system, an interesting storyline with multiple dialogue branches and a design that's really pleasing to the eye. In theory, Jade Empire had everything it took to become a full-fledged series, but ended up as a one and only instalment. Why is that? BioWare emphasized that this was the studio's first ever original brand (after all, the developers had previously based it, among other things, on the Star Wars universe), so the works were treated as a kind of test, in which they did not want to take unnecessary risks. Thanks to that, Mass Effect and Dragon Age were taken up with more confidence, but Jade Empire was left somewhere behind.

Admittedly, the question of a second installment in the series comes up again every couple of years, even in the public sphere. Once in a while, the developers confirm that they hold talks of a potential sequel, but that's pretty much where it ends. The latest news come from February 2019 when EA reportedly registered the Jade Empire trademark, just in case. However, other rumors involved a complete change of the game concept, turning it into multiplayer entertainment. There's nothing to discuss now. Given the short-lived enthusiasm of the creators, it is unlikely that a sequel could be taken up in the near future.

Dungeon Siege III

The Diablo series certainly paved the way for isometric action RPGs mostly known as hack'n'slash. It turns out that slashing hordes of enemies is enjoyable from any perspective. In addition to the aforementioned Blizzard brand, Dungeon Siege is a game that should be considered the forefront of this genre as well, especially its first two installments – productions quite simple and player-friendly, allowing you to shoot fireballs in the first minutes of the game while controlling... a peasant.

The Gas Powered Games studio was responsible for these instalments of the series and they are definitely the most fondly remembered. Released in 2011, the third part was taken care of by Obsidian, already mentioned here many times, and although they managed to produce a decent title, many fans of the previous instalments accused the developers that they completely ripped the ideas from the universe of Dungeon Siege.

The criticism and lack of enthusiasm among the audience meant that the fourth installment of the game was simply out of the question.It was simply not worth it, because the following years brought Diablo III and free Path of Exile – Dungeon Siege IV could just get lost on the market. Today, 10 years after the release, we suffer a bit from the lack of worthy hack'n'slash games. After all, how long can you rely on the same brands? However, it's hard to expect the DS to make an appearance in the future now that gamers have already forgotten about it.

Chrono Cross

I'm well aware that many of you just can't get yourselves to like Japan RPGs, but still, just one look at the modern market is enough to see how strong their position on the market is. Japan rules the gaming world and is gaining more and more devoted fans every year. We could talk for hours about such series as Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts, but they are doing well today and there's no sign of them slowing down. Therefore, let's deal with another, an jRPG hegemon, which unexpectedly quickly disappeared off the radar and has not come back to this day.

I'm talking about the Chrono series, represented by Trigger and Cross. These are classic examples of Japanese games that focus on turn- and team-based combat, a fast-paced, slightly twisted storyline (alternate dimensions and all that) and the Eastern aesthetics with references to anime. In short, Chrono productions offered what all Japanese developers are serving up today, even before it became a trend.

So what went wrong that nothing like Chrono Trigger 3 was ever made? Well, actually Square (today's Square Enix) had a plan to release part three, titled Chrono Break. However, this project was abandoned after some time and its initiators began to help in the work on the Final Fantasy series. Actually, the existing idea for a game was used in the creation of Final Fantasy Dimensions II, a mobile title set in this very well-known universe. So Chrono has contributed heavily to the jRPG genre, but the chances of it reappearing on the market are rather scarce.