10 Copy-Paste Games That ACTUALLY SUCCEEDED

10 Copy-Paste Games That Actually Succeeded

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 10 games that copied the big leagues and surpassed them!

“Tekken” (1994)

Shortly after the release and astounding success of the first “Virtua Fighter”, Namco poached a significant chunk of the team to work for them. Originally, there were no plans for a fighting game - just some animation tests, potentially for a new “Ridge Racer” game. But when Namco got word that SEGA was working on “Virtua Fighter 2”, the order was placed: develop a new 3D fighting game and beat SEGA to the punch! “Tekken” launched in Japanese arcades in September 1994, merely two months before “Virtua Fighter 2”. It would also later release in worldwide arcades in December 1994, one month before SEGA could get “Virtua Fighter 2” out in the world. Today, “Tekken” is one of the biggest fighting games on the market with its eighth mainline entry exploding in player count since launch in January 2024. As for “Virtua Fighter”...well, we haven’t had a new game since 2006, and no, we are not counting all the revised versions of VF5 that have come after.

“Lies of P” (2023)

For years upon years upon years, FromSoftware fans have been begging for Sony to greenlight a “Bloodborne 2” or, at the very least, release a PS5 version that supports a higher framerate. The publisher won’t budge, and when one market isn’t being served, someone will swoop in and serve them. That is what Neowiz Games and Round8 Studio did with “Lies of P”. Just spend one hour with this game, and you will quickly realize the game is basically an improved “Bloodborne”. From the weaponry and how Pinocchio moves to the grim and dismal world of Krat, you can tell the devs were inspired by FromSoft’s gothic horror. Since launch, the game has sold gangbusters, and a sequel has already been greenlit. Meanwhile, “Bloodborne” still sits and rots in 2015.

“Final Fantasy” (1987)

Prior to their merger, Square and Enix were two separate companies with different ambitions. While Enix saw commercial success with “Dragon Quest”, Square was in deep financial trouble. For quite some time, the company was against making RPGs, believing it would only lead to poor sales. But when they hit rock bottom, they had one last shot to make a game. Square greenlit an RPG for Hironobu Sakaguchi to develop, and only three developers volunteered to help him. Sakaguchi and his cohorts took elements from not only “Dragon Quest”, but tabletop RPGs like “Dungeons & Dragons” to create the first “Final Fantasy” game. It was a huge hit and would spawn countless sequels throughout the years. While both “Final Fantasy” and “Dragon Quest” live happily under the same roof of Square Enix, the younger cousin makes more frequent appearances with each sequel and spin-off selling gangbusters. The older one makes an appearance every now and again, but always delivers the same level of high quality with each entry.

“Saints Row” (2006)

After “Grand Theft Auto” dominated throughout the sixth generation of consoles, many companies tried to get ahead with their own GTA clones at the start of the seventh gen. One of the first was “Saints Row”, which took GTA’s open world format and hip hop vibes to a new level where you could call in allies to help you in missions. Despite seeing solid reviews and a few equally great sequels, “Saints Row” never really took off in the same way GTA did. For a time, it was one of the few GTA clones that stood the test of time. Then, 2022 hit and we got the reboot, which caused developer Volition to shut its doors.

“Bayonetta” (2009)

In the late 2000’s, Capcom and many other Japanese gaming companies experienced a mass exodus of developers who were fed up with projects getting rejected by their higher-ups. Among these developers was Hideki Kamiya. During his time at Capcom, Kamiya had worked as director for action games like “Viewtiful Joe”, “Okami”, and the first “Devil May Cry”. However, management kept shoving him to the side as others got to carry on “Devil May Cry” without him. This along with other grievances would result in him quitting with “Resident Evil” creator Shinji Mikami for the two to go start PlatinumGames. Their first projects? A gruesome gorefest for the Wii called “MadWorld”, and most notably, a sexy hack-&-slash inspired by “Devil May Cry” known as “Bayonetta”. While neither IP directly competed with each other, “Bayonetta’s” continued presence since its inception has shown how Dante has kind of been left in the shadows. “DMC V” was great, but damn, Capcom - are we getting a sixth game anytime soon, or do we have to pray “Bayonetta 3” didn’t kill our witch lady?

“Minecraft” (2011)

In case you younger folks haven’t heard this before, “Minecraft” was practically a face lift of a completely different game. “Infiniminer” was a game released in 2009 that you could play on your browser. Players could do a variety of different things with the game’s block-building functionality, but ultimately, it wasn’t super fleshed out compared to what “Minecraft” would dish out. Mojang has not shied away from the similarities and creator Markus “Notch” Persson has even talked about how “Infiniminer” inspired him to make “Minecraft”. Today, “Minecraft” has enjoyed resounding success through implementing live service elements, collaborative DLC with various IPs, and spin-offs like “Minecraft Dungeons” and “Minecraft Legends”.

“Genshin Impact” (2020)

When you really dig into the gameplay, it’s a little difficult to see how “Genshin Impact” is similar to “Breath of the Wild”. However, the similarities are there, and once you see them, you can’t un-see them. From the way the world’s weather can affect terrain and status effects to the UI and music, one cannot deny that developer miHoYo was clearly inspired by “The Legend of Zelda’s” recent iterations. The only real major difference between them is the gacha mechanics.

“Stardew Valley” (2015)

Before cozy life sims came into their own market, many of us were starved. Your only real options were “The Sims 4” or any of the old “Harvest Moon / Story of Seasons” titles. But when “Stardew Valley” launched in 2015, it was all over. So many grandpas died, so many farms were inherited, and so many people refused to leave their computers. With so many activities and invoking the same tones of “Harvest Moon”, “Stardew Valley” achieved grand slam status in a sea of homerunners. And since then, “Harvest Moon” has now become the obsolete title and has resorted to “remake only” status. None of them have recaptured their audiences like they used to.

“Ghost of Tsushima” (2020)

It feels like ages that “Assassin’s Creed” fans have been asking for a new game set in Japan. Ubisoft responded with “London?” “No, Japan,” we said. “Egypt?” “We said Japan!” “Greece?” “NO, JAPAN!” “Norway it is!” Well, Sony and Sucker Punch Productions went and beat them to the punch. In 2020, we basically got the “Assassin’s Creed in Japan” game we wanted in the form of “Ghost of Tsushima”. Much of the level design, stealth-based gameplay, and immersion of Japanese culture boasts the same amount of research and creativity you would expect from Ubisoft when it was in its prime. It wasn’t until years after that game’s success that we would get an announcement for a new “Assassin’s Creed” game that will finally be set in Japan. But before we get that, Sony will be double-dipping with Team Ninja for “Rise of the Ronin” while Sucker Punch toils away at “Ghost of Tsushima 2”.

“Palworld” (2024)

The similarities between “Palworld” and “Pokemon” have been so striking that it has lead many to believe developer Pocket Pair possibly committed plagiarism. We even made a list of the similarities and differences between the two on the main WatchMojo channel! Some resemblances we saw were in the designs of NPCs, the use of Pal Spheres to capture monsters, and more. But what’s truly odd is how “Palworld” took the world by storm at the start of 2024. The amount of attention it's received since has been overwhelming beyond any amount recent “Pokemon” games have garnered. With the poor reception from players over “Violet and Scarlet” and “Sword and Shield”, perhaps The Pokemon Company and GameFreak will step up their game in future titles? One can only hope.

Do you know of any other copycat games that became successful? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!