Friends… It is with great sadness that I bring you here today to remember some of our closest compatriots. These friends were nearest and dearest to us. They were by our sides when we needed them most, and even when we didn’t. Whenever we needed them, they would be there without fail.
Until they just… weren’t.
Too soon?
Regardless, we are in a strange age of both incredible progress and a longing for what we’ve left behind. As we push forward towards virtual reality and graphics so good we can’t even actually recognize how good they really are with our feeble human eyes, we also continue to long for the things we’ve lost in the progress.
Kickstarter campaigns for the revival of Shenmue and the spiritual successors of Banjo-Kazooie and Castlevania in the form of Yooka-Laylee and Bloodstained have been some of the most successful video game crowd funding campaigns ever. People want those games, or at least games like them.
With that in mind, here are some games the SWOOORDSMAN would like to see have their second chance in the ring, ideally through a proper revival, but a spiritual successor wouldn’t hurt either.
1. Spyro the Dragon
While Spyro as a character is enjoying the benefits of having launched the Skylanders franchise as a result of his name being tacked onto the first game as a sort of… safety net, the fact is that the Skylanders games just really aren’t Spyro games. They aren’t bad games, and in moderation, there’s a lot worse you could do, but they’re still not Spyro games.
So let’s bring Spyro back. Not the edgy Spyro for the teenage audience, not the knockoff stuff, let’s get it back to basics. A spunky little dragon, maybe a punguin and a yeti and a feline as playable characters on the side, sheep to burn, gems to collect, and egg thieves to spend all your time chasing down. Start with the basics, and then grow from there. How about it?
If nothing else, get these games working on PlayStation Vita in the US already, would you Sony?
2. Crash Bandicoot
Where there is Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot is sure to follow.
Unlike Spyro, who at least has his Skylanders “glory,” not even the character Crash is making any appearances these days, despite being the arguably more known of the two. Is it because mammals in this type of game are the more “been here, done that” of the two? Or is it because NaughtyDog really is going to take it back…
… no, that’s rather unlikely, isn’t it? One can dream, though.
Whatever the case, and wherever the rights may lie, a Crash Bandicoot revival is a must. While we’re not wanting for games in this perspective nearly as much as we were back when these games came out, there still really aren’t that many that are like it and are as good any more, unless you can get your fix from those temple running games on your phone, anyway.
3. Z.H.P.
Understandably, this one might throw some readers off, because Z.H.P. Zettai Hero Project: Unlosing Ranger vs Darkdeath Evilman is just one single game, not a series. If there’s a series to be revived here, it’s the series that was born from the ashes of the Unlosing Ranger’s remains, the Guided Fate series.
As much as Guided Fate may be the more logical choice, Z.H.P. feels like it was something that was cut down before it really had a chance to blossom. It was one of the last games outside of the Disgaea series its developer released that still really felt like it had the good old Nippon Ichi Software charm that their PS2 games seemed to be able to create without any effort at all, and it was the first of its kind they had made at that.
What’s more, their take on superheroes was fun, the gameplay could have grown to the lengths Disgaea continues to with each new installment, and most importantly, have any of you heard how the game customized your theme song based on your equipment? That’s awesome!
4. Bomberman
Perhaps not as iconic to some as Crash or Spyro, Bomberman is a character with a rich and extensive history, and the Bomberman franchise is full of games that take the series’ simple concept to lengths most probably never would have thought possible from it.
There are games in the style of The Legend of Zelda, side scrolling ventures relying on more jumping than Super Mario Bros., RPGs, action games, and let’s not forget the bombastic party games that gave this series its start.
With online as prevalent as it is, not to mention the rise of indie games, it seems like the only thing in the way of this game returning to at least a fraction of its former glory is the company that owns the rights to it right now.
And as great as a lead in as this would be for Metal Gear Solid or any other Konami owned IP, the final entry for this list has to be…
5. Mega Man
I know, I know. It just had that collection of Classic games! Mega Man isn’t dead at all!
For all the undeserved drama surrounding Mighty No. 9, even with just a demo, it’s still delivered more genuinely new content than Capcom has in years. Even Nintendo’s done more for the franchise through Super Smash Bros., Super Mario Maker, and however else the Mega Man amiibo is getting used, if you think about it.
The fact is, porting some classics isn’t really enough anymore, especially when that new collection pales in comparison to previously released collections, or even remakes of single games like Mega Man Powered Up and Maverick Hunter X. As it stands, right now the Mega Man series is still as dead as ever, and it doesn’t seem like Capcom has any intention of doing anything about it.
I was hesitant to include this, as it was at risk of “breaking the rules,” but even if Mighty No. 9 takes off, Mega Man was more than just the Classic games. It was a franchise that rivaled the likes of Mario and Sonic in its prime. It spawned multiple successful subfranchises with unique gameplay mechanics and stories to them, and all of them are gone now.
With Mega Man in the state its in, they’re all gone. No progress, no more spinoffs, no nothing. People can complain about Mario being milked or Sega trying to bring Sonic to the kids through Sonic Boom, but at least they’re created some kind of new content, aren’t they?
So Capcom, if you by chance stumble across this blog, give the Blue Bomber a chance again, would you?
Five isn’t really enough for this, when I look back at this list. Even from just the companies who made these games, there are so many more choices. The sad truth is that a lot of companies, and in turn franchises, have just disappeared, eventually to be forgotten. One would think digital classics on consoles would be a great way to preserve these games, but reality has shown us that that will likely never be the case.
Even so, a list must end at some point, and five is a nice a number as any, no?
If you guys have a favorite franchise that ended prematurely, or even a single game that you feel could have been turned into something more, let me know what it is in the comments!
Until next time!
SWOOORDPLAY 