Post by The Mad Plumber on Feb 14, 2010 11:15:59 GMT -5
An interesting, and refreshing, trend that I’ve been noticing as of late is the revival of classic game franchises of my youth. However, I speak of more than just re-releasing of old titles as downloadable content or part of collections (i.e. Nintendo’s Virtual Console and Namco Museum) or revamping old games with new graphics and features (i.e. Final Fantasy Origins). I speak of brand new sequels resembling the original engines of the series.
The first title that comes to mind is Mega Man 9, which features graphics and gameplay that give it an uncanny resemblance to a Mega Man game for the NES. Square’s been releasing enhanced versions of classic Taito games, including Bubble Bobble Plus! which includes the original adventure as well as a new adventure. Final Fantasy IV: The After Years echoes back to the series’ 8-bit and 16-bit origins. Not having played them yet, I’ve also noticed various Konami titles such as Gradius, Castlevania, and Contra have been reborn on the Wii. My most recent discovery was a revamp of the Sunsoft title Blaster Master, debunking my belief that the publisher no longer existed.
I very much enjoy seeing this. I used to feel that I was a demographic that was left in the dust to accommodate the tastes of otaku and younger gamers. I’d be very much amused to see more titles from my youth find new lease on today’s consoles. I’m to understand that Mega Man 10 is in the works and is continuing the 8-bit emulation that Mega Man 9 performed successfully. I thought I would bring up a couple of titles and series that I might like to see follow this trend.
Mega Man X
I would actually say that the Mega Man X series improved when it moved to the PlayStation, and I might almost forgive the rushed state of Mega Man X6. However, I lost interest when I rented and played Mega Man X7 on the PlayStation 2, which featured some sort of new concept that I really didn’t enjoy and I felt it abandoned the original gameplay. I am to assume that Mega Man X8 followed X7’s template. If there’s to be an X9, I would like to see it echo back to the SNES or PlayStation engines.
Ninja Gaiden
I’m not much of a fan of this series, but I don’t hate it. The first two games are just too hard and I can’t win them; it would be the third game that I much prefer, though I imagine that the series’ hardcore fans resent the abandonment of the oblique projection graphics. The third game does suffer from a story that makes Bride of the Monster look like Blade Runner. A new game could stand to have a story that resembles the mythos-inspired plot of the first two games. Perhaps a return of the Jaquio? It would be interesting to see how new cinematics might be executed, as well as see the return of Irene Lew. Oh, and most important: skip the voice casting.
Adventures of Lolo
The Lolo games are probably a very obscure series that pretty much died with the NES itself. It might even be pretty obscure within the NES library itself. The Lolo games were puzzle-strategy games, and the difficulty of the puzzles increased as you progressed through the game. I think later games might have incorporated boss battles. Kickle Cubicle might have been inspired by the Lolo series. A new Lolo game might make a nice economy title.
The Legend of Zelda (A Link to the Past engine)
Twilight Princess was a very compelling and dynamic game, and it was certainly a deserving follow-up to Ocarina of Time. I imagine more people are clamoring for another three-dimensional title in the style of Twilight Princess. Given the increasing dramatic overtures that seem present in Zelda series, I wonder if there is any room for a title exploiting the SNES engine that represents the series’ high point.
Battletoads
It’s hard to think of this franchise as being a series. There have been sequels of sorts and I might have played one or two of them, but they never really followed the template of the original game. The original Battletoads for the NES is one of the best and most important titles for that system. It featured twelve levels, each with a unique challenge and gimmick. I would like seeing the original engine brought back with revamped graphics and a new soundtrack by Dave Wise. It would great to once again get taunted and berated by that sexy dominatrix Dark Queen.
The Lost Vikings
I wonder if this game has fallen into obscurity like the Lolo series. The Lost Vikings was a strategy game where the goal was to get three unique Viking warriors to the end of the stage alive. I didn’t get to play much of it, but I found it to be a very remarkable game. I believe there was a sequel to the original game.
Metroid (Super Metroid engine)
I’m not a huge fan of the Metroid series. The original game has its obvious flaws and my tastes do not accommodate games from the Prime series. The SNES title would be the title from the series that I really enjoy and would ultimately inspire Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. I’m assuming that the SNES game would be the template for future Metroid games on Nintendo’s portable consoles while Retro Studios addressed Metroid games on Nintendo’s home consoles. With the advent of downloadable games, I don’t think a title resembling Super Metroid’s engine would be unreasonable.
DuckTales
It seems a little odd to recommend a licensed property title. I hope I’m not bringing up titles just because they happened to be some of the best titles for the NES. There did happen to be a sequel to DuckTales, though I haven’t played it much and I suppose it must really pale in comparison to its predecessor. Still, the DuckTales engine does yield many fun possibilities and I still have to mention that the original game is such a great title. Could you get Disney onboard for another title with Capcom? Would the graphics be revamped or would they go the nostalgic 8-bit route that the Mega Man games have taken?
The Konami Brawler
Some of my favorite arcade games were Konami’s brawler titles, with X-Men being my favorite of them. Some people might like Capcom’s Final Fight series and I found that Taito’s even had a couple titles in the brawler genre, but I feel that it was Konami that had perfected the brawler genre. Perhaps the Konami brawler is not so much a series as it is a genre, but I would very much welcome a return of it.
The first title that comes to mind is Mega Man 9, which features graphics and gameplay that give it an uncanny resemblance to a Mega Man game for the NES. Square’s been releasing enhanced versions of classic Taito games, including Bubble Bobble Plus! which includes the original adventure as well as a new adventure. Final Fantasy IV: The After Years echoes back to the series’ 8-bit and 16-bit origins. Not having played them yet, I’ve also noticed various Konami titles such as Gradius, Castlevania, and Contra have been reborn on the Wii. My most recent discovery was a revamp of the Sunsoft title Blaster Master, debunking my belief that the publisher no longer existed.
I very much enjoy seeing this. I used to feel that I was a demographic that was left in the dust to accommodate the tastes of otaku and younger gamers. I’d be very much amused to see more titles from my youth find new lease on today’s consoles. I’m to understand that Mega Man 10 is in the works and is continuing the 8-bit emulation that Mega Man 9 performed successfully. I thought I would bring up a couple of titles and series that I might like to see follow this trend.
Mega Man X
I would actually say that the Mega Man X series improved when it moved to the PlayStation, and I might almost forgive the rushed state of Mega Man X6. However, I lost interest when I rented and played Mega Man X7 on the PlayStation 2, which featured some sort of new concept that I really didn’t enjoy and I felt it abandoned the original gameplay. I am to assume that Mega Man X8 followed X7’s template. If there’s to be an X9, I would like to see it echo back to the SNES or PlayStation engines.
Ninja Gaiden
I’m not much of a fan of this series, but I don’t hate it. The first two games are just too hard and I can’t win them; it would be the third game that I much prefer, though I imagine that the series’ hardcore fans resent the abandonment of the oblique projection graphics. The third game does suffer from a story that makes Bride of the Monster look like Blade Runner. A new game could stand to have a story that resembles the mythos-inspired plot of the first two games. Perhaps a return of the Jaquio? It would be interesting to see how new cinematics might be executed, as well as see the return of Irene Lew. Oh, and most important: skip the voice casting.
Adventures of Lolo
The Lolo games are probably a very obscure series that pretty much died with the NES itself. It might even be pretty obscure within the NES library itself. The Lolo games were puzzle-strategy games, and the difficulty of the puzzles increased as you progressed through the game. I think later games might have incorporated boss battles. Kickle Cubicle might have been inspired by the Lolo series. A new Lolo game might make a nice economy title.
The Legend of Zelda (A Link to the Past engine)
Twilight Princess was a very compelling and dynamic game, and it was certainly a deserving follow-up to Ocarina of Time. I imagine more people are clamoring for another three-dimensional title in the style of Twilight Princess. Given the increasing dramatic overtures that seem present in Zelda series, I wonder if there is any room for a title exploiting the SNES engine that represents the series’ high point.
Battletoads
It’s hard to think of this franchise as being a series. There have been sequels of sorts and I might have played one or two of them, but they never really followed the template of the original game. The original Battletoads for the NES is one of the best and most important titles for that system. It featured twelve levels, each with a unique challenge and gimmick. I would like seeing the original engine brought back with revamped graphics and a new soundtrack by Dave Wise. It would great to once again get taunted and berated by that sexy dominatrix Dark Queen.
The Lost Vikings
I wonder if this game has fallen into obscurity like the Lolo series. The Lost Vikings was a strategy game where the goal was to get three unique Viking warriors to the end of the stage alive. I didn’t get to play much of it, but I found it to be a very remarkable game. I believe there was a sequel to the original game.
Metroid (Super Metroid engine)
I’m not a huge fan of the Metroid series. The original game has its obvious flaws and my tastes do not accommodate games from the Prime series. The SNES title would be the title from the series that I really enjoy and would ultimately inspire Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. I’m assuming that the SNES game would be the template for future Metroid games on Nintendo’s portable consoles while Retro Studios addressed Metroid games on Nintendo’s home consoles. With the advent of downloadable games, I don’t think a title resembling Super Metroid’s engine would be unreasonable.
DuckTales
It seems a little odd to recommend a licensed property title. I hope I’m not bringing up titles just because they happened to be some of the best titles for the NES. There did happen to be a sequel to DuckTales, though I haven’t played it much and I suppose it must really pale in comparison to its predecessor. Still, the DuckTales engine does yield many fun possibilities and I still have to mention that the original game is such a great title. Could you get Disney onboard for another title with Capcom? Would the graphics be revamped or would they go the nostalgic 8-bit route that the Mega Man games have taken?
The Konami Brawler
Some of my favorite arcade games were Konami’s brawler titles, with X-Men being my favorite of them. Some people might like Capcom’s Final Fight series and I found that Taito’s even had a couple titles in the brawler genre, but I feel that it was Konami that had perfected the brawler genre. Perhaps the Konami brawler is not so much a series as it is a genre, but I would very much welcome a return of it.