Seven game franchises that I would like to see return on the generation 8 consoles
With Sony and Microsoft releasing their latest consoles to the world in November it symbolizes the end (to an extent…obviously a lot of people will still be playing their PlayStation 3’s and Xbox 360’s for the new few years.) of one generation and a start of a new generation. A bit like the word “aloha” it means hello and goodbye, but anyway, with the new generation just starting up now is a great time for developers to get creative and make some new IPs.
We already know a few such as The Order: 1886, Watch_Dogs, Destiny, among others, but this is also a good time to bring back some older franchises.Whether they are from a couple of generations ago, or only made a cameo appearance in the last generation here are some of the game franchises I would like to see make a return.
Kessen: Kessen was a launch title in Japan and a launch window title in North America and this was one of my favorite games on the PlayStation 2. Funny story about how I actually bought Kessen. When buying the PlayStation 2, this was probably around January, February, March somewhere in there – right around that launch window time frame – I remember the first game we (my dad and I) bought (given that I was, well, very young at that time, I didn’t contribute anything monetarily, obviously) was Knockout Kings 2001.Great game, fun game, and it holds up fairly decently even by today’s standards, but I digress.
In continuing to build our game collection we decided to buy a couple of more games. This was a time in which you didn’t have instant access to information at the tip of your fingers. We would have to rely on gaming magazines and what not. But, anyway, in buying our new couple of games we just sort of browsed around the store and we stumbled upon a demo of a game that was playing. It was a cool looking game, but to this day I still don’t know what the game is.
After watching the game we continued browsing around the game section. Looking at the game covers, flipping it around to read a little about the story, the features, etc. Then eventually we got to Kessen. Looked at the cover, looked at the back, and thought that might be the game we watched. It wasn’t.
Nevertheless, it was a fine investment. Kessen was, again, one of the best games I played on the PlayStation 2, very fun game, interesting story, I loved the real time strategy element to the game. Kessen 2 and 3 were cool too, but that first game was my personal favorite and I would love to see another Kessen game in that same environment on the PlayStation 4. If not a new game, even an HD Collection would satisfy me. Throw on some Trophies, upscale the graphics and I’m a happy camper.
Fatal Frame: If there’s one franchise that has the potential to be absolutely fantastic, it would be the Fatal Frame series. Fatal Frame is one of the scariest video games of all time. The first Fatal Frame came to the PlayStation 2 back in March of 2002 in North America. A year later, on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly took it took the next level. Probably thee scariest video game of all time. The last main Fatal Frame game that came out west was in 2005, Fatal Frame III: The Tormented.
Another Fatal Frame game is long over due and for the struggling Wii U, it won’t be a system seller, but it would definitely help the Wii U sell a few units. With Fatal Frame’s gameplay and the Wii U’s gamepad it could be a really cool game. As you might remember, one of the Wii U’s launch titles was ZombiU, it was an average game, but there’s a lot of potential in a game something similar to that. Fatal Frame is that game.
Haunting Ground: Haunting Ground was a one-and-done release. It was a PlayStation 2 exclusive that came out in 2005 and it ended up being one of the last games that featured the old school Resident Evil feel. Haunting Ground was an interesting game, a bit of a poor man’s Resident evil, but considering where the Resident Evil franchise has gone I believe many fans of survival horror would welcome Haunting Ground back with open arms.
Star Fox: In 1997, Star Fox 64 came out and ended up being one of the best games for the Nintendo 64. From time to time I’ll still plug in the N64 and go through the game. It’s not a very long game, granted, but that’s probably the game I’ve finished the most. I don’t know, I may have finished that game at least 50 times. I’ve gone through each and every way multiple times and it’s just a flat out fun game.
In 2002, Star Fox: Adventures came out for the Nintendo GameCube and while it was different from Star Fox 64, it was still a great game in its own right. Unfortunately, this was the only game the developer Rare did for the GameCube. Rare was bought by Microsoft and they haven’t been the same since.
At one time they were probably the best developer in the industry creating games such as Star Fox, GoldenEye, and Banjo-Kazooie, just to name a few. Some properties Microsoft acquired, others Nintendo kept. Star Fox was one of those properties Nintendo ended up keeping, but, unfortunately since Star Fox: Adventures, the Star Fox franchise just hasn’t been fully utilized. There wasn’t a major Star Fox game on the Wii and there hasn’t been any word about a Star Fox game on the Wii U.
Ideally, Rare would come back to Nintendo and get back to developing some of these franchises, including Star Fox, but also…..
Perfect Dark: Perfect Dark was another game that Rare developed. In 2000, Perfect Dark came out for the Nintendo 64. Again, this was a great game, an underrated game. You have to remember, this came on the heels of the highly acclaimed GoldenEye 007, but not only that this game came at the end of the N64’s life cycle.
As we talked about with Star Fox, Rare was developing a prequel for Perfect Dark called Perfect Dark Zero. Perfect Dark Zero ended up coming out, but for the Xbox 360 as Microsoft bought Rare. Perfect Dark Zero came out and it ended up being a below average to mediocre game.
Like, Star Fox, it would be fantastic if Rare would come back to Nintendo and try and recapture some of that glory with some of the Nintendo properties. Obviously, that won’t happen, but if Microsoft gave Rare the proper time and resources, Rare could bring Perfect Dark back to life. I could see Perfect Dark becoming something like Deus Ex.
TimeSplitters: Continuing the Rare theme. Developer Free Radical Design was founded by a number of ex-Rare employees. TimeSplitters was another game similar to GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark in that it was a first-person shooter with superb gameplay. The original TimeSplitters was released exclusively to the PlayStation 2 and then the next two games, TimeSplitters 2 and TimeSplitters; Future Perfect proceeded to come on the GameCube and Xbox as well as the PlayStation 2.
All three games were fantastic, good story, cool features, and fun gameplay. Another TimeSplitters game has long been rumored, but these rumors have never turned out to be true.
NFL Head Coach: NFL Head Coach is an interesting series because actually two games came out in generation 7 (NFL Head Coach 06 and NFL Head Coach 09). So, it’s not necessarily a franchise that is so old that it’s been years and years since the latest game came out, but considering how both games performed sales wise and considering that it is in a genre in which there are yearly sports titles and there hasn’t been a new game nor an announcement in 5 and a half years; it’s safe to say that this is a franchise that is dead and I would love to see just one more game. Last year, I wrote about what I’d like to see in a new NFL Head Coach game and really I just scratched the surface. If you want to check that out, here it is.
So, all in all, that’s my list. There are numerous of other game franchises I would like to see. I would like to see a classic, proper Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, but those won’t happen. I would like to see sequels to games that came out this generation such as Valkyria Chronicles, Folklore, and Heavenly Sword, again, among others. But, I’ve done enough talking (or writing) for now, so we open it up to you. Leave your comments below and let us know what games you would like to to see return on the PlayStation 4 and/or Xbox One.
