It’s really no secret that the video game industry (and more specifically its fans) love video game sequels; understandably so. When you get a game as distinctly badass as God of War or as addictive and fun as Super Smash Brothers, it only makes sense that you would want more and more and more. After all, more of a good thing is never bad, correct? For the most part, that sentiment rings true, and subsequently, for the most part game developers have been pretty faithful about not only maintaining the quality of their franchises, but adding little twists of innovation to keep things fresh. Sure, EA Games has the unfortunate tendency to release practically the same damn game each and every year, and sure Nintendo has been accused (and blatantly guilty) of repackaging their games for the Nintendo Wii (see: Animal Crossing for the Nintendo Wii). But at the end of the day, there’s a good reason why gamers get excited when Uncharted 2 or Killzone 2 were announced -they know the games are going to be absolute kickass.
But with every current successful franchise getting a sequel to some extent or another (not an exaggeration really) there are a whole lot of old-school or less popular franchises that have tons of potential to not only be fun but also financially lucrative that are being neglected. Here are five games that I would kill to see in the near future.
5.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
It’s not that the fearsome four-some (does that sound weird?) haven’t had their share of video game titles since this addition on the Super Nintendo in 1992, but the problem is that all the Ninja Turtles titles for the Playstation 2, Gamecube, Xbox 360, etc. have all sucked. Not a single one of them has managed to retain the nostalgic, addictive, and enjoyable fun of Turtles in Time which allowed you and your buddy to engage in some of the most awesome, co-op side, scrolling beat-em up’s since The Simpsons or X-Men arcade games (not coincidentally these were all made by Konami). So what’s the deal, Konami? The Xbox 360 saw the classic arcade version of the Ninja Turtles on Xbox Live which was a good step in the right direction, but why not a full blown sequel?
4.) Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix
Eidos simply baffles me. They have a plethora of highly successful franchises to work with, and yet for some reason they insist on continuing to make sequel after sequel after sequel of Tomb Raider. While the quality of these Tomb Raider sequels have varied from respectable to crap, sales of these titles haven’t been stellar, and yet for some reason Eidos continues to churn out games starring Lara Croft with the ridiculous expectation that gamers are just as enthralled with her pixilated breasts and short shorts as they were back in the 90’s. They finally just announced Deus Ex 3 (which better be a whole lot better than Deus Ex 2) but what about Fear Effect? A game featuring cold-blooded mercenaries, witty writing, dark humor, awesome graphics demons, guns, breasts, lesbians (yes, lesbians) and zombies, Fear Effect has always had the winning combination of intense, challenging gameplay, sexieness, and style. A sequel was planned for the Playstation 2 (but was ultimately scrapped for -you guessed it- another damn Tomb Raider sequel) but there’s no reason why it wouldn’t succeed this generation. The series has everything a teenage boy would want…with the possible exception of difficult puzzles that actually require thinking. This generation of gamers seem more predisposed to mindless shooters that don’t require a whole lot in the IQ department, so tragically, a Fear Effect sequel may just have to wait.
3.) Snowboard Kids 2
Some love ‘em, some hate ‘em, but there’s really no denying that the go-cart racing genre was a huge staple of the 90’s. Whether it was Mario Kart, Diddy Kong Racing, Chocobo Racing, etc. go-cart styled racing games featuring cartoon characters were popular. Buried amongst them (and largely overlooked) was this gem by Atlus -Snowboard Kids 2. While you rarely actually ever boarded on snow, each map would have up to four players barreling down mountains, mansions, haunted houses, etc. collecting items and coins in order to ensure you were the first one to the finish line. Essentially Mario Kart meets snowboarding, Snowboard Kids 2 is a prime example of a game where the critics were just flat out wrong when evaluating. It didn’t get the best critical reception, but it was an an incredibly fun single and multiplayer experience and it came packed with tons of replay value, including challenges that let you unlock hidden snowboards and characters. Atlus is currently busy making terrible strategy RPG’s for the Xbox 360, but hopefully they’ll see the light soon and focus their attention on getting gamers back on the slopes once again.
2.) Vagrant Story
If you were alive in 2000 and had a chance to play this masterpiece by Squaresoft, I really shouldn’t have to explain how badly this game needs some sort of sequel. In short, it’s an amazing hybrid of genres, a game that not only entertains a fantastic, deep story full of conspiracy and betrayal, but also one of the most indepth battle systems ever invented. Challenging and difficult to master, Vagrant Story really had everything that a RPG fan could possibly ask for. With Square-Enix exploring the whole entire Ivalice Alliance thing, it seems only natural that Vagrant Story (which is a part of that particular Final Fantasy universe) would be a likely candidate for a sequel. On a completely unrelated note, does anyone think that Vagrant Story’s protagonist, Ashely Riot, has one of the dumbest names ever?
1.) Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete
Before Working Designs closed down a few years ago, they were renowned for their talent in taking JRPG’s and localizing them, providing awesome voice acting and stellar translation work. The Lunar series is a example of the work they did, and also a constant reminder to the gaming world what a tragedy it is that Working Designs is no longer around. While the game play and graphics were distinctly old-school (even for when it was ported from the Sega CD to the Playstation back in 2001) Lunar 2 easily compensated for its outdated appearence with personality and charm. The story was gripping, the characters memorable, and the was writing witty and periodically even hilarious. It is true we did see a Lunar title pop up on the Nintendo DS a little while ago, but face it, it sucked. What the world needs is a true Lunar featuring the staples of its universe -dragon masters, flying cities, cat dragons, and lots of humorous pop-culture refrences.
I know I missed several games in this list. For instance, I would love to see a Thief sequel, or maybe even finally Baldur’s Gate 3. In the meanwhile, though, I guess we’ll just have to content ourselves with the variety of other sequels that will be bombarding our consoles and PC’s in 2009. Starcraft 2 and Diablo III? Yes please.
What about you guys? What games do YOU want to sequels for?
