10 franchises that need to return

by James Ransom-Wiley { Apr 21st 2006 at 4:27PM }

Racketboy.com recently offered up this list of 'Classic Franchises That Actually NEED a Resurrection'...

Darkstalkers
Shining Force
Battletoads
Strider
Killer Instinct
Vectorman
Starcraft
System Shock
Road Rash
PowerStone

Runners-up: Clayfighter, Story of Thor/Oasis, Lost Vikings, Rocket Knight Adventures, Jetman, and Jet Set Radio

Tags: Battletoads, Clayfighter, Darkstalkers, Jet Set Radio, Jetman, JetSetRadio, Killer Instinct, KillerInstinct, Lost Vikings, LostVikings, PowerStone, Road Rash, RoadRash, Rocket Knight Adventures, RocketKnightAdventures, Shining Force, ShiningForce, Starcraft, Story of Thor/Oasis, StoryOfThor/oasis, Strider, System Shock, SystemShock, Vectorman

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Kajex @ Apr 21st 2006 4:30PM

Darkstalker definitely- J. Talbain, Morrigan and Felicia ftw. And I did love Battletoads.

Marcelo Vega @ Apr 21st 2006 4:30PM

Streets of Rage
Golden Axe
Space Harrier
Alex Kidd
Contra (2D...YES: 2D)

Gonzo @ Apr 21st 2006 4:32PM

I don't remember liking most of these to begin with. Strider was pretty cool on Genesis but the nes version bombed.
Will they ever release another Zelda game????
Just kidding.

Mike Camps @ Apr 21st 2006 4:33PM

Kid Icarus Please.

Mephy @ Apr 21st 2006 4:33PM

What, NiGHTS and Burning Rangers didn't make the cut? Those games were (aside from arcade-perfect 2D fighters) THE reason to own a Saturn.

Gamer Jay @ Apr 21st 2006 4:35PM

Battletoads, most definitely.

Bionic Commando could have been a franchise and most definitely should be. There's some opportunity with ingenious use of 3D environments and controls of the grappling hook--perhaps with the Revolution controller, methinks.

Steve @ Apr 21st 2006 4:35PM

Hell yea, Road Rash! I try to talk to my fellow gamers about this one and am amazed at how few people played this one. A crying shame.

Gonzo @ Apr 21st 2006 4:35PM

Thanks Vega
I miss Alex Kid and the later Wonder Boy too.

Speaking of classic sega, I'd like to see a new Phantasy Star (not online) but Phantasy Star 5.

Safety Monkey @ Apr 21st 2006 4:35PM

Your list does not include Shadowrun, and hence it is blasphemous. You are dead to me!

dan @ Apr 21st 2006 4:35PM

uh. Monkey Island

Night Elve @ Apr 21st 2006 4:36PM

Man after more than 7 years i still play StarCraft at least one time at the week.

I need a StarCraft sequel, im pretty sure everyone of us needs another StarCraft the best RTS of all the times.

Crazylink @ Apr 21st 2006 4:37PM

THe only ones of those I've play were Battletoads, Jet Set Raido, and the Lost vikings. I wasn't a really big fan of them in the first place and Vikings was horrible.

bv @ Apr 21st 2006 4:37PM

Anyone ever play the original battletoads game on the gameboy? I remember that level, where you had to outrace this gigantic brain ball that was chasing you.... that was so freaking hard. Gotta love the battletoads.

Shad Genki @ Apr 21st 2006 4:38PM

Bionic Commando is right on. Also, Little Ninja Brothers! Battletoads was fun, but it gets old fast once you start playing it, and I couldn't see that surviving a comeback.

fawazr @ Apr 21st 2006 4:39PM

I thought we were all supposed to be for innovation and a departure from trying to milk a past success. Were the 1990's the best gaming era we can hope for?

Kn1ves @ Apr 21st 2006 4:40PM

The reason i bought a computer was to play Starcraft.

32_footsteps @ Apr 21st 2006 4:40PM

Do people remember Battletoads in Battlemaniacs? As much as I liked the original, the sequel has me scared of any future Battletoads games.

Similarly, I remember playing KI2 quite a bit. That game wasn't nearly the game that the original was, and not just because they took out Riptor and Cinder and added massive amounts of suck to both Fulgore and Sabrewulf. If they somehow returned to the original (and made sure nothing remotely resembling Tusk appeared in the sequel), I could see playing it. But I remain dubious.

Hmm... Strider could come back, but I wonder how it would work best... probably as a cross between the Genesis and the NES versions would be best. Though to be fair, the Playstation version was fun.

Charles Garcia @ Apr 21st 2006 4:40PM

Battletoads just seems so 80's... I really wish Shining Force would return to its Strategy RPG roots!!! I so miss Shining Force 2 for Genesis (that was the first game I spent a whole day straight playing)

I would love to see NiGHTS return as it was a masterful game that I truly miss... Revolution would be a perfect place for it to be.

Road Rash needs to return on PSP or XBOX 360 for multiplayer. I used to love playing that game with friends.

what about... EARTHBOUND!!!

Exo @ Apr 21st 2006 4:44PM

I really dont agree with the list, but If I made it, jet set radio would definitly be #1.

More Starcraft Plz. @ Apr 21st 2006 4:44PM

I couldn't agree more on a need for star craft, but we also need a diablo III, and maybe been a battlefront III. Even those with a few secuals could use more.

DigitalFirefly @ Apr 21st 2006 4:45PM

Bionic Commando
Blaster Master
Kid Icarus

rasbill @ Apr 21st 2006 4:45PM

am i the only one that will say it
battletoads sucked, hard, it was just a poor rip of double dragon, and even when they tryed to combine the 2 it didnt work out so well

Exo @ Apr 21st 2006 4:45PM

well, Mother 3 (earthbound 3 it would be called here I guess) came out yesterday

PvpMan22 @ Apr 21st 2006 4:45PM

O jeez, Battetoads was one of the first games I played on my SNES and practically one of the first video games I ever played in my 16 year life :) That was a very fun game. My little sister even played it (even though we could never get past the first couple of levels) and she was only like 5. This franchise Definitely needs to be revived : )
One of the best games I ever played on my computer (which was really bad, like the cheapest thing you could get back then) was starcraft. My friend got me to buy it because he said it was loads of fun. Now I really enjoyed it and even with my 56k I had tons of fun on the internet. Then I got the expansion along with my friend and played it for hours on the internet. I eventually got tired of it after a year and a half but not my friend. He still played it for another 2 years and won some tournaments. Now if there was finally a sequel to this it would make me wet my pants :D
These are just the two franchises I can remember that gave me great memories and feelings. There are tons more just like the list.

Tengaport @ Apr 21st 2006 4:46PM

I'm all for another Jet Set Radio. Though not as good as the original, it dissapoints me not to see Jet Set Radio Future on the Xbox360 BC list :(

I'll vote for Kid Icarus as well.

Sabre @ Apr 21st 2006 4:49PM

Freakin-A they need to bring back Killer Instinct. If RARE actually made a new KI game and it was GOOD...I would buy a 360 just for that. When I would play KI2 in the arcade I would get a blister on my left middle finger from holding the joystick.

Vectorman? *YAWN* Sorry but that game wasn't THAT great...I'd rather have DKC instead.

A new Power Stone would be great. Maybe they are releasing the Power Stone Compilation on the PSP as a way to test the waters.

Dignan17 @ Apr 21st 2006 4:51PM

I would love to see a really good 3D update of Rampage.

DCSimian @ Apr 21st 2006 4:52PM

Am I the only one that liked the Double Dragon series?

And I'm probably a minority here, but dammit we need a new official Freespace game. I love what the mod community has done with the FS2 engine, but still...

(http://www.hard-light.net for the uninitiated)

*Sniff*...one of the best games few ever played.

Rappateng @ Apr 21st 2006 4:52PM

Damn DigitalFirefly, you got two aces I forgot about:

Blaster Master & Bionic Commando.

I've only played the original Blaster Master, but weren't there PS1 versions as well?

Alkaiser @ Apr 21st 2006 4:58PM

Charles Garcia: Mother 3 is coming out sometime soon. Dunno if it's coming to the US, though.

Here's a REAL list. Cross platform and all.

PC:

Crimson Skies
Wing Commander
X-Wing
MechWarrior
Master of Orion
Star Control
Zak McKracken
Monkey Island
X-Com (UFO Aftermath/Shock doesn't really count)
Shogo: Mobile Armor Division

Playstation/PS2:

Einhander
Final Fantasy Tactics (Advance Doesn't Count)
Pocket Fighter (How many humorous beat 'em ups are there?)
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (Not a remake. I want new characters.)
Cooking Fighter Hao

Dreamcast/Genesis:

Shenmue
Rival Schools
Blazing Rangers
Sakura Taisen
Samba De Amigo
The snail game that was built onto the Sega Master System.

Gamecube/NES/SNES

Super Mario RPG (Not in Paper format)
Kid Icarus
Excite Bike
Nintendo Hockey. (No Mario, Luigi or anyone. Just Fat, Medium, and Skinny, but with next gen graphics.)
Karnov
River City Ransom (Not enough beat 'em up RPGs)
Tecmo effin' Bowl.

The Xbox hasn't really been around long enough for us to "miss" anything. And the portables get the re-hashes of the big console's games, so I'm not going to bother with those.

That's my list. I may be a little biased, but I have to say it's about infinity times better than the original one.

AnimalTaglits @ Apr 21st 2006 4:58PM

I'm surprised Double Dragon wasn't on there.

And I am SO glad Army Men wasn't on there.

Sabre @ Apr 21st 2006 4:59PM

"I would love to see a really good 3D update of Rampage."

There is an updated version coming out that is looks pretty cool...and I think it's only $20 too.

Rampage: Total Destruction

http://ps2.ign.com/objects/765/765491.html

Eih'Beir @ Apr 21st 2006 4:59PM

Shadowrun
Bionic Commando
River City Ransom

push2flush @ Apr 21st 2006 5:02PM

"4. Kid Icarus Please."

i read somewhere that they might put one out for revolution, i dont know a source, it might've been a dream, but it'd be nice.....

Alkaiser @ Apr 21st 2006 5:02PM

AnimalTaglits:

"And I am SO glad Army Men wasn't on there."

And yet...

http://www.gametab.com/xbox/army.men.major.malfunction/5241/

Trip Hawkins' biggest "contribution" to the game industry lives on, apparently.

Dave M. @ Apr 21st 2006 5:06PM

What, no Commander Keen by Apogee? ;)

Unfortunatly, that was the first game series I was able to complete. Doesn't say much for my abilities...

Intangible 360 @ Apr 21st 2006 5:07PM

A new Starcraft would be amazing, I also have a lot of fond memories of playing Road Rash with my friends :)

Vanjaymes @ Apr 21st 2006 5:08PM

Battletoads??? Man, that can stay in the Game Graveyard, and collect dust. There was nothing redeamable about that franchise. Even in its "Glory Days" I never understood the praise it recieved. The control was sloppy, the character and level design were incredibly unoriginal, and most of all, the game felt unfinished, like I was playing a beta.

JodyAnthony @ Apr 21st 2006 5:08PM

what about madden?

terrible joke aside, i would also say kid icarus, as well as a sequel to the soulblazer/illusion of gaia/terranigma series, or at least a remake (all 3 on one card for ds? eh?)

James @ Apr 21st 2006 5:09PM

Shadowrun. As the actual action-RPG.

I'm only familiar with the SNES version, but I heard the Genesis version was quite good too.

Garriq @ Apr 21st 2006 5:09PM

Fur Fighters.

Make a sequel on 360 and I'll worship you.

Tim @ Apr 21st 2006 5:09PM

I want to see these games make a comeback.

Earthworm Jim
Jet Moto
Vigilante 8
Destruction Derby
Worms (2d)

Exick @ Apr 21st 2006 5:10PM

I like the idea of Rampage on next-gen hardware. I'm imagining something like Hulk: Ultimate Destruction but on a much larger, more destructive scale.

Others I agree with: Bionic Commando, Kid Icarus, Battletoads, Strider

Others that haven't been mentioned but should have been: Rastan, Tiger Road, Altered Beast, Earthwork Jim

geves @ Apr 21st 2006 5:11PM

i'm going to have to agree with alot of alkasiers list.
and the above posts. bionic commando, shadowrun, masterblaster :D

also.

shinobi (nightshade was spelled C-R-A-P)

splaterhouse

chronotrigger

secret of mana

dig dug (just to see what current gen could do for it)

samurai showdown (playmore is spelled B-A-N-E)

monster party (not a franchise, but come on.. it has onion rings mmmmmmm)

wizards & warriors (fabio is collecting dust, seriously what was with that cover!?)

and my mostest #1 need for a new franchise is:
GARGOYLES QUEST (bet ya didn't see that one coming, come on it's an awesome game) think of firebrand (or red arremer if you want to be lame about it) in all of that 360/ps3 glory. such a great game, and it's collecting just sitting in capcoms archives, shame on you capcom!!

Exick @ Apr 21st 2006 5:13PM

EarthWORK Jim? Ugh. Sorry.

Ibere @ Apr 21st 2006 5:13PM

Am I the only person in the world who miss Mega Man Legends?

SnakePlissken @ Apr 21st 2006 5:17PM

Blaster Master is a must.

gman @ Apr 21st 2006 5:17PM

powerstone is coming to psp in a few months anyway.

Sabre @ Apr 21st 2006 5:17PM

In regards to Shiny Entertainment:

"as the company says, "harkens back to the earliest days of Shiny's game development history." The game is heavily rumored to be a revival of the Earthworm Jim franchise.

Although this game has been confirmed via a job posting by Shiny, the game has not been formally announced." (source: IGN)

Use your imagination guys...

Oh and I also vouch for Kid Icarus.