What Nintendo franchise should be resurrected?

Nintendo has quite a few properties that are, to put it bluntly, stagnant. When was the last time there was a Star Tropics game? I can’t be the only one old enough to remember playing Radar Scope, am I? Don’t even get me started on the state of the Mother games here in the states.

Of all the game houses in the industry, Nintendo has arguably the best properties in the business. What game franchise do you think Nintendo should bring back from the dead?

Star Fox

Sure, I had played the original Star Fox on the SNES and was pretty amazed at how many polygons the console was able to push. For its time, the game was able to do some amazing things within the limitations of the SNES hardware. It wasn’t until I received the promotional VHS in the mail that I was a true convert.

What is this rumble you speak of? Voice acting, sign me up. Star Fox 64 hit on all the right levels when it released in 1997, but since then, the franchise may as well have been in hibernation. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy my time with Star Fox Adventures or Star Fox: Assault, but they just didn’t hit on the same chords as the excellence that was Star Fox 64.

What does the series need to bring it back into the limelight? Honestly, I’m not quite sure. Taking the game back to its on rails, mission based roots would be a start. Giving the franchise to a competent studio such as Retro would be another. As long as the only reason I’m mashing the A button is to shoot fools and not scroll through dialog, I will be happy.

F-Zero


Aside from Star Fox, I’m not sure there is another game in Nintendo’s arsenal that could benefit more from the jump to HD visuals. The franchise has always been tailor made for fast action and crisp visuals that now with the Wii U Nintendo is able to provide.

Horsepower aside, I think the second screen of the Wii U GamePad offers the most to racing genre, if only to provide gamers with a map to plot out how to take the next sharp turn. I’m no developer, however, so I’m sure that Nintendo could come up with a whole host of features to implement into the game, but even if the only new feature added is the ability to play the game without a TV, I will be a happy camper.

F-Zero is a franchise that I feel that Nintendo does have the utmost confidence in. While the latest game, F-Zero GX, was able to sell enough copies to qualify it for Nintendo’s ‘Player’s Choice’ line, it was a far cry from selling as much as Nintendo’s own Mario Kart series.

With the right developer pedigree behind the project and same ability that franchise has always had to cater to the ‘hardcore’ audience, a new F-Zero could be huge for Nintendo. Just make sure that the people working on the game are qualified to do so, m’kay Nintendo?

Wars series


Advanced Wars, Famicom Wars, Battalion Wars. In this ‘hardcore’ starved world that many Nintendo fans are living in, these games would mean everything in satisfying a certain appetite for uber-difficult games that have been absent since the renaissance of ‘casual’ titles that Nintendo has been touting as of late. Imagine if Nintendo simultaneously rolled out an Advanced Wars 3DS title right alongside a Battalion Wars Wii U game. Heaven? I think so.

The critical praise that Fire Emblem Awakening has received recently should be an indication to Nintendo that fans want more out of their typical handheld and console experiences. Any game that I can sink 40+ hours into and have a good time all the way throughout, I’m ok with.

The more I play with my Wii U, the more I realize that it would be the perfect console for turn based gameplay. Like a handheld, the console seems to be tailor made for gamers that want to experience games while also interacting with other media such as television. Make Advanced Wars Wii U happen and you have $60 from me, guaranteed. Come on Nintendo, get on it!

Eugene lives in New Mexico and has been a life long gamer since getting his hands on an NES. Always partial to Nintendo, Eugene has made it a point to keep informed on all things Mario.