Nintendo has many franchises that are put aside for the more financially viable Mario and Zelda games and it such a shame, so here is some of the main ones.
So this is the biggie, despite being featured in last generations nintendo DS, there is no real consistant support for the franchise, being pushed around between Nintendo, Q games, Namco as well as Rare. I think Nintendo should give this series to either Retro or give Q games another shot hopefully with a stunning Wii U game.
Here we go, the 1080° series, the original being developed in 1997 and released a year later which went on to sell over a million copies. The direct sequel was released in 2003 and although it didn’t set the world on fire with its sales, the game is still unbelievably great fun and is desperately crying out for a third entry on Wii U or 3DS.
Now then the F-zero series has been around since 1990 on the Super Nintendo, being the showcase for the mode 7 chip. Since then this series has generated two more console games on the N64 and Gamecube, three GBA games and arcade machine. Being dormant since 2004 this series would be perfect for a revival on 3DS.
I certainly hope Nintendo can, one day, bring these franchises back from obscurity to the forefront of their software lineup in the future, what franchise would you see revived?
My first post everyone please be gentle.
Welcome Colin! Great post!
Hey thanks
Is that all you can come up with? Nintendo's rife with first party franchises that carry strong potential.
A great example of a revived franchise property, Kid Icarus, recently returned to the stage.
Mother, although featured prominently in the Smash Bros series, had never seen a proper international release. It wasn't until just last year that Mother 2 (Earthbound) was announced for the virtual console. Mother 3 has seen ONLY a Japanese release.
Even Fire Emblem was subject to similar neglect for a while.
Simply put, Nintendo avoids putting a heavy effort to secure their market grasp. They are the minimalists of the gaming power players. They don't care about their third party backing – they don't "keep up with the Smiths" in their console power or graphical advances. They ride the line for the cheapest answer to keeping in the game, relying instead on hardware gimmicks since the bit wars ended. They can't even keep up with modern game networking (as made painfully evident during the holiday season), or the vast potential of the digital marketplace (compare Nintendo's eShop to Sony's PSN – where Nintendo's is poorly organized and lacks consolidation, Sony's is concise; Where Nintendo's Virtual Console is updated with retro titles in a slow measured pace, Sony nearly has their entire retro library available as Classics).
That said, Nintendo's got some of the best games and franchises to be seen, and I hope they start taking better advantage of their properties in the future.
I agree, Nintendo has some of the best franchises, but the problem is they take too long putting these games out there and many of there lesser known properties just get left behind and gets forgotten about, Kid Icarus was gone for nearly 25 years.
I also agree about PSN being better organized then the eshop, Nintendo can learn a lot from PSN.
I disagree about Nintendo relying on hardware gimmicks. Anything Nintendo puts out in hardware form gets copied by another company somewhere, N64's analogue stick= Sony Dualshock or Wiimote= Playstation move
Gules, you ask him if these franchises, which haven't seen a release in generations, are all that he can come up with and then use franchises that have seen recent releases as a rebuttal? Step your game up. Your point is there, but your work isn't.
Colin, nice article, hope to see you grow into more.
Thanks Mike
For me, it's been Star Tropics. I loved the original, and ever since that game and it's excellent sequel, I've been holding on to hope that we will ever see another game.
I love F-Zero but I'm seeing game mechanics are being slowly stripped from that game and being put into Mario Kart. let me explain one of F-Zero's main mechanics is the anti-gravity mechanic that you can stick to any wall that you can race on right side up, upside down and side to side. So if you look that the most recent Mario Kart 8 videos that game mechanic from F-Zero is in the game which is cool but I'm getting worried for F-Zero. Only reason that Nintendo can't just make a new F-Zero they have to make it completely different and I mean make it so it's not the same as Mario Kart. I know F-Zero is set in the way distance future but that is not enough anymore there needs a major different that keeps Mario Kart and F-Zero apart from each other…unless it's a crossover game(Nintendo land doesn't count)
Yeah, before we know it the karts will travel at the speed of sound.
These are more good examples of why the company needs new leadership. Let's say Wii U launched with new entries for the three titles Colin mentions – think that would have generated some excitement?
Instead we get – yawn – more Mario.
I would love to see a Revival for all 3 Franchises, and done well, I think they would appeal to a Market beyond Nintendo Core, like Goldeneye did on the N64, and the Metroid Prime Games to a lesser extent.
Going back to the Patent Post, it would be great to see Eternal Darkness Back, a New Mother Game, as well as see Nintendo return to Games like Super Tennis without, as much as I love the Guy, feeling the need to shoe-horn Mario in. Either In-House or with a Second Party Developer, Nintendo has shown what a Fantastic Variety of Games it can Publish, from Excitebike 64 to Advance Wars and it time they looked at Past Line-Up, and create a Game that will appeal to the average Gamer, and not just the Nintendo Gamer, and to do this, might have to leave Mario at home.
Sorry I lost track of my Initial point…
With a quick reminder that people still aren't bored of Mario and Zelda — 3D World and Link Between Worlds both did pretty damn well in all areas — let's not forget a few revivals that have happened in recent years, either. Namely, Pikmin, Donkey Kong (Country, specifically), Kid Icarus, and both Golden Sun and Yoshi's Island were getting pretty close to the decade mark as well. Nintendo's got more franchises than it knows what to fully do with, at this point, I think. See Other M for some indirect results of that.
Call me nuts, but I at least got moderate enjoyment out of Star Fox Command. But, yeah, every game on this list deserves a new, full-fledged entry. I'm not hurting for them, but I'd really like to see them.
I´m a fan and miss too Wave Race.
I would like to see an F-zero SNES re-make in 3D, with a re-remixed soundtrack! I would happily pay 30 bucks for it!
After just starting Bravely Default, I would like to see some fresh updates to more jrpg's for Wii U and 3DS. Maybe some Golden Sun. I think the more arcadey kind of games like Wave Race and F Zero need to be remade for budget prices but have lots of DLC and online modes. Some new adventure IP's other than LoZ would be nice too. I'm getting rather tired of just having Mario games on the Wii U. I have had a lot of fun with SMBU and 3D world, and I'm sure Mario Kart 8 will be awesome, but with next to no 3rd parties filling the void, Nintendo need to update their old franchises so everyone has something to play, so Mario and Zelda won't go stale (in the eyes of consumers, not actual gameplay) and to keep the back catalogue fresh with exclusive titles.
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