Franchises You Want Revived

[Dr. Thrax]

I want more Destroy All Humans! games.
Games like the first two on the PS2, not the ones that came out afterwards. Big Willy Unleashed was just ugh with the motion controls, and Path of the Furon was okay, but it was easy since you could walk the streets undisguised without raising alert. I want the crude humor, the non-consensual anal probing, the head 'sploding, the ridiculous weapons, flying saucer destructo-fest, psychokinetic shenanigans. And give it split-screen, DAH!2 had split-screen co-op, for crying out loud, and even Path of the Furon had multiplayer modes, though they weren't really co-op.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Series ender?

Series ender as in, like I said, Super Metroid feels like a conclusion only to its own game, while Fusion feels like a conclusion to an overall storyline. A lot of Fusion is spent reminiscing on past events. It's past events that allow the X to flourish (events of Return of Samus), allow Samus to survive the X (events of Super Metroid), and the ending itself, given the amount of time spent on it, carries far more gravitas than Super Metroid which is Samus escaping Zebes, planet blows up, the end. No reflection, no character development, nothing. So like I said, fine for capping off the game, but to me, it would feel hollow if the series had ended there.

Granted, my order of playing metroid games is Fusion-Zero Mission-Hunters-Prime (never finished)-Super Metroid, so there is that.

Aside from the opening narration there was no dialogue in Super Metroid for there to be any reflection.

However Metroid Fusion gave Samus the stupid technicolour suit, the explanation for which I don't buy for a second.

I don't think three colours counts as "technicolour," exactly.

You get my point though I hope. It still looks stupid.

Also at one point it's mentioned that there are probably several dozen SA-Xs running around. Ok I'll buy that the X could duplicate Samus' biology multiple times, but how the FUCK could they duplicate her suit.

It's stated that the suit has biological components, and it's known that the suit bonds with Samus biologically

Yes, that was the explanation behind the afor mentioned "technicolour" suit. However wasn't it stated that those biological components stayed bonded to Samus giving her the stupid new suit while the other parts were placed in the lab with the X samples which allowed the SA-X to get them in the first place? So if I understood that, the X only had access to the technological components, not the biological.

Also we were never given an explanation as to why the Federation has Ridley's corpse in the freezer. When I first discovered that I expected it to be a plot point, but nope, he's just there for the customary Ridley boss fight and is never mentioned again. Actually he's never mentioned PERIOD.

That's a fair critique, but it's a critique that can be labeled at practically every Ridley appearance bar the original. Ridley keeps coming back, with no explanation whatsoever, and is never commented on, ever, as far as I'm aware. The only exception I can think of is Other M. But an X parasite mimicking Ridley is far easier to swallow than, say, Super Metroid, where he comes back and the game offers no explanation for it.

It's not Ridley's presence that I have a problem with. It's the fact that his corpse was in the freezer implying that the Federation had recovered it for some unknown reason.

Also it was way too linear for a Metroid game. Adam would tell you where you had to go and you went there and there was very little wiggle room.

I can sympathize with that, but I prefer Fusion's approach. Start off linear, keep injecting narrative and character development, give latitude over time, keep the ramping sense of dread and escalation, to the point where Samus does strike off on her own, it feels meaningful. I much prefer it to Super Metroid where the approach is "yeah, here's Zebes, have fun," and where the only actual plot point from the point of Samus landing is after defeating Ridley and finding the shattered capsule. It's more down to personal preference than anything else, but it's partly why I prefer Fusion and Zero Mission to Super Metroid, even if SM is still a good game at the end of the day.

Ok, fair enough. That was one of the things that bothered me the least about Fusion anyway.

And finally, why the fuck was the final boss a Metroid? They introduced this incredible new threat that required an Earth Shattering KABOOM in order to ensure the galaxy's safety from, but our final fight is against the old threat? Why? Why couldn't the SA-X be the final boss fight? The Omega Metroid came right the fuck out of nowhere.

The Omega Metroid hardly comes out of nowhere, you can see metroid specimens in the restricted area that include metroids further along the life-cycle. Sector 1 is in of itself foreshadowing for the plot reveal. And, personally, I found it fitting. We get to fight a SA-X earlier, but fighting a metroid works from a series perspective (in a series called "Metroid," the final boss is a...well, metroid), from an empowerment perspective (Samus finally gets the ice beam back, effectively regaining every piece of power she's lost), and from a thematic perspective (metroid overcomes the X, Samus overcomes the metroid, Samus has completed her character arc). Not that fighting the X is bereft of these things (since the SA-X has been stalking you all game, turning the tables has some weight), but I appreciate the rationale behind the Omega fight.

Yes yes, we do encounter the Metroid wing of the station. However the threat you've been fighting the entire game has been the X. The Metroids weren't the antagonists this time around. Also wasn't is stated that Samus was part Metroid now? Wouldn't the Omega Metroid recognize Samus as one of it's own? ...or something IDK. And ok maybe the Omega Metroid makes sense thematically (and I do mean maybe) however it doesn't make sense narratively.

 

[Oroboros]

Whenever a thread like this pops up, it saddens me to reflect on all of the games that defined my gaming experience during my childhood through young adulthood. Particularly in the fifth and sixth gens for console games-so few franchises have fallen by the wayside in some manner or another, or never even got the chance to live beyond a single entry, including several of the entries you mentioned yourself, Hawki.

Can I get some more...

Spoiler: of one of my favorite RPGs

PLEASE CAPCOM?

This was the very first game that popped into my head after reading the OP. In fact-I took down out my playstation and my copy of BoF III as soon as I read the topic. I just love this series so much.

Anyways, here are a dozen contributions from me:

Spoiler: Some good games/franchises that need more entries

It's a real tragedy because there are just so many game or series like this that have fallen due to a single poor entry killing the series, the cold math of just not making enough money to justify a sequel, or being bastardized to the point of unrecognizability.

 

[Hawki]

Aside from the opening narration there was no dialogue in Super Metroid for there to be any reflection.

Not dialogue, but certainly events. At the very least, points of contention are that Zebes is destroyed, as is the last metroid (said metroid also saving her). I don't know how much of Samus's backstory was established way back then (e.g. her history with Ridley, the chozo, and Mother Brain), but after the events of the game, I think Samus has a fair amount to think about.

And maybe it's unfair to critique Super Metroid for what it doesn't have. One could make a reasonable argument that apparent lack of characterization for Samus is characterization in of itself, that she doesn't reflect, because she doesn't care. That doesn't really sync up with her character as a whole, but at the least, Fusion has a more 'book-endy' feel whereas Super Metroid is more business as usual.

Yes, that was the explanation behind the afor mentioned "technicolour" suit. However wasn't it stated that those biological components stayed bonded to Samus giving her the stupid new suit while the other parts were placed in the lab with the X samples which allowed the SA-X to get them in the first place? So if I understood that, the X only had access to the technological components, not the biological.

No, it makes it clear that the organic components are infected. To quote:

"It then came to light that the organic components of my Power Suit had become so integrated with my system that it could not be removed while I was unconscious. Large portions of my suit had to be surgically removed, dramatically altering my physical appearance."

So, Samus does have the fusion suit which functions as the old suit did, while the old suit has all the good stuff, and grows into the first SA-X.

It's not Ridley's presence that I have a problem with. It's the fact that his corpse was in the freezer implying that the Federation had recovered it for some unknown reason.

While not concieved back then, maybe it's the Ridley clone from Other M?

Yes yes, we do encounter the Metroid wing of the station. However the threat you've been fighting the entire game has been the X. The Metroids weren't the antagonists this time around. Also wasn't is stated that Samus was part Metroid now? Wouldn't the Omega Metroid recognize Samus as one of it's own? ...or something IDK. And ok maybe the Omega Metroid makes sense thematically (and I do mean maybe) however it doesn't make sense narratively.

Samus has metroid DNA, but that's about it. Saying metroids don't attack her because of it would be fine if that happened, but there's nothing to suggest that metroids wouldn't attack her either. The only time a metroid hasn't is the infant, which saw her as a mother figure (e.g. perception vs. biological recognition).

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Aside from the opening narration there was no dialogue in Super Metroid for there to be any reflection.

Not dialogue, but certainly events. At the very least, points of contention are that Zebes is destroyed, as is the last metroid (said metroid also saving her). I don't know how much of Samus's backstory was established way back then (e.g. her history with Ridley, the chozo, and Mother Brain), but after the events of the game, I think Samus has a fair amount to think about.

And maybe it's unfair to critique Super Metroid for what it doesn't have. One could make a reasonable argument that apparent lack of characterization for Samus is characterization in of itself, that she doesn't reflect, because she doesn't care. That doesn't really sync up with her character as a whole, but at the least, Fusion has a more 'book-endy' feel whereas Super Metroid is more business as usual.

You could say that until you remember that in Meroid/Zero Mission and Metroid II Samus, as a Bounty Hunter, was hired by the Galactic Federation, but in Super Metroid she's doing everything of her own volition. It wasn't a "job" in Super Metroid. No one hired her to return to Zebes and attempt to recover the hatchling and destroy the Space Pirates.

Yes, that was the explanation behind the afor mentioned "technicolour" suit. However wasn't it stated that those biological components stayed bonded to Samus giving her the stupid new suit while the other parts were placed in the lab with the X samples which allowed the SA-X to get them in the first place? So if I understood that, the X only had access to the technological components, not the biological.

No, it makes it clear that the organic components are infected. To quote:

"It then came to light that the organic components of my Power Suit had become so integrated with my system that it could not be removed while I was unconscious. Large portions of my suit had to be surgically removed, dramatically altering my physical appearance."

So, Samus does have the fusion suit which functions as the old suit did, while the old suit has all the good stuff, and grows into the first SA-X.

Ok now the whole thing makes even less sense.

It's not Ridley's presence that I have a problem with. It's the fact that his corpse was in the freezer implying that the Federation had recovered it for some unknown reason.

While not concieved back then, maybe it's the Ridley clone from Other M?

No. Just no.

Yes yes, we do encounter the Metroid wing of the station. However the threat you've been fighting the entire game has been the X. The Metroids weren't the antagonists this time around. Also wasn't is stated that Samus was part Metroid now? Wouldn't the Omega Metroid recognize Samus as one of it's own? ...or something IDK. And ok maybe the Omega Metroid makes sense thematically (and I do mean maybe) however it doesn't make sense narratively.

Samus has metroid DNA, but that's about it. Saying metroids don't attack her because of it would be fine if that happened, but there's nothing to suggest that metroids wouldn't attack her either. The only time a metroid hasn't is the infant, which saw her as a mother figure (e.g. perception vs. biological recognition).

Well that's only because we don't run into any other Metroids, well except for the ones in jars in the Metroid wing of the station, but we don't really interact with those.

 

[Hawki]

You could say that until you remember that in Meroid/Zero Mission and Metroid II Samus, as a Bounty Hunter, was hired by the Galactic Federation, but in Super Metroid she's doing everything of her own volition. It wasn't a "job" in Super Metroid. No one hired her to return to Zebes and attempt to recover the hatchling and destroy the Space Pirates.

None of that's false, but I'm not sure what your point is.

No. Just no.

Got a better explanation?

 

[DOOM GUY]

Cotton - because what's not to like about a little witch fighting all the bad guys just because she wants magical candies?

 

[DarthCoercis]

Though neither of them are "franchises", per se, I'd like to see Armed & Dangerous and Nightmare Creatures either remade or given sequels.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

Jade Empire and No One Lives Forever. I don't think any further qualifications of why is necessary.

 

[happyninja42]

Homeworld. I lub me some Homeworld, it's probably in my top 5 games of all time, at the very least the top 10 for sure. Few games have triggered so many emotional responses from me in such a short time, as the first Homeworld game. And then Homeworld: Cataclysm came out, and did it even better. Homeworld 2 was...meh, frankly disappointing, but I still enjoyed it to some degree. I want more in this universe, more more more.

Doesn't Deserts of Kharak count? I know it's a prequel, but my understanding was that it more or less revived the series.

Not sure if it sold well enough to "revive" the franchise, as well as the remastered original. I enjoyed the game, but it wasn't "Homeworld" in the sense of it being a 3d space real time fleet battle game. It was all ground based, which had a very different feel to it in my book. It was fun, but not quite what I was looking for.

I hope the 2 new games did well enough to spring board a new franchise, but I don't think they did.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Dammit OP you pretty much took most of the ones I was going to mention.

The only ones left I can think of are-

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System. It was solid third person shooter that had more humour and less the grits and cover based we got these days! The ending was setting up for another sequel!

Timesplitter. Nuff said, we need more comedical and fun shooters!

Gotcha Force. It was such an underrated game!

Phantom Crash. Another solid game that could do with the modern game treatment!

 

[bobmus]

There's not been a proper James Bond tie-in game in years (who even remembers <link=http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/007-legends>007 Legends?); I'd absolutely love to see a proper online + local multiplayer Bond arena shooter.

 

[TheMigrantSoldier]

I'd love to see Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura at least get the Pillars of Eternity treatment. I really like the concept of a fantasy world going through a dark industrial revolution.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

I'm defintely on the Jade Empire bandwagon. If they can find a way to make and immersive Character action game RPG, they can have all my money.

But my choice isn't really one of revival per se, but a new chance to fulfill on the promise that it could have been. I was more than hyped by The Trailers for Hellgate:London [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuGwT5Zr9dM]. I wanted my power suit and to reign damnation upon Demon's arse.

But EA happened. And so many things went wrong with the development I never picked it up. Instead waiting for the reviews. And they were a solid meh.

I want the promise of the hype to be brought to Hellgate: London. There's capability for greatness.

 

[Hawki]

Dammit OP you pretty much took most of the ones I was going to mention.

Look on the bright side - it shows that by agreeing with me, you have good taste. ^_^

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System. It was solid third person shooter that had more humour and less the grits and cover based we got these days! The ending was setting up for another sequel!

This is a franchise I wouldn't mind back, but admittedly for selfish reasons. I figure that since Blizzard currently owns the rights, if we got a Metal Arms revival, then I get to play with Metal Arms characters in HotS...

 

[Fallow]

Quest for Glory. Keep the humor and the world, but maybe give it a Dark Souls type combat system and mix it with some puzzle solving and roleplaying dialogue.
In fact I'd love to see QFG 1-5's story retold in a modern 3rd person action adventure RPG. QFG 1-4 were great games, 5 wrapped up the story and was good in terms of plot but terrible in terms of gameplay. Sierra really should have stuck with the animated style rather than try to convert the game into 3d when the tech was still somewhat terrible.

There is a spiritual successor to QfG called Quest for Infamy.

 

[Saltyk]

Can I get some more...

Spoiler: of one of my favorite RPGs

PLEASE CAPCOM?

A man after my own heart.

What ever happened to Capcom's plans to further kill the franchise with a Cellphone based MMO or something? Did they ever release that? Or was the threat enough to punish fans?

Can I get some more...

Spoiler: of one of my favorite RPGs

PLEASE CAPCOM?

OH MY FUCKING GOD THANK YOU! For years, for YEARS, I have been trying to figure out what that franchise is. I saw it in an ancient copy of Nintendo Power when I was a kid, and I've been trying ever since to figure out what it was so I could check it out. Thanks a million!

OT: Metroid. Come on. Give us a REAL Metroid game.

Breath of Fire III and Breath of Fire IV are largely considered the best in the franchise. And no matter what anyone tells you, there is no fifth installment. Those are lies and slander.

Can I get some more...

Spoiler: of one of my favorite RPGs

PLEASE CAPCOM?

This was the very first game that popped into my head after reading the OP. In fact-I took down out my playstation and my copy of BoF III as soon as I read the topic. I just love this series so much.

My copy of BoFIII can only play well in my PS3. It has occasional loading issues in a PS1 or PS2. Then again my copy of the first disc of FFIX is borderline unplayable even in a PS3. Shouldn't have let my little cousin borrow it years ago.

OT: Anyway, if it hasn't been mentioned, I'd love to see the Suikoden franchise come back. That's basically impossible since Konami is Konami and Konami is the worst, but I'd still love to see Suikoden VI.

 

[Zaltys]

Suikoden, Lunar, Breath of Fire.

And Eye of the Beholder, because there's not enough dungeon crawlers. The genre is nearly dead.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Teleroboxer! It was the best original game on the (western anyway) versions of the Nintendo Virtual Boy. It was essentially just Punch*Out but it utilized the unique controls of the Virtual Boy and featured mecha instead of fleshy people...and at least one of the mecha happened to have been piloted by a cat. The Switch could make the control gimmick work easily enough and could also have a sort of Jager mode (ie: 2 people controlling one robot). Of course we could just take that Giant Fighting Robo demo from E3-2014 or whenever and turn that into Telerosumo. Just sayin'...

I miss Burnout...I also wonder why there was never a second Black.

Timesplitter. Nuff said, we need more comedical and fun shooters!

I support any game where the multiplayer has Oddjob as a class and not just one character...also a family of monkey-characters. I'd be happy with a remaster of the original trilogy (well...2 and 3 definitely).

 

[Canadamus Prime]

You could say that until you remember that in Meroid/Zero Mission and Metroid II Samus, as a Bounty Hunter, was hired by the Galactic Federation, but in Super Metroid she's doing everything of her own volition. It wasn't a "job" in Super Metroid. No one hired her to return to Zebes and attempt to recover the hatchling and destroy the Space Pirates.

None of that's false, but I'm not sure what your point is.

My point was you can't really say she "doesn't care" when she charges off to rescue the Metroid hatchling without the promise of a paycheck.

No. Just no.

Got a better explanation?

No, but my whole complaint was that the game didn't do anything with that potential plot point. Also do you really want to acknowledge anything from Other M?