Three retro franchises that deserve a rebirth
- Thread starter Spirit
- Start date
Cfrock
Keep it strong
I don't know if these count as retro or if they're all too recent, but these would be my top picks for old franchises to get sequels.
Arcanum
I only played Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (catchy, I know) a few months ago as part of an effort to get into isometric cRPGs. Things started slow, mostly because I was adjusting to a gameplay style I was almost entirely unfamilair with, but by the end I was in love with the game. While things like the inventory and combat were a little clunky and I needed a few fan patches to make the game comfortably playable, the complete dedication to the setting in every single aspect of the game was phenomenal and sucked me in more than anything since Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (also made by Troika, fancy that).
There's too much of a developed world to not have another adventure in Arcanum. The setting, world building, environmental details, characters, and writing all combined to make a game that offered so much freedom and scope for roleplaying that I'd go so far as to say I've never had a gaming experience quite like Arcanum. I chose one of the set characters as a means of learning the game, and I went through the whole thing roleplaying as them, a decision that led to the emergence of a fully-fleshed out character and interesting decisions I wouldn't have made otherwise. I will play Arcanum again in the future, but having another adventure set there, one with some streamlined mechanics to supplement the exceptional story elements, would be a day one buy for me.
Advance Wars
I didn't hate Advance Wars: Dark Conflict (or Days of Ruin if you're one of those people) but the drastic change in art style and total abandonment of the preceeding canon was very jarring. A lot of the gameplay changes and additions were to the game's benefit, though, like being able to zoom the map, the changes to battleships and aircraft carriers, and deploying a CO unit on the battlefield. The story had its moments, and the aesthetic wasn't bad at all, but being part of the same series as the Saturday-morning-cartoon style I was used to it was somewhat off-putting. I missed the older games while I was enjoying that one.
I'd love for a new Advance Wars that has the gameplay additions from Dark Conflict but with the canon and aesthetic of the earlier games. Advance Wars was a great series that made basically zero sense on a story level, but had excellent gameplay. It didn't always get the balance of power right (Eagle gets to move twice in one move? The AI can see through Fog of War? My opponent starts with an airport in the middle of the map? Ok, game) but it was a game that rewarded thinking strategically. As a strategy game that's kind of important. I'd love for there to be another Advance Wars, but I'm looking to the upcoming Wargroove to get my fix of rewarding turn-based strategy with a delightful cartoon art style.
TimeSplitters
I'm still heartbroken about TimeSplitters 4. At this point, I don't know if I'll ever get over it. TimeSplitters (yes, the S is meant to be capitalised, get off my back, mom) is my favourite shooter franchise after Halo and, honestly, if TimeSplitters had ever had the online support Halo got, it would probably be my all-time favourite. Between the challenges, the arcade mode, and the huge amount of multiplayer variety and customisation (not to mention bots, sweet, beautiful bots) TimeSplitters was one of the best things ever to exist. Even the story modes were fantastic, with so much variety and creativity in level design, aesthetic, and tone. Take TimeSplitters 2: You start in a military base in Siberia, then head to prohibition-era Chicago, and then hop to Victorian France to fight zombies in Notre Dame with the Hunchback.
I miss that sort of thing. I miss it so dearly. Add to that a huge cast of amazing characters, each distinct in their design and attitude, some appealing, others disgusting, most hilarious, and a wide variety of weapons spanning from crossbows with flaming bolts to tommy guns to plasma grenades to the humble brick, and you've got a game with endless replayability and an unprecedented scope for fun. I was so hyped for TimeSplitters 4, and then one day I found out Free Radical was shutting down, and the sun has never seemed quite as bright, the days never quite as long, the night all the colder, emptier, lonelier...
I'll never be ok again.
Arcanum
I only played Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (catchy, I know) a few months ago as part of an effort to get into isometric cRPGs. Things started slow, mostly because I was adjusting to a gameplay style I was almost entirely unfamilair with, but by the end I was in love with the game. While things like the inventory and combat were a little clunky and I needed a few fan patches to make the game comfortably playable, the complete dedication to the setting in every single aspect of the game was phenomenal and sucked me in more than anything since Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (also made by Troika, fancy that).
There's too much of a developed world to not have another adventure in Arcanum. The setting, world building, environmental details, characters, and writing all combined to make a game that offered so much freedom and scope for roleplaying that I'd go so far as to say I've never had a gaming experience quite like Arcanum. I chose one of the set characters as a means of learning the game, and I went through the whole thing roleplaying as them, a decision that led to the emergence of a fully-fleshed out character and interesting decisions I wouldn't have made otherwise. I will play Arcanum again in the future, but having another adventure set there, one with some streamlined mechanics to supplement the exceptional story elements, would be a day one buy for me.
Advance Wars
I didn't hate Advance Wars: Dark Conflict (or Days of Ruin if you're one of those people) but the drastic change in art style and total abandonment of the preceeding canon was very jarring. A lot of the gameplay changes and additions were to the game's benefit, though, like being able to zoom the map, the changes to battleships and aircraft carriers, and deploying a CO unit on the battlefield. The story had its moments, and the aesthetic wasn't bad at all, but being part of the same series as the Saturday-morning-cartoon style I was used to it was somewhat off-putting. I missed the older games while I was enjoying that one.
I'd love for a new Advance Wars that has the gameplay additions from Dark Conflict but with the canon and aesthetic of the earlier games. Advance Wars was a great series that made basically zero sense on a story level, but had excellent gameplay. It didn't always get the balance of power right (Eagle gets to move twice in one move? The AI can see through Fog of War? My opponent starts with an airport in the middle of the map? Ok, game) but it was a game that rewarded thinking strategically. As a strategy game that's kind of important. I'd love for there to be another Advance Wars, but I'm looking to the upcoming Wargroove to get my fix of rewarding turn-based strategy with a delightful cartoon art style.
TimeSplitters
I'm still heartbroken about TimeSplitters 4. At this point, I don't know if I'll ever get over it. TimeSplitters (yes, the S is meant to be capitalised, get off my back, mom) is my favourite shooter franchise after Halo and, honestly, if TimeSplitters had ever had the online support Halo got, it would probably be my all-time favourite. Between the challenges, the arcade mode, and the huge amount of multiplayer variety and customisation (not to mention bots, sweet, beautiful bots) TimeSplitters was one of the best things ever to exist. Even the story modes were fantastic, with so much variety and creativity in level design, aesthetic, and tone. Take TimeSplitters 2: You start in a military base in Siberia, then head to prohibition-era Chicago, and then hop to Victorian France to fight zombies in Notre Dame with the Hunchback.
I miss that sort of thing. I miss it so dearly. Add to that a huge cast of amazing characters, each distinct in their design and attitude, some appealing, others disgusting, most hilarious, and a wide variety of weapons spanning from crossbows with flaming bolts to tommy guns to plasma grenades to the humble brick, and you've got a game with endless replayability and an unprecedented scope for fun. I was so hyped for TimeSplitters 4, and then one day I found out Free Radical was shutting down, and the sun has never seemed quite as bright, the days never quite as long, the night all the colder, emptier, lonelier...
I'll never be ok again.