Top Five Video Game Franchises That Need a Comeback

11th August 2009 • 0 Comments

Whilst this year has been a good year for comebacks there are some series which were just awesome at the time and just need to have a sequel or complete the story arc. Budget cuts, a diminishing market might be the blame for the lack of a comeback but these five games need to return to our shelves.

5. Geoff Crammonds Grand Prix Games

Now there are plenty of F1 games around, including the upcoming F1 2009 from Codemasters, however a Grand Prix game developed by Geoff Crammond was always something special. My first encounter with the series was back when Grand Prix 2 was released and I have played it for years. What made these games stand out from the rest of the F1 games was how much of a sim they were. Sure you could it with the driving aids on, but even now the simulation holds up.

It may have been overtaken in the last few years by better looking F1 games but Grand Prix 4 espeically is kept up to date thanks to all the mods available. A new Geoff Crammond Grand Prix game would be something special though, go on Codemasters give the development to him for the next F1 game.

4. Parappa The Rapper

With the popularity of music games such as Guitar Hero & Rock Band recently it's hard to imagine a cartoon dog was involved in the creation of the music genre. Debuting for me on the demo disc that came with my Playstation, it was a game I kept replaying. If you don't know what Parappa is, it is basically a simon says sort of game where you play a rapping dog and try and keep up with another character. It contains memorable lines such as "Kick, Punch, It's all in the mind".

Now the game has produced some sequels in Um Jammer Lammy and Parappa 2 but this was a long time ago and apart from a remake of the original for PSP there hasn't been any new content for years. With the popularity of music games I don't see why Sony don't release a third game and everyones favourite cartoon can return.

I know, I know, I gotta believe!

3. Jet Set Radio

One of the gems that made up the crown of the Dreamcast line up. Jet Set Radio was a cel shaded rollerskating game in which you went around sparying graffiti, whilst avoiding the local law enforcement and defeating rival gangs. Whilst this doesn't sound fun in writing, with a great artstyle and some awesome music, it was a fantastic game on the Dreamcast and had me playing it for hours.

It did get a sequel at the launch of the original Xbox with Jet Set Radio Future but that was the last we saw of everyone's favourite pirate radio station.

With the motion controls of the Wii, this franchise NEEDS to have a game released on that console. The pointer and motion controls would be a perfect fit for the console. Since the game is cel shaded it would also look great on the Wii (and also on HD consoles).

Please Sega make us more Jet Set Radio.

2. Space Quest

2009 has been a good year for adventure games. The last piece of the puzzle that would make this year awesome would be the return of the Space Quest series. This was an adventure games made during the 90's which featured the adventures of space janitor Roger Wilco. It was a game willing to make fun of itself and other elements of pop culture.

A 7th game was planned and a trailer was even released with the Space Quest Collection, however the project was canned as the adventure game genre tanked around the same time. I still remember the depressing email I got from Sierra denying the existence of Space Quest 7 after I asked them for a release date.

With the reboot of Star Trek and the continuing interest in Star Wars, this would be a great time to bring back Space Quest, it could even parody more modern sci fi. Space Quest had a good sense of humour and was a funny series, it would great to see a return.

1. Shenmue

I view the Shenmue series one of the great tragedies of gaming. This game at the time had a record breaking budget, great sense of realism and played like a film. Unfortunately it came out around the time of the death of the Dreamcast so it could never get the sales needed to make a profit. A sequel was made but the ending of the game did not resolve the story and what was once a 16 part story was left unfinished and untold.

An MMO was planned but never got released either and for many years now, the series has been left untouched. What was great about Shenmue was it had a great story and a great adventure aspect. The game would involve you wandering around the area looking for clues to find the next person, location etc. Talking to the locals and some great mini games. The world was made to feel like it was a real breathing city, more so than the GTA series has done.

It combined adventuring with combat with a robust combat system and for the more cinematic moments introduced Quicktime Events now found in a lot of games. There was so much to do in the world of Shenmue even outside of the story arc, you could even play Sega games in the arcade. The worst part though is that the story was really good and the two games only seemed to be the beginning of a great story arc I really want to see the end of. It's an awesome game in which everyone should play.

The closest we've got to a revival is the Yakuza games, which are similar to the Shenmue games but not exactly the same.

If you're reading Sega, please continue the Shenmue series, otherwise I'm going to have to become a millionaire to fund the series myself.