Series that need to get back to their roots.

[Blue]

This thread is for game series that have wandered too far away from what made them great, whether it's because they felt they needed to appeal to a mass audience or because they tried too many different things and lost their grasp on what made them special.

Resident Evil. Now, I enjoyed 4 and 5, though 5 not as much. In fact, 4 was one of my favorite games of last gen. That being said, I want an old school RE game with actual zombies, fixed camera angles, etc. I'm not alone on this either as fans of the series have been clamoring for an older style RE for years. There's a reason why RE2 is widely regarded as the best in the series by most of the fans.

Final Fantasy. When it started, there were no obvious culture ties to it. It was more Tolkien than Jpop. In fact, you'd almost think it wasn't made by a Japanese company at all. Now, it's distinctly Japanese, which is fine for some games, but it's not what made Final Fantasy great. The series was great already before VII came out. VII just made it popular for a bit. I think SE needs to just take a step back, stop with the glitz and the glamour, make a simple, yet challenging battle system with actual leveling, and make a story that doesn't try too hard to be deep. Maybe it's time to bring back crystals, dragons, knights, and distinct job classes (and not on handhelds). A Final Fantasy game doesn't need Jpop outfits, fabulous hair, and characters that all resemble Gackt. Stop with all that and make a good game with good gameplay and story. Worry about the visuals second.


Sonic. Just make Sonic games like they used to be on the Genesis and charge 10 bucks for them on XBLA, Steam, PSN, and Wii Ware. Capcom got this with Mega Man, why can't Sega?

[CoolOtaku]

Sonic 4: Episode 1 has been out for a bit now (with another... three episodes planned?) and I don't think it got fabulous reviews. I think they tended to be somewhat unenthused, saying it was good, but not great.

It's quite a challenge to make a game how it was once made and make it a success in a drastically different market. I don't know if I can even come up with any examples of series that have done so successfully :\

[drunken monk]

Resident Evil. Now, I enjoyed 4 and 5, though 5 not as much. In fact, 4 was one of my favorite games of last gen. That being said, I want an old school RE game with actual zombies, fixed camera angles, etc. I'm not alone on this either as fans of the series have been clamoring for an older style RE for years. There's a reason why RE2 is widely regarded as the best in the series by most of the fans.

I agree but I disagree with the fixed camera angles. Dead Space 2 used the same over the shoulder camera as RE5 and that game was terrifying. They just need to bring back the dark, claustrophobic environments from the old games and limit your ammo supply.

Maybe Capcom will play Visceral Game's masterpiece and take notes. I doubt it though.

[Blue]

It's quite a challenge to make a game how it was once made and make it a success in a drastically different market. I don't know if I can even come up with any examples of series that have done so successfully :\



Maybe New Super Mario Bros for the DS and Wii?

They're just like the older ones, but still just as fun, and the Wii one is fun with two players. Instead of just making a new 3D Mario, they wanted to make an old school one and guess what? It sold like hotcakes.

It can be done, but is challenging.

[Luisfe]

I would say that Punch Out for the Wii is also a success in that area. Don't know how well it sold, but it recaptured AND refined the magic of the NES title.

Also: Dragon Quest is pretty much the anti-Final Fantasy. It has stuck right next to its roots, and instead of trying to reinvent itself on each iteration, it has refined the formula. Sure, some blunders here and there (cough, DQ7) but the titles tend to be extremely solid even if you know almost exactly what to expect.

[Phakiel]

Man do I hate Dragon Quest.

Like CO said, Sonic 4 was released months ago and it was indeed barely memorable, possibly because Sonic as a franchise is more beaten than a toothless crackwhore with 5 multiracial children so anything new gamewise kinda slips under everybodies radar.

I had it on my phone and played it a couple times but its really shitty to play these types of games on the iphone.

Besides Sonic, which i think needs to be more like Sonic Adventure's Sonics parts, I cant think of other franchises which have dropped the ball. I like RE new more action approach, we have plenty of time with the old RE games and to tell you the truth even though Code Veronica had my favourite character in the series (Claire) and the Ashfords were just delicious, it bored me with the camera and the sticky controls so I like the new gameplay and it can only be refined more but seriously remove the forced co-op, I cant count the times I lost a game because either Chris or Sheva got killed for being complete morons.

[CoolOtaku]

Maybe New Super Mario Bros for the DS and Wii?

They're just like the older ones, but still just as fun, and the Wii one is fun with two players. Instead of just making a new 3D Mario, they wanted to make an old school one and guess what? It sold like hotcakes.

It can be done, but is challenging.

Oh yeah, I did play the DS one. Almost beat it, too, I think. That was definitely a fun game. Somehow though, I don't feel like side-scrolling Mario games ever lost their popularity in the market. Not like every other popular franchise's early titles did at least.

[Evil_Angel]

I agree with Sonic series. It needs to get back to the old Sonic games of the Genesis. Just simple Sonic, collecting rings and bouncing around.

[drunken monk]

Funny that we were just talking about RE straying from its roots.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/debut-teaser-resident-evil/712332

http://stickskills.com/news/1556/first-details-on-resident-evil-operation-raccoon-city-unveiled/

[Blue]

Seen it. Let's hope it's actually good. Hell, I'd love another Outbreak game.

[Evil]

Funny that we were just talking about RE straying from its roots.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/debut-teaser-resident-evil/712332

http://stickskills.com/news/1556/first-details-on-resident-evil-operation-raccoon-city-unveiled/

Hell yes! Leon!

Now if only we could see Barry again.

[Blue]

I've heard Barry will be in the 3ds game.

[CoolOtaku]

I'm pretty tired of all these horde-of-zombie games lately :\. Zombies in groups aren't nearly as scary as a single zombie in tight quarters when you have very limited ammo at your disposal.

[drunken monk]

Im not looking forward to it. RE spinoffs dont have a very good track record and if I want to play L4D, Ill go play L4D. I guess it shouldnt surprise me that they would make a L4D clone after they tried to turn RE5 into Gears of War, but it does. I want survival horror god dammit. We have enough action games.

RE is focusing on action... Silent Hill's future is in question... Dead Space is basically the only popular series keeping the genre alive.

[Blue]

Well, SH: Downpour is going to be released this year, I think, but Yamaoka isn't a part of it, so who knows?

[drunken monk]

Well, SH: Downpour is going to be released this year, I think, but Yamaoka isn't a part of it, so who knows?

Ive been keeping tabs on it and it looks impressive. Kinda looks like a darker Alan Wake from what Ive seen. Im not getting my hopes up though.

[Phakiel]

Well, SH: Downpour is going to be released this year, I think, but Yamaoka isn't a part of it, so who knows?

Wait, what fuck how?

Man, Yamaoka's work basically defined the atmosphere.

Like how the fuck do you make a song like You are not here actually be creepy, its a cute romantic song with a great singer and it still makes me feel scared. Maybe its the relation to SH and not the song itself dammit.

[Priest4hire]

Phantasy Star. I remember when this was a series of ambitious JRPGs with a cool sci-fi/fantasy setting and some cool ideas. That was back before it got turned into multiplayer titles and rogue-like wannabes.

[Luisfe]

I'm pretty tired of all these horde-of-zombie games lately :\. Zombies in groups aren't nearly as scary as a single zombie in tight quarters when you have very limited ammo at your disposal.

Killing Floor does that nicely.
Also does hordes, and it is awesome there, BUT the amount of enemies is more limited, and you have to manage your ammo pretty well.

[Indigo]

Final Fantasy. When it started, there were no obvious culture ties to it. It was more Tolkien than Jpop. In fact, you'd almost think it wasn't made by a Japanese company at all. Now, it's distinctly Japanese, which is fine for some games, but it's not what made Final Fantasy great. The series was great already before VII came out. VII just made it popular for a bit. I think SE needs to just take a step back, stop with the glitz and the glamour, make a simple, yet challenging battle system with actual leveling, and make a story that doesn't try too hard to be deep. Maybe it's time to bring back crystals, dragons, knights, and distinct job classes (and not on handhelds). A Final Fantasy game doesn't need Jpop outfits, fabulous hair, and characters that all resemble Gackt. Stop with all that and make a good game with good gameplay and story. Worry about the visuals second.


They have done this:

mYytUIxFN3g

People just don't pay attention it, but 4 heroes is a fantastic game. The story is simple, the gameplay is traditional but with some fresh twists that don't reach the stupidity of the gambit system, it's a hard game which a fan of the most recent games in the series would have a hard time beating, it's fun and it requires a fair deal of tactical thinking. But surprise surprise, it's not selling well and it's not getting any praise. I really don't blame SE for making shit FFs because those are the ones people buy.

[Nickoten]

Castlevania needs to drop the Metroidvania bullshit and get back to being a fun action game where enemy placement and your movement are things you actually think about rather than just minor inconveniences on your way to the next power-up. I haven't played Lords of Shadow but it seems pretty cool from the demo. If anything it seems to be more about what Castlevania was originally supposed to be like rather than a bunch of carrots dangling in front of your face with little in the way of meaningful gameplay scenarios.

Also, Final Fantasy was pretty Japanese even before FF7 came out. If anything, FF7 introduced more American concepts to the game, probably with the intention of making it more popular overseas.

Street Fighter used to be somewhat tough to get into but easy to learn once you pass the initial barrier of entry and hard to master. It rewarded you for playing well and had a lot of different strategies that were strong. Now it rewards you for getting beat up, punishes you for wanting to learn the game, and nerfs strategies new players might find annoying. Cool.

[Poofy]

Sonic 4 was an aight game. The mere fact it's "episodic" put me off, but that's a debate well left in the past. I think the game itself hit the mark for the most part, it just hit a few bumps with design problems and lack of polish. People are being WAY to hard on the game overall.

[WOTON]

Bring back the srpg Shining Force games.

[CoolOtaku]

Bring back the srpg Shining Force games.

I think Shining Force Feather was a strategy RPG for DS, 2009. It just never came out in English >_>
http://www.gamespot.com/ds/strategy/shiningforcefeather/index.html?tag=gallery_summary%3Btitle

[Priest4hire]

Sure, but I remember the first game of the series, Shining in the Darkness, and it was a dungeon crawler.

[Phakiel]

MYSTIC TOWERS! WOOOHOOO!

[WOTON]

Sure, but I remember the first game of the series, Shining in the Darkness, and it was a dungeon crawler.

Yeah, it was a first person view dungeon crawler. But the series got it's fame from the srpg games.