Retro Revival Game Ideas: The Games I'll Kickstart Myself Unless You Beat Me To It (And I Hope You Do) Part 1

In the history of games, there has been a plethora of amazing titles that somehow fell short of being well remembered despite their level of quality. Of course, being remembered fondly in gaming means having sequel after sequel made until the fans sick of even complaining about it despite consistently buying it. We videogamers are silly like that. Some games were hits, others were amazing experiences crushed under the marketing of larger franchises, while some were before their time. In many cases, there were titles that created entire new styles of gameplay that have yet to ever be duplicated. I mentioned a few of them in an earlier post about the how much I miss couch co-op and how competition has changed. 

These days, thanks to crowdfunding platforms like kickstarter and a robust and active retro gaming scene, many forgotten titles do get a second chance at life. Indie developers acquire the rights to a franchise and develop a long awaited (though cooly anticipated) follow up. Often times I'll see the big announcement, get excited about it, then never have a platform to play the reboot or reimagining. I've still yet to River City Ransom: Underground but I played the absolute crap out of the Double Dragon Neon and the crown jewel of modern beat'em ups, Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game. For now, I'm still holding out hope that someone will finally get to the games I want to see until I get enough money to get to work on it myself! Regardless of how played out the game type may seem, Here's a list of games I'm dying to see revived, rebooted, or otherwise in the near future!  

***If any of these have been remade already and I missed it, let me know! 

Rock n Roll Racing

What It Is: Isometric Racer

Still the gold standard in Isometric Racing games even today, the Super Nintendo's Rock and Roll Racing was the first game of a little studio you've never heard of called Blizzard. They've never done anything else of note since this game. The isometric, viewpoint is as old school as the bricks in the foundation dating all the way back to Zaxxon in 1982. Still popular in ARPGs like Diablo and Torchlight, racing in this view could be considered rather cumbersome, but man did Rock and Roll Racing make it feel incredible. 

You play one of 7 intergalactic racing bad asses taking to the world for glory and fame racing through tracks on 7 dangerous planets with 6 different vehicles which could all be upgraded with the money earned from your wins with better armor, tires, shocks and weapons. Yes, weapons. Taking a page from OG isometric racer RC Pro Am, you were able to buy missiles, mines, scatter packs, lasers, nitro, and more in order to make your car as hardcore as the 8 midi metal tracks they actually licensed from Deep Purple, George Thorogood, Black Sabbath etc. This game is amazing. It still plays amazing even 25 years later. 

Why It Really Rules: Progressive Multiplayer

What really makes Rock and Roll Racing stand out for me was actually the progressive multiplayer. You and a friend could load up and challenge each other through the entirety of the game, trading wins, building up your cars and coming up with new ways to customize your ride and bully anybody foolhardy enough set wheels on your track. My homey Johnny quick playing video games 5 years ago, but if I ask him to play this he'll dust his SNES off and dive into another 4 hour session of racing. While Mario Kart is the current wild and ridiculous racer champ, there's something special about being able to build your vehicle the way you want to win. 

How To Bring It Back

Since Blizzard has all but abandoned the game, what really needs to happen is for someone to take the mechanics of Rock and Roll Racing and build upon the concepts in a different environment or world. Even if they keep the musical theme and make it Hip Hop Beast Ridahs or Rasta Boats or something. Create new hazards, weapons, vehicles and customizations like mortars, car grapples, spiked tires, black hole mines and ricochet rockets, but find a way to keep the progressive multiplayer. Even if its online play, what really worked to make Rock and Roll Racing so engaging was the fact you got to build up ride and take on other people attempting to do the same. This makes the wins matter. The money pickups matter. The league and planet progression matter. Find a way to do this and take my money.

Metal Warriors

What It Is: Side Scrolling Mech Game

They just don't make'em like this anymore... Literally. I've never seen anyone make it like Metal Warriors did back in the SNES era. Created with a solid and engaging single player mode in which you battled through different stages in space and on earth, Metal Warriors allowed you to use 6 different, well balanced mechs in combat. From the balanced, blade wielding Nitro, to the powerful, bridge making Prometheus, to always high flying and crushing Drache and that cool Spider that climbed walls and turned invisible there were dozens of interesting ways to solve problems and whip ass. In addition, your mech pilot could get out to fly around and hit switches, creating a game that was as much puzzle platformer as action game. There were also several ports that supplied special weapons like powerful missiles, anti gravity powers, rolling bombs, and super speed to your mech during fights. 

Why It Really Rules: Vs Mode, Multi Mech Combat In Battle

Where Metal Warriors really shined was the fact that all 6 of the games mechs were available to use against one another. In one on one matches, you'd take control of whichever mech you liked for the first match. Depending on how much your friend hated you that day, he'd pick Drache and fly around until he crushed you with its special move or you pinned him in a corner with missiles. Then you'd hit "scramble" and the vs matches would get really interesting. 

You'd get a new stage and start with 2 random mechs, but the stages would be different sizes and have other mechs stashed throughout! You could destroy these open bots or save them to climb in when a fight didn't go your way. All you'd have to do is take your little pilot guy with his tiny jetpack and keep him away form the giant mech being trying to kill him. Easy right?! 

Thanks to a dense control scheme, Metal Warriors used every part of the buffalo with what it allowed you to do with each machine. Close range, long range, and special abilities were used by each mech to single Even if you didn't like one, you could still use its power to gain an advantage, out maneuver your opponent and win the match or at least run away, switch mechs, and blow him up before he can! 

How to Bring It Back

As far as I can tell, nobody has made even a clone of Metal Warriors. There is a wealth of interesting ways to take this gameplay type and modernize in very fun and interesting ways. We'd need new machines to traverse new stages, bigger ones that maybe took advantage of some form of teleportation, or even a mech than seek and teleport as well as one that can hide from sensors as well as site. 

While a local play gem, Metal Warriors would actually be perfect for online multiplayer and as many as 6 players in a single match as long as the stage design can accommodate it. Jumping bots! Transforming mechs! Pet Class Mech! Mirror Image Mech! Body Double Mech! There are so many cool ways to take a side scrolling action game like this and liven it up with modern graphics and innovations then keep the scramble function between matches! It would essentially play like a high tech competitive roguelike. Maybe even through in a stage out of every 10 matches where the players have to team up or beat a boss before fighting one another. 

Gunstar Heroes

What It Is: Run and Gun Shooting Sorta Beat'em Up...

Gunstar Heroes is a little bit of everything really. You play as 1 or 2 members of a member of elite Power Ranger-esque agents in an organization that keeps the peace of the awesome colorful utopia you call home. It plays almost like a more nimble Mega Man as the gunstars can not only shoot but kick, punch, slide tackle climb ledges, and most importantly throw enemies anywhere they want including into other enemies! You got to choose between 4 different weapons types that you could combine or double to make a more powerful version. You could also choose when to use only one in case the combo wasn't helping at the moment. It's like taking the best part of Contra and giving you control over how you use your awesome murder abilities. 

The world of the Heroes was robust and felt very lived in with each of the stages being rather different than the others. A side scrolling map, then a largely vertical one, then a board game where you roll and take on the challenge on whatever space you land, while another saw you racing through a mine shaft on a gravity flipping personal mine car. It's all very zany and very fun. Sega definitely made a good choice releasing this one on teh Genesis. 

Why It Really Rules: It Does Everything Right

What's amazing about Gunstar Heroes is that every aspect of the game feels polished. Sure it's campy, but in the best most lovingly colorful way. It takes a the Mega Man style, but makes it work with multiplayer. it takes a beat'em up and adds guns. It takes a side scrolling platform shooter and adds unpredictability and novel enemies. It has easter eggs, secrets, and female version of the main characters you can play as, and effing side scrolling space ship battles. Easy to pick up and play, Gunstar Heroes is so good, I wrote my own 80s theme song for the game.. Hell... Maybe that'll be this weeks Open Mic Challenge song! 

But not only does Gunstar Heroes do everything right, it does all this at the same time. Hit detection is immaculate. You can have a seeking gun and still not be over powered, but still feel effective. You can jump up, kick a flying enemy, grab a bomb thrown at you, toss it into a group of bad guys and hit the ground shooting. It's an incredible piece of retro gaming that too few people know about. 

How To Bring It Back

Just do the same thing but better. Actually, not better, but more. New guns, new melee weapons. Melee and gun combinations! Different characters with different stats that affected the look of the player or the moves they had if not the outright control. The 2006 port added online multiplayer. Perhaps we could do something based around timed missions that split up both characters and forced them to work together. What about new mechanics that introduced a raid like function in which different squads of Heroes have to outwit each other or take down a giant boss with air support pickups and drops. Perhaps Gunstar Classes, or even little heroes in prank style missions shooting pies or toilet papers. Anything! Just give us more of this game! I'll run and gun til my fingers fall off! 

Perhaps its impossible to duplicate, but this game is ripe for revival. Mega Man is gone. Mighty No9 was a disaster. Castlevania is more tv show than games franchise at the moment. The world needs heroes... 

Gunstar Heroes!

Conclusion

And there you have it! My list of games/game types I'm going to develop when I get that Bill Gates money I've been working toward. I'd love to see anybody else ideas about what games they'd like to see redone or are actually working on! I don't get to play as much as I used to, but I love when I get a chance to play something new that feels like something old. I'll be back for Part 2 in the future as there are still a few other games that would be amazing to see again with better graphics and updated ideas.