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The modern gaming industry is all about sequels… to an almost disgusting degree at times. So it might come as a surprise that there are many great franchises that for whatever reason have seemingly been forgotten by their creators, left to collect dust in the memories of the past. Some might again see the light of retail store shelves and digital marketplaces of the future while others remain dead and in their undeserved graves… no sequel for them. Today I am going to list ten of these franchises that I believe deserve sequels. So without further delay, let’s get started
Wizards & Warriors
Wizards & Warriors was among Rare’s finest work on the NES. A great platformer with solid controls, an engaging world, and a fantastic soundtrack. Unlike some of the other entries on this list, it was lucky enough to be continued by three sequels. That being said the last entry in the series, Wizards & Warriors III: Kuros: Visions of Power was released way back in 1990. The series follows the adventures of the apparently Fabio Lanzoni-like Kuros, in his heroic adventures. The first game sees this intrepid warrior setting out through the Kingdom of Elrond to defeat the evil wizard Malkil, who holds a princess captive in his fortress, a place called Castle IronSpire, located deep within Elrond’s forests. The evil wizard Malkil would return as the primary villain in all three of the following games. The series has received critical praise for its design, features, and graphics.
Sadly with the bankruptcy of Acclaim in 2004 the rights for the series ended up in the hands of Throwback Entertainment, who currently has no plans for a sequel. This is a sad fate for such a prestigious game. I would absolutely love to see Kuros return in a game inspired by a modern 2D Platformer like Shovel Knight. These kinds of games have been increasingly popular recently and with the possibility of crowdfunding a Wizards & Warriors sequel could work. Thinking about it seriously though the chances of this happening are probably pretty slim, but at least maybe we could get the series re-released on modern consoles in some form.
Heretic
The first title in the Heretic series was a dark fantasy first-person shooter released way back in the DOOM-ruled year of 1994. In fact, Heretic itself was built on the DOOM engine and published by the legendary creators of DOOM, id Software. The game has a pretty simple concept behind it. Basically, you throw Dungeons & Dragons, and DOOM in a blender, add a little Heavy Metal, and you are rewarded with Heretic.
The game was followed by an indirect sequel titled, Hexen: Beyond Heretic, then a proper sequel Heretic II in 1998. Hexen also received a sequel in 1997 titled, Hexen II, bring the total of full games in series to four. Each game takes place in the same universe following several different heroes as they do battle against an enemy known as the Serpent Riders. With features such as inventory management, multiple characters with unique abilities, and graphical enhancements; the Heretic series was far more than a DOOM-clone. The developer of Heretic, Raven Software has moved on to work mainly with the Call of Duty series, and id Software is now owned by ZeniMax Media, no word on a new game in the Heretic series has come out of either studio. Maybe after the soon to be released DOOM reboot, id Software could reach back into its catalog to bring us a modern take on this 1990s classic?
Power Stone
Back in 1999, the Sega Dreamcast was just bursting onto the gaming scene, and it had one of the strongest launch libraries of all-time. Soulcalibur, Sonic Adventure, Airforce Delta, and NFL 2K, along with a number of other stellar games were available to those interested in picking up the system. Also among these titles was the 3D arena fighting game, Power Stone. Like many of the other games that were released for the Dreamcast, Power Stone was an arcade port. The game had colorful characters and interesting locations.
Power Stone received a sequel in 2000, and both games were ported to the Sony PSP in 2006. There was even an anime series created that was based on the game. With fighting games like Mortal Kombat, and Street Fighter still seeing great success in the modern market it could make sense to bring this area fighter back from the dead. The only real competition for it would come from the Super Smash Bros. franchise, but I believe there should still be room for a Power Stone sequel.
Chrono Trigger
This one is pretty much an obligatory entry on this list. There are only a handful of games with the kind of praise that this series has received from fans and critics. Chrono Trigger itself is considered by a fair amount of people to be the greatest game ever made. A collaborative effort from the people behind Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger was destined to be great.
Its sequel, Chrono Cross changed things up quite a bit with the jump to 3D, but still managed to garner great amounts of praise. So it’s no surprise that it has frustrated many fans that a sequel to the series has never materialized. There have been several ports and re-releases, but no “real” Chrono game since way back in the year 2000. With the amount of energy Square-Enix spends on the Final Fantasy franchise, it would sadly be surprising if we ever do get another proper Chrono game, but we can always hope.
Orge Battle
The Ogre Battle franchise holds a special place in my heart. In fact, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together is one of my favorite video games of all time. Anyone who has enjoyed games like Final Fantasy Tactics, or Disgaea owes it to themselves to play the series that created the genre. Series creator Yasumi Matsuno has a track record for creating close to perfect video games, and this series is no exception.
The franchise has seen six games so far, released from 1993 to 2010. It would be a dream come true to see this series return with a proper sequel. While it’s not impossible that this could happen, the current market trends do make it seem unlikely. This is a shame, as the most recent entry in the series, Tactics Ogre: Wheel of Fate was very well received and loved by fans. For the time being, we can only hold out hope that the series will someday get the attention that it deserves.
Onimusha
The Onimusha franchise was quite popular back in the early 2000s, where it found a welcome home on the PlayStation 2. The series has an action focus and can be compared to one of Capcom’s other franchises, Devil May Cry. The games are heavily inspired by the Sengoku period of Japanese history and feature many locales and enemies taken directly from Japanese mythology. This themed coupled with engaging, fast-paced action gameplay made the games a must-play during the era of Sony’s second console.
After the fourth game, Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams was released in 2006 the series went quiet. In 2012, a browser-based game called Onimusha Soul was created, but had little resemblance to the previous games in the franchise. With games such as Devil May Cry, and Bayonetta remaining popular there is easily a market for a sequel to the Onimusha series. Based on Capcom’s track record I have doubts that it will happen, but you never know what the future holds.
Gex
Ah, Gex, how perfectly you embody the spirit of the late 1990s. Edgy, sarcastic, witty, and cool, these are some of the things that come to mind when I remember Gex. Beginning in 1994 as a side-scrolling platform game for the 3DO, the Gex series made the jump to full 3D in its second entry, Gex: Enter the Gecko. The series follows the adventures of the titular character Gex, an anthropomorphic gecko with a penchant for making popular-culture related jokes.
Gex himself is voiced by comedian Dana Gould, and his performance makes playing the games a hilariously enjoyable experience. A couple of years ago Square-Enix announced that they were open to another developer using some of their old IPs, including Gex, so this one actually has a decent chance of becoming a reality at some point. I just hope Gex has aged better than other 1990s gaming icons because it would be a shame to see him follow in the footsteps of something like Duke Nukem.
Prince of Persia
While I have enjoyed a few of the Assassin’s Creed games, and I don’t have anything against the series, I would love it if Ubisoft would give it a vacation and bring back Prince of Persia. I mean this is an old and prestigious franchise that deserves to be continued. In a previous list, I expressed a desire to see a sequel staring a female protagonist, and I still think that could be awesome. Wishful thinking aside, though, a modern Prince of Persia game would be awesome.
There have been rumors and comments from Ubisoft over the past few years that hint at the possibility of us seeing a new Prince of Persia game, but until an official confirmation, I will remain skeptical. If they do make one hopefully they stick to the spirit of the franchise and don’t weight it done with too many gimmicks.
Vectorman
Here we have another side-scrolling platformer to add to the list… must be because I grew up in the 1990s. Vectorman was all-around a great game, one of many on the much loved Sega Genesis Console. Solid Controls, great graphics, and a fantastic soundtrack were among the elements that made Vectorman standout from the deluge of similar games of the time. This also lead to it being one of my personal favorite games of all time.
The sequel Vectorman 2 was just as good, if not better, and a third game was in the concept stage but never went past that. At one point in the 2000s, there was going to be a reboot as a 3d action game, but that was canceled. BlueSky Software, the developer of both Vectorman games closed in 2001 so it would be up to Sega to find a new developer, and lately they have been somewhat unreliable when it comes to their classic IPs. If a sequel is ever created I really hope it keeps to what made the series great without killing its spirit.
F-Zero
I love Nintendo, but I am angry at them for creating a world where I have to put F-Zero on this list. I mean come on?! Everyone loved this franchise… there are probably hundreds of millions of message board posts on the internet asking for a new F-Zero game. Unfortunately, Nintendo tends to do what Nintendo wants to do, regardless of what people want. Still they at least remember it exists, with cameos in games such as Super Smash Bros.
With the imminent arrival of the Nintendo NX, or whatever it will be called, I hope to see a new F-Zero game. If the hardware is as powerful as rumored we could see something truly amazing. Nintendo rarely fails to deliver on its first party games, and I doubt they would pick this one to let us down. So I will wait patiently as I did prior to the launch of the Wii, and Wii U, and pray that Nintendo answers the prayers of millions, and gives us the futuristic racing game we deserve. Oh, and they should totally let FamilyJules7x handle the soundtrack.
So there you have it, that’s my list. If you agreed awesome, if not then please let us know what franchises you would have included. There were several other entries that were considered, but sadly, in the end, there can be only ten. Please be sure to check out the rest of The Nerd Stash for great articles and exciting news.
