Working Title 11.29.06: Games that NEED a sequel

Posted by Jordan Williams on 11.29.2006

You know what? There are some games that need a sequel. Which games? Why don't you read and find out?

No...no...NO! GODDAMN IT, STOP KILLING MY WHITE MAGE.


...Oh.

HELLO there! Welcome to the column with the steepest learning curve of 411, Working Title. Sorry for the lack of update last week. I had a pretty busy Thanksgiving holiday and couldn't devote enough time to the column...also I got Final Fantasy III for the DS...and Newbs told me I didn't have to update. So blame him, Caleb Newby. Not me.

Anyway, last time I left you I had just finished up disobeying every rule I tried to set fourth about Crossovers with my final Crossover column. Not a day later did I actually wander to EB and play Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. I really feel like stabbing Itagaki in the forehead...so bad that you all MIGHT see a column devoted to him (and other video game annoyances) sometime in the future. But I'd need help...from someone who is very angry.

Okay, enough foreshadowing. This week you will get one of those LOVELY short columns you all love and adore so much. You know the ones where I just pretty much slap a list up here with some witty banter about my opinion of such. We like those columns...right?

You'd damn well better.

...Man, the Geomancer is overpowered. Like seriously, this chick is doing more damage than any of my party.

Also, Red Mages still look cool. Okay, onto the list.

Working Title Presents: Games that I WISH got a sequel

I know you've all played them. One of those games that were REALLY good, I mean STUPID good. But for some reason or another it's developer or creator never decided to make a sequel for it. So it just aged and aged without the story being continued, or another helping of kick ass gameplay. Well, I have a lot of those, and I narrowed the list down the five. This list is also in no particular order, despite when I said it'd be a "Top 5" list; I just couldn't find it in my heart to put one of these above the other.

Skies of Arcadia NEEDS A SEQUEL



This was one of the best games for Dreamcast, one of the only good RPGs for Gamecube, and quite possibly the only game I've played where the random encounters have made me more frustrated than playing Final Fantasy 4. This game had it 'all' for lack of a better blanket statement. They had a wonderful world to build in; they a GREAT cast of characters, an incentive for exploration, and the Gamecube version even had some of the hardest optional battles ever.

The story left a little bit to be desired as it does fall off in the second act, but most RPG games begin to lull around that time anyway. The point is I have NO idea why Sega hasn't made a sequel for this, or at least sell the license to someone else so they can do one. They could even use the same cast and it'd still feel new. A rarity in RPG games. It's a shame that it seems unlikely that this will ever get a sequel, seeing as it's almost been a decade since it came out. It'd do pretty well, too. Especially with everyone busting a third nut over pirates these days.

But hey...Sam and Max got a sequel.


Vectorman NEEDS A SEQUEL



Yeah, I know. Vectorman has already had two games, and he had a third one that got canned. But the point is the green dude needs a sequel. Platform gaming hasn't had a really big HIT for awhile now, and for the time Vectorman wasn't anything hilariously new. It was a simple run and gun game which used fairly new graphics, but it was fun. It was simple, something a lot of games are afraid to do nowadays. I remember when I saw the first screenshots for Vectorman 3 waaaay back and I got angry that they were trying to turn it into some serious shooter. I was not happy at all.

Now, today with the graphics of the next gen consoles, they could really make Vectorman into a nice wide open sprawling platformer. I remember back on the Genesis when the little green garbage man who was just entirely composed of orbs would turn into a new shape and it looked REALLY cool. Imagine how cool it would look on the 360, PS3, or even the Wii? Anyone who has ever played Oblivion will understand what I mean. Just look at the Thunder Atriochs; they make me think of Vectorman every single time.

This game needs a sequel, and the platforming genre needs another good game.

Geist NEEDS A SEQUEL



Nintendo's own little FPS that should've, Geist, needs a sequel. They laid down the roots for some pretty creative gameplay and some nice puzzles. But really didn't go much beyond that. The game was good for what it was, even if the FPS elements were a tad dated and weren't that great. But with a sequel it could work out SO much better. They can see what they did wrong with Red Steel for the Wii and fine tune it for a true FPS experience, while still keeping the same feeling Geist had. Hell, even if it isn't on the Wii. We all know Xbox 360 is the current home of FPS (and shooters in general); I'd LOVE to see what they could do with a rough gem like Geist.

The story has more room for exploration, too. Seeing as the original was a bit creative, but we also know there is a lot that was never talked about, or explored. What else could they do? A lot. There's still more to that demon world, and I'd like to use those ghost powers in a place that ISN'T some giant government complex.

Face it, it gets old after awhile.

Eternal Darkness NEEDS A SEQUEL



I'm trying not to be overly Nintendo here, but you know what? This game needs a sequel. If I had ordered this list in my ranks of top favorites. This would be at the top of it. This game had a WONDERFUL story, GREAT gameplay, the best 'gimmick' in horror game history next to the camera in Fatal Frame, but it didn't get a sequel. I don't know WHY. This would've been a GREAT series, right up there with Silent Hill and Resident Evil. Nintendo seriously needs to look into making a sequel for this, as it was one of the few Rated M games that were good on the system. The idea of a cursed family and traveling through the generations to try to stop it/seeing it through their eyes was brilliant, and it could be exploited again.

What about a cursed family who's ancestry travels through feudal Japan? How about we go one deeper and one that travels back to the time of the Neanderthals? There's a lot of time left unexplored, and a lot of insanity effects not created yet. When Nintendo decides they had a gem of a game here, and opens it back up for a sequel. I'll be there ready and waiting.


And because you KNOW I can never just have these short columns get to the point:

Indecisive Bastard NEEDS A SEQUEL

These are more games I feel really need a sequel, but I didn't really have enough material to write on them, so take a quick peek.

Buck Bumble

Fighter's Destiny*

Medieval**

Beyond Good and Evil

Freelancer

Fighting Force

Killer Instict*

Strider

BATTLETOADS*

* - I know X already has a sequel, it needs another ala Vectorman
** - I heard that Medieval was getting a sequel in the works, but I haven't heard any hard news about it.

Next time...

Next week we kick off another series, this time I'm going to look at three upcoming games, one for each of the console, and MAYBE one for the DS and PSP. I'm going examine the hype around them, and make a prediction of rather it will live up to the hype, get destroyed by it, or become OVER hyped. I think I'll stick to being simple and just call it "Hyped".

So, next week I'm going to kick of Hyped with the Nintendo Wii, and Super Smash Brothers Brawl.


Until next week, I'm Jordan Williams...and Final Fantasy III will remind you just how easy you all have it...being able to buy Phoenix Downs and all.