- Joined
- Nov 21, 2019
What older, revived IP from Sega (excluding Shenmue) do you think would have the best chance of success at a full $60 release on PlayStation/Xbox/Switch/PC? Meaning, that would exclude games like Streets of Rage 4, a new Golden Axe 2D beat-em-up, etc. that would be digital only releases at a lower price point. It's also not supposed to be what game you would personally want, but what you think could be the most successful.
Nowadays I would argue the main story would need to be 10 hours long at minimum, if not closer to 15, even if it's an action game (not including time spent replaying for achievements/unlockables/extra modes/100%-ing, etc). Just something to consider, as I think anything shorter would fall into that $30 digital territory. A spin-off or re-imagined version of the game can count for this discussion! I'll go through a few older series and try to write out my opinion on its overall viability, then my choice at the end. (And crap, as I'm about to submit this I realized I wrote a lot more than I had originally planned. Sorry, y'all!)
Skies of Arcadia
Obviously there would need to be some modern updates such as no random encounters and the battles would need to be snappier, but there's so much cool potential here. I'm not sure if you'd straight up abandon turn based combat or the grid combat for the ship battles, but maybe the ship battles can use some sort of system related to cool downs or use something similar to ATB from Final Fantasy. For the main combat, I would be on the fence about going real-time action vs turn based. I think real-time would have more appeal and turn based can be a bit tedious (though I'm not against it entirely), but it's hard to imagine how a real-time system would work until we actually play it.
Something a bit in it's favor is you don't need to spend a lot of time to design an overworld since it's all open skies. Perhaps that can make it a bit more budget friendly. Something against it is there was really only one game in the series if you count Legends as an enhanced port, so the name isn't as well known to many gamers, even though it's often cited as an all-time great RPG and dreamcast game. There would probably need to be a steam port of Legends first to help get the name out there.
Phantasy Star
Oh man, it would be awesome if they took Phantasy Star Online and made a JRPG Spin-off! (I kid, I kid). However, a proper Phantasy Star JRPG might be one of the easier games for them to make due to the work going into PSO2 and Genesis. They could update the combat to have a bit of a hybrid live action/command system, make a few changes to the engine used in PSO2 as needed for this game, and maybe co-develop this game with Atlus (at the very least, the character portraits and such). It's also a series that's had visibility in the public eye with releases on multiple platforms over the years, and a showing at one of the Xbox conferences.
However, since there hasn't been a proper worldwide release of a traditional JRPG in this series from 1994, there's probably a whole generation of gamers who have no idea about the roots of the series. It's not like Final Fantasy, which had both the mainline JRPGs and MMO's going at the same time. I know there was Phantasy Star Nova and that sounds kind of similar to what I'm proposing, but that was Japan only and released on the Vita so I don't know much about the game or how well it turned out. Maybe that could be one of their PC port candidates.
Shining Force
I didn't realize the Shining series has been going on for as long as it has with as many installments, but IMO it seems Shining Force is the most revered sub-series of the bunch. It seems strategy RPGs would be more popular with the PC audience nowadays as opposed to consoles, but I could be mistaken. It could also be a good candidate to come out on Switch as well, maybe it could entice some Fire Emblem fans.
Perhaps this series would fall more into the enthusiast group, since strategy RPGs generally aren't as popular straight up as the top JRPGs and WRPGs. However, maybe this could be the most popular game on the PC out of this list. Maybe a multiplayer mode can make this game stand out and give it a lot of replayability. Perhaps it's a game that can entice younger Valkyria Chronicles players.
Golden Axe
While I don't think a proper beat-em-up would be viable for $60, they could revisit the Golden Axe: Warrior concept from the Master System that was essentially a Zelda clone (tbf I haven't played this game yet). Maybe it could even be a proper WRPG with solid live-action combat, or just make a better and more expanded version of what they were going for with Golden Axe: Beast Rider. However, I think it could be a bit of a tall order since they would be essentially starting from scratch for any of these titles and competing with very polished products (Zelda, God of War, The Witcher, etc). They'd probably have to commit to a few installments and hope a polished sequel could really take off.
Shinobi
I think a modern Shinobi game might fit in to today's landscape better than we think. The Souls games have brought back a focus on difficult games that use melee combat. Ghost of Tsushima has shown that there's a mainstream audience for ninja games. A new Shinobi game can fit somewhere in the middle as a difficult game that plays faster with platforming challenges and an upgrades system (new ninjitsu, multiple levels to the ninjitsu, permanent power-ups, new weapons or weapon upgrades, etc.).
There was a 3D game of this series on PS2 that was decently received, so there's already a modern-ish blueprint that shows that the series can work in 3D, even if a new entry isn't quite the same. Another one I haven't played but I hope to play it soon!
Monster World
I think this could have been a great candidate to be "influenced" by Symphony of the Night to be a full on Metroidvania Action/Platformer/RPG on the Saturn or Dreamcast, but it's probably too late at this point. Also, I'm not sure if this is a well known IP compared to other Sega properties. I would still dig something like this as a digital release, though! I know there was the Monster Boy game from the original creator but I haven't checked that out. Yeah this doesn't quite fit the topic but it's something I thought could be cool after playing Monster World III and IV, haha.
Jet Set Radio
I think they could build upon the first two games and create a solid 10 hour campaign. Maybe they can have a central hub area that's dynamic while trying to avoid a lot of the open world traps that a lot of modern AAA fall for. Flesh out the tricks system and the graffiti system, rethink how you want to tackle combat and have a few more ways to attack or defend yourself.
Outside of the single player campaign, you could have extra features such as create a character, unlock customization options and clothes as in-game unlocks and collectibles, customize your home base, and of course, unlock new grafitti. Maybe there could be some interesting multiplayer modes, including essentially a HORSE mode where you take turns replicating each others tricks (similarly to how you get characters to join you in the original games). If not a head-to-head mode, maybe there's just user submitted tricks and challenges you can download. Or even new challenges released regularly by Sega!
Panzer Dragoon
You couldn't make a rail shooter for $60 anymore, but I think some of the options are another game like Panzer Dragoon Saga, or a game with full on 3D movement. Maybe you could combine 3D levels with rail shooter levels like Starfox 64. However, I have a hard time finding a way this could be a $60 release other than making a new RPG entry.
For my pick, I think Shinobi has the highest potential ceiling and Phantasy Star the highest floor, if that makes sense. I personally would really love another Skies of Arcadia and I think it could do decently well, but if we're talking about trying to get a hit game I would argue Shinobi has the best shot closely followed by Phantasy Star.
(EDIT: Bolded the game titles)
Nowadays I would argue the main story would need to be 10 hours long at minimum, if not closer to 15, even if it's an action game (not including time spent replaying for achievements/unlockables/extra modes/100%-ing, etc). Just something to consider, as I think anything shorter would fall into that $30 digital territory. A spin-off or re-imagined version of the game can count for this discussion! I'll go through a few older series and try to write out my opinion on its overall viability, then my choice at the end. (And crap, as I'm about to submit this I realized I wrote a lot more than I had originally planned. Sorry, y'all!)
Skies of Arcadia
Obviously there would need to be some modern updates such as no random encounters and the battles would need to be snappier, but there's so much cool potential here. I'm not sure if you'd straight up abandon turn based combat or the grid combat for the ship battles, but maybe the ship battles can use some sort of system related to cool downs or use something similar to ATB from Final Fantasy. For the main combat, I would be on the fence about going real-time action vs turn based. I think real-time would have more appeal and turn based can be a bit tedious (though I'm not against it entirely), but it's hard to imagine how a real-time system would work until we actually play it.
Something a bit in it's favor is you don't need to spend a lot of time to design an overworld since it's all open skies. Perhaps that can make it a bit more budget friendly. Something against it is there was really only one game in the series if you count Legends as an enhanced port, so the name isn't as well known to many gamers, even though it's often cited as an all-time great RPG and dreamcast game. There would probably need to be a steam port of Legends first to help get the name out there.
Phantasy Star
Oh man, it would be awesome if they took Phantasy Star Online and made a JRPG Spin-off! (I kid, I kid). However, a proper Phantasy Star JRPG might be one of the easier games for them to make due to the work going into PSO2 and Genesis. They could update the combat to have a bit of a hybrid live action/command system, make a few changes to the engine used in PSO2 as needed for this game, and maybe co-develop this game with Atlus (at the very least, the character portraits and such). It's also a series that's had visibility in the public eye with releases on multiple platforms over the years, and a showing at one of the Xbox conferences.
However, since there hasn't been a proper worldwide release of a traditional JRPG in this series from 1994, there's probably a whole generation of gamers who have no idea about the roots of the series. It's not like Final Fantasy, which had both the mainline JRPGs and MMO's going at the same time. I know there was Phantasy Star Nova and that sounds kind of similar to what I'm proposing, but that was Japan only and released on the Vita so I don't know much about the game or how well it turned out. Maybe that could be one of their PC port candidates.
Shining Force
I didn't realize the Shining series has been going on for as long as it has with as many installments, but IMO it seems Shining Force is the most revered sub-series of the bunch. It seems strategy RPGs would be more popular with the PC audience nowadays as opposed to consoles, but I could be mistaken. It could also be a good candidate to come out on Switch as well, maybe it could entice some Fire Emblem fans.
Perhaps this series would fall more into the enthusiast group, since strategy RPGs generally aren't as popular straight up as the top JRPGs and WRPGs. However, maybe this could be the most popular game on the PC out of this list. Maybe a multiplayer mode can make this game stand out and give it a lot of replayability. Perhaps it's a game that can entice younger Valkyria Chronicles players.
Golden Axe
While I don't think a proper beat-em-up would be viable for $60, they could revisit the Golden Axe: Warrior concept from the Master System that was essentially a Zelda clone (tbf I haven't played this game yet). Maybe it could even be a proper WRPG with solid live-action combat, or just make a better and more expanded version of what they were going for with Golden Axe: Beast Rider. However, I think it could be a bit of a tall order since they would be essentially starting from scratch for any of these titles and competing with very polished products (Zelda, God of War, The Witcher, etc). They'd probably have to commit to a few installments and hope a polished sequel could really take off.
Shinobi
I think a modern Shinobi game might fit in to today's landscape better than we think. The Souls games have brought back a focus on difficult games that use melee combat. Ghost of Tsushima has shown that there's a mainstream audience for ninja games. A new Shinobi game can fit somewhere in the middle as a difficult game that plays faster with platforming challenges and an upgrades system (new ninjitsu, multiple levels to the ninjitsu, permanent power-ups, new weapons or weapon upgrades, etc.).
There was a 3D game of this series on PS2 that was decently received, so there's already a modern-ish blueprint that shows that the series can work in 3D, even if a new entry isn't quite the same. Another one I haven't played but I hope to play it soon!
Monster World
I think this could have been a great candidate to be "influenced" by Symphony of the Night to be a full on Metroidvania Action/Platformer/RPG on the Saturn or Dreamcast, but it's probably too late at this point. Also, I'm not sure if this is a well known IP compared to other Sega properties. I would still dig something like this as a digital release, though! I know there was the Monster Boy game from the original creator but I haven't checked that out. Yeah this doesn't quite fit the topic but it's something I thought could be cool after playing Monster World III and IV, haha.
Jet Set Radio
I think they could build upon the first two games and create a solid 10 hour campaign. Maybe they can have a central hub area that's dynamic while trying to avoid a lot of the open world traps that a lot of modern AAA fall for. Flesh out the tricks system and the graffiti system, rethink how you want to tackle combat and have a few more ways to attack or defend yourself.
Outside of the single player campaign, you could have extra features such as create a character, unlock customization options and clothes as in-game unlocks and collectibles, customize your home base, and of course, unlock new grafitti. Maybe there could be some interesting multiplayer modes, including essentially a HORSE mode where you take turns replicating each others tricks (similarly to how you get characters to join you in the original games). If not a head-to-head mode, maybe there's just user submitted tricks and challenges you can download. Or even new challenges released regularly by Sega!
Panzer Dragoon
You couldn't make a rail shooter for $60 anymore, but I think some of the options are another game like Panzer Dragoon Saga, or a game with full on 3D movement. Maybe you could combine 3D levels with rail shooter levels like Starfox 64. However, I have a hard time finding a way this could be a $60 release other than making a new RPG entry.
For my pick, I think Shinobi has the highest potential ceiling and Phantasy Star the highest floor, if that makes sense. I personally would really love another Skies of Arcadia and I think it could do decently well, but if we're talking about trying to get a hit game I would argue Shinobi has the best shot closely followed by Phantasy Star.
(EDIT: Bolded the game titles)
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