Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft have a slew of first party franchises at their disposal. Well, Sony and Nintendo more so than Microsoft, but you get the point. In any case, when you have so many franchises up your sleeve, a few of them tend to be underused- criminally underused. But with Nintendo and Sony revitalizing a few of their franchises recently with the likes of Kid Icarus: Uprising, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Twisted Metal and the upcoming Sly 4, you start thinking that maybe they should do the same with their other IPs.
Below is a list of twelve “Big Three” franchises that we think need a revival, and soon. We’ve listed four franchises for each of the Big Three. Give us your feedback via your comments below!
Nintendo
Star Fox
Last Installment: Star Fox: Command
System: DS
Release: 2007
Chances of Revival: High
We haven’t seen a Star Fox game since Star Fox: Command came out on the DS in 2007. It’s been five years, and Nintendo has been tightlipped on the future of one of their premier franchises. With Star Fox 64 3D having come out on the 3DS this year, we have some hope of seeing a new full fledged sequel some time in the future after all, but with five years having gone past without a single Star Fox game, we wouldn’t be so sure. Who knows, maybe Nintendo will announce something at E3 this year- maybe the Star Fox – Metroid crossover is a real thing.
F-Zero
Last Installment: F-Zero
System: GCN
Release: 2003
Chances of Revival: Moderate
Shigeru Miyamoto has said time and again that it’s time a new F-Zero game came out, and it’s a surprise Nintendo hasn’t done that so far already, seeing as the franchise was very successful for them and performed well commercially and critically. But many Nintendo reps have also stated that there’s no use reviving the franchise now. It’s a shame that they think this way, because F-Zero games have always been absolutely fantastic, and fans have been waiting for a new installment for a long time now. Hopefully, Nintendo will be releasing a new F-Zero game on either the 3DS or the Wii U (or, hopefully, both).
Advance Wars
Last Installment: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
System: DS
Release: 2008
Chances of Revival: Low
The Wars series is one of the best franchises Nintendo has ever, but ever since the second DS AW title, there’s been no development. Intelligent Systems, the developers of the Advance Wars games, recently developed Pushmo, and are also working on Fire Emblem: Awakening and Paper Mario 3DS, so there’s little chance of them working on a new War title. It’s a shame really, because it’s a great series that is being criminally underused. Let’s hope Nintendo releases an Advance Wars title on the 3DS sometime in the future.
EarthBound
Last Installment: EarthBound
System: SNES
Release: 1995
Chances of Revival: Zero
Known for its unique setting, stark undertones, witty dialogue, excellent story and amazing soundtrack, EarthBound is, perhaps, one of the most acclaimed and controversial Nintendo franchises of all time. Why’s it controversial? Because Nintendo’s only ever released one game of the trilogy in the west- quite stupidly, that one game is the second game of the trilogy. The franchise is basically done and dusted, and the chances of revival are absolutely zero, but heck, Nintendo could at least give us remastered versions of the trilogy in the west, where we’ve never even played the first and the last game of the franchise.
