Currently, there’s a notable trend of games that resemble classic releases performing well among players. Gamers are feeling nostalgic for the games they grew up playing on older consoles, such as the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis, and have been gravitating towards games inspired by that era. This retro renaissance has been potent enough to produce games like Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound that go back to an earlier style of the series, while also continuing on a legacy that has been moving forward for a very long time. Other games like Shovel Knight, The Messenger, and Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon have done something similar, but with original ideas that hit all the right marks for gamers who love playing older games. For everyone who is into the hobby now, what was once old is starting to feel very new once again.
This kind of trend is opening up the possibility of other game series from the past being revisited and making a comeback on modern platforms. This is especially true for 2D games from the 8- and 16-bit eras, where most people grew up playing games and being introduced to series that would go on to become classics. Much like Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, game series that have been dormant for a long time can now find a new audience in the current day, while also enticing older players to revisit what they once enjoyed before. Here are four classic 2D game series that could make a comeback in the retro renaissance happening today.
Mega Man X
Recalling the Maverick Hunter hero
Capcom has a very weird and tumultuous relationship with the Mega Man series these days. While audiences have received new games like Mega Man 11 on newer consoles, the franchise has experienced long periods of silence between releases. But while the original Mega Man series has continued on with new games on current-day consoles, one aspect of it has remained dormant for a long time despite its massive popularity. Mega Man X is a part of the franchise that includes some of the greatest video games of all time on the Super Nintendo, with multiple releases that spanned console generations. How Capcom has continuously decided not to return to this part of the series is a question many people have been asking for years.
Luckily, Capcom released a collection that brought together every Mega Man X title into one massive package, but it’s the same bundle of games that everyone has been playing for years. Fans want to see more Mega Man X now more than ever, especially in a new game that can continue the series forward with a new story and characters. Whether done in the same visual style as Mega Man 11 or given a more pixel-art approach, a new entry in the Mega Man X series would make waves among Capcom fans who have been supporting the series since the start. And with so many classic game series returning to the public eye, now might be a great opportunity for the company to reintroduce X and the Maverick Hunters to a whole new generation of players.
Castlevania
Fighting old-school against Dracula
The 2D games in the Castlevania series are the stuff of legend, helping to solidify the Nintendo Entertainment System as the dominant console in the 80s. But the series has undergone many changes and reboots that got further and further away from its 2D action origins. Although some entries in the series went on to become iconic with their own approach to gameplay and visuals, such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and the many spin-offs it inspired, classic Castlevania gameplay hasn’t been around for the series for a long time. But with original games from indie developers picking up the ball and running with it, such as the Bloodstained games, it may be time to resurrect what Castlevania once was for another battle against Dracula.
Although a new retro-inspired Castlevania doesn’t need to be exactly how the NES games were, a new release should definitely borrow elements from Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon and other games like Astlibra. These are games that follow in the footsteps of the Castlevania series while finding new ways to mix up the gameplay and make the experience interesting. It’s a similar approach to what many of the 2D Castlevania games on the Game Boy Advance did after the release of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, which added elements of role-playing games to the action, leading to the creation of an entirely new subgenre of action platformers. How this can be done in a completely new game is anyone’s guess, but going back to basics with Castlevania would be a home run idea in the current environment of retro-inspired releases.
Vectorman
Sega’s forgotten hero
If there’s one series that is in desperate need of a comeback and reboot, it would be Vectorman from the Sega Genesis. Originally released in 1995 and given a sequel in 1996, the series never continued beyond the Genesis. A third game was planned, which would’ve brought the character into the 3D era, but it was canceled and never materialized. The series was known for looking and feeling very different from other action platformers of the era, with the attitude that Sega exuded back then on full display. The first Vectorman was dark and had a gritty presentation, along with a futuristic coolness that made it look cooler than anything Nintendo was releasing on the Super Nintendo at the time. The sequel, Vectorman 2, tried to take this further by bringing the title character onto a planet full of insects, but a myriad of technical issues and rushed development ruined what could’ve been a great follow-up for the series.
Most recently, Sega has been mining ideas for new games from many of its classic series from throughout its history, including titles that were obscure or didn’t have a massive following at first. This makes the Vectorman series perfect for Sega to re-imagine and reboot with a new game, giving everyone something different from many of their usual go-to franchises. Most players who owned a Sega Genesis remember Vectorman, but the majority of people alive now have probably never heard of it. With other franchises like Shinobi and Sonic the Hedgehog finding ways to make old ideas feel fresh in new games, Vectorman could fit nicely alongside them as a way of showing all the hits from Sega’s storied past are back in full force.
Earthbound
Reminded of a cult classic
One franchise that Nintendo fans have always wanted to see more of is the Earthbound series, also known as the Mother series in Japan. The majority of casual players were first introduced to the series by the inclusion of Ness in the original Super Smash Bros. game on Nintendo 64, but Earthbound was around long before that. The first game in the Mother series, re-titled Earthbound Beginnings when localized in North America for the Wii U Virtual Console in 2015, was originally on the Famicom in 1989. The stories and events of the Earthbound games can be pretty goofy and trippy in ways that most people would find weird, but many players found them entertaining enough for the games to garner a cult following over the years. The third game in the series, Mother 3, was never released outside of Japan, despite many fan translations distributed online.
A lot of the debate about the series continuing globally has been about the nuanced humor and references that are present throughout the games, especially with Mother 3. However, demand by fans for Nintendo to make new games and localize previous ones has been going strong for a very long time. And with so many RPGs being developed and released by companies like Square Enix that have a 2D presentation and retro-inspired gameplay, bringing back Earthbound in a big way could be beneficial to Nintendo. It’s doubtful we’ll ever see Mother 3 get an official translation and global release anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean Nintendo can’t look into making a brand-new game to continue the series forward. Indie games like Undertale have taken a lot of inspiration from the Mother series and Earthbound, bringing forward many of their gameplay design and storytelling techniques to the modern era, so there is definitely a following of gamers who would support them.
Going old school for everyone
Right now, gaming is in the midst of a retro renaissance that is successfully making everyone nostalgic. What was once old and obsolete has now become fresh and new for a generation of players that never got to experience certain games in their heyday. Newer indie games being developed are taking what people loved back in the day and remixing them in the best ways possible, producing new experiences with classical feels. But while different indie games have found success doing so, many players still want to see the franchises they know make a comeback in this era. Since the demand for such games is clearly there and potent enough to be heard by everyone, now is the best time for companies to capitalize on it and revisit many of their classic series for another adventure.
