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10) Game & Watch
Last Title: Game & Watch Gallery 4 (Game Boy Advance, 2002)
Game & Watch is tricky to categorize as a franchise when it’s really more of a video game platform (Game & Watch was Nintendo’s first line of gaming handhelds). Still, Game & Watch games did feature an overarching play style and look, so it gets to settle in nicely at number ten on this list. Game & Watch titles featured snappy, precision gameplay that focused on simple pattern recognition and reflex testing. Some of the more popular Game & Watches had players repositioning manholes for pedestrians to walk over, juggling balls, and flipping food. Nintendo has revisited this franchise a few times over the years, with the most notable leap forward being the Game & Watch Gallery series. The Game & Watch Gallery titles featured remixes of classic Game & Watch games, and even offered fans the opportunity to play with modern graphics and characters from Super Mario games. While fun, there have been no new releases from the series since 2002.
Revamping Game & Watch for today would be challenging, but not impossible. Mr. Game & Watch has long since become the face of the series due to the Super Smash Bros. games, so Nintendo should remove the Super Mario veneer that the Gallery games had. It will help distinguish the franchise as its own entity and not a Mario offshoot. From there, Nintendo could mimic Pac Man Championship DX with pulsating, neon graphics and a thumping, 8-bit soundtrack. The simple gameplay of the older titles doesn’t need to be tossed out; just come up with new takes on classics like Fire and Octopus, speed them up, add online leaderboards, and watch fans go wild. Some Game & Watch games were recently re-released as two DS compilations available from the Club Nintendo rewards catalogue and offered individually via DSiWare, so the franchise has enough visibility that fan interest could be easily stoked, if done right.
I can’t agree with you more on Advance Wars and F-Zero. I distinctly remember Days of Ruin ending on a cliff hanger, and it’s been far too long since the last Advance Wars entry. I also can’t help but feel that F-Zero is perfectly suited for the 3DS, which is currently in dire need of good racing games.
I’d also add Star Fox to this list. Not only has it been a very long time since the last Star Fox game (excluding the 3DS remake), but there has yet to be a game in the series that matches the quality of the Nintendo 64 entry. They didn’t just remake Star Fox 64 for no reason…right? :o
I was within inches of sticking Star Fox in. It’s ironic you mentioned the 3DS remake, because it was the main reason I excluded it; I guess it gave me too much hope when I played it that something would be coming eventually. I actually grappled back and forth over it a lot. I put Excitebike on here despite it getting a 3D remake, too, but I kept it on because it felt like such a minimal tweak. IDK =/
Haha well it was a really good list, so I really have nothing to complain about :)
I’d love to see a return to the Custom Robo series sometime. I only ever played the GameCube game that came out in America, but it was still interesting. It was really a good concept that suffered from some subpar execution. Think about Custom Robo on Wii U: Hundreds (if not thousands) of robot parts could be made available. You could duke it out in online HD robo battles! And the customization could mean millions of different robots!
Great list Robert. Couldn’t agree more with your choices.
Hard to believe it’s been almost 10 years since we’ve had a new entry in the F-Zero franchise.
You touched on a franchise near and dear to my heart: Excitebike. Everything about the original brings on a wave of nostalgia. The original is still fun, but I couldn’t agree more with your ideas about updating World Rally for the Wii U.
I love that you included Waverace. I would love me some HD wave physics.
Makes me wish they’d also update 1080, in the original style, not the trick based Gamecube sequel. The gamecube game was one of those rare Nintendo games that actually copied what every one else was doing at the time (making racing games all about tricks! Thank you very little Tony Hawk.) In my opinion, this made 1080 Avalanche inferior to the N64 original.
Lastly, how about Forgotten Nintendo “Services” that need sequels (or updating.) I’m talking about the virtual console. It is a disgrace. Only 21(?) Nintendo 64 games on the North American Wii version, and ZERO N64 games on the Wii U eShop?! The virtual console just doesn’t live up to its potential. To me, the virtual console is defined by what games it doesn’t have, not what it does have.
The reason I’m mentioning the virtual console here? Because your list made me wish I could play Excitebike 64 again. In my opinion, this was an underrated, and probably underplayed game which was also released (much like the wiiware title) at the wrong time… a little late in the N64’s lifecycle after years of almost constant racing game releases.
Again, great list!