Still, so far the company's failed to produce sequels for a number of previously successful titles, with the following seven being especially surprising omissions, in my opinion:
Mother Collection--I know Nintendo of America's disinterest in this series practically is legendary at this point, but even so I'm a bit shocked that its Japanese counterpart has yet to conjure up either a 3DS compilation that includes all three previously published Mother games or a 3D remake of the second or third title. After all, each of these endearing RPGs were able to rack up more-than-acceptable sales in their home country, and while North American sales of the second (EarthBound) were far from stellar, it's since gone on to develop an impressively cultish following. Surely some sort of well-packaged re-release or remake would garner enough interest (and consumer dollars) to warrant its development?
Ouendan 3--Here's another series that surely sold enough copies in Japan to deserve a 3DS follow-up, yet here we are, seven years after the release of Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2, waiting for its third entry. Sadly, I have a feeling that of all the games discussed in this post, this one is the least likely ever to see the light of the day--and even if it does see the light of day in Japan, it probably won't earn a Western release.
Rhythm Tengoku sequel--Unlike the pair of titles mentioned above, I have little doubt that folks who own Japanese 3DS systems will be able to play a Rhythm Tengoku made specifically for their dual-screened handhelds before this "gen" has ended. Why? Because the previous two entries in this short-lived series sold like gangbusters in their country of origin. Again, though, I won't be surprised if said title fails to find its way across the pond--although it might serve as an easy-to-localize, late-generation release for Nintendo's American and European arms.
Super Princess Peach 2--OK, so I'm not actually "surprised" Nintendo has yet to make or release a sequel for this pastel-slathered platformer, as it hardly received universal praise following its release in 2006. There's so much about Super Princess Peach that could be improved upon in a "part two," though, that I personally think it would be a crying shame if the company that made Mario into a mascot that rivals the great Mickey Mouse didn't take a stab at some or all of them.
Tetris 3DS--Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Tetris DS a really popular pick-up for DS owners around the world? If so, why can't those same folks go out and purchase Tetris 3DS from their friendly neighborhood big-box store as we speak? Yes, I'm sure getting the go-ahead from the Tetris Company is a pain in the butt, as well as a pain in the pocketbook, but if the resulting game recoups its investment (and then some), who really cares, right?
Wario Land 7--This supposed next installment in the vaunted (by me, at least) Wario Land series would be its seventh, assuming you consider Wario: Master of Disguise to be its fifth and Wario Land: Shake It! to be its sixth. So, why am I surprised Wario Land 7 has yet to be published for the 3DS--especially when neither of its predecessors met with a whole lot of success? Because every Nintendo handheld before the current one has received at least a single Wario Land title, that's why.
WarioWare 3D --Although I'd love to be able to play Wario Land 7 on my trusty pink-and-white 3DS XL sometime soon, I'd love it even more if I could play a new WarioWare title on that two-toned system. Here's hoping we hear about one later this year or early next. I'd be pretty shocked if we didn't hear about one before the 3DS calls it a day, to be honest, as both the GameBoy Advance and the DS received multiple WarioWare games.
Now that I've had my say, what do all of you think? Are there any sequels you'd like to see Nintendo publish for the 3DS between now and when the company bids it a fond farewell?
34 comments:
The Linux penguin? I've yet to encounter that one. Hopefully I don't lose too much gamer/geek cred by admitting that? ;)
Ah, yes, those bonus stages always kick my butt :( Thanks for the gameplay video, BTW. I'll check it out in a second!
Thanks for pointing out your blog, Scott. I'll go check it out now. And, sure, I'd be up for considering some sort of team-up project at some point, although to be honest, it'll probably have to wait until I'm less busy. Between this blog, the various podcasts I'm now a part of, my "real" work, non-work life, etc., I'm a bit frazzled at the moment :|
I could probably come up with lots, but off the top of my head: Advance Wars, Metroid, and Pokemon Puzzle League sequels would be nice to have on my 3DS. I kinda agree with you about a new Wario Land game; but that series peaked with #3, and I'm not sure they're capable of doing anything better than that now.
Oh, a new Advance Wars, how could I forget that? I'd welcome a new Metroid, too, although I probably wouldn't buy it--unless it reminded me of Super Metroid or something. As for a new Wario Land, I have a feeling we won't see one for some time, despite what I said in this post :|
The Nintendo sequel I'd especially like to see on 3DS specifically is a new F-Zero! I can't say I wouldn't prefer it on the big screen (or the WiiU gamepad screen) but if there's one game I might actually turn on the 3D for, it's F-Zero, so it seems a shame to me to not have one on 3DS.
Yep, I'd love a new F-Zero, too, Michael. Sadly, I think the brass at Nintendo have shown for some time now that they're not all that interested in releasing another F-Zero (or Metroid, for that matter). Should they ever release one, though, I'll definitely pick it up--especially if it's for the 3DS :)
Yeah, not likely. It's been my "wouldn't that be nice!" since they revealed the 3DS, so I'm used to it not happening. But it wouldn't actually have to be new, honestly I would even go for a 3D-enabled port of GX!
Meanwhile I just saw I just saw Dark Witch's Story over at Tiny Cartridge and it's destroyed my ability to stay on topic. :D
Awesome, no pressure and I'd need plenty of time to prepare, myself. As long as I'm still blogging and bitching LOL, I'm up for vintage game fun anytime. In fact I just cleaned off Konami's "Life Force" for NES and in my notebook written down the 3 best codes. That game is almost impossible to make it to the first boss without the good ol "up up down down left right left right B A start" code.
Enjoy - I have a few others, from Kingdom Hearts I and II to obscure classics like Donkey Kong 3. Among other things, but I'd say about 50% gaming videos on my channel. And I'm finally getting brave enough to soon start my own reviews with at least me speaking, not sure if I'm ready to be in front of camera for the world yet, even though I've had no problem posting my photos. It's my southern axe-ee-yunt I'm concerned about! ;)
I concur with the Mother thing! So weird that there hasn't been any sort of mashup. I imagine there might be something (if anything) in the works for the Japanese Wii U (as there's the GBA Mother 1+2 to think about), that being where the GBA emulator is.
Hey there, Zach! I'd welcome some sort of Mother compilation on either of Nintendo's current systems, but I'd be lying if I said I'd prefer it to show up on the Wii U. Plus, the 3DS has proven itself capable of emulating the GBA, too, although in a more limited capacity than the Wii U. Anyway, here's hoping some sort of collection, compilation or even remake is released in the next year or so!
Somebody in the comments said that Circle Entertainment would bring it out this fall, but I couldn't find the original twitter post he was referring to. :(
Oh, that's good to hear--if true, of course. I would guess it is, by the way, as circle seems to be pretty good about bringing its Japanese games to other territories/regions. Anyway, fingers crossed!
That sounds great, Scott. I say go for it--even w/ yourself in front of the camera. And who cares about a southern accent? I'm sure most viewers will like it :)
Yes, as a 3DS Ambassador I too agree that they could have pushed all of that GBAVC stuff over to the 3DS... maybe they will once the Wii U stabilizes/towards the end of their lifespans? I really don't see any other reason as to why the Wii U would be the only platform for GBA than to boost sales/offer variety. Until then... back to Yoshi's Island/Sacred Stones... :'(
You got it, Scott! As for Life Force, boy, I haven't played that on in ages. Admittedly, I've always been more of a cute 'em up fan, but I like games like Gradius and Life Force and R-Type, too :)
Life Force was one of those 2-player games I'd spent a summer playing and beating with a neighbor friend/tenant who I'd gone to school with - along with Contra and other "guy games" like that, plus I'd watched him play and beat Karnov, a game I'm not great at.
I'm more of a fan of the colorful side-scrollers and obscure cult classics on NES - all Mega Man's of course, Kid Niki (Data East), and with Game Genie, I now really enjoy Amagon (American Sammy) and Athena (SNK), two games I've cursed out and called every name in the book back in the day because they're so difficult WITHOUT some help.
Gimme a couple shots of Southern Comfort and I'll try it.
With hysterical results.
Yeah, there's really no reason GBA games shouldn't be made available via the 3DS eShop, too. And, really, I can't imagine it's much of a selling point for the Wii U at this point. I mean, if the VC in general hasn't helped the 3DS and Wii U (in terms of pushing hardware sales to a noticeable extent, I mean), surely a subset of that isn't helping either.
Idea- a Wario Land game where you draw things on the bottom screen to help Wario proceed, like Tearaway or Graffiti Kingdom. I'd be all over that like stink on garlic!
I'm not an F-Zero fan, but anything would have to be better than WipeOut 2048. That was the Star Trek: Enterprise of the WipeOut series... for multiple reasons.
I kinda want to hear more about this comparison!
I'd actually like that, too, Jess, and it certainly would breathe a bit of new life into this series, but I'm guess a lot of other folks would complain about it being gimmicky, etc. :|
Ha! You sound like me before every podcast I have to record. Sadly, I only drank a bit before the first two. Now I just drink tea!
Athena and Amagon were games I badly wanted to like but because of their difficulty always had a love/hate relationship with them until I got the game Genie. If you have a MAME arcade emulator, as far as graphics and music, the original arcade versions of Kid Niki and Athena by far surpasses their NES counterparts, but that's most cases with arcade games ported to any home console in the 80's-90's. Chubby Cherub I'd not long ago recorded some gameplay, a game I was aware of but never played until I got a NES emulator and those rare game roms.
I'd always been into mythology ever since the 1980 Clash Of The Titans which attracted me to the Athena NES game and the cool cover. I liked it enough when I got ahold of the cart back in the day via trade, I'd written SNK and enclosed a few dollars and asked for the Athena manual and they sent it - which I still have.
When I'd adopted my first baby kitten in 2000 (female, tuxedo/black and white paws) and was standing in line at Petsmart, this old lady in front of me asked for her name and the game Athena had been on my mind and I popped off with "Athena". The old lady said "Well little Athena, I hope you live up to your name". If you're calling her as difficult as the NES game Athena, she most certainly has - ask the vet!
Amagon! Woof, that name brings back memories, but not good ones, I'm afraid! I remember renting it at one point--probably after my brother and I had played through most of the rest of the games our grocery store's game/movie department offered--and absolutely hating it.
Chubby Cherub is a game I've always been interested in due to its box art AND the sprite of its protagonist. Did you know ol' Chubby isn't the protagonist of the original Japanese game? It actually was a licensed game over there. Anyway, I prefer the NA version.
That's an adorable story about your kitty. Is Athena still alive and kicking? I hope so :)
I agree with all of these selections! Although, would you believe I've never played the Princess Peach game? It somehow slipped through the cracks for me even though I wanted it when it came out! I should rectify this soon! Maybe for August platform month? lol
Athena's 14 now (in human years) and still as much energy as back then. Like me, she's the only cat I've ever known whose reputation precedes her own self. The vet knows her well, most of my friends are terrified of her and she'll even mess with them and corner them if they go to screaming. She got out of the house a couple years ago and had the entire neighborhood looking for her, only to show up in the garage scratching at the door about 48 hours later. More drama than a human, I could write a book on her alone.
Ha! Sounds like she's a handful :) Hopefully she's sweet sometimes, too--at least with you? Our Pajamas is a handful, too, but usually not in the terrifyingly dramatic sense, thankfully!
I make everyone nervous picking up Athena and giving her kitty kisses all over her face - I can get away with it because I'm pretty much her parent even though she's technically older than me and I think tries to act like MINE sometimes! She'd take naps with me in her kitty bed next to me when she was little and even though she's "too mature" to cuddle with me now, she'll do it on rare occasion - wrapping her front paws around my wrist, smashes her cold nose against my arm and goes to sleep. Weirdo. Of course we'd miss her if she wasn't here.
Not a bad idea. I've been trying to work through well... my entire Vita backlog which is quite a lot of games lol. My two biggest priorities are Persona 4 Golden and Vagrant Story though, man I love the latter so much.
Awww! We feel the same way about our Pajamas. I mean, she's not really the terror your Athena may be, but she has her moments! Even then, we'd miss her if she weren't in our lives :)
Athena is so funny because out of the blue she'll trip out and start running from room to room - and sometimes her favorite toy winds up in my washroom and she'll be in there meowing (talking) to it, and her voice echoes. When I sprayed cat-be-gone around the Xmas tree, she huddled really close to the tree stand and outside of the area I sprayed. She's such a little punk, and such a pizza thief. Love her.
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