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Posted: Mar 16 2007 08:55 pm

Yah, I'm talkin' 'bout game franchises that were once in our minds, but has mostly all but disappeared from gaming.

I'll start: Alex Kidd.

Japanese boxart of the 1st game: AK in Miracle World for the Sega Mark lll (Master System)

For the braindead, this was Sega's 80's mascot which starred in a lot of good games....

...but Sonic the Hedgehog came around and took him out of business.

He declared bankruptcy around 1997, and do you know where he works now!?

As a retail clerk for Sega....

You guys?

Posted: Mar 16 2007 09:36 pm

Dammit, I'm actually working on an article on Miracle World.

Part of the reason while Alex Kidd never caught on as much as Mario or Sonic is that his games lacky any sort of continuity. Aside from Enchanted Castle, which was a direct sequel to Miracle World, the games all had completely different game mechanics.

2010 SLF Tag Champ Joined: Jun 07 2006 Posts: 12294

where are these screenshots from?

I'm especially curious about this one:

Posted: Mar 17 2007 02:01 am

http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/segagaga/segagaga.htm

This.

2010 SLF Tag Champ Joined: Jun 07 2006 Posts: 12294

that game certainly looks interesting.

maybe if sega would have tried this, they would still be making consoles.

Posted: Mar 17 2007 02:17 am

Mr. Bomberman wrote:

http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/segagaga/segagaga.htm

This.

Gee, I though you'd/you guys would had posted this link:
http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/opcfg/heroes.html

Posted: Mar 17 2007 02:30 am

UltimateFierce wrote:

Mr. Bomberman wrote:

http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/segagaga/segagaga.htm

This.

Gee, I though you'd/you guys would had posted this link:
http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/opcfg/heroes.html

Hmm. I thought you guys were jumpin' off topic for a sec.

2010 SLF Tag Champ Joined: Jun 07 2006 Posts: 12294

I can't begin to tell you how awful valis on sega genesis was. I was unfortunate enough to own only that and sonic spinball for a year after getting ym genesis.

Posted: Mar 17 2007 04:16 am

Whatever happened to Bonk, from the NEC/Hudson "Bonk's Adventure" games?

I thought his games were great. Eating meat pisses you off, and you climb cliffs by gnawing your way up them, it doesn't get more manly than that.

Posted: Mar 17 2007 05:01 am

Knyte wrote:

Whatever happened to Bonk, from the NEC/Hudson "Bonk's Adventure" games?

They put the first one up on the Virtual Console. Has anyone ever played the sci-fi spin-off Zonk?

Posted: Mar 17 2007 09:02 am

That list is kind of bizarre, there's a lot of characters who were only in one game. I think in order to qualify as a forgotten hero, you need to be a character from a once-successful franchise that has since died off. Speaking of which, the Golden Axe team would be a good example.

Joined: Feb 26 2007 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 10

Syd Lexia wrote:

That list is kind of bizarre, there's a lot of characters who were only in one game. I think in order to qualify as a forgotten hero, you need to be a character from a once-successful franchise that has since died off.

I agree. So I forward Mike Jones from Star Tropics. That is still a favorite of mine, and one that would be neat to see done on recent system (the action plus puzzle in every room ethos).

Cheers,

Andrew

Posted: Mar 17 2007 10:44 am

I think we might finally see some older NES characters come back. With both Smash Brothers and the Virtual Console, Nintendo is trying to appeal to retrogamers and old schoolers alike. A new Kid Icaurus, StarTropics, or Earthbound. Earthbound 2/Mother 3 got a GBA release in Japan, but I want a console game, dammit!

Posted: Mar 17 2007 10:56 am

Syd Lexia wrote:

I want a console game, dammit!

That age is over. The mainstream release of a good 2d platformer or RPG on a console, not a handheld, is over. We'll never see another 2d Metroid, another 2d Castlevania, nothing. It sucks to accept, but you gotta come to terms with the truth sooner or later, or you're just gonna get really drunk and take it out on your wife like I do.

Posted: Mar 17 2007 11:06 am

Murdar Machene wrote:

That age is over. The mainstream release of a good 2d platformer or RPG on a console, not a handheld, is over. We'll never see another 2d Metroid, another 2d Castlevania, nothing. It sucks to accept, but you gotta come to terms with the truth sooner or later, or you're just gonna get really drunk and take it out on your wife like I do.

I think what it comes down to is gameplay hours. All the classic platformers can be beaten in a matter of a few hours. Hell, you can beat the original SMB in under 10 minutes. Look at New Super Mario Brothers. It was fun, but I beat in like two or three days. To be released on a modern console, a new 2D platformer would have be at least 20 times as big as Super Mario World and include all sorts of unlockable art galleries and multiplayer versus modes.

I think a 2D RPG could work on a new console, but it's also not especially necessary. There are plenty of rendered RPGs that still rely on the old school 2D mechanics. Also, Mother 3 was originally planned as an N64 game and it was going to be 3D.

2010 SLF Tag Champ Joined: Jun 07 2006 Posts: 12294

SOTN and metroid type of platformers are different than mario and sonic in 2d. the types of plaformers that take time and exploration woudl do fine if still released on home consoles, if it wasn't for the fact taht the new generation has been force fed so much ghost recon and madden that they wouldn't accept it if it DID come by. there aren't enough hardcore gamers left to make the sales.

Posted: Mar 17 2007 06:27 pm

There's still hope for innovative and fun games. Sure, we get them in much less of a quantity then we used to, but they're still out there.

What saddens me is something one of my friends said yesterday when I booted up SSB Melee. "Dude, games are all about gore. That's why I didn't buy a Gamecube." Crying

2010 SLF Tag Champ Joined: Jun 07 2006 Posts: 12294

that saddens me three times as much as you.

Posted: Mar 17 2007 09:11 pm

That list...

Mappy almost faded from my mind til I downloaded Namco Classics 1 (mame), but actually, I got that to play Xevious Arrangement co-op...

Mappy entertained me as much now as when I first played it.

And Char, that's terrible.

Posted: Mar 18 2007 11:22 am

Knyte wrote:

Whatever happened to Bonk, from the NEC/Hudson "Bonk's Adventure games?

not to mention the same guys who released Ys on mobile phones in America (Hudson Entertainment) released Bonk Returns on mobiles here.

...Bonk is not forgotten.

(I forgot the GC/PS2 budget Japanese 2003 remake)

Posted: Mar 18 2007 01:51 pm

Yeah, I know. It's nothing against him, he's a good guy. It's just the idea that our culture has adopted. It's why Doom was turned from a damn fun FPS into a shock-horror crapfest.

Posted: Mar 18 2007 03:45 pm

Mr. Bomberman wrote:

(I forgot the GC/PS2 budget Japanese 2003 remake)

I keep wanting to import that, as well as the Adventure Island remake. Sadly, $40-50 for a remake of a game I'll have beat within a few hours seems like a waste of money.

Joined: Apr 14 2006 Location: Lake Michigan Posts: 3332

I actually downloaded and watched Doom a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it for what it was. I thought it would be total crap, but I was pleasantly surprised. I guess the low expectations helped.

It's no Citizen Kane, but it entertained me. But, I haven't played Doom in at least 5 years, so maybe that's why things like canon violations or anything else inconsistent with the video game didn't bother me.

Posted: Mar 18 2007 03:59 pm

I actually meant the transition from the awesomeness of Doom and Doom 2 to the mediocrity of Doom 3. I haven't seen the Doom movie.

Title: Scientist Joined: Jan 11 2007 Posts: 210

Chick from Valis, Chakam, Rick Taylor.