Skyler Orton
Nintendo has a storied history with several of the most recognizable IPs of all time. From Mario to Kirby their characters are endlessly recognizable. Unfortunately not every game series has gotten that type of love. In fact Nintendo has a lot of franchises that have been dormant for years. Here’s some I think should make a comeback.
5. Mario Baseball- Last game: Mario Supper Sluggers (2008)- Wii
Is it cheating to ask for a Mario series to come back despite the series’ omnipresence over everything Nintendo? I would argue no since we have been long overdue for a Mario baseball revival. Mario sports spinoffs are getting simpler and simpler with every release. The two baseball spinoffs the GameCube’s Mario Superstar Baseball and the Wii’s Mario Super Sluggers are games that are approachable for general audiences but have a lot of depth under the surface.
Every team member has prebuilt chemistry with each other which improves their performance with each other. This limitation on teambuilding encourages creativity which means a lot of the real game happens before the match even starts. The real gameplay is great too, especially playing Mario Super Sluggers with a nunchuck. Overall right now we’re overloaded with mediocre sports spinoffs like Mario Strikers Battle League and Mario Golf Super Rush but I think that one strong baseball game could be a turning point for Mario sports games. Mario Tennis Fever is a good step in the right direction but is ultimately pretty samey still so it would be good to get fresh blood in the series.
4. The Legendary Starfy– Last game: The Legendary Starfy (2008)- DS
For western markets The Legendary Starfy is probably one of the most obscure titles released for the original DS. However in Japan, the series was moderately successful, releasing five total games across the DS and the GBA. You play as Starfy, an anthropomorphic starfish who is also the prince of an ocean kingdom called Pufftop. The series is Nintendo at its most charming with all of the oceanic character designs. It’s not all just fluff though the gameplay is genuinely fun as well.
The Legendary Starfy games are platformers but since they take place in the ocean they play like a Mario ocean level or even close to Kirby’s floaty movement. There wasn’t always a ton of difficulty there, but the gameplay is still ridiculously fun and I’d love to see it make a comeback. I think there’s an audience for it too provided Nintendo budgets it accordingly. The era of lower price titles has long passed for Nintendo but if you market it towards kids at a lower price it could be a huge success.
3. Earthbound/Mother Last game: Mother 3 (2006)- GBA
The Earthbound series (Mother in Japan) is generally one of the most requested titles to return. The cries of fans begging for an English release of Mother 3 have gone unanswered for so long that it’s borderline a meme. But the truth is this is one of the most influential RPG series of all time and that alone means it deserves at the very least a rerelease and (if put in the right hands) a new game. While the original designer Shigesato Itoi is retired, today’s indie scene proves that there are plenty of great minds who could carry the torch of the series. Regardless of if we do get a new game, we wouldn’t have the countless games that are now regarded as classics such as Undertale, Omori, LISA: The Painful, OFF, and many others so it’s worth looking back at why Earthbound is still so influential.
Earthbound is most known for a couple things. The pixel visuals are whimsical but also just eerie enough to give the entire series the edgy vibe (see the literal enemy named Barf or the infamous scratch n sniff stickers) that’s been the most influential. However, it’s held up with a healthy dose of heart that makes the whole series feel earnest even in its darkest moments. All of these things are still wanted in the gaming landscape today so the original creative team returning to take a try at a revival would be worth the time. To be fair any revival has the potential to upset the enormous community of online fans that celebrate this cult classic.
2. Wario Land Last game: Wario Land: Shake It! (2008)- Wii
Nintendo’s most famous antihero has gotten a lot of time in the spotlight the last few years. The character’s self-titled WarioWare series has gotten regular releases since WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. Since then that’s pretty much all Nintendo’s done with the character and, while I adore those games, that’s a huge shame. His previous series, the Wario Land games, were some of the best platformers of the Game Boy era. With the exception of the somewhat misguided (but aesthetically appealing) Wario Land: Shake It in 2008 the series hasn’t had a traditional release since 2001’s excellent Wario Land 4.
That’s far too long to leave dormant a series this consistently creative and engaging. For those who haven’t played, the Wario Land games are frenetic fast paced platformers that take advantage of a ridiculously fluid movement system. Now is the time to make a comeback too since this exact style of game has made a huge comeback in the indie scene with games like Pizza Tower being very successful. Nintendo bringing back the original series now would be a dream come true. With the release of one of the first games with the Virtual Boy on Switch 2 now might be the time to bring back the series in full.
1. Kid Icarus Last Game: Kid Icarus: Uprising (2012)- 3DS
Kid Icarus is an interesting franchise since many players will recognize the characters but very few will have touched a Kid Icarus game. Characters like Pit and Palutena are very popular among fans of the Super Smash Bros. franchise but their games are obscure. That’s because there are only three games total, the original two games on the NES and Game Boy respectively and Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS. It’s the latter game that I would love to see revived more than anything else.
Kid Icarus: Uprising is the brain child of Super Smash Bros. designer Masahiro Sakurai who created it to revive the dead Kid Icarus series. The game was an enormous success and its mix of a 3rd person shooter and on rails combat was one of the best games for the 3DS. Not only was the gameplay fun, the world and characters were genuinely hilarious. The game’s spin on Greek mythology is really what kept me playing since it was just so fresh. Since Uprising came out in 2012 the series has once again remained dormant but is now the time for it to make a comeback? I would argue that we’re more than overdue for a sequel.
Were there any series you’d like to see back that we missed. Let us know in the comments below.
