With From Software about to release Bloodborne on the PS4 this year, the company just might be looking for a new series to play with. There are plenty of franchises that have been dormant for a time, these difficult franchises need to be resurrected and From Software is the developer to do it.
5) Mega Man
Sadly, Capcom’s dropping the ball on many of their classic franchises and Mega Man‘s been one of the most glaring. Back on the NES, Mega Man was one of the most soul crushing games – its difficult level design and boss battles made many a gamer get good or quit. Much like Demon’s Souls, the original Mega Man games allowed you to pick which level you wanted to begin with. Trial and error was the main factor here, if you chose the wrong level and made it to the boss without the proper power up you were dead in the water.
The same goes for a majority of the Souls series. Sure you can wander into this neck of the woods, but be prepared to die many times until you level up. From Software’s hands on Mega Man with the control scheme of Mega Man Legends, and the over the shoulder look of Dark Souls would be great. There would be less emphasis on platforming in the game, and more of a focus on leveling up you guns and killing the bosses to assimilate their powers. Capcom needs to get on this soon so that they can fix their books and make many a retro gamer happy.
4) Resident Evil
Another certain classic Capcom franchise is seeing new life with the recent HD release of the GameCube remake and people are loving the punishing difficulty of this game. The difficulty and setting alone would be ripe for From Software to pick at. I can surely see From Software succeeding where Slant Six failed on Operation Raccoon City.
Instead of trying to make the game a SOCOM-esq shooter, From Software should take the untold stories of Vickers, Wesker and Burton and pixelate them for us. There’ve been some novels and comic books that tell the harrowing tales of the other mansion surviors, but we’ve never been able to play them. From Software would be able to take us through the Spencer Mansion with their narrative leading the forefront. We’d be able to plot out Wesker’s evil plan, control Barry as he saves Jill hundreds of times throughout the mansion, and even fly the chopper for awhile. All of this sounds like gravy to me. Add in tank controls only plus the original save feature and you have yourself another huge Resident Evil hit.
3) Castlevania
Konami has been in the pits somewhat with some lackluster entries of Castlevania and they need a shot the arm. Tag-teaming Konami/Hideo Kojima and the developers at From Software might just be the medicine they need. We’ve all seen what From Software can do a medieval JRPG based game, so why not toss the reigns of Castlevania to them? Not many current gamers have had the joy of playing through the original games.
From Software could take those short campaigns from the original games and turn them into a next generation masterpiece. They, however, aren’t allowed to touch Symphony of the Night – that game’s already perfect. The RPG elements and level design that they have perfect through the Souls franchise would meld perfectly with a Belmont romp through Dracula’s world. Add in some finishing touches from the Fox Engine with some Kojima cut scenes and there is a monster of a game.
2) Sunset Riders
Konami has another dormant franchise that really needs to see the sunlight again. Sunset Riders was a side-scrolling, co-op Western shooter. Shooters are something that we see plenty of nowadays, but games set in the Wild West are very hard to come by. This game wasn’t really well-known for it’s difficulty, but for the fact that you could have a bunch of buddies come over and play together to win and ride off into the sunset.
From Software could take a mystical turn with the story, and make it a 3rd person over the shoulder view as you go from ghost town to abandoned mine with your friends. Leveling up your shotgun and pistol the Souls way would make the game addicting, and add to that the fact that there are very few Wild West games around, From shouldn’t let this one ride away.
1) Ghosts and Goblins
It might seem like I’m ragging a lot on Capcom in this article, and it’s definitely not because I dislike it – I love Capcom and want to see them brought back to their former glory. Ghosts and Goblins was one of my very favorite games when I was a youngster, I never, ever got very far in the game, but I loved running and jumping trying to save the princess. This is one of those games that I’ve never beaten, but I haven’t tried it recently, I’m thinking I should so that I can take it off my bucket list. To be honest, I would rather have a current-gen version by From Software.
This is another IP that they’d easily be able to hop right into – the armor, the weapons and the enemies are all right up their alley. I doubt there’ll be much platforming in this incarnation, but instead, they could add timed events while battling, and the overall helplessness if you go to the wrong area before you are ready.
The one thing they would have to keep though is the health meter, instead of having a bar over the top of the screen they would need to have the armor pieces be the declaration of how poorly you are doing. Just thinking about this makes me want to start an Operation Rainfall just so I can get this into my overloved PS4.
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What games would you like to see From Software tackle now that Bloodborne’s gone gold? Sound off in our poll or in comments below and tell us what franchises you think deserve a makeover.