20 Game Franchises We Want to See Make a Triumphant Comeback

Trends in major gaming, at this point in history at least, seem to be circling in a somewhat static and predictable pattern. A pattern of a pattern, if you want to be completely honest.

We see many of the same franchises recycled year after and year, spawning sequel after sequel. Which is...fine. Pizza is a beautiful thing, but who wants to eat it everyday? Thankfully, outlets like Kickstarter and Steam (and Microsoft and Sony..to a degree) provide the resources that allow developers to produce original titles that are the occasional shrimp tempura used to break up that pizza binge.

When developers aren't producing new intellectual properties, they should look to the past for some gems that could just as easily be dusted off. What always blows our mind is the rich history of franchise just laying around waiting for some evil genius to breathe new life into. Sure, sure, we're nearly positive that some of these are tied up in ownership and licensing hell, but who wouldn't love to get a new Shinobi title?

Here are 20 Video Game Franchises We Want to See Make a Triumphant Comeback.

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Developer Naughty Dog has the gaming world eating out of the palm of its hand as their recent release The Last of Us is garnering more critical praise than a un-discovered Warhol in your grandparent's attic.

Crash Bandicoot is the seventh best selling PlayStation title ever and it's been too long since he's had a solo adventure. Update everything except the tone and characteristics that made it hugely successful and put Naughty Dog back at the helm and you've got yourself a winner.

Now that Disney owns the rights to all things Star Wars, it would be soooo dope if they dusted off this classic title for an updated remake.

The original TIE Fighter was praised for its enemy AI and many critics point to it as the greatest space-fighter ever made. Imagine what could be done to the 1994 title with today's engines? What else could be better than downing Rebels as an Imperial pilot with today's graphics?

While it's been teased that we are getting another Legacy of Kain title...sort of. Nosgoth was teased at E3 this year, but it was described as,

"very much on a separate branch to both the Soul Reaver and Blood Omen series"

Cool. You know what? Just give us back Kain and Raziel and you can keep your 'open world, multiplayer experience.' Keep the writing tight and the gameplay bloody and give fans a true return to form.

The easiest way to get non-sports playing gamers to play a sports game? Trick them into not thinking it's a sports game by swapping the players out with zombies and werewolves.

Mutant Football League was released by EA and was on the same footing as Madden at the time. Can you imagine what a Madden 13 football title would look like if all of the players were able to pull each other's heads off and summon demons on field? So metal.

Another commercial failure that went to become a cult hit thanks largely in part to its remarkably original heroes, sense of humor, and still dope soundtrack.

ToeJam & Earl was re-released on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console in 2006, but two immediately iconic characters of the Sega age are due more than just a port. Give this franchise an overhaul, while keeping the overall flavor of the series intact and make it a digital download. Sega, get on it.

Shinobi has seen itself reinvented many times over the years since it began as a stand alone arcade cabinet.

Most recently as a Nintendo 3DS title, the series has never been able to capture the attention it once did as a Sega title. Shinobi even saw itself released as a PlayStation 2 title in 2002 to overwhelmingly 'meh' reviews.

What the series needs is a return to form. Make it 2D, focus on stealth, and bring back the throwing star mini-game. Look how well Mark of the Ninja did. Don't try and reinvent the wheel, just give us a solid ninja game.

While many gamers of a certain age may only be familiar with Strider from his appearances in any one of the Capcom vs titles, older fans will remember him from the nostalgically difficult Strider arcade game.

He was ported to the NES in 1989, but he's long overdue for a comeback in a solo title. Keeping the blade and acrobatic mechanics intact would be mandatory, but turn the title into a 3D world without it making a Devil May Cry clone and you'd have a title for both new and old fans.

With their most recent appearance being playable characters in the Xbox 360 version of Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing, people often forget how much of a commercial and critical success Banjo-Kazooie was when it first came out in 1998.

The game was way ahead of its peers in terms of level and character design, and it was given universal acclaim. Considering that we are about to see what next generation consoles can do, there's no better time than to see a return of the franchise.

This Capcom franchise is one of the most enduring character driven titles they have in their stable.

The Ghosts and Goblins series has remained surprisingly relevant, with the series, or heroes, making cameos on a fairly regular basis. From iOS titles to the very recent Capcom, Namco, Sega mash-up Project X Zone, Arthur has played a bit role.

He's way overdue for a new Ghosts and Goblins where he's the main attraction. Keep the difficulty ratcheted up and let Arthur and Lancelot run the game.

XIII (Thirteen) could have easily been overlooked as a generic, early 2000s first-person shooter, if not for the incredibly stylized art direction of the title.

It married elements of graphic novels and comic books through cell-shading and integrating panels throughout the narrative. Successfully pull off a head-shot and you were treated to an animation similar to the one above. The game may have had balance issues, and the story felt a little lopsided, but a modern revisiting that could tweak those issues would be amazing.

Earthworm Jim has been re-packaged and ported more times than we can count.

Interplay even announced a new Earthworm Jim title way back in 2008, but since then nothing has come of it. What needs to happen is a re-capturing of the low-brow charm that made the first Jim title so memorable.

There was something so cartoonishly satisfying about the Earthworm Jim series that we miss and would love to see revisited.

Another Nintendo classic that has been ported to both the Wii U and Wii Virtual Console, but the last time anyone saw any new F-Zero material was when people still had Gamecubes in their homes.

Not since 2004 has F-Zero attempted to produce new content and we think that's damn near criminal. Leave the concept intact and update literally everything else about this racer and holler when we get to bump fools off the track and into oblivion in 1080p.

We've expressed our love for Battle Toads on more than one occasion.

We were almost certain that some new incarnation of the series was going to be announced at this year's E3, but like our first choice college pick, we were rejected yet again.

If Nintendo really wants to drive gamers to the Wii U, here's a perfect place to get started. Sure, it would be a nostalgia heavy title attracting gamers of a certain age, but those are the ones with disposable incomes.

Yet another commercial failure/critical darling, we may see a Psychonauts sequel sooner than later thanks to Kickstarter.

Psychonauts' creator Tim Schaffer, and the development team over at Double Fine Games, have had a ton of success funding passion projects thanks to the crowd-sourcing website.

Costume Quest, Iron Brigade, and most recently Massive Chalice have all been put into production thanks to Kickstarter. What do we have to do to see another Psychonauts? Beg?

The last time anyone heard anything from the Timesplitters franchise was back in 2005 with the release of TimeSplitters: Future Perfect and we are well past due for another installment.

Supposedly a TimeSplitters 4 exists and resides somewhere in the seventh circle of 'indefinite postponement', according to Crytek Studios, who now owns the rights to the series. The title was going to be designed for next-gen consoles, but for the time being we can only hope to see TimeSplitters 4 on a PS4 or Xbox One.

Another N64 gem that is destined for obscurity if Disney hates the idea of money. But since Disney loves money, we may actually get a chance to see another Rogue Squadron title this decade.

We never thought another Battlefront title would ever see the light of day and look how that turned out. There was something so remarkably pitch-perfect and original trilogy awesome about the first Rogue Squadron that we dare Disney not to see the value in putting the defibrillator paddles on this series.

Put us back in the trenchs of the Death Star anytime.

OK, this is a far-fetched personal fantasy that we will put on our wish list, because fuck it, they brought back Killer Instinct, didn't they?

A 2005 Gameboy Advance sequel was released, but we would love to see remake in the style of the Sega classic.

I think we can all admit that the concept of Def Jam: Vendetta was more impressive than the execution.

However, the concept was epic and if the mechanics were updated, along with the roster, fuck us, there's gold to be had. Put 2 Chainz, Eminem, Kanye, Juicy J, Lil' Wayne, and whoever else you'd like to see suplexed into traction into a new title and sit back and watch units fly off shelves.

This seems like it just needs the right money behind it to make it happen.

(cough, Jay-Z, cough)

Another obscure title from the PS1 era, MDK is just begging to be unearthed and given a face-lift. The MDK series was ahead of its time in terms of both technical gameplay and narrative.

A third person shooter that is most remembered by the fact that you wore a battle helmet that could switch to a first person mode, essentially turning your head into a sniper rifle. Yes, it was a helmet and your rifle. Throw in a multiplayer mode and you've got a winner.

Oh, the Yeti of gaming franchises.

What was slated to be a monstrous 16-chapter saga eventually ended up as two games encompassing only five chapters. One of these wasn't even in the game but, instead, published in a Japan-only released manga.

The first release on the Dreamcast was undoubtedly one of the best titles for what was an exceptional console. Cited as a pioneer in 3D open world gaming, Shenmue is often mentioned fondly and frequently when talking about games we miss. One of the first titles to have real-time day and night cycles and massive playable environment, another Shenmue follow up to Shemue II has been on hold for the better part of 13 years. Someone, for the love of all things polygonal give us the next insallment in the series.