Ten Old School Videogames That Need to Make a Comeback

The 16-bit era was a time when classic game after classic game was being produced for the home consoles. Iconic games such as Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat and FIFA all had their humble beginnings on the SNES and MegaDrive. Since then they’ve gone on to be long lasting franchises proving that sometimes you need to return to the classics if you're looking for some fun gameplay. But they are just a tiny handful of games that have stood the test of time and transitioned from annals of gaming, there are countless classics that made the 16-bit era so memorable that are now lost in the pages of history — games that could do with a timely reboot.

That doesn't apply solely to 16-bit consoles either, there’s a catalogue of games from the early days of the PlayStation, N64 and Sega’s doomed Saturn and Dreamcast that could easily entice gamers today if given a fresh makeover. At times it's down to the publisher's lack of interest and sometimes it's down to the fact that the original game didn't do good numbers. Either way it results in these games being marked as relics that will likely be forgotten soon.

With a fifth Street Fighter game set to be released mid-February on the PlayStation 4 we thought it was high-time that some of the forgotten classics needed to be reintroduced to today's gamers so we’ve come up with ten games that need to make a comebacck.

In 1999 Nintendo released Smash Bros. for the N64, to counter that Sega dropped Power Stone for the Dreamcast. Developed by Capcom (an exclusive at the time) what Power Stone lacked in a recognisable roster (compared to Smash Bros.) they matched it in all-out fun and bat-s*** craziness. There were tons of multiplayer fun to be had and the level designs we’re like anything unseen at the time for the beat 'em up genre. Ulitising the fully immersive 3D battleground players we're encoruaged to use everything – including the kitchen sink – to defeat their opponent. Despite getting a port to the PSP back in 2006 we think that it’s high time this cult classic gets a reboot on the big boy consoles.

Looking back at this 16-bit classic you can see that it’s pretty tame by today’s standards, but back in 1993 it was a symbol of controversy. Apparently the game struck a nerve with the Daily Star for it’s juxtaposition on war and humor (the game was showcased on Remembrance Day) and it’s use of iconography, which was very similar to the poppy.

But controversy aside this was a very good game. Though clearly dated, Cannon Fodder was one of the first ‘action-strategy’ shoot ‘em ups to be brought to the mainstream. At the time when most action games required little-to-no thinking, Cannon Fodder required players to think more intuitively about their actions and were rewarded for their strategic acumen. Today most action shooters come with a higher sense of strategy but a reboot of the Amiga original on the current-gen consoles (or tablets) with an updated graphics engine, gameplay and added multiplayer could work very well.

Okay we’ll be the first to admit this game was total pants and we can imagine most Londoners were slightly offended at how every single exaggerated stereotype got fitted in. We’re talking bigoted cockney gangsters, Yardies in Shoreditch (which is totally inaccurate!) and Triads in Chinatown (because, why not?).

In spite of this developers Team Soho had a good concept of a sandbox game based in London and if you could get past the cockney clichés it was still enjoyable. There's nothing like rampaging down the wrong side of the road on Regent Street whilst trying to avoid The Met. Unfortunately the game was released around the same time as GTA: Vice City, so it never stood a chance with the critics. It still did solid numbers, actually it was so successful that it got a sequel – The Getaway: Black Monday (the less said about that the better). A potential third game was teased but later scrapped, leaving us with what could've been.

Now, imagine if Rockstar we’re to buy the developing/publishing rights to The Getaway . We’d finally get a game where there would be zero f***s given to the British traffic laws and we could live out that dream off petrol bombing an East London coffee house with no real world consequences. Also we’d imagine it would come with a host of killer radio stations/a soundtrack full of electro, drum and bass, house, grime and indie.

The side-scrolling beat ‘em up genre died when the world was introduced to the PlayStation and the Nintendo 64, it felt like there was no place for it. However despite its age, the Streets of Rage games (the second installment in particular) is still honest-to-god fun — one play through and you'll be asking yourself 'Why hasn't this game been rebooted for the todays consoles?'. The idea of a side scrolling beat-em up in modern gaming culture hasn’t been fully realised, the closest we’ve got to was Rockstar’s adaptation of The Warriors. Maybe a game with a legacy like Streets of Rage can revitalise the genre.

Much like Streets of Rage, Golden Axe was a 2D side-scroller but with a fantasy element to it and that's where the comparisons for a reboot end. Whilst Streets of Rage would most likely be restricted to the objective of beating up thugs and mob bosses, Golden Axe has the opportunity to stray from that territory.

Imagine a Golden Axe game that fuses both the frustrating yet addictive gameplay of Dark Souls and Bloodborne with the RPG elements of Skyrim and World of Warcraft. Throw in a Game of Thrones-style tone/plot and you've got a recipe for a revitalised classic. Also, who wouldn’t want to play as axe-wielding dwarf?

When the PlayStation finally reached UK shores one of the main reasons to fork out a months pay cheque (or in our case, beg mum and dad) was WipeOut. It wasn’t the most groundbreaking game ever but it was nonetheless poignant. It blew our tiny little minds to play a fully-realised 3D racing game. With breakneck speed, baffling race courses and a soundtrack featuring the likes of Orbital and The Chemical Brothers the WipeOut series holds a dear place in a lot of older gamers hearts.

Whilst there is no shortage in the number of futuristic/sci-fi themed racing games out right now we’d love to see a triumphant return for the pioneering series on today's consoles.

Jet Set Radio was a one of a kind game when it originally came out on the Dreamcast, mixing elements of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series with a vibrant artistic edge, and players were in for a unique gaming experience.

Using quick time action events your character had to skate through the streets of Tokyo throwing up graffiti tags whilst avoiding the police and rival crews. The cell-shaded anime-like graphics suited the colourful tone of the environment and was deemed a cult classic accompanied by an equally banging soundtrack. Visually a game like this would do well if rebooted for today’s current gaming platforms. With the ability to create and customise your own avatar, plus the graffiti designs that he/she uses, we feel a game like this can inspire a whole new wave of artistic creativity from its players.

The first Earthworm Jim game on SNES and MegaDrive mixed fun 2D-level designs with off-brand humour, something that’s severely lacking in video games these days. Duke Nukem tried to bring back his brand of 90s-inspired humour in 2011 but ultimately failed, however that won’t necessarily be the same if an Earthworm Jim game was to remade for modern day gamers. With the right writers on board they could pen Jim to appeal to a new style of alternative comedy that's found in the likes of Adult Swim's programming. Furthermore we think it's high time that everyone's favourite worm in a super-powered suit returned to the fray.

The zombie-apocalypse is all the rage at the moment, from massively watched shows like The Walking Dead to the endless Resident Evil series. Throwing another undead themed game into the mix wouldn’t do any harm, especially with a game like Zombies Ate My Neighbours – or Zombies as it was known in the Europe.

The reason why this sticks out for us is because of it's tongue-and-cheek humour, whilst most games about the living dead are full of doom and gloom, this 16-bit classic took a rather light-hearted approach. If remade we reckon it would work as a good counterpart for the more serious survival horror games in the market right now.

Capcom has a horde of classic games in their vault that they’re not interested in bringing back anymore, from Mega Man to Final Fight. It seems like if there’s not a zombie virus involved or a man screaming “hadouken” they’re never really interested in brining back any classics for today’s gamers.

Another victim of the publisher/developer’s negligence is the excellent Viewtiful Joe, released when 2D side-scrolling platforms were seen as a niche gimmick it defied all odds by being one of the most addictive and gorgeously designed games for the GameCube and PlayStation 2. For a mainstream game it was like Power Rangers on acid, something that could only come from Japan. We’d love to see Joe comeback at least one more time on the new consoles, preferably on a 2D platform. But knowing Capcom's track record for bringing back their classic we won't be holding our breaths.