With the biggest group of
first party developers in the industry, Sony isn’t hurting for exclusives. But even with the deluge of games that can only be played on PlayStation platforms, Sony still has an extensive list of licenses that have gone dormant. Some of them were developed by that aforementioned roster of first party studios, and others by second and third party developers. But there’s a common theme among all of the series: Sony owns them and can revive them anytime it chooses.
With that said, which 10 Sony-owned franchises should be brought back to life?
Oh, and Sony doesn’t own Crash Bandicoot. So now you know why it’s not on the list!
Colony Wars
In the mid-1980s, a studio was formed in the United Kingdom called Psygnosis. The small team there developed a slew of new games, from Deep Space to Barbarian to Shadow of the Beast. But when the 1990s came calling, Psygnosis was acquired by Sony and began to create games exclusively for its fledgling PlayStation console. One of those games was Colony Wars, a beloved adventure that put players in the role of a spaceship-piloting badass. Colony Wars is perhaps best known for uniquely gauging the performance of the gamer and giving him or her different endings depending on what happened leading up to the finale.
Colony Wars was followed up by two sequels on PlayStation – Vengeance and Red Sun – but the series went suspiciously quiet thereafter. Directly after the release of Red Sun, Sony changed the name of Psygnosis to Sony Studio Liverpool and the team has been focused entirely on racing games ever since (from F1 to the revered Wipeout). So Colony Wars’ disappearance likely has everything to do with that. Still, Studio Liverpool’s pedigree is well-established with Wipeout in particular, and fans have been clamoring for a new Colony Wars game for over a decade. The time seems right to bring it back.
Dark Cloud
Sony doesn’t own the studio that created the Dark Cloud action-RPG franchise, but it does own the name. And the developer behind Dark Cloud – Level-5 – has a long-time working relationship with Sony on games running the gamut from Rogue Galaxy to Ni No Kuni. So it would only be natural that Level-5 would bring Dark Cloud back. After all, the series was commercially and critically successful, and its disappearance from this generation of gaming has proven to be a bit of a mystery.
Both Dark Cloud games on PlayStation 2 were third-person action-RPGs with a heavy emphasis on endless exploration, fighting myriad foes and keeping your inventory stocked with a variety of items you’d find along the way. Dark Cloud also toted randomly generated dungeons that fans of other PlayStation games like, say, Azure Dreams, certainly loved. Dark Cloud engrossed players with fluid gameplay and provided an incredible amount of bang for the buck, and its return on PlayStation 3 (or PlayStation Vita) would be most welcome.
Fat Princess
Out of all of the games on this list, Fat Princess is the newest, and it’s also one that Sony seems keen on continuing to support. After all, Fat Princess herself was one of the first six playable characters revealed in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, and the studio that created her and her 2009 PSN hit still works with Sony, though with a slightly altered team and under a different moniker: Fun Bits Interactive. They’re the guys and gals that brought you Escape Plan, one of the most popular games on PlayStation Vita, so there’s no doubt that they have some more quirkiness and hilarity up their sleeves. The only question is will Sony let them have at it?
Fat Princess came to PlayStation Network at the wrong time. 2009 wasn’t exactly a gangbusters year for PS3 sales numbers, and the multiplayer-centric game could have used the millions that have joined the PSN since then. Of course, the formula doesn’t need to change; we just need more of it. Perhaps Fat Princess would fit best on Sony’s new handheld with a dedicated online component. Fat Princess on the go via Sony’s sleek new handheld would be a dream come true for many.
Folklore
- Developed by: Game Republic
- Games: Folklore (2007, PS3)
Folklore was among the first batch of exclusives to be launched on PlayStation 3, and although it was well-received by critics, it didn’t sell well due to the fact that, in 2007, few people actually owned Sony’s expensive machine. Still, Folklore showed great promise to many of those that did play it, and seeing the return of Ellen and Keats in a new game, whether on PlayStation 3 or PlayStation Vita, would be a good move for the current lineup as well as for giving people reason to go back and play the previous, oft-overlooked game from PS3’s infancy.
The thing is, the developer of this action-RPG – Game Republic – no longer exists. Its last game, Knights Contract, was critically panned and sold horrendously at retail, acting as the nail in the coffin as it jumped from one badly received project to the next (including the likes of Clash of the Titans and Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom). Still, Sony owns the name and could easily get another studio to work on it. And it’s worth Sony’s consideration, because Folklore shouldn’t be lost in the basement of gaming history.
Heavenly Sword
In the first year of PlayStation 3’s life, Heavenly Sword was perhaps the best and most well-received PlayStation 3 exclusive. The story of protagonist Nariko was a compelling one, and Heavenly Sword’s combo-based, hack-and-slash gameplay satisfied the first batch of PlayStation 3 owners. While one can’t help but wonder if (and even assume that) Nariko herself will be in the upcoming brawler PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, equal wonder should be directed at if we’ll ever get a Heavenly Sword sequel that brings the story of the game forward.
The good news is that developer Ninja Theory readily admitted that it wanted to do a sequel to Heavenly Sword in the years after its release. Indeed, Ninja Theory was ready to go beyond a second game and even do a third, working towards making Heavenly Sword into a fully-realized trilogy on PlayStation 3. But nothing materialized, likely leaving Heavenly Sword dead… for now. But perhaps Sony could coax Ninja Theory to jump into a sequel on PlayStation 4 (or whatever it will be called) after its Devil May Cry reboot is finished.
Jet Moto
One of the great mysteries of the PlayStation 2 era was how Jet Moto never successfully segued from the PSone to its successor. Jet Moto was a raving success during the PlayStation’s heyday, with its watercraft-centric, arcadey gameplay a staple of many a gamers’ library. Interestingly, some of the remnants of the developer of the first two Jet Moto games, SingleTrac, helped create the deceased Sony first-party studio Incognito Entertainment (responsible for Warhawk on PS3), so perhaps Jet Moto has some bad mojo attached to it. But still, it’s one of the great no-brainers in terms of dormant series Sony could revisit.
Then again, Sony did intend on revisiting Jet Moto during the PlayStation 2 era, with two sequels – one confirmed, the other rumored – never seeing the light of day. Jet Moto 2124 was cancelled well into its development cycle, while Jet Moto: SOLAR certainly existed at one point, though Sony scant said a peep about it. Jet Moto may not have the legacy of say Twisted Metal, but it’s still a recognizable name that will fill a niche on PlayStation products that nothing else does. At the very least, revisiting the series on PSN or PlayStation Vita would be totally appropriate, and perhaps open up a market for the PSone Classic iterations of the original trilogy as well.
Legend of Legaia
As the unlikely fusion of two genres – JRPG and fighting – Legend of Legaia didn’t exactly set the world on fire when it was released on the PlayStation in 1999. Still, it garnered a following and some critical acclaim as well. After all, it attempted to change the JRPG formula at a time when things started to get a little stale, and it did so rather successfully. Legaia wasn’t as complicated as its fighting game contemporaries at the time, but it was a breath of fresh air, and the adventures of Vahn, Noa an Gala acted as one of the fitting conclusions to the rather epic chain of quality JRPGs that came to PlayStation during its lifecycle.
Sony did release a sequel to Legend of Legaia, aptly called Legaia 2: Duel Saga. It came to PlayStation 2 in the west in 2002 and sold relatively poorly in both its native territory of Japan as well as in North America and Europe. Much of that likely had to do with losing some of the essence of what made the original so great. Sony could aim to recapture the spirit of Legend of Legaia with a third game in the series, or perhaps even an outright reboot. More complicated mechanics could lead to a deeper experience, again separating Legaia from its JRPG counterparts, which are more tired today than they’ve ever been.
Parappa the Rapper
- Developed by: NanaOn-Sha
- Games: Parappa the Rapper (1997, PSone), UmJammer Lammy (1999, PSone), Parappa the Rapper 2 (2002, PS2)
Like a couple of other games on this list, Parappa the Rapper’s inclusion in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale signals one of two things. Either Sony is paying keen attention to its storied past and giving players characters that they’ll love, or Sony's testing the waters to see if Parappa the Rapper is still a viable character that can carry his own game 15 years after he originally hit PlayStation. Parappa the Rapper was one of the original music games, and both he and the cast of characters around him were both hilarious and lovable. But does the straight-forward gameplay of the original still translate today?
The fact is, neither UmJammer Lammy on PlayStation or, more critically, Parappa the Rapper’s direct sequel on PlayStation 2 lived up to the original. And that proved problematic for the future of everyone’s favorite two-dimensional rap star. But if given enough love and attention, Parappa the Rapper could most certainly make a comeback, and it would likely make most sense on PlayStation Vita, where the touchpads could give players new input options to freshen things up. The original developer, NanaOn-Sha, most recently worked on an XBLA game called Haunt, but now that it’s done, perhaps more Parappa the Rapper is in its future?
Syphon Filter
- Developed by: Eidetic (later Sony Bend)
- Games: Syphon Filter (1999, PSone), Syphon Filter 2 (2000, PSone), Syphon Filter 3 (2001, PSone), Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain (2004, PS2), Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror (2006, PSP/PS2), Syphon Filter: Logan’s Shadow (2007, PSP/PS2)
Many PlayStation fans have assumed for several years that more Syphon Filter was in the works. The studio that’s created them all – Sony Bend – has been asked time and time again about a new Syphon Filter project to follow-up 2007’s Logan’s Shadow. But mum’s the word. There’s been plenty of evidence since 2009 that Bend was working on a new Syphon Filter for at least a little while, and rumors continue to indicate that Bend will bring Syphon Filter to PlayStation 3 or PlayStation Vita – or perhaps even both – sometime soon. That, of course, would be great news for those who want to see more of Gabe Logan in action, especially considering that Logan’s Shadow, the last entry in the series, ends with a cliffhanger.
The thing is, perhaps Sony Bend has painted itself into a bit of a corner. It’s fully-owned by Sony and likely can’t pick the projects it wants to work on. It proved itself time and time again with Syphon Filter, giving them a chance to work on another franchise with the highly successful PSP game Resistance: Retribution. It was then given Sony’s crown jewel IP – Uncharted – which it crafted for PlayStation Vita. In other words, they’ve proven so adept in recent years that perhaps there’s just no time, no money and no resources for a new Syphon Filter when they keep working on other projects that are so well-received. But there’s still cause for hope, and maybe we’ll hear about the continuation of Syphon Filter soon.
The Getaway
During the height of the Guy Ritchie craze, The Getaway came to PlayStation 2. And it was like playing your very own version of Lock Stock or Snatch. It was set in the UK, had an amazing cast of voice actors and placed emphasis not only on frantic car chases and gun battles but also on character development. It was modeled as competition for Grand Theft Auto III, but without a truly open world sandbox to work with nor the “play forever and do what you want while you do” mentality, The Getaway was setup to fail.
Still, Sony London’s internal Team Soho did a wonderful job of crafting a game well worth your attention, even if its sequel, Black Monday, didn’t live up to the heights of the original. Sony London has long been rumored to have worked on The Getaway for PlayStation 3 midway through last decade, though the project was likely abandoned when Black Monday failed to garner much critical or commercial love. Still, seeing The Getaway return would make those who loved the original smile from ear to ear and would be a great way for Sony to fully realize its attempt to compete with the likes of GTA.
Source : ign[dot]com
No comments:
Post a Comment