Ten Nintendo classics that have to make a come back

Pikmin 4 will be released next week. Fans of Nintendo’s adorable strategy game series had to wait over ten years for a new game. But Pikmin is far from the only franchise relegated to the archives by Nintendo.

These ten Nintendo IPs have long deserved a sequel.

Eternal Darkness: a horror game from Nintendo? Oh yeah.

In this psychological horror experience for the Gamecube, you control a total of twelve playable characters. The game’s story spans two millennia and takes you to different historical settings. All the characters have one thing in common: they battle an ancient monster that wants to enslave humanity.

One of Eternal Darkness’ particularly notable features is the Sanity Meter. The more anxious your character becomes, the more they hallucinate. These delusions often break the fourth wall in the process. Your TV turns off and on again. Bugs suddenly crawl across your screen. The game crashes. Your Gamecube erases all your saves.

These brief hallucinations make for countless heart-stopping moments and are some of the most awesome I’ve experienced in video games.

Canadian developer Silicon Knights no longer exists. The rights are held by Nintendo. Nintendo doesn’t seem interested in a new spin-off due to meagre sales figures. Game director Denis Dyack launched a Kickstarter campaign to develop a spiritual successor in 2013 – unfortunately without success. The future of Eternal Darkness looks, well, eternally dark.

• Number of games in the series: 1
• Time passed since last release: 21 years
• Likelihood of new game: highly unlikely due to lacklustre sales.

F-Zero: futuristic high-speed racing

The first F-Zero game appeared for the Super Nintendo in 1991. Compared to other racers, the game scored with a futuristic setting and fast-paced contests.

More spin-offs followed for the Nintendo 64 and the Gameboy Advance. The Gamecube version, F-Zero GX, was released in 2003 and was my first point of contact with the franchise. The game looks incredible by Gamecube standards. Up to 30 male and female drivers compete in chaotic races across varied sci-fi tracks. Due to the extremely high speed, the game is very challenging and not for the faint of heart.

Takaya Imamura, former F-Zero developer, doesn’t see a future for the franchise. In an interview with VGC, he states that a new F-Zero is out of the question for Nintendo. One of the reasons for this is the immense success of Mario Kart – according to Imamura, Nintendo doesn’t need a second racing game given its sales figures. Shame. At least fans of the futuristic racing game can console themselves with the F-Zero track Big Blue in Mario Kart 8.

• Number of games in the series: 7
• Last game in the series: F-Zero Climax (2004, Gameboy Advance, Japan only)
• Time passed since last release: 19 years
• Likelihood of new game: highly unlikely due to Mario Kart.

Hotel Dusk: an interactive crime novel with Take on Me aesthetics

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is an excellent adventure-crime game released in 2007 for the Nintendo DS. Visually, the hand-drawn character models are reminiscent of A-ha’s iconic Take on Me music video.

As down-and-out ex-cop Kyle Hyde, you solve a mysterious case in an equally run-down hotel. The doodle aesthetic and jazzy soundtrack create a unique mystery atmosphere, completed by an exciting story and clever puzzles. The game is played vertically – you hold the DS like a book, making the game feel like an interactive novel.

Last Window: The Secret of Cape West was a successor for the DS. Developer Cing no longer exists, the game rights are held by Nintendo. Chances of the franchise returning aren’t high. Not least because the two games only sold modestly. A shame – I’d love to check into Hotel Dusk again.

• Number of games in the series: 2
• Last game in the series: Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (2010, Nintendo DS)
• Time passed since last release: 13 years
• Likelihood of new game: highly unlikely due to lacklustre sales.

Metroid Prime: where’s part 4?

The fourth part in Nintendo’s space saga was announced with a cryptic trailer at E3 2017.

After that, there was radio silence for almost two years. The next update followed in 2019 – unfortunately, it wasn’t what Metroid Prime fans were hoping for. In a short video, Senior Managing Executive Officer Shinya Takahashi announced that Metroid Prime 4 didn’t meet Nintendo’s high standards. Development for the game would be completely restarted and handed over to Retro Studios. The studio had already developed the first three Metroid Prime games.

Current status of the game? Unknown. I doubt the game will even be released for the Switch. But Metroid fans haven’t gone completely empty-handed in recent years. A remake of the first Metroid Prime was released for the Switch this year. And if you prefer the classic 2D Metroid games anyway, you’ll be well served with Metroid Dread.

• Number of games in the series: 3 (including spin-offs and re-releases: 8)
• Last game in the series: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007, Wii)
• Time passed since last release: 16 years
• Likelihood of new game: highly likely. Only, when?

Wario Land: Mario’s nemesis deserves more love

For me, the Wario Land games are among the best Nintendo games ever – not least because of their absurd and sometimes crude sense of humour. To me, the gameplay is also more exciting than that of 2D Mario platformers.

Wario is clumsier than Mario and can’t jump high. Instead, he can easily ram through opponents with body checks. The rotund ruffian can’t die. Instead, he can turn into a fireball, zombie and spring. With these abilities, he solves puzzles across a host of levels to find secret exits. Ingenious!

I can’t for the life of me understand why we didn’t get more Wario Land games. Antonblast, a homage to the old Wario games, will be released soon. It was developed by real fans for real fans. If Nintendo doesn’t want to, other development studios will have to step up.

• Number of games in the series: 6
• Last game in the series: Wario Land: Shake It! (2008, Wii)
• Time passed since last release: 15 years
• Likelihood of new game: unlikely. At least there are indie alternatives like Antonblast.

1080° Snowboarding: a Nintendo sports game without Mario (!)

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater sparked a sports gaming boom in the late nineties. Whether it was skateboarding, BMX or snowboarding, extreme sports was one of the biggest and best-selling genres of the early noughties.

But before the monster hype, Nintendo released their own extreme sports game for the Nintendo 64: 1080° Snowboarding. When I first played the game, I was mostly impressed by the graphics. Compared to other Nintendo games, 1080° Snowboarding felt more serious, realistic and cool. The tricks system, which made use of the N64 controller’s analogue stick, was also highly complex and fascinating for the time.

After a disappointing sequel on the Gamecube, both gameplay-wise and commercially, the franchise went quiet. No wonder, the extreme sports sector at that time was saturated with games that played in a different league. Snowboard series SSX by EA Sports was the first among them.

Since then, the hype surrounding extreme sports games has died down anyway. I doubt that Nintendo will dare to make another 1080° game.

• Number of games in the series: 2
• Last game in the series: 1080° Avalanche (2003, Gamecube)
• Time passed since last release: 20 years
• Likelihood of new game: highly unlikely.

Golden Sun: a JRPG gem on the Gameboy Advance

Nowadays, developer Camelot is mostly known for sports games in the Mario universe. But before the countless Mario Tennis and Mario Golf spin-offs, the studio also developed JRPGs – including Golden Sun for the Gameboy Advance. For many, it’s one of the best GBA and role-playing games ever.

The colourful JRPG scores particularly well with its beautiful pixel graphics, exciting battles from a pseudo-3D perspective and a sophisticated magic system. In Golden Sun, you use your magical powers not only in battles, but in puzzles too.

A direct sequel on the Gameboy Advance was followed a few years later by a spin-off for the Nintendo DS. However, that one couldn’t keep up with the original titles, neither in terms of gameplay nor commercially. Nintendo seems to have lost interest in the franchise these days. At least you’ll be able to play the first Golden Sun soon in the Nintendo Switch online subscription.

• Number of games in the series: 3
• Last game in the series: Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (2010, Nintendo DS)
• Time passed since last release: 13 years
• Likelihood of new game: unlikely, Camelot is busy with Mario sports games.

Advance Wars: an adorable war game series

The Wars series originated on the NES. The first game titled Famicom Wars was never released outside of Japan. The successors for the SNES and Gameboy didn’t make it to Europe either.

My first exposure to the series – and to the strategy genre in general – was Advance Wars for the Gameboy Advance. It was the first game in the franchise also released in the US and Europe. The colourful pixel look and beginner-friendly tutorials hooked me right away. I also devoured the sequel. On car trips, in bed and on vacation – the cuddly pocket-sized war games were my constant companions.

More releases for the Nintendo DS followed, as well as spin-offs for the Gamecube and Wii. But after seven intense years of Advance Wars, the series suddenly went quiet. Despite stable sales, Nintendo has dropped the franchise.

Still, Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp, a remake of the first two GBA parts, was released this year. This gives hope for a completely new continuation.

• Number of games in the series: 4 (including spin-offs and re-releases: 7)
• Last game in the series: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (2008, Nintendo DS)
• Time passed since last release: 15 years
• Likelihood of new game: maybe – the remake raises hopes for a sequel.

Wave Race: beautiful bouts across open water

Nintendo’s Jet Ski series originated on the Gameboy. The first Wave Race appeared in 1991 as a top-down racer for the grey handheld. Its leap into the third dimension came a few years later with Wave Race 64 for the Nintendo 64. The game was a showcase for the console’s graphical capabilities.

Wave Race: Blue Storm for the Gamecube went one step further. I was floored by the realistic water at the time. During races, I could literally feel the waves under my virtual jet ski. Depending on the weather, the swell also changed dynamically – an incredible technical feat for the time. Then there’s also the stunning water. Transparency, splashing water, reflections… a dream.

Commercially, Blue Storm was a flop. After the Gamecube spin-off, there were no new Wave Race releases. Some hope for a comeback was raised by former Wave Race producer Shinya Takahashi in an interview with Fandom five years ago: «We have been trying to make many games and that may be one of them. Personally, I love Wave Race». Wave Race 64 was also released last year in the Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

• Number of games in the series: 3
• Last game in the series: Wave Race: Blue Storm (2002, Gamecube)
• Time passed since last release: 21 years
• Likelihood of new game: maybe, though unlikely.

Mario & Luigi: ingenious RPGs with plenty of humour

Okay, granted, there’s no shortage of Mario games. Luigi is also represented in enough games and even has his own series with Luigi’s Mansion. But the Mario & Luigi games occupy a very special place in my gamer heart.

In the role-playing series, you accompany the brothers through insane adventures. These quests often take you to unknown realms, far removed from the well-known Mushroom Kingdom. The stories are told with a lot of humour and a pinch of irony – why can’t the stories in «normal» Mario games be as good?

Another great highlight is turn-based battles, supplemented with real-time elements. Using perfect timing, you can up your damage or dodge enemy attacks by jumping.

The first game was released in 2003 for the Gameboy Advance. After four more DS and 3DS spin-offs, developer Alphadream filed for bankruptcy in 2019. It’s unclear how or whether the series will continue. Just recently, Nintendo announced a remake to the very first SNES Mario RPG. In addition, you can play the first Mario & Luigi game with the Nintendo Switch Online subscription right now. This raises my hopes for the future of the franchise – or at least for Mario RPGs in general.

• Number of games in the series: 5
• Last game in the series: Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (2015, Nintendo 3DS)
• Time passed since last release: 8 years
• Likelihood of new game: not unlikely at all.

Now it's your turn:

Which game would you like to see again?

• Eternal Darkness
  10%
• F-Zero
  18%
• Hotel Dusk
  1%
• Metroid Prime 4
  8%
• Wario Land
  9%
• 1080°
  12%
• Golden Sun
  10%
• Advance Wars
  5%
• Wave Race
  11%
• Mario & Luigi
  8%
• A different franchise
  10%

The competition has ended.

Header image: Nintendo