The years go by and some of us even grow along with some of the most important franchises in the video game industry, which not only remind us of our own mortality but also lead us to celebrate 35 important springs. For a human it is slightly easy to say, but in the case of a series of video games it is quite an achievement, this being such a fluctuating sector where a game that in the past was the king of the hill, today may be inhabiting the swamp of oblivion. .
We chose only these four game sagas due to their relevance and influence on the medium, variety of titles and because the number 35 is very special (the 40 of Donkey Kong will have their own place). Millionaire or modest sales surely there are, but we do not classify them for that or any other order. Since Mario and his combo of the Mushroom Kingdom starred in the chaotic 2020 celebrating the 35 years of Super Mario Bros. (anniversary that only has less than three months to live), 2021 has a free hand for other heavyweights with 35 candles on top.
Dragon Quest
For Yuji Horii, creator and director of Dragon Quest, the limitations of the Famicom and NES led to the creation of the single character battle system in the RPG that paved the way for the genre on consoles. “With only 64KB of memory, we had to implement the system, monsters, data, graphics, history, and music, all inside that cartridge. We were impressed to have achieved that “, said a couple of years ago.
On how Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Ball, ended up working on the game franchise, it was more fortuitous than voluntary. They knew that NES couldn’t achieve a remarkable graphic style. Horii worked as a writer for Shonen Jump, and his editor was Toriyama himself. According to the publisher, Toriyama really wanted to work on a game, and that’s how Horii brought him up on the project to create the character and monster designs. “In hindsight, it turns out that Toriyama was never really interested or anything like that. It seems our editor was just trying to encourage him! “
Coincidence or fate, the union of Horii and Toriyama resulted in the first turn-based RPG video game and one of the most praised franchises in Japan, to the quasi-religious point and whose release dates for a new title narrowly and are national holidays. Fortunately for them, the day of Dragon Quest officially certified in Japan exists and is May 27. We look forward to what you are preparing for such a great occasion, but especially to reach the West.
The Legend of Zelda
Created by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, currently under the baton of producer Eiji Aonuma, it is Nintendo’s second most important property and we are sure that we will see the company manifest itself, the good thing is that we will not have to wait long. On February 21, The Legend of Zelda marks 35 years since it was first released on the Famicom Disk System, giving birth to a large number of main games, spin-off and a complex timeline of somewhat fuzzy connections.
No matter which of the different versions of Link and Zelda are presented, they are characters etched in the collective memory of the players and their style the inspiration of a constant number of games, triple A or independent. Probably an HD collection is part of the anniversary announcements and those versions of Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker for Wii U will finally find their way to Switch, along with, perhaps Ocarina of Time/Majora’s Mask in the best style of Super Mario 64?
There is also the possibility of repeating the successful collector of Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. and that Link receives a console again Game & Watch: The Legend of Zelda, as if not to lose continuity and based on the classic device but with the NES / Famicom game instead. Of course we can speculate all we want, although the reality is that we all want to see more of “Breath of the Wild 2”, if not a definitive release date, as well as an official name that allows us to better refer to that sequel so desired by Switch users.
Castlevania
It is now three and a half decades that the Belmont family, allies, supporters and descendants have fought incessantly against the prince of darkness, Dracula, but a halo of uncertainty surrounds any anniversary celebration on September 26. Its parent company, Konami, has not shown any greater intentions with the franchise apart from continue the Netflix animated series without its producer, the release of Castlevania Anniversary Collection and the quickly defunct ‘free-to-play’ Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls for mobiles.
We would love to see a new Castlevania in 2D or 2.5D, not necessarily an ‘Igavania’ or by the side of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night / Curse of the Moonbut one that brings back the Belmonts or, why not, a crossover local multiplayer /online cooperative in the style of Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. This game, by the way, celebrates 10 years since its launch on PlayStation Network for PlayStation 3. Although it has not left that platform or Xbox 360, a remastering would not be a bad thing.
However, there is real power in Castlevania that remains exclusive to Nintendo consoles and it would only be possible to replicate it on Switch, such as the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS trilogy. The GBA ones eventually made it to the Wii U Virtual Console, so they could return, while the DS ones, using two screens and one of them occasionally to draw magic other than unfolding the map, would have to modify the gameplay by one. single screen that will take advantage of the tactile capabilities of Switch in portable mode.
Not unlikely, but we definitely need more Castlevania from the golden age (2001-2008) on Switch.
Metroid
Oh Samus, dear Samus. The 30th anniversary of Metroid passed with more pain than glory, forgotten among the praises of The Legend of Zelda. Between the latter and August 6 there is a good stretch for the Greater N of Kyoto to prepare its arsenal. However, apart from Metroid Prime 4 There aren’t many projects on the horizon for the space bounty hunter. The stark truth is that Metroid (2D or 3D) have never seen impressive sales despite their remarkable production quality, atmosphere, gameplay, and everything else that makes the franchise unique.
There is compilation potential in Metroid that so far we have not seen and that cannot be justified with Metroid Prime: Trilogy for Wii / Wii U. They are good games, it is an excellent package with extra options and improved presentation / control as a gift, but without hurting the feelings of lovers of Prime, they still are spin-off.
In a case similar to Castlevania, perhaps because of the fused subgenre they share, we also need a 2D collection of Metroid: NES, Game Boy, SNES; earnestly adding those jewels that are Zero Mission and Fusion for Game Boy Advance. But that’s not all, “Metroid 5” should be there, because it hurts whoever hurts and despite Adam’s ridiculous authorization, Other M it canon.
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