Nintendo is a gaming company known for many things. Gameplay, Innovation, Originality. But among all else Nintendo is known for their characters. Ask anyone to associate Nintendo with something and chances are you’ll hear the name Mario come up a couple times. You might even hear Zelda or Pokémon occasionally. But Nintendo has far more original franchises than they let on. Beyond the Metroids, the Animal Crossings and the Kirbys, Nintendo has a whole file filled somewhere in their headquarters of original franchises of their gaming past. From their early days of the Arcade with Radar Scope to the current days of the Wii with Captain Rainbow or the DS with Hotel Dusk, Nintendo is none to shy with franchises. However, it’s uncommon to come by nearly a fourth of the franchises Nintendo actually has. We may get a Mario game every few months and a Pokémon every couple of years, but Nintendo has so many more at their disposal that they aren’t using. Some of their franchises may be better left dead, I don’t think anybody wants an Urban Champion 2. But other franchises deserve better. A sequel, a prequel, a third installment, even a remake could be good for some these games. These are those games. The games Nintendo likes to forget about. The Nintendo games that need another installment.

This one is actually more of a remake compilation than it is a sequel. What I actually want is a Wii compilation disk that features upgraded version of the NES classics Duck Hunt, Wild Gunman and Hogan’s Ally as well as the obscure SNES title Battleclash. All of these games would be short, but fun little distractions all on one disk that would utilize a highly ignored Wii peripheral, the Wii Zapper. Hell, even the Wii Remote could work. These games are tailor made for the Wii. I mean, the Wii Remote isn’t that much different from the Zapper and Superscope of the NES and SNES days. Just point and shoot, it’s not that hard. These games would be so at home on the Wii, that it’s amazing Nintendo hasn’t at least made a Duck Hunt WiiWare game yet. Everyone wants to see the laughing dog again! But Nintendo could never release any of these games as a stand alone title, unless it was WiiWare, which is why I suggested a compilation disk with Wii-makes of all four games. New polished graphics, new controls, maybe a new mode or two, but the same old feel. Just point, click and bam! You’re having duck for dinner.

Never heard of it? I can see why. StarTropics and it’s sequel, Zoda’s Revenge, were Nintendo developed games that were only released in America, something that’s hard to come by when it comes to Nintendo. The game played very similar to the Zelda series. You took control of a teenage dude named Mike Jones *Who?*, the son of famous archeologist, Dr. Jones *I see what they did there!*, and you had to travel across a bunch of islands fighting off bad guys and aliens with your super cool Yo-yo and rescue your dad from the clutches of Zoda. It’s a totally weird concept, but the games were actually really fun. There was just enough puzzle and just enough action to make it a worthwhile experience. The sequel was even better by making the controls feel much better and giving Mike a number of other abilities and weapons like daggers and psychic powers. I guess the fact that the game ultimately felt like a poor man’s Zelda and that Mike Jones was basically an Earthbound protagonist rip-off got to Nintendo and they decided to shelve the series and not make a third outing. It’s a shame, really, because the games were quite a bit of fun. The first one is available on the Virtual Console so I would shell out five bucks to purchase it if you’ve never played it before. And when the second one hits the VC, buy that too because chances are, we may never see this franchise ever again. Sucks.

Okay, so the Donkey Kong hasn’t died just yet. Nintendo still releases a game with the King of Swing as the headliner every so often, but not since Donkey Kong 64 and the help of Rare has their been a Kong game that really stood out as a top game. Sure, Jungle Beat was pretty fun and Jungle Climber was cool, but neither game can even compare to the Donkey Kong Country titles and their N64 offspring, Donkey Kong 64. Donkey Kong 64 took the basic premise of Donkey Kong Country, mixed it with Super Mario 64 and went to town. This game was gigantic. With 201 Golden Bananas to collect, 8 big, unique worlds to explore, and 5 different characters to play with, the game was anything but small. With so much to do and so much fun to have with it, the game is one of my top 10 favorite N64 games for sure. Too bad that with the exception of some DKC ports, a Donkey Kong game like this hasn’t been seen since this game. After Rare went over to Microsoft, Donkey Kong games have taken weird turns in gameplay and design. I like to call the Donkey Kong series Nintendo’s Sonic. None of the recent Donkey Kong games have been the challenging yet addicting platforming action of the past titles. Jungle Beat tried but the Bongos just weren’t the same as a controller. Though Donkey Kong hasn’t been quite as bad as the Sonic series, what was once one of Nintendo’s top dogs, is quickly becoming a gaming obscurity and the best games DK is a part of are Mario spin-offs. Games like Donkey Konga and Donkey Kong Barrel Blast do not do justice to the beauty that was Donkey Kong Country and DK64. What happened Nintendo? Why don’t you like the big ape anymore?

I’m not a boxing fan, I’m not and boxing games of today really don’t have my interest, but there’s something about the simplistic yet outright challenging gameplay of the old Punch-Out!! Titles that really makes me forget about that and want to play it. If anything, I’d love to see the franchise revised to see the quirky cast of characters alone. With Little Mac’s recent appearance in Super Smash Brothers Brawl as well as Captain Rainbow and a rumored Wii installment of the series, I’d say that the days of waiting for a Punch-Out!! Return are almost over. With the unique controls of the Wii and the Wii Balance Board, a new Punch-Out!! Game could be like no other boxing game before it. And with the upcoming Wii Motion Plus, oh boy, this game would be insane. I don’t like boxing games, but the idea of putting your whole body into it makes it sound so much more fun than mashing buttons or actually being punched in the face. So come on Nintendo, announce a new Wii Punch-Out!! So I can go toe to toe with King Hippo once more. Also, if you love us Nintendo nerds, make Harry from Teleroboxer an unlockable character. Please and thank you.

Proof that Gamefreak can make more than just Pokémon games, Drill Dozer was one of the best games on the Gameboy Advance and one of the most unique sidescrolling platformers of all time. But, by the time Drill Dozer was finally released, Gameboy Advance fever had died down and DS fever was sweeping the world. Poor little Jill and her misfit bunch of thieves couldn’t compete with the DS’s people appeal. Despite being a game loved by critics, Drill Dozer quickly disappeared off everyone’s radar. It’s a damn shame too, because Drill Dozer is such a unique game. The use of the L and R shoulder pad buttons to use the Drill in a number of unique ways to solve puzzles and get from point A to point B was a whole lot of fun. The game also looked mighty good and had a Megaman sound to it. The rumble pack that was built it gave the game an even more unique feel and you could really get lost in the game. I wish I had a personal drill robot. Sadly, it seems as if all hope for a Drill Dozer sequel was lost. Gamefreak was going back with Pokémon and doesn’t show interest in making a DD sequel. But when Jill appeared as an assist trophy in Brawl, my heart was all a twitter. Just the sight of her in beautiful 3D and the fact that Sakurai acknowledge her existence made me feel hopeful that maybe, just maybe, Nintendo would put down some extra money and have Gamefreak look back into this really fantastic little sidescroller.

I don’t care who you are or what you say, if you had a Nintendo 64, you played Pokémon Snap and you had fun doing it. What sounded like the most boring concept ever, (Taking pictures? That’s not video game worthy!) turned out to be one of the most unique and fun experiences on the Nintendo 64. Between trying to take as many different Pokémon pictures as you can while getting the best score, and finding secret areas and Pokémon, the game was a lot of fun. The problem was that you beat the game in literally one sitting. It was very short. And unless you had an obsessive urge to go back and get the best possible score for every single Pokémon, you probably didn’t replay the game until years later when you had nothing better to do. I mean, the game didn’t even use all 151 Pokémon at the time and the areas were all pretty short. But today, with the 490+ Pokémon, tons of new locations, and unique controls of both the DS and the Wii, a Pokémon Snap sequel would have the chance to be way longer, way more challenging and even more fun. Pointing and click to take a shot, zooming in with Nunchuck control stick or waggling your wii remote to throw apples or pester balls, the game could have a lot of potential and be a great game for the casual gamers and us hardcore Pokémon nerds alike. Pokémon is one of my all time favorite franchises and if I had to pick a Pokémon game outside of the main RPG series, I would pick Snap for sure. What better way to get even more people into Pokémon than by showcasing all 490+ in a game that casual players could also enjoy? It’s basically a way to print money, Nintendo! Please, look into it.

I may get some backlash for this, but I have to say it, the first two Kid Icarus titles weren’t that great. The idea was excellent, (A vertical sidescroller, hot damn!) but the execution wasn’t all that great. The controls were messy, the game was overly difficult and it’s attempt at a sequel wasn’t much better. Even with less than spectacular titles to go from, Kid Icarus has all the makings of an excellent franchise. An original character and story, a weapon that isn’t a gun or sword, cool environments and Nintendo behind the wheel. Pit was a cool cat in Super Smash Brothers Brawl and it really showed that Nintendo still cared about the spunky little angel kid. Rumors about a new Kid Icarus have been surfacing ever since Brawl was announced but we still haven’t gotten any word from Nintendo. I figure a new Kid Icarus could play a bit like Zelda, but with the occasional jump to a 2D perspective, similar to Super Mario Galaxy, for those Dungeons that require you to go upwards. Oh and unlike Link, Pit should be able to jump and fly. What’s the point of having wings if ya can’t use ‘em? Kid Icarus has the fan following to make creating a new game worth the effort and if Nintendo puts their best team into it, we could see a franchise worthy of being amongst the ranks of Mario, Zelda and Metroid.

The Elite Beat Agents are at your service! Sit back (as if you aren't already anyway) and let me tell you the story of Elite Beat Agents. Over in the far away land of Japan, a game called Ossu! Tatakae! Ouendan! Was released in 2005. The game was a rhythm and music based game where you had to tab notes with the stylus to the beat of the song that was playing. It was a simple concept but it was a fun and addicting one at that. The game became a hit not only in Japan but in the states as well. Nintendo took note of this and asked Inis if they could make a similar title to be put in the US. Ouendan was far too Japanese and featured too many Japanese songs to go to America as-is, so Inis came up with the Elite Beat Agents. A trio of governmental agents who help people with their problems through song and dance. Throw in 19 licensed songs and a game that could be on the DS was born. Despite being released to critical acclaim, the game did not sell as much as they thought. Reggie said that the sales were strong, but way less than anyone expected. He also said that he hopes Nintendo will team up with Inis for a sequel someday, so the idea isn’t a long shot. The Elite Beat Agents is such an addicting and fun game that it’s a shame a sequel hasn’t been spawned yet. It’s even bigger shame that the game didn’t sell as well as expected. The DS was made for games like this. A simple concept that can still manage to kick your ass at every turn. But unlike some games that kick your butt and make you so frustrated that you turn it off and don’t come back to it for months, EBA made you want to play over and over again until you finally got past that part you messed up on. Too bad another part would follow and kick your butt again. Then you’d have to start all over. Still, the Elite Beat Agents is one of the best games for the DS, if you haven’t bought it yet, do it. Then maybe you’ll see why it needs a sequel only less than two other Nintendo titles.

I know I said set Mario aside, but this is an exception Okay, so since the games release in 1996, Mario RPG titles have not been in short supply. Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi are both exceptional RPG franchises with the same quirkyness as Mario RPG and even takes a few notes from their book. But none of them have been direct sequels to the awesome Nintendo/Squaresoft collab that was the SNES’s Legend of the Seven Stars. Think about it, take Square’s awesome ability to make amazing and unique RPG games and then take Nintendo’s amazing ability to create characters and worlds you care about, add sugar, stir well for ten minutes, bake on 425 degrees for 20 minutes and bam, you have one of the best RPG titles ever. I may be saying that as a Mario fanboy, but if you look around the net, you’ll notice it’s not just us fanboys who think that. SMRPG has left such a lasting impression on gamers, that almost everyone who has played this game waits to this day for a sequel. All hope was almost lost in the N64 days, however, when Square and Nintendo had a falling out. See, Paper Mario was originally planned to be a SMRPG sequel. But once Square gave Nintendo the finger, Nintendo had to start over and put it in control of Intelligent Systems. While the obvious Mario RPG influence is there, the game is still different enough to not be a direct sequel. Eventually, Square and Nintendo kissed and made up and their partnership is stronger than ever. Square’s remade damn ever every original Final Fantasy title on the DS as well as a number of other classic and new franchises. They even teamed up with Nintendo to make another Mario game, except it wasn’t an RPG, it was Basketball. Excuse me. What? The greatest RPG gaming company in the world teamed up with Nintendo for a basketball title? That doesn’t make any sense! Mario Hoops was a good game, but come on Square. If you’re gonna make a Mario title, please make it a sequel to Mario RPG. We want Geno. We want Mallow. We want Booster, Smithy, Axem Rangers, Dodo, Frogfucious. We want them. Please, let us have them. Or at least give Nintendo the rights to everything in the game. PLEASE! Hey, at least it’s seeing the light of day on the VC. EVERYWHERE BUT HERE! That’s a start, right?

Without a doubt, the one Nintendo series that deserves to be revived is Golden Sun. Released by second party developer Camelot on the Gameboy Advance as a launch title, Golden Sun proved to be the little RPG that could and has created a pretty big cult following. It might not even be cult anymore. It’s just big. With the unique use of the different elemental powers as well as combination of weapons given to the main cast, Golden Sun proved to be a fun and challenging RPG with it’s own look and feel. A feel that would carry over into it’s only sequel, The Lost Age. The games were critically acclaimed and the sequel was the best selling game in Japan at the time of release. It sold almost just as much in the US. So you have to ask, why hasn’t there been a third installment? There’s enough reason for them to make one, the fanbase is there, the sales are there, the reviews are there, so why not? The creators of the game were asked about a sequel in 2004 and they said it was “Still up in the air.” That could mean anything. Fans have been waiting since then for a new game. Four years have gone by and still nothing. Fans of the series would soon see a glimmer of hope when Isaac was revealed to be an assist trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Nintendo had not forgotten the series. Fans could sleep easy at night knowing that somewhere in the headquarters of Nintendo, they felt for them. But still, when will Isaac, Felix and the rest of the gang see the sun in a new title? Will we have to wait until the next handheld is released? Or our they planning on surprising us sometime in the near future on the DS? Only time will tell. But one thing is for sure: We want a new Golden Sun.

So there you have it, ten games that Nintendo has hidden away in their filing cabinets and refuse to open back up. The fans want these, Nintendo. We need something more. We love the current franchises and we love seeing new ones, but what’s the point of making new ones if you’re just going to stop using them after one or two games and resort back to Mario and Metroid? Please Nintendo, give us what we want. You have so many franchises to pick from. Set Mario aside for a while (unless it's SMRPG) and let them come out to play. It seems like the only one of you guys who seems to get it is Sakurai.

List by Toadkarter91