Japan Gaming Guide

Last month, the internet was buzzing with the news that Sega is bringing back some of its old favorite series. New versions of Jet Set Radio, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, Crazy Taxi and Shinobi are all on the way.

Jet Set Radio is our pick of the bunch. A remake is long overdue, and we can’t wait to see what it looks like on modern hardware.

But apparently these aren’t the only series we’re going to see. What about the rest then? There are plenty of Sega games from yesterday we’d love to see more of.

So, like a spoilt child writing a long letter to Santa, we’ve decided to list some of our dream picks. Sega, if you’re reading, we’d like these please!

Outrun

Outrun needs no introduction. The slightly less iconic sequel Outrun 2 is, in all its forms, one of my favorite racers ever, and difficult to find these days. It did get ported to PC, but is now delisted. You can play the original Outrun on the 3DS and inside Yakuza 0 though.

In any case, the series is long overdue a remake. If not a full on remake, then how about a remastered collection, with the original and its various sequels? That would shift a few units Sega, get to it.

Alex Kidd

The Alex Kidd games were 8-bit classics. The series never got a proper move into 3D, but would be ideal for a remake. A modern 2D version in the mold of Sonic Mania would go down well, but we wouldn’t say no to a Jak ‘N Daxter type 3D affair, either.

As colorful as possible please, Sega.

Please make chanken optional though, or perhaps have a special chanken zone where its fans can amuse themselves to their heart’s content.

Altered Beast

Altered Beast was never the best game in the world, but it was a good bit of Christmassy fun, and its not especially good MegaDrive version will, as a pack-in game, have welcomed many users to the system.

It did get a not-especially good sequel in 2005, but that’s a long time ago. How about rebooting it as a dark, gloom ridden soulslike, with skill trees for every beast type and a character that moves and fights something like Sega’s other, definitely doesn’t need more sequels series, Yakuza?

While we’re on that subject, how about a Yakuza special edition with a massive arcade including most or all of Sega’s back catalogue? I’d buy that.

Ecco the Dolphin

Who doesn’t love Ecco? Where has it been all these years? Sega did try rebooting it for the Dreamcast, but that version was never released. It’s well overdue for a reboot.

Something like Subnautica, but you’re a dolphin and considerably less terrifying. Replace the base building with a network of sub-aquatic chums that help you out and give you extra powers. Fish that cloak you. A Healing anemone. Also, the ability to go really, really fast and leap out of the water doing flips and pirouettes for big score bonuses. C’mon Sega, we’re just doing your job for you at this point.

MSR

Yes, we know there was Project Gotham, and yes that series is probably owned by Microsoft, but how about a brand new spiritual tribute to the series that returns to the series roots? The original had a few neat tricks that were dropped in the Project Gotham series. 

The races that were only open at certain times. The limited garage that forced you to really get to know the cars you did buy and.. That’s as much as we can remember really, but I remember it being a joy to play, and that’s reason enough to bring it back.

Developer Bizarre Creations has sadly closed its doors, but this series is fondly remembered. Tearing round facsimiles of real cities was great fun, and had a different character to Forza Horizon’s similar, but not quite the same real world approach.

That’s All Folks

There you go. Do those tickle anyone’s fancy? How about you, what sequels to long forgotten games would you like to see?

There’s no shortage of choice, and Sega’s rich history is full of games that deserve another outing. We can’t complain though, the one’s they’ve promised us should keep us busy.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.