Sony Santa Monica’s hack and slash, mythology-driven franchise God of War, has been one of PlayStation’s most popular franchises, starting back in 2005 with the original releasing on the PlayStation 2. The series has always been based on this revenge story, starring Kratos, a man who is forced to murder his own family causing him to seek vengeance on the gods that have done him wrong.
With this new God of War that comes out this week, Santa Monica is taking a completely different approach to not only the character of Kratos, but to the gameplay as well. Instead of having this sort of isometric look, the camera is now more behind Kratos with a more dramatic emphasis on the character. There is also the inclusion of Atreus in this God of War, which happens to be the son of Kratos, who is being taught how to survive on his own by his father.
Santa Monica has definitely hit the restart button on the franchise; not exactly a reboot of our angry antihero, but more of a fresh start for the series. Doing this has given God of War a second breath and critics are praising the changes that have been made. Seeing the positive reception that the title has garnered made us think about other franchises that would benefit from the same kind of treatment; long-running franchises that have gotten just a bit stale and could use some touching up.
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Pokemon
Game Freak's monster-catching franchise has been nothing short of successful in the handheld market for the past 20 years or so, but the tried and true gameplay formula has not changed too much when it comes to the mainline games. The next Pokemon game on Switch should try something entirely different for once. There's only so many times that we can face eight gym leaders, fight a bunch of bad guys, and then defeat the Elite Four champion. Mainline Pokemon games with a new type of combat system or even in a completely different art style would be incredible and a sight to see.
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts has just celebrated its 15th anniversary and the biggest game in the franchise is soon to be released (hopefully). We know that this entry marks the end of the Xehanort Saga, but will we keep seeing Sora and the gang after this is all over? The next saga in the Disney-fueled franchise should introduce us to a new Keyblade wielder and truly switch things up without taking away what Kingdom Hearts is all about. With all of the new properties that Disney acquired in recent years, there is definitely no shortage of new worlds for our new hero to traverse through.
Gears of War
Gears of War was one of the most successful franchises back in the Xbox 360 days, with Epic Games behind the development. Gears of War 4 was the most recent entry in the series, and even though it fared very well with critics, it was still one of the lesser games in the franchise, with critics knocking points down for the uninteresting campaign and story. The next Gears of War (whoever develops it) should drop the cast and take a different route entirely. Microsoft is surely lacking in their exclusives for the Xbox One and an entirely new Gears of War could be phenomenal if it was developed under a different light that the series hasn't seen before.
Halo
I would throw Halo in the same boat that Gears of War is in. The series was the place to have some of the most enjoyable multiplayer sessions ever, with the campaign being epic and super fun as hell, but the series has slowly begun to fade away into the background. We know the story of Master Chief and Cortana - it's been 17 years. I think it's time to tell a new story in this universe, maybe even drop the numbers and go back to the beginning - simply Halo.
Ape Escape
The Ape Escape series featured ape-related humor, comedic situations, and the most fun you'll ever have trying to capture monkeys with a bug-catching net. The last time that we saw these silly chimps was back in 2010 with the lackluster release that was PlayStation Move Ape Escape, which was just a travesty for the highly humorous forgotten PlayStation franchise. Having Ape Escape back on the PS4 in full-fledged HD would be miraculous, especially if we were able to catch apes with our friends online.
Metal Gear Solid
With Hideo Kojima out of the picture now, the big question arises: Is Konami going to continue the Metal Gear Solid franchise? I think Konami can and will make a successor to The Phantom Pain, but it most definitely should either go back to the series' stealthy roots and/or explore a new story with a different character, while also retaining that fantastic gun-play that MGSV had.
Jak and Daxter
Jak and Daxter was one of Naughty Dog's first premier franchises on the PS2 that did a lot of things right when it came to platforming, puzzle-solving, and characters. Jak and Daxter had their time in the sun way back when, but one last hurrah on the PS4 would be a dream come true, especially if Naughty Dog had a part in the development. Imagine the story that Naughty Dog could tell with Jak and Daxter after creating such moving and touching titles like The Last of Us and Uncharted.
Sly Cooper
Sly, Murray, and Bentley have cracked a ton of cases together, the gang is getting a little older, and it might be time for the franchise to come back without the mischievous raccoon. Sanzaru Games took the reigns once Sucker Punch went on to develop Infamous, but all they came out with was Thieves in Time, which released over five years ago. We're in a Sly Cooper recession and it's time for the series to come back in some way, shape, or form. I want a comedic story with some anthropomorphic animals and some neat platforming mixed in with some light combat - is that too much to ask for? And also, can we talk about that Sly Cooper movie that was announced way back in 2014? Where is it? I need it in my life.
Star Fox
This one pains my soul to add to the list, since Nintendo tried to do a slight reboot of the series with the recent release of Star Fox Zero on the Wii U. But unfortunately, the title was plagued with issues and even though it was a re-imagining of the N64 classic, it didn't sit well with critics and fans alike. The controls were subpar and the game didn't revitalize the series like we wanted it to. Nintendo might need to try again with a new Star Fox game, and this time, it must have some big changes if the company plans on it being even slightly successful. I don't know if we should throw away Fox and his trusty squad of animals, but it might be time for some new creatures to take the spotlight. I would also love to see some on-foot action that was introduced in Star Fox: Assault, but more fleshed out.
Kirby
We are huge fans of Kirby here at Twinfinite - the pink ball of fun really can't do much wrong. But lately, the Kirby franchise has been just "good" and not much more than that. Even though Kirby Star Allies tried to add some new features for the Switch iteration of our copycat protagonist, the title didn't blow our minds. Kirby could use some more of that Nintendo love and care that we've seen in other franchises such as Zelda and Super Mario. Strip everything that we know about the Kirb-ster and start from scratch... and no, we don't mean just change the art style - this franchise needs a little bit more than just a new look.
F-Zero
A forgotten franchise, a racer that has been completely overshadowed by Mario Kart, and a series that has just not been talked about since the Game Cube days. F-Zero has not been seen in a long time and it's time to bring it back in full-form. F-Zero wouldn't even have to just be a racing game this time around. For example, what if a new F-Zero had some light RPG mechanics that let you power up your vehicle in order to have better stats when engaged in racing? Or what if the game was just an RPG, but instead of going into a battlefield when engaging an enemy, you just transport to a racing track to duke it out? The possibilities are there, Nintendo.
Dynasty Warriors
Omega Force and Koei Tecmo's musou-style of combat is getting a little stale. The micro-managing of troops and anxiety of having to deal with different situations going on in the battlefield is what makes Dynasty Warriors, but that combat needs some refinement. Omega Force needs to make the combat more one-on-one instead of one-on-one hundred. Make it more dangerous to face an enemy in combat, and allow players to feel satisfied instead of making them feel like an over-powered god.
Ninja Gaiden
It seems that Team Ninja has moved on from the Ninja Gaiden series, seeing that it has been almost five years since they last worked on a game in the hack and slash franchise. Ninja Gaiden 3 sort of tanked when it released back in 2012, but it's time to bring it back under a new light. People love a challenge, and that's what Ninja Gaiden was all about. We don't necessarily need Ryu this time around, but it would just be interesting to see how a Ninja Gaiden game would look and feel in this new era. We could see a deeper story for Ryu that seemed to be missing from past Ninja Gaiden titles or even be introduced to a a brand new badass ninja.
Castlevania
The term "Metroidvania" is used to describe a genre of game that plays similarly to past 2D Metroid and Castlevania titles, but lately, while Metroid has been back in full-form, Castlevania hasn't quite had a proper comeback yet. We just got a pretty awesome Netflix adaption of the franchise but what about a new side-scrolling Castlevania like Symphony of the Night? If Nintendo can bring back Metroid, then Konami should be able to do the same with Castlevania. Just go back to basics and put it out on Switch or something - if it's any good at all, it'll sell like hotcakes on Nintendo's system.
Dead Rising
We've seen Dead Rising over and over again, and you know what? We get it, Capcom. You kill zombies over and over again with cool items and costumes, but it's time to take a step back and reevaluate the franchise. The first thing that comes to mind is the campy-ness and foolishness that the narrative constantly seems to present us with; how about delivering a stronger story-driven game that actually makes us care about Frank West and the outbreak? That restart of this long-running survival series would surely do it some justice.
About the author
Greysun Morales
Greysun eats ramen 12 times a week and will never get tired of it. Playing Games Since: 1993, Favorite Genres: Action-Adventure, JRPG, Platformers, and Anything With Ramen
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