Ignorance is
Idiocy. AKA, Use it or Lose it
In the
current era of console and even PC gaming, there is little that holds more
power than a sequel. Sequels are signs
of success and comfort for many gamers, as they bring back stories and game
concepts that enraptured players from the start. Sequels are not free money...however, they
almost always have an audience, no matter how small. They do not need to prove themselves in the
same way that original property does. A
Bioshock sequel, no matter how poor, has a greater audience by far than an
original property which uses the same concepts, even if it is superior. However, in this era of sequels, there is a
disturbing trend.
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| My thoughts exactly. |
Halo. Call of Duty.
Far Cry. All of these games are,
in their own right, very well made and with a specific audience in mind. They cater to gamers who enjoy war games and
in sequels offer them more of the same.
They have proven themselves.
However, countless other games mimic and copy the successes of these
titles, but without even a modicum of the same originality, polish, or passion. In fact, as sequels keep going into larger
and larger numbers, many gamers collectively grown because there is
stagnation. They do not bring back great
gameplay or tell epic stories, it is merely more of the same. A game such as Fracture or Turok copy from
the Halo formula in hopes of cashing in on its success, but ultimately glut the
market. Ironically, however, this glut
is not, in and of itself, the trend I was speaking of. What I refer to is the tendency to ignore
one's own property in favor of chasing after someone else's.
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| Damn right |
Let us
return to my previous example. The
original Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was a Nintendo 64 game about a time traveling
and dimension hopping Native American warrior, equipped with outlandish
weaponry fighting aliens and dinosaurs with everything from probes that bored
into enemy skulls to magic tribal arrows fired from a regular bow. The newer version of Turok rips off countless
things from Halo, such as regenerating health, guidance markers, character
archetypes, etc. It makes Turok a space marine, removes his interesting
character traits, and gives him samey, boring weapons. It is essentially, a clone trying to cash in
on a previous game's fans. No different
from the atrocious Golden Axe: Beast Rider game for the Playstation 3 and Xbox
360 or the mediocre Altered Beast game for the PS2. They take the original game's concept and
completely alter it to fall more in line with modern trends, hoping that name
value alone will sell titles, ultimately creating a generic experience with a
thin veneer of the original coating the property.
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| Believe it or not, this is the good one. This is the FUN one. |
And that is
really the biggest shame of all. Turok:
Dinosaur Hunter was not a smash hit, however it garnered a cult following and
earned a sequel on the Nintendo 64.
However, many of the fans probably felt betrayed by this new game, which
used name value only to try and sell its property. This is one of the bigger problems in the
game industry. Ignorance. Many companies either forget what made their
titles superb and beloved in the first place in favor of following modern
trends. Or worse, game companies forget
that they even own said properties and leave loyal fans who are willing to pay
money out in the cold.
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| Say it ain't so! |
There are a
number of examples for this. So many it
is actually quite depressing. Capcom is
perhaps the most egregious offender. Capcom
is often known as the house that Megaman built.
However, when Keiji Inafune left the company, so to did much of its love
for the blue bomber. Megaman has been
around for over two decades, yet lies almost completely forgotten of late. The main series, Megaman X, Megaman Zero, and
the countless spin offs are things of the past.
New Megaman games are practically nonexistent past 2010. There was talk of Megaman Legends receiving
the third game which fans had craved for almost a decade, however it was
canceled at the last moment. Capcom is
letting the franchise that built them die.
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| Capcom...with all due respect...are you out of your damn mind?! |
To be fair,
if a franchise has outlived itself or grown stagnant or had a satisfactory
conclusion, it may be fair to allow it to rest.
The Shadow Hearts series created a nice little timeline for itself and
ended with a satisfying conclusion, having only
one spin off that was mostly inoffensive tacked on at the end. However, Megaman fans still cry out for
sequels. And Capcom ignores them. It is not only Megaman, however. Breath of Fire, a staple RPG series from the
SNES era into the Playstation 2 era has withered and disappeared, last seen as
a poor PSP port of the third game in a series of five. Other series get drowned before they have a
chance to flourish. The Okami series had
room for sequels, but after just one it seems a lost cause to hope for more. The same can be said of Viewtiful Joe. This habit of abandoning the properties that
make game companies money is baffling to me.
There are fans. Megaman has
fans. Breath of Fire has fans. Viewtiful Joe has fans. Yet save for cameos, these series remain
dormant. To release a game with one of
these names would guarantee at least a few thousand sales, if not tens or
hundreds of thousands, which is more than many original properties can guarantee. So, why not revive them? Gargoyle's Quest was a series which only
lasted for three games, but which disappeared after the SNES era. Why not bring it back? Fans remember. And fans are loyal. Not to companies, often enough. Capcom has proven to be quite ruthless with on
disc and frivolous DLC releases, lock out procedures, and policies meant to
enrage their own customers, but fans are loyal to games. If you make them, they will come.
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| It's been almost 18 years since Firebrand's last solo game. Isn't it time for a comeback? |
However,
like developers following modern trends, game companies seem bound and
determined lately to forget what made them so successful to begin with. While not as apparently blind as Capcom,
Konami has let Castlevania rot, of late.
Castlevania has always been popular in its 2-d iterations, yet there has
not been a 2-d release for years, unless you count the storyless, rehashed
multiplayer fair that is Harmony of Despair.
Instead, the closest thing we get is a "reboot" called
Castlevania: Lords of Shadows, which is more interested in stealing ideas from
God of War and Shadow of the Colossus than rewarding the loyalty of fans. True, it had unique ideas and was a fine game
in its own right, but it is following the trend of cramming what sells into any
game with fan recognition. And this is a
terrible idea. Betraying fans means
losing potential sales in the long run.
Sales in the long run are everything for game companies. Short term sales are needed to keep it afloat
at the moment, but to have any longevity, game companies need to think in the
long term.
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| Remember when you made games like this, Konami? Fun, colorful, insane games? |
Perhaps
worse than sequels which betray the concept of the original, however, are
sequels that only aim to tease the fans, rather than placate them. Franchises often build up a large shared
universe, with rules that must be followed.
Even the disconnected Final Fantasy series has many elements in common,
such as the character Cid, summoned beasts like Bahamut, and monsters such as
Tonberries, Behemoths, and Ahrimans.
However, trying to copy these elements into a bastardized version of a
game may only enrage fans rather than placate them. They ask the question "Why isn't this in
the world or in the style that I know and love?" And when that question is asked, the game is
already lost, no matter how fine a product.
Suikoden Tierkreis is a fine example of this. It is not a bad game on its own merits and
stays true to some of the styles of the Suikoden series, however it is set in
an alternate universe. There are none of
the alliances or relationships, none of the recurring characters or elements,
and no continuing story from previous games.
This is almost like a slap in the face to fans of the series, who wait
patiently for a new iteration to a favorite series of theirs only to be
rewarded with something that looks similar, plays similar, but isn't what they
want. It is akin to trying to buy a Halo
game but coming out with Turok. All the
elements are there, but it is still lacking.
This plays into ignorance of what made the game in the series enjoyable
to begin with.
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| What don't I see here...ah, right, Tierkreis. Take the hint, Konami. |
In that
same vein, I must reluctantly point out that Square Enix has followed a similar
pathway. Final Fantasy has seldom been a
sequelized property. Each new game has
additional numbers beside it, but each is its own story. The games have evolved with the times,
keeping a strong story, music, and gameplay that the fans have recognized. However, Square, after its merger with Enix,
ignored all that and started fresh.
Final Fantasy 11 and onwards have followed the gameplay of MMORPGs and
while financial success has followed, it has been with even more bloated
development costs, critical pandering, and the scorn of long time fans. If you wanted to make a new game series, why
not make a new game series, rather than enrage fans? The point I wish to make to all game
companies is to ignore your properties, either what made them good to begin
with or to ignore them entirely, is rank stupidity.
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| Go back in time ten years. Would ANYONE have thought this was a Final Fantasy game back then? |
Many games
have fans slavering for a sequel. The
Legacy of Kain series, which Square now owns, ended after five games with
several plot lines unresolved and a canceled game to follow. If fans were shown that they still matter
with a collection or a finale, then it would doubtless be at the very least a
modest success. However, the time for
sequels and franchises passes quickly.
Legacy of Kain as a series was released in the 1990s and held power into
the early 2000s, but has been dormant a long time. Many of the voice actors who provided the
performances that made it so memorable are either dead or growing too old to
wait for a sequel. The same is true of
any franchise. There are still many who
yearn for Megaman, for the old Final Fantasy games, for Gargoyle's Quest, Breath
of Fire, and Suikoden. However, these
gamers are getting older. They are
doggedly staying loyal to old favorites or they are moving on with their lives. If Capcom, Konami, and many others do not
move soon, they risk losing the power their franchises once had. In twenty years time, the name Megaman may be
worth less than nothing, when in the 1980s, it sold games without a second
thought.
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| Time is running out for this Legacy, sadly. |
Many game
companies have horded rights to franchises or sequels through
acquisitions. Through mergers, seizures,
and purchases, many of these companies have a large library of names that they
simply ignore. And some defunct
companies, like Quintet, have great titles that are fondly remembered whose
rights could be bought for a pittance.
However, if these rights are shelved and sat upon, waiting for their
value to appreciate, then eventually...they will stop being worth anything at
all. An Action Comics #1 is worth a
great deal these days...but only to those who are willing to pay for it. If the companies wait too long, people will
give up hope on a Megaman 3...or build one themselves. And then where will Capcom be? They will have lost fans and by extension,
lost sales. Worse, they will be hated by
their fans for not being more faithful to them, the people who pay their bills.
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| Hording rights is like hording comics. They're only worth a crap if someone actually wants to pay for them. Wait too long and eventually...no one will care. |
In the world of game
development, modern trends can be useful.
Showing what is possible and what is profitable, they can be a great way
for smaller companies to follow the big boys while still making something that
is theirs, something special and enjoyable.
However, ignoring past successes just to chase modern trends is utter
folly. When it comes to game franchises,
names, and sequels, you need to either use it...or lose it.
