Maybe Rare Is In The Right About Not Revisiting Past Franchises

     Rare dropped a bit of a bombshell on us recently in regards to fans asking to return to old franchises. In an interview with DK Vine, head of Rare studio Craig Duncan has said that they are not interested in going back to old franchises, even going as far as saying that it would be "the worst thing for Rare to do." He further stated.

 "I don't think it's OK to just go make the same game that people loved before but with up-to-date graphics, audio and all those things [...] Just making them again with whatever technology's available today - that's not Rare," Duncan said. "I think that what Rare is, is doing the kind of games that only Rare would go do."

He continues to say:

"If I went and said to Rare, 'hey, go remake all of the stuff that was kind of successful at the time but make it up-to-date,' I don't think it would be good, and I don't think it would be relevant, and I don't think people would really want it. I think they might think they do, but I don't think they would."

     This kinda upset fans who probably were looking forward and hoping that Rare would dust off old franchises like Banjo-Kazooie and Conker and get new games. I kinda understand where people are coming from being upset, but strangely enough I'm on the side of Rare.
     Yeah, it could be nice to see more Banjo-Kazooie and Conker games but realistically, not every old franchise can be like Mario or Zelda where you can do tweak the standard gameplay and keep the old fans happy and mostly everything works wonderfully. Making these games with out trying to improve on the gameplay and just relying on better graphics just so that we can live in a wonderful world of nostalgia™ would be a disservice to the series that we loved when we were kids.That's what happened when Rare gave us Banjo and Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts where it did have its great parts like its inside jokes and story, but left us with a sour taste in our mouths when they almost completely ditched the classic platformer gameplay and in Banjo's spiritual successor Yooka Laylee made by Playtonic, former Rare developers, which was a basic former shell of its predecessor with a lot of old, but not enough new to keep us satisfied. Also don't get me started on the Sonic series.
     It seems that Rare is interested in giving trying out fresh and new game mechanics, but in new games which it isn't a bad thing. In closing let the past be in the past where we love it and accept that, and probably get a really good emulator. What are your thoughts?

E3 2016: What Didn't Suck

Anothe E3 came and went. This year's E3 has been basically about one thing basically: games, games, games. Noone really left me surprised as each press conference and Nintendo Treehouse was all about giving gamers a ton of games and content to keep you entertained for the next year. What didn't suck? Let's see.

Crash is Back

Nostalgist of 90s video games rejoice! After all of the internet wishing and maybe thousands of mail Sony has gotten from you, they have finally caved in and Crash is finally back! Not in a brand new game, but instead his first three games are going to be remastered for the PS4. I remember playing these games on my PlayStation so I'm just as excited to play these remastered games as well. It's going to be interesting to see how everything will look. Hopefully this would lead to a revival of new Crash Bandicoot games in the future and the remakes would be Sony testing the waters to see if how he will do in this new generation. Until the remasters come out, you can get your Crash fix

Sea of Thieves

Rare is back with this game which was announced last E3. This time around we got to see actual gameplay. You get to see characters interact in town, swim in the sea, and of course drive and fight in pirate ships. It's nice to see a glimpse of what the game is about and what you can do. Hopefully no bears ruin this game, birds too.

Final Fantasy XV

We've seen the battle system before. It is moreso like the the battle system of previous games but a bit more fluid as you a switch between combat and weapons. This time around the is based on how you make combos switching from different attacks. This time around we actually got to see a boss battle against Titan. To see it the party battle something as huge as the Titan boss is something impressive.  Bottom line it does look cleaner and gorgeous just like everything else in the game. That and over 100 hours of gameplay I'm completely stoked to play this when it comes out.

Resident Evil 7

Much to everyone's surprise we're getting another Resident Evil game. It looks very different from the other games, especially the recent ones, as it's not so much action-horror. It seems to be going back to its roots, which is a good thing. A really good thing. The game is covered in so much mystery with Capcom just giving you a demo of you wondering around in a spooky old house. Regardless with what we've been giving and not knowing how this will fit into the main series, it does look cool. It is giving the series a new breath of life, after choking on Resident Evil 6.

God of War 4

As you can guess this E3 was full of surprise announcements. One of these was a new God of War. So this time around Kratos is a new daddy. The gameplay was pretty much new. Everything has been reworked including the Spartan Rage-timed ability. You gain knowledge points on weapons as well as craft resources. This game seems to be as Kratos said in the demo a new beginning as not only is the battle mechanics are new, you are in a new environment. This time around you'll be battling Norse gods and monsters, you know because you killed all the Greek ones. This overall looks great. Can't wait to see more.

The New Spider-Man Game

The teaser trailer looks crazy. The game is a joint project with Marvel, Sony, and Insomiac games. All we got was a teaser, but it showed a lot. The game does have a lot of potential that we're excited to see how it turns out.

The Last Guardian

We got to see another trailer of The Last Guardian. We got to see a bit more this time around. The art looks more colorful. Aside from looking at gorgeous scenery your character will be encountering other birddogs, which may try to eat you. Overall it looks beautiful.

Pokemon Sun & Moon

Nintendo decided to show us some gameplay of the upcoming Pokemon Sun and Moon. They tweaked the battle gameplay a bit. If you battled a previous trainer or another pokemon in the wild, you have an indicator of what moves work were really effective against that pokemon. We also got a peak of how the pokedex will work and it seems to be more organizing even indicating the evolutionary family of the pokemon you caught. We were also treated to our "Pidgey", "Rattata", and "Caterpie", of the Alola region: Pikepek, Yungoose and Grubbin.

Death Stranding

We got a stunning trailer without any gameplay. Even though the trailer didn't show any gameplay you can get some ideas of what the game is about. It looks to be another game where you scavenge for thing like Far Cry Primal which isn't a bad thing. It does seem nice to see that a collaboration between Kojima and Norman Reedus work after all after the cancellation of Silent Hills and PT. It looks great and we can't wait to see actual gameplay footage. Afterall we know it will be amazing since Kojima is involved. We get treated to a naked Norman Reedus so that's also a big plus.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

We finally got to see the new Zelda and it holy crap does it look good. This time around the new Zelda seems to be more technology based as Link will be going around all over Hyrule with his Shiekpad Pro accessing towers and dungeons, called trials. As true to Aonuma's word everything you see you can have access to and climb. They also tweaked clothing around this time gaining some RPG-ish rules to it. Some clothes help you in some environments. Also Link will have to forage and hunt this time around so he can have maximum health. You do get items as well as finding and crafting items to help you on your quest. There is a stamina meter that when low or out it limits Link. Breath of the Wild is giving a new spin on the franchise with it being vastly different than the other Zelda, also with Link jumping for the first time. The demo Nintendo provided as grand as it was was barely one percent of the game. Can't wait to see more.

Was there aanything I miss? Leave your comments.

Characters We Probably Won't See As DLC in Super Smash Bros... Maybe

     It's December which could mean only one thing, no not Christmas, the Super Smash Bros themed Nintendo Direct is almost here. Nintendo announced that for the month of December, there will be a Nintendo Direct dedicated to Super Smash Bros. We could be treated to new characters or new stages for upcoming DLC. Since the recent announcement of Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII being added to the roster, you could almost add any popular character to the list, that's ever been on a Nintendo console or handheld, almost. While these characters might be cool to be added, they most likely won't. Goku and Shreik need not apply.


King K. Rool

 

If you don't know King K. Rool was the main antagonist for the Donkey Kong country series as well as Donkey Kong 64. He would torment the Kong family by stealing DK's bananas in the first game and would later on kidnap DK and Diddy in the later sequels. In Donkey Kong 64 he even went so far as to threaten to blow up Donkey Kong's home DK Island. When Rare was purchased by Microsoft that was the last we've seen of K. Rool and his Kremling klan, I mean clan, as the more recent Donkey Kong games moved on to more enemies that DK had to defeat. So, when Smash Bros was released for the 3DS, we were treated with seeing some familiar characters returning, the Kremlings in Smash Run. With the inclusion with Kremlings, it would seem more likely that their ruler would be making a long deserved comeback since Donkey Kong 64, right. Well he did, as a costume for the Mii brawler. Since K. Rool's appearance had been reduced to a costume, it is most likely that he might not be added.

Crash Bandicoot


Yes, the former Sony mascot has been in a couple Nintendo titles. Crash and Mario had an intense rivalry during the late 90s and early millennium as both of them adventured into 3D for the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. His inclusion would have been huge as their rivalry during those times almost as big as Sonic's who is in the game. As with all things popular they become unpopular and the Crash series fizzled out with lower sales. We haven't seen Crash in anything since his last game in 2010 so we most likely won't see him in Smash either.

Banjo-Kazooie


If you were a kid in the early 00s and didn't have Banjo-Kazooie for the N64, your parents didn't love you. Banjo-Kazooie were characters in their own game during Rare's golden era of making games for the N64. Them being added like a lot of the characters here would be just for nostalgia reason, which are justifiable. They had a ton of games that made for Nintendo before Microsoft bought Rare. For that reason, they are most likely not going to be added unless Microsoft wants to loosen their grip and loan them out for a while?

Heihachi Mishima


Unlike the other characters listed, Heihachi, and other Tekken characters were actually considered to appear in Smash Bros, but due to software limitations during the developing stages for Smash Bros on the 3DS, as well as Masahiro Sakurai not know what to do for a movelist, Heihachi was dropped. That's probably why we got Ryu instead. Sakurai did give him a nod by making him a costume for the Mii fighter instead.

Ridley


OMG, he is not going to be in the game as a playable character. Give it up!

Microsoft E3 2015 Press Conference: The Good, The Bad, and the Rare Replays

Ladies and gentlemen E3 is upon us. Every year, video game lovers anticipate on what we will hopefully save up to play by starting our "ramen diets", cut back on stuff we don't need like certain bills paid. So this week I will be covering press conference shown at E3 and will judge and critique them, just like we all will to see what's good, what's bad, and what is meh. Let's start shall we with Microsoft...

Good

Halo 5: Guardians

Right off the back, we got to see Halo 5. Not only did we get to see a bit of the trailer setting the story behind the game, but we also got to see gameplay as well. The gameplay looks really smooth as you're maneuvering in the map, you have intense moments that happen like you almost falling through the floor and fighting the boss. What they made a big deal over was multiplayer, which is pretty much why we all play Halo in the first place. The map they shown briefly was Warzone and it actually was one allowing you to play with 24 different players, accompanied with helper AI. Overall Halo V looks like it will be crazy and fun.

Recore

This game was made by Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune and the makers of Metroid Prime. The trailer features a woman and her robotic dog in a desert. They get attacked by bad robots. During the attack the robot dog sacrifices itself by blowing itself up to save the girl, leaving an orb behind. The woman then puts it inside a robot she found earlier before the attack. The trailer gives details on what the gameplay will be. You will basically be assisted with different kinds of robots that you will attach that one orb to in order to navigate throughout the game. This will most likely be used in not only puzzles, but mostly in combat as well. This is something new and fresh. I can't wait to see more of this.

Fallout 4

We got a tease for the new Fallout game days before E3, so thankfully we got to see a bit more during Micrsoft's and Bethesda's conferences. Fallout 4 has a brand new crafting feature which makes the customization more, customizable.

Cuphead and Mugman

I love this game. I love the artstyle. It looks like the vintage Disney and Betty Boop cartoons that I used to watch when I was seven. That and it being a Run and Gun, a la Contra, this looks like it will be amazing to play.

Sea of Thieves

Rare is giving us a brand new game, well, not kinda as it is Project Dream a.k.a the game that would become Banjo-Kazooie. You will be sailing the seas as a pirate in the MMO fighting skeletons and finding adventure and treasure. Supposedly the characters that were suppose to be in Project Dream are suppose to be in the game like Captain Blackeye, who made a cameo in Banjo-Tooie. This looks cool and hopefully it will deliver that Rare awesomeness that Rare had in their glory days.

Microsoft Hololens

Earlier this weekend we learned that Oculus Rift was joining forces with Microsoft and all Oculus Rift devices would be coming with Xbox controllers. That wasn't all. Announced was the new Microsoft Hololens. Hololens would enbale games to see and manipulate holograms as they play games. Honestly the design of hololens does look a lot better than the Oculus head set and the

Bad

Forza 6

I know people like this stuff, but I'm not really excited about a racing game driving standard racing cars. If I had that interest, I would play Gran Turismo 7, when it comes out...

Rare Replay

I know, why did I put this on the bad list? It hurts me to do this but I had too. The collection does feature some amazing games like Perfect Dark, Conker, Battletoads, and Banjo-Kazooie, but I don't need a collection of old nostalgic games. I need rare to stop cashing in on my nostalgia. I would rather have new games from some of these old franchises. Get on it Rare.

Meh

Rise of the Tomb Raider

It looks amazing, but it looks and feels like you're playing Tomb Raider all over again.

Xbox Backwards Capability

I know people are genuinely excited about this and they should. But this should've been available from the start, especially during that PR scare they had before Xbox One's launch. Also, only Xbox 360 games and no Xbox games?

Xbox One Elite Controller

I admit this looks pretty cool. The controller features a ton of pieces that are suited to making your game experience better and making you feel like a pro gamer. Again it looks cool, but I would like to see just how elite it will actually be when it comes out.

Check out my post for Sony's E3 Press Conference here!
Check out my post for Nintendo's Digital Event here!

Too Many Spiritual Successors, Not Enough Predecessors

Once Upon a time, in the last post, I talked about Yooka-Laylee and how it was officially the spiritual successor to the popular Banjo-Kazooie series. I talked about how in the short time its Kickstarter was opened it met its goal in just under 40 minutes and continued to raise over 2 million dollars USD in the short time the Kickstarter page was created. Along with Yooka-Laylee, another spiritual successor has come out of the woodworks. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night the spiritual successor to Castlevania and created by the series' former producer Koji Igarashi has, just like Yooka-Laylee, reached its goal and then some. Just like Yooka-Laylee, it has also made over two million since its Kickstarter page was created in almost the same time period.
     2015 is starting to be the year of Spiritual successors. We have the work on Yooka-Laylee and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night starting off to extremely well starts and we even have another spiritual successor on the way. Mighty No. 9 was a game made by Mega-Man creator Keiji Inafune which is suppose to be the successor to the Mega-Man franchise. It has met the same fate as the two previous games mentioned earlier. While this is all great and exciting, the question is what about these games' predecessors? What will happen to them?
     As much as it is nice to see these games, Yooka-Laylee and Mighty No. 9, being made it's almost bittersweet that we haven't gotten anything new from their predecessors. People are still clamoring for another Mega-Man game and people are still waiting for a true Banjo-Threeie.With the demand from fans, why isn't studios and developers trying to make new games from these franchises?
    What's the problem as to why most if these games haven't had anything new is that the studios and development teams have moved on and don't want to take a chance on these old franchises. After what happened with Nuts & Bolts, Rare just seems like it wants nothing to do with another full-fledged Banjo-Kazooie game. Mega-Man hasn't fared well either. Capcom has tried to make some Mega-Man games in the past but were met with poor sales. Capcom has tried to take the series in new directions, but they have yet to figure out what direction to put the series in and has cancelled project after project.
     What could be done to get studios to try to revive these franchises and start making games for these franchises again? What do you think needs to be done in order to see new games again?

Yooka-Laylee: Why People Still Care About Banjo-Kazooie?

     Yooka-Laylee is a game being developed by Playtonic games, former developers of the video game company Rare. Yooka-Laylee is being hailed as an official spiritual successor to the popular Banjo-Kazooie series meaning it is being made in the same mechanics and feel. Yooka-Laylee looks and feels like playing Banjo-Kazooie in every way except for the lead characters. This is enough to get people interested and invested in the game. Just in 40 minutes of launching funding for the game on Kickstarter, it has met its goal of $270,000. In less than 4 hours it has reached over one million. The current funding is over one million pounds (over two million in USD). People are excited to play this game as well as relive some nostalgia playing Banjo-Kazooie years back.

     I wouldn't blame them. Banjo-Kazooie was a phenomenal game when it came out. During Nintendo and Rare's golden age with the Nintendo 64 it was a great year in gaming. Rare and Nintendo was a match made in Heaven. Banjo-Kazooie was a success and it seems that almost every game Rare came out followed its format. Banjo-Tooie seemed like it was a bigger success. Aside from a couple of hand held titles like Grunty's Revenge and Banjo-Pilot, the franchise went dark and left a hole in our hearts. That was until we got Banjo-Kazooie Nuts & Bolts which left us shocked, in a bad way. I'm going to defend Nuts & Bolts a bit by saying it was a good game, it was just a complete 180 from what we expected from a Banjo-Kazooie game. It wasn't what we were used too and what we wanted. It was like seeing your best after losing weight, you didn't recognize it. Rare tried to do something fresh and new and they failed. They failed at recognizing the main rule of game development, if it isn't broke, don't fix it!

    But why is it that we are so invested in this so called new spiritual successor? Why is it why we love Banjo-Kazooie so much? Banjo-Kazooie gave us what we wanted to as children. We wanted to explore and have adventure. We were exploring different worlds as well as exploring the evil lair of a witch to save the day. It was fun not only getting all the Jiggies and notes and exploring the secrets if Grunty's lair, but also fun discovering all the secrets in the game like Bottle's picture game and finding out about Stop and Swop (points if you actually figured out what Stop and Swap was). Banjo-Kazooie was almost better than Super Mario 64 almost giving you more adventure and fun. With Banjo-Tooie, we had that idea magnified times 100. Hopefully Yooka-Laylee and Playtonic can keep this in mind when making this game and understand why we loved the predecessor in the first place. And also learn from the mistakes of Nuts & Bolts.