What franchises would be better under another developer?

[Fabulously Olivier]

Your answers can be for a mainline sequel, revival/reboot, or spinoff. Basically, what franchises have the potential to be greater under another studio, and who would that studio be.

 

I've got a few:

 

Infamous

Sucker Punch -> Insomniac

While Second Son definitely improves on the movement and combat from Infamous 1 and 2, no one does movement-based superhero sandboxes better than Insomniac. And I reckon the general game world design would also live up to its full potential under one of gaming's most talented studios.

 

Guild Wars

Arenanet -> Larian

In modern gaming, no one does CRPG build depth better than Larian. They are the only studio I'd trust to make a game like Guild Wars 1.

 

Shining Force and Golden Sun

Camelot (or rather no one) -> Team Asano

Triangle Strategy is basically a low fantasy, improved Shining Force with modern QoL, better map design, and verbose storytelling. But certainly, the quirky high-fantasy setting of Shining Force could make for an even better SRPG in their capable hands.

Golden Sun is also an unfortunately dead franchise, and it would really benefit from Asano's trademark HD-2D style.

 

Banjo Kazooie

Rare (or rather no one) -> Toys for Bob

If Microsoft is going to make gaming worse by buying up the biggest 3rd party publisher in the industry, they could at least give us a Banjo Redooie out of it.

 

Fire Emblem Turn-Based Spinoff

Atlus' B-team -> CyberConnect2

TMS#FE had good gameplay, but bad everything else, and I think we can do better. Fuga Melodies of Steel provides the perfect template for what a turn-based JRPG FE could be like. It has weapon types that delay enemies based on their weakpoints. It has support conversations and permadeath. It has swappable pair-ups, and you are always managing your current deployments in combat. Characters are all distinct with their own damage skills, support skills, link attacks, and pair up bonuses. Hit rates are displayed, and are based on enemy type vs. weapon type. It is also a linear JRPG without grinding, much like classic FE.

Edited October 2, 2023 by Fabulously Olivier

[AnonymousSpeed]

If you'd asked this six or seven years ago, I wouldn't said "take Mega Man from Capcom and give it to someone who will actually make a new game." However, Mega Man 11 has come out since then and I was kind of underwhelmed, so screw it. Give Mega Man to Nintendo so we can get a good new game.

[Integrity]

3 hours ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

Guild Wars

Arenanet -> Larian

In modern gaming, no one does CRPG build depth better than Larian. They are the only studio I'd trust to make a game like Guild Wars 1.

i'd do un-fucking-speakable crime for larian to do a pure combat morpg like gw1

 

on topic: i'd love to see a game in the borderlands style given to tripwire interactive, of killing floor fame.

[Fabulously Olivier]

I've got another one. A change of publisher, not developer.

 

Torchlight 

Perfect World Entertainment -> Nintendo

It is surprising that for all of the genres Nintendo does well, they don't have a Diablo-like (no Dragalia Lost didn't count!) Torchlight is both a franchise artistically fitting with Nintendo's image, and a franchise in need of a positive change in direction after the underwhelming TL3 and the mobile cash grab.

[Etrurian emperor]

Star Wars would have been in far better hands if its gaming rights were owned by any company other than EA. A full decade of Star Wars, an IP with which you can do practically anything, and all EA wanted to do was two mediocre, controversial shooters and a pretty solid soulslike. What a waste. 

[Integrity]

4 hours ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

Torchlight 

Perfect World Entertainment -> Nintendo

It is surprising that for all of the genres Nintendo does well, they don't have a Diablo-like (no Dragalia Lost didn't count!) Torchlight is both a franchise artistically fitting with Nintendo's image, and a franchise in need of a positive change in direction after the underwhelming TL3 and the mobile cash grab.

i deeply disagree with this, honestly. i think a nintendo-made ARPG would end up in in a really shallow hack n slash design space that's fun to go through for a few hours and instantly tapers off. ARPGs are kind of built off of in-depth build design and grognard bullshit, both of which are things nintendo's been categorically beholden to avoid at all costs. nintendo's ARPG would be more d3 1.0 and far less d3 reaper of souls, is what i'm saying

 

e:

3 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Star Wars would have been in far better hands if its gaming rights were owned by any company other than EA. A full decade of Star Wars, an IP with which you can do practically anything, and all EA wanted to do was two mediocre, controversial shooters and a pretty solid soulslike. What a waste. 

yeah, for instance they could make several mediocre third-person rpgs, or poorly copied wing commander, or made a mediocre set of first-person shooters, or made and completely fucked over an mmorpg instead of taking over a completely fucked over mmorpg. star wars games have never had a golden age, lol

Edited October 3, 2023 by Integrity

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Hm, too many franchises, but not enough studios up to the task. Even if they released a really good game in the last year, for all you know that studio has been quietly shuttered for at least as long and all of them have moved on to their next dead end in this hell industry.

• F-Zero by RGG Studios. Wouldn't be the first time Toshihiro Nagoshi oversaw an F-Zero game. But yes I am proposing a goofy beat em up sandbox to cool off in between races. That's where the bulk of storytelling and character interaction comes in. I still want at least 50% of the main mission play time to be races.
• Star Fox by Sora Limited. Kid Icarus Uprising was a real eye opener to Sakurai's talent as a writer and his passion for the arcade style action that Star Fox was always going for. Of course this company and its two employees are not enough to make a whole game. I trust Sakurai to put together the ideal team like he always does. 
• Lightning round of give X to indie Dev Y. Ice Climber by Extremely Okay Games, Paper Mario by Moonsprout Games, The Mysterious Murasame Castle by SuperGiant Games. Sonic the Hedgehog by Galaxy Trail. The throughline with these suggestions is not to "make a copy" of what came before. These are folks that have already proven how you can advance those ideas into something greater. 
• Fallout by Obsidian. Yeah kind of a no brainer with it having happened already and now both Obsidian and Bethesda answer to the same corporate money house. But it's too tantalizing to see if lightning strikes twice. The only question is how soon Obsidian can clean their plate between The Outer Worlds 2 and Avowed.
• Deadly Premonition by Grasshopper Studios. The Suda/Swery team up game is already in the works, but I think the adventures of Francis York Morgan lend themselves well to a murder mystery that exposes an underground world of kill-the-past assassin death cults.

[Integrity]

1 minute ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

Fallout by Obsidian. Yeah kind of a no brainer with it having happened already and now both Obsidian and Bethesda answer to the same corporate money house. But it's too tantalizing to see if lightning strikes twice. The only question is how soon Obsidian can clean their plate between The Outer Worlds 2 and Avowed.

thrice, innit, given as the large share of obsidian was the guys who made fallout 2, which sucked

[Original Alear]

Take Suikoden and make a team from the former devs who AFAIK aren't with Konami anymore and give it to them.

[Fabulously Olivier]

Okay, anime and comics power hour. Currently almost all anime IP are being squandered by Bandai Namco in the arena fighter mines.

 

Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles

RGG

There is an inherent stupidity to these IP that is perfect for the Yakuza developer.

 

My Hero Academia

Nihon Falcom

Combine the party based action combat of Ys with the school slice of life of Trails. Or just do it like Trails.

 

Gundam 

Digital Extremes

Licensed Warframe, anyone?

 

Fullmetal Alchemist

Square Enix

I'm imagining Final Fantasy in FMA form.

Edited October 3, 2023 by Fabulously Olivier

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Here's another weird one. Gabriel Knight by SuperMassive Games. Tons of TV actors you recognize. Loads of valid story paths. Agh. If only Matthew Mcconaughey were twenty years younger. He would be the ideal casting for the role back when they were still making these. Activision has the rights apparently

55 minutes ago, Integrity said:

thrice, innit, given as the large share of obsidian was the guys who made fallout 2, which sucked

There were so many Fallout staff at Obsidian back then that some of them weren't assigned to New Vegas. Like Series Dad Tim Cain.  Guess they were worried about too many cooks in the kitchen. Not to throw additional shade at Fallout 2

[lenticular]

I'm always a little bit sceptical of this kind of thread, mainly because I just don't see that much value in most IPs. Like, for sure I would like to see a Fallout game that's better than 4 or 76, but is it important to me that it's actually called "Fallout"? Would I not be equally as satisfied by some brand new IP that was also an RPG in a kitsch retrofuturist atompunk post-apocalyptic setting? Because that basic idea is already available to anyone who wants it. They couldn't have the specifics of the Fallout world like super mutants, deathclaws, the Brotherhood of Steel, and Nuka-Cola, but I can't say that I particularly care. And if nobody is making this game, then there's a reason for that. And yeah, it might be "we wouldn't have the marketing or name recognition to reach a big enough audience" but it also might just be that nobody else is inspired to make that sort of thing or think they have any good ideas or that they could pull it off.

...but I'm not going to let that stop me from giving it a go anyway.

Assassins Creed, Larian. OK, hear me out here. What this basically boils down to is that I want Larian to make a game with a historic setting rather than a high fantasy one. Lean into the setting and the storytelling because they were the only parts of AC that I ever cared about, and get rid of all the Ubicrap that is piled on top of it.

Plants vs Zombies, Subset Games. Really, I just want a sequel to the original PvZ that isn't a mobile game microtransaction hellscape. Not sure why my brain jumped to Subset (the folks behind FTL and Into the Breach) for this, but it did.

3 hours ago, Integrity said:

star wars games have never had a golden age, lol

The golden age of Star Wars games was exactly 2007, because that was when Lego Star Wars: the Complete Saga was released. All other Star Wars games before and since have been pale shadows compared to this one shining moment. (My own experience with deeply mediocre Star Wars games has included Galactic Battlegrounds, Super Star Wars, and -- the one that nobody remembers -- Yoda Stories.)

11 hours ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

TMS#FE had good gameplay, but bad everything else

It was a perfectly good game and I will die on that molehill. Very obviously not going to be everyone's cup of tea, and it was a baffling decision to create the game they did based on those licenses, but in and of itself, I don't think there was much wrong with it.

[𝐍𝐲𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐥]

Give the rights to Fallout to Obsidian

Because the Fallout games haven't been good since Black Isle Studios were behind the games. The Bethesda Fallouts suck and Todd Howard should be ashamed of himself. Fallout New Vegas blow Fallout 3 and 4 out of the water and it isn't even close, it's a no-brainer because Obsidian obviously cares about the property way more than Bethesda does but sadly I don't think Fallout will ever go back to their original owners again, it just seems unlikely with how popular Bethesda is.

[Yexin]

i guess Pokémon is such a braindead, uninteresting suggestion, that's why no one mentioned it yet

i think Monoliths Soft would make for a good dev studio for this desperately aimless (aside from quick cash) franchise

Edited October 3, 2023 by Yexin

[Fabulously Olivier]

3 minutes ago, Yexin said:

i guess Pokémon is such a braindead, uninteresting suggestion, that's why no one mentioned it yet

i think Monoliths Soft would make for a good dev studio for this desperately aimless (aside from quick cash) franchise

I'd really love a Pokemon-like in Team Asano's HD-2D style.

 

15 hours ago, Integrity said:

i deeply disagree with this, honestly. i think a nintendo-made ARPG would end up in in a really shallow hack n slash design space that's fun to go through for a few hours and instantly tapers off. ARPGs are kind of built off of in-depth build design and grognard bullshit, both of which are things nintendo's been categorically beholden to avoid at all costs. nintendo's ARPG would be more d3 1.0 and far less d3 reaper of souls, is what i'm saying

 

e:

yeah, for instance they could make several mediocre third-person rpgs, or poorly copied wing commander, or made a mediocre set of first-person shooters, or made and completely fucked over an mmorpg instead of taking over a completely fucked over mmorpg. star wars games have never had a golden age, lol

Fine. Put Monolith Soft on it because they are undoubtedly a Nintendo studio who is NOT beholden to avoid in-depth build design and obtuse bullshit.

[lenticular]

1 minute ago, Yexin said:

i guess Pokémon is such a braindead, uninteresting suggestion, that's why no one mentioned it yet

I thought about mentioning Pokémon, but I wasn't sure who to give it to. On the one hand, pretty much anyone else would feel like an improvement at this point, but on the other hand so many of the problems with Pokémon-the-game-series are systemic and down to the release schedules forced upon the developers by Pokémon-the-media-franchise, and I don't know if anyone else could really do all that much better in the circumstanes. So, are we hypothetically just giving away the entire media franchise? Is any game developer really equiped to handle that? Maybe "Sony" if you would count that.

And the other thing with Pokémon is that the general formula is pretty stale at some point and almost wants to be completely reimagined from the ground up. So you could, in theory, give the license to just about anyone and tell them to just go wild with it. A Pokémon game made by Supergiant would be very different from a Pokémon game made by Firaxis (for instance) but either one would excite me more than the idea of whatever the next mainline game is going to be.

[Perkilator]

Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid

nWay -> Capcom

I know Capcom is a pretty contentious topic when it comes to post-SF4-era fighting games, but I feel like if Marvel wasn’t going to be cooperative, then Capcom should’ve focused their efforts on a Power Rangers fighting game in terms of keeping the MvC-style gameplay alive.

Edited October 3, 2023 by Perkilator

[Etrurian emperor]

19 hours ago, Integrity said:

yeah, for instance they could make several mediocre third-person rpgs, or poorly copied wing commander, or made a mediocre set of first-person shooters, or made and completely fucked over an mmorpg instead of taking over a completely fucked over mmorpg. star wars games have never had a golden age, lol

I don't recall ever using the term golden age.

There's nothing wrong with a mediocre game from time to time. The Force Unleashed or Empire at War were hardly the greatest game at all time, but they were both perfectly serviceable games with some charm infused into them by their setting. At times that's enough. 

18 hours ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

My Hero Academia

Nihon Falcom

Combine the party based action combat of Ys with the school slice of life of Trails. Or just do it like Trails.

Honestly where ARE the My Hero games? I know One Piece, Dragonbal and Naruto play around with several genres from time to time, but all My Hero got was the obligatory  arena fighter. Seems a bit underwhelming for one of the most marketable animes of the decade. 

[Aedan7479]

On 10/3/2023 at 3:51 AM, AnonymousSpeed said:

If you'd asked this six or seven years ago, I wouldn't said "take Mega Man from Capcom and give it to someone who will actually make a new game." However, Mega Man 11 has come out since then and I was kind of underwhelmed, so screw it. Give Mega Man to Nintendo so we can get a good new game.

This might be considered cheating, but I think Inti Creates should get Mega man; they proved time and time again they could make good mega man games, and thanks to Gunvolt, it's not like they'll be rusty.

3 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Honestly where ARE the My Hero games? I know One Piece, Dragonbal and Naruto play around with several genres from time to time, but all My Hero got was the obligatory  arena fighter. Seems a bit underwhelming for one of the most marketable animes of the decade. 

On mobile devices. But yeah, there's a lot of untapped potential for MHA video games, maybe we'll see something once the anime has finished.

[AnonymousSpeed]

22 hours ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

Here's another weird one. Gabriel Knight by SuperMassive Games. Tons of TV actors you recognize. Loads of valid story paths. Agh. If only Matthew Mcconaughey were twenty years younger. He would be the ideal casting for the role back when they were still making these. Activision has the rights apparently

Dang, you mean Gabriel Knight, the adventure game? I kinda wish they'd just make adventure games again. Or FMV games.

1 hour ago, Aedan7479 said:

This might be considered cheating, but I think Inti Creates should get Mega man; they proved time and time again they could make good mega man games, and thanks to Gunvolt, it's not like they'll be rusty.

I personally wasn't that interested in Gunvolt, so while I think Mega Man 10 was alright and the Zero games have a reputation of their own, I'm not really sure that's what I'd like to see. That's also a track record of basically just making more Mega Man games, and while I like Mega Man games I would prefer something that shakes it up a little more for each release. I think Mega Man 11's attempt to do so was a little flat and would like to see some better-integrated improvements.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

1 hour ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Dang, you mean Gabriel Knight, the adventure game? I kinda wish they'd just make adventure games again. Or FMV games.

I've seen some indie live action FMV adventure games over the years. None have really caught major attention. Only The Quiet Man for being such a public debacle backed by Square Enix marketing. The others are mostly interested in capturing the choose your own adventure angle for replayability rather than incorporating item-based puzzles and backtracking like in a 90s point and click adventure game.

As for SuperMassive games, it's motion captured actors put into a video game instead of a film, but I'd say that's close enough to the spirit of older FMVs since you can move your character around in a 3D space. All three Gabriel Knight games have a totally different graphical framework, so this fourth one would at least "rhyme" in that way.

[FRZNHeir]

17 hours ago, lenticular said:

I thought about mentioning Pokémon, but I wasn't sure who to give it to. On the one hand, pretty much anyone else would feel like an improvement at this point, but on the other hand so many of the problems with Pokémon-the-game-series are systemic and down to the release schedules forced upon the developers by Pokémon-the-media-franchise, and I don't know if anyone else could really do all that much better in the circumstanes. So, are we hypothetically just giving away the entire media franchise? Is any game developer really equiped to handle that? Maybe "Sony" if you would count that.

And the other thing with Pokémon is that the general formula is pretty stale at some point and almost wants to be completely reimagined from the ground up. So you could, in theory, give the license to just about anyone and tell them to just go wild with it. A Pokémon game made by Supergiant would be very different from a Pokémon game made by Firaxis (for instance) but either one would excite me more than the idea of whatever the next mainline game is going to be.

I mean Pokémon is so tied in with Nintendo's identity as a corporation now that I think the only reasonable response to having a Non-Game Freak entity taking of the franchise would be for Nintendo to make an in-house team for it. There's realistically no other options out there, given the massive size and popularity of Pokémon.

 

Although my absolute crack brain says give me Squenix working on a proper Pokémon JRPG where you play as a Pokémon, sorta like Mystery Dungeon. That would be fire IMO.

[Integrity]

On 10/3/2023 at 4:55 PM, Etrurian emperor said:

I don't recall ever using the term golden age.

there is no golden age. every single person to hold the star wars games license has made derivative dross. it was not better before ea, and it has not improved since ea. there are single games that are better or worse.

 

On 10/3/2023 at 8:44 AM, 𝐍𝐲𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐥 said:

Give the rights to Fallout to Obsidian

hell yeah give the rights back so they can make fallout 2 again, a bad game

e: 

On 10/3/2023 at 12:49 PM, Fabulously Olivier said:

Fine. Put Monolith Soft on it because they are undoubtedly a Nintendo studio who is NOT beholden to avoid in-depth build design and obtuse bullshit.

put a company that's made shallow jrpgs on it? what?

Edited October 5, 2023 by Integrity

[FRZNHeir]

Actually, since Larian did such a good job with Baldur's Gate 3, give Icewind Dale to them. It's the same universe, and it's another old AD&D game that is pretty well loved. I think this makes sense

[Lord_Brand]

On 10/3/2023 at 5:16 PM, Aedan7479 said:

But yeah, there's a lot of untapped potential for MHA video games, maybe we'll see something once the anime has finished.

I'm amazed MHA - and for that matter, Dragon Ball - have yet to receive the Musou treatment. Both series could easily fit in a story where the playable characters take on hordes of opponents with flashy special moves.