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Thread: Game series I'm shocked are still around

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    Default Game series I'm shocked are still around

    So I just got a Switch (YAY!) and went looking up games for it (I only have Dragon Quest Builders 2 right now) and... well...

    It made me realize some things I thought were dead somehow still live.

    It's not necessarily that these are bad... its more I always thought they were so niche and unprofitable that surely they would be something only an old man like myself would vaguely remember.

    Nobunaga's Ambition, for example. I remember a time when these were the NES games I most wanted to play, and everyone else I talked to--both IRL and online (this being back near the dawn of emulation)--were like "Dude what the hell even is that?"

    Somehow the series has a new installment on the freaking Switch. Also there was a crossover with Pokemon, apparently?

    I mean what's next, a version of Blaster Master where you can opt to play as Shantae well speak of the devil .

    Another shocker that I saw when I was looking for Switch games is there's apparently a Raiden V. You guys remember Raiden, right? Those arcade shmups that are arguably the grand daddy's of the danmaku genre? I used to have the first on the TG16 of all things. Somehow, each generation has a Raiden. And yet its a series I almost never hear anyone talk about, despite its undying nature.

    And yeah I know lately crowdfunding has led to a lot of banking-on-nostalgia revivals of old brands, but I'm more shocked at the things that seemingly never went anywhere in the first place despite it logically seeming like they would... and more importantly, sometimes they seem to be getting more prominent.

    Like how many people remember the original Dragon Slayer: Legend of Heroes? I had a friend who is playing its distant sequel, Trails of Cold Steel, and was shocked that the franchise not only began in the early 90s but its actually a spinoff of a longer franchise.

    Anyway, you guys got any personal examples of "wow, that's still around?"

    nb4 someone nominates Bubsy.

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    Falcom keeps most of their series going, though they often evolve to the point that their connection to the older games is unrecognizable. I mean, Tokyo Xanadu is in the same franchise as Faxanadu.

    With stuff like Nobunaga's Ambition and Raiden, I think it's more a matter that they're more popular and better known in Japan, so that's why they're still around. But they get localized by smaller companies who budget the releases around the assumption they'll be niche in the West.

    It's not a series, but what really perplexes is me is why there's all these remasters of cheesy 90s FMV games (Night Trap, Double Switch, Corpse Killer). In the past, I only ever saw people making fun of and trashing these sorts of games, yet now there's actually a lot of excited fervor behind the remasters. I don't get it.

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    With FMV games it's the same reason why old 80's and 90's movies are now watched for the "so bad it's good" thing. I don't really get it either, I just assume that it's a mix of nostalgia and compared to a lot of modern releases these old pieces of crap are actually much better than what's produced today.

    I think the most recent Switch release that surprised me is when I heard that the old Genesis Lion King and Aladdin games are getting ported. Most of the games that sound great for the switch are ports or remakes of games that we've already played 25 years ago.

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    Ys series in general falcom has manage to keep it going still and a part nine is coming soon as well.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gameguy View Post
    I think the most recent Switch release that surprised me is when I heard that the old Genesis Lion King and Aladdin games are getting ported. Most of the games that sound great for the switch are ports or remakes of games that we've already played 25 years ago.
    And in that case especially, I was like "Why? Those games weren't even particularly good."

    Genesis Aladdin fans are gonna kill me for that comment I know but I honestly never thought it was so great.

    Also apparently there's a new version of Namco Museum for the Switch. Which okay, compilations are nothing new but seriously this particular compilation has become its own series. The Switch one includes Rolling Thunder 1 and 2 and Galaga 88 so its probably worth a pickup.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond Dantes View Post
    And in that case especially, I was like "Why? Those games weren't even particularly good."

    Genesis Aladdin fans are gonna kill me for that comment I know but I honestly never thought it was so great.
    I do like the game quite a bit, I never beat it though. I'm not going to say it's better than the SNES version as I like that too but I personally do prefer the Genesis version. I guess it depends if you really like platform games, it's pretty good but still not as great as the best platform games ever made. The visuals are just excellent though. I prefer it over The Lion King but I do still like that game too. I just wouldn't buy a new console just to replay them.

    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond Dantes View Post
    Also apparently there's a new version of Namco Museum for the Switch. Which okay, compilations are nothing new but seriously this particular compilation has become its own series. The Switch one includes Rolling Thunder 1 and 2 and Galaga 88 so its probably worth a pickup.
    Of course there's a new Namco Museum, there's always a new one. How many consoles post PS1 have multiple versions too? I like compilations of classic games but I just never get excited for this anymore as it's become dirt common and mostly repeat the same games.

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    Yeah, nobody even knows what Raiden is locally except for the one cabinet (and that one's for the Raiden Fighters spinoff). I looked it up once and got III for the PS2, then was shocked at the time because V was being quietly announced.

    I think the one series that I keep expecting to quietly die is Atelier, but here they are announcing another one, plus some Deluxe thingamajig set for the previous trilogy. As far as surprises overall is Mana making something of a lurching comeback, despite Square Enix's best efforts.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Aussie2B View Post
    It's not a series, but what really perplexes is me is why there's all these remasters of cheesy 90s FMV games.
    Memes, "legendary statuses," and YouTube "video gaming" personalities: These are the reasons that the FMV games have been remade. When you combine famous YouTubers making videos about these infamous games and the "GIF's" that circulate as well as the ability to create HD transfers from the original films to create HD editions with much cleaner video than the originals, this is what happens.

    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond Dantes View Post
    And in that case especially, I was like "Why? Those games weren't even particularly good."

    Genesis Aladdin fans are gonna kill me for that comment I know but I honestly never thought it was so great.
    They remade the movies so they ported the games as cash-ins. However, they are well done cash-ins, as they have not just HD graphics, but multiple versions of the games across various consoles and handhelds, playable prototypes, gameplay rewind and autoplay, a jump-to-any-section feature, video filters, music sound tests, and making-of sketch and picture scans.

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    I could understand people liking the FMV games ironically, but I've also noticed a lot of people talking as if they genuinely love the games and have always felt that way, going back to the original releases, yet I never saw people talking that way prior to the remasters.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Aussie2B View Post
    I could understand people liking the FMV games ironically, but I've also noticed a lot of people talking as if they genuinely love the games and have always felt that way, going back to the original releases, yet I never saw people talking that way prior to the remasters.
    Its probably just because people forgot. I see the same stuff with old cartoons... for decades all they get is trashed online but when a DVD set comes out its suddenly "this thing was a classic and I'm glad its back."

    I remember loving Mad Dog Macree on MS-DOS and would love to play a non-grainy version of Who Shot Johnny Rock.

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    People talk about FMV games being scorned the same way Waterworld was supposedly a critical (not just commercial) flop.. yet most people will say they liked both.

    The PS1 was the only console around that time that did FMV well. The video was shrunk down on earlier consoles and was very poor quality. Im glad games like Night Trap are getting ported to new consoles but for me Id rather just enjoy them on the original consoles, albeit worse quality

    Fox Hunt is one of the first FMV games I saw in action and I was blown away at the time

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    Waterworld has defenders now? Next up, Surf Ninjas. I love that show, mostly because its the equivalent of a demolition derby. One long glorious car crash, where everybody gives in and enjoys themselves anyway. It's still crap, don't get me wrong.

    When the PS1 rolled up and got going, yes it had some nifty FMV cutscenes, but I can't say I saw a full-on FMV game that I liked back then. The closest contenders I can even think of were the old Area 51/Maximum Force arcade games, and those seem to be pretty arguable. Got dragged into a war on some chat or other few years back about whether they count.
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    Waterworld had a massive budget and so when it didnt make profit in its initial theatrical run, critics deemed it to be a failure. It has a massive following if you go to any physical media or movie forum. From what I read, the film eventually did turn a profit when factoring rentals, TV airings, DVD sales, etc.

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    Quote Originally Posted by WulfeLuer View Post
    When the PS1 rolled up and got going, yes it had some nifty FMV cutscenes, but I can't say I saw a full-on FMV game that I liked back then.
    It really depends on the platform you're looking at. There were several good FMV games released on the PC, mostly adventure games like Gabriel Knight 2 or the Tex Murphy games. Going way back earlier there was Dragon's Lair which still has some charm. I still don't fully get why the bad FMV games like Sewer Shark are becoming popular, besides making fun of them on youtube.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Edmond Dantes View Post
    nb4 someone nominates Bubsy.
    Dude. You didn't even give me a chance. :\

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    Quote Originally Posted by BubsyFan1 View Post
    Dude. You didn't even give me a chance. :\
    Sorry bobcat. For what its worth I honestly thought the games got more hate than they deserved.

    It's just too bad my personal favorite forgotten mascot--Aero the Acro-Bat--died in the 1990s.

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    If you're a fan of a series, wouldn't you expect the series to still be around?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Aussie2B View Post
    If you're a fan of a series, wouldn't you expect the series to still be around?
    I don't understand this question. My personal fanhood has no bearing on whether a thing is still around, and its illogical to assume something is still a thing just because I liked it. It would be like thinking a thing disappeared because I didn't like it.

    Lots of people liked Chrono Trigger for example, but when was the last brand-new (not a re-release) game in that series?

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    I mean in terms of what BubsyFan1 posted. If they're a fan of Bubsy and thinks it's a quality series, wouldn't then it be a natural thing to revive a quality series? What would be shocking about that?

    I wouldn't say it applies to the reverse scenario. There are plenty of reasons why somebody could understand why a series is no longer around even if they're a fan, if the sales were low, it's been dormant for a long time, the developer/publisher no longer exists, etc.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Aussie2B View Post
    I mean in terms of what BubsyFan1 posted. If they're a fan of Bubsy and thinks it's a quality series, wouldn't then it be a natural thing to revive a quality series? What would be shocking about that?
    Again I kinda think you're placing the cart before the horse here. The shock/surprise is generated from the fact that it HAS been dormant for so long and suddenly people thought to revive it. One's own personal fandom or lack thereof have no bearing on what you can observe with your own two eyes.

    To put it another way, think about jumpscares. Horror fans often say the most effective ones come in movies or games that only had one or two because you've gotten into a mindset that they're not gonna happen, so its more shocking when they actually do (vs stuff like FNAF where guys like Pewdiepie stopped reacting to the scares because they became so predictable). There's a similar thing at work here: Bubsy coming back is a shock because he's been dormant since the mid-1990s, whereas, say, a new Sonic game comes out every year.

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