Sega franchises that need to make a return

Features

June 3, 2015

These are the Sega franchises that need to make a glorious return to video gaming.

Having just talked about Nintendo’s upcoming and most hotly anticipated games for 2015, the games that will save Nintendo no less, we thought about doing another feature on Nintendo’s former rival.

Do you remember the Sega Dreamcast or even the Sega Mega Drive? If you do, then you probably know about the awesome games Sega had released in the past.

That’s not to say that Sega doesn’t release great titles, it’s just that they only really publish great titles these days, rather than develop themselves.

Without Creative Assembly, Relic Entertainment or Atlus, where would Sega be? Likely forgotten is where.

Let’s take a look at Sega’s past and remember the glory days of 16-Bit and before the Sega Dreamcast was a thing of the past.

And, perhaps, consider some of the franchises we’d like to see reborn.

Streets of Rage

Streets of Rage was as brutal as a death metal band.

When video games could still get away with being ultra-violent and uncensored, Streets of Rage was a side-scrolling beat em’ up with only one comparable competitor, Final Fight. Within the main series there are three games.

In the original game, you could play with two players at the same time, similar to the arcade. You had a special attack, would have to beat up enemies, pick up weapons and basically beat the living daylights out of anything you came across.

Streets of Rage, followed by Streets of Rage 2, had a zany cast of characters and was a great game to own on the Sega Mega Drive. The game has seen releases on the Wii Virtual Console, Microsoft Windows and the Nintendo 3DS.

But it would be brutally awesome to see this brawler make its way back to the battlegrounds, with a console or perhaps even a Steam release.

Gunstar Heroes

With guns blazing, Gunstar Heroes was a unique run and gun shooter.

Gunstar Heroes was a run and gun game developed by Treasure, well-known for many shooters. While the game did receive a sequel and updated releases on other consoles and handhelds, it still remains essentially the same game with no new titles in the series to speak of.

While Gunstar Heroes was a run and gun game, it was still a side-scrolling shooter something which Treasure are pros at. In the game, you had four weapons to choose from, and you could combine weapons in pairs creating ten extra weapons. In total, there were 14 weapons.

Along with vast bosses that took multiple pixels to render and co-op play, this was one Sega game that was difficult to beat. We would love to see the series make a swift return.

Altered Beast

Face the gods, with the ability to transform into beasts.

Altered Beast, a classic Sega arcade beat em’ up, was developed by Sega and originally released on the Sega Mega Drive.

The game supported up to two players. Set in Ancient Greece, you play as a warrior resurrected by Zeus tasked with rescuing his daughter Athena.

In order to rescue Athena you must transform into various beasts, a werewolf for example, through the use of power-ups. Gameplay is simple you punch, kick and jump your way to victory.

Altered Beast was ported to various consoles and even had a PS2 reboot, which is considered a dismal failure. Seeing a proper reboot of this game set within Ancient Greece, keeping the classic arcade feel, would be great.

Jet Set Radio

Spray paint your way to victory with a pair of in-line skates.

Jet Set Radio was originally released for the Sega Dreamcast and saw a sequel on Microsoft’s original Xbox. The game was developed by Smilebit and featured cel-shaded graphics which were unique for the time.

The game has been ported to multiple consoles, and even to PC. But along with the sequel there has been nothing new from the series.

In the original game, you played as the member of a rebellious gang. You rode around the landscape of a city with in-line skates and would have to collect spray paint cans to mark your territory, and keep rival gangs in check.

Jet Set Radio was all about graffiti and we loved it. A reboot or remake, or even some type of sequel would be warmly welcomed by fans and gamers alike.

Shenmue

Take on all the mini-games and quick-time events in Shenmue.

Shenmue, along with Shenmue 2, were ahead of their time. Shenmue, developed by Sega and originally on the Sega Dreamcast, featured quick-time events, a weather as well as a day and night system, open world exploration and fully voiced characters.

It was a step forward for non-linear gameplay in game design and was one of the first attempts at an open world experience, all the way back in 1999. The game consisted of a quest that Ryo, the main character, must follow along with side quests and mini-games he can partake in.

In some ways Shenmue attempted to be a simulation and was something different from the mainstream games on consoles at the time. With that in mind, it is not difficult to see why would love to see another Shenmue game some time in the future.

We can only hope

Sega used to be a direct competitor to Nintendo producing their own software and hardware, now they simply focus on the software side of things.

We feel that they aren’t taking full advantage of the franchises and IPs they have at their disposal. There are some stellar series which needs to make a return, but they are in Sega’s hands.