Top 5 franchises in need of a reboot

Have you ever stopped and considered just how much gaming has evolved? Consoles have taken leaps ahead of what they formerly were. Graphics now look amazing, AIs are as challenging as ever, level designs are incredible, and games now are just flat out spectacular.

Now have you ever wondered what it would be like to play franchises from PS2 or even SNES rebooted for this generation of consoles? Well I have, and here is my top 5 list of games I think deserve some current-gen rebooting.  

5. Dark Cloud (Level-5) 

Dark Cloud was released on May 29^th, 2001 in North America—December 14^th, 2000 for Japan. It was an action role-playing game for the PlayStation 2. What made the game special was its “city-building aspect.” The major antagonist, “the Dark Genie,” attacks and destroys multiple villages in the game in which the hero, Toan, sets off on an adventure to help rebuild the destroyed lands. Through your journey, you tackled different dungeons in each village to help restore what the Dark Genie destroyed. You also teamed up with six different characters that helped you fight as you conquested various dungeons.

During its release, Dark Cloud garnered great praise and was personally one of my favorite games on the PS2. I believe if brought over to the PS4, this game would be just as amazing as it once was. 

4. Winback (Koei)

WinBack was a third-person shooter developed by Koei for the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation 2. WinBack was my first experience at first person shooting, and a cover system, both of which were done extremely well. The game was heavily influenced by Metal Gear Solid. The cover system would later influence games such as Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Gears of War, to name a few. The game was also the first iteration of a laser pointing system that is now a staple of all third-person shooters. 

3. Oni (Bungie) 

This reboot is very unlikely, seeing how busy Bungie is with Destiny. But it’s still worth mentioning. Oni was a third-person anime styled action shooter. The game was published by Rockstar and released on PC and PS2 in 2001. It mixed shooting and melee, among other mechanics, to make this game fun. Oni references would later make their way into Bungie’s next big game, Halo. 

2. Pokemon Snap (Nintendo) 

Why? Do I really need to give a reason? Fine! I’ll give one anyway. Pokémon Snap was released on June 30, 1999 for the Nintendo 64. It was the first time we were able to see our favorite pocket monsters in full 3D. You were able to traverse various lands on a mine cart and take pictures of your favorite Pokémon. This game would be great for Nintendo to release on Wii U, or even smartphones! Maybe a snap feature will be included with the new Pokémon Go game? We can only hope. 

1. Jak and Daxter (Naughty Dog) 

Jak and Daxter was a platformer, originally released in 2001 for PlayStation 2. It was developed by Naughty Dog, before they started making masterpieces like Uncharted and Last of Us. This game was a precursor to the platforming mechanics of those games. The world was colorful and interesting, the story exciting and humorous. It would be great to see Jak and Daxter rebooted on PlayStation 4. 

Of course, they are a lot more games that deserve reboots, these are personally my list. If you have a game you think deserves to be rebooted, leave a comment and let us know!