Nintendo has recently partnered with Brace Yourself games to create Cadence of Hyrule, a crossover between Crypt of the Necrodancer and The Legend of Zelda series. This has gotten me to consider what other indie devs should take on Nintendo IP. While thinking about this, I realized Nintendo has many unused older IP that would be perfect for certain devs. Here are 7 retro Nintendo games that should be given to indie devs and who would be the best fit.
Balloon Fight – Atooi
Balloon Fight is a well known Nintendo title among fans. It was worked on by the late Satoru Iwata and despite being heavily inspired by Joust, had some unique ideas like Balloon Trip. Balloon Fight would be a perfect fit for Atooi, developers of Mutant Mudds, to create a new modern game. It could revamp the Balloon Trip mode to have platforming with a gimmick or be a flight based game entirely. The patented Atooi touch would work well here to show why Balloon Fight still matters.
StarTropics – Rainbite
This is one that occurred to me as I was playing Reverie on Nintendo Switch. While the art style is more reminiscent of the Earthbound series, the actual game feels very much like a successor to StarTropics and Zelda. It is not just that both are Island Adventures, but the overall gameplay, puzzles and enemies. I would love to see what Rainbite could do with StarTropics to bring it into the modern day as Reverie showed just how innovative a developer they can be. Perhaps a reboot with a more mystical enemy? A proper third game with modern innovations? There are numerous possibilities and all are ones I would like to see.
A LoLo puzzle rogue like by Edmund McMillen
The LoLo series from HAL is one of the most underrated puzzle game series ever. It may not have started as a Nintendo series, but its part of Nintendo now thanks to HAL. The games really showed a depth that was matched by few others at the time and really made you think about how to continue. Edmund McMillen, creator of the Binding of Isaac and the End is Nigh has created some amazing rougelike games, and the idea of combining these two factors interests me. What could be done with the LoLo series if it took on Rougelike aspects while retaining its puzzle nature? This is something I want to see.
Ice Climber – Thunderful /Upper One Games
Ice Climber is one of, if not the worst game Nintendo put out on the NES. It has aged terribly and there is little redeeming about the game besides the characters who have done well in Smash. I see two options for indie devs here and both present unique ideas. Thunderful, the indie publisher behind the Steamworld series is one of them, as an Ice Climber game that plays like the Steamworld Dig series is appealing to me. It could see the climbers explore various caves while scaling up a mountain in a reverse of Steamworld Dig, and have an interesting story along the way.
The other possibility is Upper One Games, the developers of Never Alone. With that game, they worked with Alaskan storytellers and elders to create an authentic experience and that would be great here as well. Nana and Popo are supposed to be Inuit, and a game that properly reflects the Inuit culture while still be a fun experience would be welcome.
Kid Icarus – Elden Pixels
Elden Pixels created the amazing Alwa’s Awakening, which was heavily inspired by classic 8 bit games, including those from Nintendo. While many expressed a desire to see their take on a side scrolling version of Zelda, the best Nintendo IP for them would be Kid Icarus. I am not speaking of something like Kid Icarus Uprising however, but the classic style. Elden Pixels could take some of their ideas from Alwa’s Awakening and combine that with the classic vertical and side scrolling gameplay of KI to give it a new sense of polish and freshness. More open ended exploration maybe, new powerups, and more NPCs to interact with. It could continue to flesh out the KI universe and show a different side of it.
Urban Champion – WayForward
Urban Champion is often considered the worst Nintendo game ever….but it isn’t. Not even close. The arcade version aged surprisingly well, and gives a real feel to each hit and punch the character gives and receives for instance. There were some great ideas here, but they were not fully fleshed out at the time. I can see a developer like WayForward being a great fit for this IP as they know how to work on a variety of genres including brawlers. They would be able to make the ideas work properly and expand what Nintendo did. Perhaps they can reimagine the game as a full on beat em up, but one that has a real weight to each move to make things more realistic. They could of course maintain the cartoonish elements like falling plants and falling into manholes, and possibly create some outlandish enemies. If anyone can make this a success, it is WayForward.
Joy Mech Fight – Lab Zero Games
Nintendo’s great 8 bit fighting game, Joy Mech Fight was an amazing experience. It may have remained in Japan, but its legacy has expanded over the whole world. I feel the best developer to take on the task of bringing it into the modern day would be Lab Zero Games, creators of Skullgirls. They know how to make amazing fighting games, and I think they could do some great things with Joy Mech Fight. The Famicom game had a large roster with a nice variety of characters and designs, and this fits into Lab Zero’s wheelhouse. Combine excellent fast paced fighting games, with some love from Nintendo and you have a recipe for success.
And there you have it. What retro Nintendo game would you be interested in seeing an indie dev handle?
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