The reason why Nintendo’s main three series of Mario, Zelda, and Metroid succeed is because they have richly textured worlds. They are fun universes to come back to, and they never get old.
Every console cycle, Nintendo puts out the same exact games which is usually one incarnation of the main three. This is why E3 2009 was pretty disappointing outside of Mario 5 since MORE Metroid and 3d Mario is just overkill. Nintendo ought to do something different. With Wii having a longer lifecycle, this is an opportunity to put out a new type of core game instead of giving another sequel to one of those main three.
After the main three, what other richly textured worlds does Nintendo have? The only one I can think of is Starfox (which should come back too). Earthbound/Mother is dead on arrival as it won’t sell outside Japan. Donkey Kong Country doesn’t have much of a universe except being wild in the jungle. It is annoying how Nintendo keeps using Donkey Kong for ‘experimental titles’. And Donkey Kong Country’s purpose was to be Mario 5 (which it very much wasn’t but saved the SNES from Genesis overcoming it anyway). There is StarTropics but that is a bad version of Zelda. F-Zero sold horribly in its last incarnation so that is out. Kirby is just LOL. What other series does Nintendo have? Mach Rider would be kinda cool to see a modern version.
But Kid Icarus is the most interesting because, outside of the main three, it has the richest textured world. Everyone instantly understands shooting bows and the mythological background.
One of the big problems with Nintendo is that they are too gung ho about re-inventing the gameplay wheel instead of re-inventing the content wheel. For example, Nintendo developers would rather make ANOTHER 3d Mario with ‘new gameplay mechanics’ instead of carving out new content of another game. New gameplay mechanics is boring. New content is exciting.
How could a new Kid Icarus game work? Very easily. You use the fantastic bow mechanics from Wii Sports Resort. Moving and flying could be easily done with the nunchucka. I’m thinking more of a third person type of game that zooms in when you draw the bow (like Wii Sports Resort). However, in 3d, Kid Icarus could not become a platformer because platformers in 3d just suck. But NES Kid Icarus wasn’t really about platforming anyway. In the final stage, you are straight up flying like a Gradius game. To remove frustration, if Kid Icarus falls off, his wings ‘come on’ and float him back up not unlike Mario ‘falling off’ in the HUB in Galaxy or Pit in Brawl.
What is most amusing to me are the few who squeal when any talk of a new Kid Icarus game comes up. Some of these are legitimate outcries from people who played Kid Icarus when the game was not new and found that the harsh mechanics didn’t age well. However, it is interesting to note that many of these squealers are the same ones who squealed when any talk of 2d Mario returning to consoles (and kept blasting Mario 5 until it came out). [Disclaimer: Not inferring that Kid Icarus game would have the impact as Mario 5. I don’t think any game could have the impact as 2d Mario does.]
The best advantage Nintendo has compared to its competitors is that Nintendo has a rich past. During the N64 and Gamecube decline, observers such as myself correlated this decline with Nintendo moving AWAY from its NES roots. Note that the two Nintendo games that have biggest ties to the NES roots (Wii Sports and Super Mario Brothers 5) are the biggest games on the system… or on ANY system.
In other words, competitors do NOT want Nintendo going back to its roots. The competitors cannot compete there. When Super Mario Brothers 5 made its debut at E3 2009, there was palpable fear that I detected. They were right to be scared. And none of the distorting and viral marketing of Mario 5 being a ‘DS port’ to ‘Nintendo being lazy’ could stop the juggernaut. I am noticing a similar fear about Nintendo bringing back sleeping franchises such as Kid Icarus.
Keep in mind Metroid was asleep until Metroid Prime.
So why the fear? Competitors do not want the possibility of a fourth universe being added to Nintendo’s constellation. Worse, it could very well cut off franchises at the knees like God of War (which is only mythological in the superficial sense). God of War is not a family game. Children do not play God of War.
Even better, the original Icarus story had his father and the journey was of two, not one. Multiplayer co-op would be awesome.
Ever notice how Industry people go ballistic on the Nintendo games before they become mega-hits? And note how they are completely supportive of Nintendo games that have little to no impact on the console sales? I hear the Industry cheering wildly for more 3d Mario, more Metroid games like Other M, and for a more ‘hardcore’ Zelda. But when games like Wii Sports or Wii Fit or Mario 5 were presented, these same Industry people became de-arranged. It is important to differentiate these Industry people from our hardcore friends. Industry people instantly knew Mario 5 would be a threat which is why we got rained on with constant ‘it is a DS port’ and other such misinformation. Even to this day, Industry people will not acknowledge the sales of Mario 5 and pretend it does not exist while touting Modern Warfare 2’s sales.
Let me give another example of the squealing: the vitality sensor. The product might become big. It might not either. However, if Nintendo just made Galaxy 3, the console momentum’s fate clearly isn’t going to go up.
The big three series of Mario, Metroid, and Zelda is very tired. The universes, all of which are represented on the Wii, have had their say. More Mario, Metroid, and Zelda isn’t going to excite anyone. However, a new Kid Icarus or a new Starfox game might excite people.
“What about a brand new universe?”
Nintendo isn’t ready for that. They are extremely rusty at new universes as the last one they made (if you don’t count Pikmin) would be Starfox which is nearing almost two decades ago. And if you look at how Nintendo is treating the current big three series, you can see this company has serious problems in the content department. All three series cannot do anything new in the prism of content. All they can do is offer more gameplay mechanics. Hyrule of Twilight Princess is not much different from any other Zelda. Mario Galaxy isn’t that new from, say, Mario 64. Mario 5 recycled content from the previous four Mario games. Metroid is so bad that Other M has become nothing but a giant retcon. For all the innovation Nintendo talks about, they sure do not innovate in the content space. In each game, the player is doing the same exact thing as before (but with new mechanics!).
Bringing back an older franchise wouldn’t be as risky as Nintendo making brand new content but would require them to make some sort of new content. That Kid ICarus universe certainly would have to be fleshed out. This would be harder than Metroid Prime and Ocarina of Time as there is no 16-bit Kid Icarus game to pole vault from.
Overall, the big issue is that people are sick of the same Mario/Metroid/Zelda sequels. Doing something different such as bringing back an old franchise would be very well received even if the game doesn’t come out as good as people hoped. And out of all the sleeping Nintendo franchises, Kid Icarus and Starfox are the best candidates.
Nintendo ought to take advantage of the longer console lifecycle to revive not just ‘old franchise’ but making games with different content. When the Wii is over, Nintendo may not have this opportunity again in a future console.
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