Hypothetical: Which 8-bit Nintendo game do you most wish existed?

[nerdynebraskan]

The Famicom/NES library of games is huge, and generally excellent by any standard. I would go a step further and call it the best collection of games on one platform in video game history, and I suspect many here would agree with me. But it's not perfect, right? There were dozens of clunkers, while at the same time there were plenty of games that we could have had or should have had but never did.

So, here's the question:

What game(s) would you most wish you could play on your 8-bit Nintendo console of choice?

Would it be a game based on a favorite movie, tv show, or comic book? Maybe it was overlooked completely, or maybe you just need your beloved X-Men to get more effort than LJN was willing to shell out for?

Would it be a sequel? Why couldn't we get a second Felix the Cat or Rygar, when we got four Bases Loaded games?

I'll start things off. I would've LOVED a good Transformers game. Imagine one like the first GI Joe (by Taxan), with good graphics, strong gameplay, multiple playable Autobots (with different attributes), and 15 or so Decepticon boss fights. Wouldn't that be awesome?

[Nightstar699]

a second Felix the Cat

That. Or perhaps Armadillo II to have actually been released.

[satoshi_matrix]

I'd love someone to turn the GameCenter CX games for DS into actual Famicom games - Cosmic Gate, Robot Ninja Haggle Man Rally King, Star Prince, Rally King SP, Robot Ninja Haggle Man 2, Guadia Quest, Robot Ninja Haggle Man 3.

I'd also like to see Famicom version of the GameCenter CX 2 list of 8-bit titles - WizMan, Super Kung Fu Fighting, Demon Returns,
Detective Kacho Parts 1 & 2, Guadia Quest Saga and GunDuel

Also, I'd realllllly like a skilled hacker or team of hackers to fully convert the PC versions of Rockman 7 and Rockman 8 FC to actually work on the Famicom, as well as of course Megaman 9 and 10 on Wii.



As for 8-bit games that don't exist at all? I'd like to see Famicom versions of early SNES series like F-Zero or Pilotwings. I could picture a Rally King overhead perspective F-Zero and maybe a sidesrolling Pilotwings.

[nerdynebraskan]

Armadillo II could've been pretty cool. I'd probably like it even better if they'd possibly improved the physics a bit for the sequel. The control is a little slow and awkward, but it's not unusual to tweak things like that for sequels. Is there any word whether it ever reached prototype?

And I would pay good money for de-makes of Mega Man 7, 8, 9 and 10. For that matter, someone needs to make an original hardware repro of that Street Fighter/Mega Man anniversary game. Good calls, satoshi.

[Nightstar699]

Despite the fact that Armadillo is tied with Hoshi No Kirby for my favorite game ever, I admit it's a flawed game. I don't think the problem lies in the control, though. I found no issues controlling Armadillo whatsoever in any of his forms, I'd saw the game's flaw lies in its slowdown. I would have liked to have seen Armadillo's walkspeed and ball speed increased in the sequel, almost like he'd have the shoe powerup from the start.

I don't know if the game reached prototype stage, however as you can see in the flyer I posted above, screenshots of the game do exist, and one thing that disappoints me is that Armadillo's sprite from the original would have been changed... I greatly prefer his original sprite. But the backgrounds in those screenshots look great, makes me wish more was known about this game... and that it was actually released. But I can't complain, I'm more than happy with the games that did come out for Famicom. But it's still nice to try and picture what Armadillo II might have been like.

Edit: And it's cool that the poster shows screenshots from the planned Armadillo Gaiden for the Game Boy, which was repackaged and released as "Ultraman Ball"

[L___E___T]

I have that flyer if you need a bigger scan of the screens.  As for me - I would say I want an 8-bit Dark Souls, but a) Castlevania already fulfills that I think and b) a 16-bit or even 32-bit Dark Souls would be a better proposal (enemy details, animation etc.).

So here's my suggestion on what I'd like to see.  Appleseed.  8-bit Appleseed.  A good one, as good as Batman, Shatterhand or Vice at least.  Ideally better.

[Toneman]

Project A-Ko....this anime could've had a great action platformer

[L___E___T]

Nice!   I also saw your Ninja Scroll mashup and heartily agree.

Also, not quite game and more software, but how awesome would it be to have a Famicom version that ran natively:

Spoiler

[close]

[nerdynebraskan]

I'd also have loved home ports of Konami's beat em ups for X-Men and The Simpsons. They definitely would've lost something on NES hardware, but they would've been a lot more fun than the X-Men and Simpsons games we did get. The Simpsons Arcade was probably my favorite arcade game ever. I've never played the X-Men one, but it looks fun. It definitely would've been possible, since the TMNT arcade game was ported. (I've heard the lack of X-Men and Simpsons ports blamed on the fact that Konami didn't have and couldn't get home licensing rights, which were in the hands of the infamous LJN/Acclaim at the time.)

[That Guy from Faxanadu]

A second Faxanadu, obviously I made this mock up for a Wii-game earlier, but I´d so buy it for NES too!

[Ghegs]

A solid racing game. I love my Famicom and I love racing games, but sadly these two loves don't meet. If there was at least one really good racing game for the Famicom I could (just as hypothetically) sell all my other systems and just keep the Famicom.

I can even envision what the game would be like...it would be an isometric racer, like R.C. Pro Am. The style would be similar to Neo Geo's Neo Drift Out and Over Top, with the focus on time attacking. Games like Rad Racer and the gazillion F1 racers aren't really that good, the hardware just isn't quite up to this style of faux-3D. Exciting Rally is the one that comes closest to being good, but even that falls short due to some design issues.

Makes me want to roll up my sleeves and learn NES programming.

[nerdynebraskan]

That's interesting. I'm not a big racing fan, but I've got four good racing games in my NES collection: Galaxy 5000, Micro Machines, and RC Pro-Am 1 + 2. I just looked at GameFAQs, and none of the four were sold on the Famicom. I would've guessed Micro Machines didn't make it over, since it was an unlicensed game that was actually programmed by a UK company. But wow, none of the three good licensed racing games got published in Japan?

[L___E___T]

Micro Machines was developed and published by Codesmaters and saw a release here, but for whatever reason Codies couldn't properly publish in America, let alone Japan.  I personally find Micro Machines really fun, but it's not the racing game I'm looking for.  An 8-bit F-Zero if done properly would've been great, but seeng as F-Zero was made to compete with Genesis hardware (SMK was sloooow) then it becomes very hypothetical indeed.

[nerdynebraskan]

Codemasters was a pretty solid developer in the NES era. I really like several of the games by Camerica, which was their US subsidiary.

If I recall correctly, the Genesis is still faster than an SNES, let alone an NES. I actually prefer the Genesis versions of most any game that got ported to both it and the SNES. The SNES had better graphics, so their ports looked cooler, but the Genesis versions tend to play a bit quicker and smoother (and that's really more important, isn't it?).

[Ghegs]

I had considered all the NES-exclusive racing titles, but they don't quite make the cut for me either. Micro Machines and the R.C. Pro Am's have a decent enough engine, but the gameplay modes don't hold my interest. If I could at least freely choose what track I want to play and use the car I like for it, that'd go a long way. Micro Machine's sports cars have a nice sense of speed and handling while R.C. Pro Am goes quite fast especially when you drive over the boost pads. But both offer only a strict game progression where the player doesn't get any choice as to what to play and how, and R.C. Pro Am's also have combat which I don't like in my racing games.

Basically, what I want is something like SNES' [/url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1a9__QqCag[/url]Power Drive[/url] for the NES/Famicom. It wouldn't have to look any better than R.C. Pro Am so the system could definitely handle it, it's just a matter of gameplay design.