One of the coolest aspects of this generation of gaming is actually the ability to play classic games on the modern console. Xbox Live Arcade is awesome for the indie games as much as the retro, and to quote one of my favorite ESPN anchors, if some is good more is better. So today I’m going to petition for three games to get a chance to see the light of day on XBLA.
The first game on the list may already be on the way to XBLA. But I’m not asking for Tecmo Bowl (a great game, don’t get me wrong) but instead I want Tecmo Super Bowl. I’ve had long conversations with friends about how you choose one game over another when they’re from different genres. Gameinformer magazine’s issue #200 said that the Legend of Zelda is the greatest game of all time basically and while I don’t necessarily disagree I wonder if it’s a fair conclusion in the first place.
Madden players are gamers too, and they owe a lot to Tecmo Super Bowl one of the first games to even attempt to be a mainstream sports simulation. The game wasn’t perfect by any means but I argue that it is still one of the most fun sports games ever. Since sports games share a good chunk of the video game market place Tecmo deserves more respect than it gets.
But Tecmo, dear Tecmo we want more than the chance to play Tecmo Super Bowl again, we want updated graphics, online tournaments and seasons, and of course, updated rosters. I hear that EA’s strangle hold on the NFL players license is coming to an end, maybe we’ll get our wish afterall.
The RPG classic I would love to see hit XBLA is of course Final Fantasy Tactics. The game is timeless and addicting. The only reason I own a PSP is to play Tactics, for some people it’s Tetris they turn to for killing time but for me it’s my Tactics save file. The best addition to the game is the co-op and PVP modes the PSP provides, could you imagine the fun of playing the game online?
With online play and an addition to the list of playable characters this could be one of those sleeper hits that no one sees coming. I’m hoping that seeing Square make the journey over to Xbox with some of their titles opens the door for this game being possible.
Last, but not least in the action/adventure category is Captain America and the Avengers. This game wasn’t ground breaking or anything. It comes from a long list of side-scroller beat em’ ups so that’s not the point. It wasn’t until I played TMNT Re-Shelled that I got to thinking how cool it would be to play Cap and the Avengers in a new and updated format. I know that some of you out there are thinking that this updated version already exists and it’s called Marvel Ultimate Alliance, but bare with me.
With updated graphics and an expanded roster of characters the game could be retro gaming gold. What if the graphics looked something similar to Marvel versus Capcom 2 or something, wouldn’t that be awesome?
In the end all I’m saying is if you’re struggling to come up with games to port over to XBLA, then let us do it, your pals at Crave Online.
