Published , by Shack Staff
Published , by Shack Staff
After closing out 2019 and kicking off 2020 we've had our share of looks back at the year we just closed out. The time has come to look forward to what awaits us. In this week's Shack Chat, the team lists their dream video game announcements for 2020.
I don’t ask for much from Nintendo, as they kind of just do their own thing as a publisher/developer, but I do still hold out hope that 2020 will be the year that F-Zero fans have been waiting for. If the Nintendo Switch wants to be heralded as the greatest console of all-time, it needs more of the Big N’s classic intellectual property. A new F-Zero game built on the Mario Kart 8 engine would be amazing. They could even introduce a new Battle Royale Death Race Mode inspired by F-Zero X for N64. Please understand, Nintendo. I want a new F-Zero game, and so do the rest of us fans.
So this probably isn't too likely given that an entire Pokemon Direct has come and gone without any hint that anything remotely close to this is coming. But hey, I like to think that if a modern remaster of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon could come to Nintendo Switch, anything is possible. So really, why not bring out a modern version of this Pokemon safari simulator? I still marvel at what Nintendo was able to put together with the original 151 Pokemon back in the late 90s. With over 800 Pokemon now in existence and over half a dozen new regions having been introduced, there's a lot that's worth exploring. Over 20 years later, I'm itching to take my camera back out and go back on another Pokemon sightseeing tour.
If we're about to get Pokemon Sleep, is this really such a farfetched (Farfetch'd?) idea?
The Jumping Flash series made its debut back during the PS1 era and it really struck a chord with me. Its unique blend of first-person shooting action mixed with dramatically vertical levels is still something I can’t recall experiencing in any other games since then. The world of Jumping Flash was also full of colorful environments and quirky enemies. Not only would I love to see an updated version of this game in any form, but in particular I think a VR version would be amazeballs. I can just imagine the rollercoaster-like sensations that would come with leaping high up in the air, then looking down as your eyes and ears tricked your senses into thinking that you were freefalling towards the terrafirma below. Would people nope the hell out quickly? Sure. Would other people puke? Perhaps. But those left standing would have one hell of a VR experience. Give the people Jumping Flash VR! It makes perfect sense!
I’m going full crazy on this one. Given we’re getting Cyberpunk 2077 this year, getting a hint of The Witcher 4 is unlikely. CD Projekt RED, not unlike Rockstar Games, takes their time when it comes to releasing games. It’s almost like there’s a connection between taking five or six years to develop their open worlds with how engaging and full of life they feel.
Getting back on track, I just don’t see The Witcher 4 being announced this year. I think it’ll happen eventually, and we’re probably going to be looking at Ciri as the main protagonist, but that is a ways off. Even confirmation that it’s coming is probably not something we can bank on happening in 2020. I would gladly be wrong on this one, though. Getting Cyberpunk 2077 this year, and hearing that The Witcher 4 is well into development. That’s all I need for 2020 to be a gaming success.
Every year my answer will be the same and every year, my belief that it could happen shrinks ever so slightly. Nearly two decades have passed since the last time actual competition in American football games existed. Immediately following the earth-shattering release of ESPN NFL2K5 for $20 in the summer of 2004, EA and the NFL got together and decided that only one publisher should be granted the NFL license going forward, shutting 2K out of the race.
The sorry state of Madden NFL 20 shows how things have turned out for pro football games in the years since. I would love for a new big-budget competitor to come after EA’s Madden, but I might as well wish for robot arms because that happening is just about as likely as EA giving up the exclusive NFL license. Should hell freeze over and the NFL licensing floodgates be opened, seeing a new game from Visual Concepts running on next-generation hardware would be hella cool.
The concept of love is Jet Set Radio Future. This game blew me away when I first played it back in 2002, and since then I’ve wanted nothing more than for Sega to bring the series back to life. If I can’t have a full sequel, I’d at least settle for a remaster, and if not that, I’d love for it to come to the backward compatibility program on the Xbox One or even the Xbox Series X.
Honestly, there are a handful of original Xbox titles that I would love to see brought forward to the modern era. I’d love to have Phil Spencer walk on stage at E3 2020 and say, “We’re reviving a bunch of old IPs from the original Xbox!” and then he rattles off the likes of Blinx the Time Sweeper, Phantom Crash, Jet Set Radio Future, Brute Force, Wreckless, and Ty the Tasmania Tiger. Throw Burnout 3: Takedown in there while you’re at it.
2020 would be pretty great if we could get more original Xbox titles in some fashion. Come on, Phil. Make it happen.
There have been rumors floating around for the past few years alleging that there is an RPG in development set in the world of Harry Potter. For this to be a reality would be a dream come true. The wizarding world is vast, with diverse locations, creatures, and characters. A story-driven game set long before (or after) the time of Harry Potter could be something special. Fingers crossed for E3 2020?
It's hard to dream about games I'd love to see this year because I know what's likely to happen and what are actually the fever dreams of a 30-year-old totally grasping at straws. If I'm really gonna dream, though, I'm going off the rails. Screw it. Sony, bring me a localized Mojib-Ribbon this year. I don't care how you do it. Just do it. For those not in the know, it's a game from Nana On-Sha that I love playing in Japanese. You basically rap along to beats while dipping your ink brush into a pot and writing out characters to the music.
Due to its very nature, it would be difficult to bring to English-speaking gamers. But I don't need the songs or voices in English. Just give me a translation. It wouldn't be difficult. Much to my amazement, we got Vib Ribbon. Make my life and give me an English Mojib-Ribbon too, because it deserves to reach a wider audience...even if it's just me buying a second English copy.
With Red Dead Redemption 2 out and available on all the major platforms, it only seems right to start looking towards the future. While I could write about how much I want another Bully game, or even how much I’d love to see some news about a new title in The Witcher franchise from CDPR, I think my dream game at the moment would probably be Grand Theft Auto VI.
For me, Grand Theft Auto V has been the biggest game of the past three years. Not only have I spent an innumerable amount of hours playing GTA Online, but I’ve also found myself immersed heavily into the GTA world thanks to GTA RP (yeah, that GTA RP). Rockstar does such a great job of creating living, breathing worlds, and given how much time has passed since we first received Michael, Franklin, and Trevor’s adventure, it only seems fair to hope for some glimpse of GTA VI soon.
I’m honestly torn on where I’d like to see the game go next, but I’d still love to see what Rockstar has in the works when it comes to pushing their biggest series forward.
I’ve been playing Wargroove, Phoenix Point, and a lot of other turn-based strategy games lately. They’re all great in their own way, but each one has me pining for something in particular. I miss Advance Wars. Advance Wars: Days of Ruin on the Nintendo DS was the last time the series got a proper entry, and boy howdy did it knock it out of the ballpark with how good it was, but that was all the way back in 2008. There have been plenty of strategy games that rolled around since, but nothing hits quite the way Days of Ruin did.
It’s those characters, it’s that mapstyle and battle animation, and goodness have you ever taken a listen to Days of Ruin’s music? It was the kind of music that put even the best tracks in the Command & Conquer series to shame (and I don’t say that lightly. I love Red Alert 2 and Tiberian Sun’s soundtracks). It’s been long enough. We’ve spent all this time with Fire Emblem, and I know people love that franchise, but I think it’s time for the best of Nintendo’s pocket strategy to make its triumphant return. Wargroove and X-Com have proved time and again that people are still in the mood for good turn-based strategy. Nintendo only needs to mobilize the troops.
This is the part where you got to show us up in the Chatty comments. What announcement are you looking forward to in 2020 that would make your year? It doesn't have to release in 2020, but what would you like to hear is at least in the oven baking towards an eventual release?