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The Remembered

I've been reminding you of beloved forgotten game franchises for nearly four years now, so it seems like a good time to pause and see just which publishers have taken my advice and revived some classic titles from past generations.

Rejoicingly Remembered

• Bionic Commando - Not only is there a new 3D incarnation of the series on the way, but the original 2D game is getting a modern makeover.
• Earthbound - A sequel was finally released, but only in Japan.  At least we get some new Earthbound-related material in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
• Ghostbusters - The dream is alive as a new adventure featuring most of the original cast is in the works for all modern consoles.
• Kid Icarus - Rumors persist that heroic angel Pit will appear in a new adventure, but for now it's great to see him return for Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
• Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins - New Super Mario Bros. finally brought Mario back to his 2D roots.

The Forgotten: Doshin The Giant

Everyone loves an established video game franchise. After all, some of gaming’s best loved characters have been going on adventure after adventure for years, prompting players to line up to reserve the next installment of Super Mario, Link, Samus Aran, or Sonic the Hedgehog. Over the years, however, some games just haven’t struck gold; they’ve been overshadowed by more popular fare that shares the store shelf or are even passed over due to something as petty as unimpressive box art or an unusual premise. They deserve to be remembered and revived, but instead they are The Forgotten.

Doshin the Giant
Developed by Nintendo
Released for Nintendo 64DD (Japan, 1999) and GameCube (Japan and Europe, 2002)

Here's a forgotten title that is only forgotten in North America.  Nintendo's Doshin the Giant follows the adventures of Doshin the Love Giant, a little yellow fellow who lives on the island of Barudo.  The villagers of Barudo love Doshin, and in return he loves them.  In fact, this love allows Doshin to grow to large sizes; the nicer he treats the villagers, the more they love him and the larger he becomes.  The game is essentially a world-builder game, as the plot involves Doshin's efforts to build temples for the various villages on the island.  Adding unique twists to the experience are the inclusion of the passing of time (one full day/night cycle lasts thirty real minutes, after which Doshin's size resets back to normal) and the ability to transform gentle Doshin into Janshin the Hate Giant, an evil manifestation who grows larger from absorbing hatred from the villagers, hatred that is needed for certain tasks.

The Forgotten: The Adventures of Batman and Robin

Everyone loves an established video game franchise. After all, some of gaming’s best loved characters have been going on adventure after adventure for years, prompting players to line up to reserve the next installment of Super Mario, Link, Samus Aran, or Sonic the Hedgehog. Over the years, however, some games just haven’t struck gold; they’ve been overshadowed by more popular fare that shares the store shelf or are even passed over due to something as petty as unimpressive box art or an unusual premise. They deserve to be remembered and revived, but instead they are The Forgotten.

The Adventures of Batman and Robin
Developed by Konami
Released for Super NES (1994)

Batman has undergone many changes during his video gaming career, starring in generic adventures based on his comic book persona, so-so console games inspired by Tim Burton's take on the character, and even recent games taking cues from Batman Begins and Justice League.  My favorite interpretation of Batman has to be the Batman: The Animated Series rendition of the character.  In 1994 Konami brought the Dark Knight to the Super NES in a side-scrolling beat-'em-up title based on a handful of classic episodes from the TV series along with the stylistic noir animation visuals and orchestrated soundtrack that helped make the series so dynamic.

"Return Of The Forgotten" At AMN

Every now and then I get the chance to step outside the review/preview scope at AMN and do something really special.  A few months ago I was asked to write a "sequel" to my original "The Forgotten" article that was published in 2004.  The thing about "Forgotten" articles (and PTB entries, for that matter) is that often I find myself playing the games I mention all over again from start to near-finish.  What other job allows for playing video games and calling it "research"?

"Return of The Forgotten" takes a look at several classic games (ranging from the old Commodore 64 all the way up to the Nintendo 64) that deserve to be revived for the Nintendo Revolution by using the unique controller and Internet capabilities.  Special thanks go to PTB reader and frequent contributor BGNG for providing new F-Zero X information that he discovered buried deep in the original game's data files.  I won't spoil just what he found though.  You'll have to read the article to find out.

The Forgotten: Mega Man Mania

Everyone loves an established video game franchise. After all, some of gaming’s best loved characters have been going on adventure after adventure for years, prompting players to line up to reserve the next installment of Super Mario, Link, Samus Aran, or Sonic the Hedgehog. Over the years, however, some games just haven’t struck gold; they’ve been overshadowed by more popular fare that shares the store shelf or are even passed over due to something as petty as unimpressive box art or an unusual premise. They deserve to be remembered and revived, but instead they are The Forgotten.

Mega Man Mania (a.k.a. Mega Man Anniversary Collection)
Developed by Capcom
Unreleased

Today's installment of The Forgotten is a little unusual in that this game was never actually released.  When Capcom announced the impending release of Mega Man Anniversary Collection for the Nintendo GameCube and Sony PlayStation 2, the company also announced a Game Boy Advance companion title that included the five original Game Boy adventures of the blue bomber.  Each game in the compilation was to be colorized and given snappy borders, save game abilities, plus some manner of artwork and bonus materials were to be included.  While some of the games in the set were particularly rough around the edges in their original incarnations (1989's Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge in particular) by the time the series reached the fifth installment the Mega Man engine was firing on all cylinders with new levels and new Robot Masters that did not simply rehash original Nintendo Entertainment System designs.

The Forgotten: Mario Is Missing!

Everyone loves an established video game franchise. After all, some of gaming’s best loved characters have been going on adventure after adventure for years, prompting players to line up to reserve the next installment of Super Mario, Link, Samus Aran, or Sonic the Hedgehog. Over the years, however, some games just haven’t struck gold; they’ve been overshadowed by more popular fare that shares the store shelf or are even passed over due to something as petty as unimpressive box art or an unusual premise. They deserve to be remembered and revived, but instead they are The Forgotten.

Mario Is Missing!
Developed by Software Toolworks
Released for NES, Super NES, and PC

Back in 1993 Nintendo licensed Super Mario and friends to edutainment developer Software Toolworks for a bland little game called Mario Is Missing! in which Mario is kidnapped and Luigi must find him.  Of course, nothing is ever easy and in this case Bowser has managed to leave the Mushroom Kingdom and come to the real world.  He's planning on stealing some of the world's greatest monuments and mementos and he's sent an army of Koopa Troopas to do it.  It's up to Luigi and Yoshi to track down the Troopas in each major city on Earth (New York, Paris, London, Sydney, and so on), find the three stolen objects, talk to locals to learn about those objects, and return them to information kiosks (helmed by Princess Toadstool for some reason) by answering a simple trivia question based on the knowledge learned by talking to the locals.

The Forgotten: Adventure Island

Everyone loves an established video game franchise. After all, some of gaming’s best loved characters have been going on adventure after adventure for years, prompting players to line up to reserve the next installment of Super Mario, Link, Samus Aran, or Sonic the Hedgehog. Over the years, however, some games just haven’t struck gold; they’ve been overshadowed by more popular fare that shares the store shelf or are even passed over due to something as petty as unimpressive box art or an unusual premise. They deserve to be remembered and revived, but instead they are The Forgotten.

Adventure Island
Developed by Hudson Soft
Released for NES, Super NES, Game Boy, and TG-16

Another of the "also-ran" mascot platformers born in the 1980s, Hudson's Adventure Island follows the adventures of tropical islander Master Higgins as he journeys across a series of islands in search of his beloved girlfriend Tina who is being held captive by the diabolical Witch Doctor (and later, space aliens).  A full-on run-and-jump game, Higgins makes use of weapons such as a stone ax and fireballs in addition to skateboards for transportation, milk for energy, and in later games a collection of friendly dinosaur pals.  Each level has a notoriously short time limit which can be slightly extended by collecting piece after piece of island fruit.  Nevertheless, Higgins must keep moving and keep collecting fruit in order to finish each level before time runs out. 

The Forgotten: Uniracers

Everyone loves an established video game franchise. After all, some of gaming’s best loved characters have been going on adventure after adventure for years, prompting players to line up to reserve the next installment of Super Mario, Link, Samus Aran, or Sonic the Hedgehog. Over the years, however, some games just haven’t struck gold; they’ve been overshadowed by more popular fare that shares the store shelf or are even passed over due to something as petty as unimpressive box art or an unusual premise. They deserve to be remembered and revived, but instead they are The Forgotten.

Uniracers
Developed by Nintendo / DMA Design
Released for Super NES (1994)

It's not often that there's a video game starring unicycles that do amazing stunts, but for one brief moment in 1994 Uniracers attempted to rectify that wrong.  Set in a colorful 2D world, unicycles race one another across a series of colored bars that serve as the track, almost like Excitebike, but without the four lanes to navigate.  The track often leads to large ramps to launch the unicycles to the next portion of the raceway, while other times it's covered in pink slime that acts as a velocity killer.  Then there are the traditional boosters that provide a quick burst of speed or sudden U-turns that seemingly come from nowhere.  In the middle of all of the speed and track navigation comes Uniracers's unique claim to fame: tricks.

The Forgotten: Back to the Future

Everyone loves an established video game franchise. After all, some of gaming’s best loved characters have been going on adventure after adventure for years, prompting players to line up to reserve the next installment of Super Mario, Link, Samus Aran, or Sonic the Hedgehog. Over the years, however, some games just haven’t struck gold; they’ve been overshadowed by more popular fare that shares the store shelf or are even passed over due to something as petty as unimpressive box art or an unusual premise. They deserve to be remembered and revived, but instead they are The Forgotten.

Back to the Future
License owned by Universal
Previous games released for NES (1985 and 1990), Sega Master System (1990), Super Famicom (1993), Genesis (1991), and PC (1990)

Movie-based video games never really turn out quite right.  Usually they are quick flash-in-the-pan releases featuring empty gameplay rushed out the development door in order to match up with the movie's release date.  Moreover, a lot of the games that are spawned from movies have little business being a game in the first place.  Take the games based on the classic 1980s time traveling trilogy Back to the Future.  Several developers took a stab at the films over the years, creating a Paperboy knock-off, a poorly executed platformer/puzzle game, a generic 2D platformer for the Japanese market, and so on.

The Forgotten: Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins

Everyone loves an established video game franchise. After all, some of gaming’s best loved characters have been going on adventure after adventure for years, prompting players to line up to reserve the next installment of Super Mario, Link, Samus Aran, or Sonic the Hedgehog. Over the years, however, some games just haven’t struck gold; they’ve been overshadowed by more popular fare that shares the store shelf or are even passed over due to something as petty as unimpressive box art or an unusual premise. They deserve to be remembered and revived, but instead they are The Forgotten.

Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins
Developed by Nintendo
Released for Game Boy (1992)

Yes, yes, you’re thinking that Mario and friends are the exact opposite of a forgotten game and of course you are correct.  What earns Mario his place in this list, however, is the fact that despite a decade’s worth of games that have been released since his second Game Boy adventure, there has not been an original traditional side-scroller in the bunch.  Super Mario Land 2 is, for the moment, Mario’s last 100% pure side-scrolling adventure.  Wario took over the 2D adventure mantle in Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land and true to greedy form he hasn’t given it back.  Mario went on to star in racing games, party games, fighting games, sports games, role playing games, and most any other genre that you can think of, but with the exception of ports of his greatest adventures to the Game Boy Advance as the Super Mario Advance series, Mario has not gone side-scrolling in twelve years.