Is Sega living too deeply in it's past?

I spotted an intriguing thing the other day. Virtua Fighter 2 running on the 360.

Cool.

Sega is releasing a collection of model2 arcade remasters onto the XBLA and SEN, and it’s a nice touch. I never did get to play Fighting Vipers the first time around. Maybe while they’re at it we’ll get versions of Sega Rally and Sega Touring Car too. Maybe even Manx TT. The thing is, that might be cool and all, and we all know that Sega’s business model at the moment is based around a few strong franchises and a digitally distributed back catalogue, but I can’t help thinking that Sega are going about this in entirely the wrong way.

Sega have a rich history to mine, and since I never had a Saturn it is nice to see some of the stuff I never got to play as a kid coming back. I downloaded Nights into Dreams on release day, and for a game released way back in the mid nineties it’s way better and much more unique than it has any right to be. But here’s a thought, instead of just re-releasing old games from beloved franchises, why can’t those same franchises be resurrected and given new games? Sure it’s a risk, but if it’s done right there’s a chance of a big reward. Sega already have form with this with Sonic Generations.

Generations was applauded as one of the best Sonic games in years. And rightly so. Personally I played it to the (literal) death of my old white Xbox, but the sections I played most were the classic Sonic levels. Sega had finally nailed Sonic in 3D, but at the same time they reminded us about what was so awesome about Sonic in 2D in the first place. So how about Sonic 5, made with the Generations engine, in 2.5D?

Part of what made Generations work with modern 3D Sonic was the occasional shift to 2D. Why not flip it round and have the action of Sonic 5 mostly in 2D but with the camera panning mid level to really show off a setpiece or two. So when something happens like the orca chase, riding rockets, swinging on the vines or hitting the tunnels of springboards in the two Sonic Adventures, we get a camera pan and have Sonic move into the screen for a few glorious, level defining seconds. It might just work. It’s just a shame Sega have said we’ll never see chubby classic Sonic again.

And that makes me sad.

What cheers me up is the thought of other classic franchises treated the same way. How about a new Ristar for instance? It’s still got a gameplay element that’s pretty much unique among platformers, and all those exotic planets would look great run through the 2D half of the Sonic Generations engine.  As a boxed game it would be a lost cause, but as a digital release it could stand a chance.

But why stop there? Why not commission Platinum games to make a new Streets of Rage, or better yet, Shinobi? Why not bring back Toejam and Earl? A new F355 challenge? I’d certainly play that. Brand new Jet Set Radio, Nights, Outrun? Crazy Taxi set in London with sooped up drop-top black cabs and monumentally mouthy cabbies? How about grabbing Playground games (a group of veterans fresh from Forza Horizon who come from several famed racing studios including Bizarre Creations) and setting them to work on a new MSR? Sega do own the IP after all. Could Harmonix make a new Space Channel 5 based on the tech powering Dance Central? You’re damn right they can. Could you imagine how beautiful Ecco the dolphin would be on a current gen machine? Why not team up with EA and Critereon and bring back Road Rash? A new Skies of Arkadia perhaps? I’m stretching it here, but Thunder Blade deserves a comeback, and who wouldn’t play a modern day Quackshot? Think Duck Tales (remember that?) crossed with Uncharted, but with a lower body count and coloured plungers as ammo. Would you like to see Donald Duck battle through Pirate Pete’s sinking ship to rescue Huey, Dewey and Lewie as it pitches and rolls on a dynamic ocean? I’d pay to see that. Yes it’s Disney, but so what?

And then the holy Sega grail. Panzer Dragoon. New Panzer Dragoon shooters would be great, but what we really want is a conversion of Panzer Dragoon Saga. Yes, I know I’ve just ranted about re releasing old games, but Saga is Special. The original source code is lost, so the game is supposed to be un-remake-able. But that might not be the case anymore! Bluepoint games used a reverse engineered game disc as their source for God of War HD. The logic being that the code was in release condition and as free of bugs as possible. If they can do that with a recent PS2 game then maybe it might not be totally impossible that the same could be done with a release copy of Saga?

Just saying. And it would be pretty cool if they could.

Sega can trade off their past easily. They have a raft of great IPs that they can revisit at any time. I’d just like to see a bit of the old Sega imagination, fun and daring in that strategy. Bring back old names by all means, but it would be nice to see those old names given great new games.

And for the love of Christ, would someone please put Yu Suzuki to work finishing Shenmue?