In this day and age, almost everything feels like a sequel. Companies and developers are taking less risks as production costs continue to sky rocket. This article, however, isn’t about nitpicking originality in gaming. Today, we’re actually going to talk about five video game sequels that we need, but will probably never get.
Now keep in mind that this is a list dedicated to the video game sequels that are almost impossible to happen, even though we all want them to. Games like Half-Life 3 and Beyond Good & Evil 2 aren’t on this list because you know they’re going to be released eventually (right?). That said, let’s jump right into things.
The Lost Vikings 3
Twenty-three years! That’s how long it’s been since The Lost Vikings was first released on the Super Nintendo! Back in 1992, I remember playing this game as a kid for hours upon end and the novelty of being able to use three characters in a single player co-op experience never stopped blowing my mind. I didn’t realize it then, but as I got older, I learned that this classic was actually made by a company that EVERYONE knows today: Blizzard!
In 1997, Blizzard released The Lost Vikings 2 for the Super Nintendo that introduced two new playable characters. This version of the game later received an updated port with enhanced graphics and voice acting for the PC, PlayStation and Sega Saturn. Since then, for almost two decades, fans have wanted Blizzard to make a third sequel to The Lost Vikings, but our demands have always fallen upon deaf ears. Blizzard even taunted us last year ago by adding the three characters from this game to Heroes of the Storm. With World of Warcraft, Star Craft and Overwatch satisfying their wallets, a sequel to Lost Vikings looks unlikely. Luckily though, the original game is available for free on their battle.net website for anyone who wants to play it, so be sure to check it out here.
Viewtiful Joe 3
Henshin-go-go baby! When Viewtiful Joe was first unveiled back in 2002, the first thing that came to a lot of people’s minds was that Capcom had probably made a typo when trying to spell the world ‘beautiful’. However, after seeing and playing the game for ourselves in 2003, a lot of us realized just how Viewtiful this game actually was. With an intense and innovative combination of high speed and slow-mo gameplay, Joe and its slick cel-shaded art style, Joe quickly developed a fan base that was hungry for more. A hunger that was satisfied with the quick release of Viewtiful Joe 2 not too long after in 2004, introducing new features and characters that only upped the ante.
Now, back in 2004, Capcom had registered the web domain for Viewtiful Joe 3, but since then, Clover Studios (which was part of Capcom) has been dismantled, causing the majority of their staff to leave Capcom altogether and form Platinum Games – a name many of us are familiar with. The team behind Viewtiful Joe is still around. However, Capcom owns the IP, which means that unless these two companies are willing to play nice, we may never get the Viewtiful Joe sequel that we all deserve!
Pokémon Snap 2
Remember when Nintendo first unveiled Pokémon Snap for the N64 back in the late ’90s? A lot of us – including myself – thought that the idea of just taking pictures of Pokémon sounded dumb and boring. And then we played it. And then we couldn’t stop playing it. Pokémon Snap was able to recreate that feeling of “catching them all” with an on rails game mechanic that saw us taking the best pictures of wild Pokémon to get the most points. But that’s not all. With the inclusion of hidden secrets and Pokémon evolutions, it had us replaying stages dozens of times to discover everything.
A sequel for Pokémon Snap is one of the first ideas that popped into many people’s heads when the Wii U gamepad was first introduced, and yet it’s still something that probably won’t happen.
Nintendo isn’t the most in sync company when it comes to what their fans want. Pokémon Snap had us hunting for the original one hundred and fifty-one Pokémon, but a true sequel with HD graphics, online photo sharing, branching levels and paths, and with seven hundred plus Pokémon to catch would easily make it one of the best games of this generation.
Bioshock 4
Confession time: I jumped onto the Bioshock bandwagon a bit late. When I played the first Bioshock game, Bioshock Infinite was already out, and let’s just say no one saw or heard from me for a few days as I binged through one of the most amazing gaming series I’ve ever experienced in my life. Bioshock was a haunting game that was drenched in atmosphere, Bioshock 2 was a little more of the same, and while still a great game, it never amazed me as much as the first did. Bioshock Infinite, however, was just an absolute blast from beginning to end and one of the very few games I actually purchased DLC for just to experience more of the story.
If you’ve played through Bioshock Infinite, then you know the ending opened up‘infinite’ possibilities for Bioshock sequels and the various settings that could be used for future games. However, with Irrational Games being disbanded, and Ken Levine no longer in charge of the Bioshock franchise, I can see 2K trying to do a series reboot instead of expanding upon the Bioshock universe that was already created. Ken Levine still works for 2K in a smaller indie division, and I think I speak for everyone, Ken, when I ask: could you kindly develop Bioshock 4?
Golden Sun 4
Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age are, without a doubt, two of my favorite games of all time! I remember the late nights I would have just solving the various puzzles in the game, tracking down all the Djinn and making sure my party was always strong enough to take on the toughest foes. Golden Sun: The Lost Age made things even sweeter when I found out I would be able to transfer my save data from the first game over to continue my epic quest. It took seven years before a third game was finally released on the Nintendo DS in 2010 and, since then, we’ve heard absolutely nothing about a fourth game despite the unresolved plot points and cliff-hanger ending that we saw in Golden Sun: Dark Dawn. Camelot has gone on record saying that Golden Sun games are made only if the demand is strong enough for one. Unfortunately, while the first two Golden Sun games were able to sell more than a million units worldwide, Dark Dawn only managed to move around 700,000 copies.
Seeing Golden Sun 4 on the 3DS would be absolutely phenomenal and if Nintendo actually announced it, I would go freaking crazy. However, the odds are against a new game being released. Sadly, the longer they wait, the more people will lose interest in the series other than us diehard Golden Sun fans.
Honorable Mentions
- Skies of Arcadia 2
- Okami 3
- Time Splitters 4
- Eternal Darkness 2
- MegaMan. Any MegaMan. Seriously, Capcom!
And there you go. Five gaming sequels that we need to see happen. Agree? Disagree? I’m interested to know. What are your dream sequels that you would love to see happen?
I had no idea Lost Vikings was a Blizzard game (but to be honest I have no idea about a lot of things). Enjoyed the first one but never played the second one. Also good to know that it’s free to play.
In total agreement with you about another Viewtiful Joe. Capcom is sitting on a couple of gold mines to add to their already, very established gold mines.
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I am so glad you mentioned Golden Sun. Those games are so great. I remember playing the first two non stop when I was young. I really loved the whole battle system with the djin too, it always makes it feel pretty different. The game boy had loads of games I’d love to be revisited. Advance Wars especially. Those games were all so good. Even if the third one was a little weird and dark.
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A great read, so refreshing to see a post like this that mentions some great and lesser known titles instead of filling half the page talking about Valve.
As much as I and the rest of the world want to see Half Life 3 and Portal 3, there are loads of other games that should see just as much attention.
It seems a shame now thought that even with tremendously popular titles like Shenmue, the creators often have to resort to crowd funding to see their ideas published.
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I would really love to see Pokémon Snap 2. Considering the first one was ok, but lacking a lot of “something” I can’t exactly describe. There needs to be a second one to solidify the game as a series (good or bad)
Now for more honorable mentions…
How about a sequel to Dragon’s Lair? The furiously difficult game that requires proper inputs at precision timing.
Battletoads and Double Dragon 2? the first one was good.
Sub-Zero Mythologies 2? LOL! JK… Seriously… don’t do it…. unless you can save that massive turd. or maybe do the mythologies for the rest of the cast.
My list can go on and on, but I’ll stop myself right here.
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My relationship with Infinite has been a strange one… it was two years ago since the floor of my house rumbled under the weight of my released jaw upon that evocative and subversive ending twist. However, I listen to critics that I adore such as Errant Signal (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ2cSKBFBDQ) and I have a conflict about whether I can attribute my positive time with Infinite to genre inexperience or leniency. That doesn’t detract from the fact that I fell in love. I still listen to Baker and Draper play Will The Circle Be Unbroken 🙂
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It is very hard to choose few games for an article like that! For example in my opinion it could be awesome having a new Shadow of the colossus or a new Rampage or Megaman!But there are lot of good games that needs a sequel.Anyway,nice article! Following 🙂
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Bioshock series is so great. Would love to see more of them, but I feel that the quality has gone down a bit with each one.
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My brother would be in love with your choice of Pokemon Snap 2. He’s obsessed with making that a reality on almost every episode of our YouTube channel we run.
I also didn’t know that Lost Viking was a Blizzard product, who would have thought?
Eternal Darkness 2 totally needs to happen!
I haven’t played any of the Viewtiful Joe games, but they are on my list of must plays.
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The Viewtiful Joe games are amazing! They’re really hard to track down and play now, but so worth it!
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I’ll look into finding them!
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I could be down for “Pokemon Snap 2.” Personally, I liked it a lot better than “Pokemon Stadium.”
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Viewtiful Joe 3 would be amazing. I loved the second game and the TV show it’s a shame we probably won’t see him again for a long time if at all
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Sad thing about a Bioshock sequel is that Ken Levine (aka god) has left Irrational to form a mobile studio (or maybe just indie games, I can’t remember off the top of my head). So any forthcoming sequels will be the product of 2K games, and for most people, that’s a bad thing. Bioshock 2 (while enjoyable) was considerably more lackluster than it’s predecessor and it’s successor.
That said – it would still be a day 1 buy.
– The Ego
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I was late to Bioshock and agree a sequel is needed! I reckon there will be considering they re-released the first 3 recently in HD bundle. I know it’s probably not going to happen, but I’m itching for a Silent Hill sequel….
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I was such a huge fan of Pokemon snap when I was younger!! They definitely need to make a sequel for that!
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Good call on that link to the original Lost Vikings! I never played it or Blackthorne (which is also up there), so that’s a great resource for me.
I know it’s too soon, and CD Projekt Red are pretty adamant that it’s not going to happen, but I want a fourth Witcher game. Even if we don’t get a proper sequel, I would settle for a stripped down action-RPG, maybe as a digital exclusive or for the Nintendo Switch. Even better, and MMO set in that world would be awesome.
I’ve been wanting next-gen remake of the SNES/Genesis fighting game Weaponlord ever since the 32-bit era. While not technically a sequel, I’m still holding out for it. This is a game that needs to be revisited. I would also absolute love a remake/remaster of Secret of Mana, mainly because I would want to brush up on the story before we get a sequel, which we need.
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I bought Pokemon Snap not knowing there was no batting. However, I really enjoyed it and with today’s tech a sequel would be great. I would also love another Bioshock game, that series is amazing.
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Timesplitters would be awesome!! Especially with the success of Doom last year, there is Deffinately a market for old school arena based shooters. Some good lesser known choices there. Nice to not see the usual half life etc.
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Hell yeah Viewtiful Joe 3! I really enjoyed this article. You have great taste, interesting suggestions and a unique writing style I really enjoyed.
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Thanks for the kind words 😀 I know Viewtiful Joe 3 is probably never going to happen, but my dream is that when it’s announced, it’ll be a Platinum Games x Cacpom project!!
*starts to salivate*
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