It’s an obvious statement, but video games have been around for a long time. The boom happened in the 70s, which was followed by a lull and then a revival thanks to the NES in the 80s. Since the NES, the video game industry has been stronger than ever with no signs of slowing down.
There’s always something new around the corner from AAA games to indie titles. With so many games out there, it can be hard to figure out which ones are worth checking out. Games can get missed completely which brings up the concept of preservation. It’s astounding that these once-hot franchises have never been collected in a series of ports or remasters before.
8 Champions Of Norrath
Champions of Norrath was a spinoff of EverQuest which was also a Sony-associated property. The gameplay was similar to Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, which has received two recent HD remastered ports. They’re not in a collection, but they are easy to pick up and play on almost any modern system available today.
Champions of Norrath and its one sequel remained trapped on the PS2, which is a shame because the PlayStation brand could use an action looter RPG like this. A remastered collection would be great but just getting one port would be okay too.
7 inFamous
It is astounding that Sony and Sucker Punch never contracted anyone to make an inFamous collection on PS4. The two PS3 games, and the standalone DLC game, could have drummed up hype before the launch of inFamous: Second Son.
The PS3 games were well-reviewed in a time before there were good superhero games on consoles. They helped pushed the boundaries on open-world city games too by offering players more than a fun playground to bounce around in. Next year marks the series’ 15th anniversary, which would be a good time to create a collection on PS5 for all three games and DLC packs.
6 Resistance
Insomniac is killing it right now thanks to their Spider-Man games. The hype for the next sequel, featuring Venom and other significant characters, couldn’t be higher. A series that didn’t quite make as big of a splash was Resistance which began on PS3.
There was a trilogy on the console along with a spinoff on both the PSP and PS Vita. The series takes place in an alternate history wherein aliens invade Earth during World War 2. While it was never the biggest series of first-person shooters, there is a significant amount of fans that would appreciate a PS5 bundle.
5 Shadow Hearts
An obscure RPG series from the PS2 era, Shadow Hearts is a dark JRPG, with the first two games tied together. It also takes place during the World Wars. The second game, for example, has the real Rasputin trying to take over the world with magic powers.
They are wild games and then the third and final entry takes place somewhere in the 1920s or 1930s in the U.S. That one features a new cast of characters, seemingly done to get more players interested. They were never massive hits, but the humor and unique turn-based gameplay elements make them worth remembering.
4 Super Smash Bros.
There has never been a game in the Super Smash Bros. Series that has been re-released in a reformatted edition. The first game made it onto the Wii via the Virtual Console but that was just a straight port like all N64 games. This is not that odd considering most fighting games don’t get re-released either.
Mechanics are updated in each sequel to make the experience more enjoyable mechanically. Street Fighter is a big outlier though because a lot of its games have been re-released as HD remasters or bundled in collections. How can Nintendo top Super Smash Bros. Ultimate? Easy. They can release the series as one big collection.
3 TimeSplitters
The TimeSplitters series began and ended on the PS2 generation with three games. All of them were first-person shooters centered on time travel. Players would go into different eras from the past to the future to help correct the timeline. There have been efforts to make HD ports in the past along with sequels, but nothing ever went through.
THQ Nordic acquired the rights in 2018 and they have been pretty good about re-releasing old titles. Destroy All Humans and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning comes to mind. Yet they have dropped the ball on this series so far and hopefully, they’ll make good on the TimeSplitters investment soon.
2 Twisted Metal
Once a huge series for PlayStation, Twisted Metal dates back to the PS1. It did vehicular combat like no other game on the market. Those PS1 games did make it to the PS3 as digital ports and the PS2 game, Twisted Metal: Black, did get on PS4. That version was technically an enhanced port like all PS2 to PS4 games.
The PS4 helped make these games seem like remasters thanks to the internal technology, but nothing was significantly changed on the part of the developers. A proper collection of the franchise would be a good idea now that the show is almost here on Peacock.
1 Xenosaga
Xenosaga is a popular fan-requested RPG trilogy they have dying to see. What started as an epic six-part franchise was whittled down to three games on the PS2. The first two games were demade and combined into one experience on the DS exclusively in Japan and that’s it.
They have never been re-released even as ports on any system. It would understandably be a massive undertaking to remaster these three games because there is so much content. Hopefully, Bandai Namco and Monolith Soft can one day make a deal and get this trilogy back on store shelves.