Game franchises around in 1987

[NeoZeedeater]

I thought it might be fun to take a look at game franchises from two decades ago and compare them with where they are today. Here are some that had releases in 1987. I think these are well known enough that I don't need to describe how they play.


The Adventures of Lolo

1987: The series (AKA Eggerland) made its first console appearance that year on the FDS after a couple years of being on MSX computers.


2007: There hasn't been any mention of a sequel. The last game was in 2000 with the Japanese PC game, Revival! Eggerland.


After Burner

1987: After Burner I and II hit the arcades.


2007: The PSP game released this year (Black Falcon) looks disappointing.


Hopefully last year's arcade game (Climax) will get a home port as it looks pretty slick.


Alex Kidd

1987: The third Alex Kidd game, BMX Trial, came out in Japan for the Mark III.


Alex Kidd in Miracle World was released in Europe. I think it was already out in Japan and North America.

2007: The series has been dead since 1990's Alex Kidd in Shinobi World with only cameo appearances in games like Shenmue and Segagaga since then.


Archon

1987: The original 1983 Atari 8-bit disk version was re-released in 1987 on cartridge which was compatible with the new Atari XEGS console.


2007: Announced this year, a new Archon game is under development by Myriad and Free Fall Games. It seems the series' creator, John Freeman, is on board. http://kotaku.com/gaming/archon/arch...rns-235339.php


Asteroids

1987: I don't think the general gaming public gave a shit about Asteroids anymore by 1987 but the 7800 version released that year was damn good, much smoother than home versions before it.


2007: I don't think there's anything coming this year but I would love to see a Minter-esque update. There was a remake in the 2005 Retro Atari Classics for DS but that remix compilation's supposed to be pretty shitty.


Bionic Commando

1987: The later NES version gets most of the praise but the 1987 arcade game was cool, too.


2007: There's nothing new on the horizon that has been announced. The last new one was NST's GBC game. I think this series could work well in 3d.


Castlevania

1987: The first NES game was released domestically and Simon's Quest was released in Japan.


2007: The series is very much alive. Symphony recently showed up on XBLA, and Dracula X's remake/re-release is the big thing this year.



Contra

1987: Contra made its arcade debut that year. Although not the first "run 'n gun" game, it became the archetype for the genre.


2007: There haven't been announcements but it wouldn't surprise me to see a PSP sequel.


Dig Dug

1987: The 7800 port of the first game came out this year. The Famicom version of Dig Dug II had yet to be released domestically.

2007: I don't know of any upcoming games but Namco hasn't forgotten the series as they frequently re-release stuff and have tied its universe in with Mr. Driller. I found the 2005 Dig Dug DS game disappointing.


Double Dragon

1987: Double Dragon hit the arcades that year to major success. It kickstarted popularity in the beat 'em up genre.


2007: There haven't been new ones announced but it wasn't that long ago that the GBA had that remake.


Dragon Quest

1987: Dragon Quest II hit the Famicom at the beginning of the year. The series was not yet available in the West.


2007: This is way too popular in Japan to die any time in the forseeable future. Dragon Quest IX is under development for DS.



Epyx's "Games" series

1987: California Games came out that year. Many consider it the best of the "Games" games.


2007: System 3 is supposed to be re-releasing Epyx games in compilations this year.


Fantasy Zone

1987: This was the year of Fantasy Zone II and the Japanese release of Fantasy Zone: The Maze.


2007: A Sega Ages release called Fantasy Zone II DX is planned for PS2 in 2007. I'm not sure how it will vary from the SMS original. It does not appear to be a total remake like the first Fantasy Zone got.


Final Fantasy

1987: Japan got the first game in the series that year. It didn't arrive in the West until 1990.


2007: After the excellent turn the series made in 2006 with Final Fantasy XII, I'm not looking forward to the turn-based Final Fantasy XIII on PS3 as much.



There are some DS spin-off games on the way too like Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Quest (shown below), which looks to be a mix of genres, and a new Crystal Chronicles game.



Gradius

1987: The MSX got a Gradius 2 (AKA Nemesis 2) that was not a port of the arcade game.

2007: With compilations and Gradius V not that long ago, this series is far from dead. This year we have the arcade spin-off Otomedius to look forward to.


Kid Icarus
1987: The 1986 FDS game Kid Icarus was released domestically on NES cartridge.


2007: Pit's coming back in Super Smash Bros. Brawl but there hasn't been word of a Kid Icarus sequel. The last one was on the original Game Boy.



The Last Ninja

1987: System 3's innovative isometric action-adventure was released and became the best-selling original game on the C64.


2007: After Last Ninja IV development cancellations in the past two gens, this series is supposed to receive a PSP/Wii remake this year. Last month's Retro Gamer has a good "making of" article.


The Legend of Zelda

1987: This was another 1986 FDS classic to get a domestic cartridge release that year.

Zelda II came out in Japan.

2007: The cel shaded Phantom Hourglass is coming for DS. I'm hoping that Tingle game gets a version in English, too.



Maniac Mansion

1987: Lucasfilm Games' first graphic adventure was a big hit. The original C64 version came out that year.


2007: It's a dark age for comedic adventures. Aside from fan-made ports, this series has been out of commission since Day of the Tentacle.


Metal Gear

1987: The first game was released in Japan for the MSX2 breathing new life into stealth games.


The first Famicom Metal Gear game was released in Japan later that year.

2007: Metal Gear Solid 4 is under development for PS3 (and probably Xbox 360, too).



Metroid

1987: Nintendo's epic FDS game got a domestic cartridge release on the NES.

2007: Prime 3 on Wii. I wouldn't be surprised if a 2d DS sequel gets announced.



OutRun

1987: The SMS port came out that year.

2007: With last year's OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast, the series was resurrected. I wouldn't be surprised to see new ones.


Penguin Land

1987: The much improved SMS sequel arrived.


2007: No sign of anything new although there was a Sega Ages version on PS2 in Japan. I assume it's a remake of the SG-1000 game but I don't have import PS2 access and haven't played it. The SG-1000 version also came out for cell phones last year.


Phantasy Star

1987: The original SMS came out in Japan. English speakers got to experience its awesomeness the following year.


2007: Last year's Phantasy Star Universe was regarded as a disappointment. This year an expansion pack called Illuminas no Yabo is under development.



Pirates!

1987: Sid Meier's open-ended action-adventure (warning: lame pun ahead) sailed into stores. The C64, Apple II and DOS versions were released in 1987. Others came later.


2007: The series was resurrected a couple years ago on PC and Xbox. This year there was a PSP version with additions.



Punch Out!!

1987: Mike Tyson's Punch Out!! became the best boxing game on the market, and exposed younger gamers that missed the earlier arcade games to the series.


2007: No sign of a new game but I would be surprised if Nintendo doesn't make a Wii sequel.


Rastan

1987: The original hack 'n slash arcade platformer arrived and kicked ass.


2007: There's nothing new. Aside from appearing in Taito compilations, the last new game was Warrior Blade: Rastan vs. Barbarian for Japanese PS2 in 2003, and that was just a Western game by Saffire with the Rastan name slapped on.


R-Type

1987: Irem's new arcade shooter beat out Gradius, IMO.


2007: However, time has been kinder to Gradius as its PS2 sequel was much better than R-Type Final. I doubt we will see another R-Type in 2007.


Shinobi

1987: Gamers got their first taste of Zeed that year with the arcade game.


The SMS port came out in Japan.

2007: After the poor sales of Nightshade on PS2, I don't think Sega's in a rush to make another one. At least Shinobi III was on last year's Genesis compilation.


Space Harrier

1987: The SMS port was released in the West.


2007: Nothing new. There were compilations and a Sega Ages remake not that long ago. The last new game was the arcade Planet Harriers in 2001.


Space Quest

1987: Space Quest II: Vouhaul's Revenge was released.


2007: Last year there was the PC compilation, Space Quest Collection, but there's no sequel on the way as far as I know.


Super Mario Bros.

1987: The game that would become our SMB2 (Yume Koujou: Doki Doki Panic) had a release in Japan.

2007: Mario's not going anywhere. Super Paper Mario and Super Mario Galaxy are both coming for the Wii.


Tetris
1987: The Atari ST and Amiga versions were released. It was already on PC.

2007: I haven't looked into what's coming but it's Tetris so there's probably something.


Ultima

1987: This was the age between Ultimas IV and V. There were some ports in 1987, though.

2007: The last release in this series was the 2005 Ultima Online expansion, Mondain's Legacy. Who knows what the future holds.


Wonder Boy

1987: The SMS version of the first game got a domestic release, and Activision had various computers ports.

The arcade Wonder Boy in Monster Land sequel steered the series in the action-adventure direction.


2007: A Wonder Boy compilation was recently released in Japan but there hasn't been a new game since 1994.



Zillion

1987: Sega's Metroid rival had a strong debut.


2007: Nowhere to be seen, unfortunately. The last game was Tri-Formation, not long after the first game.



So, yeah, let's talk about franchises that were around in 1987, what's happening with them today, and what you would like to see.

[SpoDaddy]

Another awesome Neo thread, very cool.

[rama]

no megaman? and when did the original street figher come out?

[Nash]

I hate the Gradius series (although I haven't played Gradius V yet). I'm not a big fan of the "strategic" shoot 'em ups but I've enjoyed my share of them from R-Type to Pulstar. The Gradius series, however, is just not very fun for two reasons.

First, the send-backs just completely blow. Now I know almost every strategic shoot 'em up has this "feature," but it's just the worst with Gradius games. Secondly, the game is completely powerup-dependent. With any good shoot em' up, if you're good enough you should be able to beat the game without any powerups at all. That's not true of Gradius games. When you die, you not only get sent back to a checkpoint, you're so damn slow and gimped that if you don't pick up any powerups, you're dead. That's such terrible design.

I'll admit they're really fun if your ship is powered up decently, and you're just zoning through it. But once you die, you might as well just stop playing or start over because you're not going to be progressing in the game much after that.

[rama]

up up down down and so forth.

[NeoZeedeater]

no megaman? and when did the original street figher come out?

Street Fighter has a 1987 copyright although I have seen some Capcom writing place it at 1988. I wasn't totally sure on it. Megaman and others I left out because the post was getting too big. I had to remove a bunch of pictures.

[kingoffighters]

Planet Harriers came out in 2001? Wow that long ago.... I wish there is a home port, maybe like a Space Harrier collection or something.

[gameoverDude]

Kyuukyoku Tiger (1987) : Toaplan's Tiger-Heli sequel, somewhat like Flying Shark with a weapon change item. An upgrade called Twin Cobra features 2P simultaneous action and got rid of checkpoints. Romstar brings Twin Cobra to the US.

A NES version of Twin Cobra shows up in 1989 and turns out better than Taito's version of Flying Shark. In 1991, the Genesis gets a home version of TC- but this is really Kyuukyoku Tiger with not only the original checkpoints but also higher difficulty.

In 1995, there is a sequel from Takumi on the Taito F3 system. Apparently this was in development at Toaplan when they went kaput, and some of the Toaplan employees were at Takumi. Taito asked for them to finish this one. In Japan, this is Kyuukyoku Tiger II- while elsewhere it is called Twin Cobra II.

In 1996, the first TC and KT appear on PS1 in Toaplan Shooting Battle 1, which also has the prequel Tiger Heli. KTII gets a Saturn port in 1997 which unfortunately remains a Japan-only release.

Now: No known sequel or other versions in development.. Takumi's last shooter was a different series- 2004's Giga Wing Generations. It would be nice to see a KT3 on Taito's Type X2 system, but I'm not betting on this happening. Is Takumi still around?

Nash, you're probably going to be glad to hear that Gradius V has no checkpoints on default settings. There is a "Revival Start" option if you do want checkpoints, but I leave that turned off. After dying, you leave your options behind on screen like Salamander so that you can grab them with your next ship.

[bVork]

Don't forget the other major difference between Twin Cobra and Kyukyoku Tiger: the number of onscreen shots. KT allows four, while TC allows only three.

By the way, Under Defeat is very much a tribute to Twin Cobra. It has helicopters, an uncomplicated scoring system, and the same bleak war atmosphere.

[Nash]

Nash, you're probably going to be glad to hear that Gradius V has no checkpoints on default settings. There is a "Revival Start" option if you do want checkpoints, but I leave that turned off. After dying, you leave your options behind on screen like Salamander so that you can grab them with your next ship.

That's good to hear. I'll check it out when I get the chance.