Summary
The 16-bit era was easily one ofgaming’s most colorful. Characters of all kinds, memorable designs, and silly ideas were a once abundant commodity, but these days, that feels more like the exception than the norm.
In a world where video games are constantly getting remade and rebooted, we say it’s about time some of the 16-Bit heroes who couldn’t quite find success back in the day are allowed another chance to win us over. Here are seven of the games we think deserve that chance the most.
7Plok
We’re Down To Throw Hands
We won’t lie to you: Plok is not the greatest game ever made. It is, however, easily one of the medium’s greatest-sounding projects, and that soundtrack alone makes it worthy of a shiny new reboot in the same vein as Rayman: Legends. Seriously, give the boss theme a listen if you’ve never heard it before.
As a matter of fact, Rayman is probably the best comparison we can make to explain this wacky 16-bit adventure to you. Plok is what Rayman could be if his hands being disconnected from his body actually mattered to the gameplay. With its zany sense of style and gameplay, Plok and his rocket hands deserve to come back sooner rather than later.
6Aero The Acro-Bat
Driving Us Batty Since 1993
Another colorful platformer that never really took off, Aero The Acro-Bat is such a clever concept andsuch a cute little fellathat you can’t deny he’d make for an excellent addition to your favorite crossover fighter or do great things as the star of a new-age action platformer.
While we’d probably be better off without the spin-off game, Zero The Kamikaze Squirrel (yes, that’s really what it’s called), coming back for round two, Aero himself is a different story. With some modern tweaking, Aero’s attitude-rich design andexploration-based gameplaycould see this adorable little bat soaring to fresh new heights.
5Kirby’s Dream Course
More Kirby Golfing, Please!
Kirby’s Dream Course is one of the super tough pink puff’s more bizarre outings on paper, and kind of also in practice. But trust us, if you’ve never played this SNES cult classic before, you really should. In fact, we say Nintendo should make that much easier to do and just give us a new game entirely.
Kirby and golf don’t sound like a match made in heaven at first, but after just a few rounds on the putting green greens, it becomes clear that the classic Kirby coat of paint is just what Super Nintendo golfing needed to really make it shine. Sure, Kirby isn’t going anywhere, but we’d really like to revisit this spin-off with a modern coat of paint.
4Splatterhouse
Welcome To The Splash Zone
Splatterhouse is just too perfectly “video game” to not be an all-time fan favorite, and for those who grew up on this comically gory SNES and Genesis horror parody beat ‘em up, the idea of a new Splatterhouse done right is one dream we hope will actually come true.
Granted, Splatterhousedid get a reboot of sortsin 2010, but that was a far cry from what fans of the 1988 original arcade game or its 16-bit ports and sequels were looking for. No, what we want is a cartoonishly graphic sidescrolling slasher of a game that celebrates horror in the same way the originals did, and we’d like for it to actually be good this time, if that’s not too much to ask.
3Tempo
Tempo’s In The House Tonight
Tempo the grasshopper and his musical platforming escapades were seriously held back by hardware limitations back in the day, but ifHarmoKnight on the Nintendo 3DS has taught us anything, it’s that rhythm platformers are not only possible, they’re also genuinely fantastic a lot of the time.
Really, what confuses us is why Tempo the character never took off in the West. Yes,the old box art design is pretty bad, but one look at this certified little guy in-game, and it’s clear he’s as marketable as it gets. As for who we’d like to see help the groovy grasshopper come back out on stage, we say WayForeward would be a fantastic pick. Make it happen, guys.
2Maui Mallard In Cold Shadow
Wait…Is That You, Donald?
Disney’s Donald Duck ninja action game was way ahead of its time, if you ask us. It was way more fun than it had any right to be, incredible to look at, downright jazzy, and overall just a very good idea executed very well. We didn’t know Donald Duck as a ninja was something we needed, but now that we’ve had a taste in 1995’s Maui Mallard In Cold Shadow, all we can think about is how badly we want more.
Disney Interactive isn’t what it used to be, sure, but if the fantastic Duck Tales game can get a remaster, so can Donald Duck’s Magnum P.I. parody game. In an era where platformers can often feel very similar thematically, a modern Maui Mallard could be just the breath of fresh air we need.
1ClayFighter
Let’s Get Ready To Crumble
Hardware was a major hurdle for a lot of SNES and Genesis games, but perhaps none were ever hit harder by these limitations than ClayFighter, the stop-motion 2D fighter that fizzled out just before hitting the kiln with a lackluster N64 entry. Creative workarounds made the 16-bit game look incredibly impressive, but a modern take on ClayFighter could look downright jaw-dropping.
Of course, it’s not all about the looks. The gameplay of the original was incredibly simple and fun, and the world can always use more fighting games, but it’s a real shame that the original visuals, created using actual claymation model photographs, never got to be seen in HD, and we’d love to see that change..
