What forgotten 90s franchise should be remade? | Team Talk

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​With Alone in the Dark returning with a remake of its 1992 original, we’ve been getting all nostalgic this week about other franchises which have somehow avoided the re-heating treatment so far.
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There have been numerous success stories in the past, including the iconic Resident Evil remake (the first one, that is), as well as the fact that industry icons Sonic and Mario still live on today.

What's your top pick for a franchise that doesn't deserve to be lost to time? Let us know in the Discord.

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by Team PTC

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​@pass_controller

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Command & Conquer and Red Alert | James Parry

While Red Alert was my introduction to the franchise, the legendary strategy title Command & Conquer really kicked off the world of real-time strategy on PC in 1995.

It brought the control of armies to life in a way we'd never seen before, and after almost 30 years (and a fairly well-received re-release a few years ago), the genre is ripe for regeneration.

The campness of the Red Alert spin off in particular will now have reached so-cheesily-bad-it's-good status, and could bring some humour we haven't really leaned into in gaming for some time.

The series would eventually make the jump to consoles too, with the sequels bringing some iconic moments of their own, including Tim Curry in some FMV sequences with the most outrageous accent imaginable – which I've no doubt gushed about in the past.

Star Wars Rogue Squadron | Liam Andrews

This week’s topic gave me an excuse to call for the return of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, which is something I’ll always be happy to do given the chance. The original game in the trilogy might have been released late in the decade (1999) on the N64, but it just about makes the cut.

Although I’m quite happy to play older titles in their original form - I recently finished Brother’s in Arms: Hell's Highway and am currently working my way through Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter – I would love to see Rogue Squadron given the remake treatment (though I’d be happy with a straight port on modern consoles as well).

There is a PC version of the game currently available on Steam, but it would be amazing to see the game properly reimagined on today’s hardware, with a super smooth framerate and highly detailed environments and vehicles. It’d also be great to experience the fantastic campaign missions without the vision obscuring fog.

I understand the fog was probably only included due to technical limitations, but it was more intimidating than anything the Imperials could throw at me, as I’d often dread getting lost in some of the more complicated map layouts.

Syphon Filter | Chris Brand

1999's Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is the game I'd most like to see make a comeback, but if anyone ever forgets about this absolute gem, it's only for the brief moments between someone mentioning it. Syphon Filter might be remembered equally as fondly, just maybe not quite as often.

Though it spawned many sequels, the few that I've played lacked the magic of the original. At least, I think. It could be that time has merged them all together, as my memory of the series is little more than a montage of our "hero" setting people on fire through continuous application of the taser. I remember heroically setting fire to someone on a rooftop. I heroically set fire to a guy in a train station. I believe I also set fire to someone in a snowfield, something only a true hero would do. To clarify, this is totally unnecessary, as enemies are incapacitated (thus, the threat is removed) a good few seconds before the burning starts.

The story almost completely passed me by, presumably because my young mind didn't require a motive for setting people on fire, merely the opportunity. I would have likely skipped every cutscene and bit of dialogue instantly, to get back to the action. As such, the overall narrative would still feel new and fresh if I was to revisit Syphon Filter, although I'd prefer a remake rather than a continuation of the series. I could find out who I'm fighting against, what their goals are and why it's acceptable for me to use a "non-lethal" weapon in such a way.

It's aged about as well as GoldenEye and would need rebuilding from the ground up to really do it justice, but I can't think of a better choice to fill the Sam Fisher-shaped hole in our lives.