2016 was an influential year for video games.Pokemon GOlaunched and forever changed the mobile market and thePokemonfranchise as a whole. This was also the year thatOverwatchlaunched which wasn’t the first hero shooter but it’s certainly the one that reformed the genre and made it incredibly popular to chase.
CouldOverwatchever be dethroned? That was the thought for the longest time but several developers have tried and found success like Valorant and others have failed likeConcord. Then there’sMarvel Rivalswhich has raised the bar significantly. It proved that there is still innovation to be had aboveOverwatch. So, what franchise or series could do the hero shooter genre good next with a spinoff?
BlazBlueis primarily a fighting game franchise and one that the hardcore deeply loves. However, the series has experimented before with other genres likeBlazBlue Entropy Effectwhich was a roguelike. That game succeeded because the series has so many diverse characters with unique powers and weapons. For example, Ragna has a giant sword while Noel can shoot twin guns. A lot of fighting games in general would be excellent for the hero shooter genre although something likeStreet Fighterwouldn’t make much sense.
Square Enix’s biggest mistake withFoamstarswas that it was an original IP and that it didn’t cash in on their biggest franchise in the West:Final Fantasy. There have been a ton of crossover games in the franchise already likeDissidia Final Fantasywhich was a series of fighting games andDragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Streetwas a series ofMonopoly-style board games. From mainline entries to spinoffs, Square Enix would have a lot of characters to work with who specifically use guns like Balthier and Vincent. Better yet, there are a lot of mages who can be just as effective as a shooting character, like Vivi or Lulu, not to mentionmelee strikers like Cloudcould really get the fans pumped.
This is the first of many cheats on the list as it can encompass more than one franchise into the mix. Therewere Lego gamesbeforeLego Star Wars: The Video Gamebut it was that game in 2005 that truly put the developed, Traveler’s Tales, on the map.
After that, they got to work on other big film franchises likeIndiana JonesandThe Lord of the Rings. Plus they have touched many DC and Marvel properties. A Lego-based hero shooter that combines a plethora of properties would be valuable especially to get more kids involved.
One of the best things about theMetal Gear Solidseries is the boss battles. They feature fun and inventive characters who use more than guns to try and take the heroes down. For example, inMetal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Fat Man placed bombs around an arena and drank wine while roller skating around Raiden. InMetal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, The Pain shot bees at Naked Snake. Bees! This series is practically begging to be made into a hero shooter with this distinct cast of rogues.
Ever sincePersona 4,Atlus has been more experimentalwith the series going beyond RPGs. The first big spinoff wasPersona 4 Arenawhich was a fighting game and then a series of dancing games after that. Atlus has spun theirPersonaseries into many different RPG and non-RPG genres, so they may as well try a shooter next. It would be cool to see heroes and villains summon Persona to aid them in an arena match. They could even feature characters from other Atlus games that the Persona team has worked on likeCatherineandMetaphor: ReFantazio.
Like Square Enix, Sony failed withConcordbecause it was a new IP in an overcrowded marketplace.Marvel Rivalsshowed the way to win in said crowded space by using popular already established characters. The one crossover game at Sony’s back door that would work as a hero shooter would bePlayStation All-Stars Battle Royalewhich was aSuper Smash Bros.style fighting game. It was a one and done game on the PS3 and PS Vita but it could be revived.
There are tons of new first-party and third-party games that have come out since that game launched in 2012 too includingThe Last of Us,Astro Bot,Ghost of Tsushima,Horizon Zero Dawn, andReturnaljust to name a few. Characters from these games could make great heroes in a hero shooter.
Rare Replaywas a great collection on the Xbox One which featured HD remasters ofmost of Rare’s gamesup to 2015. While that’s not necessarily a specific game, it is a good jumping-off point for Microsoft to fund a hero shooter. Think about how bonkers it would be to see Banjo-Kazooie, the Battletoads, Conker, Joanna Dark, and others face off in arena matches. While it may not get as much hype as say a brand newBanjo-Kazooieplatformer, a Rare-based hero shooter could still do well on Game Pass. They did make Sea of Thieves successful after a rough launch after all.
Super Smash Bros.as a hero shooter would be THE crossover experience for Nintendo fans. While another fighting game would be cool to get on launch day for the Switch 2,Super Smash Bros. Ultimatewas indeed the ultimate experience. How could the team do better? Well, they could try branching things out to a new kind of arena match. Diddy Kong has his peanut guns, Samus is armed with her trusty blaster, Pit has his bow, and so on. Even Mario has had a weapon via FLUDD inSuper Mario Sunshine, so this could all work nicely.
