Every now and then you come across a fantastic, truly original game that leaves you with HOURS of fun. You think "oh man, this is so cool! I hope they make a new one!" But the developers never do, leaving the title to be a simple, one off thing that eventually fades to obscurity. In my opinion, however, these games showcase such brilliant ideas, and exhibit such amazing mechanics, that turning them into a series not only becomes justified, but obligatory. These are three games that I feel fit the bill.
1. Robotrek
The box tells no lies
This is one of those one off titles released during the early part of the Golden Age of RPG's, and is one of those games that I feel was simply released too early. Robotrek is the story of a young boy who has to save the world, and he does so by building his own robots to battle for him. The young man faces off against an evil gang, ghosts, and travels through time and space.
What made Robotrek so good was that it managed to blend a happy-go-lucky atmosphere with a truly awe-inspiring game mechanic: instead of recruiting party members, you MAKE them. Your party members are robots that you create by yourself, and you build their equipment, too. This is where I'll admit a personal bias when I say that I adore games that allow you to make and customize weapons and characters; Robotrek allows me to do both. And this was a game released in 1994!
Personally, I feel as though Robotrek had a ton of potential to be a series. I can simply imagine a Robotrek for the PS1! Remember Armored Core? I can imagine it'd be like that; in fact, I think that Robotrek 2 should have been like this:
While Robotrek 1 only allowed 1 type of robot to be created (one that looked like a toy robot from the 50's) Robotrek 2 would allow for three kinds: the classic type from the original that served as the typical "fighter", a "mage"-type robot that ran on four wheels and attacked using charged lasers or cannons with special ammunition, and a "rogue" type of robot that focused on speed and used saw blades, switchblades, and drills to attack. The battle system would be the same as Robotrek 1, but you'd be allowed to choose which robot would fight the battles.
I'm sad that we'll never see a Robotrek 2; maybe in another life...
2. Katawa Shoujo
The feels...
Katawa Shoujo is my all time favorite visual novel. It tells the story of Hisao Nakai, an average young man afflicted with arrythmia, who is forced to go to a special school for students with extraordinary medical needs. There, Hisao finds the opportunity to build a new life, make new friends, and find the girl who may well help him mend his broken heart...
This is one of those games that I have completed to 100%, including the bad endings. I found myself learning several life lessons from each route, and felt engrossed by how well thought out and well written the game was. So, you can imagine my disappointment to hear that this game would be a one hit wonder.
Sure, I'm aware that there WERE going to be games based on the idea, but only one game remains in production: Missing Stars. These fan games would have continued the spirit of Katawa Shoujo, but I, frankly, would have greatly preferred a part 2.
But what made KS so good was the fact that the characters felt like real people instead of character archetypes. For example, you have Emi, the spunky girl. In any other Visual Novel, she'd be the girl who did sports, loved sweets, and required you to be competitive and physically active in order to hook up with her. Not so in this game; sure, STARTING Emi's route requires you to be athletic and competitive, but KEEPING Emi requires you to be supportive of her. In contrast, the character you expect to need the supporting (Hanako, who's a Shrinking Violet with a LOT of issues) is the one you need to allow to be independent. Hanako is the girl who benefits most from stepping out of her comfort zone, but bit by bit.
Katawa Shoujo proved to be an extraordinary game, one so good it made the trolls of 4Chan cry. Granted, these most likely weren't the "Final Boss of the Internet" 4Chan trolls of 2007, but they certainly weren't the "newfags" (a name given to 4Chan posters who made it apparent they were new to the boards) that have infested /b/ for years now.
What would a KS2 have been like? I'd like to think something like this:
Nazawa Gorou was just an average 17 year old boy when he got hit by a stray bullet from his trip to his uncle in America. The bullet hit his leg, leaving him with a permanent limp. When he returned to his home country of Japan, his parents had to enroll him in Yamaku High. While there, he meets five different girls, one of whom might change his life, depending on the player's choice:
Mizuki Aiko: a young girl with muscular dystrophy, she dreams of being a scientist just like her hero, Neil deGrasse Tyson. Her route requires the player to be intellectually inclined while also being emotionally honest.
Kodama Chiyo: A mute girl who speaks in sign language, a star athlete and captain of the school's soccer team. An unapologetic feminist, her route requires the player to be competitive while also being emotionally open.
Ayanami Ayaka: A girl with scars across her face, she runs the Gardening Club. Dreams of owning a flower shop. Her path requires the player to be kind but assertive, Also hates having her name be made fun of.
Kyonji Hinata: Legally blind girl, anti social. Spends her time outside of class locked up in her room while listening to music. Requires the player to be distant but supportive,
"Ao": A girl suffering from albinism, she dyes her hair blue and has some (fake) tattoos on her arms. The local school delinquent, she is extremely unpopular because of her flippant, disrespectful attitude towards everyone. Her real name is Kamiya Aoi, and she secretly dreams of being a mother. Her route requires the player to be honest yet passive.
While in Yamaku, Gorou meets some characters from the previous game: the Nurse, Yuuko the librarian, and a few new teachers. There's Lilly, the English Teacher, Misha, the Sign Language teacher, and Hisao Nakai, the science teacher...
3. GrimGrimoire
An overlooked classic
Gorgeous sprites, fluid yet addictive gameplay, an actually well told story, GrimGrimoire is one of those games that deserved to be played by every PS2 owner. The game is an RTS game where you control Lillet Blan, a young witch. Lillet can summon Runes onto the battlefield, which can in turn summon the battle units, known as Familiars. There are four types of Runes: Glamour (summons faeries and unicorns) Sorcery (summons dragons and demons), Necromancy (ghosts and skeletons), and Alchemy (golems and chimeras).
The game may have received some well deserved criticism (only 1 type of map? Really?) but goddammit was the game good. So, why no sequel? Prequel? Not even a reboot?
Personally, I think that this is more a case of me wanting something DIFFERENT done with the original game, instead of an expansion of what the original game achieved.I would have loved to see more varied maps, for one. A forest map, for example, or a cave map.
Likewise, I would like some new units added. In the first game, Units could be either physical or Astral (ghostlike). Of the latter, the game provided only 3 units (the ghost, the knight, and the Morning Star) with the Unicorn having the ability to become Astral. I'd like to add at least one astral unit to the Sorcery and Alchemy branches. The Sorcery Branch gets the Shade, a wicked shadow that can travel fly across the map and deals quick (but weak) damage. The Alchemy branch gets the Wisp, a ghost-like creature that moves across the map and then detonates itself once an enemy touches it.
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