Franchises that Deserve the Platinum Treatment

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Before E3 2015 concluded, it became obvious that PlatinumGames has a lot of work on its plate. A running joke was soon coined: "Add 'by Platinum' whenever a new game is unveiled at a press conference. "

Built from the refugees of Capcom's imploded Clover Studios, Platinum is currently working on Transformers: Devastation from Activision, Star Fox Zero from Nintendo, Scalebound from Microsoft, and a new Nier game from Square-Enix. That's quite a roster.

Big publishers across all platforms trust Platinum to produce quality content, because its work is consistently excellent. It got us thinking: What other franchises deserve the "Platinum treatment?" We came up with more than a few.

F-Zero

Mario Kart 8 has incorporated elements from Nintendo's F-Zero racing franchise, including a racetrack based on the classic Big Blue level, and a kart engineered with the Blue Falcon in mind. Combined with the game's new 200cc mode (Zip! Zoom!), it's almost enough to make you feel like you're playing a new F-Zero game. Don't be fooled, though. You're not. And an actual F-Zero game is long overdue.

Platinum is already working on the new Star Fox for Wii U, so there's no reason the studio can't bring us a new F-Zero title. Star Fox and F-Zero already have a lot in common, gameplay-wise. Platinum just has to switch from furries to Falcons.

Something Pokémon-related

It's unlikely Nintendo would ever let a studio outside The Pokémon Company and Game Freak handle the series' main games, but Platinum could almost certainly come up with some cool ideas for spin-off games. Maybe a console-based RPG in the vein of Pokémon XD for the Gamecube would work?

Pokémon XD wasn't perfect by any means, but Platinum excels at fine-tuning details and adding polish.

Metroid

There have been some pretty persistent rumors about Retro Games working on a new Metroid title, but so far Nintendo's lips are sealed tighter than one of Zebes' grey doors, much to the chagrin of people who watched Nintendo's E3 2015 presentation.

There's plenty of Metroid love to go around, though. Remember the early Aughts, when Metroid games dominated the 2D and 3D realms? If Retro worked on a 3D Metroid game while Platinum handled the 2D side of things (or vice-versa), you wouldn't hear us complain about it.

Something Chrono Trigger-related

Square-Enix revealed a lot of surprises at E3 2015, but a follow-up to Chrono Trigger and/or Chrono Cross (and/or HD remakes) wasn't one of them.

Square-Enix has fallen into more of a publishing role these days, so what if the studio handed off development of a Chrono Trigger game to Platinum? There are worse ideas, for sure. After all, Platinum is already working on a sequel to 2010's Nier, so Square-Enix already has a considerable measure of trust in Platinum's abilities.

Bushido Blade

Another Square-Enix franchise in need of a quality revival, Bushido Blade is a 3D weapon-based fighting game that was well received upon its release in 1997. Scores for its 1998 sequel were a bit more tepid, and Kengo, the series' spiritual successor, was blasted outright.

Could Platinum save this beleaguered fighting game series? Sure would be nice to find out.

Streets of Rage

The classic side-scrolling beat-em-up games of yesteryear are in a weird spot these days. Double Dragon's last outing was an (admittedly fun) '80s-drenced parody game in 2012, and barring Street Fighter cameos from its characters, the Final Fight series seemingly crumpled under the fog of sixth-grade swear words that defined Final Fight Streetwise.

And what of Sega's own contribution to the genre, the Streets of Rage series? It's been far too long since we've kept company with Axel and Blaze. If Shenmue can receive new life through Sony (and Kickstarter), who's to say Streets of Rage can't resurrect with the aid of Platinum?

StarTropics

Poor Mike Jones. He crammed bananas in his ears to save the world, only to be largely forgotten and replaced by other RPG heroes after the 8-bit era faded away. But the clever redhead still has devoted fans who appreciate StarTropics' mix of action with RPG elements.

Will those fans ever receive satisfaction and witness the arrival of a new adventure on Coralcola Island and beyond? We hope so, especially since Platinum's weird sense of humor would be a good fit for this unconventional game series.

Kid Icarus

In May 2012, Kid Icarus: Uprising director Masahiro Sakurai told IGN that he's not interested in making a sequel for the 2012 Nintendo 3DS shooter / action game.

"Because we pushed a lot into the game in order to let people have this short yet deep experience, but the novelty of that would likely grow thin in the next game," Sakurai said. "For now, my thought is that perhaps we'll see someone else besides me make another Kid Icarus in another 25 years."

We don't want to wait a quarter of a century for more banter between Pit and his patron god / taskmaster, Lady Palutena. Gods like Sakurai may age slowly, but us mortals are not so lucky.

Platinum … help?