Summary
One of the most exciting things about the merger between Bethesda and Microsoft was the idea that Bethesda could lend its RPG expertise to the other studios within the Xbox family. This means that Bethesda could help revive long-lost franchises that fans have been dying to see sequels to for decades.
Now, this doesn’t mean that the following picks will have to be developed byBethesdainternally. They can assist the original developers or even bring in new blood. Some of these examples are already RPGs or have RPG elements, but they could be turned into more explicit RPGs. Also, not all of these picks are old either, but they are good examples of RPGs or RPG-like games that should get sequels. Caveats aside, let’s get to the brainstorming.
Blue Dragonwas one of the first games on the Xbox 360 that showed Microsoft wanted to make better deals with Japanese studios. It wasn’t quiteDragon Quest, but Akira Toriyama did work on the game’s designs. The original game was a classic turn-based adventure that launched in 2007 in North America.
It would receive two DS spinoffs in the following years, and the last game was released in 2010 for the West. Even though the Xbox family only received one of the three games, many fans still consider it a classic Xbox franchise. Could Bethesda partner with a Japanese studio to make a proper console sequel?
When Microsoft bought Rare, fans were hoping to see the two companies crank out sequels forConker,Banjo-Kazooie, and so many others. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. The firstConkergame was technically in 1999 on the Game Boy Color, but the one everyone remembers isConker’s Bad Fur Dayfrom 2001. Bethesda could help Rare pitch the idea of turning the nextConkergame into a more violet version of theRatchet and Clankseries.
While they are traditionally platformers, there are RPG elements, too, like health and weapon progression. Conker could easily get thatRatchet and Clankformula right and do it with a bloodier attitude.
Costume Questwas a Double Fine game that was released digitally in 2019. It was a turned-based RPG wherein trick-or-treaters could turn into elaborate things like mechs to fight candy-hungry monsters. It got DLC soon after and a full-on sequel in 2014. That has been the last of the series since then.
Now that Double Fine is owned by Microsoft, they have plenty of RPG resources, like Bethesda, to get another game out the door. It’s too late to make the Halloween season of 2023, but maybe Bethesda and Double Fine can put something out in 2024.
Gears Tacticshas only received one game so far, and it was a 2020 launch. It had similarities toX-Com, wherein allied units worked on a more open grid to fight off hordes of Locust scum. It made a lot of sense to turnGears of Warinto a strategy game, but the RPG elements were not overblown.
A sequel, with the help of Bethesda, could turn the whole thing into a more heavy RPG tactical experience on the scale ofFinal Fantasy Tactics. Someone within Bethesda has surely thought of making a tactical RPG like that before, andGears Tacticsis an IP that is just waiting to be picked up again.
5Iron Brigade
Iron Brigadeis another Double Fine game that was a tower-defense tactical shooter. It was released in 2011 originally under the name ofTrenched, but it was later changed due to copyright complaints. It took place after World War 1, wherein military conflicts were still fought in trenches.
However, trenches were now mobile mechs that could get up, walk around, and shoot opponents. It was a fun idea for analternative history shooter, and Iron Brigade could be so much more as a true RPG with Bethesda backing a sequel.
Prototypewas released at a time before superhero games based on licenses were good. In 2009, this game and Sony’s PS3 exclusive,inFamous, were released a week apart and tried to compete for what game was the betteropen-world superhero experience. Based on reviews and overall legacy, it seems likeinFamouswon the battle.
There were only twoPrototypegames, with the sequel released in 2012. There was a remastered collection of both in 2015, but that has been it. It’s high time Microsoft had their own superhero exclusive akin toMarvel’s Spider-Man 2, so perhaps Activision and Bethesda could get something going.
Skylandersbegan the toys to life genrein 2011. The games became accessible action RPGs for kids, and Activision was raking in the money. The toys to life genre boomed, but it also went bust whenSkylanders: Imaginatorsbecame the last console game in the series as of 2016. There were two mobile games following this, but they weren’t the same thing.
Is it time to reviveSkylandersand the toys to life genre as a whole? Microsoft could certainly use some more kid-friendly games in their library; Bethesda and Activision could partner on this project, too.
StarCraftused to be one of Blizzard’s tentpole series when it began in 1998, but it has since been forgotten. The last game was a remaster of the original in 2017, which had varying reactions from fans. The series has always been more of an RTS than an RPG, but the two genres do have similarities. With the help of Bethesda, the series could get an action RPG spinoff akin toDiablo.
Maybe even an RPG shooter likeDestinycould be made, and it could be calledStarCraft Ghostas an homage to the canceled game.
