I remember a strange night live with the blogs of the worst anniversary celebration in history. You know, Sonic fans. But not everything was bad; we didn’t know it at the time, as the widely leaked Switch hadn’t even been officially revealed as an NX at the time, but Nintendo fans weren’t far behind to play the best Sonic game of decades, Sonic Mania.
As a game it was a commercial success, with initial sales encouraging SEGA to sanction retail editions and Sonic Mania Plus; it’s still a startup game on my Switch. So was he, when you really think about it, something bold that SEGA can do. As IP, particularly its 2D platform roots, lost popularity, SEGA effectively admitted that it was not doing well and recruited a star team of independent developers who had a wealth of talent. In its ranks were those who had produced exceptional mobile ports, fan games and more, and it looked like it said SEGA “okay, well make the Sonic game everyone wants”. And they did.
© NintendoThis is Nintendo Life, you’ve already read the headline, so it’s clear where this is going. Still, it’s important, before the pitchforks subside, to recognize that Nintendo has had time to embrace talent that can be found outside of its own studios. The graduate quickly Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer with the legend of Zelda it was a case where Nintendo saw a first-rate independent game, agreed it would be fun to bring the concept to the Zelda franchise, and it happened. He opened his eyes, simply because Nintendo has often been quite cautious about others playing with their toys.
Cadence of Hyrule opened his eyes, simply because Nintendo has often been quite cautious about others playing with their toys.
We’ve also seen Nintendo allow major third-party development teams to produce fan-favorite games. You can go back to titles like Metroid: Samus is back of MercurySteam, or in fact Metroid Prime Trilogy when Retro Studios first joined the family, and studios like Next Level Games before its acquisition. Let’s not forget We Pokémon Snap developed by Bandai Namco, a company that has also been outstanding in providing us Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
That said, with this idea we mean smaller teams, the passionate space of resources without resources, but who are also talented artists and developers.
Of course, what we often see of these people and small groups are products for fans, a recent example is the stunning 2D Prime. As is well known, Nintendo is sometimes so diligent in protecting its copyright that projects like this are in a permanent state of danger; so far that someone survived.
Anything you think about Nintendo’s methods of enforcing your copyright is not the case here. I only dream of the day when Nintendo embraces some of these talents, provides them with the finances and resources they need, and works with them to make a really special game. Oh, how I want Nintendo to have its Sonic Mania moment!
Really, it would be amazing if Nintendo did this with something like Mario or The Legend of Zelda. Yes, we have Cadence of Hyrule, but it looks like Legend of Zelda has a wonderful marriage with the Crypt of the Necrodancer format. In fact, allowing an indie team to make a game that evolves into Nintendo’s basic titles, like the impressive fan efforts that come up every year, is something else.
Still, there are inactive franchises that Nintendo could sanction, pleasing vocal fans and keeping the scope and budget relatively low. The tastes of F-Zero, Kid Icarus, Star Fox and more; there are independent titles that are inspired by titles like these and look like fantastic; imagine one that has Nintendo support. Our friends at Push Square have also reflected on a similar topic from Sony’s perspective.
It seems unlikely to me, but who knows, Nintendo is often full of surprises. The arrival of small-scale games in dormant franchises, produced by super talented fans, would certainly excite me.
Do you like this idea or do you think they are crazy? Have your say in the comments.