My Wish List

Here's my wish list of what I'd like to see from this current generation of videogames:

1) The return of cel-shading. Cel-shading was a beautiful graphic style that was used almost as common practice with such games as Okami, Jet Set Radio, Dark Cloud 2, Zelda: The Wind Waker, Rogue Galaxy, and many more. But now there are practically no games at all that utilize cel-shading. However, the ones that do use cel-shading are some of the best looking games this generation. The two that come to mind are Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm and Valkyria Chronicles; both are some of the best looking games this gen, and looking at them makes me wonder why cel-shading isn't used by other developers. I was surprised to see that Level-5 didn't incorporate any cel-shading in White Knight Chronicles.

2) An original fighting game. I'd love to see a new IP enter the fighting game realm against all of the long-running series. Fighting games have returned to popularity, but the series that still live all have established styles. I'd like to see a new style of fighting game brought into this generation. A fighting game for this gen.

3) The return of platformers. Most games in the past were 2D platformers; unfortunately, this genre has nearly died out, with only Mario still going. I'm hoping Sonic's return to 2D will be great with Project Needlemouse, but we can only hope. Two of my favorite games are 2D platformers, Donkey Kong Country 2 and Klonoa 2; these were incredible games, and I don't see why they can't have a place in the current market. Sony may push away any 2D game brought to them, but the Wii is a great place for them, as seen by the Klonoa remake and Muramasa. At least I can always count on Vanillaware for great 2D games.

4) More 'simple' games. In this current generation, every game is "huge", either in storyline, gameplay depth, production values, or whatever. Developers try so hard as if game's have to have a huge impact on us. In the past, games could leave a huge impact with more heartfelt and straightforward stories than the plot-twist laiden games of this current gen. ICO and Shadow of the Colossus are great examples where a fantastic story can be told with minimal dialouge and big budget cutscenes. Then there are games like Klonoa 2, which told a story that was simple, yet very heartfelt. Some good examples from this generation would be Super Mario Galaxy and Zelda: Spirit Tracks; both had good, heartfelt stories that were told in a simple manner.

5) More original stuff. The past generations have brought so much originality and style into videogames, but this generation feels like it has contributed almost nothing. The past generations brought us ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, Okami, Odin Sphere, Paper Mario, Viewtiful Joe, Zelda: The Wind Waker, Kingdom Hearts, WarioWare, Guilty Gear, Disgaea, and many other original and stylish games. But this gen is just laden with sequel upon sequel. Bayonetta, Valkyria Chronicles, The World Ends With You, Knights in the Nightmare, No More Heroes, Super Mario Galaxy, and Osu!Tatake!Ouendan! are a few games off the top of my head that were very original and stylish, but that's not nearly enough compared to the past generations. Developers need to stop being so scared to try new things, because if they don't get some courage, then this generation will never move forward.