PixlBit

Hello, friends, how are you? If you’re like me, you get very excited when Nintendo finally brings back long dormant franchises like WarioWare or Advance Wars (actually, that last one hasn’t come out yet, oh boy). This got me thinking, “What about the IPs that everyone seems to have forgotten?” I mean, Nintendo has SO MANY IPs that bringing them all back would be ridiculous, but I’ve chosen 10 that seem to be dead. Is there any chance that these franchises could get new life on the Switch? I’ll speculate with you. 

Balloon Fight

Balloon Fight was really big on the NES, and then we got Balloon Kid on the Game Boy, which was an excellent game. Japan got Tingle’s Balloon Fight for the DS, but that’s about it. The series has been referenced in a lot of Nintendo’s games such as Smash Bros. and Nintendo Land, but I’m not sure if they’ll ever give us a proper Balloon Fight game again. Can you imagine a 3D Balloon Fight? That would be awesome! And that’s why it probably won’t happen. 

Will this series come back? —Probably not 

StarTropics 

If you recall, this 1990 NES game was made in Japan but only released in the West. It’s about a kid named Mike going on an adventure, and it plays a lot like Zelda except not as good. It also got a sequel titled Zoda’s Revenge: StarTropics II. These games aren’t bad, but over the years Nintendo hasn’t even referenced the games. Although apparently Gulliver mentions Coralcola in Animal Crossings: New Horizons, but I wouldn’t pin your hopes and dreams on that one instance. 

Will this series come back? —Absolutely not 

Excitebike 

Now here’s a weird one. Excitebike is a classic on the NES, and then there was a BS Excitebike game for the satellaview, and later Excitebike 64. Then the series went dormant for awhile until a big revival on the Wii with Excite Truck and Excitebots, which were great innovations for the series. Sadly, Nintendo’s done nothing with the series since the Wii, but I think we could see this one come back. Last year we saw the return of Cruis’n, which was excellent, so cross your fingers. 

Will this series come back? —Probably…eventually 

Pilot Wings

This series is interesting in the fact that Nintendo has released these games exclusively as launch titles for its consoles (Pilot Wings for SNES, Pilot Wings 64 for N64, and Pilot Wings Resort for 3DS). Also, these games were designed to show off the new hardware (Mode 7, 3D environments, and stereoscopic 3D). As such, these games are more like historic footnotes in Nintendo’s history rather than timeless games. They’re not timeless because they can be a bit gimmicky. So if you’d been hoping for a new one, I don’t know what to tell you. 

Will this series come back? —Probably not 

Wave Race

This series made a big splash on N64 and then a smaller one on GameCube, but it’s been dead in the water for over 20 years. And I don’t know why! I think this is a prime series to bring back, but I’m worried that Nintendo won’t. For some reason the N64 collection on NSO doesn’t even have Wave Race 64 yet, and that game is a classic! Nintendo seems to have completely forgotten about this series, and that’s a huge shame. 

Will this series come back? —Probably not 

Game & Watch Gallery

If you’re old enough, you might remember that there were three Game & Watch Gallery games on the Game Boy. These were really fun as they took the old G&W games and modernized them using Mario characters and themes. The last game was Game & Watch Gallery 4 for GBA. This is another series that Nintendo could easily bring back—just put these four games together and call it “Game & Watch Gallery Collection.” I know, I’m a genius. 

Will this series come back? —Who knows 

Custom Robo

I loved Custom Robo on the GameCube, it was something different for Nintendo. The series actually started on N64, but was only released in Japan. We also got Custom Robo Arena for the DS, but that was it. These games were developed by NOISE Inc, a Japanese development team, so perhaps they didn’t want to make any more after the DS game. Still, Nintendo could surely find another developer. This series would be great on the Switch. 

Will this series come back? —Most likely not 

Chibi-Robo

This strange series actually has more games than you would think. Developed by Skip Ltd, Chibi-Robo has five games to his name. Some of these were released only in Japan. The first game on GameCube was pretty cool as the little guy could explore a house and do different kinds of things by plugging into outlets and other stuff. The series overall was actually quite interesting and creative, especially Chibi-Robo: Photo Finder, which used the 3DS camera in some pretty amazing ways. But thanks to Chibi-Robo: Zip Lash, the series appears to be dead. The game was denounced as atrocious by everyone, so the likelihood of ever seeing this guy again is slim. 

Will this series come back? —Absolutely not 

Mario vs. Donkey Kong

Remember this one? The first game on GBA was pretty cool, but Nintendo oversaturated the market with too many of these in a short time. The games also started requiring you to manage a whole slew of mini Marios, which could be confusing. The games all started blending together, so it’s actually fortunate that Nintendo stopped making them in 2016. Surprisingly, we haven’t seen one on the Switch yet. Do you think we will? 

Will this series come back? —Who knows 

Donkey Konga 

This rhythm game required that you play with the DK bongos, which was awesome! Playing against a friend as you pound and clap your way to victory was really fun, especially since the game came with Nintendo songs. Donkey Konga 2 added new songs and a few more Kongs, but that was it. Japan got Donkey Konga 3, and the series was over. Developed by Namco, the series probably ended because you can only go so far with the DK bongos, and that’s why I think we’ll probably never see this series again. I’m sad. 

Will this series come back? —Absolutely not