Burning Rangers, 1998, Saturn
Why?
Firefighters+jetpacks is a great, great concept.
What happened with the original game?
It came out on the Saturn, which wasn’t doing so great at the time. The game didn’t get marketing support and the Dreamcast came out a few months later. It couldn’t be successful.
What to retain, what to redo?
Retain the music, impeccable funk-pop. Everything else can be improved upon. Much bigger levels, obviously. Special effects. I’d say, don’t base it on a futuristic story. I think it would be best to have it in an alternate contemporary setting. Maybe a mode where you need to strategically put out a fire to save as many items as you can, dollar wise. Old couch burns hard, don’t care. Brand new computer is close to flames and needs to be saved, etc.
An emphasis on wildfires would be great, trying to save nature would feel better than items inside buildings.
Ghost in the Shell, 1997, PlayStation
Why?
Spider robot that can climb walls, strafe, jump and shoot unlimited bullets. And can fire 6 homing missiles at a time. Never been done before, never been done really well after, if at all.
What happened with the original game?
It was well received! But a bit bland and limited by the PS1’s processing power at the time.
What to retain, what to redo?
Retain the music, fantastic techno that fits the cyberpunk setting just beautifully. Retain the settings and spider robot specs. Everything else can be improved upon. Bigger and more intricate levels. Better polish. Better scenario. Levels at sunset and at night. Wind. Rain. Not harder but more surprising would make it a hit.
Jumpin Flash!, 1995, PlayStation
Why?
Rabbit robot jumping on platforms in first-person. First 3D game to ever do that. The double and triple jump mechanic is super addictive.
What happened with the original game?
I think it did OK, but those were the early days of a new generation of consoles, so it was noisy. People didn’t know about it.
What to retain, what to redo?
The music, the hilarious, nonsensical setting should stay. The double and triple jump mechanic have to stay, obviously. Maybe a collab with Katamari Damacy would be great: a second player rolls things to become big and the first player uses that to jump higher? I don’t know, maybe not so fun. But yeah, better levels, bigger. Time limit has to go, that was lame. Levels based on real locations would be fun. Triple jump to reach the top of a hill in Rio. Caves. Maybe add an emphasis on saving humans? Jumping around to rescue skiers or something like that.
