2016 was an influential year for video games. Pokemon GO launched and forever changed the mobile market and the Pokemon franchise as a whole. This was also the year that Overwatch launched which wasn’t the first hero shooter but it’s certainly the one that reformed the genre and made it incredibly popular to chase.
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Could Overwatch ever be dethroned? That was the thought for the longest time but several developers have tried and found success like Valorant and others have failed like Concord. Then there’s Marvel Rivals which has raised the bar significantly. It proved that there is still innovation to be had above Overwatch. So, what franchise or series could do the hero shooter genre good next with a spinoff?
8
BlazBlue
Fighting For Dominance
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
- Released
-
November 9, 2008
BlazBlue is primarily a fighting game franchise and one that the hardcore deeply loves. However, the series has experimented before with other genres like BlazBlue Entropy Effect which was a roguelike. That game succeeded because the series has so many diverse characters with unique powers and weapons. For example, Ragna has a giant sword while Noel can shoot twin guns. A lot of fighting games in general would be excellent for the hero shooter genre although something like Street Fighter wouldn’t make much sense.
7
Final Fantasy
Bye Bye Foamstars
Square Enix’s biggest mistake with Foamstars was that it was an original IP and that it didn’t cash in on their biggest franchise in the West: Final Fantasy. There have been a ton of crossover games in the franchise already like Dissidia Final Fantasy which was a series of fighting games and Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street was a series of Monopoly-style board games. From mainline entries to spinoffs, Square Enix would have a lot of characters to work with who specifically use guns like Balthier and Vincent. Better yet, there are a lot of mages who can be just as effective as a shooting character, like Vivi or Lulu, not to mention melee strikers like Cloud could really get the fans pumped.
6
Lego
Build Your Own Hero Shooter
LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
Adventure
Platformer
Science Fiction
- Released
-
March 30, 2005
- Multiplayer
-
Local Co-Op
- ESRB
-
Everyone // Violence
This is the first of many cheats on the list as it can encompass more than one franchise into the mix. There were Lego games before Lego Star Wars: The Video Game but it was that game in 2005 that truly put the developed, Traveler’s Tales, on the map.
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After that, they got to work on other big film franchises like Indiana Jones and The Lord of the Rings. Plus they have touched many DC and Marvel properties. A Lego-based hero shooter that combines a plethora of properties would be valuable especially to get more kids involved.
A Boss-Heavy Series
- Franchise
-
Metal Gear
- Released
-
October 20, 1998
- Developer(s)
-
Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
- Engine
-
Fox Engine
- ESRB
-
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- How Long To Beat
-
12 Hours
One of the best things about the Metal Gear Solid series is the boss battles. They feature fun and inventive characters who use more than guns to try and take the heroes down. For example, in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Fat Man placed bombs around an arena and drank wine while roller skating around Raiden. In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, The Pain shot bees at Naked Snake. Bees! This series is practically begging to be made into a hero shooter with this distinct cast of rogues.
4
Persona
They’ve Done Every Other Genre
Revelations: Persona
- Released
-
December 14, 1996
- ESRB
-
e
- How Long To Beat
-
32 Hours
Ever since Persona 4, Atlus has been more experimental with the series going beyond RPGs. The first big spinoff was Persona 4 Arena which was a fighting game and then a series of dancing games after that. Atlus has spun their Persona series into many different RPG and non-RPG genres, so they may as well try a shooter next. It would be cool to see heroes and villains summon Persona to aid them in an arena match. They could even feature characters from other Atlus games that the Persona team has worked on like Catherine and Metaphor: ReFantazio.
3
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
Concord Failed So That This Hidden Gem Could Be Revived
- Released
-
November 20, 2012
- Multiplayer
-
Online Multiplayer
- Engine
-
Bluepoint Engine
- ESRB
-
t
Like Square Enix, Sony failed with Concord because it was a new IP in an overcrowded marketplace. Marvel Rivals showed the way to win in said crowded space by using popular already established characters. The one crossover game at Sony’s back door that would work as a hero shooter would be PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale which was a Super Smash Bros. style fighting game. It was a one and done game on the PS3 and PS Vita but it could be revived.
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There are tons of new first-party and third-party games that have come out since that game launched in 2012 too including The Last of Us, Astro Bot, Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Returnal just to name a few. Characters from these games could make great heroes in a hero shooter.
2
Rare Replay
Xbox’s Hidden Treasure Trove
- Released
-
August 4, 2015
- Publisher(s)
-
Microsoft Studios
- Multiplayer
-
Online Multiplayer
- ESRB
-
M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Language, Mature Humor, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
Rare Replay was a great collection on the Xbox One which featured HD remasters of most of Rare’s games up to 2015. While that’s not necessarily a specific game, it is a good jumping-off point for Microsoft to fund a hero shooter. Think about how bonkers it would be to see Banjo-Kazooie, the Battletoads, Conker, Joanna Dark, and others face off in arena matches. While it may not get as much hype as say a brand new Banjo-Kazooie platformer, a Rare-based hero shooter could still do well on Game Pass. They did make Sea of Thieves successful after a rough launch after all.
1
Super Smash Bros.
Get This To Launch On Switch 2
- Released
-
April 26, 1999
- Publisher(s)
-
Nintendo
- Engine
-
Proprietary Engine
- ESRB
-
e
- How Long To Beat
-
4 Hours
Super Smash Bros. as a hero shooter would be THE crossover experience for Nintendo fans. While another fighting game would be cool to get on launch day for the Switch 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was indeed the ultimate experience. How could the team do better? Well, they could try branching things out to a new kind of arena match. Diddy Kong has his peanut guns, Samus is armed with her trusty blaster, Pit has his bow, and so on. Even Mario has had a weapon via FLUDD in Super Mario Sunshine, so this could all work nicely.
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